The Essence of Branding and communication
A Brand is an identity / recognition derived over a period of time through characteristics of the product and the advertising and promotional efforts made to build the brand. It is also an intangible asset for a company developed over a period of time. The contributing factors to the recognition of a brand (either a product or a company) are, the quality of the product, utility of the product, the potential the product has in the market.
Companies generally follow two strategies in developing a brand.
1. At the launch of the product the companies invest hugely on Marketing, Advertisement, promotions.
2. Companies follow strong sales and distribution channel and take time to develop the product as a brand.
Developing a product and positioning the product in the market so that the consumers identify the brand by its utility is an essential point to be considered while developing a new product and branding the product.
The necessary characteristics that go into the branding of a product are the target markets including the size, region, and segment of the consumers (either B2B or B2C), the utility it has to the consumers, any differentiating factors and of course the quality.
Brand Communication either through advertisements or promotional activities should be specific and clear in communicating the product characteristics. Effective communication ensures clarity about the product and reduces the efforts required to establish the brand. The characteristics of the product and positioning the product in the market need to be in tune with each other.
The activities carried out such as Advertisements including – news papers and magazines, television, Radio & hoardings, Promotions, Exhibitions, Packaging should be in tune and complementary in nature to efficiently manage the resources. The locations, segments, demographics, timing and cycle of the branding activities have to be well defined. As and when there is an improvement in the product or significant developments in a company / business it is important to carry out marketing activities to leverage the goodwill of the developments and the improvements in the company or the product.
Companies invest hugely in branding the products released in the market from time to time. Companies carry out marketing, advertising and promotions, exhibitions on the branding. Hence it is necessary to constantly monitor the returns received on investments. The constant monitoring of the returns will help the branding activities to be carried out with increased efficiency.
Copyright Smart Consulting 2010. All rights reserved. (www.smartconsulting.in)
Mr. Ganesh Raj U, a graduate in Industrial and Production Engineering and a post graduate in MBA in Marketing and Finance. He has worked in services industry and closely understands the business models of Services Companies. His interest lies in Business Management consulting & implementation.
Collusion on the corner of Penn Avenue and Plymouth in North Minneapolis
On Saturday, April 25, 2009 at the Minneapolis Urban League, I invite you to see corruption at its highest level as the community is presented with the two finalists for the position of President/CEO of the Minneapolis Urban League. Its time the Minneapolis Urban League employees take charge and speak up on this eventual “train wreck.”
The Minneapolis Urban League has identified two finalists for the CEO vacancy. Its alleged that one of the finalists has “paid” for his place at the table by interaction with a local non-profit director, his wife and the search committee.
The story goes like this…
On last week, sources via email contact and phone calls, tell IBNN that Stairstep Foundation director Alfred Babington-Johnson was in Madison, Wisconsin for the Villager Mall ground breaking on March 27, 2009. Phone calls to the Madison Urban League confirm that Mr. Johnson, was in fact the keynote speaker and was paid a hefty sum.
As reported earlier this week on The Adventures of Johnny Northside, (read: Don Allen calls Al McFarlane out and denies working for the CIA/FBI), there has been some collusion as it pertains to the players on the search committee, board and the Stairstep Foundation.
This “secret cooperation” is the same elitist crap that cost the Minneapolis Urban League to loose over million in funding in 2007. The agency continues to loose funding and puts good employees on notice for possible job cuts do to the management and the boards lack of diplomatic and cordial relationships in the private and public sectors. Again I ask, “How much money has Northwest Airlines or Delta contributed to the agency? If none, then why have the airlines general council as board chairman? Furthermore with Congressman Keith Ellison’s office in the agency, why didn’t the MUL receive any 2008 Federal Earmarks? Will they get Federal Funding in 2009 or 2010? (I don’t have all the answers).
The real question when looking a Board of Directors is, “How many of the current MUL Board members can write a check for ,000 to the agency. Yes, my point exactly. Then I ask, who is benefiting from being on the MUL Board or how do the current board members benefit the agency? “A radio broadcast?”
Why, read on…
You see, right across the street, the University of Minnesota is building a LEGACY organization called UROC (The Urban Research and Outreach Center). I applaud the University of Minnesota for holding their ground and not “waffling” to the demands of the abrasive group of “has been’s” with no direction, process or use of sound business practices.
