Articles by Brad VanAuken

brad vanauken has written 445 articles for AdTalk

Brad VanAuken

Establishing Brand Metrics

by Brad VanAuken

Often, organizations will use awareness, preference, rank in consideration set, share of wallet, Net Promoter Score and other brand loyalty measures, customer satisfaction, distribution and market share as the primary brand measures. Awareness is important because without awareness, the brand does not exist in the customer’s mind. Preference, rank in consideration set and share of […]

Top Posts from Each of the Last Six Years

by Brad VanAuken

In case you missed them, these are the most popular posts from each of the past six years:2014 – When Brand Tactics Overshadow Brand Strategy2014 – The Poison Parasite Defense2014 – Basic Human Needs and Branding2015 – Nine Favorite Brand Management & Marketing Books2015 – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 2015 – Brand Attributes, Benefits & Values2015 […]

Ethical Issues in Marketing

by Brad VanAuken

What are some of the ethical issues in marketing? First and foremost, we should not be using marketing to make a product that is clearly harmful more appealing to people—for instance, selling cigarettes by appealing to people at a deep emotional level. This can be achieved by linking the cigarette brand to independence, rebellion, good times, or coming into […]

Brand Life Cycles

by Brad VanAuken

Brands personify organizations, products, services and other entities. In this way, they take on human qualities, human qualities that often lead to shared values and emotional connection. But what types of qualities should a brand take on during different stages of its life cycle?As you think about this, think about romantic relationships that lead to […]

Differentiating on the Unexpected

by Brad VanAuken

Opaque is an all in the dark restaurant. With the help of a giant crane, Dinner in the Sky serves just that, dinner in the sky. Southwest Airlines differentiated itself based on a sense of humor. Build-A-Bear Workshop decided to involve the customer in the creation of the product. Having conducted hundreds of focus groups, […]

Competitive Strategy 101

by Brad VanAuken

One of the concepts that I recall from my Competitive Strategy course at Harvard Business School (based on Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy book) is that to win in the marketplace, you need to pursue of of the following three competitive strategies – value, focus or differentiation. That is as true today as it has ever […]

Brand Identity Posts

by Brad VanAuken

Over the years, I have written a number of blog posts related to brand identity. Here are 38 of them.Brand Identity ElementsBrand Identity for the 21st CenturyBrands and IdentityCreating a Robust Brand Identity SystemBrand Architecture and IdentityBrand Architecture QuestionsCompulsive Naming SyndromeRobust Brand IdentityBrand NamingBrand NamesBrand LogosBrand TaglinesCollege and University TaglinesCity Mottos/Taglines/SlogansImportance of All Five Senses […]

Brand Research

by Brad VanAuken

Throughout the course of my career, I have commissioned, conducted, moderated or analyzed hundreds of brand research studies. Here is a compilation of the blog posts I have written on brand research.Market Research Marketing ResearchTypes of Research for BrandsExploratory Brand ResearchQualitative Research Leads to Emotionally Compelling BrandsImplicit vs. Explicit Purchase MotivatorsProjective Research TechniquesLaddering ResearchFocus Group ModerationPeeling […]

Think Like The Customer

by Brad VanAuken

I was meeting with the marketing committee of a not-for-profit organization on whose board I sit earlier today. We were discussing a major report that we intend to release to the community. The report is on a rather technical subject – river quality – and we talked about crafting frequency asked questions (FAQ) to accompany […]

Brand Reputation Management

by Brad VanAuken

How should organizations measure and manage their brands’ reputations? While many people suggest using something as simple as Net Promoter Score, which is a very popular measure of attitudinal loyalty, reputation metrics must include much more than that. Each brand has multiple audiences, each with its own expectations for the brand, so reputation metrics need to […]

Will Brands Even Be Around in Ten Years?

by Brad VanAuken

As a brand strategy consultant, I have ridden the upward trajectory of brands and branding for the past 20 years. In the 1980s and before, brand management was mostly practiced by consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. By the mid- to late-1990s, large companies were beginning to manage their corporate brands at an executive level. This […]

