The Engaging Brand

The Tangible, Intangibles of a Brand?

Brands are wonderful things - there are not many intangible "things" in this world that create as many jobs, profits and of course perceived individual value to the world.

However, the concept of a brand amuses me in a way -  after all, the only intangible part of a brand is the concept.....in reality a brand will only exist through the tangibles

• The delivery, time after time, of the promise
• The service, time after time, of the promise
• The reality of whether, time after time, it worked for you.

So when you think about it, this intangible is ....well, tangible! And when you really want to be confused then think about this....
How is it that such a tangible, intangible is perceived as difficult to measure, when the tangible parts are so easily measurable......?

People often struggle to measure the success of the brand, but I think that is when they are thinking of the concept - the intangible. When you turn it into a tangible object, then the measures are easy!

Now you see why I don't usually drink coffee so late at night :)

Show 205 - Blogging, Advertising and Making Money

Show 205 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget to try GoToMeeting for your 30 day free trial!

Today I talk with  Ted Murphy Ceo (Just love the fun aspect of these sites) and founder of Izea a social media marketing company that I have on my watchlist as I like how they are developing. I invited Ted to talk about

• The importance of colour in brand engagement
• Do blogging and advertising really go together?
• What value does advertising have for the blog reader?
• How can pay for post work for your brand, and what is the risk of paying people to talk about your brand negatively!
• Cloudshout....Are we moving from adverts to sponsored web walks, people can see the sites I visit and if I bring people with me, I get paid?
• Are bloggers almost in danger of exploiting the consumers just like firms did with "in your face" advertising?
• Is the recession great news for web companies, does it give you the "excuse" to start monetarising the web?
• Why Ted believes that advertising in social media is a great return on investment for companies.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or hop over to Facebook group for The Engaging Brand. or the new room set up on Friendfeed

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click here for the podcast and it will take you to the latest podcast. Then press the play button!

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

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Inspiration from Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker is one of my all time favourite authors. I keep in my journal 10 thoughts from him that I thought I would share, in the hope they may inspire a great leadership end to the week

1) A change is something people do; a fad is something people talk about
2) Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable
3) Any organization develops people; it either forms them or deforms them
4) A decision is only a hope until carrying it out has become somebody's work assignment and responsibility, with a deadline
5) Those who perform love what they are doing
6) Change leaders should starve problems and feed opportunities
7) Knowledge work requires both autonomy and accountability.
8) All organizations need a discipline that makes them face up to reality
9) Being the one who makes your product, process, or service obsolete is the only way to prevent your competitor from doing so

10) and finally he quotes Verdi who said "All my life as a musician, I have striven for perfection. It has always eluded me. I surely had an obligation to make one more try"

For me, these leadership or business quotes show one thing....the power of words to engage the mind

Show 204 - The Power of Self Actualisation

Show 204 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget to try GoToMeeting for your 30 day free trial!

Today I talk with Jonathan Cunningham of LetsReflect.com about his inspirational personal story from despair to developing an online business. I met Jonathan through my writing at Widows Quest which is a blog dedicated to helping people through grief or major change in their lifes. You can follow Jonathan at Lets Reflect and here is a link to his mother who he mentions in the interview.

We talk about

• How self actualisation helped turn his life around.
• The steps of self actualisation
• The importance of being grateful for what you have in your life, rather than what you haven't....
• How to deal with employees who are feeling down and negative about life.
• The importance of goal setting and setting stretching targets in order to reach your full potential.
• The 'role' of 'role models' in your life.
• The need to reflect on your life to move forward and the process of reflection
• The importance of public commitment for your goals

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or hop over to Facebook group for The Engaging Brand. or the new room set up on Friendfeed

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click here for the podcast and it will take you to the latest podcast. Then press the play button!

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

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The Power of Living Your Life Again and Again and Again!

I was out on the garden with Dad one day, we were talking about how I had handled a major conflict at work.
I looked at Dad and said "If only I could start the day again, if only I could start my life again!"
Dad put his arm round me and said "Anna, you can. Every year, every week, every day, every hour, minute or moment that we live has now become history. That moment is over, that part of your life is over. The best part is that the moment about to happen is a new opportunity, a "new life" if you choose to learn from your past moments. So you see, you don't have to wish for a new life, you have one...now....and now...and now...."

