Today is an exciting day for me. One of our client’s American Profit Recovery just started to get passionate about what they do. A few months back we designed their collection agency blog and trained them on how to use. Not much happened. Then I gave them a bit of the BIG Kahuna’s mind…I was, let’s just say forthright.

Together with our PR guy they started to blog regularly, passionately and with good content. This is their post today…a YOUTUBE VIDEO! I feel like a proud blog parent.

Good job guys, be yourself and have fun. Keep showing how you are the only DIFFERENT collection agency out there!

Sometimes you just have to stand back and say holy shite! While I was on YouTube searching around I came across a video made specifically for me (sort of). I was VERY afraid. Check it out:

Attention: Agent Scott at Brand Identity Guru Dot-Com

My first thought was, wow, I can’t believe this company CiSense made a video for me. And they never told me about it, I was supposed to just find it….very cool.  Read about the campaign they set up here:

Secret Missions for the Blogosphere

I’m now bummed that they didn’t send me the secret letter? I wonder why?

Anyway, what a great idea to get people motivated to check out your new company and service.

The service looks really interesting I’m going to read more about it but the strategy and creative was way cool. Kudos to CiSense!

Taken from my always working branding mind. Who was so different and made such an impact? Who?geniunely “lived” their brand…always??The Beatles? The Stones? Elvis? Not even close.

Only one man…

“Get up, stand up, Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, Don’t give up the fight.”

James Henke, author of Marley Legend (he’s also curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and one of my former editors at Rolling Stone), claims Marley’s more famous now than John Lennon.

“They had very similar philosophies,” he tells Evelyn McDonell in Miami Herald. “But the worldwide impact of Bob is much stronger. If you look at pure sales figures, Bob is a more vital artist now in terms of people still buying his music. Bob has this much broader appeal.”

Read more here

A few tidbits on the genius of the?Bob Marley brand:

Here’s the song list from Legend:

Buy the CD Here, the BIG Kahuna commands it!

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.”

My friend Jonathan Salem Baskin (Brand Behaviorist)?just put out a new YouTube video. I loved it. I’ll tell you why after you watch it:

Now why did I love it? Because most of these icons make no brand identity sense. For an effective mascot to work it must leverage the brand identity. For instance is Volvo (safety brand identity) decided on a mascot a swashbuckling pirate would be bad, but a?police officer?would be good. See the difference?

Sock puppets, Kool-Aid jugs and gecko’s mean nothing. I do happen to like the caveman mascot only because it does leverage “ease of use” which makes sense, hence “so easy a caveman can do it”.

Jonathan is a branding guy. He’s just a different kind of branding guy. I’ve coined him the Brand Behaviorist and it suits him well. Now if only I can get him to at least consider that brand identity and perceptions help drive a brand…

p.s. Jonathan, you haven’t made a comment on my blog in quite some time. The BIG Kahuna is angry!

Cnn IS the most trusted name in news, at least with me. I watched CNN throughout the conventions and all the hurricanes. I was glued to the TV as news reporters were holding onto poles as hurricanes Ike and Gustav?hit.

I’m really not sure what keeps me watching but I do. I can’t stop. Now I have the shakes because nothing is happening. Anderson Cooper has come along way since The Mole.

I love CNN and when there is trouble in the world they’re the first place I turn. Period. Why? Because they seem to offer the most comprehensive coverage. And it never stops. Coverage upon coverage upon, you guessed it…coverage.

My wife, Nicci asks me why I keep watching the same stuff over and over. I’m addicted I tell you! I can’t stop watching.

As I write this post now I’m wondering if OJ will go to jail?

CNN is my favorite news brand. And they consistently deliver the news. I’m a CNN News crack addict.

Laura Ries just wrote an awesome post on the McCain branding representing Coke and the Obama branding representing Pepsi. Here are some excerpts:

McCain is Coca-Cola. As part of the incumbent party that has dominated the White House for the past fifty years, he is the real thing. He embodies courage, duty and honor. As part of a legendary Naval family McCain?has a long history serving our country, his fighting in Vietnam and?years spent as a POW are legendary.?His reputation has always been as a maverick. McCain’s strength is his experience.

