Help make the web safe for kids.

There is a good message circulating on the web right now that I thought I should help draw attention to. It is directed at porno sites that have have free content on the splash pages, allowing kids to view it. It is not aimed at kids, it is just that there are no barriers in place to restrict their gaze.

The following statement is their plea to the porn profession:

"Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the “warning adult content” on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more “free tours” before a visitor supplies basic information."

If you would like more information, please go here: Blogger Power: Safeguard the Web for Children. I'd like to thank Mihaela Lica at e-Writing for bringing this issue to my attention.

A kid's innocense is so fragile these days, try to help out this cause.

Thank you.

Help me welcome a friend to blogging...

An associate of mine, Marcia Hoeck from Toledo, Ohio has joined us in discussions on branding. Her "temporary" blog is at: Brands That Connect. I'll update this link when she launches her official site soon. Marcia and I are charter members of a group of branding professionals from Cinncinati, Toledo, Chicago and myself here in Windsor, Ontario. Together we are MOOB - Mind Our Own Business. We meet every quarter at one of our locations and spend the day discussing our brand products and other opportunities to broaden our intellects and success. We have been doing this for over 4 1/2 years now.

Marcia is incredibly well read, a good writer and public speaker. My only dilemma is going to be my general inability to disagree with her as we are generally on the same page because of MOOB. She has a great post on Sensory Branding, an issue I discuss when I do speaking engagements, but I don't believe I have seen addressed yet in the blogs.

When you visit tell Marcia I said hello.

Please, PLEASE do my poll!

I get regular traffic to this blog every day. Why don't they fill in my poll? I thought it would be a no brainer. Are people afraid of polls? Blogging by their nature gives opinion a place to breed, so why not give my poll a go? It needs to be fed too.

Go on, leave an answer. Please - I won't beg. Well...

How to take your online brand image to another level.

Your online brand. It's a heady challenge. Many small companies do not take their web presence as serious as they should. Many view that presence in the simplest of terms. It is just a digital representation of their printed brochure. No matter what industry you are doing business in, if you choose to ignore the web's potential you are agreeing to leave money on the table.

A printed brochure by it's very nature is limited in it's scope. It's message is expensive to present. Content is set in a fixed time frame and distribution is expensive in labour and the cost to implement. It's main benefit is as a tangible marketing tool in a big box of tools we use to get our messages in the hands of potential customers. But today the not so subtle message on your printed materials should be the drive to the website. While your printed materials are considered successful to grab a 4 - 6% response rate in direct marketing the web can deliver far greater numbers. Online surveys enjoy healthy results.

It is critical that all brand materials across all media present a highly professional, consistent brand message and image. Your company really is open to the world and they are watching. I use StatCounter® to track useage. I am regularly visited by people from all the industrialized nations. StatCounter® is a free service, but it gives me plenty of information. Make your website a tool for your customers and resource to your industry. Offer a FREE newsletter to push out advice and other news your market will benefit from. A terrific brand building vehicle. If you are in retail, you can't find a better avenue for promotions and collecting data on customers who sign-up for a better experience from you.

Look at what Coca-Cola Canada is doing. Blogging - what you are actively doing now cranks your web presense up a notch. My opinions here and comments left out at other blogs, increase my brand presence every day. I get several visits each day directly from other blogs that I have visited. A number of them, I am aware of their visits simply because of my tracking and awareness of their brands. Today, millions of potential customers search for help for their businesses. Give them every opportunity to find the benefit of your business.

If you have publications to offer, the web gives you the opportunity to sell it cheaply to an immense web audience as opposed to a higher price point BUT in an expensive distribution cycle from a bricks and mortar store with a regional audience. Long Tail thinking. With every element you add to your site, you raise the level of your online brand. I will admit it is very time consuming, but think of it as a highly sophisticated form of networking with world-wide potential.

Once you have a professional online presence, the only real expense is effort. If you can't afford the time, delegate. Make the web work for you, the rewards come will a highly polished corporate brand image. For more on this topic check out this blog: ewritings.

BLAST! A Free Card Directory

Check out this site if you are interested in some FREE advertising: bla.st Essentially you upload a business card size ad that links to what ever you like and it really is free. Promote them like I'm doing here and they will upgrade you in their rankings.

I got the tip from www.davidairey.com. David's blog is an excellent read anytime.

The Elusive USP.

The USP. It is probably the lead in the branding show. It takes a great deal of careful consideration. Every time I take on a focused brand project, it crosses my mind - "I wonder what USP we will develop?" As a matter of fact the thought is rather intimidating. I would probably compare it to stage fright. As with any discovery it is part intellegence, a lot of sweat and a dash of luck. Add to that the ability to dig, challenge and inspire everyone present.

The USP once discovered usually lights up the whole room. It is their aHa! moment. It is when they 'get it'. I really enjoy helping companies to focus their corporate brand. It definitely invigorates all the stakeholders in the room. I imagine that among brand practioners there are as many ways to reel in that USP as there are practioners. I enjoy the brainstorming session, where I challenge the company to dig deeper, ignore the obvious and the low hanging fruit. Don't worry about cost or practicality, let's just be great! Worry about how to do it later.

Do we have to invent a new category, do we have to sproat wings and fly? So long as the USP reflects our brand values and personality, we can truly shine. We strive to choose something that will make the competition whince and the customer embrace. Developing the USP is a lot of fun once you bravely take the stage and belt out that first line. It is a good story with a happy ending. Are you as annoyed as me when you read of a major "re-branding" effort and recognize that they confuse slogan with USP? Or use some weak statement like "The center of it all" to describe their uniqueness. Since I'm using theatre analogies here, this is where the big hook should come out.

So I guess you could say we are looking for the USP that is a big enough hit that we can take it out on the road and wow audiences everywhere. Everytime that happens, I'm the proud director backstage, watching another USP take their first bow.

Logo as brand. Agree or disagree?

I was over at a nice blog on branding at davidairey and I was driven to respond to their suggestion that the logo is the brand. It is an interesting exchange I think. In my opinion a logo is only part of the brand - it is not the brand as a whole. Anyway, check it out and leave your opinion here or there.