So you want to build a brand. You’re not alone. Every day individuals and businesses of all sizes launch new brands or decide to change their existing brands dramatically or minimally. No matter what stage you are in developing your own brand, you need to continually follow the three primary steps to build a brand. Read more
BLOG ARCHIVE: ALL POSTS FOR August 2011
|
How to Plan a Survey Like a Market Research ProPlanning a market research survey can seem like an overwhelming task if you don’t know where to start. It is important to think about what purpose your survey will serve in your marketing efforts. By following these simple steps, you can learn how to plan a survey that will yield helpful and quantifiable results. Read more |
|
Hurricane Irene Survey: Storm Not as Bad as ExpectedOver the weekend, people up and down the east coast planned for the arrival of Hurricane Irene. Over 40 people have died as a result of the storm, many lost power for days, and quite a few areas are still flooded. That being said, many who experienced the storm are saying it wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be. |
|
Matrix Questions in Online Surveys: Satisfying But AddictiveOnline surveys can be designed with many different types of questions. Indeed, online survey platforms such as Ask Your Target Market give survey writers many different options beyond the basic “select one” from a list of answer options. One of the popular options is the so‑called matrix questions (which uses an interactive “sliders” interface in the AYTM platform). Read more |
|
Online Dating Survey: Americans Split on Best SitesOnline dating is a growing trend, but many still have not taken the leap. Each dating site claims to be responsible for many relationships, but how happy are online daters, really? And are there any sites better than the rest? |
|
Branding the Right Way – Rebranding FedExAs a follow-up to my Rebranding Essentials series, I thought it would be a good time to focus on an example of a great rebranding initiative from a well-known company — FedEx. This is the first post in what will become an ongoing series of Branding the Right Way and Branding Gone Wrong posts that will highlight great branding efforts and those that failed. Each post will provide insight into how the branding was done and why as well as the response from consumers. There is something different to learn in each branding example! Read more |
|
Obesity Survey: Americans Need to Do Their PartFor years, health experts have been warning Americans about the growing obesity epidemic. Americans and people around the world are eating more and exercising less, and food companies are not as concerned about health as many think they should be. Some experts say that the government should enforce higher health standards, but do Americans support that idea? |
You created your new brand identity and rolled out your rebranding to employees and consumers. Now what? That’s what Part 6 of the Rebranding Essentials series teaches you, but first, go back and read
|
Brand Promise Confusion – Is It a Water Company or an Oil Company?As part of a company restructuring and subsequent rebranding initiative, a new logo debuted this summer for Ohio-based Marathon Oil Corporation. Given the tainted reputation of oil companies that was exacerbated by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the importance of creating a visual representation of an oil company’s brand promise is a challenging one. Consumers don’t trust oil companies and the anti-environment stigma that surrounds oil brands isn’t going to go away anytime soon. Read more |
|
Steve Jobs Survey: Apple Will Continue to SucceedSteve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple, announced his resignation. Tech enthusiasts around the world mourned the loss of Jobs as the company’s CEO, even though he has been appointed as the new chairman of the board. Will Apple continue to grow and succeed as a company without Jobs as the creative lead? |
|
Consumer Behavior Research: A Question of TimingWhen designing online surveys to measure consumer behavior, we have to ask ourselves a fundamental question: are we measuring the past or the future? And it’s an unfortunate fact of market research that consumers have a hard time reporting either accurately. But before you design that next online survey, think about it: which type of measurement will be most useful for your specific needs? Read more |
|
Libya Survey: Americans Satisfied with Limited Role in ConflictLibyan rebels and loyalists of Moammar Gadhafi have been fighting in the streets of Tripoli for days. Rebels plan to overthrow the dictator and gain control of Libya, with some limited help from the US and other countries. |
|
