Modern CMOs: Bridging Creativity with Commercial Acumen

The Evolving Role of the CMO Previously, a Chief Marketing Officer's or CMO role mainly involved traditional marketing activities like brand management, public relations, and market research. However, recent technological advancements and industry shifts have expanded and evolved this role significantly. As organizations become increasingly digital, CMOs are expected to spearhead digital…

Read More

CEO Marketing Priorities

COVID-19 has made CEO marketing priorities synonymous with survival. CEOs who have a focused, crisp, creative, and clear message, and who understand how to best communicate that message, will navigate the pandemic better than their less-skilled peers. The following are five tips to help CEOs refine and distribute their message during the coronavirus pandemic. Embrace Distance: Virtual is your…

Read More

Leadership and Storytelling

Leadership and storytelling go hand-in-hand. In fact, leaders who lack the ability to leverage the power and influence of storytelling are missing the very essence of what accounts for compelling leadership, to begin with - the story. If you've ever been captivated by a skilled orator whose articulation and eloquence have influenced your thinking, you understand the power of the art of the story.…

Read More

Personal Branding Done Right

So what's the big deal about personal branding? The mere mention of this topic sparks intense emotions and frothy debate. The legions of personal branding advocates believe it's the great brand equalizer, and the growing constituency of disgruntled adversaries see it as little more than the latest form of snake-oil. So which is it? The answer is for you to decide...I'll frame both sides of the…

Read More

Social Media for CEOs

Nary a week passes where I don't hear from a CEO who's grappling with this social media conundrum: should I, or shouldn't I? The inquiry usually goes something like this: "I'm interested in learning more about social media, but my board thinks it's a bad idea, I don't have any additional bandwidth, and I'm not even sure where to start...is social media really effective for CEOs?"  The discussion…

Read More

Addiction Marketing

"Addiction Marketing" is a phrase I started using a few years back while waiting in line for my drink at Starbucks. I was observing the mass of people who seemed almost desperate for their daily (if not more frequent) fix of caffeine. It was at that moment I realized the real power of one of Starbucks' key business drivers, if not their most critical business driver - Starbucks sells products…

Read More

Brand Exposure

Do you understand the difference between presence, visibility and overexposure? Have you figured out how to apply the laws of scarcity to brand management? If not, then this post is for you. While a brand without exposure is not much of a brand, I consistently find that brand exposure is an aspect of brand management that is all too often overlooked as a success metric. Whether you're assessing…

Read More

Marketing Success

How do you know when marketing is out of control? Those of you familiar with this blog know that I'm generally a strong marketing advocate. That said, my typical pro-marketing position assumes that certain key fundamentals are in place to ensure that the lunatics don't somehow become in charge of the asylum. In today's post, I'll discuss how to keep marketing in check so that brand focus is…

Read More

How to Build a Brand

Assuming that you have deep pockets, a talented staff, and a lot of patience, growing a recognized brand isn't difficult...spend heavily across all mediums with consistent, creative, on message advertising while simultaneously conducting aggressive public relations and social media campaigns. Avoid controversy, maintain a high likeability factor, consistently and proactively engage your…

Read More

10 Things That Sell

Each week I receive a tremendous volume of e-mail asking questions about a wide variety of business topics. I received one of these e-mails yesterday which piqued my curiosity as it was not only a great question, but it also challenged me to answer the question in a specific format. The question was: "Can you provide a list of 10 things that appeal to buyers, and explain why they appeal to buyers…

Read More

Influence and Personal Branding

I'm often asked how to tangibly measure personal brand equity and my answer is quite simple...The value of a personal brand is directly proportionate to its ability to create and wield influence. When it comes to the subject of personal branding much has been written about authenticity, transparency, marketability, thought leadership, etc., but it is the ability to leverage the sum of these…

Read More

Personal Branding Simplified

Great personal brands are simple, understandable, and straight forward in their brand promise. If you want to create a strong personal brand do yourself a favor and avoid the hype and rhetoric being espoused by the masses of overnight personal branding experts who have suddenly flooded the marketplace. Most so-called personal branding gurus are more akin to modern snake-oil salesmen than they are…

Read More

Search Engine Marketing

Search Engine Marketing has always played a critical role in managing the visibility of a company's online brand. However, with the Internet becoming what is arguably today's dominant medium, Search Engine Marketing has also risen to become a key driver in a company's overall brand strategy. Regrettably, the maturity of the products and services that comprise search engine related disciplines…

Read More

CEO Branding

"CEO Branding" has never been a more important or relevant topic than it is in today's highly charged business and economic climate. Working with some of the top CEOs in the country I can tell you from first-hand experience that to the one, chief executives at the top of their game all place CEO branding near the top of their priority list. With the public's overall perception of CEOs as a class…

Read More

Your Story Matters

So, what's your story? If your personal or corporate brand doesn't tell a story, then your brand is lacking the very essence of what makes a strong brand... the story. There is no denying that everybody loves a good story, and there is a reason why...think about novels you've read, movies you've watched, speeches you've listened to, ads that have hooked your interest, or virtually any other…

Read More

Personal Branding by Association

The impact of your associations on Personal branding should not be taken lightly by executives in today's world. Your long-term success as a top CEO or senior executive will be heavily influenced by the strength and character of your personal brand. The perception of your personal brand by key constituencies such as your board of directors, investors, the media, key employees, customers,…

Read More