Your brand is one of the most important parts of developing or reinvigorating your company. The process of branding examines the emotions you want your customer to feel about your company and its services.

Branding means different things to different people. When working with Clients, we on the Porch serve it up this way:

Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer.

One of the steps in our branding elaborative is defining brand affiliation. This is done after the vision, personality and positioning are established, because all these factor into the affiliation.

Brand affiliation is best described as what “club” customers are joining when they choose your company. Humans are compelled to affiliate with people like themselves, people they admire or people they aspire to be like. Brand affiliation is what you want other people to think of your company when they learn they are aligned with you.

Once your affiliation is established, you can position yourself in environments that share your affiliation. Say what?

Depending on your company, that might be more complicated than it seems. Here’s an example from our very own Porch:

We want to work with forward-thinking, passionate business leaders and entrepreneurs. We want everyone to have a knock-your-socks off, head turning, register-ringing marketing strategy!

So how do we do that, and maximize our affiliation?

1. We live, breathe and sing marketing strategy and insight with anyone that will join us on the Porch.
2. We provide marketing implementation.
3. We align ourselves with groups and organizations like Vistage, WBENC, NEW, Community Partners and liked-minded business owners.
4. We conduct workshops like our Chief Rocker’s November 4, “Business in a Box” workshop at the Arlington Inspired Women Luncheon.

Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be. Define it and Rock It. Every Day. All Day.

Stinky Pepper Boy.

Not a very nice name to be called in third grade.

On the first day of school my oldest came home and said he was done with peppers. No big deal … until I found out why.  He was being teased about his lunch. Why would kids pick on another kid about his food? Well first and foremost they are kids, but secondly, like all consumers big or small, we fear and sometimes even mock the unknown.

After a couple of days, I proposed the sweet pepper ‘marketing 101 campaign’ to my son, and he was all in! “Mom, once they try them, they will love them!” Game on!

Our Marketing 101 Campaign consisted of Four Proven Marketing Tactics:
1. Awareness
2. Engagement
3. CTA – Call to Action
4. Trial

Awareness: A platter of peppers was brought to the lunch room and a short introduction that included the health benefits, what they tasted like, the different colors/options was given. All the benefits can be found here. The kids had the knowledge (awareness) that peppers promoted healthy skin, hair, vision and immune system.

Engagement: The kids were interested … some had tried the peppers, some never had because they thought the peppers were spicy, but when they heard the name ‘sweet mini peppers’ they were engaged. Everybody likes something sweet.

CTA: This year our school started composting. Four days into the year some had not visited the compost bin, which was a coveted trip AND the CTA! The stem was compost worthy and earned a trip for all that tried.

Trial: The lure of the compost trip gave us what we needed. They. All. Tried. A. Pepper. Trial was the key to winning them over.

Of course, not all the little consumers were converted – there were a handful of pepper holdouts. But many really liked them, resulting in requests for seconds!  To my son’s joy they started chanting … Pep-pers … Pep-pers … Pep-pers. 

Everyone sells, in one way or another. As parents, we sell our children on our belief systems, values, and desired behavior. As business owners, we sell our products and services. Following a few proven marketing tactics can convert even the most discriminating customer.

And what of our Stinky Pepper Boy? After our successful venture, as I was walking out the door, my son ran across room, threw his arms around me and whispered “thank you.” And he has been packing peppers for lunch ever since.

Have you heard? This year marks our five year anniversary of doing business on the Porch! And in honor of this milestone, we are keeping the “Five Train” rolling! So hop on board, we’re sharing five things we LOVE to do each and every day! 

So how DO we love to spend our time?