I hate to say it, but the Minneapolis Urban League is finished. The University of Minnesota/UROC will archive higher numbers in programs, advocacy, service to people, community engagement, education, and more importantly follow-through. Personally, I think the employees of the Minneapolis Urban League deserve a better kind of “pro-active” leadership, one that is present!
When you continue to touch programs, people and community engagement and it turns to shit, maybe you’ve outlived your usefulness.
In an email intercepted by IBNN from the Minneapolis Urban League after a request for the email to be sent to IBNN was ignored by Minneapolis Urban League’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Sylvia Loveless-Amos (the email was the press release for the Saturday event), which reads (unedited):
Minneapolis Urban League Identifies Two Finalists for CEO Vacancy
Decision to be finalized following community forum on April 25th Minneapolis, MN
(April 13, 2009) – Minneapolis Urban League Board Chair Cathy Wassberg announced today that the
Minneapolis Urban League CEO Search Committee has narrowed its candidates down to two, both of which will appear at a community event scheduled for April 25th at the MUL’s headquarters.
Former President/CEO Clarence Hightower left the MUL in the fall of last year. Since that time, the Search Committee of the Board diligently has searched for a replacement.
Both candidates, Pamela Coaxum and Scott Gray, have been certified by the National Urban League.
South Minneapolis native, Pamela Coaxum, is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and the University of North Carolina. Most recently, she served as Local Office Director of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. in St. Louis, MO. Enterprise Community Partners provides financial and program support to public and private organizations that develop affordable housing and deliver workforce and community development programs in a highly technology driven environment. Previously, Pam was Chief Operating Officer of the Metropolitan St. Louis YWCA.
Scott Gray is a native of inner city Milwaukee. He has completed degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi and Goddard College. Scott is currently the President/CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison, WI. In this capacity he oversees multiple programs in the areas of education, career development, housing, economic development and workforce development. Prior to joining the League, he was Associate Regional Director for Habitat for Humanity International in Chicago, IL.
Both candidates will participate in final interviews and a community forum on Saturday, April 25th at the Minneapolis Urban League headquarters at 1:00 PM CST.
The community is encouraged to attend and learn more about our finalist. The MUL Board of Directors will be soliciting community input as they make their final selection.
An announcement of the new President/CEO is expected before May 1, 2009.
# # #
Get this…Insight News President/Editor-in-Chief and Minneapolis Urban League Board member Al McFarlane will host the event. Mr. McFarlane also hosts a sponsored show on KFAI-FM at the Minneapolis Urban League on Tuesday’s. (Mmm?)
Understanding that the Minneapolis Urban League has been without sound leadership and direction for a long time, gave local “puppet masters” the opportunity to manipulate, reprogram and redirect attention from vital issues and “process.”
I’ve been too angry to write a full story but have two more Commentaries in the “can” for next week. IBNN continues to receive calls from concerned community members about the obvious Conflict of Interest violations at the Minneapolis Urban League, involving certain Board members, search committee personnel and partisan politics.
A request for information sent to the Minneapolis Urban League last year has never been answered.
Donald is the General Manager of V-Media in Minneapolis.
Media Watch
Clear Channel phone app takes radio on the road by John Schuster CLEAR CHANNEL PHONE APP TAKES RADIO ON THE ROAD It’s observing-the-obvious time.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]
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MyMedicalRecords Sponsors Hallmark Channel’s “The Spirit of Mississippi” and Clear Channel Network Radio Launch of …
LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwire – September 1, 2010) – MMRGlobal, Inc. ( OTCBB : MMRF ) ( www.mmrglobal.com ) expands its advertising of Personal Health Records products and services ( www.mymedicalrecords.com ) on national television tonight, September 1, 2010, at 6 pm EDT, in ” The Spirit of Mississippi,” on the Hallmark Channel. The Company …
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All About Satellite Radio
One of the great advantages of satellite radio is the fact that the programs are not interrupted by commercials. This is because the providers income comes from listeners and not from advertisers. Satellite radio services offer around 70 programs of commercial fee music channels each and you have a great variety of choices, from mainstream rock, hip-hop and dance music to folk music, opera, blues and many more.
