Part 2: CoronaBranding  

It was a well-thought-out branding decision to call it ‘social distancing.’

Earlier in my career, I was part of a national organization of creative firms that met in different parts of the country. I recall sitting at bar in the French quarter of New Orleans, a few cocktails in, when a colleague from New Orleans said, "You know the difference between branding firms in Boston and those down here?" He paused, "Y'all live above the neck... we live...below the neck!"

As well as being highly amused, I recognized the depth of his colorful statement and it caused me to reflect upon the top ten attributes to look for in a Boston based branding agency:

Faced with a corporate or product naming assignment, you may conjure visions of silly corporate naming competitions over cold pizza or the endless search for the elusive, available url, which often results in a substandard name by default. While happy accidents can happen, most naming exercises fail because they are purely subjective, not based on any brand strategy.

Because a name is the most visible manifestation of your brand, whether it is a corporate, product or service brand, it needs to be built on a solid foundation. Having lead quite a few naming processes, I've found success by breaking down the process into six steps.

If you're in the marketing field, you've probably heard of "Buyer Personas," but what are they exactly, and why do you need them?

For fans of the Showtime series, Homeland, you may have seen super sleuth antihero, Carrie Mathison, sitting cross-legged, surrounded by an array of suspect's photos, including bios, histories and known associations. These are personas. In the case of "Homeland," these are Terrorist Personas. Fortunately, we live in the less perilous, yet often elusive world of marketing, but share Carrie's need for a deeper understanding of our targets; what they look like, what they like and dislike, where they congregate, what they read and who they associate with on a regular basis.