Obama is Pepsi-Cola.Obama is the choice of a new generation. Pepsi said, “You don’t want to drink what your parents drank. You are the Pepsi Generation!” With a?whole new taste and look, Pepsi stormed into the cola aisle just as Obama stormed onto the political stage. Obama is new, young, different and embodies the idea of change and hope. Obama’s strength is that he represents the choice of a new generation.

Read the entire story here. Hop over it’s really a great read.

Wanna make your vote count? Click the VOTE FOR ME button below. Why? Cause we kick slacker butt!

I’ve written on Geek Squad a few times but I have to just they are really kicking some branding?ass. I see their cars and vans all over the place and it reminds me of what a great internal branding strategy they have. It’s a coveted job in their industry.

I’d love to hear from some Geeks? Comment as to why you love Geek Squad and what makes them special to you. Our branding readers would love to hear it right from the Geeks mouth!

My Kahunas (your version of Geeks) are livin’ quite a life, vote for us below if you think we’re cool enough for you Geeks!

The other day I asked our readers, customers, friends and family to help us in the startupnation.com virtual business competition. One of our clients Humboldt Storage and Moving (one of United Van Lines largest movers) sent me a quick?email.

The email from President Jim Sullivan was addressed to all 100 plus employees of Humboldt. It said let’s help out our partner in this competion. It’s important to them.

Wow, that’s some cool beans.

Humboldt has always taken a deep interest in BIG and we truly have a real partnership. I’m fortunate to have them as a partner!

Thanks Humboldt!

And for those that haven’t voted, c’mon help a brother out. Click VOTE FOR ME below. You can vote once a day.

Readers of my blog know (in my humble opinion)?I’ve been critical of word of mouth marketing companies as I think most of them miss the boat on branding. I see lots of gimmicks and smoke and mirrors. Then I came across this post:

Keller Fay/OMD Study Finds Offline Word of Mouth More Positive and Credible than Online Buzz

Here’s a quote:

On average, there are 3.5 billion word of mouth conversations that occur daily in the U.S. Offline WOM accounts for 92% of conversations (75% face to face; 17% by phone), and email, IM/text messaging and chatroom/blogs account for 7%.

What does this research tell us? I perceive it as word of mouth marketing?is directly tied to and dependent on how one feels about a brand. The more positive you feel about a brand the more one talks. And according to this research people are talking offline.

How do you get people to feel a certain way? Well a remarkable product or service is a good start. And of course proper positioning and brand identity development are crucial. You need to differentiate your company or product and focus. Apple products are not for everyone for a reason. They do a great job of excluding people and selling into their core target market. I am not an Apple brand ambassador. I own an old iPod, that’s it. But my graphic/web designers all use Mac’s and would NEVER switch to a PC, ever. they are part of the Apple cult.

So if you’re considering word of mouth marketing remember one thing. It’s part of branding, treat it as such.

**Show us some clicky-love,?mouse up and VOTE FOR?ME?in the big green box on the upper right! Help us win -?you can vote once a day**

There are some pretty great brands out in brandsland today. What is your absolute favorite? The one you talk to your friends and family about. Or on your blog. The brand you’re in love with. The one brand you would never give up??

My?wife’s favorite?is Oil of Olay.

My absolute must have and favorite brand?is Diet Coke.?

C’mon my fellow branders, what’s your favorite?

This is a cool video that has a chance to go viral:

It’s certainly a fun way to get people to visit your site. Is it real? Who cares, it’s fun and I was immediately engaged. Will it result in sales? Good question.

Here’s a chance to get your company and its message in front of over 2000?executives a day.

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I’m going to be scheduling once a month?BIG Kahuna?interviews with top companies across the?globe over the next 12 months. The interviews, including promotional materials, will be a major part of?our branding blog.

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Here are some of the benefits of being one of the lucky chosen:

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1. High exposure to other CEOs, Presidents and Owners of fortune? 500 companies.

