Recently, in the town of Skegness in England, there was uproar when Italian ‘premium’ beer brand Peroni was accused of snobbery for not allowing its product to be sold in a hotel in the town. The hotel’s manager claimed consultants working on behalf of the brand stated the town didn’t ‘fit the brand’, and implied there was a snobbery issue at heart.
This isn’t the first time that a brand has been accused of trying to dictate who its audience should be. An executive for Cristal champagne hinted that he did not approve of this endorsement of its premium product after it was embraced by Jay-Z and a number of other rappers. This resulted in the champagne being boycotted by the rapper, and no doubt many of his fans. Continue reading →
Don’t worry, Jason Falls and Chris aren’t flaming one another on Twitter or anything… The Social Media equilibrium is still intact. However, Chris’ recent post on the merits of Social Media Explorer did get me thinking. What is better when you are thinking of starting a business: your name or your brand?
It Should Always Be Your Name!
If I am going to put my time, my effort and my ideas into building a brand, it should be around my name. While I might be selling around a topic or a niche, at the end of the day I am selling myself, so why not put my best foot forward? Ensure that people not only know what they are buying, but who they are buying from. Leading with your identity has the potential to build trust and earn you a reputation; it can get you to the point where customers are literally asking for you by name. Continue reading →
If you know me at all (follow me on Twitter, read my Tumblr blog, etc.), you know that I am unhealthily obsessed with Lady Gaga. And if you live on the Planet Earth, then you know who the fabulous Gaga is. Lately, as I’ve been talking to people about her, I’ve heard the same thing over and over- “I really don’t want to like her, but I just can’t help it!”. This really struck me as interesting because I don’t think I’ve ever heard that about any other artist, past or present. I decided that I wanted to explore her marketing, personal branding, and public image strategy to see why everyone is falling for Gaga. And I promised #prbc that this post would be based on real examples, and not just an expression of my sheer infatuation (ok, ok, ok). Oh why do we all love Lady Gaga so much? Continue reading →
