Brand Champions are leaders inside a company who “champion” the business cause, pushing their company to be the very best they can be and reach their goals and objectives. The things we at Brand Iron look for in Brand Champions are: someone who demonstrates leadership and inspires others to ride for the brand, someone who is creative and entrepreneurial as well as being a visionary, someone who is results oriented and successful, someone who is separate from the heard, owns their own space and clearly communicates why they are the best.

Though we have worked with hundreds of Brand Champions during our lifespan as a branding agency, recently David Puchi has stood out as someone who lives for his brand, is setting his company up for success, and is setting a good example for his brand ambassadors. David Puchi, a managing partner at Baseline Investments, has successfully lead Baceline to be nationally recognized as the “No Debt, All Cash” experts. David has been an invaluable asset to his company by not only raising millions in capital to fund Baceline’s investment activities but also by staying committed to drive his company to their full potential. By recognizing the importance of Brand Iron’s concept of holistic branding, David was able to work with us to embrace the integrated marketing strategy. David led Baceline to utilize Logo Design, Investor Presentations, Sales Materials, Public Relations, Trade Show Marketing, Direct and Email Marketing and Print Advertising.           

Living the Baceline brand has allowed David to successfully reposition Baceline Investments during tough economic times. By working with Brand Iron to develop a business plan and investor presentations (shown right), David has truly been able to “champion” his brand and forge ahead. David recognized that his brand must show through in every medium from advertising and public relations to the branding and packaging of Baceline’s investment funds.

 David was able to put together messages for Baceline’s print advertisements that really resonated with his target market (shown right). He created a brand identity that was used to package each of Baceline’s Funds -No Debt Real Estate Investment Funds, the Heartland Funds, and the Distressed Real Estate and Debt Opportunities Fund.    Baceline Investments was able to successfully reposition itself to attract investors. By attracting quality investors, acquisition opportunities increased and Baceline achieved national awareness by raising $140M in assets within five years.

So who invented it? I Heart NY was designed by graphic designer Milton Glaser in 1975 when he was recruited by New York State Department of Commerce Deputy Commissioner to develop a unique but attractive design based on the marketing campaign conceptualized by Wells Rich Greene. Glaser expected that the logo would be used for a brief stint as it was meant to be introduced to the public for a couple of months. “I did the bloody thing in 1975, and I thought it would last a couple of months as a promotion and disappear,” said Glaser in a 2009 interview for Big Think.

Now the logo hangs on shop walls, in coffee shops, and goes home with hundreds of thousands of visitors and tourists every year. Its timeless simplistic design might be one reason for its longevity.  But one thing’s for sure, it’s become an iconic image of one of the world’s most famous cities. Although it has changed slightly over time, the basic elements still exist today.

Read more details about the design here: http://www.whoinventedit.net/who-invented-i-heart-ny.html

I am a Colorado native, and have spent numerous weekends on real ranches, participating in real cattle herds, but none quite as fun as participating in this one. After finishing up 18 fun packed years in Denver, I jaunted up the road for a quick four year stint in the liberal and wacky town of Boulder. I graduated this May and found Brand Iron as the place I have always wanted to hang my hat.

When I am not holdin’ the reins of the front desk here at Brand Iron, I am usually off doing hot yoga or trying to find tickets to a country concert. The next time your path leads you to the Brand Iron front doors, I will most likely be the jubilant red-head that will be the first to greet you to our ranch. And as you wait for whatever rancher you came to see, you will have the added bonus of listening to the country music that drifts out of the buds of the headphones on my desk. Look for future updates on the everyday occurrences here at Brand Iron.

For a quick synopsis on Weiner’s case:  A lewd photograph was sent from his personal twitter account to a woman, not his wife.  After a preliminary denial, Weiner admitted that he lied about someone hacking into his account along with several other inappropriate encounters and relationships on social network sites like facebook and twitter.

Weiner is not the only one getting busted these days .  It seems that people have constant issues either with posting too much personal information or not being able to distinguish between personal and public or work life.  Examples range from Weiner, to several corporate employees, to a school teacher who got fired simply for posting photos of herself with drinks in hand on a trip abroad.

Here are two examples of people tweeting something personal on a work twitter account…

The first is when Kenneth Cole tweeted about their new collection on the same day that violence erupted in Egypt.  They tweeted “Millions are in uproar at #Cairo.  Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online.”  The tweet was later removed followed with several apologies.

