Brand damage - what to do?

Those of you with responsibility for maintaining your company's brand platform take note!

A 26 year old artist named Nadia Plesner has been sued by Louis Vuitton for brand jacking their famous purses in a anti-genocide campaign. Nadia used the brand to strategically make a point that the media cares more about Paris Hilton and high fashion than the genocide in the nation of Darfur.

Nadia said: “My illustration Simple Living is an idea inspired by the medias constant cover of completely meaningless things. My thought was: Since doing nothing but wearing designerbags and small ugly dogs appearantly is enough to get you on a magasine cover, maybe it is worth a try for people who actually deserves and needs attention.
When we’re presented with the same images in the media over and over again, we might start to believe that they’re important. If you can’t beat them, join them. This is why I have chosen to mix the cruel reality with showbiz elements in my drawing.”

Luxury brands certainly have teams of brand police within their marketing departments to ensure their products aren’t being misplaced or improperly positioned, and took action this time by sending Nadia a cease and desist letter.

Louis Vuitton's response is pretty standard and expected, to protect the image and brand that they’ve been working to build. What to do? Continue the legal path and settle with Nadia? Join the campaign and do some work to help raise funds or promote the cause? Walk away and let the dust simple settle - PR practitioners are probably thinking right now that perhaps they are doing the brand more damage?

Or perhaps as John Bell suggests, divert the attention “What they could do is work with Nadia and other artists to host discussions about media focus. They could partner with a neutral party like my friends at ifocos.org to steward the conversation. Keep the discussion away from luxury brands (which is not Nadia’s point anyhow). LV can become part of the solution without taking on the brunt of an issue they do not own.” Good point John.

So, what do you think LV should do? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Cheers
Heidi Alexandra Pollard
The Communicators' Coach

Online addiction!

Did you know that studies are showing that Aussies are spending more time online than watching TV!

You might be surprised but I am not. For the past few years I haven't had a television and now find that apart from breakfast radio I find out what I need to know about what's happening in the world as well as get my entertainment from my trusty laptop.

According to the latest Nielsen Online poll Australians are spending around 13.7 hours per week surfing the net, while average TV viewing time was about 13.3 hours per week.

The results are part of the 10th Australian Internet and Technology Report which looks at the profile of internet users, online behaviours, ownership of technologies and media consumption habits.The report revealed an increase in cross media consumption, with more than half of Australia’s internet users (58%) saying they have watched TV while online and 48% have used the internet while listening to the radio.

“This means that in recent years Australians have been increasingly consuming more than one medium at a time, commonly resulting in a fragmented span of attention. While use of the internet continued to grow this year, for the first time ever this was not accompanied by an increase for TV consumption – a possible early warning sign that we are approaching the feared media saturation point,” Tony Marlow, associate research director, Asia Pacific for Nielsen Online said.

On average, Australians are spending 84.4 hours per week across a range of media and leisure activities, up from 71.4 hours in the previous 12 months. WOW - isn't that huge!

Until next time online...
Heidi Alexandra Pollard
The Communicators' Coach

Online media - don't be left behind

Dear fellow communicators
I was reading a colleagues blog today and he had posted an interesting article titled "Take a close look at your communications" - read it yourself at http://timeschange.wordpress.com/ .

It reminded me of a great channel on YouTube about online marketing that has been getting tens of thousands of hits. If you haven't already it is worth a look - it is hosted by Charles Lewis and he does rap videos about his favourite topics. Yeah I know sounds kind of bizarre but once I got into them I found them not only fun and entertaining but really rather helpful and informative.

For example he has videos on search engine optimisation - one for example - Paid Search 101 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c96LTLlaXew includes lyrics such as:
Research all your key words
And your phrases
They all sound good
But they may not be effective
There's several ways to check
I prefer WordTracker

Short and snappy and filled with simple tips for improving your online marketing - check it out!
Yours in prosperity, passion and purpose
Heidi Alexandra Pollard
The Communicators' Coach
www.leadingvalue.net

Is it time to brand YOU?

When Tom Peters first wrote about branding yourself it was revolutionary and cool. Today it is a necessity if you want to succeed in the corporate world.

Like a plumber with a leaky tap, as a professional communicators you too can get so caught up in doing what you do that you can forget to apply all that great knowledge you have to your brand and career.

As a communicator and marketer being bland is NOT a way to stand out and sizzle as a model of what you teach. If you really want to boost your career and be an expert in your field, then you can’t be passive. You MUST be able to stand behind your personal brand without fear or embarrassment.

In a conversation I had recently with one of my wonderful coaching clients, she discovered that she had such a strong fear of other people judging her. Her need for approval was such that she wasn’t being her authentic self and certainly wasn’t living her personal brand and being visible.

Coaching around this was fun and enlightening! We discussed her strengths, her target market and what she wanted to really be known for. In particular, we took time to explore the language she used to describe herself when meeting others as well as the self-talk going on in her head.

What she came to realise was that she was trying to be everything to everyone and in the meantime was draining all her own energy. PHEW! The relief on her face was visible when she made the decision to focus in on her personal brand, to allow herself to be what she wanted to be and to form new brand messages for herself. The result was a refreshed, congruent and confident woman, with a newly refined career objective and a new personal brand image.

