Dirty Butterfly

"Advertising isn’t dead, but when you change the focus to helping companies deliver on what they say they are, it changes what branding agencies should be doing." We couldn't agree more, a brand is simply an extension of who you are, and this need to reflect what you do – as an agency as well as a brand owner. [Fastcodesign].

"Your [employees] are your firm. Your brand tells them how to act." [Nowpossible],

Pinterest: another channel where 1) you need to know why you're doing what you're doing (brand strategy), and 2) content is key in creating value for your target consumers (brand communication as part of value-creation). [Fast Company].

More Pinterest: it is very much a channel for creating brand awareness, which again means you need to have your strategy in order so you know what you are creating awareness around. Also, because of the nature of content sharing and discovery, brands are learning to be more human. This is a key challenge we think, we are very much looking at brands as both groups of people (i.e., employees), and individuals (i.e., the one individual manning your brand's Pinterest/social media efforts). [Fast Company].

Good prescription Doktor! Before you talk you need to listen – why people share online, and how that translates to brand content. [Doktor Spinn].

We like this: redefine the purpose of innovation -- instead of designing better products and services, design better and more valuable customers, making innovation an investment in your customer's future, and thereby your future with them. [Harvard Business Review].

Mobility is more important than mobile. "In the early days of digital, the core behavior we needed to understand was that people wanted information at their fingertips and the convenience that came with digital transactions. In the social era it was all these things plus social connectivity. Mobility means information, convenience, and social all served up on the go, across a variety of screen sizes and devices." [Harvard Business Review].

The drip marketing strategy: Because you can’t know when someone is going to be ready to buy, you want to have a recurring presence in their world, so you’re always top of mind. The goal of moving someone along the know/like/trust continuum, with marketing efforts as a seamless flow of information, contact, and relationship building. [Mpdailyfix].

Social TV – commercials are really just short shows. Two key takeaways: 1) even for massive American brands, the actual numbers reached through a campaign such as this one are really small. Really REALLY small. 2) But this is still a relevant, and still important channel – "comments...get carried far and wide through social media, which means that consumers are basically volunteering to say nice things about the brand to their extended networks. [Adage].

Coca-Cola is pretty much amazing in terms of how they work with content as their key driver within communication. “To be honest, the consumer voice is of greater value than the Coca-Cola voice. Our job as Coke is to inspire consumer conversations. That’s why our creative content has to be the best it’s ever been.” [Fastcocreate].

If you believe in the power of brands, as in the commercial value of lasting relationships with consumers that brands can create, then you need to focus on the pursuit of ideas that will elevate your brand. "While the touchpoints that drive lasting relationships with consumers might have changed over the years, the power of brands and the value of ideas remain the same." [Fastcocreate].

Converged media: paid, owned, and earned media is rapidly becoming all just…media. "Ads, blog post, social interactions – either they’re interesting (or entertaining, or engaging, or helpful, etc.), or they’re not." [Altimetergroup].

3 Steps To A Customer-Driven Marketing Plan. [B2BMarketinginsider].

July 24