Today is a big day for motherhood in the Macik household. Jessica gets her braces off. We've taken the entire day off, I'll buy her a dress, take her to eat corn on the cob and she'll flash those slimy pearly whites to everyone she comes in contact with. She can hardly wait. I'm pretty sure she believes this day will change her life forever, opening the doors of complete hotness, boy craziness and perhaps some modeling contracts. (Hey, she's 5'9+"!)
I was debating if I should get up and be productive this morning, or just sleep in...and started thinking about our day and thinking about how such a small change will change her self image and outward appearance forever.
So my question is, when is the last time you made any alterations that would change the perception of your brand, your image, or your company? Sure its true, a brand is created so our audience has immediate recognition of who we are and what we stand for... BUT.... if you see the same logo at trade shows, during broadcasts, or flashy online banners, then eventually they become white noise.
I'm not suggesting you need an entire makeover, but maybe just a little botox. A simple color refresh or design alteration goes a long way. My corporate alter-ego is a little bored. Why not be more accepting of change? Why not be a little more bold? HP is using Alicia Keys and Dr. Dre in their recent advertising campaign Everybody On. Or Microsoft's To The Cloud commercial spots using real life scenario from everyday people. I think both of these campaigns are great for their companies. A little out of the box of what they would typically do. I like it. It makes you notice them. The other day, the buzz around the neighborhood was that a kid got that "Dr. Dre laptop!". Now that's branding.
We can't all endorse rap stars, (and too bad, because that would be amazing! Hey Dre--call me ;) But we can change up the face of our image. Its the little things. An unexpected email campaign? Someone who tweets with personality? An ad using humor (that people actually understand)?
That said, I'm going to review my company website... what can I do different to shake things up and still stay within our brand guidelines? I'm planning for SAPPHIRENOW, now can I keep within brand and still make a splash at the event? I manage several twitter accounts for Atos Origin, how can I shake those profiles up a bit and make them more engaging. Get ready for my mini-makeover. Long overdue.
Note to self. Get a pedicure while you're at it.