Companies so often want customers to love them like a friend, however they struggle to see it happen. Why is that?

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This past Friday night myself and crew of friends went to try a new burger joint in town called YEAH! Burger. I was excited for two reasons, to see a beautiful brand identity and to eat gluten-free bread (big selling point for me).

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I have struggled all my life to organize my time well and have always failed at the task. I've tried countless tips, tools, and mental games, but nothing worked, until now...

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After 70 years of print - amongst the rival publications Newsweek, Businessweek, & Time - Time is the only of the three to have seemingly remained intact. Maybe the medium isn't dead?

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Hey there, I'm Kelly Carnes, the only current Matchstic-eer without a Y chromosome. I grew up thirty minutes south of Atlanta and went to the same elementary school as my grandmother (different building of course). So you could say I've got some serious Georgia roots.

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Four years ago I was introduced to Word of Mouth Marketing through our friends here in Atlanta at Fizz, a word of mouth marketing agency. I was intrigued by the concept and proceeded to attend a few WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) conferences.

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"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do." - Thomas Jefferson

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Mike Landman is the founder and president of Ripple, an IT firm with a revolutionary approach to making companies more productive by putting people before computers. Mike is also the president of the Atlanta chapter of Entrepreneurs' Organization.

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In our world of branding and strategy, we talk a lot about how you get there and why. It matters, because there is so much out there that isn't arrived at as a result of asking the 'why' and 'how' questions. And the results of those uninformed attempts are - sadly - often bad or confusing. But even in a world of informed decisions, imagination is still at the heart.

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I had braces for over four years. I hated them. But man was I glad when it was all over and my teeth were straight.

But just when I thought I was done, they handed me this retainer and told me I had to wear it everywhere. What a bum deal!!  Well, I knew I had to do it so I did.  For about another 4 years.  Then after high school I finally gave up on the retainer and you know what?  My teeth have shifted and are not nearly as straight as they once were.

It's the same with building a brand.  You can put a lot of energy into defining and building the initial foundation of a brand.  But the day you stop thinking about it and sticking with the initial plan is the day you start to lose focus.  And we all know that a lack of commitment leads to a weakening brand.

Having the foundational assets of a brand (brand strategy, visual identity system) is just that: the foundation.  That isn't when your work is done, rather it's when you can really start building your brand.

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