1. Branding – And more branding. It’s the cornerstone for every bit of marketing we do, branding is everything. We love taking clients through our thoughtful brand architecture development process, just as we did recently for Spa in the City. Getting clients started off on the right foot, with the right message, is a great passion of ours!
2. Marketing Plans – After the branding process has been completed, development of a creative and thorough marketing plan follows. Front Porch Marketing’s most recent plan development for The Younity Group was a completely rewarding exercise.
3. Email Marketing – Helping our clients reach their customer base with content-rich, targeted email marketing is critical to their success. Our client partnership with PeopleResults has yielded a highly successful email marketing program. See their latest email blast.
4. Social Media – An integral part of any marketing plan, social media is where we truly rock. Maximizing our client’s presence across multiple social media channels is downright fun. Take a look at The GEM‘s Facebook page for proof of our social media love affair!
5. Mentoring Future Marketing Rock Stars – Such as Sarah Kreuger, our Kid Rocker. Sarah spent the summer as one of our interns, and we loved having her on board. Check out her absolutely brilliant blog, “The Presentation: Marketing to the College-Bound Generation” – this girl just gets it!

We LOVE branding. We LOVE marketing plans. We LOVE our clients. We LOVE our business. We LOVE rocking’ it! Thanks for taking the ride with us!

And last, but not least, we would love for you to join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Throughout this summer, I realized that I have had to use skills from of my entire high school curriculum – English, Math, History and Performance Art. Yes, I said that I have even used skills from my Performance Art classes in Marketing. Specifically, Improvisation.

While Marketing and Improvisation seem like two classes that would never intertwine; believe it or not, I have found the similarities between the two are very prominent in the business arena. Improvisational techniques used in marketing can change one’s skills for the better.

As a marketer, your job is to promote your client’s brand and help them succeed. Initially, you listen to the client’s vision for their company and create your plan for their business. The tricky part is deciding how and what will please both the client and their audience. With some improvisational skills, you can reach that happy medium and succeed as a marketer!

Here are two key lessons in improvisation that can be used in marketing:

1. Never Say No

The motto “Never Say No” applies especially to the building stages of a business plan (meetings, phone calls, emails, etc.). No idea should be shut down without ample thought. Every single idea should be written down and taken into consideration to create the draft of the plan.

How to do this in your office:

When given a project, have each of your partners draft a plan for the company. In a meeting, you can discuss each person’s plan and highlight the best features of each one. With discussion, you can use everyone’s ideas to draft something everyone approves of and enjoys.

2. Put Yourself into the Perspective of Others

Through the design of an ad or a website, the key is to attract the intended audience’s eye. Whether it be with an image, a video, or just text, the material must be catchy and relatable. This can be difficult if you are not interested in the product. To do so, one question must be asked: If I were the audience, would I be interested in this ad? You must make yourself think and see as the intended audience would.

How to do this in your office:

When reviewing an ad, website, app or flyer, consider if you’d click the link or take the flyer out of interest. Ask your partners to ask themselves the same question. If the answer is “yes,” then you are prepared for a submission. If not, make the changes.

I never thought that I would be able to incorporate these two simple mottos into my internship this summer, but I use and see them everyday. The Front Porch Marketing crew never says, “no,” to anyone’s ideas. In meetings that I have observed, they are always very open and listen closely to their clients’ needs/wants! They have had to put themselves into the customers’ and clients’ perspective and remain flexible throughout the process to help complete projects to the best of their ability! Witnessing their keen ear to their clients’ desires and adaptable nature and applying these skills to my own projects have been extremely beneficial as I consider the business world as a future career.

We. Are. So. Feeling. It.

Our five year business anniversary of making branding and marketing rock for our amazing clients has made us totally mad about the number five. FIVE. 5. Cinco.

