Did you know? Our thought processes, our strategies and how we use our B2B tools need to change.
As a Creative Director at Godfrey, I help drive strategic positioning, B2B branding and creative exploration. Our biggest challenge has always been to find out what's working. Today that's easier than ever. The most exciting part of this job is building an integrated program from a single idea and watching it return real results.
Up until the end of the last century, most corporate identity guidelines were written like instruction manuals for minding the brand. Never do this; always do that. Use this grid and these colors (nothing else)...
Big ideas are like sea turtles. About 1 in 100 make it out of the nest alive but only 1 in 40,000 survive to adulthood. That’s because truly original ideas sound strange at first. They are usually squashed as soon as they hatch. So, the success of a big idea depends on selling it from day one.
Recently I stumbled upon an article about education in the New York Times online archives. It’s a wonderful resource for market research – a treasure trove of 13 million articles going back to 1851.
The article was entitled, "To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test".
When business gets tough, some turn to the shelter of professional publications, social media networks and even e-newsletters. This is especially true with architects who are toughing it out right now. This audience responds well to stories about spaces their peers have created. Here’s an example:
The iPad 2 is here and Apple apps are hotter than ever. Now B2B marketers are starting to want their own custom apps and are making room for these gems in their budgets. There are lots of facets to this issue. Here are five ways to rethink the iPad.
Three months after we helped one of our clients survive the upheaval of being acquired, I picked up The Wave by Susan Casey. In the book she explores the phenomenon of rogue waves. Still largely unexplained, there are at least two known causes:
An integrated brand strategy is like a flock of geese. When flying in V-formation they cut through the wind, reduce drag and make more progress than when flying alone. It sounds simple but it requires hard choices.
When someone says we need to do an "e-blast" I cringe. An e-blast is like throwing a long bomb in football. It sounds great in theory. A quick way to score. When it works you and your team look like heroes. But in practice it’s a low percentage play. When it doesn’t work the whole direct marketing effort can be put on pause...at least until the next e-blast.