Another great thing is the absence of static. You can be driving from the West Coast to the East Coast in the United States of America and you will not get any static at all on the way. The radio signal is digital, which means that you will get crystal-clear sound wherever you go.
Satellite radio tuners receive, along with the actual radio programs, an influx of metadata that consists of information regarding song title, artist, radio program and radio channel. This means that your satellite radio receiver will display all the necessary information about what you are listening to. For instance, if you hear a great song and you want to know which artist sings it, you just look at the receivers display.
All radio programs are uncensored. This is one of the reasons why artists like Howard Stern chose to move their shows on satellite radio. You can also listen to your favorite hip-hop songs without the interruption of those annoying beeping sounds.
Satellite radio programs also offer information about local traffic and weather conditions. The information is very detailed especially for those who live in big cities. If there is a major national calamity and other terrestrial radio stations will not work, you can always count on getting accurate information from satellite radio program. You can also listen to it online on your computer.
If you still are not convinced on why you should pay money for something that you can get for free, think about how much time you have wasted listening to commercials and all kinds of other boring stuff on terrestrial radio programs.
Traditional radio is not free, despite the popular belief. It is time-consuming and irritating because you have to listen to five minutes or more of commercials so that you can finally hear a song you like. The satellite radio subscriptions are very affordable and, for around 13 dollars per month, you get exactly the programs you want, which you can listen to wherever you are, at the best sound quality.
Satellite radio is great for you especially if you travel a lot. If you are traveling across the United States of America, for example, you can listen to the channel or channels you want during your whole trip, without losing signal or getting static. If you have a traditional radio, you will have to keep changing channels every hundred miles, but if you are using satellite radio you do not have to do that because the geographically availability of programs is not a problem. Satellite radio subscribers will soon get the chance to watch video programs as well.
Both Sirius and XM services have announced their intention of introducing in the near future a variety of video satellite channels that will have some of the great advantages that are currently available to satellite radio: commercial free programs, great quality of sound and vast geographical availability.
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Six of the Most Common Leadership Communication Styles
There was an interesting article in PR Week last week, on the subject of leadership communication. Entitled â??Get the best out of your bossâ?? it outlines six of the most common leadership styles and suggests how communicators can best play to the personalities of their leaders. Itâ??s a nice reminder of the breadth of styles we have to work with and provides some useful pointers on how to play to your bossâ??s particular strengths.
The six leadership styles â?? and the supporting descriptions (Iâ??ve paraphrased) are:
Visionary leader â?? the classic rock star CEO who sets the big-picture and excels at moving people towards a shared vision. These leaders are superb public speakers and enjoy life in the spotlight. Barack Obama is a good example. Affiliative leader â?? this type of leader wants to be your friend. A collaborative figure, the affiliative leader focuses on emotional needs and is most likely to ask â??how are you?â??. Angela Merkel is held up as an example. Coaching leader â?? holds long conversations that often extend beyond the work place. Good at helping employees identify their strengths and weaknesses and linking these to career goals. Step forward Dr Who. Democratic leader â??these are the great listening leaders, though this is sometimes at the expense of decisive action. Favorite catchphrases include â??what do you think?â??. They like to show the way without pushing people in a particular direction. Lord Sebastian Coe is a good example. Pacesetter leader â?? most likely to say â??copy meâ??, these hard working leaders never shirk a challenge and lead by example. One downside is that they often expect employees to automatically get the picture. Step forward Margaret Thatcherâ?¦ Commanding leader â?? an old-school taskmaster who brings the dynamics of the playground into the boardroom. Very command and control in style they stick to one clear direction and refuse to consider an alternative routes or messages. Montgomery Burns is a good example.
