David Young | Branding Blog - Marketing Advice and Advertising Strategy for Small Business Owners

Thank you San Pellegrino! Pop-can innovation

2009-07-16T09:44:29-06:00

At our recent Book Publishing event in San Francisco, I went out during a break to grab a beverage and found this can of orange soda. What grabbed my attention first, was the extra foil seal on the top of the can. I don't know about you, but where I live it's hard to find a can of pop (yes, I live where we call it pop) that isn't covered in dirt from 100-mile cross-country ride in the back of a truck. Gross. Always gross.

So, the foil lid caught my attention. It was such a great idea that I didn't even open the can for awhile. I thought about keeping it. Yet, my thirst got the better of me. I snapped this blurry picture with my iPhone and then opened it and consumed its citrus goodness. BTW...best orange soda I've ever had. Thank you SanPellegrino.

Be a Social Media Enabler

2009-07-14T15:03:44-06:00

Are you giving your group/event/tribe the tools they need to talk about you?

I spoke at the Arizona Governor's Conference on Tourism last week and they were giving out these cards.

They created a unique hash tag for their conference...#AZGCOT09. It's more complicated than a hash tag needs to be, but it works. Here's the resulting twitter search when you use my name and the hash tag. Pretty cool! (And, thanks for the nice comments!)

First Mental Image should draw you in! (video version)

2009-07-03T07:25:55-06:00

Big thanks to Craig Arthur for this video. We were experimenting with his new flip video camera while waiting for flights.

One noticeable difference between the two eateries is the tables. Obviously, Paradise Bakery is the anchor establishment here. They are bigger, bolder and all of the tables are in front of their place. So, of course, even the patrons of Oaxaca are sitting in front of Paradise Bakery. That's no excuse for their lack of visual presence and poor First Mental Image.

Cool Flashbacks from an Airline Mag

2009-07-01T16:13:17-06:00

With 4 flights on United last week, it was easy to read the in-flight Hemispheres Magazine from cover to cover.

Two stories that caught my attention were flashback pieces.

First, "Remembrance of Cocoa Puffs Past," a story about retro marketing. It's a cool read and it makes the case that especially during a recession, we like to touch the comforts of the past.

The other flashback piece, "Bunker Mentality," was about Norman Lear and his 1970s and 1980s TV dynasty. The story talked about how Lear altered the national conversation with his provocative shows. Coming out last month was the Norman Lear TV Collection (19 discs) with the first seasons of 7 of his classic shows including All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Good Times, Maude, Mary Hartman, and One Day at a Time.

Tags: retromarketing, hemispheres, norman lear

First Mental Image should draw you in!

2009-06-30T08:14:02-06:00

I shot these pictures yesterday at Phoenix Skyharbor's modern Terminal 4.

It was such a striking difference between two ADJACENT food service outlets.

At any busy walk-by location your First Mental Image (FMI) is just about the only tool you have available to draw in customers. Your reputation will help with repeat business and word of mouth, but for a hungry traveler in a strange city you'd better be putting your best food/foot forward.

I didn't walk more than 5 steps to shoot these two pictures. Oaxaca is just to the left of Paradise Bakery. If you click on the images, you'll see a few observations about both places. If you didn't know anything about them, which one would draw you in?

Click on the images to see bigger, readable versions.

Any other observations? What would you recommend to Oaxaca?

Working on My Own Business: Recharging, Reconnecting, Refocusing

2009-06-23T10:28:27-06:00

Big things are happening for clients. Big plans are being made for new services and channels.

Spending the week with some great partners and friends. Stay tuned.

Meet Dave Young

2009-05-29T21:14:32-06:00

Friday news: New Wonderbranding site launched

2009-05-22T18:42:42-06:00

Wanna see something cool? Check out Michele Miller's new Wonderbranding site for her marketing to women consultancy. Very nice!

On an unrelated topic, I've been featured on the Bootstrap Business blog. You might remember that I reviewed their book a few weeks ago. They've just started a new feature where they will be profiling businesses each week and my small business marketing consulting biz is the first feature! Thanks Rich and Ron!

Newspapers are Doomed...circa 1981

2009-05-13T23:39:33-06:00

Operative phrase from newspaper spokesman..."We're not in it to make money."

Loose Change: It's all in how you ask!

2009-05-04T07:56:46-06:00

My local Safeway store always asks me if I'd like to donate an extra dollar to their charity of the month. Call me a Scrooge, but I seldom donate.

In Denver recently, a Safeway store asked me if I'd like to donate my coin change to the same charity. I said yes. I would almost always say yes to this question.

Which question generates the most money for the charity?

_{photo by Hey Paul}