Marketing

a story of custom club fitting - Brand Insight Blog

Custom club fitting:  Path to perfection or folly of the fragile golf psyche?

One of the hosts of an immensely popular golf podcast recently said, on the air, that “custom club fitting is a total waste of time for most people.” It was the type of statement that boosts ratings and incites debate among golf industry insiders. But his reasoning was weak; “It’s not like real life,” he …

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How to cut your marketing budget without hurting your brand image.

When it comes to belt tightening, most marketing managers have it all wrong. The minute the boss gives them the bad news… “gotta cut your marketing budget”  they go straight to the list of tactics and start chopping off the bottom of the spread sheet. Not a stylish trim around the ears, more like a …

How to cut your marketing budget without hurting your brand image. Read More »

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The answer to all the marketing questions you’ve ever had…

It Depends.   I always tell clients and prospects “There are no dumb marketing questions.” They still hesitate because it’s human nature… they don’t want to look dumb or sound uninformed. When they do chime in with questions, this is what I commonly hear: “What’s the best advertising channel in 2024?” “My competitors are super …

The answer to all the marketing questions you’ve ever had… Read More »

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Ecommerce niches – the best thing ever for MANkind

Ten years ago I couldn’t imagine getting all my Christmas shopping done from the comfort of the man cave during timeouts in the football game. For most guys, the idea of a world without trips to the mall was pure fantasy. And ecommerce niches built specifically for men? Hell yes! Ecommerce has been exploding ever …

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The difference between marketing strategy and tactics.

A successful marketing guy asked me a question recently — a real no-brainer — which led me to believe he didn’t know the difference between marketing strategy and tactics. How can that be? He’s held several high-paying marketing positions. He has an MBA. He’s gotta know this stuff. So I started doing some research online …

The difference between marketing strategy and tactics. Read More »

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The most common misconceptions in marketing

I recently ran across this graphic (below) from a marketing person who teaches marketing people how to market themselves more effectively. This simple graphic hierarchy represents one of the most common misconceptions in marketing. It’s a trap that many business owners and CEOs fall into. If this is how you visualize the marketing landscape, I …

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What business owners can learn from political advertising

Every election year there’s a deluge of dumb, annoying political ads from both sides of the aisle. And as much as we love to hate them, there’s a lot that business owners can learn from political advertising. From a creative standpoint it’s rare to find any political ads that are noteworthy. As a genre, they …

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Managing a small-business through thick and thin

You probably heard this cliche a thousand times back in 2020…. “In these unprecedented times… managing a small-business is harder than ever…  Blah blah blah.”  I’ve seen my share of  “unprecented times.” I vividly remember how the business world came to a screeching halt in 1990 when we fought the first Gulf War. Then there …

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Need to improve your marketing? Start with your P.O.V.

How you see things — your unique point-of-view — skews everything you do. You can’t escape it. Whether you need to launch an ad campaign, build a brand, make a video, or improve your marketing overall, your P.O.V. can make all the difference. In Hollywood “POV” is a common technique used by directors to add …

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How to make your copywriting more compelling – Introduce incongruity

Sometimes, one single word is everything. The difference between a marketing home run and a dribbling bunt.
I recently ran into a client who was completely fixated on one word in a headline: “Precious.”
“Babies are precious, not parking places,” she argued. “Yes, but diamonds are also precious. And what’s more valuable than diamonds?” I countered.

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Putting your best foot forward – How to make your products look great online.

Ever since the COVID pandemic every category in the e-commerce industry has been growing like a weed plant. Everyone wants to know how to make their products look great online so they can cash in on the ecommerce gold rush. Small, family-owned boutiques are starting their own online operations; Bricks and Clicks, it’s called. Manufacturing …

Putting your best foot forward – How to make your products look great online. Read More »

Consumer behavior

Predicting consumer behavior in 2023: Or the whacky, random ways people buy.

Corporations spend billions every year trying to predict consumer behavior. Market research firms have sophisticated modeling protocols, ivy league PHDs and multivariate analysis to help them make sense of what is, inherently, nonsensical behavior. Take, for example, the time my dad decided to replace his rusting Ford pick-up truck. He drove two hours to the …

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5 Things all iconic brands have in common.

Simon Edwards, former Brand Manager at 3M, started a lively online discussion around this question: “What are the common attributes of iconic brands? He opened it up on a LinkedIn Group that includes 4,363 branding consultants, practitioners, creative directors, gurus and wannabes. It was an intelligent, worthwhile discussion that hit all the hot buttons of …

5 Things all iconic brands have in common. Read More »

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1 Tough Mother, 2 marketing objectives: Image advertising that works

It’s an age old debate… can image advertising actually move the needle on bottom-line business objectives?  Ad agency execs say yes, of course. But marketing directors, C-level execs and direct response guys are often skeptical. My humble opinion… absolutely. When it’s done well, “image” or “brand” advertising certainly can achieve both objectives… it can move …

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The ancient, proven path to marketing success – Credible, Emotional, Rational

Humans love instant gratification. In fact, our brains are wired for it. But the path to marketing success is not instantaneous. It starts in the gut, meanders around till it hits your heart, and finishes in the head — if you play your cards right. Say hello to the holy trinity of marketing success: Credible, …

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The Yin & Yang of Marketing – Are your efforts in balance?

