Happy Halloween!

AbuLLard Offers New Seminar Series

Expanded Seminar Series

As many of you know, we offer talks and workshops based on AbuLLard's ABC's of Branding. These can be as short as a twenty minute intro - a quick summary of A, B, and C -- or as long as a full day intensive workshop that introduces you to more of the alphabet of branding and takes you through the CattLeLogos Method™ with your own brand.

Our next AbuLLard’s ABC’s of Branding workshop will be held October 28 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. (Details at right). This workshop focuses on how to create a Vision, Image, and Message for your brand that is Appropriate, Believable, and Consistent in the marketplace.

In addition to this basic branding seminar we have expanded seminar offering to include two new workshops:

A Brand Worth Talking About and Technology and Brand Management

A Brand Worth Talking About focuses on choosing the right Means and Implementation Tactics to garner publicity for your brand that make it Memorable and help you break away from the herd. Our facilitators will work with you to understand how to create "buzz" around your brand through both viral or guerilla marketing tactics as well as PR and Media campaigns. For either situation, a key is to develop a clear brand strategy and make sure that everyone in your company not only understands it, but acts according to it. A clear message makes it easy for you to develop a good brand reputation. It also makes it easy for your customers to become your sales people which is the essence of "guerilla" marketing.

When dealing with more traditional PR and media, it's critical to understand that just issuing a press release doesn't guarantee you news coverage. You need to know how to make yourself newsworthy, how to manage building a campaign, and to set realistic expectations for what you can achieve. This seminar is offered in conjunction with our PR partner, Irene Maslowski, of Maslowski and Associates, who will co-facilitate the workshop.

Offered: Monday, November 14, 2005 (Details at right).

Technology and Brand Management is an exploration of the ways rapidly changing technology has altered how brands are created, managed, and projected in the marketplace. Topics included are the impact of desktop publishing, technologies that work for and against you in reaching the consumer, and effective use of “e-branding” techniques - e-zines, blogs, and web sites.

With the advent of desktop publishing, everyone in a company is now a "brand manager". Everyone is using a "do it yourself" approach to marketing and, pardon me folks, it looks like it! Learn how to use your desktop systems in a way that presents you in a professional way.

Other technology has opened up many more channels to reach customers -- e-mail, blogs, e-zines, telemarketing. However, it has also given customers easy ways to ignore you -- SPAM filters; e-mail attachment blocking; Caller ID; TIVO (who watches commercials when they have TIVO?)

Offered: Friday, December 9, 2005 (Details at right).

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Scary Things – Message Platforms that Last and Last

Internet technology’s impact on your message platform is often underestimated, even by experts — and that result can entail some scary consequences. Over and over again, AudhumbLa sees two common mistakes companies repeat regarding on-line presentation of their message platform:

This month we discuss Timeless Messages — courtesy of the Internet. It used to be that messages — or more appropriately, the channel that conveyed those messages and the memory that held the message — were finite. After a reasonable time period, old messages were no longer carried or remembered. It was easy to update and evolve your messages, or correct a past mistake without looking confused or indecisive. Past message platforms were inaccessible; they were eventually forgotten. Current messages, in contrast, were actively communicated, thus becoming memorable for the current time. This is how our parents thought, and how some of us still think today. Alas, this is no longer true — past messages don't fade away — they just get archived to be retrieved at the touch of a keystroke.

It's the Internet, in particular the Web, that has changed the world of message platforms. Not only are your past message accessible, but they can be accessed in full details and placed side-by-side with current message platforms. Priority is no longer given to what's new. In cyberspace, "memory is cheap" and old messages can be just as prevalent as new ones. You don't believe this? Think about your favorite Hollywood sex scandal or favorite politician's latest campaign — chances are you can retrieve however much old information there is about your target, no matter how old. And this is true for your business as well — once a message is communicated, it's there, on-line, in perpetuity. It's zero tolerance for past mistakes — you need to be basically error-free in what you say right from the start. Now that's a scary thought, especially if you're not well-rehearsed in what you say. 

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Brand Element of the Month:

Putting Some Zing in a Networking Organization

The organization attracts clients from a broad spectrum of industries. NetworkZing is founded on a method for creating value in your business by developing and merging extended networks of colleagues, suppliers, mentors, and strategic partners. Members participate in Special Events, Weekly Meetings, MasterMind Sessions, and special guest speaker events!

