"Branding Your Image"!

It's a new brand world. That cross-trainer you're wearing -- one look at the distinctive swoosh on the side tells everyone who's got you branded. That coffee travel mug you're carrying -- ah, you're a Starbucks woman! Your T-shirt with the distinctive Champion "C" on the sleeve, the blue jeans with the prominent Levi's rivets, the watch with the hey-this-certifies-I-made-it icon on the face, your fountain pen with the maker's symbol crafted into the end ... You're branded, branded, branded, branded. To Read More

Branding is more than just a business buzzword. It has become the crux of selling in the new economy. If the old marketing mantra was," Nothing happens until somebody sells something," the new philosophy could be" Nothing happens until somebody brands something." In its simplest form, a brand is a noun. It is the name attached to a product or service. However, upon close inspection, a brand represents many more intangible aspects of a product or service: a collection of feelings and perceptions about quality, image, lifestyle and status. It creates in the mind of customers and prospects the perception that there is no product or service on the market that is quite like yours. In short, a brand offers the customer a guarantee and then delivers on it. To Read More

By Joanna L. Krotz It's everywhere you want to be. Business gets easier when you have a recognizable brand. Think about BMW or Burger King, for example. All you need do is mention the names and millions of people throughout the world have an immediate perception and expectation of what that company stands for. There's an emotional connection between the customer and the company name. With a strong brand, you don't have to sell nearly as long or as hard. Customers know what you stand for before the pitch or proposal. To Read More

Big companies understand the importance of brands. Today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand. Here's what it takes to be the CEO of Me Inc. Today brands are everything, and all kinds of products and services -- from accounting firms to sneaker makers to restaurants -- are figuring out how to transcend the narrow boundaries of their categories and become a brand surrounded by a Tommy Hilfiger-like buzz. To Read More

How can you make your products irresistible? Make outrageous claims--and then deliver on them. This branding expert tells you why you should and how. The old cliché in business is that you should under-promise and over-deliver. But in a crowded marketplace, under-promising is a one-way ticket to oblivion. Because consumers and businesses are moving and shopping at warp speed these days, they won't slow down long enough to fully understand your under-promise. To grab their attention, you must over-promise. To Read More

Are you giving your profits away? Is your business online - Do you realize how valuable an online presence is? It is 24/7 'inexpensive' advertising for your business. Thousands of buyers could be overlooking your business shopping cart if you are missing important information on your website. To Read More

These days, you can no sooner operate your business without computers and their software than you can without people. Your company may sell auto parts, vacuum cleaners, or fine wine, but if you have a Web site or B2B e-commerce system, you’d better believe you’re in the software business, too. Because of its increasingly significant impact on your company’s brand, the quality of software’s behavior is a crucial factor in your organization’s success. Until recently, relatively few companies had fully recognized the significance that software and other technology-based products can have on brand. To Read More

For better and, often, worse, characters have become a staple of consumer marketing. A great one--the Pillsbury Doughboy, for example--can help tell a brand's story, sparking interest and long-term loyalty. But how to bring that character to life? To Read More

Branding is the process of creating a specific strong, memorable image and identity for your business. Besides utilizing good design and media that will help sell your product or service and stick in consumers' minds, a good brand should inspire loyalty and confidence in your company by emoting specific responses and associations in your target audience. To Read More of this article by Michael Millhollen

8-Week Online Marketing Course Developing a brand strategy can be one of the most difficult steps in the marketing plan process. It's often the element that causes most businesses the biggest challenge, but it's a vital step in creating the company identity. To Read More

Learn how to make your small business a big name. Q: I hear a lot about "branding," but I'm not sure what it means. Do I have to be concerned about it as a small-business owner? To Read More

Although you may have a brand, your brand needs to evolve with your business. As your business matures, so should your brand. Evolving your brand does not mean changing your brand. It means you should consider refreshing, updating, or clarifying the image you use and the emotion it projects. If you have had the same logo for several years, talk with a designer to see if you can update its look without changing the overall image it projects. If you don't have a logo, consider having one developed. To Read More

Good brand management is the crux of the business model, driving the strategy behind the experience you provide the customer. It begins with understanding what your institution currently means to customers (brand identity) and what you want it to mean (brand aspiration). While plenty of organizations know how they want to be viewed, what mental space they want to capture, staying true to the brand aspiration in every aspect of the customer experience—from graphics to service to collection—is what separates those that succeed from those that are merely ambitious. To Read More

