Casual Articles - Business

Make Your Company Logo The Perfect Brand Ambassador
One of the founding fathers of modern advertising and branding has said, "A product is something made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by the customer." Customers want brands that are narrow in scope and distinguishable by a single word, the shorter the better. Branding is of high priority for companies of all sizes in today's hyper-competitive market. Even though the concept of branding exists and has been in practice since the 18th century, it still remains a hot topic in the business community. Many facets of the branding process are not well understood by most in the corporate world. A carefully managed and well-implemented brand identity program bears the image of an organization to be communicated to the world.Branding is a demanding and complex process that requires disciplined attention over an extended period of time. Undoubtedly, the logo is a strategically important part of the branding program. The company logo is the most visib

ducation grants or direct legal services. The only audiences who did know who we were (and what we did) were long-time feminists and those with whom we had long relationships on Capitol Hill."

Since the Fund was striving to extend its reach to women born after the civil rights era, and to ensure all audiences were aware of the full range of its programs – inclu

Corporate Parties Can Be Fun Too
Planning the corporate party may be a job that is no one's idea of a good assignment but the party itself can be fun. Striking the delicate balance between light socializing and appropriate corporate conduct is the tricky part.Most corporate functions are of the meet and greet or annual meeting variety but there are also corporate retirement or holiday parties. The mood should one which encourages less formal yet business priority fun. Most corporate affairs strongly discourage the sort of conduct that is depicted in movies and T.V. as the office party.In reality most corporate parties are friendly but often vehicles in which business concerns are discussed. For example, a corporate party may be the place where the boss gives a sort of state of the company address and hands out bonuses. There might be prime rib and excellent side dishes but the point is usually business.Appropriate business conduct is normally practiced at the corporate party

The NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, a well-established nonprofit well-known by one generation of activists and supporters, changed its name to Legal Momentum in the spring of 2004. I first heard about the name change via a nonprofit client who thought that Legal Momentum's announcement letter to colleagues (others in the NYC nonprofit community, plus) was a very strong example of proactive communications. He was right.

As a matter of fact, the letter was so strong that I decided to follow up with Maureen McFadden, Legal Momentum's Vice President of Communications, to learn more about the process -- and ultimate impact -- of the name change.

CHALLENGE: No One Got the Name, or the Focus

Even with a 34-year record of positive action, NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund's growth was held back by two seemingly impenetrable barriers. To begin with, there was perpetual confusion in the media about what the Fund was, and its relationship with NOW. "No matter how successful we were in getting media coverage, nine out of ten times they got our name wrong," says McFadden. "As a result, we didn't have any clips."

You can bet that if the media get your organization's name wrong, time and again, that your target audiences do too. And that's a real barrier to building relationships and brand.

"In addition, audiences didn't know what 'legal defense and education fund' meant," continues McFadden. "They asked us for education grants or direct legal services. The only audiences who did know who we were (and what we did) were long-time feminists and those with whom we had long relationships on Capitol Hill."

Since the Fund was striving to extend its reach to women born after the civil rights era, and to ensure all audiences were aware of the full range of its programs – includ

Club Flyers - Advertising that Suits Your Budget
Using club flyers as an advertising medium if you have limited budget would definitely be the right decision. If you are tight on the budget but overflowing with creative juices, then flyers would be the best marketing tool to use.Flyers are very cheap to produce because of the low-cost materials needed to produce it. Planning a club flyer that would be effective would definitely be a challenge but it is very feasible as well.Since flyers only make use of a single piece of paper that can either be plain white or it can also be a colorful paper, it can also make use of just black and white ink or full color printing. The variety of options on how to present the flyer that you wanted makes it a very dependable piece of advertisement.The paper that you would be using for your flyer depends entirely on you. You have the full rein on what kind of paper you want you flyer to be printed on. It can be in a matte or glossy paper. You can even use a rec

y strong example of proactive communications. He was right.

CHALLENGE: No One Got the Name, or the Focus

You can bet that if the media get your organization's name wrong, time and again, that your target audiences do too. And that's a real barrier to building relationships and brand.

