What's on your summer reading list?

Summer time has officially begun, along with the weeklong trips to the beach and weekend getaways. And so start the ever popular published lists of the best summer reading.

And while we're sure there are a great number of fiction books on everyone’s list, we’d thought we’d provide some marketing and business books that would keep you entertained and maybe even help you in your job.

So, here are some recommendations from the RGI staff:

The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design (Marty Neumeier)

Outliers: The Story of Success (Malcom Gladwell)

Up the Agency: The Funny Business Of Advertising (Peter Mayle)

The Dream Manager (Matthew Kelly)

Juicing the Orange: How to Turn Creativity into a Powerful Business Advantage (Pat Fallon & Fred Senn)

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (Seth Godin)

My Years with General Motors (Alfred Sloan)

And here are a few favorite blogs that staffers follow:

Seth Godin’s Blog: www.sethgodin.typepad.com

Marketing Profs Daily Fix: www.mpdailyfix.com

The Dieline: www.thedieline.com

What are your favorite business/marketing books? Any blogs you find informative? Leave your recommendations in the comments section.

Happy Reading!

Chower of Baranding (Power of Branding)

Have you seen the new “SNICKERS Speak” billboard campaign? You can check it out at www.snickers.com.

Whether you like it or not, it does demonstrate the power of branding.

The campaign uses a new language called 'Snacklish' that incorporates its iconic logo and brand essence as its communication vehicle. The campaign doesn’t focus on the candy bar, instead using the brand equities of color and shape to engage brand recognition.

You can check out www.snacklish.com to translate any word from English to Snacklish. RGI translates to RGILICIOUS!

"By taking SNICKERS core equities like its unique ingredients and satisfaction, we are reminding our consumers why they love SNICKERS so much," said Carole Walker, vice president, integrated marketing communications for Mars Snackfood US. "'SNICKERS Speak' takes that to the next level by marrying SNICKERS core equities with the passions, interests and things in our guy's everyday lives to make the brand even more relevant."

What do you think of the campaign?
What billboards/commercials have you seen?

Here’s what some other bloggers thought:
http://theshermanfoundation.blogspot.com/2006/07/eating-snickers-may-make-you-nuts.html

http://advertisingforpeanuts.blogspot.com/2006/07/peanutopolis.html

http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2006/07/this_cool_snick.html

Use the comment section below to share your thoughts or favorite Snacklish word.

Is your company prepared for a crisis?

A client recently contacted us during a mock-disaster drill, and the call got me to thinking about how prepared businesses are if an emergency were to arise?

Every business, big or small, should have a plan outlined in case of an emergency. It is much easier to handle a crisis with a plan already in place, than trying to work through it as it happens.

And a crisis can arise in many forms, from weather related disasters to product failures or even swift business closures. And as with anything in life, there are some situations that you simply can’t plan for, but having a basic plan in place before a crisis occurs can mean the difference between building a strong brand and just being another company that is criticized and looked upon negatively.

The design of an effective crisis communication plan will vary from company to company, but all good plans should contain a few basic components:

- A crisis communication team
- An internal communications plan
- A media strategy
- A list of potential crises/emergencies and plans to address them
- Updated information on the organization and its programs

These elements paired with a swift response to the media, public and customers can make all the difference when an unplanned emergency arises.

In the case of my client, they were holding the drill to ensure that in the event of a tornado all employees and vendors knew their role/duties within the crisis communication plan. And while the call caught me off-guard, we simply talked through our role and how we would help during an emergency. And at the end of the day I know I felt better prepared were an emergency to occur.

Does your business have a crisis communication plan? Have you reviewed it lately?

Seems better to take the time and resources now to establish or even update a plan, than to be frantically trying to establish one in the midst of a crisis.

Private Labels Gaining Share as Economy Struggles

According to The Nielsen Company, store brands are up 10% to $84.4 billion in annual sales across categories. And as the economy continues to struggle, it’s likely that more consumers will continue replacing their branded products with private label equivalents.

And today’s private brand labels aren’t the cheap alternative they were once considered. These products range from items that appeal to the economical and price-point oriented shopper, as well as gourmet and upscale items for the more culinary inclined shopper.

But with national brands one of the points of differentiation is trust. Many national brands have been in existence for years, or even decades and so consumers have been using them for a long time with consistent positive results. And aren’t willing to take a chance on something new and unknown.

In recent years both sides have come to the realization that in order to maintain or win new customers they need to create a positive brand experience for the consumers. And so the competition begins. With national brands looking to innovate and win-back the consumer, and retailers investing in their own brands more than ever, the battle between store brands and national brands is sure to get interesting.

And ultimately it is a win-win situation for the consumer, because both brands need to remain dedicated to providing a quality product that the shopper will want to buy again, and again.

Are there any national brands you just can’t give up? Or how about private label brands you’ve fallen in love with?

School's out, school's out...

On Wednesday, May 27, we made our last stop to see our Adopt-a-Class at Winton Hills Academy for the end-of-the-year-picnic. It was a fun filled afternoon with 15 kindergarteners! On the menu were hot dogs, chips and Juicy Juice. And no picnic is complete without mini-cornhole, juggling and animal bingo! Oh sure a couple beanbags almost ended up on the roof… but hey, at least the kids are cute. They’re a great bunch of little people whom we bonded with this year. From Drum Circles to Christmas Parties to Cookouts, we had a great time interacting this year.

Over the past two years, we’ve been involved in the Adopt-a-Class Foundation, which connects members of the business community with students in pre-K – 8th grades, to provide positive role models and help develop practical and social skills for the students. And we couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it!

Now when does the new school year start???