In a global and Internet-based economy, they [brands] build trust and reinforce value. - Strategy: A View from the Top Are brands dead? Have we killed traditional marketing? Are newspapers dead? Will television ads die? In a simple answer: No. I wish I could say that this topic has been beaten to death (it has, really) but people keep bringing it up. With the influx of buzz around new media (read: social media and online marketing) there is ...

Being in school for an MBA, you hear the same companies talked about over and over again. That's the good and the "bad" ones. Worldcom and Enron are favorites for what not to do. Google and Sun Microsystems are the most recently talked about in my organizational behavior class as the "good kids." There has been a lot of buzz about the new search engine Cuil, including my own review, and many others. But now we have reached terminal velocity, ...

Okay, off search engine marketing for a second. I'm not sick, promise. My other love is traditional marketing and when companies get things right. A friend of mine recently had plastic surgery and elected to participate in a 10 year study (yeah, I talked her into it). Well she sent me a link to the company running it (Natrelle) and I signed up to get more information about their product. Skip to a few weeks later, and I get a notice about a ...

I think this man is the only one who "gets" it. Seth Godin hits the nail on the head again with his newest post, and I wish more CEOs and VPs would read and understand it. He asks a simple question "Who answers the phone?"At my last company, our customer support came out of Pakistan. Yep, one of those annoying companies you call and get someone that doesn't speak English very well. Don't get me wrong, I loved all our people in Pakistan, but the ...

I was reading a Seth Godin blog entry today about his new book, Meatball Sundae. This entry was about organizations new obsession with Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing. One thing he said hit home: They [company's efforts] fail because the Web and the New Marketing work only when applied to the right organization. New Media makes a promise to the consumer. If the organization is unable to keep that promise, then it fails. I see that a lot in ...

Love is being stupid together, originally uploaded by nattu. I found this photo through my iGoogle, and while it's sucha beautiful picture, I also love something else about it. Get ready for the geek in me. I love that I know she is holding a product made by Coca-Cola. Branding is a beautiful thing. ...

My roommate introduced me to a great site today. Goodhealth.com - A WebMD of sorts, but run by Seton Healthcare Network. It's a corporate shoot off really, but it has some great content (I haven't checked if its taken from Web MD or anything, but it doesn't look like it). This site and its creator (if you ever read this, let me know who you are) just get it! 1. It's a nice, easy-to-comprehend layout. There are no tricks, no content stuffing. ...