January 27th, 2009
by Tom Pollock

All marketers can appreciate the importance of a good logo. Millions of dollars and decades of effort go into creating a strong, clear, recognizable symbol that represents a brand. Companies like Nike with their “swoosh,” products like Campbell’s Soup with its venerable red-and-white label, and even celebrities like Oprah with her “O” have succeeded in linking an image in our mind to a feeling of familiarity with what they have to offer.

The latest frontier in online marketing is the favicon. While you may not have heard of these little gems, you’ve no doubt seen plenty. A favicon (short for “favorites icon”) is that small graphic image just to the left of the address bar in your web browser. You can probably see the orange Projectline favicon atop this browser page. Favicons are popping up more & more, and that little piece of real estate presents a great marketing opportunity. (more…)

tags: advertising, brand, marketing

September 30th, 2008
by Eric Larson

One of my colleagues, Greg, told me about this story. It’s an old story about turning around a disgruntled customer using new media–Twitter! (Note: Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows users to send short blog posts of 140 characters or less to other users that follow their micro-blog.)

One Twitter user who just happened to run his own marketing blog (C.C. Chapman, Managing the Gray) was “Tweeting” about the quality of his HD picture on Comcast during a Boston Celtics game. Shortly after his micro-rant, a Comcast service professional sent him a message on Twitter asking him how he could help fix his HD reception.

(more…)

tags: blogging, brand, case studies, new media, podcasts, web 2.0, word of mouth

May 17th, 2008
by Anika Lehde

So I, along with six other Projectline marketing consultants, attended the Puget Sound American Marketing Association’s annual conference, MarketSmart, Thursday. Great speakers, great atmosphere, great day all around.

What I found interesting, and what I hope some of you will be willing to discuss with me, is how I left the conference with mixed feelings about the content of the presentations—most of which focused on brand, brand protection,  brand as something beyond the product, brand as a lifestyle, brand as an “emotional connection” with people.  Nothing really new, but even more “emotion” speak than usual. For me, the idea of making an “emotional connection” with someone solely for sake of selling a product  seems (and maybe is) a little smarmy. Isn’t it?

(more…)

tags: audience perception, brand, responsible