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CA’s INITIAL NAMING MISTAKE
CA, the company formerly known as Computer Associates, is displaying all the characteristics of Hamlet. It is a company that can’t make up its mind. Founded in 1976 as Computer Associates...
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“One Thing.” The best strategic advice a brand could ever get.
“What’s the biggest challenge to creating a successful B2B brand?” I am often asked this question, and without a doubt it’s the decision of what not to be— let me explain. So often, companies want to...
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Brand architecture: Creating clarity or organizing chaos?
The problem with brand architecture is that it’s such a fuzzy term. There are many definitions and most at least seem coalesce around the Wikipedia version which asserts: “Brand architecture is the...
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When is the right time to re-brand?
On the surface this question presents some quick responses and initial thoughts as it relates to an external point of view. Most professionals would agree, re-brand when it becomes irrelevant or tired...
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Can the WWE brand go Beyond Wrestling?
The wrestling world has got its leotards in a twist over WWE’s rebranding plans. WWE? That’s World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., a public company listed on NYSE. Vince McMahon, the chairman and chief...
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Social Media for businesses: Waste of time or wasted opportunity? Part 1
Many B2B companies are skeptical of social media. While consumer companies consider it as part of their marketing mix, B2B companies are often hesitant to jump on board. Honestly, there are still some...
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Present and Future
In this inaugural episode of Branding Business, RiechesBaird founders Ryan Rieches and Ray Baird join fellow principal Alan Brew in discussing the show’s launch and future. Also in this episode, the...
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Social Media for businesses: Waste of time or wasted opportunity? Part 2
Earlier this month, in Social Media for businesses: Waste of time or wasted opportunity? Part 1, we talked about the importance of social media strategy for B2B companies. Yes, even B2B companies can...
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Corporate Leadership Starts with Purpose
In an earlier post titled “Do companies still need long-tem visions,” I provided RiechesBaird’s viewpoint and a brief definition for each component of corporate visioning: Purpose, Vision, Mission,...
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What comes first Vision or Mission?
Actually neither – Purpose comes first. In my most recent post, I provided RiechesBaird’s viewpoint on why an emotionally stimulating Purpose Statement is at the core and becomes a compelling driver...
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Branding Early Stage Companies
Today’s host, Ryan Rieches, speaks with two men that dared to build a brand, and in the process, define a new category in the marketplace. Serial entrepreneur Casper Zublin, founder of Asterisk...
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What are the leading indicators of B2B brand success?
Do you know what predicts your brand’s success? Most marketing metrics only measure what has happened, using what could be called “lagging indicators.” But imagine the effectiveness of your marketing...
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Boring versus Brilliant: Where does your brand fit?
If you were asked to randomly search 15-20 B2B technology brands online, you’d probably come to the same conclusion. Most are boring. But why? You’d think innovative companies would breathe innovation...
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International Branding
Managing a brand internationally is a challenging task and one that requires special considerations and tactical expertise. Here to discuss these challenges are two individuals deeply rooted in the...
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Branding: From Product to Connection
Interbrand’s annual survey of the Best Global Brands is always an interesting read. This year, Jez Frampton, Interbrand’s CEO, says, “Uncertainty is the new status quo, so today’s brands need to be...
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Brand Logos: A Nest of Boxes
Everyday, the RiechesBaird design team plugs away designing new logo identities for some of the world’s greatest B2B brands. I wanted to take a minute to make some quick personal assumptions here…...
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How a Brand Strategy Can Help Your Business Grow
Many times in the B2B world — especially in professional services — there’s a heavy reliance on business development for client acquisition and a hesitancy to spend money on business branding and...
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B2B Branding vs. B2C Branding: What’s the Difference?
If you’re looking to create a world class brand strategy and branding program to accelerate growth and differentiation, it’s critical to understand the difference between branding a B2B company and...
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The Complexities Surrounding B2B Brand Strategy & B2B Sales
By understanding the complexities of the B2B marketplace, individuals, brands and entire organizations can experience greater results. B2Bs operate under a significantly different mindset than...
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The 4 P’s of Marketing No Longer Apply in B2B Today
The term “4 P’s of Marketing” as part of the ‘marketing mix’ was first coined in the early 1950s. The concept is that marketers must recognize and utilize four interwoven components when determining a...
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Research Proves B2B Branding Pays Off
Can a business prove that investing in a solid brand strategy really works? And if so, why does it matter? That’s the subject of a recent McKinsey report on brand strategy and practice. Get the full...
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Dropbox To Brand Services To The B2B World
B2B and B2C companies often tend to live in very different worlds — different types of products and services mean divergent brand, marketing and communication strategies. But at times, we see...
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B2B Branding: McKinsey Proves It Matters
If you’re like most B2B marketers, you’ve been asked or will be asked, Does our brand really matter? How can we prove it? And how do we build a case to support our investment? To help you understand...
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Social Media and Big Data: 4 Ways to Harness Social Data
By now, most B2B companies understand the importance of social media in business. But many still struggle to incorporate this relatively new medium and the insights it offers into their business and...
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Predictions for B2B Branding in 2014
Mark Morris is a Founding Partner and Senior Strategist at The Brand Consultancy in Washington, D.C. His entrepreneurial career spans 38 years starting his first company in his dorm room in the mid...
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The Science and Art of B2B Brand Strategy
Crafting a corporate brand strategy takes time, thought and courage. When a B2B company nails a killer strategy, it can establish trust, loyalty and lead to sustainable business growth. If it...
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Beyond Intel Inside: What B2B Marketers Can Learn from BASF
One of the staples of Sunday morning corporate advertising in the 1980s and 1990s was BASF’s long-running series of TV commercials that featured the memorable slogan: “We don’t make a lot of the...
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B2B Brands: Empathic Leaders, Engaged Employees Critical to Brand Promise
Of all the examples leadership expert Simon Sinek offers in his latest book, Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, the story of Bob Chapman delivers an important insight for...
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B2B Branding and Social Media: 4 Simple Truths
In a brand newsroom a short distance from our California office, a Volkswagen marketing team huddled during the recent Super Bowl so they could seize opportunistic social media stardom during the...
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Digital Brand Intelligence: The Case for Responsive Design
If you’re reading this article, chances are you regularly use an Internet-capable mobile device and in fact, you may be on one right now. At the end of 2013, it was estimated that nearly 30% of global...
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IBM: How Employees Bring “Smarter Planet” Positioning to Real-World Engagement
IBM is a company that remade its brand by remaking its culture. Today it remains a strong brand by carefully tending to that culture, making sure employees understand and reflect IBM’s mission,...
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Absolute Value: What B2C Marketers Can Learn From B2B Brands
In a recent piece much discussed in marketing circles, James Surowiecki argues in The New Yorker that we are entering the “Twilight of the Brands.” The reason, he says, citing the new book Absolute...
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CEOs, CMOs: It’s Good to Be Bad
We have a saying at our B2B brand strategy consultancy that has guided us over many years in our work with leading brands: “The narrower the focus, the stronger the brand.” Lately I’ve been...
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