by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | Before, in the good ol’ days (about 6-7 years ago), SEO was purely a digital strategy. It was all about link-backs, key words, mark up, snippets, etc. The holy grail was to get onto, and stay, on the first page of search engines such as Google and Yahoo. […]
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Do Purpose-driven ads really work?
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | Over the last 3-5 years, many marketers, large and small, have focused their advertising and brand in communicating more of a higher purpose than just selling stuff. Messaging has become more messianic. On the surface, this makes sense, especially with the millennials. Many do care that a company […]
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LiveStrong – The risk of not creating a “real” brand
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | Recently, LiveStrong has announced a legal change of name and logo. It is now LiveStrong Foundation (see graphic). Executive VP, Andy Miller, noted in a speech, “The change is subtle but it is substantive. The positioning of the bars suggests forward and dynamic movement.” This is a great […]
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Is Samsung more “cool” than Apple?
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | There is much talk these days about the battle between Apple and Samsung in the high-end smart phone market. Court battles as well as marketplace battles rage on. What used to be unthinkable about 3 or 4 years ago is now being discussed openly in the business and […]
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Gangnam Style is no accident
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | PSY is a phenom. His song Gangnam Style is one example of the power social media has in promoting a brand and driving revenue. To many, the mass popularity of the song is contributed to a lucky break or some other one-off reasoning. Many also see him as […]
Read moreFacebook and brands: The rules and regulations for brands on Facebook
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | Since many marketers use or associate with Facebook, I thought providing a brief summary of Facebook policies for brands would be useful. This comes courtesy of Winston & Strawn, LLP, a law firm in Chicago. A partner of the firm, Brian Heidelberger, took the time to read the full […]
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Increased online shopping requires a much stronger brand to win
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | It is predicted online shopping will break the $1billion mark by the end of the year and it looks like it will be growing even more in the near future. There are so many advantages as a consumer; convenience, time saver and instant shopping comparison are just a […]
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Branding and advertising is NOT a last resort savior
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | There’s a trend that is becoming even more prevalent in the last 4-5 years, especially with online companies. It is “marketing as a last resort” strategy. The scenario goes something like this: • Company launches without advertising and marketing, depending solely on social media and word-of-mouth • In […]
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Building a brand starts with Focus and being First
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | Most people believe it’s important to build a brand, but many don’t know how to start accomplishing this goal. There are also many who believe building a great brand isn’t important. It just takes things like a great sales team, lower prices or better technology. Unfortunately, business life […]
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You must invest in your brand to make it worth something
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | Many companies want a great brand. They dream of dominating their category, being the “household” name when it comes to their core products or service and even being loved by their customers. All of these things are what a great brand can deliver whether you are a large […]
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May 13, 2013 