Winter arrived here last night in typical Toronto style - snow overnight followed by rain today... which means a slushy drive into work and a messy day overall. Having said that, I am still trying to embrace the season. Last night I layered up, put on my Margaritaville toque and braved the 45km winds blowing off the lake. I am trying...

While doing research for this blog and to increase my own knowledge, I have found some fascinating articles, some clever items and some things that are just plain fun. Like this link http://www.cheerfactory.com/
Aside from the obvious smiles and interest in the program itself, I think many of these applications are great branding tools. This Cheer Factory site ties into the Gap’s advertising and if you click through to the TV commercials there are several viral ads created by the Gap. All designed to build good will and brand awareness.

Branding is one of those things that many companies miss the boat on…particularly small to medium sized organizations. We spend so much time concerned about sales, productivity, overheads etc., that many companies never address advertising or branding opportunities. Creating a brand is a often a slow and systematic process. As a printing company, we have managed to create a brand in an industry where branding a mid sized company is almost unheard of. It has been done slowly, over many years and, while not a defined strategy, in hindsight is clearly one of the cornerstones of our success.

I recently had a conversation with a high-end real estate agent and we spoke about their advertising and mail outs. He does not expect to sell a house on the strength of an ad in a homes for sale magazine or with a colourful “just sold” card in the neighbor's mailbox. They invest in these vehicles to create an identity for the agent…a brand.

In my brief experience with the Social Networking media I am realizing that many blogs, and Twitter and Facebook/ MySpace are about creating personal brands. To find out about the company – go to the company web site. To find out about the person – follow the blog.
http://www.replytoall.nl/reputatie-management/authentic-personal-branding/

Cheers,
George