Marketers, branding strategists, advertising agencies and PR pros alike probably wish they didn’t see it.  I speak from experience when I say it makes me twitch a little.  And I know it confuses consumers more than it benefits them.

So what is this annoying little blemish that irks us all and ages us prematurely?  The case of the confused brand.

Your brand has an identity (of note, the use of ‘an’ indicates singularity)

Yes, brands can represent different things to different people.  Starbucks can represent convenience to some and quality to others.  Different values aside, it doesn’t mean each market needs a different version of your logo.  Or that your Facebook and Twitter should appear so dissimilar that the consumer questions whether or not the same brand/product is being represented.

So just where do these little differences hide? Read the rest of this entry

This week’s coffee talk was inspired by a question that I am sure most people in PR have answered: “What exactly is it that you do?” So instead of making another PR professional answer this question for the millionth time, I turned to the people who never seem to get it: my parents. But I couldn’t let them have all the fun, so I had PRBC ask at least one of their parents too. I have to admit, I thought the answers were going to be more off base, perhaps confusing PR with marketing or advertising but I was definitely wrong.  Overall I think they did a pretty good job, but I’ll let you decide. Read the rest of this entry