David Young | Branding Blog - Marketing Advice and Advertising Strategy for Local Business Owners

My Own Wifi Zone

I don't usually write product reviews here, but I'm actually getting tired of using some of the ridiculous high-speed internet connections at the hotels I've been practically living at lately.

It would be nice if they all had wifi that just worked. I've had the best experience with Holiday Inn Express.

The most frustrating are those who seem to think I'll be comfy if I'm jacked in about 3 feet from the TV and nowhere near the desk. One solution is to carry a 20-foot network cable (and hope no one trips over it).

Here's the best solution I've found so far...the D-Link DWL-G730AP Wireless Pocket Router. Just plug this baby in and you've got your own little wifi hotspot in your King Non-smoking mini-suite.

Take that Best Western!

Oh yeah...I first read about it on an airplane. I needed it two weeks ago in Omaha. I went to Best Buy...nope. CircuitCity...nope. Checked Amazon...BINGO. Let me know if you find it in a store! Better yet, just buy it from Amazon and they'll give me a couple of bucks for the referral...it's like tipping me for a super tip.

Just Facts

My good friend Juan Guillermo Tornoe was recently quoted in an Associated Press story about the marketing frenzy surrounding the World Cup. A nice kudo for JG and recognition of his expertise in the field of Hispanic Marketing.

Too bad that AP writer Joseph B. Frazier messed up JG's name and city. It always makes me wonder if the reporter got any of the big facts straight. Did he really talk to Nike, or was it Home Depot? Was it really soccer or did he confuse it with the Baseball World Series?

All the links can be found at JG's blog - Hispanic Trending.

Here's something to think about regarding the power of the blogosphere. The next time Joseph B. Frazier, Associated Press writer, googles his own name, this post will be in the results because I've now mentioned his name and occupation a couple of times. Certainly a small nibble at his reputation, but it won't just go away like it could in the old days.

Another Tale from the Men's Room

With all due apologies to the folks who didn't like the post about Cabela's restroom, I've got another one.

This time I'm at Denver International Airport, concourse B, just returned from Winnipeg. I go into the men's room and following the Guy Code, take care of business with eyes straight ahead, no conversation...the usual. No flushing, because it's automatic. (BTW...the automatic flush toilet was invented at the old Stapleton airport in Denver...betcha didn't know that! Yes, I'm Cliff Claven.)

On my way out, I notice a guy who is taking care of business just like everyone else, only he's holding an ice cream cone at shoulder height in his left hand. I almost broke the code of silence by laughing out loud. I didn't stick around long enough to see how he managed to get things put away...let alone wash his hands.

So, what's the marketing message here? Having just graduated from WonderBranding, it got me thinking about the differences between men and women. I can't imagine my wife or any other woman simply ignoring this act. They would spring into action just like a mom and tell this guy how disgusting he is. I also can't imagine a man in that restroom doing anything besides laughing.

Anybody that thinks the same marketing strategy will work for both men and women is just not thinking clearly. In fact, one of my thoughts was, "That must be damn good ice cream. I wonder where he got it?" Of course, men don't know what goes on in the ladies room either. For all we know there are little ice cream cone holders on the back of every stall door.  Hmmm. I doubt it.

Now, a bonus laugh. WARNING: if you find the idea of ice cream in the bathroom to be just plain gross, then for the love of all things sanitary, don't click on this link to see a pretty darn funny cartoon. Download snowcone.jpg

Fabulous Walter K.

OK, I’ve been holding back. I’ve been meaning to point you towards my partner Walt’s blog. He’s got some really good stuff there. Seriously, read the last 6 posts or so and see what I’m talking about.

So, what’s been holding me back? I can’t spell his last name. So sue me.

But do read his blog. Read it now.

Oh, yeah…don’t forget to notice his banner image. I like it.

Brand Encounters of the NYC Kind

Just a ranting list of some brand encounters in New York last week:

JetBlue: I love flying Jetblue. I was crushed when my departing red-eye flight from Denver was delayed over an hour, finally leaving after 2 a.m. DIA is no place to spend a morning, and a complimentary 6-ounce bottle of water was nice, but not enough.

NYC Cab Ride: What can I say? Wouldn't matter, because the cabbie doesn't speak English anyway.

Soho Grand Hotel: A cool premise that seems to be going over quite well. Built 10 years ago, the hotel was intentionally scraped up and scratched up to give it a power-industrialist feel. The rooms are nice, the staff friendly and helpful and they offer some great packages along with their sister hotel, The Tribeca Grand. Complimentary loaner bicycles in case you aren't sweating enough in the summer heat. Their web site looks kind of cool, but is VERY user unfriendly. From the loud music, the requirements for pop-ups, and initial lack of text, it has got to be a problem for the hotels. Hey, call me and we'll start a Persuasion Architecture project for you.