The communicators quoted in the article, among them David Ferrabee and James Harkness, provide lots of useful advice on working with these types, including:
Providing visionary leaders the right platform and sufficient time to explain their vision to others and gather feedback. High profile tactics like webcasts and regular publication profiles go down well with these types, but they may sometimes lack an eye for detail and require specific IC support in this area. Identifying opportunities for affiliative leaders to show their steel. Tactics like back to the floor are useful here, as are structured team meetings which focus on sharing constructive feedback. One classic issue with these types is their desire to communicate only the positive messages. Playing to the strengths of coaching leaders by encouraging them to host small, intimate sessions and focus on helping people turn strategy into action. These types are not great at big picture, but excel at one-to-one. Creating high-involvement forums for democratic leaders â?? workshops, online forums and blogs are particularly powerful. Clear, decisions communications help overcome this leaderâ??s tendency towards indecision. Arm them with insights and intelligence about the workforce and they should respond well. Encouraging the pacesetting leader to be more inclusive, more considerate of the feelings of others and creating plenty of listening opportunities. Inclusivity is key here and tactics like recognition programmes and use of social media channels can be useful. Context is critical for the commanding leader. Rather than just explaining what to people, they need to focus on building understanding around the why. Big picture strategy is important here â?? and tactics like learning maps and visuals and strategy toolkits can be very handy. Listening channels are important too â?? and employees may require anonymity as commanding leaders can breed distrust and fear. Coaching in body language is also useful.
Lee Smith is co-founder of Gatehouse, an internal communication agency, consultancy on internal communications, internal comms, employee communication, research, audit, jobs, change management and employee engagement.
Job Forum Alaska 2
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Civil rights rally remembers King’s speech
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Dallas Texas Real Estate
Welcome to Dallas, Texas the sunny home of the All American football team the Dallas Cowboys and America’s Sweetheart cheerleaders. Texas, the state where steaks are plentiful and the oil industry provides massive job opportunities. Stroll through downtown during late September through early October when the leaves are vibrantly morphing from a green to a beautiful array of orange, red and yellow hues. Enjoy the exhilarating atmosphere of the largest state fair in the United States at our famous Cotton Bowl Stadium. The Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area, also known as “the Metroplex contains roughly over 6.1 million people. It is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Dallas has a population of over 1.2 million people in the city of Dallas itself. Dallas being the 9th most popular metropolitan area in the United States is still firmly holding strong in the real estate arena as well as providing continuous job growth.
Dallas Texas real estate community still holds sturdy and is extremely resilient despite the media. Experts credit much of the growth in the South to relatively strong local economies and housing prices that are among the most affordable in the U.S. As a result of the numerous job opportunities and the affordable standard of living in North Texas it has made Dallas a target area to live in. Strong companies housing their headquarter in Dallas such as AT&T, Comerica Bank, Texas Instrument, EDS, Dr.Pepper, Frito Lay, Neiman Marcus and American Airlines, just to name a few has provided thousands of jobs for our local economy. With all the media chaos from what you read and hear on the internet, the radio and the television, that the real estate market has really plummeted, this is very untrue to Dallas. Our steady appreciation over the years has been the main factor that has saved our economy in Dallas to not fail like that of the West Coast and the East Coast. For example, a typical home bought 5-10 years ago in California for 0,000 immediately appreciated within a 6-12 month period of 100%! Whereas in the steady yet stable market of Texas our average price of 0,000 would slowly appreciate to 0,000 after three years. Regardless of how slow it took us to actually make some money on our real estate this has also enable us to see a very small decline if at all in our home prices. How can you possibly lose something you never had? Dallas-Fort Worth added more than 162,000 residents between July 2006 and July 2007, more than any other metro area according to the Census Bureau. Dallas was ranked on Yahoo real estate in June 2008 one of the top 10 cities holding strong in the real estate market. A few years ago we would complain and fuss about the real estate opportunities in California or Florida but now us Texans can truly kick our feet up and not worry about losing money when we’re selling our homes.
So with the strong job opportunities and the powerful Dallas real estate market Dallas, Texas is a phenomenal place to live and raise a family. So come out to the Dallas metroplex and come enjoy our shopping, eating, entertainment and the largest State Fair around! There’s so much to do and so much to see and if you choose not to do anything you can still thoroughly enjoy the warm fall weather in Texas! Even if you don’t choose Dallas as a place to live come visit it will be a place ya’ll never forget!
Jim Nguyen was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and is a licensed real estate agent. Mr. Nguyen specializes in Dallas real estate and has a career with JC Associates – Dallas/Ft. Worth Keller Williams. For more information, please visit www.dallasrr.com.
