Category Archives: Audits
Know Canada?
Below, is the comment I left on an article on Brand New. My thoughts on Canada’s new campaign generated some interest, so I decided to share them with you. Enjoy it!
Peanut butter is Canadian
Are you asking the right questions?
Have you ever left a meeting questioning why you were summoned? What was the goal? What did you try to achieve? Well, I have been to too many meetings where I felt we wasted valuable time and effort. Also, I took part in so many branding projects that did no go anywhere. I know I am not alone. So, let’s see if we can fix the problem of ineffectiveness.
Conducting online brand audit
Today, I’d like to show you step by step how to conduct a basic online brand audit. Since we are in the middle of the winter, and given that I live in Montreal, I chose “ski resorts in Eastern Townships” as my topic (Mont Sutton, Ski Bromont, Mont Orford and Owl’s Head.) I chose these ski resorts, because they are my favourites. I love them all. My goal is to show the best practices so that other brands can improve themselves. Mind you, this is an online audit; so I am not talking about the actual resorts. Similarly, I am not evaluating to their marketing collaterals either.
Keep in mind that online brand audit is quite a methodical task. You may want to print webpages and create a big collage. Or maybe you use Evernote. The key is to keep a record of everything because we are going to accumulate a lot of information. For every brand, we will check three fundamental things: the brand’s websites, its online footprint and its visuals. This will be fun. Let’s see what we find out!
The art of effective writing
Almost a year ago I decided to start this blog, primarily because I realized that as a non-native speaker, I needed to improve my writing skills, a problem far beyond writing error-free articles. I had to improve the structure of my articles to be a more effective communicator. Structured writing was a skill that I was taught neither at school nor at work. So, there you have it. This blog is a selfish act. That said, I truly enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience with you. Therefore, today I will share with you some of the little secrets of structured writing. Read the rest of this entry
How to conduct a 360 stakeholder audit? -3
Previously, we talked about how to identify your stakeholders and how to prioritize them. Today, I will give you some insights on the common characteristics of your key stakeholders. As you may recall, we use two criteria in assessing the importance of a stakeholder: its power and its level of interest. Let’s analyze some of your stakeholders and see what they want and what they can do. Read the rest of this entry
How to conduct a 360 stakeholder audit? -2
Previously we talked about the importance and identification of your stakeholders. Let’s continue from where we left off.
Not all stakeholders are equally important. You should focus your attention to the “key” ones. Who are they? They are the ones who can affect (and will be affected by) your branding project. You have to get those people on board as early as possible. Next question is… Read the rest of this entry
How to conduct a 360 stakeholder audit? -1
In my opinion, the fundamental difference between advertising and branding is their target audiences. The priority of advertising is the consumer (there is nothing wrong with that). However, branding specialists concentrate on the big picture. They work with the “key stakeholders” of an organization.
Your company’s reputation extends beyond your customers. Any constituency who has the power to affect your success is considered as a “key stakeholder.” Given their importance for your organisation, you should have a systematic approach to research their needs, wants, perceptions and behaviours.
How do you figure your stakeholders? Read the rest of this entry
The hidden secret of bundling
Previously, we talked about the importance of simplifying your offers. Today, I will give you a couple of actionable tips that are going to impact your bottom line.
I would like to refer to Dan Ariely’s work. He is a Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University. He is also the author of “Predictably Irrational”, an extremely interesting book on human behaviour. He predicts many cognitive mistakes that we make. Such mistakes range from innocent ones such as confusing colours or length of lines to more serious errors like donating your organs. The book is a must read. But, let’s use one example he gave during his TED speech. Read the rest of this entry