How Brand Experience Can Overcome Time Constraints

by Brad VanAuken

Generally, people feel two types of scarcity in their lives. They often feel as though they do not have enough money to do everything they want to do. And they often feel as though they don’t have enough free time to do all that they want to do. So, the two scarce commodities are time […]

Positioning Your Brand to Win!

by Brad VanAuken

I am please to announce that I am now offering an online version of my highly acclaimed brand positioning workshop. The workshop provides you with everything you need to create a unique and emotionally compelling brand promise along with every other element of a comprehensive brand positioning statement. For more information, click here – https://brad-vanauken.mykajabi.com/pl/67338

55 Ways to Sabotage Brands

by Brad VanAuken

If you are looking for ways to sabotage your brand, here are fifty-five different ways to do that, taken directly from real life examples encountered during my brand strategy consulting experience.Change the brand identity system every time a new marketing vice president is hired. Change your brand’s positioning or messaging as frequently as possible. Increase profitability by […]

The Power of Socially Conscious Brands

by Brad VanAuken

Brands that are socially conscious outperform brands that cater to Wall Street’s quarterly expectations. Being mission-driven, making mission-driven decisions and creating an employee-empowering culture lead to far above average financial results. There are three concepts that socially conscious brands should consider:Conscious Capitalism – this recognizes some of the dysfunctional byproducts of modern capitalism – lack of […]

Unleashing Brand Power

by Brad VanAuken

Why do some brands command premium prices, while others are forced to compete on price? While some companies are racing frantically to the bottom, others are gliding effortlessly to the top. These world class brands win the admiration of their customers, the envy of their peers, and claim the lion’s share of their market’s profits. They […]

Social Media Marketing Strategy

by Brad VanAuken

I will be delivering a talk on social media marketing strategy at a local American Marketing Association (AMA) chapter meeting in a couple of weeks. I thought I would share the outline of my talk here. These are the things one should consider when developing a social media marketing plan.Start with clear objectivesDeep customer insight is […]

Marketing Careers

by Brad VanAuken

I am often asked by college students majoring in marketing about what types of marketing positions, paths and careers are open to them. Careers in marketing are myriad and often require very different skill sets. Without going into great detail about any one of them, here are just some of marketing positions and paths open […]

Common (And Not So Common) Brand Problems

by Brad VanAuken

As I was doing my research for an article that I am writing on brand problems, I realized that I had written much about common (and not so common) brand problems in this blog. So rather than write yet another post on this, I thought I would provide you with links to all of the […]

