The most important thing to realize about the integrated branding process is that it is a model for building the most important asset your company will ever have- relationships with your customers. Once you accept that your best customer is the one you already have, then creating a means by which you can deepen those relationships is the next logical step. As any pop-psychologist will tell you, you can’t have a deep relationship with another person until you know who you are and you’re comfortable with who you are. This applies to brand-consumer relationships just as it applies to person-person relationships.

It all comes down to the fact that some things are inherently interesting and some just…well…aren’t. In today’s market, if you want your product or service to be top-of-mind with your consumers, you need a story that will stick. A story that has to be retold ten times over before it takes hold isn’t really a very good story, now is it? So what will make your story stick?

It’s hard work building good will with today’s consumer. It takes alot of money, alot of time, and alot of consistency. And, after all the blood, sweat, and tears, your grumpy receptionist or tech support rep sends you right back to square one.

A large number of people who start their own business do not realize how much work and time will be involved. They fail to carry out any primary research and as a result become quickly overwhelmed. Perhaps the first question to ask yourself then is whether you are in fact ready to start your own business. Do you have an entrepreneurial mindset? Are you committed to spend all the time you need to succeed? And are you ready to take massive action?

Now here is a good question: “What is the difference between a Principle and a Value?” This has many answers depending upon who you ask. From the World Book Dictionary, a Value is an established ideal of life, objects, customs, ways of acting, and the like, that the members of a given society regard as desirable. Again, from the World Book Dictionary, a Principle is a fundamental belief, a rule of action or conduct, a truth that is a foundation for other truths; fundamental, primary, or general truth.

A Frank Magid Associates Millennial study conducted on behalf of ABC Family shows unequivocal validation in favor of word-of-mouth above all forms of paid media when it comes to finding out about “cool, hot and latest” products, services, etc.

Keith Hood likes to plan ahead. As manager of sales and marketing at Kennywood Entertainment, Hood is in charge of allocating advertising dollars at the company’s Kennywood, Sandcastle and Idlewild amusement parks. “I have already been working on it for about three to four months,” Hood said of his plans for company advertising in 2008. “The process essentially starts with what we did the preceding year.” Still, Hood said the company is not completely tied to what it has done in the past. One traditional formula calls for companies to spend 70 percent of advertising resources on what has worked in the past, 20 percent on variations and 10 percent in completely new areas.

Choosing an ad agency in the traditional manner is like looking for a wife in a bar. The agency that makes the best presentation may not be the best long-term partner. What attracts you in the first place may not be the values that last. Besides, what you see may not be what you get.

Spending on marketing support—promotion, advertising and public relations—varies widely, from less than 1 percent of net sales for industrial business-to-business operations to 10 percent or more for companies marketing consumer-packaged goods.

The main product of our business is ideas- creative solutions to the communications problems and opportunities facing our many clients. And good ideas- creativity- can be tough to define, or agree upon. One person’s passion is often another’s poison. So it’s no wonder that potential clients often ask us to take a project on speculation. That is, to try out our creative product in much the same way they may try out other types of products before purchasing. Unfortunately, we must turn down such projects. This will explain why doing so actually makes us a better, more stable and reliable supplier for you to do business with.