Get your Plan ‘A’ right from the start!©

Get a cup-a-joe and take 8 minutes for a Branding 101 power lesson!

Your logo is THE non-verbal visual representation of your brand when you’re not around to tell the story.©

Color and it’s meaning

The Meaning Of Colour In Marketing infographic by AttwoodDigital.

When Life Experience Merges with Social Media

“On a typical day, 43% of U.S. adults said they visit sites like Facebook and Twitter, up from 38% a year ago, the survey finds. Among just Internet users ages 50 to 64, social-networking usage on a typical day increased to 32% from 20%. Compared with other online activities, respondents overall said they only use email and search engines more frequently than social networks.”  These are excepts from an article Adult Use of Social Media by Sarah E. Needleman from WSJ Blog.

I have found that many of my women clients, in particular those over the age of 55, are extremely vibrant, funny, gifted, life-experienced, vital, and excited about what is to come. Many of them have worked double and triple-time trying to keep up with technology.   They have found ways of detaching  from years of their paper trails to relying on their computers and clouds to sort and file.  Wow; how commendable.

This is not meant to be a ‘women rule the world’ commentary but it fascinates me to no end that we women keep on trucking, no matter what. This is my way of honoring those who have gone before me that teach me the ‘how to’s’ of life; my mentors.

In Needleman’s article, there are some statistical gems which indicate that adults over the age of 65 are getting more and more on the SM bandwagon.  This is so exciting because it means there is more life and business knowledge coming everyone’s way.

Life experience is truly beginning to infiltrate its way onto the web and I look forward to this emergence.

With PlanABrand’s Cindy Faith Swain, Needing a Plan B Is a Thing of the Past – Noozhawk.com

With PlanABrand’s Cindy Faith Swain, Needing a Plan B Is a Thing of the Past – Noozhawk.com

It’s all about rock ‘n’ roll.

At least it was for Cindy Faith Swain when she came to California in the late 1980s.

Cindy Faith Swain was recently honored by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications as its 2011 Member of the Year. (Alex Kacik / Noozhawk photo)

“I came to California to be a rock ‘n’ roll star,” Faith Swain said. “Then I thought I needed some money and that it would be nice to have a real job with health benefits.”.

Read more…

Compliments and Rewards

It was an honor and a privilege to receive the award for 2011 Member of the Year from Association for Women in Communications, Santa Barbara chapter. There really is nothing like getting an award to build your personal credibility. I’m so proud to have it hanging on my wall right next to my desk, however, I am always so

quick to discount my accomplishments and “flick the compliments off my shoulder” as my friend and colleague Lois Phillips so eloquently talks about in her book Women Seen and Heard.

I had the opportunity to talk about branding for 10 minutes and provided a hand-out which gives some basic tips.  Noohawk, Santa Barbara’s Online News Service covered the event.

I have always liked sharing information to help people better understand the value of themselves and their brands.  Click here for some basic branding tips.

I would love feedback and to hear some of your ideas on how to brand yourself and your business.

Expectations – Bobby McFerrin

Just ‘stumbledupon’ this.  Bobby McFerrin is clever and his point is so well communicated – We all have expectations.

8 Minute Color & Image – Branding Webinar

8 Minute On Demand Branding Webinar
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Color and Branding

by Paul Sable and Okan Akcay

The use of color in branding has taken on new importance as more companies go  global. Global brands such as BP (British Petroleum) (green), Cadburys  Chocolate (purple), Hershey’s Chocolate (brown), and Kodak (yellow) use color to differentiate, but also to stand out.

Brands are fortified in memory by way of an “associative memory network.” Marketers use color to strengthen associations. For example, we all have evoked sets. This is the set of brands that come into our head when we have a need for something (e.g., rent-a-car companies). What company do you associate with the colors red, yellow, blue, etc.? If consumers lack the motivation or ability to evaluate a product they may use signals or “extrinsic values” such as appearance or color to make a decision.  In today’s world of product parity and competition (with lots of options and brands), branding and perhaps color will be more important. Color will have more importance in countries where illiteracy prevails or the use of symbolism is widespread. International brand and product names also are often plagued by problems of language, pronunciation, meaning, cultural considerations and legalities and as a result, non-verbal cues have become increasingly important in positioning international brands quickly and effectively.

To read more: http://asbbs.org/files/2010/ASBBS2010v1/PDF/S/Sable.pdf

Word as Image by Ji Lee

For more about Ji Lee: http://pleaseenjoy.com/
For more about Ji Lee’s book: http://bit.ly/scYYdG

Challenge: Create an image out of a word, using only the letters in the word itself.
Rule: Use only the graphic elements of the letters without adding outside elements.

Word as Image invites you to see letters beyond their utilitarian dullness. It’s about discovering the magic behind the unique shapes and infinite possibilities of letters and words. This book showcases nearly 100 of Ji Lee’s head-scratching word images, along with tips to help you create your own and share them at www.wordasimage.com.

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