Internal communications and marketing are two big services we provide our clients here at LaBov and Beyond, so it certainly warmed the cockles of our hearts to read this online column from the brandchannel.com extolling the importance of internal branding. For companies looking to identify, clarify, assert or even just reassert their brand essences, it starts from within. You cannot fully promote the uniquness of your brand if your people do not believe in it and embody it every day. Creating brand advocates out of your own employees is what really brings your brand essence to life. It’s not posters or commercials or mantras or anything else. Building your brand from within gives it the foundational strength it needs to reach the kinds of heights you should want it to.

Courtesy the pun-loving Verizon Wireless, announcing its new HTC smartphone, the Snap:

“HTC Ozone brings Verizon Wireless Smartphone Lineup to New Heights”

Get it? Get it? It’s name is the Ozone, and it brings (not takes, mind you, which would actually make more sense) Verizon Wireless’ lineup to new “heights”! Because the ozone is way up in the sky, so it has to do with heights. Get it?

Groan. Just, groan.

Someone asked me about helping a client with social media and asked me what we could do for them. That is an interesting question, because companies often want someone to handle their social media for them. We can do whatever a company wants, but the best thing we can do for them is to help them launch a social media program, help them grow it and maintain its standards, and measure its success. The thing about social media is that it needs a person behind the name. People want to work with people–not an avatar, logo, or picture of your dog. So, if you’re considering implementing a social media program, get some help in setting up a plan, but also commit the needed internal resources to make it work and sustain it. The social part means people are needed to build the community, so make sure it’s not going to be led by a faceless entity. Authenticity and a real person are key to making a social media plan a success.

Several of us here have embraced the power of twitter. For those naysayers who think it’s a vapid pit of wasted time, consider these examples:
1. We found out about a great deal on a product we were purchasing because someone saw us ask for references on a competitor. We found out something great and they made a sale.
2. We have better relationships with people we’re dealing with because we touch base on a friendly platform almost daily.
3. We get to network with like-minded people and learn from each other.

These are all good things, and we’re being brief. We could go on for an hour about what we’ve gained, learned and shared through twitter. It’s just a matter of taking the time to do on a regular basis, offering good content, and listening to others.

Today, it’s this important post from MediaPost News’ Marketing Daily. This quote tells you why we think it’s so valuable:

“Brand equity does not lose potency when money is tight. So says Harris Interactive in its latest EquiTrend study.”

Read the entire post to get the full gist of the study and its implications. But it’s such an encouraging and important reminder that price alone will not help you survive an economic downturn - especially as one as prolonged and severe as the one were in the midst of now. It’s the value and importance of your brand to your customers or clients that will make all the difference.

As the USA Today shows us this morning. Not many ways to find a positive angle in a story like this one.

Over the last week we’ve had the opportunity to work with someone who could be considered an out-of-town competitor; however, by working together on a project, we were able to make great things happen. The good news is that we got a great return and are positioned to do some further work for a new client.

We could have refused to participate, even though it was for a cause we believed in. We could have tried to take the whole project away from the other company.  They could have tried to do the same thing.   But we didn’t.   Both companies worked together nicely and we all won: us, the other company, and the client. Kudos to everyone involved who didn’t let ego get in the way so we could all make a difference.

From the Shameless Self-Promo Department: “Street Signs,” an afternoon show on business cable network CNBC, interviewed our president and CEO, Barry LaBov, today as part of a segment on business aviation and the ongoing debate surrounding its costs and benefits. You can watch the interview here, and let us know your thoughts on the debate in the comments below.

I viewed a link from twitter today that went to the most-viewed 30-second commercial on YouTube: http://ow.ly/6Atn.  It’s a great commercial for Intel that you must watch to fully appreciate, but it made me think of a few things.

1.  People watch commercials on YouTube

2.  That means there are ads people seek out

3.  This ad inforces the Intel brand so it’s not a wasted effort

4. People talk about commercials and send them along to share

5.  Enough people watch commercials on YouTube to make someone track hits
Is what we’re doing viral worthy?  Does it send a brand message and increase recall?  Creating something only for the purpose of being viral worthy is foolish, but to have something that delivers value to a brand and then go viral, is icing on the cake.

Consumers are distinguishing less and less between online and offline marketing,  a new study shows. Statistical evidence that the sophistication consumers display increases on what seems like a daily basis.