CompiledMonkey (a daily look at all things geek) has an article about the growth of online branding.  It has a good insight into the mind of a twentysomething and the way in which they look at brands.

Of course traditional companies have caught on and are making their mark online with their existing brands. As a 20 something, I’m not as interested in what those companies have done online as they don’t speak to me as well as a Digg, Facebook, or YouTube.

Read more

The 2007 Business week brand rankings came out today and to little surprise Coca-Cola was still at the top for the 7^th year in a row.  There was very little movement in the top ten as the same ten companies at the top in 2006 are once again at the top in 2007, only in a slightly different order.  There were only two changes: Nokia fell two spots from 5 to 7, and McDonalds leapfrogged Disney to go from 9 to 8.  Nintendo was one of the big winners this year with an 18% increase in brand value, mainly due to their ultra-successful launch of the Wii console.  Not only was this gaming system a hit with their younger target market, but it was also unexpectedly a hit amongst the older folks as well.  Nintendo was able to add retirement communities to their customer base, something that hadn’t been seen with any previous video game console.  Although Wii was a resounding success this year and outsold Microsoft’s X-Box 360 console, they still have a long way to go to pass up the software giant.  Microsoft increased their brand value by 3%, due to the debut of the aforementioned X-Box 360, but more importantly the arrival of their long awaited (and long delayed) Windows Vista operating system.

Two (Not very bold) 2008 Predictions

Google will finally crack the top ten in 2008.  They increased their brand value by an astronomical 44%, almost twice as much as anybody else in the top 100 (Zara had the 2^nd highest growth margin at 22% growth).  I also think that Apple (21% year over year growth) will be joining them, or possibly slightly behind.  Taking into consideration the recent release of their iPhone and continued success of the iPod, it will be tough to keep them from rising.  What do you think 2008 will look like? 

You can see more information and analysis about the 2007 rankings here.

Every day thousands of new websites, blogs and other social media are creating an exponentially growing pile of information. In milliseconds you can have videos, articles, academic studies, podcasts, etc. on any topic your little heart desires. Thus, it is no surprise that public relations professionals have flocked to the internet to publicize their clients through numerous Web 2.0 mediums. However, with all this accumulating online information the ethics and credibility of publicity have become harder and harder to distinguish.

Dow Jones Media Group and PRSA conducted a survey that explored,

“…how professional and student members of PRSA and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) view the role of technology in shaping current and future communication practices.”

The survey found that,

“Nearly all students (97 percent) and professionals (95 percent) agreed that technology has positively impacted the public relations practice.”

However, the majority of both groups also felt that,

“…the use of some of the new communications channels could present significant ethical challenges for public relations professionals. According to the survey, 46 percent of the students and 35 percent of professionals think technology makes it difficult to conduct public relations ethically. Additionally, 41 percent of students responded that technology makes defending against skepticism about public relations more difficult, compared to 33 percent of professionals.”

You can read the article and view the other findings here.

It is becoming easier everyday to find new ways to publicize your company or client, yet it is becoming harder to convey to your consumer that the medium through which you do it is ethical and legitimate enough to associate your company’s name and brand with credibility.

In an article entitled ‘The macro economics side of Web 2.0 marketing efficiencies‘ the author Dana Gardner takes an in-depth look at the how Internet marketing can be used to keep companies afloat during the upcoming period of economic uncertainty.

Many businesses may be constrained in how they can grow revenues, perhaps because they only supply a static region or supply a shrinking customer base. Most businesses, however, can find new ways to sell their goods and services in more places — especially by better use of the Internet. That’s because the Internet is and will continue to be a marketer’s most powerful tool. 

One area in particular that the author looks at is the use of Web 2.0 or Social Media Marketing.

The freely available trustworthy informational assets on the problem-solution set that defines your business value, including conversations, media write-ups, third-party endorsements, interviews, and blogs … anything that your communities generate about you.

This is how new revenues and market opportunities will be born most productively. When the going gets tough, a business’s online marketing gets going.

Read the full article here.

The SMX Social Media expo is scheduled for October 16th and 17th in NYC.   It should be a great conference with lots of great speakers including Danny Sullivan and Neil Patel.  And it’s sure to be a great platform for exchange of knowledge on the subject.  I’m looking forward to it!

Further to our original post on the Whole Foods reputation management problem it is now reported that the CEO of Whole Foods has issued an apology for his anonymous bashing of rivals Wild Oats.

The chief executive of Whole Foods Market Inc. apologized to shareholders on Tuesday for anonymously posting comments about his company on the Internet as the organic and natural foods grocer said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a probe into the matter.