Since the Fund was striving to extend its reach to women born after the civil rights era, and to ensure all audiences were aware of the full range of its programs – inclu

A Business Lesson from Baseball
Few personalities dominated the American scene like basball slugger George Herman “Babe” Ruth. He entered the major leagues as a pitcher, but also won fame with the Boston Red Sox as a powerful hitter.Since a pitcher can’t play every day, somebody recommended Babe be placed in the outfield. This may have been one of baseball’s greatest decisions.Babe was traded to the New York Yankees in 1920, and became a superstar, media personality, and a hero to millions. He played 22 years, compiled a lifetime batting average of .342, and slammed an amazing 714 home runs.In 1927 he also set a season record for homers with 60. That mark stood until 1961.Babe was a large, powerful man. When I watch him in old newsreels, it appears he’s swinging to hit the home run. He once said, “If I just tried to hit singles, I’d bat .600.”The Babe knew his fame came from power hitting. It’s what the fans came to see, and he seldom disappointed them.O

n with a 34-year record of positive action, NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund's growth was held back by two seemingly impenetrable barriers. To begin with, there was perpetual confusion in the media about what the Fund was, and its relationship with NOW. "No matter how successful we were in getting media coverage, nine out of ten times they got our name wrong," says McFadden. "As a result, we didn't have any clips."

You can bet that if the media get your organization's name wrong, time and again, that your target audiences do too. And that's a real barrier to building relationships and brand.

Since the Fund was striving to extend its reach to women born after the civil rights era, and to ensure all audiences were aware of the full range of its programs – inclu

Denim Jeans In European Market
Denim jeans and Europe seem to be made for each other. The relationship goes back a long time. In fact the very word jeans come from a type of material that was named after sailors from Genoa in Italy. The word denim is from another French material serge de nimes.The end of the Second World War was the time when denim blue jeans gained new status in Europe. Rugged yet relaxing they stood for freedom and a great future. Both men and women wore them. In Europe the surplus Levi’s jeans left behind by American armed forces were now available in limited supplies. They were extremely popular with teens.The 60’s saw the coming in of slim jeans. They were extremely popular as leisurewear. Teens began to have real fun with them. The 70’s saw the bell-bottoms hitting their peak. Creativity flourished as far as denim jeans go. Customized denim embroidery made an appearance, so too did stud and patched jeans, giving jeans an all new glamorous appeal.Desig

s McFadden. "As a result, we didn't have any clips."

You can bet that if the media get your organization's name wrong, time and again, that your target audiences do too. And that's a real barrier to building relationships and brand.

Since the Fund was striving to extend its reach to women born after the civil rights era, and to ensure all audiences were aware of the full range of its programs – inclu

Measure the Response of Your Advertising Campaigns by Using Promotional Products
For most companies, gone are the days of spending money just for the pleasure of seeing their name on TV or the Internet.Most companies today are forced to insist on results. Yet on average, up to 80% of advertising is wasted because it doesn't work. If only you could know which of your campaigns make up the 20% that is making you all your money. If you knew that, you could stop wasting 80% of your advertising budget and put the money saved towards doubling up on the 20% of your advertising that is working.But how can you know which of your advertising campaigns are working and which are failing?The secret is in promotional products. I'm talking about pens, mugs, t-shirts, et cetera, imprinted with your company logo. These things hold the key to measuring the ROI of every marketing medium you are using. They keep all your other marketing honest.Here is how it works:Step 1: In every advertisement that you create, you must inc

ducation grants or direct legal services. The only audiences who did know who we were (and what we did) were long-time feminists and those with whom we had long relationships on Capitol Hill."

Since the Fund was striving to extend its reach to women born after the civil rights era, and to ensure all audiences were aware of the full range of its programs – including new initiatives such as lobbying for universal access to child care – these problems had to be solved.

After much deliberation, NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund decided that a name change was the communications strategy most likely to boost its ongoing evolution and outreach to broader audiences. "We needed a name that said who we were and what we did, while enabling us to continue to grow," says McFadden.

STRATEGY: In-Depth Analysis of History, Vision and Audience Perspectives Generates Powerful New Name

Knowing that a name change is a major initiative, and one that can be very stressful (in terms of effort and emotions), the Fund decided to seek outside help. So McFadden and her colleagues applied for, and secured, pro bono assistance from the Interbrand (a leading branding agency) Foundation. With the help of a powerful and dedicated Interbrand team, the naming process was soon underway.

This is how it unfolded:

Step One: In-depth organizational probing.

The branding team learned about the Fund's vibrant history, including the leaders who built and sustained the Fund since its inception. Discussion focused on what the Fund once was, what it was at present and what it wanted to be in the future.

Step Two: Focused audience research, with current audiences and those the Fund wanted to reach in the future.

After extensive discussions with Fund staf

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When it was first used and aired over the radio, the word transcription drew large attention and become the gist of the public’s conversation. Newspapers also have many data about and everybody who can read it become interested in getting into it.

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