Branding

The profanity-laced tirade from Serena Williams this past week at the US Open has me wondering about the double-edged sword that is celebrity endorsement. Something that might have turned into a real PR and branding nightmare has dissipated significantly and the winds of negativity seem to have blown over. Serena handled herself well in the fact that she admitted that she let her emotions get the better of her. She took responsibility for her bad behaviour and apologized. She did not try to scurry away from the spotlight or place blame on someone or something else. To sum up, she simply “manned up”. [...]

I’ve been called many things in my days; a traditionalist being one of the more benign. Which brings me point blank to the subject of my blog. Lately I’ve seen an ever-worrisome propensity of marrying what I deem the higher arts — opera, dance, symphony, visual art — with the more base “art” forms — including, but not limited to, pop music and reality television. [...]

The branding process can be as large or as small as budget, time, and initiative allow. A perfect example is our client Pink Larkin, a Halifax/Fredericton-based law firm. Aside from a number of announcements and “help wanted” ads every year, the firm never had a huge media presence, relatively speaking. But that doesn’t mean that there’s no room for fresh thinking and progressive brand-building. [...]

We’re living up to the advice we regularly dispense to our clients by getting our own message out in the market. At trampoline, we have some pretty strong opinions about brand-building; no wonder, it’s what we do for a living. This ad, placed in Progress Magazine, outlines our philosophy in a very creative way. [...]