← Previous Entries

Diag| Polling feed [http://prolificmarketing.org/feed/]
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=1189] "10 Ways to Use Facebook Live"
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=1109] "2017 Marketing Ideas"
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=1020] "Dan Tweets: Recap of National Small Business Week 2016"
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=1011] "7 Marketing Must-Haves When Starting A New Business"
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=973] "2016 Marketing Checklist: Kick Off the New Year with a Bang"
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=951] "10 Last-Minute Marketing Tips for Small Business Saturday"
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=915] "Dan Tweets: Recap of National Small Business Week"
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=887] "11 Things to Ask Yourself When Considering a New Website"
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=832] "15 Marketing Tips for the Holiday Shopping Season"
Diag| Considering item [http://prolificmarketing.org/?p=773] "Twitter 101 for Business: The Basics"
Diag| Polling feed [http://feeds.feedburner.com/abcideabased/hoGr]
Diag| Considering item [http://abcideabased.com/?p=5811] "Project Insight: Raising Awareness, Funds for McMahon Ryan"
Diag| Considering item [http://abcideabased.com/?p=5795] "ABC Meets FDNY"
Diag| Considering item [http://abcideabased.com/?p=5777] "Project Insight: A Marketing ‘Journey’ with the Baseball Hall of Fame"
Diag| Considering item [http://abcideabased.com/?p=5775] "How to ‘Be Creative’ with a Logo"
Diag| Considering item [http://abccreategroup.wpengine.com/?p=5756] "Leaving a Good Impression: How to Effectively Measure Engagements"
Diag| Considering item [http://abccreategroup.wpengine.com/?p=5714] "How to Spark a Social Media Conversation Using Hashtags"
Diag| Considering item [http://abccreategroup.wpengine.com/?p=5637] "Rethink Your Travel Guide"
Diag| Considering item [http://abccreategroup.wpengine.com/?p=5515] "There’s No PR in SEO … Or Is There?"
Diag| Considering item [http://abccreategroup.wpengine.com/?p=5462] "Plan Early, Often for Marketing Success in 2019"
Diag| Considering item [http://abccreategroup.wpengine.com/?p=5315] "The 4 Keys to Great Cause-Related Marketing"
Diag| Polling feed [http://feeds.feedburner.com/FishAndCrown]
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/?p=1581] "Films Condensed"
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/?p=1447] "Do you know Romain Gavras?"
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/?p=1430] "Great dark humor in this 1 minute film by Gaspar Palacio"
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/?p=1114] "The New Panasonic EVA-1 Camera Delivers"
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/2017/02/02/testing-some-new-light-writing-equipment-we-got/] "New Light Writing Equipment"
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/2016/12/26/video-nike-drops-new-kyrie-3s-commercial/] "VIDEO: Nike Drops New Kyrie 3’s Commercial"
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/2016/12/13/499/] "Booyah Patrol"
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/2016/11/15/nice-spotify/] "Nice Spotify"
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/2016/10/07/instagram-star-isnt-what-she-seems/] "Instagram star isn’t what she seems"
Diag| Considering item [https://fishandcrown.com/2016/09/03/eye-opening-short-film-give-it-a-look/] "Eye Opening Short Film"
Diag| Polling feed [https://secretvalleymedialabs.com/feed/]
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.com/?p=99] "Adding Value Through Workplace Design"
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.com/?p=96] "Creating a Consistent Brand"
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.com/?p=91] "Storytellers"
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.com/?p=87] "We all have a choice"
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.com/?p=84] "We all need a little inspiration"
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.com/?p=69] "Everybody Needs to Find Their Way"
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.com/?p=62] "Identity Crisis"
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.com/?p=53] "Fresh Ideas and Talent From Unexpected Places"
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.wordpress.com/?p=46] "Just Sit Back and Listen"
Diag| Considering item [http://secretvalleymedialabs.wordpress.com/?p=27] "Bringing Out the Goods"
Diag| Polling feed [http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlassMarketing]
Diag| Considering item [https://blassmarketing.com/?p=2196] "What is an NPS Score and Why This Alone is Not Enough"
Diag| Considering item [https://blassmarketing.com/?p=2167] "Billboards are having a heyday in a digital world"
Diag| Considering item [https://blassmarketing.com/?p=2139] "How to increase website conversion"
Diag| Considering item [https://blassmarketing.com/?p=2080] "B2B Customer Research Can Reap Future Sales Revenue and a Whole Lot More"
Diag| Considering item [https://blassmarketing.com/?p=2048] "5 Ways Research Can Bring Value to any Organization"
Diag| Considering item [https://blassmarketing.com/?p=2045] "Website Usability Testing Can Improve Website Performance"
Diag| Considering item [https://blassmarketing.com/?p=2037] "Key Pointers to Get the Most from Focus Groups"
Diag| Considering item [https://blassmarketing.com/?p=2035] "M&A: A Call for Research During the Integration Process"
Diag| Considering item [https://blassmarketing.com/?p=1913] "Five Tips to Improve Your Marketing Communications Activities in 2018"
Diag| Considering item [http://blassmarketing.com/?p=1797] "Having an Image Library is a Smart Idea"
