Citizen Brand

Style points

 

President Barack Obama campaigned on change as we all know. And while we have already seen some policy changes from the previous administration, there is also a noticeable difference in style and approach to governing from former President Bush. We will let the Associated Press take it from here.

Extra! Extra! Super Bowl Ads Released

Thanks to our friends at Fast Company, here are 20 Super Bowl ads and they say one of these might not even air.

Why wait until Sunday.

Super Bowl Ads - click here

This is really change

 

I have to give the Republican National Committee credit. An African-American is the new Chairman of the GOP. Michael Steele won it on the sixth ballot, but he won. There was apparently a bit of idiocy by one of his opponents that helped. But old habits die hard. Something about a CD with a song slamming President Obama in a not so nice way.

Enough of that. Focus on the positive here. Steele beat the incumbent chairman and three other challengers garnering 91 votes on the sixth ballot. 85 were needed to win the chairmanship. He is a former Maryland Lt. Governor and his election signals that at least part of the leadership of the GOP is paying attention to the 2008 election results.

All this in a week when radio personality Rush Limbaugh tried to assert himself as the GOP leader and House Republicans played politics with the American economy.  Perhaps Steele's ascendancy to the head of the RNC will provide Republicans who want progress, and want to work with Democrats to fix America, a place to go.

This is another good sign for our country.

I love Legos

I still remember my first set of Legos. I had always loved all the toys that allowed me to build things. Of course, it started with the usual simple set of building blocks. Then I graduated to Lincoln Logs and then on to Tinker Toys. But when you get your first set of Legos, it's like the graduate school of all the building toys. Legos required you to make a little plan before you began construction. Of course, being a kid, a plan only lasts so long.

From my marketing perch, it's fun to look at a brand like Legos that has successfully evolved over generations and remains wildly popular today. They understand that they have a concept that is timeless and yet they have made sure to keep up with the times through pop culture connections and understanding how to engage with today's computer savvy kids.

So it should be no surprise that Legos has found a way to connect its timeless product with today's technology. brand curve tells us about Legos' latest new twist that likely will impact retail displays going forward.

The display will allow customers to hold a boxed set of Legos up to it and see in 3-D what the contents will look like when assembled.  Amazing.  And if that isn't enough to convince us that Legos is truly one of the most enduring brands of all time then check out this digital camera!

I may have to go buy a set of Legos this weekend. Of course it will be for the grandkids.

A walk on the beach

There is so much change and disruption going on in the world that I thought it was time to think about a new look here at Citizen Brand.  This blog is approaching three years old which is probably some sort of accomplishment, though I doubt it will result in a red carpet appearance.

I hope to be a bit more active than I have and the first step was to think about a new look.  Now that I have found one I think fits, I just have to observe and write a little more often.  Thanks for reading Citizen Brand and if you have any comments or suggestions, please fire away.

Meanwhile, I'm going to mosey on down to the beach in my head and take a walk.

Ethical musings

 

We all want to act ethically. Well, at least most of us do. When an ethical collapse the size of the Bernie Madoff scandal occurs, we all hope that it will prevent another one in the future.  But a year or two or five from now, someone else will be doing the perp walk.  The transparency of the world today via the internet should help to keep a brighter light on business, government and the nonprofit arenas.  Here are some thoughts from Seth Godin.

Good guys finish...

I got a note yesterday that said, "I'll be curious to know if it's possible to succeed and to stay clean as I see a lot of dirty "crooks" out there. I am trying to work with good ethics, but I see a lot of successful people talking/teaching "black Hats" strategies that scare me."

Spiritual business is an interesting concept. Is what you do all day at work part of who you are? Is it possible to be a deceitful crook all week but a good person on the weekend?

Can you succeed financially by acting in an ethical way?

I think the Net has opened both ends of the curve. On one hand, black hat tactics, scams, deceit and misdirection are far easier than ever to imagine and to scale. There are certainly people quietly banking millions of dollars as they lie and cheat their way to traffic and clicks.

On the other hand, there's far bigger growth associated with transparency. When your Facebook profile shows years of real connections and outreach and help for your friends, it's a lot more likely you'll get that great job.

When your customer service policies delight rather than enrage, word of mouth more than pays your costs. When past investors blog about how successful and ethical you were, it's a lot easier to attract new investors.

The Net enlarges the public sphere and shrinks the private one. And black hats require the private sphere to exist and thrive. More light = more success for the ethical players.

In a competitive world, then, one with increasing light, the way to win is not to shave more corners or hide more behavior, because you're going against the grain, fighting the tide of increasing light. In fact, the opposite is true. Individuals and organizations that can compete on generosity and fairness repeatedly defeat those that only do it grudgingly.

Softly

A nice way to enter a winter weekend with a beautiful ballad from one of the great singer-songwriters ever.  A Citizen Brand favorite - Gordon Lightfoot circa 1969.  Enjoy.

White House doors are open for business

Barack Obama's campaign was all about change. He didn't waste any time in starting to pay that off.  At 12:01 pm on January 20 -- one minute after he became President -- his White House once again became our White House. WWW.whitehouse.gov launched and gives each of us immediate access to what the Obama Presidency will do for us and for all the world.

Check it out. The issues are there. His administration's agenda. History of the White House and the Presidency for the kids. And they want to know what we think. The conversation his campaign began with all of us continues.

That's one big promise kept already.

A magical and historic moment.

A League of their Own

I'm a sucker for stuff like this.  Regardless of your political leanings, it is truly extraordinary to see all the living US Presidents together in the Oval Office.  It says something about our country and about how, despite the deep divisions and serious issues we have, we transition power from one president to another with grace and dignity.

The same can't be said for what has been happening on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.  Seat the man from Illinois and tell Coleman in Minnesota the election is over and let's get busy moving this country forward.  The Democrats in Congress need to understand one thing.  There is only one top Democrat now and he will be at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Get on board the train before it leaves the station.