Books For Speakers

Creating a new brand doesn’t have to be overly complicated or happen in a conference room full of people. Here are some secrets for creating a catching brand that people can really relate to.
4 Secrets to Building an Engaging Brand Experience

By Kristie Tamsevicius

When you think of creating a new brand, it’s easy to think about advertising managers sitting around a conference room tossing around ideas with caffeine fueled creativity. However, often times, the most powerful branding comes from adding a little “fun” to your brand experience.

Driven by the Burger King mentality, today’s customers want to do business their way on their time. They want to make their own choices. As business people, it’s our job to make sure then when customers are ready to make their choice, our product or service is their top choice.

Below are five secrets to put some spark and imagination into your brand and create an unforgettable brand experience.

Secret #1: Tell Your Company’s Unique Brand Story

Television shows have long been a part of our culture. When viewers watch television shows, they see stories about characters that we relate to. Remember the Brady Bunch theme song? It tells the story of a lovely lady… well, you know how it goes.

Now imagine harnessing the power of storytelling for your business! By sharing your brand story, you create a powerful connection to your customers. They feel as though they know you. This brand story paints a colorful vignette of who you are, what vision you hold, and what experiences made you the company you are today. While your brand story might not be as catchy as the Brady Bunch tune, raving fans love to share stories of their favorite brands with others.

PartyLite is a direct sales company that has done a phenomenal job of weaving their brand story into their marketing message. Listen to the story of how this company got started.

“Mabel K. Baker, a young housewife, provided holiday candles for her friends. She hand-dipped candles from the wax of bayberry plants, which were plentiful on Cape Cod. From these humble beginnings, Colonial Candle of Cape Cod was established. In 1973, PartyLite was established to satisfy the desire people have for home beautification, along with the ever-increasing need for additional family income.”

Now can’t you just imagine Mabel sitting outside and turning her gaze over to the bayberry plants in her backyard! Surely a light bulb went off in her head as she picked berries off the bush and harvested the wax to make gift candles for her dearest friends. A story like this makes you feel like when you get a PartyLite candle, that you are getting more than a factory made product. Rather, you are getting a lovely crafted handmade candle. Great story and great marketing!

What’s your brand story? Do you have a wonderful story to tell about how your business was started? Was there a turning point in your company that shaped you into the organization you are today?

Secret #2: Make Your Brand a Household Name by Coining the Term

Why define your brand experience in terms we already use? Kleenex, Xerox, and Fed X are companies whose brand names have set the standards for their industry by becoming the coined terms to describe a tissue, making a copy, and overnight deliveries.

So how do you go about making your brand a household name?

Marla Cilley, aka “The FLY Lady” is an organizing super hero for moms across the county. She has turned her passion for tidiness into a nationally known brand.

How did she do it? By adding an ounce of fun with her own unique terms and philosophies. For example, The FLY Lady stands for Finally Loving Yourself.

Fans of the FLY Lady know that she lives by three rules.

1) Don’t sweat the small stuff
2) Laugh everyday. Even if it is at yourself.
3) Love like there is no tomorrow.

If you visit her website at FlyLady.net, you’ll notice that her brand is even reflected in some of the names of the navigation links: Why FLY, FLYing Lessons, FLY Zone, Time FLYs when, FLY FAQ, FLY Library, Join FlyLady Now, Ask FlyLady, and The FlyShop.

Secret #3: Add Your Unique Brand of Humor

Humor has the power to transform an ordinary product into a fun experience for the whole audience. Recently I saw a commercial for Red Stripe “The Great Jamaican Beer” that delivers an unforgettable quirky message.

The Jamaican spokesperson is dressed in a black tuxedo and says, “Red Stripe – the beer in the short stubby ugly bottle. If ugly people stand next to a Red Stripe they look beautiful.”

He speaks to a man who is sitting next to him, “You sir, would you say that you are ugly?
(Pause) You are VERY ugly!”

The man who is sitting down replies a little confused, “Well I don’t know…”

The spokesperson hands him a beer and says, “Here hold this Red Stripe.”

The man says, “Okay.”

The spokesperson says, “Look, you are beautiful!” (Obviously implying that just by holding this beer this formerly “ugly” man is transformed into being beautiful.)

Spokesperson says enthusiastically, “Red Stripe, it’s beer. Hooraaaayy Beer!”

The man cheers, “Hooray Beer.”

The spokesperson adds at the end, “…says the beautiful man.”

The point is, that although you may have never heard of Red Stripe beer before, this funny commercial really sticks in your mind. Even though we are not beer drinkers, this commercial is surely creating living room conversations in homes across the country.

That’s how a funny campaign can instantly turn a new or unknown product into a national phenomenon.

You should check out this very funny commercial online at their website here:

http://us.redstripebeer.com/media

Secret #4: Create your own Catch Phrases and Own Quotes

If you type the words “inspirational quotes” into Google, you will see that there are 1,130,000 listings. Quotes are hot! So why not tap into the power of quotes and catch phrases for your business?

