As the people in charge of our brands, we want to stand out. We want our voices to rise above the lesser operators, the people who give our industry a bad name. We want someone to hear our message and reach out to us with a hearty: “I want to work with you!” But two issues thwart us in our intentions: We are scared to tell the truth. We don’t know what to say. There’s no ...
Slow Down to Speed Up
As a director of marketing, you’ve become friends with timelines and time management, buddies with bandwidth. Even if the leadership team loves your ideas and encourages you to execute, they then repeatedly and persistently ask one question: “When?” When will it be done? When will the website launch? When will the new brand language be live? When will we see results? And you are always ...
The Unstoppable Power of an Aligned CEO and CMO
In our work with mission-based leaders, there is one factor above all others that leads to successful brand differentiation. That factor doesn’t involve SEO or PPC. It’s not the best ad campaign. Nor even the best product. It is spiritual and strategic alignment between the CEO and the CMO. Particularly when the CEO has been thinking for a while: “There’s something missing from how ...
Planning for 2021 is foolish: Question instead
A plan is a method for achieving an end, so says Merriam-Webster. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that relying too heavily on the solidity of your plans is foolishness. Defining yourself by your adherence to a plan subject to the current volatility of our world can leave you feeling disappointed, jaded and cynical -- and cause you to operate from a defensive or a defeatist ...
How do I do biz dev now?
Even as we’ve settled into routines around working remotely, meeting virtually and supervising online learning, many of us still seem stuck when it comes to how to carry on doing business development. More than once recently we’ve heard the exasperated frustration, “I used to go to lunches and happy hours and events! Now I can’t do any of that, so how do I still do biz ...
Why is marketing so hard right now?
Branding and marketing have never been easy. But throw in a pandemic, social and political unrest and a recession and that will complicate things a bit more. So no shame from us if you went into hunker-down mode. We get it! But we would also challenge you to consider this: the world needs you and your brand right now. So maybe it’s time to re-emerge. Maybe the reason it was ...
Bored of Marketing? Have More Fun! An Interview with Misty Megia
Q: Who are you and what do you do? I am Misty Megia, I am a CEO/Creative Producer and Business Strategist. Q: Do you have any nicknames you care to share? The only nickname I've heard people call me is Sunshine, which I will gladly take ;) Q: What do you love about marketing? I love the creative world of marketing and figuring out the solutions to consumer problems. I love the art, ...
Branding is Still a Performance
Authenticity. Vulnerability. Transparency. Being more human. These are the standards of a modern brand. Branding is still a performance, and a powerful one. But it’s not a performance built on pretense, on flimsy supposition or shallow projection. It’s a performance that rises from truth, integrity, and genuine emotion. It’s a performance because you, as a brand, always have an audience. ...
Your audience is practicing attention curation. Are you?
Unless you intentionally live in a self-created bubble, everyone and everything is trying to get your attention at all times. Therefore, we don’t give our attention for any length of time to just anything. Our attention must be earned. It’s something we call attention curation, and it works two ways. For individuals, attention curation is the disciplined practice of consciously ...
This is who we are
Injustice in our country must be addressed. It begins, as all deep work does, by looking inward. This is precisely what Michelle Obama highlighted in her public statement May 30, “It's up to all of us—Black, white, everyone—no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting it out. It starts with self-examination and listening to those whose ...