Thought

Story Contest Winner

2008-02-01T14:59:00-05:00

Jason Boyett, author of “The Day I Met Paw-Paw,” lives in Amarillo, Texas. He keeps busy working as the communications director at a medium-sized church in Amarillo. But he’s also a freelance writer, marketing consultant and the author of several books. His most recent book is Pocket Guide to the Bible (Relevant, 2006). He also keeps a regular blog at http://jasonboyett.blogspot.com/.

CHANGEffect Story

2008-01-03T14:13:00-05:00

We talk a lot about crafting stories for organizations. Are you wondering about our story? Would you like to see it? Careful. It’s been known to change the way people think about CHANGEffect.

About “The Best of Us” and Values

2009-10-14T14:28:00-05:00

Have you seen the latest Olympic commercials? I’m not going to get into all the hoopla about Chicago not getting the 2016 Olympics (the wound is still too fresh). Here’s a great commercial that the International Olympic Committee has recently released:

Tribes don’t like Starbucks

2009-10-06T00:53:00-05:00

A few of us were ruminating today about our favorite places to get coffee. The uber-brand status and ubiquitous nature of Starbucks has resulted in people joining the tribes of smaller brands. In an era of globalization people are searching for places to belong. There’s no longer much distinction in being a Starbuck’s “citizen.” This kind of goes along with why people are proud of knowing about an organization or band before the world knows about them. Today, people are mosaics of the brands to which they “belong.”

Unlock Creativity Through Laughter

2009-09-28T15:31:00-05:00

Collaborative brainstorming can be tough work. There are all sorts of things to be considered, like who gets invited, who facilitates, and what goal should be targeted. But the simple truth is that with the right people in the room, even if it’s only 2 or 3 people, brainstorming can yield some amazing results. While there are many ways to get to ideas in a collaborative setting, one of my favorites is laughter. When a room gets laughing, great ideas seem to follow. Why is that? I have a few theories.

And The Winner Is

2009-03-10T19:43:00-05:00

And the winner of the National Religious Broadcasters Conference six word story contest is…

Aligning People, Process and Technology (with your brand)

2009-02-05T01:43:00-05:00

While I was hanging out in the hospital awaiting the birth of my daughter Ellie, I don’t think i saw a nurse or a doctor write something down even once. Everything was entered into one of the two computers in the room. All the monitors and drips were being observed from the nurses station--and (we were told) could be from almost anywhere else in the new Prentice Women’s Hospital. Reuters recently did a piece featuring the findings of a study of hospitals in Texas, that found “patients treated in hospitals that ranked highest in use of health information technology to manage patient records and physician notes were 15 percent less likely to die compared with patients in hospitals that ranked lower.”

We’re Headed to Nashvegas for NRB 2009!

2009-02-03T18:21:01-05:00

This weekend four members of our team will travel to Nashville, TN, for the National Religious Broadcasters Conference. While we’re in town we’ll be doing more than taking in the sights—although I’m sure we’ll make a little time to enjoy Music City USA. As an exhibitor we get sit in on the conference’s main and breakout sessions in addition to getting to know attendees and our fellow exhibitors. This year the conference is especially significant as two of our clients are introducing new brands at the conference. Re:Frame Media and Moody Radio are both unveiling the result of many hours of collaboration. We’re excited for them and look forward to their continued success as they reap the benefits from the fruit of their labor.

Living [Your] Brand

2009-01-30T02:34:00-05:00

Southwest airlines successfully translates their brand promise and brand characteristics into practical implications so that the brand is digested down to the touch point where the most important customer experience is occurring. The airline has effectively created human resources training programs (a.k.a., brand training) so that everyone understands what it means to live the Southwest brand promise. While high-level brand definition, core beliefs, operating values, a creative strategy and an enticing visual brand language are critical–and under gird the overall brand strategy–unless the firm is organized in a way that aligns with the brand story, the public will never experience the story.