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2. Tremendous exposure to prospects and the trade.

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3. Our blog stories get?picked up?by other bloggers. If your article is newsworthy watch it get picked up by the thousands of RSS subscribers we have. This means hundreds or thousands of other bloggers picking up my story.

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4. You’ll be able to link to the article in your news section. Nothing beats great blog PR. Nothing. Especially from the Guru.

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The blog post will remain on the site forever.

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So how much will all this cost? Nothing, bupkis, zip-o, nada….ZERO

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Here’s what you have to do. Email me at swhite@brandidentityguru.com?and tell me why I should interview your BIG Kahuna.

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The interview must be with your President, Owner or CEO.

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So here’s your chance to make you and your company?look good by getting some blog love from the premier branding blog in the country.

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So c’mon folks, I need ?interviews. Write me ASAP.

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As my loyal readers know I often disagree with things Seth Godin says. I haven’t purchased any of his books but do read his blog. For the most part his blog has been pretty mundane as of late?but then he posted an article on being lucky. This caught my attention immediately.

The name of the article is “The Difficult Choice”. Check it out.

Sit back people because everything Seth says in this post is solid and the truth. If I had a nickel for every time a poor boy like me was referred to as lucky, well…I’d be even richer than I am today.

It’s funny how someone like me can be SO lucky all the time. Look folks, it ain’t luck. I’ve been responsible for all my luck but sometimes it’s easier for people that haven’t accomplished what they want to call other people lucky. Seth’s not lucky.

Like Seth I take big time risks. Some fail miserably (no one ever calls me lucky then) and some pay big dividends.

When 911 came we lost 75% of our business. Almost all our clients got laid off from their companies. What did I do? I closed down the office and gave everyone the opportunity to work virtually from their homes. This saved me tremendous capital expenditures and it made the employee’s who stayed much happier. Was it luck? It was a big risk for sure that paid off. I made my luck. and in return my employee’s are the happiest they’ve ever been.

So the next time you question someone’s success whether it be a company or individual remember one thing. It’s a lot easier to call someone else lucky than take the chance at making your own luck.

I’ve never shopped at Baby Genius. I’ve never heard of them until yesterday. So why the mad props?

My best Friend Scott (yea, same name) told me about a story that I thought was fantastic. One of Scott’s co-workers had twins. So Scott originally went to Amazon to buy a couple of baby gifts. But, unfortunately none of the Amazon suppliers provided gift wrapping (hard to believe).

So Scott found Baby Genius and orderd two of the same gift. A day later Scott had a message to call Baby Genius regarding his order. When he touched base with them the man told Scott that one of the products was not as good as the other and didn’t want to ship it out as he thought they might be for twins (how cool is that?).

So instead he offered an upgrade at no additional cost so that both babies would get the same toy, both in good shape.

Now although I’m a big Amazon fan I’m pretty sure that type of service would have never happened.

More on Baby Genius here:

Tom just released a cool YouTube vid on marketing and magic. Check it out:

I said that in my post here with Best Buy. Look don’t say one thing and do another folks. In today’s blog world you will be found out. Just be honest, thanks Tom!

I know I call out some people on my blog with a?BIG dose of my opinion?but there are a few blogs I really, really?dig (in no particular order).

1. Dim Bulb: Jonathan Salem Baskin is one smart, witty guy. If you haven’t found his blog yet click here. Although we?sometimes have different opinions his thinking is really great and unique. I look forward to his daily read in my Google reader.

2. Brand Mix: Martin Bishop is a true branding guy (even if he does have a funny accent). He works for that little up and coming company….Landor. Check out his site here.

3. Brandflakes For Breakfast: Darryl Ohrt writes a very witty blog and has quickly become one of my favorites. Check out their site here.

So far I haven’t picked on everybody, just ask these guys. Thought it might be?time for some positive vibrations!?Otherwise my wife and mother would be the only people to?still love me!

p.s. Go visit these blogs I’m sure you’ll like them.

