Business Coaching

Several sources, including the media, which produces print news, have been crying that print is dying for a while now. But…are they really sure?

Folio Magazine ran an interesting column by Joe Pulizzi, a content marketing strategist and co-author of Get Content Get Customers, called “the Handbook for Content Marketing” by McGraw-Hill, where he says that print, because it is so scarce, is actually an untapped source for marketing.

And his points ring true. For example, Pulizzi says with the increase in junk email and decrease in physical mail, a custom print publication to your target market stands out. There’s just less mail, so more attention is paid to each piece.

Another great point is that, in a way, what’s old is new again. Social media, online content and iPad applications are all part of the marketing mix today. Still, what excites marketers and media buyers is what isn’t being done.  They want to do something different…something new. It’s hard to believe, but I’ve heard many marketers talk about leveraging print as something new in their marketing mix.

So, apparently, if you want to think outside the box…think print.

To read the whole column, click here.

Will a social media campaign be able to reverse BP's image?

Can social media save BP?

The world’s current most unpopular oil company is looking to Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and other digital tools as a way to clean up BP’s flailing image. The campaign broadcasts content like videos explaining health risks to repair crews, while BP’s Facebook fan page also alerts followers to breaking news, such as the latest congressional hearings.

One BP rep summed up the strategy by telling Adweek, “A lot of people are angry, just as we are. It’s all the more reason to keep going and keep telling people what we’re doing.” It’s still yet to be seen whether the company can salvage its reputation better than it can stop the spill.

Despite a dogfighting scandal in 2007, Vick is making a good comeback.

Everyone is talking about whether BP can make a comeback…maybe the oil company should look to an athlete who overcame a scandal a few years ago: Michael Vick, who was involved in a dog fighting scandal in 2007.

Even though Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid has publicly said Kevin Kolb will be the team’s starter if he’s healthy, all indications point to Vick as the one under center in the Eagles’ game against Detroit on Sunday.

Kolb failed his first two concussion tests on Monday and Wednesday. He’ll have another one today, but even if he passes it one wonders how much he’ll be able to factor into this week’s game plan.

The last time Vick started an NFL game was in 2006, before serving time in prison for dog fighting and a suspension from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Vick’s dual-threat ability as a runner and a passer makes this a good match-up. Due to the Eagles’ leaky offensive line (center Jamaal Jackson is out for the year), Vick is better equipped to deal with protection break downs than Kolb because Vick can keep plays alive with his feet.

Vick has shown that at 30, he’s an asset to the Eagles. We’ll have to see what happens this Sunday.

It just goes to show, that sometimes, hard work and talent can cause a comeback – just like it did after Vick’s dog fighting scandal. It might have taken some time, but he’s made it happen.

Perhaps BP should be taking some notes…or be prepared to wait it out while working hard to restore the company’s image.

Coca-Cola's logo hasn't changed all that much over the year.

It’s funny what the original logos and branding for major corporations today looked like back at the company’s inception.

Take fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King.

Coca-Cola has had roughly the same brand logo since its inception. The script appeared in Coke ads first in the 1900s, and although it has had some minor tweaks here and there (with a brief use of a new logo in 1985 for “new” Coke, which was scrapped for the old logo again in 1987), it’s been pretty standard through the years. That’s the same logo for about 123 years.

Meanwhile, Pepsi-Cola changed its logo about 11 times since 1898.

There are lots of things to consider when marketing your brand: is your product filling a need? Is it a quality and valued product? And is it being marketed well?

Companies want brand logos that are instantly recognizable. It may take a while to get there, but once there, the payoff – your product and company visible and known from far and wide – is great.

Think about how you market yourself and your logo. That could make all the difference when it comes to being recognized vs. not being known at all.

Check out the evolution of more logos here.

Credit card companies will use professional cards as a way to increase their profit margins.

Credit card companies are looking for a way to recoup some of the losses they’ve experienced following the implementation of the new credit card law this March and they’ve been using professional cards as a way to increase their profit margins.

This puts small business owners in a difficult position. Traditional credit lines have been frozen for some time, leaving business owners scrambling for capital to fund their ventures. Credit cards seem like an attractive option to turn to, but there are risks.

Many small business owners don’t realize that the new credit card laws which went into affect earlier this year only deal with personal credit cards, not professional credit cards. This can be a major problem for small businesses that don’t understand how the loophole in the law affects them.

For example, The Ink From Chase card, one of several professional cards offered by the bank, is one professional card subject to the whim of issuers. The card agreement says Chase is free to implement a default rate of 29.99% if a customer is late by just one day on a payment.

Holders of Capital One’s Business Platinum Card, meanwhile, can see their low introductory interest rates spike if they are just three days late with payment twice in a 12-month period, far less than the 60-day notice for personal cards required under the Card Act.

These are just two examples of the practices card issuers can still use when dealing with professional cards, but there are many more out there. There are five major differences between personal and professional cards.

Under the new law credit card companies can apply any payments in excess of the minimum to balances with low interest rates, don’t have to allow 21 days after a statement is mailed before payment is due, can raise rates on existing balances if late payments are made to a different creditor, can charge big fees if cardholders exceed their limit and, maybe most importantly, card issuers can change agreements without giving advanced notice. All of these practices are now illegal in regard to personal cards.

What do you think of the credit card industry’s strategy in regard to professional credit cards? Is it good business or bad faith in this struggling economy?

China has seen economic results from putting money in state-owned businesses.

China’s leaders during the financial crisis have reaffirmed their faith in their own more statist approach to economic management, in which private capitalism plays only a supporting role.

The New York Times reports that the Chinese government has grown richer — and more worried about sustaining its high-octane growth — and therefore, it has pumped public money into companies that it expects to upgrade the industrial base and employ more people. The beneficiaries are state-owned interests that many analysts had assumed would gradually wither away in the face of private-sector competition.

The distinction may matter more today than it once did. China surpassed Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy this year, and its state-directed development model is appealing to poor countries.

Would this strategy work with the US? Investing in state-owned companies, to see the economy skyrocket, just like China?