"Branding" is more than one of those buzzwords that all the high-powered marketers drop into conversation so that you think they're clever. Branding is a very important part of website promotion. The goal of branding is to end up with the name of your product, service or website foremost in everyone's mind. Just think of the Cola wars -- Coke and Pepsi both spend an obscene amount of money every year trying to become the dominant brand. Many of their ads don't even try to sell the product -- they simply sell the brand and try to create "brand awareness." Even the word "branding" has its origins long before the arrival of modern media. . . To Read More

Brands are for the big guys, right? Proctor & Gamble, General Motors, Starbucks, Gap, Trump. Wrong! If you have a business, you have a brand. If you have a career, you are the brand. Anyone out there in any market of any kind has a brand. It may be making you money, or losing you money, but your brand is there. So what exactly is a brand? Many people confuse branding with graphic design. I still have clients come to me saying, "Can you design us a brand?" They are asking for a logo, and my response is always what I call the First Law of Branding. Your brand is not your logo. Is your nationality a flag? Of course not! It is something deep within you that everyone who knows you immediately recognizes. The flag is just a symbol for that invisible but very important "something." Your brand is what you mean to the people who know you. It's what first comes to mind when they hear your company name. It's the thought, the feeling, the image that you own in their...

Branding is psychological. Look what would happen if your the favorite chewing gum changed its label. Probably won't taste the same right? Branding your business should not be expensive or hard to do. You want to make a clear statement about your brand with images, slogans, packaging or otherwise. You want to use your mark whenever possible. Letterheads, on your website, outgoing emails, advertising and invoices. Use your image in the left hand corner when ever possible. To Read More

When it comes to your image, are you hitting hard or striking out? Cover all your bases with these 4 critical elements of a winning brand. By Kim T. Gordon What instantly springs to mind when customers hear your company name? If you're uncertain--or even worse, stuck with a less-than-stellar image--it's time to give your brand an overhaul. It's no coincidence that industry leaders in every category from soft drinks to spas toil endlessly to create some of the world's most recognized brands. But it doesn't have to cost millions or take years to put your company's branding efforts on track. Just follow these four guidelines to create a winning brand image. To Read More

It is said that image is everything, and for successful businesses today- that's the truth. Consumers buy from those they trust, recognize and have a affinity toward. Your logo, your brand creates that feeling or impression which gives your clients security and comfort when they choose to spend their time and money in your establishment. Carefully monitor how your brand is portrayed, create standards of use of your logo- is it allowed in any color, on any item. Many companies have established a rule- if it, their logo or brand is reproduced in color, it has to be accurate to the original version. Any uses outside of the full reproduction are run in a one color format, i.e., all white, all black or all the color of choice. For example the NDS logo above is a three color product, black, purple and silver or grey. It is either run in that combination or all of one color. A decision for brand consistency will help create the image you want and avoid any non-verbal confusion in your cus...

It's a fact: Brand-name incentive awards have a higher perceived value than other rewards. Here's how to pump up your motivational programs by leveraging the top name brands. Got Gap? How about Coach, Sony or Panasonic? The truth is, if your incentive program isn't made up of at least some brand-name rewards, it may flounder. So says Arnold Light, CEO and founder of White Plains, NY-based The Light Group, an incentive firm that's been in the business for 25 years: "Incentive winners want brand names," Light says. "If the reward is a brand that the recipients don't know, you'll risk them saying, "This is a piece of junk!" To Read More

Your logo- the image that can make the difference between being noticed or lost in the din of the crowded marketplace. If your company is a household name, a logo may not make a significant difference, i.e. Kleenex, Xerox or even Google. For most businesses, their image or brand is defined by their logo, the image that they believe best represents who they are. Logo's are made-up of colors, shapes or fonts (the letters that make the name). For example a color-"Big blue" has been the description of IBM, UPS is now called "brown", but they are also know for their specific font. AT&T developed the blue globe, a shape that signifies their worldwide commitment. As a business, your logo becomes your image- your signature on all interactions. It should appear on any portal to your company. It proudly launches your web interface, stands strong on all snail mail correspondence, ushers in your proposals and reconfirms the interaction with your clients on all bills and...