We had an interesting discussion here the other day about the new spot Kmart has out. I’ll bet you’ve heard about it or seen it: Ship My Pants. Seems the younger designers here think its catchy and memorable and breaks through. And it gives Kmart a more youthful edge. I don’t disagree. But I claim…
Some brand messages get ‘lost in translation’. No, not the translation from one language into another, but the translation from concept, vision, promise and essence into authentic, resonant, emotional and compelling reality. The translation from the language used in business plans, budgeting and brand-speak into the one memorable concept your audience will think when thinking…
I’ve been writing about brand relevance for a while now, and as of lately, have added the concept of relationships to the mix. They are, after all, interconnected is as much as strong brand relationships aren’t built without relevance and relevance is meaningless without relationships. So what about insight. Where does this most elusive and…
Name development is a wonderful and fun and delicate balance between art and science. At McKnight Kurland, we generally have one or two naming projects going at any given time. And they tend to be some of the more challenging tasks we undertake. It’s really no game at all—but you ‘gotta have game’ to do…
I was struck by a quote in a recent Crain’s Chicago Business article about the Chicago based media planning agency Starcom. The quote was from Starcom’s president of investment and activation, Amanda Richman: “We don’t even like the ‘D’ word anymore. Everyone is digitized and everyone is socialized. It’s about the experience rather than the…
Regardless of the terminology that we apply to the idea of creating relevant content— and one I particularly like is ‘content in context’—brand relevance remains the overriding goal for effective marketing and communications planning and development. The challenge is to stay relevant. And, of course, this really is only a challenge if your brand has…
It’s happening in consumer products quite a lot now as they catch up to what great B2B marketers have always done—sell to the benefit, not the features. The best way I’ve heard it phrased is: Shift the focus from the performance of the product to the performance of the user. That’s the magic bullet we…
Welcome to 2013, a year I believe we in branding and marketing will see an even greater swing toward—and search for—the truth. And I’m talking about brand truth. About understanding your organization’s reason for existence and finding a way to simply communicate that. It’s not about differentiation, but conviction. After all, how different are you…
At a recent MK MarketShare (our marketing executive roundtable discussion groups), one of the participants recommended that we look at a recent study report from FedEx and Ketchum on Social Business (http://www.2012socialbusinessstudy.com/pdf/shareable/FedEx_Findings_Report.pdf). It expands upon research first undertaken in 2010 and analyzes the transformation that has taken place since then. Numerous issues and critical questions…
Inspiration is important to all marketing and creative individuals. And the best people find inspiration everywhere they go, everywhere they look and with every experience. However, sometimes the leap from inspiration to execution is a giant leap into the unknown. Enter Google’s Creative Sandbox. With Sandbox, agencies can upload campaigns and case studies to explain…
