In order to build the category, a brand should welcome competition. In a culture where greed reigns supreme, brands often fall into the thought that owning every last bit of the market share is the best idea out there. What they fail to realize is that a little competition will only help build the brand and the market. One of the best things that ever happened to Coca-Cola was Pepsi-Cola. When Pepsi jumped into the cola market it created a choice, and choice stimulates demand.

This thought process also survives in the retail arena, where one store might not make it, multiple stores will. I'm from Knoxville, home of the "world famous" motor mile, where this theory is put to use. Even though there are nearly 20 new and used car dealerships, each one benefits from the closely situated competition.

What I learned: Your brand should welcome healthy competition. It often brings more customers into the category.

_gern

The Law of Quality | The Law of Credentials | The Law of the Word | The Law of Advertising | The Law of Publicity | The Law of Contraction | The Law of Expansion | The Law of the Category | The Law of the Name | The Law of Extensions

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The Common Good. That phrase seems to pop up in conversations alot around me lately. I love to hear about new little projects that are socially, morally, and ethically driven to bring about a "common good". Sometimes my quick start gets me annoyed at all the talk and wants to see some action!!! A friend of mine, Jeff Shinabarger, and I had one of those conversations several months ago, and its finally leading to some action.

We live in the same neighborhood in East Atlanta. Everyday Jeff and I drive, walk, or scoot by this one bus stop. Its a sad sight. It's forgotten and has been neglected for years, but the ironic part is it's the most popular stop in our neighborhood. Several noble patrons stand around patiently waiting for the bus and have even tried to survive by building make-shift seats out of crates, boxes, or scrap wood. We want to bring some hope to those dependent on the harsh reality of public transportation.

We've decided to build them a resting spot like no other, kind of like an outdoor living nest if you will. We're talking a custom painted bench, fresh landscaping, a flower pot, a recycling bin, trash can, floor mat, and maybe a footstool. Nice!

We've thrown out our idea to our friend Brandon McCormick at Whitestone Motion Pictures, who happen to shoot our Rapping Paper Party Promo, and he's decide to help us shoot a short about it. Filming is scheduled to take place June 20th- 22nd. Its going to be a film of redemption; a story of neglect. A story of small actions with big results. We're not sure what will come of it, maybe it will spark a wildfire of "common good" throughout our city, or at the very least give some weary feet a place to rest.

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Day two of WOMM-U for me was all about a better understanding of social media: how to use it and how to leverage it.

Topics included:

• Social Media: Beginners

• Social Media: Advanced

• Developing a blog strategy

• Social Networks: Buy, Build, or Rent?

I was challenged not to just have participate in my own social media (facebook, blogging, linkedin, etc), but really to join the conversation that others are having. It's one thing to do my own thing, it's another to join what others are doing. It's not a matter of choosing one or the other, but doing both.

I also keep hearing so much about Twitter. I now have a profile there and have been experimenting for the past few days. If you are a twitter person, check me out here, and let me know who you are so I can follow you as well.

The above photo is of me competing at guitar hero at the Burson-Marsteller booth. I lost. To a girl. That's right: I lost at Guitar Hero to a girl. Kara from Diamond PR, if your goal was to embarrass me, you succeeded.

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Enjoying the WOMMA conference as always. Yesterday was great.

Most of all I enjoyed hearing keynote speaker Joseph Jaffe, author of Join the Conversation, in the morning.

Here were his top 5 things to make sure you're doing:

1. LISTEN to your customer.

2. RESPOND quickly & decisively.

3. JOIN the conversation (but you must be invited to join, you can't just show up and expect to be respected).

4. CATALYZE. Find the influencers and help them.

5. START conversations.

They gave everyone a copy of his book, and I really look forward to reading it.

Stay tuned…should be a great day today.

Craig

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I'm in Miami this morning for the Word of Mouth Marketing Conference. I always really enjoy learning a lot at these conferences. I'll be posting some of my learnings here over the next few days.

If you are curious to look in on the conversation, this year they are doing a live feed on their website. Click here to check it out.

