Some times your brand starts to feel stagnate, tired and predictable. While the standard of a good brand is consistency. Constancy of experience and presentation help your brand maintain its message with out confusing and diluting your brand image. But every now and than it can be good to shake your brand up a bit. Even the most conservative brands can benefit from a little brand shake up and in most parts they will probably benefit the most.

No ones personal brand is more consistent and organic than the mellow Hawaiian singer, song writer, and film maker Jack Johnson. Jack Johnson’s brand is so organic that it comes with a USDA stamp right on it. Johnson’s smooth, mellow, laid back style is as even keeled as the sound of his acoustic guitar.

Johnson’s brand is very strong and his consistency of presentation is very high. Concertgoers and album buyers know exactly what to expect from Johnson and he always delivers right on point. Because of this his brand has flourished despite the waning market for musicians. But with all of this mellow predictability Johnson has been criticized for being to dependable and not exciting enough.

The solution Johnson has always been great at using his temperate persona in juxtaposition to other more flamboyant characters or diverse images. Johnson is very savvy at utilizing unique video content that plays perfectly with his mellow style. He paints his basic character against a colorful wall of creativity to create dynamic experiences.

Some perfect examples are Johnson’s video for Taylor Featuring comedian Ben Stiller. Stiller’s neurotic and fast paced character was perfectly infused with Johnson’s to create a memorable and exciting moment that was refreshing for Johnson’s brand.

In Johnson’s Sitting, Waiting, Wishing video he pitted him self as a static character immersed in a chaotic setting where the world was going backwards as he went forwards steadily just strumming his guitar as things burst into flames, food fly’s at him and he is thrown around the room. This creative video was the perfect way to spice up a predictable brand with out deviating from the essence of the brands message. You have the character or brand behaving predictably in an unpredictable environment.

Jack Johnson latest juxtaposed interactive branding effort will be sure to draw some excitement. In Johnson new interactive marketing campaign he pits him self against the rebel-rousing comedian Andy Samberg in the Andy Samberg vs. Jack Johnson “At or With Me” Teaser. The campaign is complete with a landing page pitting the two characters against each other and the whole thing is integrated with a Facebook ”like” function allowing users to vote on who they think will be victorious in the brawl.

This campaign works because of how unexpected it is. No one would ever expect the mellow Johnson to engage in a brawl so by pairing him with a comedian know for stirring things up think Samberg and Justin Timberlakes SNL skit “dick in a box” and you get a brand experience that is sure to infuse some excitement into even the most predictable brand.

This technique works with out diluting or degrading the brand because the application of juxtaposition is so unexpected that it is immediately recognized as humor, but it is not so predictable that viewers will over look the message in the “snow blind” way that static brand messages often are.

So if your brand feels to static and tired now might be the right time to use a little brand juxtaposition to breath some fresh air into your brand.

Tags: Brand Juxtaposition, Jack Johnson.

As entrepreneurs and small business owners we are closely tied to our enterprise. More often that not our enterprise defines who we are, we put all of our self into our business. We infuse our ideas, and cling to our ventures. We live it and breath it. Because of this it is hard to separate your life, from the life of your business.

Your business personality is important and often times for small business and solopreneurs the presence of the owners personality is a vital part of its success but therein lies the problem. In standard office and corporate environments people are reminded to leave their personal life, problems, worries etc.. at home but for the passionate entrepreneur this can be troubling how do you leave theses things at the door when their is little separation between your work life and home life. You constantly take your work home and your personal life to work.

So what happens when personal troubles seep into your business? Making your personal troubles and drama present in your enterprise can be shockingly detrimental to your business at times even crippling. It is important to remember that often times the professionals your business services or works with are not prepared to deal with your home life and they don’t want to.

Building that work life balance we often hear reference to is crucial to preserve the integrity of your organization even if you are a solopreneur. Bringing toxic negativity to your work is a simple way to destroy your brand and alienate your patrons. Your first rule should always be to never make your personal problems the problems of your associates, patrons or customers. Everyone has their own problems and although your transparency of character has served you well in business it will not do you justice to tarnish that with a infiltration of personal problems.