Effective Survey Design: How to Avoid Garbage In/Garbage OutCreating an effective survey takes a lot of fine-tuning. If you’re a musician, even a great one, you cannot create great music if your instrument is out of tune. The same concept applies to surveys; not even the greatest market researcher can garner effective data with an ineffective, or out-of-tune instrument (in this case, your questionairre). To make sure your instrument is in-tune and your survey is effective, you need to make sure it is short, simple and professional. |
|
Rebranding Essentials – Part 5: Create and Launch the New Brand Identity
|
|
Virginia Earthquake Survey: Most Americans Not AffectedYesterday, an earthquake centered in Virginia was felt by people up and down the east coast. Buildings were evacuated and flights were delayed; even a few people were injured, though no serious ones were reported. The 5.8 earthquake was the largest in Virginia’s history. |
|
Social Media Survey: Regulation Not the AnswerSocial media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are used by millions around the world. The majority of people use these sites just to connect with friends and share information on a variety of topics. But lately, some people have been using these sites to organize illegal activities, such as a flash mob that recently robbed a 7-11 store in Maryland and the destructive riots in London last month. Some feel that social media use should be regulated so as to avoid these incidents, but others feel that would be a gross misuse of power. |
|
|
Rebranding Essentials – Part 4: Rebranding MistakesDon’t move forward with your rebranding initiative without familiarizing yourself with the rebranding mistakes you need to avoid. First, go back and read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the Rebranding Essentials series. Those posts will help put the mistakes listed below into better perspective so your rebranding is destined for success not failure. Read more |
|
Brand Promise Refresh for Petco Brings New Logo and TaglineWhat is Petco’s brand promise? What does the Petco brand mean to you? Is that brand promise any different from Petco’s competitors such as PetSmart? Petco hopes a new logo and tagline will help you understand. Read more |
|
Jersey Shore Survey: Backwards Product Placement Not Worth ItProduct placement in movies and television has been a popular form of advertising for many years. Companies aim to convince the public to use a certain product, eat at a certain restaurant, or shop at a certain store by showing a familiar character doing so. Lately, retail clothing store Abercrombie and Fitch aimed to do the opposite by paying the cast of the reality show Jersey Shore NOT to wear its clothing. Will this deal help to repair Abercrombie’s image, or did the Jersey Shore cast even do any damage in the first place? |
|
|
Rebranding Essentials – Part 3: Rebranding ResearchIn Parts 1 and 2 of the Rebranding Essentials series, you learned about why rebrandings happen and the 10 steps of rebranding. You can follow the preceding links to read those posts now and catch up. Now, it’s time for Part 3 of the series which teaches you about the research you need to do before you can move forward to the creative process of rebranding. Read more |
|
Smart Phone Survey: Most Americans Satisfied with Cell PhonesEvery year, more and more Americans switch from basic cell phones to smart phones, which enable them to access the internet and email as well as a variety of third party apps. So how many Americans have already made the switch, and do they feel it was worth it? |
|
Kim Kardashian Survey: Most Americans Not Excited About WeddingShortly after all the hype surrounding William and Kate’s royal wedding, American socialite and reality TV star Kim Kardashian announced that she too would be tying the knot with fiancé Kris Humphries. Paparazzi are already planning their attacks for the big day, but how many Americans are waiting anxiously to see coverage of the wedding? |
|
Employee Feedback Surveys Can Yield Insights that Fall to the Bottom LineWhen considering a target market for your survey project, the obvious choice is your customers or prospects, but there’s a group that’s often overlooked that might be very beneficial to your company – your own employees. |
|
|
Rebranding Essentials – Part 2: Rebranding StepsIn Part 1 of the Rebranding Essentials series, you learned about why rebrandings happen. If you didn’t read that post to learn about the proactive and reactive reasons for rebranding, go and read it now. If you don’t know why you’re rebranding, you can’t effectively execute the rebranding steps discussed in this post. Read more |
|
Kate Plus 8 Survey: Americans Not Upset About CancellationKate Plus 8, formerly known as Jon and Kate Plus 8 before the title couple’s split, will not return for a ninth season according to TLC. The show chronicled the life of parents Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight children. Throughout the show’s 150-episode run, it gained a large audience as well as a lot of criticism. |