Brand Odyssey Blog with LaVon Lewis

Marketing Backwards

2013-01-02T06:56:00.001-08:00

I was recently at the barbershop getting a haircut and as I was reading an article on my phone about marketing my barber looked over my shoulder and asked "What is it that your reading?". After he saw that I was reading about marketing, he then ask the question, "What are the three rules of marketing?".

Instead of going over the 3 rules of marketing, I chose to start at the steps prior to marketing. I think that these are steps that business owners often miss , which creates a crash and burn marketing campaign. Take a look at my SocialCam video as I walk through the steps below.

Rule #1: Who are you?
Know who you are and what makes you different. Find a problem and solve it. Without this you will never know where you stand in the market.

Rule #2: Communicate who you are
The purpose of branding is to visually communicate your value to the marketplace. Its that simple. After you figure out what problem you solve, then your responsibility is to package your company via a logo, flyer, billboard, brochure, commercial, radio ad, signage, etc. and communicate how you will solve that problem. People won't buy what they don't remember so lets get to it.

Rule #3: Brand Distribution (Marketing)
After you have discovered who you are and what problem you actually solve in addition to branding yourself, then it is now time to market yourself. Yes marketing is distributing yourself to the marketplace in order to gain market-share.

We often market first, brand second and then figure out who we are. Now thats just marketing backwards.

If you like these tips let me know via the following outlets.

SocialCam: http://alturl.com/c44do
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lavonlewis1
Facebook: LaVon Lewis
Web: www.pencilworx.com (lavonlewis.net coming soon)
Linked In: LaVon Lewis
YouTube: http://alturl.com/zbw72

The Cleverness of Product Placement

2012-11-14T10:46:00.003-08:00

I am a HUGE fan of brands and sports, so when I saw the new Pepsi commercials starring Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love from the NBA, it made me truly excited about the decision to do a product placement/storyline. The commercial does a great job of introducing us to the story and characters before ever mentioning or showing a product. This is an excellent way to engage viewers and this is also one of the prerequisites for a successful viral campaign.

There are three reasons why I think this will work for Pepsi.

#1. The Age of the Internet - This concept is perfect for this day and age. People are watching commercials and television shows on mobile devices as they are on the go. The product placement route allows fans to connect with the basketball players as subliminal messages of the product are flashed throughout the scenes. This will give the commercial more shelf life. Pepsi is depending on you to love it and share it, which will organically increase brand awareness and ultimately ROI.

#2. Cliff Hangers - I also love this concept because the brand makes it clear that there are more videos to come as Uncle Drew gets the old team back together. He finds Kevin Love and I predict there will soon be at least 5 videos as Uncle Drew finds the old starting 5. These type of cliff hangers allow for the viewers to share and anticipate the next edition to the Uncle Drew series.

#3. Humor - Humor always opens the heart and allows us to take our guard down. The more entertaining, engaging and humorous the storyline is, then the better chance that we will trust, like and engage the brand.

As small business owners we can all learn about how to engage more of the 5 senses to sell a product. I say bravo to Pepsi for going a different route with this one.

Does Dwight Howard help or hurt the Lakers Brand?

2012-08-10T22:13:00.001-07:00

So it's official, Dwight Howard has been traded to the Lakers. There has been months of negotiations and comments and even though some of them have been negative, I think that ultimately the image or brand of Dwight Howard will ultimately be a good one.

You see the public memory is a short one if you perform well. Just take a look at LeBron. We have almost forgot about "the decision" now that he has won a ring and as long as he keeps it up no one will care. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks once said that in business you only have to get it right one time and your past failures wont even matter. I live by this.

There is a valuable lesson to learn here and that lesson is that we all make mistakes, however I think persistent performance will improve any brand image in record time. Good luck Dwight.

2012-04-14T13:57:00.002-07:00

Google Play is the successor to Android Market, Google Music, and the Google eBookstore all now in a single place with the power to sync across all your different screens in the proverbial cloud and featuring over 450,000 apps and millions of songs. With the launch came a new logo. Sometimes there are logos that change for the worst, but is this one for the good?

When you look at the entire Google brand such as Chrome, Google.com, YouTube, Google +, etc. there seems to finally be a theme coming together and visually they are getting on the same page. I actually like the direction of the new logo. I think that the look and feel is concise and smooth in its approach. It also works well in web or print. Less is more...

What is your opinion on the new logo and is the brand shift enough for you to try the product opposed to Apple?

Aligning corporate and employee branding

2012-04-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

I was recently invited to speak at a company about branding, but this time it wasn't the typical visit. You see typically I get called to speak on branding and marketing on a global scale with a company, however this time I took a different approach. I wanted to speak with the employees and teach them that they are a brand that adds value to the ultimate brand, the company.

Employee branding is a new twist on identity regulation. Employees should shape their behavior so that they project the brand identity of their organization’s services through their everyday work behavior and skill set. You see branding is the culmination of everything that you do. This includes logo design, client/employee interaction, delivery of service and the company culture to name a few. I wanted to show every employee that they play a roll in the process, even if they are in multiple states.

