What do Walter White and Steve Jobs have in common?

Hmmm, now that's an intriguing question to ask on a Wednesday.  How can a science teacher turned meth kingpin have anything in common with the Apple guru?

In actuality - quite a bit!  You think about how Apple came on to the computer scene in the 70's, how it's design techniques and customer-driven laser focus created several industries, and then apply that to the drug business, and well you have synergies that can be applied to basic branding principles.

1. Market recognition:  Steve Jobs saw the future of personal computing very early, and recognized the vastness of the emerging market.  Jobs also was able to hone in on what the end user wanted, and simplified it so that it applied to everyday life - i.e. creating the MacIntosh desktop graphical interfaces that, well mimic someone's desktop.  Very simple, yet applicable to everybody's life!  Walter White saw that Methamphetamine was rapidly becoming huge, and took his expertise in chemistry to a new level by developing a better product which his market truly wanted.
2. Product Integrity:  Walter's formula in the show is a 99% pure product - well above anything in the marketplace, and its distinctive blue coloring made it easily identifiable.  To the consumer, it was a mark of drug excellence and created a huge demand for the Blue.  Jobs created a closed product, so that anyone who wanted to create an application or software had to utilize Apple's parameters, thereby ensuring that any software or hardware component worked seamlessly with Apple products.
3. Distinctive Design:  From the branding to the packaging, everything that Apple creates has a distinctively clean and intuitive design.  The iPod/iPad/iPhone have limited product directions as earch are easily implemented - kids can operate them without any real instructions.  Walter White's Blue meth is completely different than anything in the fictitious marketplace, and it's brand name of Heisenberg appeals to the end user, and strikes fear into the competition.
4. Market Dominance:  Apple has revolutionized 4 industries, and in each has been an industry leader, leaving competitors, particularly in the cellphone industry lagging behind.  Walter White's ruthless attention to his marketplace has placed his product as the standard, and his competition has not been able to copy and/or destroy it's way back.

Yes, we're talking fiction vs. reality, but these four principles can be put in to your own branding culture.

The modern Storyteller - YouTube!

Storytelling.  We all do it, heck we've all heard a tall tale or two hundred - and in my family that is one holiday meal!  So, what does that mean in the times of instant gratification and social media?

Our Facebook and Twitter feeds - along with every other social outlet - are full of videos that our friends, family, co-workers, etc. have posted at one point or another.  The bottom line is that people post videos and pictures for three core reasons:

1.  To amaze and entertain our friends
2.  To reveal aspects of our true selves to our network in order to build stronger relationships
3.  To help people by providing meaningful information and insight

Now think about it, who hasn't posted some crazy video of some person doing a stunt gone horribly wrong?  I am a consistent poster of articles and videos that relate to organ donation, or of positive affirmations.  And, who didn't receive some sort of political video/joke/picture during last years elections?

Great, you've nailed exactly why I post something on a personal level, so what does that mean for my brand?  It goes back to the first word in this post - Storytelling.  We are social creatures, and social media, particularly YouTube and Facebook, allow us to share the stories that Uncle Jack told us from back in the day, but utilizing visuals and acoustics to enhance the social experience.

Brands have been making TV ads for years, which is great for the Super Bowl, but otherwise you end up taking a shotgun to an archery contest.  Social Media allows a Brand to fine-tune its message on a personal level - by bonding with the recipient through those core reasons.  Creating a Brand Story that relates your product/service/mission/values to the individual promotes not only the Brand, but the social aspect that we all have to share.  You may have 100,000 twitter followers, but release a YouTube video that grabs your audience on a personal level, and that tweet may explode to Millions of people - and potential customers.

Read more on how to create a Storytelling experience with your Brand videos

So... Does Swag really work?

Look around your desk - I'm quite positive you will find a branded item somewhere near you.  Be it a pen, coaster, mousepad, USB drive, Coffee Mug, water bottle, sticky note - these dern things are everywhere!

So what!  I have some company's logo on my stuff, that doesn't mean anything to me!  I just like the thing they gave me.  I hear that all the time in what I do - it's just trinkets and trash/Swag/Tchotchkies/junk...

Au contraire my friend!  A recent study shows that branded items do in fact impact a targeted audience in a tangible way!  More importantly, it left favorable, long-lasting impressions upon recipients.  Here's the figures:

PPAI research shows:

• 88 percent recall the advertiser on promotional products
• 85 percent have done business with the advertiser after receiving a promotional item
• 83 percent like promotional products
• 81 percent keep them because they are useful
• 53 percent use promotional products once a week
• 47 percent keep them for more than a year

For you Marketeers - that's good stats!  Promo items may not be glitzy, but they work.  for more info on the study, read here

What is Agile Marketing - and Why do I care?

Since communication has now jumped into hyperspace in terms of the speed information travels, marketers must now move just as quickly in order to stay ahead of the game.  So how does a savvy marketeer become a quick-on-the-feet mover and shaker?  By becoming best buds with your development IT teams!

Here are several key ways to implement and sustain an Agility marketing program:

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