Man,?I never thought I’d see the day when my FAVORITE band of all time would be doing social marketing but…

Check it out, click here:?AC/DC Rocks

They’re requesting that you upload a video greeting on YouTube, or you playing air guitar to Back in Black (I kick serious tush at that). I’m the svelt guy on the left.

When you upload your vid they want you to include the tag: ACDCBlowUpYourVideo. They got a button to “spread the word” and sign up for their e-newsletter as well. You can download their banners to help spread the word here.

How freakin cool is that? I can’t wait for their new CD, coming soon.

A bunch of rockin’ mo-fo’s with a new kick ass website: AC/DC.com

Let me tell you something Angus, get me some ticks and some backstage passes when you come to Boston or Puerto Rico and I’ll spread the word like you’ve never seen! I’m the branding guru my man…

Here’s my story of how to tie, search engine optimization, branding, service, blogging?and word of mouth into any business.

I’m going to share a bit now. About 6 months ago I was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia. I was out of the country and decided to wait until I got back to Boston.

So here’s how it all unfolded.

1. Search Engine Optimization: I went onto Google and did a search for “Umbilical Hernia Repair”. Doctors who perform this procedure may want to consider being in Google’s top ten. I used the information for educating myself about what needed to be done. Then I refined my search to “Boston Umbilical?Hernia Repair”. Surprisingly no adult doctors came up. Imagine all the business that these doctors are missing out on?? What to do now?

2. Branding:?I reverted to thinking of what are considered the best Boston Hospitals (brand image). Boston is arguably the best city for medical care. Beth Israel Hospital?immediately came to mind. So, back to Google.

3. I found Beth Israel’s website and went onto their “find a doctor” feature. But surprisingly they don’t have anything listed for hernia doctors. Now what?

4. Phone call: Yup, I actually called. And I because I did my research on Google I asked for a Laparoscopic Hernia Doctor. Presto, there are only two. I got their names and went back to Beth Israel’s website where I did a search. I finally got to Dr. Benjamin Schneider’s main page

http://www.bidmc.harvard.edu/sites/bidmc/Find_a_Doc/doc_detail.asp?sid=41414942494543

Wow, Beth Israel really needs to get up to speed on this stuff. But I persevered because of their brand image. Ultimately it was Beth Israel’s brand image that lead me to Doctor Schneider.

5. Service: I met with Dr. Schneider and my number one priority was how I was treated? Was he going to care about me as a patient/client or was I another surgery in his rotation. I must say that he was really patient and caring. He answered all my questions, gave me recommendations and we scheduled the surgery for July 2nd.

6. Blogging: I just had my follow-up visit today?with Dr. Schneider. Once again he took the time, explained what he had done and looked after me. Now, did he know that I’m a branding guru with a pretty good size blog readership? No, not when we scheduled my surgery. But you see in today’s Internet world anyone can be a blogger and everyone can therefore share their experiences.

Doctors need to realize that a post on a blog positive or negative can affect their business, brand image and overall career. In Dr. Schneider’s case it’s a very positive experience.

7. Word of Mouth: My friend Ken and I spoke about my surgery. Unfortunately he also has an umbilical hernia. I strongly recommended Dr. Schneider. I explained the entire process to him as if it were coming directly from Dr. Schneider.

Now it would have been a whole lot easier if Beth Israel understood search engine optimization, or if doctors in private practice understood it. They could potentially increase their revenues exponentially. Furthermore internal search engines like the one Beth Israel has must work much better. I finally had to break down and call, which in my Internet world is nutty.

But if you apply a few solid tactics, you can really reap the benefits of a successful business:

1. Branding - Build a strong brand image

2. Search Engine Optimization - gets the customers to your virtual doorstep

3. Website - Professional, easy to navigate website is key

4. Service - Provide superior service

5. Blogging - ask your customers if they blog, if so ask them to blog about their experience with you

6. Word of mouth - If you came through for them this is your reward

Thank you for selecting the BIG logo as your favorite Business Blog?Logo Design:

It was very flattering that many of my readers took the time to click over and make a comment. It’s brand ambassadors like you that keep us Pumped Up!