Archive for June, 2008

A brand emersion about six years ago was riding a newly formed wave of all natural products brought to the masses in mainstream markets. Introduce Method. A wonderfully unobtrusive product that enhanced the shelves of Target stores nation wide. I noticed them almost immediately. Their bottle design and coloring reminded me of architecture and beautiful pieces of furniture. It dawned on me that I could put these bottles out, without the need for an extra container for my dish soap or hand soap. And I enjoyed cleaning, at least one time, with the new “simple”, “green”, “natural” products that wouldn’t harm me in any way. I bought the message hook, line, and sinker, knew it, and loved them for it.

This is simplicity. It brings joy through at least four senses. It smells amazing and for the moms out there, you don’t have to be as panicky about your kids getting into these products. Of course they shouldn’t drink the things. But not nearly as dangerous as most cleaning products. And when company looks in your cabinets, when you aren’t looking, they will find an array of beauty, and you will find instant street cred.

One of the coolest parts of my job is the inside look into the workings of companies large and small.  It can be shocking or even discouraging to notice that a client’s business looks healthy on the inside, but is struggling internally.  This can present itself in financial difficulties, lack of organization, or missing vision…but all too often it shows up in lack of marketing and brand direction.

How does brand direction relate to a company’s health?  Easy:  when a company has its values and goals ironed out, a stable brand direction tends to follow.  However, many entrepreneurs and business owners get into a reactive pattern in which they sacrifice a plan in favor of chaos mode.

We specialize in reducing chaos through clear expectations, goals, and direction.  At every juncture and turning point, we ask questions like Does this serve our client’s goals?  How can we measure results?  Why are we recommending this service or decision?

When clients ask for help, amazing things can happen.  Letting the right people in can help reduce the sense of chaos and re-establish a company’s confidence and strength in areas that reach far beyond marketing.  Part of what makes my job so awesome

One of our favorite things to do is provide a comprehensive marketing plan to our clients.  It’s amazing to see the document take shape, morph, and adapt with the business, its goals, and its target market.  It’s also amazing to see formerly struggling or insecure clients blossoming with the help of goals, milestones, metrics…and discipline.

Surprise! As small business owners, we too juggle with the “everything on one plate” syndrome.  At any given moment I am juggling accounting, project management, sales, deadlines, vital iPod Touch updates…and it’s easy to let our own marketing efforts go to the wayside (hence my sporadic blogging!).

Today’s revelation:  oh, right.  We have to walk the walk.  That means treating ourselves like our own client.  We know what to do.  Now we need the milestones and discipline to make the difference between valueless promises and kick-ass fabulosity.

Off to polish our plan for world domination to a fine luster…

A quick update on my last fav’s.  So yes, Erin and I decided to take the plunge and got our iPod Touch pretties.  Now the rationalization, because there always has to be a rationalization, is it keeps us in sync with our calendars and email.  Which is actually worth it’s weight in gold.  But, oh there are so many fun other things we can accomplish and find at the touch of the magic screen.  I am obsessed.

But actually my next fav is shockingly …  wait for it …  Gap.  I know you will scream and shout and say, she is definitely off her rocker.  Their product is inconsistent, ill-fitting, etc.  Yes, I will agree, starting about 1998, they started to lose it.  Pandering to trends and forgoing their classics, with extremely inconsistent seasons.  So many times I have tried to go into a Gap store and not found anything worth spending three dollars on, which is what happened to most of their clothes (they ended up on the clearance rack).  The interesting thing for me though, is that I was quite willing to pay full price for a classic, which is the main reason I would go in there.  And I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to have the money to actually purchase something, the time to find it, and walk into a store expecting to be able to find those perfect black pants, and come up with nothing.  Absolutely NOTHING.  

Reading through my fabulous VOGUE with Sarah Jessica on the front, I discovered that Gap has brought on not only a new lead designer, but an actual legitimate designer and this season is the first with his input, basically he edited this season, for the next season I expect to see the full glory of his genius.  But it does make me feel a little nervous.  Kind of like my husband who is excited about the Bull’s first round draft pick, he has high hopes, but doesn’t know if they will pull off the championship.  I hope Patrick Robinson can live up to the hype and bring the american classics back up to the level we have expected from the Gap in years previous.