Twitter: lavonlewis1

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2012-03-01T17:51:00.003-08:00

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NBA All-Star Game Logo 2012

2012-02-26T19:55:00.003-08:00

Anyone that knows me would tell you that I am a HUGE basketball fan. So since I am a marketer and a NBA fan it was only right to write this blog. The new 2012 NBA All-Star logo really jumped out at me as I was watching the game. Yes, I did see the high flying all-oops from Dwayne Wade to Lebron James. Even Chris Paul to Blake Griffin, however I am always looking for great creative. Its truly amazing how the 2012 NBA All-Star logo conforms to the host city each and every year. I want to take a moment to break down the 2012 edition.

The human brain processes logos in a particular order.

Shape
Color
Name

Thats right, your brain processes logos in this way and in this order. The 2012 NBA All-Star logo really coincides with the theme of the Orlando Magic as the designer merged the Orlando Magic star with the shape of a basketball to make a pretty cool icon. In addition there is a NBA logo that is integrated within the interior of the logo. Great way to incorporate so many elements in a concise manner. Remember the key to logos is the ability to communicate in a concise and creative way. Period!

Also the colors not only coincide with the Orlando Magic, but they evoke emotions of trust and prestige. Yes that's what blue and gray will do. Last but not least is the name, in which we all are familiar. If you choose to look away from the screen and back at the logo, then your brain should remember the logo in that order. Shape, color and then the name.

So that's it folks. I do look forward to the 2013 logo for the Houston All-Star game. I can promise it will incorporate those maroon and yellow colors. The only question is whether Dwight Howard will be in an Orlando Magic uniform or not. Time will tell.

See you then!

The Real Whitney Houston program cover

2012-02-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

There have been a lot of false program covers going around, but this is the real one.

R.I.P. Whitney.

One of the greatest.

2012-01-12T17:51:00.000-08:00

Branding:

It isn't something you do, its something you are.

Most people walk up to me and ask what is a brand and you would be surprised that most business owners don't exactly know, even-though everyone has one. You see a brand is not only a logo, symbol, website or blog by itself, but it is a culmination of a customers entire experience. A brand starts with your message and expands to your visuals, customer service and relationships. All of these things lead to higher brand credence. Your brand is not something that you do, but its who you are.

Why the great fail...

This lack of understanding is why a company can offer an awesome product with sub par customer service and sub par staff performance and go out of business. A customer doesn't pay for a product. They pay for an experience and your brand is touch point #1 of that experience and it then ends with the delivery of a brand and product. Not the reverse.

Companies are owned by people, brands are owned by your perception

As brands are created we are always fighting to set and keep a certain perception with our target market. Notice I did not say everyone, but a target market. If you think that your client is everyone then your doomed to go out of business. The challenge is to keep your target market consistently maintaining a positive perception about your brand, because at the end of the day perception is reality and what they think is the brand. The brand is actually their perception. Go figure...

For speaking engagements call 404.260.4332 or annetta@pencilworx.com

Visit our company website at www.pencilworx.com

The Power of a Logo: Getting them to remember...

2011-11-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

A logo is that concept, symbol, graphic element that represents your company. In other words the logo is the element that helps identify you in a sea of brands.

The purpose of a logo is to add value, but a logo by itself does not instantly achieve this goal. A logo gains its value as it is used, duplicated and applied to items over time. A great logo instantly connects the people with the product. For example the logo for Coca Cola is known world-wide, when you see this logo, you immediately differentiate it from competitors.

In order to add value to your brand and stand out of the crowd, we then must understand the process of how the brain retains information. Logos have to be designed with the utmost simplicity in order to create longevity, maximum scalability and brand recognition. Below are the three things that the brain remembers with logos.

#1. The Shape of your logo should be easy to memorize

Above all things in logos the human brain remembers shapes first. The shape of your icon should be very simple, clean and crisp. It should also be able to scale to large formats and remain legible at small sizes. A complicated shape puts people in a difficult position. People should never be put in a position to figure out what your logo is trying to communicate. Look at the picture below. Apple uses this philosophy so well that they dont bother to even write the word "Apple" anymore. Its only the symbol.

#2. Color makes the world go "Buy"

I teach a lot about color psychology in my "WOW Image Brandin Seminars" all across the country. It has become a teaching that people expect from me. I believe that colors evoke certain emotion and can be very persuasive when it comes to purchasing. Have you ever wondered why most fast food restaurants use the color "red". Its because the color red registers with the area of the brain that stimulates hunger and is more conducive to a relaxed eating environment. This work in the fast food industry. Could you imagine if they used baby blue. It just may spoil your appetite. McDonalds is a master at this concept.

#3. Words, keep it short and sweet.

As a branding guy and business consultant I run across a lot of companies and what I find is that the names of the companies confuse potential clients more than they clarify. Names that tend to be long or hard to pronounce are a "no no". A name that I personally love is BlackBerry. Its a name thats fun to say and has become very catchy. So next time you name a company, keep it short and sweet. Your pockets will thank you.

Your logo is only the foundation of building your brand. Its not a ceiling, but its a floor. Once you have a solid logo and name, then you should craft a solid message around it and position yourself for greatness.

For more information or to book LaVon Lewis for speaking engagements please call 404.260.4331.