I love everything Mac — from my iPhone to the computers I use, I can’t imagine working or playing on anything else. For those of you who also utilize a Mac product for everything important, you’re nodding your head. My creative business persona basically picks apart their advertising — which transforms my thought process to the evolution of their brand. My position within McKain Performance Group, Inc. then processes and attributes the company’s growth to their ability to differentiate their products and brand AND provide the experiences that make their customers (ME!!) loyal.

For those of you playing along at home, here’s how it goes…brand image is closely related to graphic style, and graphic style is chosen based on the high concept of the company. (If you’re in business and you don’t know what a ‘high concept’ is, you absolutely need Scott McKain.) Although graphic style and a cool logo are not the only attributes that make up brand admiration, they are certainly a big part of a company’s image and reputation. Take Apple for example…

You probably know that Apple was recently named the “Most Admired Brand in America” by Fortune Magazine. What you probably don’t know is that their first logo was designed by Ronald Wayne, one of the three original Apple Computer partners (along with Jobs and Wozniack), who owned 10 percent of Apple’s stock and bailed out of the company after only two weeks — selling his stock back for a one-time payment of $800. But that’s just the beginning of the story…

In 1977, Apple rolled out their first brochure based on the company’s ‘high concept’ that included the headline tag, ‘Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication’. Do you think Apple would still be the admired brand it is today if Jobs and Wozniack would’ve stuck with what they had? It’s that Scott concept in my head that keeps saying, ‘you can’t differentiate what you can’t clearly define’ (not the exact quote, but it’s close enough) that surfaces and makes this Apple story the perfect example of why he’s right.

I prepare an ezine for Scott McKain, and for each publication, our office must come up with a way to ’show’ his readers how they might utilize a concept that he presents. In the ezine that was delivered today, we spoke about the ‘fun factor’ of doing business. If you are a subscriber to the Scott McKain UCEzine you can most definitely skip this BLOG post, but if you’re not — you don’t want to miss it:

The Fun Factor

The Retail Marketing Institute released a study that in essence reported that over 70% of customers said they would tend to go someplace else to make a purchase if it was “more fun” to do business elsewhere. Ask yourself this question: How much FUN is it to do business with us?

We wouldn’t ask you to do something we wouldn’t do ourselves, so the question was first posed on the top floor – and we also asked some of our clients how they would score us in the ‘fun factor’ department. Although we were extremely happy with the feedback we received, we also understand that there’s always something new and different we can implement to create ultimate experiences with those who do business with us.

So meet the McKain Performance Group Team — and then show off YOUR fun factor!

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Want to see what else is packed in the Scott McKain UCEzine? Click to view the March 18, 2008 ezine in PDF format, and then subscribe to the publication by clicking here!

I read an article recently that basically said many people BLOG as a form a therapy. I actually believe that to a point — but who is reading what you have to say? If your posts go like this, “Today I got out of bed and went to the store and then…”, it’s most likely you don’t have many that care about what you have to say. I think we, as bloggers, all do that to a point — seriously, what is important to us is what happens to us — and that’s what we tend to blog about.

People want to learn something new (information, reviews or how to do something), want ideas on how to make themselves better (reflections, thoughts and visions), want to laugh (be entertained), want to read something they can relate to (be told stories), or be stimulated visually (interesting photos). I’m sure that there are other things too, but I’ve found those topics pretty much cover the gamut of highly visited BLOGS. However…this morning I received an email from a guy in Texas that found my personal BLOG and bookmarked it only to see photos of my fat dog. The email (thanks Shane) was asking why I hadn’t featured a Libby photo for the past few days. You’re kidding me?? Those photos are MY therapy, or at least that’s what I thought.

So this morning, I am going to provide those reading mckainerwin insights with everything they could ask for in this one post…

1. Learn something new:
Check out this link for secret Starbucks recipes>>
2. Improve on you:
This link goes to one of my favorite (go figure) blogs, and this particular post is insightful>>
3. Laugh out loud:
I read this post and actually laughed out loud. I think you will too. Check it out>>
4. Story you can relate to:
I can certainly relate to this post>>
5. Inspiring photos:
2 people, 3191 miles apart, no text. They post a photo side-by-side each day. I don’t know who I can find that lives 3191 miles away from me, but I want to do this one too. Since I haven’t started yet, check out their site instead>>

Blogging is an easy way for website owners to add new content to their existing online Internet presence. Frequent changes not only keep sites current and informative, but also allow for a more pesonal type of communication with those who visit.

Blogs have the potential to help create stronger emotional bonds with clients/customers. Those who have the ability to write down their ideas in a compelling manner while sharing knowledge, allow readers to interact with the “human side” of an organization. Blogging is a useful tool for branding loyalty, and may also be a great way to get feedback, as readers often react to certain posts or suggest their opinions. Posting valuable information of interest showcases your business as having expertise in your field.

Blogs are easy to start and hard to maintain — if you agree that ‘time is money’, then blogging isn’t cheap. If you have quite a bit of information to share, you most likely are limited on the amount of time you have to spend typing it out for inclusion to your site. Every business should have some sort of publishing strategy, so why not take the plunge and try blogging?

RSS (Real Simple Syndication) is the tool most often used to notify users of new updates. RSS technology is still relatively new, and statistics show that only 4% of Internet users knowingly use it. Incorporated with other techniques, your blog can be put to work to increase your site’s hits and revenue.