So do yourself a favour and take a moment now to pause and reflect…
Are you happy with your personal and professional life?
What’s missing? What do you really want to be doing?
What are you putting off?
What getting in your way of you doing and being all that you want?
Are you letting others tell you where your career is going or are you being bold and developing your own unique brand?

Take the effort to explore where you're selling yourself short and enjoy the freedom that being YOU will bring.

Click This Link To Play My Special Audio Tip to Help You Boost YOUR Career!
http://playaudio-345.com/play.asp?m=488475&f=PWAICC&ps=13&p=1

Yours in prosperity, passion and purpose
Heidi Alexandra Pollard

Boosting your online search results

Greetings Communicators
The power of the web is unlimited and getting yourself or your company known doesn't have to cost a fortune.
Years ago most localy based businesses relied on a listing in the local Yellow and White Pages but today your opportunities for reach are exponentially increased if you go online. Local search research by Kelsey Group found that 70 per cent of online searchers used local search to find offline businesses. So it is more important than ever to be visible for local online search engines by getting listed in Google Maps, Yahoo Local and other search engines and directories such as Yellow Pages.
If you haven't taken advantage of online promotion yet here's some tips to boost your online search results.
YellowPages.com: this online local directory also includes city guides and user reviews. Search options include local city and state, category and keyword search. Businesses can get a free basic listing. The advantage is the huge exposure -- up to 34 million unique visitors each month.
Local.com: free basic listings are available here also with your company name, address, phone number, website URL and a brief description.
Google Product Search: Local merchants can get free listings on Google's free product search engine.
Free Yahoo local listing: consists of a profile listing basic company information.
Free Google maps listings: list your business in Google Maps by going to Google's Local Business Center, where you'll find information for creating your free listing.
So get online, get noticed and boost your company's online search results!
Until next time, yours in prosperity, passion and purpose
Heidi Alexandra Pollard, The Professional Communicators' Coach

Greening your brand article

Greetings friends - today I thought I would share with you a recent article by Matt Heinz titled "10 ways to "green" your brand".

I myself am leading a rebranding exercise for a large government agency at the moment so I found this article very timely and relevant. In essence Matt outlines that making your brand more environmentally friendly can add market share, cut costs and make your CFO very happy. He then goes on to give the how including how green aware consumers, audiences and the general public now are and the fact that they are increasingly interested in protecting our environment and reducing its collective carbon footprint.

To read more about Matt 's 10 ways to green your brand including recycling, power management and community participation visit: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/17876.asp
All the best
Heidi Alexandra Pollard
The Professional Communicators Coach

Starting your own home-based communications consultancy?

Here's 4 tips to keep you sane...

So you've decided to take the plunge and start your own home-based consultancy.
You have grand ideas of being your own boss, visions of leisurely days, working in your jeans, having time to 'do lunch' with your friends around your work time.
For those of you, like myself who have been working from a home office for sometime you will know only too well that often the line between work life and home life soon blurs. When I started I often found myself putting on a load of washing before I wrote a proposal for a workshop, or cleaning up the kitchen before returning a call.
Hello real world home office! So much for increased productivity and flexibility.

Over the past two years I have spent some time trying to work out how to keep some of my time structured and some of it flexible. Here are some of the tips I have found to help keep me on track:

Tip #1 Create a work space - keeping a separate, distinct work area in your house will assist you to still be able to go to work when you need to and switch into work mode. I am fortunate to have a spare bedroom that I use as an office however I also share this space with my husband and for him time on his computer is for leisure so I have had to at least define part of the desk space as the 'office'.

Tip #2 Plan your work week - just as you would have used your calendar or outlook when working for someone else to schedule your time and account for your activities, so too you can allocate your time when self employed. For example, if you regularly exercise (I walk my dog Chops at 6am every day), try to do it at the same time each and every day - create the habit. If you commit to start work each day at a certain time - my start time is 8am - then keep that commitment with yourself and keep the pattern and habit a part of your every day.

Tip #3 Let technology be your friend. Client meetings are very valuable when appropriate as there is nothing quite like face to face communication, but schedule them only when required. For correspondance in between sessions or meetings where possible try to use the assistance of technology such as phone, fax, email and if you love technology like I do, use your blackberry or similar device so you can keep in touch with urgent emails and appointments even when you are out of the office. Also make absolutely sure that you get separate lines for your business phone, fax, and internet, the days of the home phone/fax are over!

Tip #4 Keep time zappers at bay. Many of your friends and family will see you as suddenly available now you are working from home. For me the biggest zapper is my husband who is so pleased with his own efficiency when he calls and asks if I can pop down to a local supplier for him. It is very hard to be clear on boundaries but so important if you want to be effective in your business. When zappers call you simply to chat, politely remind them that you're working, and ask them if you can call them back after work or at your designated break time. I allow myself an hour and a half each day for lunch from 12.30 - 2pm and use that time to run all my errands such as going to my PO Box and the bank, so I make it very clear to hubby that if I can fit the errand into my break time then I will do it. He knows now to make sure he's called before noon if he really really needs something.

Working as a solopreneur has so many benefits and pluses and can be very rewarding if you form good habits early on. I hope you find these tips useful in your journey to becoming a successful home-based consultant.

Yours in prosperity
Heidi Alexandra Pollard