Branding Blog

Can I have a Kindle?

A couple of friends already have one. They love it. I'm jealous. I want one.

I didn't want one quite so bad before I saw that they are back in stock!

Remarkable Direct Mail: Veer

This was the coolest thing I've received in the mail for ages. I'm not spilling the secrets here. You'll just have to go find out. Veer.

"The kerning pair went everywhere."

Watch the "Presentation Zen" Presentation

Thanks to Pam at Escape from Cubicle Nation for sharing the Presentation Zen talk at Google.

Garr Reynold's book was a big help for a recent presentation I gave in Australia and I've been recommending it to everyone I know who does any kind of presenting, even on the web.  (Especially after one of my partners recommended it to me!)

Watch the video after the jump...

Free Rice for Hungry People

I've idled a bit of time playing the never-ending-movie-quiz-game on Facebook. You get nothing back but a score.

Bryan Eisenberg IMd me a link to Free Rice. Now, instead of wasting my time trying to remember obscure movie facts, I can improve my vocabulary AND feed hungry people. It's a win-win! You should try it!

Vess Barnes is Paving the Driveway! Right on Vess!

All of the Cognoscenti have met Vess Barnes at some point or another in their forays to Austin. He's a staple at Wizard Academy. He drives down from Amarillo in his 'vette faster than I can get there from Denver on United Airlines.

He's stepped up and bought a bunch of concrete, and we couldn't be happier! Vess Barnes says Hello!

Bathroom Blogfest: How Did I Miss it? Doh!

A bunch of bloggers held a Bathroom Blogfest, and I missed it! I'm so mad at myself right now that I'm seriously considering never using a public bathroom again. (I'll get over it.)

So, what could I have offered? Do you seriously think that I travel the world without snapping pictures of bathrooms? And, these women didn't even have access to the tiled and stainless steel coolness of some men's rooms.

Here are a few samples: (click to ridiculously enlarge)

Howard Johnson hotel near LAX (in the guest room)

No basin. The countertop is sloped to the back where the drains are.

A urinal in Sydney

It was nearly impossible to use the urinals at the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney because of the tourists taking pictures!

And, here's the urinal. There are 4 of them in the center of the room. Note the QVB in the porcelain.

A Fresh Smart Voice

OK, I admit that I haven't been carrying the branding flag forward into battle much the past 12 months. And, I also get tired of reading the same ol', same ol' from all of the usual suspects in the world of marketing and advertising oriented blogs.

I got a comment a couple of days ago from Alison Driscoll on a post I wrote 2 years ago. Of course, when someone comments, you try to find out who they are before you go linking to a porn site or male enhancement propaganda.

Alison's been blogging now for 2 months (at least according to her archives). I hope she stays with it. She's a fresh, new voice with something to say. And what a great slogan line for her blog..."The Bottled Blonde of Marketing." I like love it.

I have to admit that as a father of 4 girls, I was impressed that her dad left a comment on her very first post. That beats any "real-world" credential in my book. Blog on Alison!

Juan Interviews Hillary on HispanicTrending

My good friend Juan G. Tornoe has interviewed Hillary Clinton on his blog, HispanicTrending. Like her or not, you've got to hand it to her for making herself available to bloggers in the target markets which are important to the campaign.

HispanicTrending is the most thorough collection of Latino news and links you'll find anywhere on the web.

Nicely done JG!

Grabbing Attention: Ejector Technology for Passenger Vehicles

It's one thing to grab someone's attention. It's quite another thing to bait and switch. As a blogger, I get quite a bit of PR email. Today, one came from DENSO corporation with a file attached which was named "DENSO Develops ejector technology for passenger vehicles."

My brain said "CRIKEY! What's this about?". I opened it and found out that it is some kind of new-fangled air conditioning technology.

Sigh.

By using an ejector that rapidly injects and expands high-pressure refrigerant, the energy that previously was lost in the expansion valve is converted to pressure energy and reused, thus boosting energy efficiency*2. As a result, high cooling and refrigeration performances are both achieved even when the cooler box is used.

“An ejector system can drastically improve the energy efficiency in the refrigeration cycle, and we are now working to develop a system specifically for car air conditioning systems,” said Hikaru Sugi, managing officer in charge of DENSO’s Thermal System Business Group.

Unless you are really into the whole air conditioner technology groove, this is total boredom.

Really, this is just a PR typo, but doesn't it remind you of some of the marketing and advertising crap you see every day? Don't do this type of thing in your advertising.

Another example is the stupid travel site emails I get every day. Southwest Airlines sent one the other day which promised Denver-Austin for $79 each way. Not on the dates I wanted, and only on about 2 dates between now and Christmas. Sheesh.

How have the marketers been fooling you?

Tree Branding: Vote Yes! for Trees

My buddy Tim Miles sent me a link to this tree site. It's clever. If you vote "yes" for trees between now and May 28, they'll plant one for you.

The site has a very clever FAQ. All I can say is 'amen' to the part about Hackberry trees.

I hope they come plant all 5,000 trees where I live. We could use a few. This is the view of my drive to the airport.

Here's the best part...it's a viral initiative from Emma, the email marketing company.

If you want people to spread the word about your company, you have to do something worth sharing. Tim loves using Emma for his clients and had no problem sending a shout-out to some of his friends. There's nothing in it for him.

There's nothing in it for me, except for an opportunity to create a light-hearted Saturday morning post while I wait to catch a flight back home from Austin so I can drive on THAT road. If you'd like to read another road story, click the photo.