NYC Subway: I love it. Cheaper than Disneyland and (for those of us that don't ride it every day) a better surge of adrenalin. New Yorkers fall asleep between stops. Nebraskans can't. Our fight-or-flight reflex just doesn't know how to handle the situation, and 4 days isn't enough. Note to MTA maintenance folks: Have you ever heard of these devices?

Brooklyn: Fuggetaboudit. The Future Now digs in Red Hook are always fun to visit, especially when you are trying to explain to your Russian cab driver where he is going. We had a great Peruvian meal at Mancora. Jeff used his fluent spanish to coax the best dishes out of the waiter and Howie and I just ate everything put in front of us.

Letterman: No, I didn't get to be on the show, or even in the audience. But, I did make a trek to the Ed Sullivan theater and stopped in at Hello Deli! to pick up a t-shirt, a box of Explode-a-Pop and a fruit whippie.

Sunrise, Sunset

I got an Appalachian sunrise and a Rocky Mountain sunset today. That's a special treat!

I spent the last 3 days working with a new client in Morgantown, West Virginia. We'll be doing a Persuasion Architecture web redesign for one of the most talented video producers I've ever met.

Being a flatlander, cities like Morgantown can be an exciting diversion from the faraway horizons I'm accustomed to aiming towards. When I drive home from DIA it's not uncommon to eyeball 30 miles of highway stretched out ahead. In WV, you're either staring straight up into the sky as you climb, straight down into a valley, or straight into a forest. If you accidentally dropped a bowling ball anywhere in town, you'd probably be arrested for reckless endangerment.

Sunrise. Sunset.

I'm not dead yet

People have asked me what the hell is wrong. I haven't been blogging. I haven't been in touch. "Are you alive Dave?" is what I hear.

Here's the situation: I've been locked in my Wizard Cave learning some cool new things. I've also been locked in my Wizard Mini-Van travelling to see clients and attend meetings.

Deep Research and Conversation in the Wizard Cave

[OK, it's been so long since I've written, I've received a verbal warning from the Grammar Police...or is it gramer-poleese? That's what I get for writing late at night. Corrections have been made...er, maked. But perfesser, what about the content? Do you agree or disagree?]

I know, I know. It's been a while. I haven't lost my blog voice, I've just been renting it out to too many others lately.

Sometimes the only things I can think of to blog about are the negative customer experiences I've been having at the hands of some of the best-known brands on this planet. I really don't want to turn this into that type of blog, so FedEx will get some slack for now, although they really do deserve a rant.

I've been having some really cool conversations lately with my wizardly wife. She works for a company that seems to be losing site sight of its customer experience compass and wandering towards a transactional business model. It's not pretty. It is costing them in many areas from the morale of the lowest paid employees to the value of the stock.

When people's eyes are on the wrong scoreboard (say, the misguided criteria for their end-of-year cash bonus) instead of the scoreboard that matters for the long term (customer satisfaction and stock price) all kinds of weird things happen in a company.

I can't go into detail, but I'd encourage you to make sure your eyes are on your customers and the value of your company. Your customers will see to your short term needs (putting bread on the table) and the value of your company is very likely your true nest egg.

I'm working on a very cool tool that will combine the Wizard of Ads' Advertising Performance Equation with our Ad Budget Calculator and show how both are effected by businesses focusing too much on transactions and not enough on relationships.

It may take some serious cogitation here in my concrete-lined wizard cave deep under the prairies of Nebraska. I'll let you know when I come up for air.

Hooray for Honeywell!

I really enjoy reading along with Michelle Leder (Footnoted.org) as she scours the footnotes of SEC filings. On Fridays she tries to find a tidbit of good news to pass along. She says it's not always easy. I believe it.

...Honeywell decided to create a chart that basically mimics the summary compensation table providing a list of various perks for all five top executives over the past three years. So it's easy for investors to see that Chairman and CEO David Cote's personal use of his company car was $55K last year vs. $66K last year or that CFO David Anderson used the corporate jet less than half as much as he did in 2003. Honeywell isn't required to list it this way -- they could have lumped it all together like most companies do. But since this is a preliminary proxy, let's cross our fingers and hope more companies follow suit.

Link: footnoted.org | Blog.

Meeting Ankesh Kothari

One of the coolest people I met this weekend at the Wizard Academy Reunion was Ankesh Kothari. A marketing major at Michigan State, Ankesh is the brain behind the big scary Marketing eYe blog as well as the publisher of the Business Bullet newsletter and BizTactics website.

He was invited to the reunion by our down-under partner, Craig Arthur. Julie and I had the privilege of being both Ankesh's and Angela's chauffers. I know we'll see more of Ankesh in the future.

If you haven't already, please subscribe to his newsletter today. He really knows how to do it right, and he has a deep understanding Lagniappe. To find out more, just take a look at all the great fee stuff he offers on his site.

It's good to have a new friend!