And so, in keeping with our five obsession, we present Five Rockin’ Things We are Doing for Clients:

1. Development of the Todomodo Website: TodoModo is a consulting and investment firm. We were able to get in on the ground floor with them – we started with the branding process, defined their brand strategies and then translated it to this site. We loved working with them on this and are continuing to be the company’s marketing partner! We wrote and ran this release on the wire for them among other things.
2. Ellen Hoffman Designs at the Accessories Circuit: Ellen, the doyenne of Ellen Hoffman Designs, is a wildly talented jeweler that we are privileged to work with. We promoted her at the Accessories Circuit at the Javitz Center in New York.
3. The Gem Yelp Event: The GEM welcomed elite Yelpers to a mini “Day in the Life” event. Yelp promoted the program as an educational “how to” series.
4. Feizy Rugs Shows at High Point Market: At a champagne brunch at High Point Market, Feizy Rugs and the finalists in its Haute Trends^TM design competition revealed the initial designs for the collection. Each designer’s initial Haute Trends designs are featured on the Feizy website.
5. Vistage: For the past year and a half, our Chief Rocker has been a member of Vistage, which is a fantastic organization that brings together successful CEOs, executives and business owners and groups them into private peer advisory groups guided by expert executive coaches. These peer groups and coaching sessions help members solve their most pressing business opportunities.

We love our clients. We live for our clients. And there’s nothing more gratifying than helping clients rock their businesses!

The power of Disney branding is amazing. 

A mom sent me a message Sunday night during our three year old’s Frozen party, “Just caught myself driving with a crown on my head.”

There was a princess party and moms got to wear crowns. Just sayin’.

Let’s review. Successful brands have three key attributes: conviction, consistency and connection.

Disney does Disney branding so right.

The company forges a strong, emotional bond with its customers that ultimately creates customer preference and loyalty.

Four things to consider when building a strong brand that Disney does right:

1. Customer connection – Upon entering the gate of a property, you hear, “Welcome home.” Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore. What are you doing today to engage your customers or clients?
2. Employee engagement – I’m sorry, the “cast.” The company’s internal team is living and breathing the brand architecture. What are you doing today to feed your team so they deliver on your brand mission?
3. Technology – From the app and “Magic Bands” to drink refills, the company is embracing technology and rockin’ it. How are you embracing technology to further your team’s and your customer engagement? Apps help.
4. Research – Data, data and more data. Fill out the survey. It is about the experience. It is about the people. It is about asking if at every customer touch point you are experiencing the brand. Are you asking for customer/client feedback on a consistent basis?

Disney is being accountable for delivering on its brand promise.

Everything Disney is magical. Your brand can live that too if you believe in brand strategy and engage in brand and marketing strategies so your brand can deliver on its promise.

Last week, the world lost another rock legend far too soon. Prince has always been hailed as music royalty, and with his death, we are learning just how much of a king he was.

Sure, you know his influential and memorable top hits, “When Doves Cry,” “Kiss,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Raspberry Beret,” “U Got the Look, “Purple Rain,” “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” … the list could go on and on. If you’re like me, each title brings back memories of my youth.

But perhaps you didn’t know that he also wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Connor, “Manic Monday” by The Bangles, “Stand Back” by Stevie Nicks, “Love Song” by Madonna and countless others? As a marketing and PR professional, it baffles me that his songwriting prowess is being praised in the media after his death.

Don’t get me wrong, Prince was a master marketer. From his name (or symbol) to his signature style and his flamboyant stage presence, there’s a reason Rolling Stone ranked him 27th on the list of the Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. But the fact that he shared his talents with other musicians, including allowing others to cover his songs, makes him even more of a king in my book.

What are you doing – with your business or personally – that is outside of your main scope of work that others may find interesting and newsworthy?

Do you donate a significant amount of your time and/or money to a certain charity or cause? Are you aligned with other successful businesses or people? It may seem like a second nature to you, but you could be missing a valuable marketing opportunity. Take a look at your relationships and find a way for them to be mutually beneficial in garnering additional interest and awareness for both of you.

Can you imagine if Prince and Madonna had toured together? Apparently it almost happened, but Prince said “The world isn’t ready for this, it’s too big.” He was so right. Rest in peace, sweet Prince, rest in peace.

Everybody remembers the “make a wish” tale – you must choose wisely, as you only get three wishes, and the wishes must all be considered wisely. From this tale, we learn that we must be careful what we ask for.

I like to ask questions. Maybe too many, but questions always provide answers..unless you ask the wrong question. Have you ever asked the wrong question? Yes. You. Have. I have too!