Diag| Polling feed [https://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/feed/]
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/2019/01/08/our-gift-to-you%f0%9f%8d%be-2/] "Our Gift to YOU!🍾"
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/?p=1868] "Buffalo Startup Weekend is Back!"
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/?p=1862] "Empire State Honey Producers Association at the NYS Fair!"
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/?p=1859] "Have You Met Lisa?"
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/?p=1856] "Buffalo Brewfest 2018"
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/?p=1853] "It’s Brewing…"
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/?p=1849] "July 2018 Newsletter: A Traveling Tour of Buffalo!"
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/?p=1846] "Happy 716 Day!"
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/?p=1844] "Preparations for the fall trade show Season!"
Diag| Considering item [http://displaysanddesigns.wordpress.com/?p=1841] "FBD2 is Closing…"
Diag| Polling feed [http://feeds.feedburner.com/martinoflynn/UYcW]
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7893] "Facebook’s Changing AD Platform"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7875] "Part Two – How to Be Successful in Social Media: Remember Your Goals"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7870] "Part One – How to Succeed in Social Media"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7880] "Happy Holidays From MF and Santa Paws"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7860] "The Growth of Internet Usage"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7845] "Find The Balance In Marketing to Moms"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7841] "MFTV: Geotargeting"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7834] "The Personal(ized) Side of Marketing: 3 Ways Retail Brands Are Using CRM Data to Their Advantage"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7782] "Brand vs. Agency: A Tale as Old as Time"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.martinoflynn.com/blog/?p=7829] "MFTV: Media Planning 101"
Diag| Polling feed [https://wordecon.com/feed/]
Diag| Considering item [http://wordecon.com/?p=110] "Example of a press release"
Diag| Considering item [http://wordecon.com/?p=72] "White Paper for B to B"
Diag| Considering item [http://wordecon.com/?p=52] "Web Content and Article for Client"
Diag| Considering item [http://wordecon.wordpress.com/?p=24] "Co-Editor of Personal Money Management Workbook."
Diag| Considering item [http://wordecon.wordpress.com/?p=14] "On-Site Mobile Device RF Protection and Forensics Extraction"
Diag| Considering item [http://wordecon.wordpress.com/?p=11] "It’s not Business As Usual in the MCC Business/Economics Department"
Diag| Considering item [http://wordecon.wordpress.com/?p=4] "The DCC / Brighton Shuttle Moves Students towards Their Goals, with Hope for Future Runs"
Diag| Polling feed [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/feed/]
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2585] "China and Flatware Complete Bartel Communications’ 20th Company Anniversary"
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2477] "20th Business Anniversary of Bartel Communications"
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2451] "95th Business Anniversary Profile: Pamela Marinello"
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2439] "95th Business Anniversary Profile: Jo-Ann White"
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2429] "95th Business Anniversary Profile: Sandra Nardoci"
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2412] "5 Fast Facts About Business Anniversaries"
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2402] "Curious Commonalities Between Casablanca and Gone With the Wind"
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2376] "Don’t Ignore In-Between Business Anniversaries"
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2356] "Local 100th Birthday Bash Celebrates Olivia de Havilland of Gone With the Wind"
Diag| Considering item [http://paulinebartel.com/blog/?p=2351] "100th Birthday Salute to Gone With the Wind’s Melanie: Olivia de Havilland"
Diag| Polling feed [https://kckratt.com/rss/]
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:04-14-2019-12-00am-galvanized-steel-with-araucana-and-brown-eggs/] "Galvanized steel with Araucana & brown eggs"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:02-28-2019-5-00pm-under-armour-baseball-gloves/] "Sweet Catch..."
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:10-17-2018-3-30pm-fun-with-phoroptors/] "Fun with Phoroptors..."
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:08-20-2018-10-00am-black-and-white-food-photography/] "Black and white food photography..."
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:04-17-2018-4-45pm-kitchen-table-talks/] "Kitchen Table Talks…"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:01-28-2018-11-00pm-architectural-photography-in-wny-workplace/] "Architectural Photography in WNY  Workplace"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:10-02-2017-12-45pm-real-people-real-stories-environmental-portraits/] "Real people... Real Stories.  Environmental Portraits"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:06-28-2017-3-45pm-product-photography-azek-deck-and-railings/] "Product photography...Azek deck and railings"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:04-06-2017-10-45am-industrial-photography-columbus-mckinnon/] "Industrial Photography...Columbus McKinnon"
Diag| Considering item [http://www.kckratt.com/general/blog/article:01-09-2017-11-15pm-detritus-hokkaido-japan/] "Detritus...Hokkaido, Japan"