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Today I came across the "Retail Alphabet Game" as seen above. Its a game where someone took out a single letter from a popular company's logo and you are supposed to guess what logo brand it is from. It's fun to test yourself with to see how many you can identify, we got all but 3 on our first try around here. I thought it was interesting to see how strong some brand's are in consumers mind just from their logos, even being able to identify them from a letter in the middle of the name. So test yourself and see how many you can get. If you click the link above their are other links to more 3 other puzzles with different logos used. For all the answers to the logos continue reading…

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I found these great package designs from Turner Duckworth. I love the simplicity and clarity. There are no crazy colors or overload of information. Just simple, informative and classy. I know nothing about this brand, never heard of it before. I don't know their demographic or their story. But I know on a shelf of screaming and yelling designs, this would yell the loudest to me. Less is more in this case.

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I ran across Help Remedies this week a new company that "helps make solving simple health issues simple." The first thing I noticed was the simplicity of all of their products and their brand itself. After looking through their site, reading their philosophy, etc… I was very impressed with how they position themselves and their brand reflects that beautifully with their simple packaging and simple products. Instead of slick marketing and packaging they simply tell the truth about what their product is for. Nicely done.

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Recently we began what we are calling the Client Promoter Project. We hired someone outside of the matchstic team to call all of our clients after projects are finished and interview them about the process. We then receive a 2-3 page report from the interview, and these reports have been amazing. If you've already participated in one, Thank You! This idea came from reading the book The Ultimate Question.

One thing we are hearing in these interviews is that clients wish they could have more time and attention from Dustin, our Project Manager (3rd from the left – about to kick someone in the face). He is such a good listener and really takes care of all aspects of the clients' needs. In order for Dustin to devote more time to the clients' needs, we need someone in the office to handle more of the internal production of matchstic: timelines, production schedules, vendor relationships, etc.

Well, we aren't doing these interviews for nothing, so it's time for us to step up to the plate and do what we gotta do to serve you all better.

So, we have begun the process of hiring a Production Manager.

Click here to view the entire job description.

If you are interested, please send a resume to jobs@matchstic.com or fax to 404.446.1512

Be prepared: we are taking one idea from our friends at Brains on Fire.  Whoever we hire will be interviewed by every matchstic team member.

I have often been asked how one can get a red matchstic jump suit. The answer is simple: Join the matchstic team.

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Today we had a good conversation about finding "the core" of a brand. Its an extremely tough process, but monumentally crucial when building a strong identity. The Core of a brand is the most unique, most sticky, most undeniable truth that makes the brand truly remarkable. It's what the chief commander would tell his lieutenants to base all of their tactical decisions upon. Its the one thing you would save if your ship was sinking, house was burning, or hut was being swallowed by a gelatinous blob of liquid hot magma. A core message gives focus. Its allows you to deliver the most powerful punch in the most powerful way.

Actually discovering your "Core" is a laborious task. Every time you'll be tempted to squeeze at least three things into it (at least I know I am), but if you try to say three things at once you might as well not say anything, according "Made To Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath, the current book we are reading as a company. "This tendency to gravitate toward complexity is perpetually at war with the need to prioritize", Heath explains. He goes on to tell the story of Bill Clinton's 1992 Presidential run. It was a prime example of a breeding ground for decision angst, but somehow James Carville (aka ‘The Raggin' Cajun), the key political advisor, pulled it all together when he wrote "Its the economy, stupid" on the white board in his office for all the campaign workers to see. Such a simple statement, but it provided the core message for such a remarkable campaign success.

Three messages (or more) send too many confusing signals at someone; it gives them options. Those options cause questions, and those questions cause anxiety. Thus, that someone is like Scarlet O'Hare, gone with the wind.

Prioritizing is hard. What is critical and what is beneficial is sometimes gray. One process we decided to try today was listing out all your strengths and messages on a white board and systematically asking, "If the house was on fire, which one of these would I save?".

Give it a shot, you never know, it might just be the sprinkler you need for a ragging inferno.

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