Synergy Creative - empowering entrepreneurs through creative collaboration

How Zappos Builds Brand Culture

Liquid Agency Brand Summit 2011: Robert Richman from Liquid Agency on Vimeo.

Liquid Agency Brand Summit 2011 interview with Robert Richman, product manager for Zappos Insights. Richman discusses how Zappos builds brand culture. The theme for this year's Brand Summit, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Silicon Valley was Brand Transformation. Watch all the Summit interview on the Liquid Agency Channel.

Knowing. Making. Doing.

Knowing. Making. Doing..

As I said in my book The Designful Company, if you want to innovate, you have to design. Yet design is a foreign language to most business managers. This is because the principles of traditional business management principles evolved to serve the needs of the industrial age. They rely on a mechanical two-step process for making decisions: knowing and doing. You “know” something—from a past experience, a case study, or a best practice—and then you “do” something.

Caine's Arcade - He Plays for Keeps

I started to watch this video yesterday on House Industries' blog while prepping for my typography class, I had to rush off so I wouldn't be late -- when I mentioned it in my class, my students told me it was all over Facebook.

Well, even if you aren't trying to be the next SMM guru, using Facebook, Reddit and the like (my personal Fav is Pinterest, right now) there is a great lesson on success strategies in this video.

If you haven't seen it yet- a little boy lives his passion, becomes an innovative genius, who builds a sophisticated business model at the age of 8, delights in every detail and effortlessly applies conviction in his brand offering, even when nobody shows up. I don't want to spoil the ending for you so if you haven't seen it, watch it now.

 

 

Great job, again House Industries and Andy Cruz- kudos on the video, the kind deed, the successful viral campaign and nice plug for Cooper Black.

Which type of social media do you find most effective in marketing your buisness and how does it help you connect with your audience?

A Really Strong Case For Optimism

Onstage at TED2012, Peter Diamandis makes a case for optimism -- that we'll invent, innovate and create ways to solve the challenges that loom over us. "I'm not saying we don't have our set of problems; we surely do. But ultimately, we knock them down."

Helping Art School Students Become Entrepreneurs

Last fall the folks at Etsy gave a talk at the Rhode Island School of Design about the realities of starting a creative business. Art school students are starving for this information, and RISD is one of the institutions starting to feed that hunger. The RISD Mindshare, the event I participated in, was part TED-esque inspiration, part no-nonsense practical advice. You can watch videos of the talks at the Mindshare website.

Vanessa Bertozzi from RISD Entrepreneur Mindshare on Vimeo.

Tim Ferris 4 Hour Lifestyle

A Quote For Today...

I usually post on subjects that I think will interest my student readers such as how to be a better designer or (for my clients) things I believe will help them run your business more efficiently and successfully. But today I am going to be starting a new series of quotes and recommended reading. These are things that I believe most people focused on being successful think about and would enjoy hearing more about. Let me know what you think...

"When we get out of the glass bottle of our ego, and when we escape like squirrels in the cage of our personality and get in the forest again, we shall shiver with cold and fright. But things will happen to us so that we don't know ourselves. Cool, unlying life rush in, and passion will make our bodies taut with power. We shall laugh, and institutions will curl up like burnt paper." - D.H.Lawrence, "Escape"

Barack Obama and a Few Good Designers

I wanted to share this inspirational resource with you. This is not a political endorsement for Obama, but rather a vote of  admiration for the brilliant branding campaign that catapulted him from obscurity to the White House. The process was chronicled by Scott Thomas and features the work and writings of some of the most influential graphic designers and visual communicators of our time.

It takes you through the process steps of how the now famous Obama identity (the other big "O") was developed, but delivers much more then a lesson in logo design.

I suggest that is like taking a master class in branding, but more entertaining. The visual design is stunning and timeless.  You'll get insight into the strategy of success and the inner workings of a political campaign. Imagine having a presidential candidate as a client? To learn more click on this link.

Building Your Brand By Telling It's Story

I shared this FREE book Believe Me Story Manifesto for Change-Makers and Innovators by Michael Margolis on how to build your brand's story with the students in my Corporate Communications class. I think it clearly explains through the voice of many very successful individuals including Barack Obama; how being a master storyteller can lead to immeasurable success for your brand and for you.

Here is a link to  Download BelieveMeStoryManifesto_ReadandShare

The author writes:" If you are trying to influence, persuade or convince others to believe your message, you need to read this book." Michael Margolis.

The best way I can describe what is meant by brand story is that is a "truth" that is created and later becomes true, because it is accepted and believed by the masses (or your target audience). In other words, when the public agrees with the brand story, it is considered true until someone or something disproves it.

Consider this quote by Seth Godin author: Tribes: We need You to Lead Us: " Great Stories agree with our world view. The best stories don't teach people anything new. Instead, the best stories agree with what the audience already believes and makes the members of the audience feel smart and secure when reminded how right they were in the first place."

I highlighted some of the material I thought explains the author's points but I am sure you will want to read the whole thing. You can visit his website for more resources at Get Storied.com

Here is a link to Download BelieveMeStoryManifesto_ReadandShare

What the Bleep do we know about the web?

I came across this very informative presentaion from Google about how the web started, where it is going, what's new and how it will be beneficial to you. It talks about things like cloud computing, the benefits of HTML 5, 3D on the web and much more, in words that are easy to understand. I highly recommend it, if you are clueless about the web or pretty much understand how it works, but would like to know more about it can benefit you and your personal life and your business. Click on the link

Update! - Born Interactive Magazine Source Files Download

Yippie! You can download the source files to born magazine and open them in INDesign to see how it all was done. Click here to download!