What is one thing that all companies have but nobody uses? That’s right, a mission statement. The reason why nobody uses them is that most of them are written very badly. Today, we are going to tackle the world's mission statement problem. First, let’s start with the definition of a mission statement. No company is …
How to market to Gen Y?
According to Wikipedia, Canadian Millennials are those who were born as of 1976 up to 1999, inclusively. They are also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers. They have a characteristic set of values that makes them significantly different from earlier generations. Or so you thought... As much as we think Gen Y have a …
How to create effective brand messaging?
Do you want to create brand messaging in a way that it would resonate with your customers? Or inform and encourage cooperative behaviours among your employees? Or communicate well-constructed, informative, and reassuring messages to your investors? Then you could benefit from having a messaging matrix. What is a messaging matrix? A messaging matrix is a …
How to build a messaging matrix?
Have you ever wanted to explain your brand strategy in a way that it would really resonate with different customer groups? Or provide much-needed information and encourage cooperative behaviours of your employees? Or communicate well-constructed, informative, and reassuring messages to your investors? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then your company could …
The art of naming
Having involved in many verbal identity projects, I must admit, naming is a deceptively difficult task. Most people (even some branding professionals) might think that naming a product or a company should be as easy as naming a pet or a child. Unfortunately, that is far from the truth. Why? Finding a strategically good name …
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”, …
Path to happiness
Recently, I am reading Prof. Barry Scwartz’s book “The Paradox of Choice”. He teaches social theory and social action. In this book, he did a stellar job explaining how “the freedom to choose everything” makes you eventually less happy. Western societies, particularly North American ones, are built on the premise that people should have the freedom of choice. The …
4 golden rules of a powerful promise
I am a firm believer of simplicity. This blog follows the same philosophy. It is all about simplifying seemingly complicated matters and giving you correct and actionable answers. Today, we will talk about the key criteria of a powerful promise. Interbrand, the largest brand consulting firm in the world, uses four key rules. To my knowledge, …
What is a brand?
Here is the irony: As a Brand Strategist, I don’t like to use the term brand too often. Granted, it is a sexy word. Yet, more often than not it is misused. Let me explain what I mean. Do you remember the old TV show, Batman? There was a Bat version of everything. Our heroes …