Excuse the pun but…your reap what you sow….(ouch!) Read more

For an in-depth analysis go to Force of Good.

There is a nice article entitled ‘What is Online Branding?’  It explores the differences between traditional branding and online branding.

In traditional media, there is still some separation of brand advertising and the brand experience; you can’t buy from television commercials…yet. Online, there is rarely such a separation but most companies still haven’t realized this. Consumers now choose whether or not they want to respond to or even see advertising in many cases. Get relevant or get out is the message. 

It explores the fact that many marketers do not get the concept that online branding requires total integration, that no part is antonymous and that it should be relevant to the consumer.

This article entitled ‘Whole Foods CEO Attacked Rival Online‘ highlights why there is a growing need for online reputation monitoring and management.  The internet makes it easy for anonymous individuals to attack your brand.

The chief executive of Whole Foods Market Inc. wrote anonymous online attacks against a smaller rival and questioned why anyone would buy its stock, before Whole Foods announced an offer to buy the other company this year.

The postings on Internet financial forums, made under the name “rahodeb,” said Wild Oats Markets Inc. stock was overpriced. The statements predicted the company would fall into bankruptcy and then be sold after its stock fell below $5 per share.

The wedding of the worlds tallest man and his bride took place on Thursday in a traditional Mongolian ceremony. 56 year old Bao Xishun, a 2.36-metre (7-ft, 9-inch) herdsman from China’s vast Inner Mongolia region, married saleswoman Xia Shujuan, a mere 1.68 metres (5 ft 6 inches) tall and just 29 years old.

The event meant a lot to Inner Mongolia and they plan to use Bao for marketing purposes.

“He has a very good image among us in Inner Mongolia,” said Bao’s agent, Xin Xing. “We plan to use his name as a brand to develop tourism. We want to better help and serve our hometown.”

Bao’s wedding was sponsored by at least 15 companies hoping to cash in on his fame including the liquor drunk at the wedding, blankets and the groom’s shoes. (I wonder what size they are!)  Read more

Certain industries use online branding to influence offline sales with great success. There is some new interesting research out that shows that consumers of electronics who use online search before going to a store, end up spending ten percent more that those who do not search. I know from my experience that this is the case. By doing some research you carefully consider what you need and what will work best for you even if the features you determine you cannot live without means a higher price.

According to new research from Yahoo! and ChannelForce, consumers who search online for televisions and digital cameras spend ten percent more when making their purchase in-store than those who did not use a search engine. The survey also found that a vast majority research products online prior to making in-store purchases, and that online research is helping consumers make key purchasing decisions before they enter a store. Read more

A little article here about using Pay per Click (PPC) advertising to develop you online brand.

“Online branding through PPC advertising will depend on both the frequency the ad appears on the Search Engine Result Pages and the number of times your target market has been exposed to an ad. The idea behind PPC branding is that your potential clients, even when they don’t click on an ad, will be able to see your ad again and again achieving top-of-mind positioning.” 

There is an article in Forbes about the virtual web world Second Life and the opportunities for building real life brands.

Coca-Cola, H&R Block, IBM and Toyota are some of 80 companies that have set up a virtual presence there to capture the attention of 7.1 million registered users.

The article shows that it can be a risky place to advertise.  Read the full article ‘Sex, Pranks and Reality.’

Second Life’s virtual Web world can be a weird, chancy place for real-life brands.

Moneysupermarket.com, a British company is to launch its first major online branding campaign.  Read more

Online branding is playing an important role in the fight for domination of the Plus-Size Apparel marketplace.

Like apparel marketers of all kinds, plus-size marketers are analyzing the performance of their sites and are particularly drawn to the measurability of online search and affiliate marketing, says Denise Zimmerman, president and chief strategic officer for NetPlus Marketing, which numbers Lane Bryant among its clients. “There’s a huge opportunity for those who are willing to add a slight level of risk, by introducing targeted online branding and image elements, like display and rich media ads” to the marketing mix, she adds.

Read more on this topic.

This is an interesting article about using search for PR and reputation management.

Although we may credit our college professors or our first marketing job, we should thank our parents for our very first public relations lessons. We were taught at a young age the importance of reputation management. Each time we were forced to return the gum we accidentally shoplifted from the convenience store, or to ring a neighbor’s doorbell and apologize for breaking their front window with our baseball, our parents were teaching us the value of managing public opinion and steps to restoring trust.

Protecting the trust that you have labored hard to build is what reputation management is all about.  More and more companies are developing plans to protect their reputation.  What are you doing about it?