In Eastern philosophy yin yang represents the concept of duality. Two halves working together toward wholeness and harmony. It’s the dance of opposites — where seemingly contrary forces are actually complementary. Like marketing strategy and tactics. “Wholeness” — ie optimal results — is only achieved when you strike that delicate balance between the two. When …

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The DIY mentality and small business marketing (2 clearly different paths)

Small-business owners are naturally self-reliant. We’re all in business for ourselves because we have that classic, American mentality that says we should get our hands dirty and pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. Damn the torpedoes! According to the SBA there are 27.9 million small businesses registered in America and  22.5 million of those are …

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perception vs reality in natural foods marketing by BNBranding

Secondary Reality (Alternative facts in natural foods marketing)

“Those marketing guys aren’t dealing in reality.” I’ve heard that one before from sales guys, engineers, CFOs, CEOs and COOs.  To which I say, “Damn right.” If the marketing team dealt only in reality the operations team wouldn’t have an operation. The finance guys wouldn’t have profits to count. The Human Resources department wouldn’t need more …

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Marketing Management & Leadership – Who’s really running the show?

Marketing is full of colorful characters… Data nerds, creative prima donnas, wordsmith poets, actors, spreadsheet managers, order takers, MBAs, planners, directors, programmers, guru tweeters and on and on. Successful marketing management hinges on how you handle that challenging mix of characters, personalities and skill sets. You have to choose carefully, decide who should lead, and …

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Is “Inspiring Bank” an Oxymoron? The Branding of Umpqua Bank

It’s interesting, where people find business inspiration. For some, it’s the pages of Forbes or podcasts with big-name entrepreneurs. For me it’s the bookstore, or conversations with clients. I don’t think anyone looks at bank branding as a source of inspiration. Most banks are not known for their inspiring interiors or creative marketing practices. The …

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How to hire the right marketing person — the first time.

Most business owners have no idea how to hire the right marketing person. I’ve seen many good, stable companies churn through dozens of people before they find a match. The revolving door gets costly. The companies I work with rely on small, efficient teams of people for all their marketing needs, and without good leadership …

How to hire the right marketing person — the first time. Read More »

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“High-Quality” Content – Finding or providing something genuinely worthwhile.

High quality content is a completely subjective — and massively broad — subject. For one person it means hilarious Tic Toc videos. For someone else, it means authoritative educational content that helps them finish their PhD. For the purposes of this blog post, we’re going to focus on the kind of high-quality content that helps …

“High-Quality” Content – Finding or providing something genuinely worthwhile. Read More »

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Truth and clarity about Guerrilla Marketing

It’s 1810. Napolean’s armies have conquered all of Europe and are enjoying the spoils. But in Spain, small bands of dedicated freedom fighters wage their own war against the occupying forces. They sneak. Strike. Move. Hide. And strike again. They involve the enemy in a long, drawn-out war, and ultimately prevail. That’s how the term …

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Effective Personal Branding — The corporate head shot is not the ticket.

Recently we had a client who didn’t like the photos we had taken for her website. She didn’t appreciate the fact that we had done something different than the usual, corporate head shot. She said they didn’t look “professional enough”  — didn’t think it was good personal branding. The problem is, her idea of “professional” …

Effective Personal Branding — The corporate head shot is not the ticket. Read More »

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As long as first impressions matter, website design will matter.

There was a group discussion on LinkedIn recently that started with this statement: “Website design doesn’t really matter. It’s a waste of money.” It’s nonsense, of course, but that headline served its purpose by provoking quite a debate… Graphic designers and advertising people in one camp, web programmers and entrepreneurs in the other, arguing their respective …

As long as first impressions matter, website design will matter. Read More »

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Marketing for financial advisors – beyond gift baskets

It was one hell of a gift basket, piled high with a delicious assortment of treats… Not unusual for the holiday season, except it came from my financial advisor. First gift ever from a planner who I’ve worked with for more than 10 years. Apparently, the stock market’s rise inspired her to do a little outreach. …

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retail marketing strategy

Retail Marketing Strategy — Super Sales vs. Super Brands.

It’s discount days in the retail world right now. Everywhere you turn there’s a super sale, an inventory reduction, a seasonal clearance event or some other equally banal form of discounting. That’s always the default retail marketing strategy. Retailers,  both brick and mortar store owners and ecommerce operators, are desperate to get people in the …

Retail Marketing Strategy — Super Sales vs. Super Brands. Read More »

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Take your next agency for a spin.

You wouldn’t buy a BMW without getting behind the wheel. You have no idea what it can do. Same with BN Branding. So let’s go for a test drive… just one small assignment to prove how well we handle whatever you throw at us.

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