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Streaming Media East, CLIO Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Florida Music Festival, Seattle International Film Fest, Backstage.com Highlight May Events
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For one day, on May 11, Content Delivery Summit assembles in New York and brings together customers, vendors, analysts, and Wall Street to discuss and define where the video delivery industry is headed. And on the very next day, May 12-13, in the same New York hotel, annual Streaming Media East 2009 Conference & Exhibition continues the topic of online video in a broader sense, catering to the needs of content owners, viral video creators, online marketers, enterprise corporations, broadcast professionals, ad agencies, educators and others that come to Streaming Media East to see and hear the latest online video technology, and to discuss the business models that are coming of age. Game Developers Conference Canada 2009 meets May 12-13 in Vancouver and covers industry-leading methodologies in game design, production, programming, visual arts and writing for big-budget multiplatform games. The CLIO Awards will be celebrating its monumental 50th Anniversary in Las Vegas, highlighting accomplishments in the industry with five new and distinct award shows, after parties, conference sessions, industry networking opportunities, and more. Cannes Film Festival gets started this year May 13, continuing through May 24.
Former US president Bill Clinton will join actress Sharon Stone at this year’s Cannes Film Festival AIDS fund-raiser in southern France, Clinton will attend the May 21 event alongside Stone, Harvey Weinstein, Carine Roitfeld, Michelle Yeoh and Donatella Versace, among others. The gala will take place at the Eden Roc, at Cap d’Antibes. The Indie Film Jam is back for its fifth year as part of the Florida Music Festival, running May 14-17, screening selected films in the heart of Downtown Orlando throughout the FMF weekend and offering independent filmmakers networking opportunities as well as industry panels designed for educating, enlightening and gaining insight into the world of filmmaking. The George Foster Peabody Awards which recognizes distinguished achievement and meritorious service by broadcasters, cable, webcasters, producing organizations, and individuals, conducts its 68th annual awards May 18 in New York, with a reception that begins at 11 am, followed by lunch, with Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News the events MC. At this year’s Seattle International Film Festival, running May 21 through June 21, SIFF will present the 2009 Golden Space Needle Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing to Spike Lee, on May 23, followed by a screening of Lee’s ‘Passing Strange, a Q&A session, and an intimate Tribute Dinner celebration with Spike Lee as the guest of honor. Later in the festival, director Francis Ford Coppola will host a special presentation of his new film, ‘Tetro’ at a June 10 screening. MUTEK is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination and development of avant-garde digital creativity in sound, music, and audio-visual art, which it does in part through the annual presentation of its namesake festival held in Montreal, this year running May 27-31. Nashville Screenwriters Conference will again offer one of its more popular panels, “Music in the Movies,” offering aspiring songwriters, composers and artists advice on how to get their music placed in films and TV, when it assembles again this year for sessions running May 29-31.
The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page. Video and podcast versions of this news summary are also available at popular video sites around the Web like MySpace, YouTube, Daily Motion, as well as on The Actor’s Checklist podcast blog. Leading entertainment industry publication Back Stage has redesigned their Backstage.com website to allow for better resume and picture upload, casting and job alerts, and much more. Follow the posting of the news summary on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/actorschecklist This month on the video news summary you will again see a dynamic array of artists in performance of film and music. Last month’s video news summary showcase featured New Jersey based Mindbreak Entertainment’s with murder mystery thriller The Secret, directed by Ian J. Kenney. The futuristic 4D virtual gaming arena ‘Turbo’ a short film from Jarrett Conaway, in the tradition of the Karate Kid and Tron. Los Angeles based Rooftop Mind, with ‘Sex Text’ and The Moonlit Road. Music video production company, THEfilmboyPROJECT, of London with ‘Never Wanna Lose You’ performed by East End hip hop, r&b group, DNA. A documentary segment in which film composer Jermaine Stegall conducts the Hollywood Studio Symphony. These videos are now available on the Free Home Video Showcase which now serves as an archive for all past video presentations but without the audio news narration.
Letters to the Editor: Aug. 25, 2010
Here are letters to the editor from Daily News editions of Aug. 25, 2010.
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