Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category

Dec

18

Tea Silvestre’s Tasty Branding Contest For Small Businesses

December 18th, 2011 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Branding

Tea Silvestre owns WordChef.com, and her mission is to help small-business owners create effective branding.

Tea has cooked up a brilliant event called the 2012 Tastiest Brand Small Biz Contest.

The Solopreneur Life is an official sponsor of Tea’s contest, because I think it’s is a fun way for all of us to see and learn from examples of excellent branding.

Check out the list of who’s been nominated so far.

You may nominate yours or any business that you believe deserves recognition. Nominations are open through December 31.

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Nov

18

The Essence of Branding: What’s Your Implied Promise?

November 18th, 2011 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Branding

During my radio conversation yesterday with branding and reinvention expert Danielle M. Miller, she described the essence of branding.

Danielle said the essence of branding is your implied promise to the marketplace, it’s your your implied promise to the people who would interact with you.

For example, Danielle’s implied promise to her potential clients is that “you will be transformed” after working with me.

I think the implied promise of my business is that “you will be equipped to succeed as a solopreneur.”

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Nov

15

What Solopreneurs Can Learn from ING’s Failed Trademark Efforts

November 15th, 2011 by Jeffrey Fabian | Posted in Branding, Law

As I discussed in this article for TheSolopreneurLife.com last year, “generic” terms cannot be protected as trademarks. Trademarks serve the function of distinguishing product and service providers in the marketplace, and generic terms fail to serve this purpose because they simply identify products/services themselves — and not their source of origin.

This is a critical rule to keep in mind, and my prior article provides a more in-depth discussion of what can and cannot be protected as a trademark.

Importantly, however, deciding whether a term is “generic” might not be as clear-cut as you would think. A recent trademark proceeding involving banking and investment giant ING makes this point clear.

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Oct

21

Questions to Ask When Naming Your Solo Business

October 21st, 2011 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Branding, Marketing

Think about this example when you’re trying to name your solo business.

Yesterday I drove past a business that’s located in a craftsman-style bungalow on Grand Avenue — an upper-middle-class, mixed-use neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota. The wooden sign in front of the house said: Savvy Marketing.

Using only two words, Savvy Marketing told me:

They provide marketing services.

Their marketing is savvy.

Their marketing is street-wise.

Their marketing is practical.

The end effect? I wanted to turn the car around and find out how they could help me. So it’s the perfect name, right?

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Sep

30

10 Lessons That Solopreneurs Can Learn From AC/DC

September 30th, 2011 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Branding, Marketing

AC/DC is one of the most successful rock bands in history, selling more than 200 million albums worldwide and still going strong today. What lessons about building a sustainable business can we learn from Angus Young, Malcolm Young, the late Bon Scott, Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd?

1. Give the People What They Want

Is it kind of weird that Angus still wears the schoolboy uniform when he performs? No, it’s not. People attend an AC/DC concert in large part because they want to watch Angus. And they want to see him in the schoolboy uniform, because it’s as much a part of the performance as “Thunderstruck.”

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Mar

17

5 Branding Lessons That Solopreneurs Can Learn From Jeep

March 17th, 2011 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Branding

“America’s greatest contribution to modern warfare, as faithful as a dog, as strong as a mule, and as agile as a goat.”
—War correspondent Ernie Pyle, describing Jeeps

I bought a slightly used 2010 Jeep Liberty in December, because I needed a vehicle that I KNEW could navigate ice-covered, snow-packed roads, day after day. I live in Minnesota, in a town that doesn’t use salt on the roads. Driving the streets of Owatonna in the winter is like off-roading, with ruts, moguls, drifts, unplowed residential areas, and the occasional pothole where the snow has melted. I traded in a nearly new Kia Sorento SUV that on snowy mornings couldn’t climb to the top of the street in front of my daughter’s elementary school.

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