So, you’ve decided to have a … company. One of the first (of many) decisions is what to name it, right? This is an important, and often emotional, decision that is no less crucial than naming a baby. The big difference is that there can be more than one Brittany or Jennifer in a group… More »
Announcing Launching for Revenue: How to Launch Your Product, Service or Company for Maximum Growth
I am excited to announce the publication of my latest book, Launching for Revenue: How to Launch Your Product, Service or Company for Maximum Growth, due in March 2018. If you are launching a new company or brand, the odds are definitely against you. Research shows that up to that anywhere from 35 – 80% of… More »
Join Jenn LeBlanc at QuickBooks Connect Panel: How to Build Your Brand Without Blowing Your Budget
Jenn LeBlanc is excited to have been chosen as panelist on How to Build Your Brand Without Blowing Your Budget at QuickBooks Connect on October 26. The panel of experts will discuss the value of a brand, the importance of brand in the context of the digital age, what the first steps are in branding or… More »
The Gap: The Difference between Vision and Reality in the Creative Mind
I’ve spent most of my career working with creatives. I love them. And they drive me crazy at the same time. And I’m one of them as well, struggling with my own art in transforming companies and individuals and functioning as creative director for clients. One of my coaching clients, a high-level engineer (which is… More »
The Dangerous World of Rebranding: The New Airbnb Launch
While there has been a ton of controversy about the new Airbnb logo design (it’s too sexual, it looks too much like another logo launched at nearly the same time), dubbed Bélo, I want to speak out in its defense, and in defense of their overall launch strategy. On the day of the launch of the… More »
Logo Designs: From Elegant to Weird
Getting stuck in San Francisco traffic means I get to look around at what’s happening in the city. I always enjoy the colorful pole flag banners lining the streets around the city advertising various cultural exhibits. Last week when I was on my way to Sausalito for a meeting, I spied the California Academy of… More »
The Tale of Two Products: Why Knowing Your Customers is Job #1
During my recent family summer vacation, I ran across two very different consumer packaged goods (CPG) summer promotions, one a very effective marketing strategy and execution and one I’m quite sure will not drive significant results. As a tech marketer, I have deep respect for my CPG colleagues because they have access to huge amounts of… More »
April Fool’s Day Fun: A Spoof on Advertising Videos
Happy April Fool’s Day! In honor of today’s silliness, we’ll share a fantastic spoof on the now classic advertising video. Oh, it hurts to say that we’ve been guilty of pulling many of these stock images to represent certain ideas, concepts or evoke certain feelings. But we have, and I know every marketer has at… More »
Using Logo Design as a Strategic Communication Tool to Drive Results
Logo design needs to drive results. The logo is an integral part of the brand. It is the public face of the brand every minute of every day. It needs to be working hard every minute to support your overall communication objectives and support the message you want in the marketplace. There are tons of… More »
Six Essential Questions to Ask When Naming a New Initiative
One of the first steps toward launching a new initiative is to figure out a name. This can be a daunting task as there are many horror stories of naming or renaming initiatives gone wrong. In June 2011, for example, Overstock.com renamed itself as O.co. According to www.ragan.com, “Only three months later the company returned… More »
How to Launch a Logo Design Right: Take a Cue from Cadillac
Cadillac launched its new logo design at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), the first new logo in 14 years. They dropped the “crest” as it had “become dated.” The new logo is describe by Cadillac as having a “jewel-like” quality to it and a sleeker, more modern edge to it. Not only… More »
Target Data Breach: A Lesson in Crisis Communication
The recent data breach by Target, the second largest in retail history, offers some very important lessons in how to do and how not to do crisis communication. Let’s review the message that was issued December 20, 2013, a day after the massive data breach that affected 40 million consumers between Nov. 27 and December… More »
Why Content Marketing Is Like an Oatmeal Cookie Recipe, Part II
The Silicon Valley Brand Forum (led by our very own Kevin Heney) was held October 22, 2013 at the Google campus in Mountain View, CA. The theme of this Forum was Aligning Content Strategy with Brand Strategy, a very hot topic right now. In the prior post, I talked about how Quaker oats and other consumer… More »
Why Content Marketing Is Like an Oatmeal Cookie Recipe, Part I
As I was emptying out the end of the massive Costco package of oatmeal into our oatmeal container (yes, honey – we did use it all!), I noticed the famous Quaker Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe on the bottom of the box. My next thought was that I should make some of those cookies soon…. More »
To Subdomain or Not Subdomain: The Brand and SEO Answer is Yes!
A client is currently reviewing the subdomain versus separate sites question and is changing their strategy based on our feedback regarding brand and SEO value. So I thought it might be valuable to share this thinking with all of you. A subdomain looks like this: Subdomain.YourMainSite.com As opposed to: NewWebsite.com Notice that “NewWebsite.com” has no… More »
Tips from the Trenches: Trae Vasallo on Launching Well
Last week I shared some of the details of my interview Trae Vasallo, General Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB). As I mentioned, I wanted to get her perspective both on coaching women (and btw, the tips are applicable to men as well!) and launching great technology companies. We talked for a while… More »
4 Tips for Picking the Right Color for Your Brand
I’m back from a brief commercial break while I recovered from ACL (knee) surgery to talk about color theory and how it applies to your brand. This question came up during our webinar last month on strategic branding. One of the attendees was in the process of developing her brand for the first time and… More »
Know Your Users: Simple Features Make the Difference
In web design, as in life, sometimes the smallest gesture can make the biggest impact. I was recently asked by a Board member of the nonprofit, Center for Domestic Peace to help them with their brand strategy. So first thing I did was look up their website (like 90% of people). What struck me the… More »