Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny – all brand promises gone awry.  But our parents had it right. These major disappointments were merely preparation for the big stage; preparation for our move into the real world where companies and their brand promises often disappoint. Broken promises, whether expressed or implied, can destroy confidence and loyalty. Worse, it can create general apathy. Take the current Washington debacle...

This Sunday, Hollywood stars filled the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles to celebrate the 85th annual Academy Awards. The glamour, fashion and makeup sparkled across the city. But looking beyond the sparkle, you have to ask yourself, what lessons can we take from the Oscars? Know your story Knowing your story is important whether you are a business professional or an Oscar award winner. In order to represent your organization’s brand, you...

Brands that interact with their audience are more likely to sustain attention, build awareness and invoke a response from their target audiences. Although most of the Super Bowl commercials were lackluster this year, several of the ads used social media-based calls-to-action that helped poise the sponsoring brands for success.   While you may not typically enjoy Coca Cola and Oreos in the same sitting, the two food brands employed similar...

Last week, Google’s third quarter earnings report was released early.  The report surprised investors not only because of its advanced arrival, but also because it showed lower profits than the same quarter last year. The information caused a frenzy among investors, and Google’s stock dropped by around nine percent Thursday. Google might have hoped to make headlines Thursday with the release of the new Chromebook, but the earnings...

Social media has opened the floodgates of interaction between organizations and their publics, though much of that conversation currently takes place with a keyboard. Consider that more than 4 billion hours of YouTube videos are viewed each month and weekly 100 million people take some sort of social action on YouTube, whether it’s liking, Tweeting, commenting or more. Video is a powerful marketing tool that allows a brand to step beyond...