GNVC Brand Presentation
For those who attended the Global New Venture Challenge Brand Presentation on January 9, 2010 in London, here are the slides from that presentation.
By the way, there was a quick comment about the fact that the class had taken a marketing class, but branding was not included. Here is an important point about branding in general that will help you avoid major branding mistakes: Branding is Not Marketing. Many people assume that because brands often include logos and pictures and web sites that they are marketing functions. That is a major misconception. Branding is as much about operations, HR, accounting, sales, R&D and every other department as it is about marketing.
Marketing often plays a major role in supporting the overall brand, but they do not own it.
Keep this in mind as you think through your own companies and brand stories. Do not make this a marketing function. If you do, it will likely fail!
Enjoy!
Super-Awesome Presentation Zone Program
This is an outline of using the “Zone” presentation style for presenting business plans and pitches. It was created for students at the University of Chicago’s Executive MBA Program in London.
Click on the guy to download the PDF.
Triplets- Bootstrapping Tactics
During the dawn of ecommerce I started the direct marketing efforts for a major consumer durables company. Getting customers is always the first step in a good bootstrapping scenario so I set out to test some online advertising. Banner advertising was state-of-the-art, so I put together a detailed outline for the creative design of a banner ad that I was sure would capture the hearts and minds of Internet shoppers across the US. The ad featured a variety of animations and catchy phrases. I identified about six different design companies and sent them the spec for a quote. Continue reading
Customers vs. Consumers
It is not uncommon for the entrepreneur to have trouble figuring out which side their bread is buttered on and who is doing the buttering. I often hear about start-up companies that are “doing really well” even though they haven’t made a dime. Heck, I’ve had companies like this myself. In these days of free online services it’s easy to get carried away with the fact that your web site is getting a lot of users even though they aren’t spending any money. Continue reading
Branddaddy Longlegs
One of the great things about a start-up company it the opportunity to create a great brand. A great brand is like a club that everybody wants to be a member of. A great brand transcends the product or service the company provides and creates its own attraction. The Customers, or members, appreciate the company for the sense of belonging it provides over and above the product’s functionality or service’s quality. Continue reading
Entrepreneurial Marketing Strategy
Everybody knows that proverbial low-hanging fruit offers the best opportunity for a start-up company. However, most customers don’t grow on trees so it’s sometimes difficult to identify low-hanging fruit and, after you find it a pick it, how do you determine what to pick next? We need a simple model for segmentation that will work in any industry. Continue reading
Spare No Expense- A Philosophy for Bootstrapping
Let’s all agree that the reason for embarking on your start-up mission is to make money. There could be other reasons, but for argument sake we’ll pretend the point of the start-up is to generate positive cash flow so that it can get past the “start-up” phase, into the “growth” phase and finally into the “acquire-Google-phase”. Continue reading
Planning- the Role of Luck
Two fine fellows set out to make $1 million in a year. They both write their business plans and get started. A year later the first fellow has made $500,000 and the second fellow made $10,000,000. Which one is the better businessman? Continue reading
Understanding Socially Conscious Businesses
In business the term “socially conscious” is thrown around a lot these days and I’m not sure people really understand what it means to a business model. And, while I am certainly not against being charitable or socially conscious, I think it is important that entrepreneurs need to carefully understand the implications of being socially conscious and build a business model that reflects that understanding. Continue reading