brand loyalty

Two of my favorite brands are Starbucks and Apple Store. In the book titled "The Power of Co-Creation" the authors talk about how these two brands (and others) have embraced a concept of co-creation to build huge successes.

Starbucks, an experience wrapped in a cup!

I first became a fan of Starbucks not because of the coffee but because of a segment on a Sunday morning show about how they treat their partners (employees) with respect and dignity. They are one of the most progressive employers in the U.S. and that really matters to me.

In 2008 Starbucks had to deal with "the perfect storm." The economy collapsed and the competition became fierce. They didn’t take it lying down. In 2008 they went interactive launching MyStarbucksIdea.com where everyone was invited to help "co-shape" it’s future. In the first year, 65,000 ideas had been submitted and 658,000 votes were cast. In 2009, 50 of the ideas had been approved and began launching. Then, they used their power to do good by launching "Pledge 5.starbucks.com" (ok it didn’t hurt PR either) where fans were asked to donate their time to community service. The result, by fall 2009, 1 million service hours were pledged. No one can say for sure but I believe these initiatives helped them turn a corner and in 2010 they returned to profitability.

What we can all learn from Walt Disney

In this economy we could all use a little bit of magic. And who better to teach us than the master of successful branding, Walt Disney.

What we can all learn from Walt Disney

In this economy we could all use a little bit of magic. And who better to teach us than the master of successful branding, Walt Disney.

Times like these you need to be more creative with your budget. The good news is that email marketing can fit into most anyone's budget. Wikipedia explains that email marketing is a form of direct marketing, which uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or fundraising messages to your customers/clients. You can achieve a big bang for a small price while getting out relevant messages, achieving brand appeal and the ability to measure it all.

• Reduce Other Costs_ Think about what you are printing: holiday cards, invitations, newsletters. Could these be emailed? Of course they can.
• Get Valuable Info_ Using email you can obtain valuable stats and watch response rates in real time. With this information you can easily tweak your emails, see what is working and not working with your client/customer base.
• Build Brand Loyalty_ With email you can keep current clients/customers happy and engaged. Reward loyal customers, but keep it interesting.
• Do's and Don'ts – Use Email The Right Way
  • DON'T buy/rent an email list
  • DON'T send emails everyday
  • DO be client/customer specific
  • DO keep your focus on a permission-based strategy
  • DO make it fun and different

–Melissa Behrens, Senior Graphic Designer