We have seen how the recent marital dramas of the Los Angeles Dodger owners the Mccourts has had a troubling effect on the organization as a whole steaming all the way down to the club house.

Just remember don’t be a toxicpreneur, keeping your positivity up even during the down times will server your organization right and lead to continued loyalty amongst customers and employees.

Your business is you but your business should always be the best face of you, just like any brand, consistency of character is key and if you show inconsistency and draw too much negative attention your brand will suffer.

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If you’re a solo musician or band wondering how to get your music out, SoundCloud is one of the answers. I say ‘one’ because there are a lot of ways to help distribute and broaden your music audience. However, this does not mean that just because you think your music is the next best (add in favorite band), does not mean that record labels will automatically hone in on your music. Record labels, especially the mainstream ones (Warner Bros., BMG, EMI, etc.), will want to know how well you will sell. This will include not only your music, but your style that you portray as a whole. If this does not concern you, then read on.

First and foremost, SoundCloud is an online music community where you can upload music that you have created. The really cool aspect of this is that your files can be uploaded in any format (mp3, wav, flac, etc.). You can also download other people’s music as well, an option MySpace is lacking on its music network. The reason why it’s called a ‘music community’ is because you post your music so other wandering musicians can find it, and have a fanbase starting up for you. This is how record labels will get more interested in you. Once you start having your own fanbase and start playing at more venues, then they will eventually come to understand you as a determined musician who wants your sound out.

Not everything on the website is free, however. For starting members, you get to upload 5 songs per month. If you start paying for a ‘pro’ membership, you get access to more features and you get to upload more songs.

What I like about the website as a whole is how clean everything is. It’s what SoundCloud is to music as Facebook is to social networking. Many artists use MySpace nowadays to help promote their work, but if you’re like me, and I hate MySpace for its ugly interface and busy layout, then you should try out SoundCloud. This is not to say that you shouldn’t use MySpace at all, though. In order to put your name out there, MySpace is one of the bigger networks to do so. SoundCloud can be a supplement to that if you already have one. The website went public in October 2008, so be one of the first musicians to utilize this amazing website.

Check out my profile and give my music a listen. Comments would be helpful.

Stephen Chang

Tags: SoundCloud.

Marketers often draw comparisons to the competitors of their products or services in marketing collateral and advertisements. This is a common tactic used to differentiate your company’s brand in the market place. Demonstrating your product’s unique characteristics through comparison is often a very effective tactic, but it must be used with caution.

Comparative marketing is best used when the competitor you are comparing against controls a large market share and has strong brand association. This strategy works well for new market entries and developing companies.

If your brand or company is well established you should use extreme caution when engaging in comparative marketing tactics. By comparing your product or service to that of a competitor you are vindicating the legitimacy of the brand you are comparing to.

By using comparison advertising you will be passing on validation that your competitor’s product is indeed a substitute for your offering, thereby communicating that the competitor is indeed a comparable competitor in the eyes of the consumer.

When you carefully use comparative advertising you are effectively calling out your competitor into to a battle of product vs. product.

If you are a smaller brand calling out a larger competitor in the market place it is often desirable to provoke your competitor to respond to your claims. When you call out a larger competitor and they respond to your advertisement or claim it adds validation to your message. In this scenario, your brand is able to derive some value through the interaction with a larger competitor who has more brand equity.

Because of this occurrence, established brands will often refrain from engaging in the competitive nature of the “Call Out”. These established brands have nothing to gain from participating in comparative marketing campaigns, since their brands are already perceived to be superior in the market place.

Occasionally the established brand will respond. When an emerging brand issues a challenge it can draw some attention to their offering but at the same time it opens them up to having their perceived “weaknesses” attacked by the party they are challenging.

Recently Audi has been attempting to maneuver themselves into the elite class of luxury cars currently held by BMW, Mercedes, and the newcomer, Lexus. But blunder after blunder and inconsistency on behalf of Audi’s brand marketers have stunted the company’s growth in the American market.

The latest attempt by Audi in a billboard advertisement featured in Santa Monica, California is a perfect example of how “calling out your competitors” can backfire on you.