The second example is when a worker for Chrysler’s outsourced media company tweeted on the Chrysler account (@Chrysler Autos) “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to F***ing drive.”  Apparently he meant this post for his personal account…too bad because he was fired shortly after.

What can we learn about these social media mistakes you may ask?

It seems simple but these tips can help anyone not to get caught in one of these increasingly common sticky situations…

Keep in mind…

• There really is no distinction between personal and business accounts
• Nothing is really private on the web
• Be aware of how you post and to whom you share your posts
• Protect your security
• Be careful of the content you post

http://www.bluefountainmedia.com/blog/the-weiner-principle-plus-5-more-social-media-meltdowns/

http://www.powerhomebiz.com/blog/2011/06/what-congressman-weiner-can-teach-small-businesses-about-social-media/

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/21586641/detail.html

http://www.learningfrombigboys.com/2011/06/learning-from-the-social-media-mistakes-of-rep-anthony-weiner.html

Adage reports that the new campaign “pokes fun at men’s fashion with “Supar Tool,” an overly metrosexual man and “Corporado,” a corporate cowboy type.” The campaign introduces the characters through videos to be distributed on YouTube and Facebook, while print ads will run in publications including Maxim. Mobile elements will include a game, style-finder, video gallery, store locator and coupons. http://adage.com/article/news/navy-targets-campaign-men/228051/

You may also recall recently a predominantly female driven advertising push for weight-loss turned to males during NBA and NHL playoffs with Weight Watchers unveiling its male targeted campaign featuring the “Beer Cheat Sheet”. It’s commercials about weight loss come about as the company claims to have seen a dramatic spike in male interest.

And about a year ago we posted this blog http://www.brandiron.net/what-gets-your-attention on the Dockers ad targeting “real men” who “wear the pants.”

So why the big push for male targeted advertising? According to Adage “The timing for a men’s apparel push is right.” According to NPD, the men’s apparel market was up 3.3% in 2010, ahead of the overall apparel category, which was up 1.9%. And for the three months ending in February, the men’s apparel category was up 12% compared to the same period a year ago.

Considering how important value propositions are in every process of business plans and branding this is startling and makes us wonder how you can set yourself apart and captivate your audience.

Paul Cheney, a blogger for Marketingsherpa Blog offers some important advice on these issues and how to distinguish yourself among competition.  He notes how in the movie “Elf,” Buddy, played by Will Ferrell, believes a storefront sign boasting “The World’s Best Cup of Coffee.” We as consumers know not to believe such a claim so, the issue many companies are faced with is creating a value prop that is believable and different from competitors.

Cheney says that a value prop will not be determined it is discovered. This involves a certain shift in thinking and can be created with the implementation of these steps.

1.)    Why buy from you over your competitor?

2.)    Compare what you are saying with what your competitor is saying, if your competitor can say the same thing about their products and business without lying then you do not have a strong value proposition.

3.)    Your value proposition must be instantly credible, use a statistic with as much specific information as possible.

4.)    You need to be able to test your value proposition by making it visible in every step of your sales process.

Check out the full article below…

http://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/marketing-optimization-value-proposition/#comments

Hello!  My name is Madeline Smith, I go by “Maddie” and recently graduated from the University of Colorado in May of 2010 with a Communication degree.  I grew up south of Boston right on the harbor or “hahbah” as Bostonians would call it…they tend to frown upon the pronunciation of R’s.  I decided to leave Boston for college after witnessing my sister’s lifestyle throughout her four years at CU.  Although, I miss the ocean, I love the never-ending sunny days, mild winters, compared to Bean Town, and of course the fresh powder out west.

During my senior year of college I worked with a natural consumer goods company, Justin’s Nut Butter based out of Boulder, Colorado.  I loved working with a start-up company and was able to dive into many PR, Marketing, and Advertising aspects from a client perspective.  I also loved working in an industry with two of my passions; food and health.  This exposure made me want to get into the agency side of this line of work.  After making the big move from Boulder to Denver I did some contract PR and Marketing work for Scream  Agency.  I realized I wanted to stay in the agency side loving the variety of clientele and day to day work.

I am thrilled to be apart of the Brand Iron team.  I love the diversity of clients, the work we do, and of course the team here at Brand Iron, Patches included.  I am looking forward to baseball season as well….but not The Rockies…Go Red Sox!