Get it right! Ask the right question.

Good question asking is a skill and can be applied to all relationships – spouse, children, employee, employer, friends, customers, etc. The applications are endless. Every question can deepen our understanding of a topic or person. There is no such thing as a stupid question, but there are ways to ask a question that are better than others.

Here are some examples:

• Q: How was your day? A: good, bad, great, awesome, etc. This closed-ended question doesn’t really give you much, so follow up with what made your day _______? Now we are getting somewhere! Tip: Dig deeper with follow-up questions. Follow general questions with specific ones. 
• Q: How are sales? A: Great they have doubled! This general question can elicit an answer that can be misleading – sales doubled from what? Better question: How are your sales compared to this same timeframe last year? Tip: Make sure to ask for context and reference to give the answer meaning.
• Have you ever been asked if you want “anything else?” I hate this question. The answer is, of course I do, I have a long list of else, but you don’t sell them here. Another egregious offender: Did you find everything ok? Tip: Specific questions will garner more insight. Try to avoid yes or no questions unless they are truly satisfying a simple purpose.
• Recently my husband called me and informed me that he grounded the kids. I asked, “What does grounding mean in our house?” We figured out our definition of grounding because of an open-ended question. Tip: Have a purpose for asking and a desire to know the answer. Every question you ask should help you gather either facts or elicit an opinion. Know which kind of information you need and frame your questions accordingly.
• What if someone asked you if it was it sunny on the day you were born? I don’t know if it was sunny when I was born – does it matter? I can’t think of one thing someone would do with this information. Tip: Ask questions only if the information elicited is necessary. If you don’t really need the answer, don’t ask the question. Be respectful of people’s time and attention. Answer this – what will you do with the answer?

We ask questions because that is the way we improve, learn, connect and tell stories. Ask away, friends!

“Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” ~ Tony Robbins

A few weeks back, our very own Rock Star, Vanessa Hickman, wrote a blog about how Photos Bring Your Brand to Life. She invoked the oft-used expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” And she’s right. So right. Images make us feel something. Want something. Want to be something.

We emotionally connect.

Powerful, relevant visual assets are hugely important in any marketing plan. Whatever the medium – photographs, videos, or infographics – compelling imagery makes people connect more, remember more, and engage more. Powerful images can stay with you for a lifetime.

It made me think, what imagery have I found most compelling throughout my life? What has moved me, stayed with me?

And so, drumroll please….here are my Top 5 Imagery Moments:

Farrah Fawcett’s Iconic Poster. It was the 70’s. I was just beginning to become aware of beauty and what that meant, and this Farrah Fawcett poster exemplified it for me. That hair. That smile. I wanted to look just like her. This poster was my first memory of being influenced by an image and all that it suggested.

Janet Jackson’s Pleasure Principle Video. It was the 80’s and this early video of Janet Jackson dancing alone in a warehouse struck such a chord with me, I watched it over and over and over again. She was strong and talented and beyond cool. Storytelling imagery in the form of video was taking over the world.

The 90’s Supermodels. You knew them so well you need only use their first names – Naomi. Linda. Tatjana. Christy. Cindy. They were impossibly beautiful, they ran in a pack, and they epitomized glamour in the 90’s. Everything they endorsed benefitted from the association. It was print media gone mad.

Carrie Bradshaw. I don’t know many women who don’t identify with the Sex & the City ladies, and for me, Carrie Bradshaw was my spirit animal. The styling was pure genius and every outfit told a story. The designers and brands that she wore on the show got tremendous exposure, and the world of product placement in film and television was exploding.

Misty Copeland’s Under Armour Commercial. A new decade and a new sensibility. Strength. Tenacity. Belief. And a seriously genius commercial with a tagline: “I will what I want.” I made my daughter watch it, I loved it so much. Watch it here. I defy you not to become inspired by this new breed of spokesman that is now becoming a brand ambassador.

It’s a whole new world of brand imagery.

So tell us, what imagery has spoken to you and why?