In the process of sketching initial design concepts for a logo for NetworkZing, it came to us that a "Z" is a sideways "N" and by playing with that concept we could create a interesting static logo that captured the idea of the merging networks. That concept also led to an animation sequence that illustrates the creation of the Networks, putting some "Zing" into them and then having them interlock. Click on the link at right.

"We are delighted with our new image," says Ed, "and have gotten great feedback from our members on the new company image. Thanks CattLeLogos!"

Merging Networks

How do you go from being:

to being surround by an extensive network?

Click here to view
the Flash animation

HayLoise's Books of the Month

Are there any books that have given you important insights into branding?
Tell us about them.

Send HayLoise an e-mail.

Brand Failures: The Truth About the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time
by Matt Haig

What’s SCARY about Branding? Plenty. Brand Failures gives punchy vignettes that give insight into well-known branding fiascos. Most of us have heard of his examples: New Coke, the Ford Edsel, Sony Betamax, McDonald's Arch DeLuxe, Campbell Soup (souper combo). How about perfume from Harley Davidson? Now that's a scary thought! Aspirin from Ben Gay -- can't you just taste it? And then there were Pets.com, VoicePod, and Excite@home in on-line marketing. He also gives examples of the negative impact of botched PR.

While reading about other people’s mistakes can be fun, the real insight is provided by Haig’s analysis. He identifies what he calls "the seven deadly sins of branding": amnesia, ego, megalomania, deception, fatigue, paranoia, and irrelevance. Each of his vignettes s illustrates how one or more of these has devastating results.

Upon reflection, I had three main insights.

• Anyone, even very bright people, can make a costly branding mistake. However, large organizations have the resources to recover; small organizations most likely do not.

• Most failures result from lack of demand. Talking to potential customers about the product is not enough. Building an image and message that appeals to them is critical.

• The value in a brand is in its relationship with the market. Once this is damaged, it can be very difficult to recover.

This a well written book, a ‘fun read’, packed with good stories. What’s more when reading it, I reflected on our business and processes. Yes, we often learn more from our mistakes then our successes. It’s important to visit them no matter how SCARY!

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Click on the book cover image to go to its page on Amazon.com

Brand Tip of the Month: Brand Changes

 Weigh it out, look at the cost versus the benefit and remember that change can be scary , but a lame brand can be scarier !

Karen Post, Fast Company

Afraid to Make a Change?

One of the basic principles we work from is that consistency is the keystone of good branding. If you think of the brands that every one remembers it's because they have been consistent for so many years that they are ingrained in our consciousness.

Unless driven by some major impetus it's better not to make major changes to your brand. Unless you logo is REALLY bad, leave it alone. Make incremental improvements such as refinements to artwork, clarify your messages, and focus your marketing efforts. Clarity and focus can do wonders for existing brands.

When is it appropriate to make a change to your brand? Sometimes external factors necessitate a name change: acquisition. merger or sale of a company for example. A change in organization structure, as in the example of Freedom Builder's becoming NetworkZing.

Perhaps your company is taking a whole new focus. Maybe your brand just isn't working. Is it too similar to other companies? ... met someone at a meeting yesterday from "Geeks on Call." We all confused her business with the "Geek Squad." They are two totally separate entities in need of differentiation.

Remember that making a wholesale brand change will cost some bucks. Think about all the places you use your logo for starters... we added the ® symbol to our logo months ago and we are still finding instances of the old logo! However, if you really NEED to change your brand, it can be a great opportunity to get a lot of great attention and renewed momentum. It's an excuse to communicate with all your customers and let them know what's new! What's scary about that?

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What's all this fuss about Scary Bands.
I know some of those heavy metal guys look pretty frightening but....

That's "Brands" GiLda.
Scary Brands.

Oh. Never Mind.

And speaking of "Scary" ... we have a Halloween Treat for you. Tell us how many times we used the words "Scary, scarier, scariest, or afraid" in this newsletter and we'll send you a gift!

Do you like our newsletter? We would love to work with you on developing a newsletter for your business.

Give us a call: 215.732.1553 or contact us by e-mail.

Copyright 2005 CattLeLogos Brand Management Systems, LLC. All rights reserved.

CattLeLogos is a Registered Trademark of CattLeLogos Brand Management Systems, LLC. AbuLLard, AbuLLard's ABC's of Branding, the CattLeLogos Method are trademarks and copyright CattLeLogos Brand Management Systems, LLC.

Published October 19, 2005

Contact us:
[email protected]