Branding

SUMMARY: Shopping in the information age is an informed experience. Consumers want information about your products, regardless of who is supplying the info. Is it better to have them come to your branded site to research -- or to go somewhere else?

See how the marketing team for a high-end kitchen appliance manufacturer gave customers more information and interactive tools to build their dream kitchens. They’ve seen traffic increase 20% and online leads surge 270%. read the complete case study

SUMMARY: As the economy struggles, opportunities for strategic acquisition increase. Stronger companies merge with weaker competitors to gain market share. We spoke with three experts about the most effective ways to merge brands.

Find out how to address merger issues, such as:
- Selecting which brand assets to keep and which to jettison
- Implementing internal and external messaging about the merger
- Refining the visual identity of the new brand read the complete article

SUMMARY: "Moms with children 12 and older are motivated to adopt new technologies to stay in tune with their children." "32 million women in the U.S. have children ages 18 and under and go online, of those women, 84% or 27 million, interact with emerging technologies." "The majority of moms are using social networks(65%) and text messaging (52%)." view the complete research record

SUMMARY: How do you launch an entire airline on about 1/10th of the budget of most? Very cleverly. JetBlue VP Marketing Amy Curtis-McIntyre's strategy was simple. "If any other airline can do this, then JetBlue can't." Hear her story, including PR stunts, plane painting, and placing ads in publications that major airlines "wouldn't touch." read the complete interview

SUMMARY: Social media helps marketers create more interaction with their customers. But sometimes, adding a single element -- like a blog or a forum -- isn’t enough.

Read how an outdoor sporting goods brand used insights from their blog to create a social network for their customers. They share their thoughts on the value of social media to consumer brands, and offer advice on designing a network and promoting it in multiple channels. read the complete article

By Anne Holland, Founder

I’ve worked for brand-driven companies and for A/B test-driven companies. Each was equally snooty and disdainful of the other.

To summarize, brand marketers thought A/B testers were pointy-headed geeks, while A/B testers thought brand marketers were bubble-headed blondes. Luckily, the twain didn’t often meet ... until now.

Instead of relying on “fuzzy” data from focus groups, awareness studies and Nielsen ratings, brand marketers now are inundated with detailed numbers from every campaign that touches... read the complete blog post