That has always stayed with me. Leadership and management are not easy, we will make mistakes yet when we realise that the very next moment is a brand new chance to succeed, then taking risks and having the odd failure just doesn't seem as bad...

Show #203 - Marketing and the Need to Span Silos

Show 203 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget to try GoToMeeting for your 30 day free trial!

Today I talk with marketing expert David Aaker, who not only is the Vice Chairman of a strategy consulting firm, Prophet but also Professor Emeritus of Marketing Strategy at University of California, at Berkeley. David has written over 100 articles and 14 books giving him true "expert" status and I have just read David's new book, Spanning Silos so I wanted to discuss with him

• How the structure of silos has evolved.
• Are silos a good or a bad thing for business?
• Can you afford to outsource your marketing to a 3rd party these days?
• Are successful companies about the type of corporate structure or the leadership?
• Thoughts on matrix organisations
• Thoughts on the importance of the culture
• Which comes first business success or marketing success?
• How do companies balance the idea of brand standardisation and yet allowing freedom of ideas and freedom to adopt different cultural aspects?
• The balance between the rational benefits of the brand and the emotional sell to the consumers?

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or hop over to Facebook group for The Engaging Brand. or the new room set up on Friendfeed

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click here for the podcast and it will take you to the latest podcast. Then press the play button!

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

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The Power of the Human Voice in a Social Media World

My Nana is coming up 99 in a few weeks time, however she is not too well at the moment. At the weekend I had a few tears at the thought that I may lose her. I live almost 2 hrs away so it is not that easy to pop over each night. I was getting reflections on how she was from other people, from within my family or at the home.

Then on Sunday, Nana phoned me. Wow, I got to speak to her, I heard her chuckle, I heard her tell me that she felt weak but she was OK.

Why tell you this story? Well, I believe in a world that is dominated by the ease of communication, that loves social media, we forget the power of the human voice. I remember in the UK when Princess Diana died, for all the news reports the people just wanted to hear directly from the Queen...not receive a blog post, not get a facebook message, but hear her voice.

Was my Nana any different after I spoke with her - no her health was the same. But suddenly I felt different. I felt connected, I felt reassured -there is a real message for business here.

Your brand has messages, your brand can communicate through the written word and will the majority of the time. However, how much do you think about the power of the human voice - how much do you plan how to use the human voice in your brand story?

Show #202 - Bringing brands to visual life

Show 202 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget to try GoToMeeting for your 30 day free trial!

Today I talk with Thomas Clifford who I met at Blogger Social earlier this year in New York. Tom is a wonderful producer of films for corporate clients and someone that I wanted to talk about how corporate films can create engagement. Tom blogs about how to bring brands to life at Director Tom. We talk about

• How do you turn an idea into a visual brand story
• How you work out what is the brand story
• How do you reconcile the making of an engaging visual with ensuring the "corporate message" is communicated?
• How Tom thinks of the answers first to know what questions to ask!
• How the brand narrative needs an intro, a hook and an ending.
• Is there a way of ensuring that the audio and visual leave the consumer remembering not only the story but also the brand?
• How important are consumer demographics in ensuring that the right visual is produced?
• What difference does it make if the customer will be watching the video on their computer compared to in a traditional setting?
• Is You Tube devaluing film or making film more accessible to individuals?
• Are companies switching from professional short films to less professional short video to engage consumers?

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or hop over to Facebook group for The Engaging Brand. or the new room set up on Friendfeed

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click here for the podcast and it will take you to the latest podcast. Then press the play button!

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

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Engagement is......

when it is no longer about me and you, it is about us.

How would you finish Engagement is....

The True Meaning of All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Leader

I was waiting at the Doctors tonight when a lady asked me if I wouldn't mind just watching her child whilst she went to the bathroom. No problem I said. The child looked at me and asked what I did, after replying the conversation went something like this....

"So what do you want to be when you are older?" Mature adult asks

"Play" Sensible child replies

"No what job do you want to do?" Mature adult continues

"Play" Child sticks to guns

"Mmm not sure play is a job? " Mature adult suggests

"But if you don't have fun then you are not going to have the best ideas"

At this point mature adult looks at child and thinks you could be the next president of Apple....tries to think of good reply but instead gets onto the floor, picks up the bricks and starts to play....If only adults were as sensible as children I thought....