Category Archives: mad scribblings

You Can't Swim on Dry Land

Scuba Bunny

Have you ever tried to walk across the bottom of the deep end of a swimming pool? It may have been fun bouncing along under the surface, but you certainly didn’t get anywhere very fast. What works very efficiently on dry land is almost completely ineffectual under the water.

Now imagine trying to swim down a sidewalk. Sounds painful doesn’t it? Without the buoyancy you would just grind in place. Change your medium and what was once an asset can become a liability, a successful tactic might just be limiting your progress or bringing it to a grinding halt.

I’m a big believer in paying attention to context, what works in print may not work in radio. What works on the radio, might not work for TV. The big new swimming pool is social media. Not every marketing tactic is going to work the same in the social web. Some old standbys may not work at all. Trying too hard to control the message and interrupting people will leave you bouncing in one place running out of air. Sharing, educating, listening and participating seem to be the better strokes in these new waters.

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Top 5 marketing lessons from Ol' St. Nick

5. Wear the company uniform with pride. Red with white trim might be a little garish, but it is certainly easy to recognize.

4. Keep your promises. Santa always delivers on time despite the toughest fulfillment schedule in the business.

3. The details matter. Mr. Kringle may only make one list, but he checks it twice.

2. Segment your market. A broad array of elvish production is focused on the “nice” demographic, while only one product line, lumps of coal, is targeted toward the “naughty” segment.

And the number one marketing lesson from that jolly old elf?

1. Use permission marketing. According to the U.N. more than 6 million letters to Santa Claus are expected this year! So tell me – how big is your opt-in list?

Happy Holidays!

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Sometimes they just fly by

As anyone who writes a blog knows, it doesn’t matter what tool you use, be it WordPress, or Blogger, LiveJournal or TypePad, we all must face one inescapable truth – that blog is a hungry little beastie and no matter how much content we feed it, it always wants more.  Neglect it for a week and it simpers and whines and gives you reproachful looks.  Does it matter that you cranked out 5 posts last weekend? Does it care that you had a crazy hectic week, client deadlines to meet, AND proposals to get out? Nope and Nope.  The blog is hungry and it wants words to chew on.

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Adjacencies

A random analogy for the serial networker:  are you considering your adjacencies?  When you go to a networking event, you dress up, you make sure you have your cards in your pocket, you practice that stadium pitch, but have you put any thought into merchandising yourself in the room?   Retailers put a tremendous amount of time and energy into tweaking and tuning the merchandising of their stores.  There is a conscious effort to setup product adjacencies that will encourage increased sales, complimentary product sets, and impulse buys.   Why not apply the concept to yourself at the next chamber of commerce luncheon?  You probably already know some of the folks in the room – think about what they offer and how your offering would look on the shelf next to them.  If you own a car wash, it might be good to follow the local mechanic when it comes time for everybody to make their pitch.  It’s an easy segue.  Or perhaps you can find a nice bit of contrast.  Do you have a competitor in the room?  An intelligent adjacency might give you the opportunity to point out the difference in your value proposition – it is always easier to see the difference between two things that are side by side rather than separated by space or time.

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You are the ambassador of your brand.

This one goes out to all the good folks who are up early in the morning, going to their local chamber of commerce, hitting that networking breakfast, and doing their part to keep the economy going through good old fashioned hustle.  You are the ambassador of your brand. 

When you swap cards at the chamber you are engaged in economic diplomacy and the stakes are high for you and your business.  When you stand up and give your 60, or 45, or 30 second speech at that networking lunch you are in the process of setting policy and expectations for inter-business relations.  Now here’s the rub: you are you AND you are the impression-setter for your company.  You are the window by which your friends, partners, customers, and prospects become acquainted with your brand.  If you are not projecting an image that is consistent with your brand you are creating a disconnect in the minds of the people you meet, yet you must also be authentic to yourself. Of course it is easier when you own the company and you are the one setting the tone for vision, mission and value for both yourself and your enterprise.  but even if you are working for someone else, you are shouldering the responsibility for framing the brand story for the people you interact with – if you are phony, it reflects on the brand, if you are impatient, it reflects on the brand, if you are overly what’s-in-it-for-me, that reflects on the brand.  A brand can be a lot of things, and a person is a whole lot more complex, but you have to find a harmony that fits, that gives people access to you, and through you, to all the great value your company can bring.

What’s your brand’s diplomatic policy?  Try writing down the 3 to 5 most important aspects you want your business contacts to recognize in your brand.  Then write down the 3 to 5 perceptions you want people to have of you. How well do they align?  Ask a trusted friend if this the image you are projecting.  Go over your elevator pitch, your handshake line, your stadium pitch, and see if it serves both you and your brand to meet the criteria you’ve written down.  Keep tweaking and tuning – you’ll know when you’ve found the right balance, because it will both feel good, and will get you the folks you want to connect with: the ones aligned with the value you offer and the working vibe that suits you best.  That’s the best kind of business diplomacy.

Also posted in Branding Thoughts, networking, personal branding | Tagged , | Comments closed

Have a nice day 2.0

A friend of mine has taken to closing his email with statements like “I’m having a great day, because I chose that.” or “Have the day you choose.” At first it struck me as a little bit of a heavy dip into the self-help genre, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.  I know for myself there have been times when how I chose to react to an event or obstacle made a huge difference in the eventual outcome.  My friend’s email salutation helps remind the folks that he interacts with that choosing to take a positive view and to separate stimuli from disposition are habits that we can learn and practice.  The more people who put the habit into practice, the better the world becomes.  It’s a prosumerist’s “Have a nice day”.   And it just might be viral: today my morning status update on Facebook was “David Cohen is choosing to have a great day”, and it may seem corny, but I have to say that typing it in and hitting submit felt pretty darn good.  Now here’s the tricky bit – a few moments ago, I had a lousy phone call, and learned some disappointing news.  Instead of sulking I decided to write this post, and in doing so I got back into that positive mindset that I felt when I wrote that status update this morning.  My great day is back on track – because I chose that. Pass it on.

Also posted in Branding Thoughts, friends, love, Thought for the day | Comments closed
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    Caitlín Mowbray"I adore your doodles... I swear looking at those bunnies lowers my blood pressure, calms my mind and makes me smarter. Who needs meditation when there are bunnies?"
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