Go back in your mind to the “Where’s the Beef” commercials from Wendy’s. That was a fun series of engaging commercials that had the whole country asking themselves, “Where’s the Beef?”.

And think about Donald Trump’s “Your Fired!” I’m sure that he had no idea that his show, “The Apprentice” would take off the way it did and become the “in thing.”

When you create a hot catch phrase or quote, you’ll find your words popping up on websites, in blogs, talked about in elevators, written on bathroom walls, and in the most unexpected placed.

Take a moment to step back and really look at your company’s brand. With a little imagination, you can transform buying your product or service into a fun, one-of-a-kind brand experience that your customers will never forget.

If you’ve found these ten tips on branding useful, then make sure to put them to good use.

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Book Marketing Resources

July 15, 2008 by Angela
Filed under Presentation Skills

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Book Marketing Resources

Booklist
- 15 weeks prior to publications

Foreword Magazine – 3-4 months before publication

Horn Book Review – (Children’s books)

Kirkus Reviews – 3 months or more before publication

KLIATT
- new original paperbacks

Library Journal – 3-4 months before publication

Publishers Weekly – 3 months before publication

School Library Journal

Foreword Reviews.com – $295 paid book reviews

Midwest Book Review – wants a finished copy of the book

OTHER REVIEWERS LISTED
BY CATEGORY

Book Zone
Pro Reviewer List
AUTHOR ORGANIZATIONS

Publisher’s Marketing Association

American Booksellers Association – The Book Sense Advance Access
Program offers an inexpensive mailing to independent bookstores
if you are a member of PMA – $100

AUTHOR AND WRITER WEB SITES

Amazon Advantage – Sell your book at Amazon

Para Publishing:
Self Publishing Guru Dan Poynter’s Book Writing, Publishing and
Promoting Resources – http://www.parapublishing.com/

Book Marketing-John
Kremer’s site offers a large amount of information and book promotion
resources. He offers excellent lists that you can purchase. One
list is of the Top 500 Independent Bookstores. – http://www.bookmarket.com/

Midwest Book Review – offers great information on getting your book
reviewed. He also DOES book reviews.

PUBLICITY TOOLS/SERVICES

Interested in Publicity? Become
“The Perfect Expert“! Sign up in Annie Jennings’ expert database for FREE and get a FREE Crash Course In Publicity Tape ($97 Value) that Annie offers you with her compliments when you sign up as an expert (there is no obligation). Major media journalists and producers call Annie every day for The Perfect Expert. Annie Jennings PR will keep you in mind for “The Perfect Placement.” Remember, you can pick and choose the placements you would like to have with Annie Jennings PR and her famous Pay For Placement Publicity Program.

Free Publicity Articles from Annie Jennings

Pitching Tips To Land Major Placements

Tips For Leaving An Effective Voice Mail

How To Create Expert Status For Yourself

Media Training Tips for Radio

PR Leads – Want to know the secret to getting feature articles in today’s leading publications? PR Leads delivers and then some!

PR Leads sends you daily leads to what the hottest magazines and newspapers in your industry are writing about.

Radio Publicity – Best-selling author Alex Carroll is one of the world’s leading experts on radio publicity. He shows you exactly how to extract a mother lode from the radio publicity gold mine. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an author, speaker, businessperson, or promoter … He has an incredible manual on how to use Radio Publicity to market your book or ebook. He also sells a CD with a radio station database so you’ll
know who to contact! Order your copy of Radio Publicity today! A MUST HAVE for all serious self-promoters!

Radio TV Interview and Report – Advertise yourself as a potential guest to tv and
radio producers

GuestFinder
- Another site to list yourself as a possible guest for radio/tv programs

IMediaFax
- Offers affordable press release submissions plus a free report on Trash Proof Press Releases

BOOK MARKETING DISCUSSION LISTS

Span Net Self Publishing Discussion List

Self-Publishing-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Book Signers Discussion List

Booksigners-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

BOOK MARKETING NEWSLETTERS

John Kremer’s Book Marketing Marketing Tip of the Week – http://www.bookmarket.com/tips.html

The Publicity Hound by Joan Stewart

Dawn Star Book Marketing Newsletter

SMALL PRESS BOOK AWARDS

Ben Franklin Award

IPPY Award – Independent Publisher Book Awards

BOOK PROMOTION ARTICLES

1 Year Book Production Countdown - Tells you what to do and when to do it to keep your book launch efforts on track while finishing your book

40+ Ways To Make Your Next Book Signing An Event! by Larry James Excellent article filled with tips and suggestions to make your book signing a memorable event.

40 Ways to Use your Book Review – Excellent special report written with tips from John Kremer, Shel Horowitz, and others

Be Your Own Publicist by Cecilia Tan

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