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As one of the over 3 million people who have participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, it has been amazing to watch the success of this campaign.

Before I was challenged, I was in a meeting with the Executive Director of a nonprofit and I was asked for my thoughts on the Ice Bucket Challenge from a branding perspective. The gentleman I was meeting with shared his surprise that it was not created by an agency and how quickly it took off. To him, while it is a great and admirable success, he didn’t…

"Social media is more about sociology and psychology, than it is about technology" ~ Brian Solis.

While I agree with the concept of this quote, overall, I disagree. You can spend all your time studying sociology and psychology--have them mastered if you will. This studying will only make you book smart. You’ll have the ability to see trends in case studies and get a feel for what will probably happen in this situation or that.

But what happens when you actually interact with real people? What hap…

Brands spend a lot of time focusing on the initial marketing and branding process--generating interest for the launch and/or the intended purchase of a product. That is a great start, but it leaves out two vital areas that actually determine whether a customer will do business with you again or refer you to someone else—remember the power of word of mouth!

What strategies are you implementing to ensure your customers are using your product, reusing your product and then purchasing your brand agai…

Believe it or not, they don't! Only 23% of the consumers in a study done by the Harvard Business Review said that they have a relationship with a brand. In the study involving more than 7000 consumers, Harvard Business Review found that companies often have dangerously wrong ideas about how best to engage with customers.



Relationships are supposed to be reserved for friends, family and colleagues…also known as people! The exception to this is technology. The better technology gets, the more we ar…

Social media isn't a standalone entity in your marketing strategy; it's a vital component, an amplifier that complements your overarching goals. It's not just about establishing a presence; it's about crafting a comprehensive marketing strategy that directly connects marketing goals to your company goals, it's about fostering connections, and truly understanding and engaging with your audience.

Consider this: You don't need to be omnipresent across every platform. Choosing 1-3 platforms that re…

Has your company ever had a problem with dealing with customers? We all have "off days" and do make mistakes.

Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of chatter about a major cable and Internet provider that made “headline” news when a customer recorded a call to the company’s customer service center. All the customer wanted, was to terminate his service...a simple request, blown horribly out of proportion! The customer service agent proceeded to ask questions as to why the customer would…

“I know what customer service is.”
“I think I know what customer experience is.”
“What is brand experience?”

That is usually how a conversation about customers relating to a business goes. Companies are familiar with customer service and usually customer experience, although they sometimes conflate the two. Brand experience, on the other hand often draws a blank, or worse, it is lumped in with customer service. Do you see a pattern developing here? There has been a lot of conversation around …

Do you remember the days of customer service before social media? For many companies, it seemed like they had a goal of breaking down the customer, hoping to frustrate them out of wanting to be helped at all. Their attitude was, “Wow, you sure seem mad. But what are you going to do about it?” And they were right, there wasn’t much a customer could do…then!

Along came social media, and suddenly customers could actually could do something about it. Customers could demand proper service and help. Th…

It feels like this conversation has been going on forever! "Should the C-suite use social media? Do they need a presence? If so, on what tool? How often should they post or interact?"

The two sides seem to argue the same points over and over, as if making their points again will make a difference this time. Perhaps it will, or perhaps it will just continue to fall on deaf ears.

Those in favor say:

• It shows transparency and accountability.
• Millennials will demand it.
• It will put a human face to…

I saw the Blue Man Group perform live for the first time earlier this year. I’ve been following them for years and have admired their work ever since I learned about them. The humor, creativity, and inventiveness of the organization is unsurpassed and if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it!

What the Blue Man Group does really well is they are masters of experience. Going to see a theatrical show or even going to the movies it’s about you sitting in the audience watching and enjoying. Yes t…