Brand Noise

Branding Beyond Martha

Read about this issue on Reuters.com Analysts appear to be predicting a continuation of Martha within the Martha Stewart Living brand. What is interesting about this from a branding perspective is that Martha has paved the way for a revolution in "home/lifestyle" brands that will make her ability to stay connected with the brand more complicated.

She has paved the way for a very fiercely competitive marketplace for products and content in this category. The fact is that when Martha started her pitch more than 20 years ago, people did not have near the hunger for the array of lifestyle content as they do now. Combined with the maturation of specialized media channels such as cable and custom publishing - there are just far more Martha's (and Martins) out there ready to push their way to the top spot. The hard reality is that positioning a brand like Martha Stewart Living away from Martha is costly and risky. The safer choice would be to hang onto the existing equity and ride the storm. However, we can count on a flurry of competitive challenges along the way and don't be surprised if we think of a new face a couple of years from now when asked who you would trust for entertaining advice.

A Bank that Thinks Like Retail

Excerpt from Adage.com ...In his 16 years as chief marketing officer at Commerce Bancorp, (John Cunningham) has seen the Cherry Hill, N.J., bank grow from a speck on the map to a player with national aspirations.

For Mr. Cunningham, reaching out to customers is akin to a personal mission. “I love this place, and the opportunity to build a brand as strong as Commerce Bank is really exciting,” (Inside), the coin counters with their animated touch-screen instructions give even non-Commerce customers a good reason to come into a nearby branch. The units, which are surrounded by Commerce promotional materials, epitomize the comfortable, retail atmosphere the company has carefully sought to establish.

"Passion" Demonstrates Case Study for Building Buzz

Following in the footsteps of films like "The Blair Witch Project" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding",

"The Passion" will be on the minds of many in the movie biz this year in pulling in big box office via grassroots marketing.

The reality is that Mel Gibson did much of what IFC's "Greek Wedding" did in reaching out to strong affinity groups that would drive influence for the picture. The earlier film built an audience by previewing the feature to Greek communities that passed on their love for the story and it's' universality beyond the core audience.

"The Passion", regardless of artistic merit, will definitely be a beakon to many studios seeking to find a bigger draw for films that may seem too niche. Sometimes it requires crafting an approach more atune to political campaigning. Push on influentials that will spread your message. I'm just wondering if there is a studio executive already pitching the sequel. Money changes everything. But please, no Fall sitcom.

Read more about the box office numbers at Mediadrome.com