In the advertising battle between BMW and Audi, Audi challenges BMW stating “Your move, BMW”. BMW casually and wittily responds to Audi’s ad with the snide remark “Checkmate.” In this clever advertisement BMW implies, “We are better than you and the market place already knows this, and that is why you are attempting to challenge us.” Touché!

Go see the ad on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Beverly Glen Blvd in Los Angeles, CA.

Congratulations to BMW and Juggernaut Advertising for a quick and witty response to Audi’s challenge. This was a perfectly executed rebuttal from a well-established brand in the marketplace.

Tags: BMW V. Audi, Outdoor Advertising.

The “cheap chic” marketing machine of target has come out with a novel idea for this holiday season. Instead of just giving a thoughtless gift card how about giving a gift card that is a gift it’s self! Sound confusing?

Target recently introduced the new Target Digital Camera Gift Card ($50-$1000). This is the Hybrid of the retail world. The gift card features a 1.2 mega pixel camera that holds 50 pictures. The camera / card comes with a USB cord, driver disc and voucher for 40 free prints at Target.

The gift card works the same as all other gift cards you chose how much store credit you want to load on to the card ranging from $50 to $1,000 of store credit.

This is a great idea to help spark lagging retail sales during the holiday season. The camera is fairly useless but it offers a fun cool factor that is sure to attract attention to the otherwise boring gift card.

From a marketing standpoint this move makes a lot of sense for the retail chain.

1.) It is a novel concept that is sure to attract attention and excitement.

2.) Encourages shoppers to purchase gift cards and it will also entice gift card purchasers to up their spend to a minimum of $50 so they can get the camera.

3.) It empowers the lazy gift givers, it is a simple holiday gift solution that keeps the giver from looking like a thoughtless shopper.

4.) It is cool ideas that will attract lots of word of mouth and positions target as a hip creative innovator in their market further differentiating Target in the minds of consumers from the relic Wal-Mart. This is a strong move since Wal-Mart has attempted to re-energize their brand with a more positive, youthful look. Their new logo looks remarkably similar to Targets. And their new tagline: Save money. Live better seems inspired by Targets tagline: Expect more. Pay less.

We will see if this gift card campaign is successful as we approach the holidays.

But it feels like this trend of incorporating utility into gift cards is going to carry on. I could see a company like Apple jumping on this trend with an IPod gift card hybrid. With the high priced items in an apple store they could justify the cost of a music playing gift card. With a minimum spend starting at $300 dollars or so.

I am sure Jobs is already on this and if not Steve better give me a shout out on this one!

Tags: Apple, Digital Camera Gift Card, Retail Sales, Target one ups Wal-Mart, Targets New Gift Card.

Days after the monumental election of Barack Obama I am still struck by the power of his words and the vision of a better America he has created. As marketers there is something we can learn from Obama and his campaign. Obama a little know junior Senator just two years ago has transformed into the symbol of change and progress for the United States and I argue the world. This did not happen by accident, or over night.

Obama’s 22-month campaign has set a new standard for the effective use of media and advertising to create a lasting and differentiated brand. The Obama brand has been perfectly honed and shaped into a winning presidential candidate.

This was a brilliantly composed fully integrated marketing campaign that will serve as a new standard for all campaigns to come. Every component was successful in creating the perfect mood and brand image to help Obama succeed. Obama executed speech after speech and debate after debate with grace and charisma; I have never seen a president use the camera so effectively.

Many would argue that $426.9 million in record campaign expenditures cant hurt. But there are many aspects that helped set Obama’s campaign apart.

The Obama campaign was the first campaign to effectively tap into social media and the Internet to communicate with young voters. These young voters came out in record numbers. From Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to many other social media sites the Obama campaign was able to effectively open dialogue with crucial voters and rally support. The Obama campaign tastefully used viral media components remember“I Got a Crush…On Obama” and they where very successful in utilizing bloggers to spread the Obama message to select groups.

The over all result is a perfectly differentiated, consistent and authentic campaign message that touched the heart and mind’s of 64 million voters who voiced their opinion to elect barrack Obama the 44th president of the United States of America.

This is a truly inspiring election and a beautiful orchestration of marketing effectiveness.

Tags: Change, Obama, Presidential Election.