Before trading lakes for mountains, I lived in Europe and South America, experienced my first Heli Ski Trip, and discovered my innate favoring of the right side of my brain. I took my first job out of college with a food marketing and advertising agency in Minneapolis, MN, combining my love of food and creative story telling (about said food).  I got my fill working in production, media relations, traffic management, and account services. With my never-ending quest to learn more, I took my shiny new skills to Target Corporation and learned that there can never be enough training on what to do if pirates take hold of your shipping vessel. I am not lying. While at Target, I worked in strategic sourcing and imports. Right off the bat, Target hit the bullseye and positioned me in the Ready-To-Wear clothing team, and then the shoe team. I oversaw the entire import process from sourcing the vendor, analyzing sales trends, planning and purchasing, to shipping products safely to Target stores without any trace of Captain Morgan.

Deciding not to endure another indescribably cold mid-west winter, I packed my boot-bag and skis (and a few other items) and made my way out-west. I fulfilled a lifelong dream of being a ski bum before rejoining civilization at Daniels College of Business earning an MBA in integrated marketing and brand management. During my two years as a student, I competed and won the Race & Case Competition, consulted with a local marketing firm, and came across a company that believed in the power of branding as strongly as I. Enter, Brand Iron.

I am beyond excited to be a part of this creative bunch of engaging, intelligent people and look forward to telling the gravitating brand stories of our clients!

So if you have not already, stop by, say “Hi!” and bring me some cheddar!

#5 @Precidencia_EC Gobierno declara estado de Excepción #Ecuador #30S

When civil unrest in Ecuador increased dramatically after a new law cut benefits for public servants, President Rafael Correa accused opposition and military forces of a coup attempt, and used Twitter to declare a state of emergency in a Tweet. Leaders across Latin America and the world tweeted in response to show their support for the people of Ecuador.

#4 @BPGlobalPR Catastrophe is a strong word, let’s all agree to call it a whoopsie daisy.

It was a parody account, not BP’s official Twitter account, that defined the discussion–spoofing the company’s attempts to improve its public image. “Gulf Oil Spill” was the #1 Trend on Twitter in 2010.

#3 @LeighFazzina I’ve had a serious injury and NEED Help! Can somone please call Winding Trails in Farmington, CT tell them I’m stuck bike crash in woods.

Twitter to the rescue: When she crashed her bike in a forest with no cell phone reception, a gravely injured triathlete saved her own life when she tweeted out a desperate call for help.

#2 @whitehouse Welcome to @twitter President Medvedev! RT @KremlinRussia_E: Hello everyone! I’m on Twitter, and this is my first tweet.

Even the Russian President has joined the Twitter bandwagon. The White House immediately reached out to welcome him to the Twitterverse. Obama’s quote: Red phones no longer required.

#1 @AnnCurry @usairforce find a way to let Doctors without Borders planes land in Haiti: http://bit.ly/8hYZOK THE most effective at this.

After the devastating earthquake, Doctors Without Borders flew in a team of physicians to assist the wounded, but they were unable to get clearance to land the plane. Reporter Ann Curry used Twitter to convince the U.S. Air Force to allow the flight to land. And it worked.

To get the full top ten list read the full article here: http://www.businessinsider.com/twitters-top-tweets-2010-12#

The platform changes are within the Twitter “timeline” which now moves to the left. The new right “pane” will host the geography for an expanded look at whatever the user is clicking on- a detailed bio of a tweeter, a list of people who have re-tweeted the original tweet, or a photo/video linked to in the tweet. Users can now view content without moving off the timeline page.

For the advertisers on Twitter, it will give new visibility for sponsored tweets and trends, as well as content distributed by marketers.

If you think this sounds a lot like another familiar site, you’re not alone. Users alike are commenting that these Twitter changes have existed for years, on Facebook.

“@GallagherMeow i’ve been using the #newtwitter for years now. it’s called facebook. RT @kangollove”

Other users wonder if the “micro-blogging site” is focusing too much on interactivity and “the user experience” and if that change is going to change its central element.

The fact is the new changes are creating quite a Twitter buzz, the hash-tag #newtwitter has become the latest trending topic on the site and Twitter is looking for feedback from the small group of its users who are currently using the new platform.  If you haven’t seen the new Twitter yet, it’s time to get introduced http://twitter.com/newtwitter