Sales and Marketing

The redesign of the private label brands.

Mike Scheiner — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:45:24 -0500

The 10 Best Marketing Stunts Ever!

Fast Company staff — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:15:17 -0500

Several of history's most outrageous marketing stunts are chronicled in Getting Into Guinness, a book about the cultural impact of Guinness World Records, which itself started out as a promotional gimmick. Here's a list of what are arguably the most bizarre.

Recommended Resources

Fast Company staff — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:31:02 -0400

Happiness Quotes
A collection of quotes devoted to being happy, words that challenge and inspire.

Happiness Quiz
How happy are you? Take this diagnostic quiz and find out your happiness quotient.

Columns

Fast Company staff — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:31:00 -0400

Shifting Gears at 105 mph -- Without Flying off a Cliff: Part IX: The Growth of a Brand. Karen Post continues to offer branding lessons from a social-networking startup.
read more

The Best Advertising Slogans of All Time According to Digg Users

Rip Empson — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:05:07 -0400

Inc.com named Apple’s “Think Different,” Wheaties’ “Breakfast of Champions,” Maxwell House’s “Good to the Last Drop,” and—who could forget?—Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?” among others.

The Social Capital Investment Strategy

Kermit Pattison — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:55:13 -0400

Can't get that VC firm to return your calls? Don't despair! Startups can increasingly scale up by taking advantage of another type of capital -- social capital. Litman, a prominent entrepreneur, says it's easier than ever to leverage relationships into business success, and you have to spend social capital before you can profit from it. In fact, such networking helped him launch his new company in six weeks.

Why is social capital so valuable?

How to Build a Lasting Brand

Anne Lee — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:20:07 -0400

It may have started out as a small outpatient facility, but now, a century later, the Mayo Clinic is one of the top-ranked hospitals in the nation, with annual revenues of nearly $7 billion. How does the hospital balance a 100-year history with cutting-edge research and innovation? In this interview, Leonard L. Berry, a marketing professor at Texas A&M, and Kent D. Seltman, the marketing chair at Mayo Clinic -- coauthors of Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic discuss the secrets behind the Mayo Clinic brand.

What Do You Want, An Olympics Medal?

Tom Stern — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:15:07 -0400

Taking Back the Internet: Creating a Passive-Aggressive Income Stream

Tom Stern — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:45:09 -0400

Doing What Feels Right Despite the Evidence

Dan Heath & Chip Heath — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:31:04 -0400

1. Mergers and Acquisitions

Clorox Goes Green

Anya Kamenetz — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:30:44 -0400

These Brands Are Made for MySpace

Anne C. Lee — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:30:42 -0400

Harley-Davidson

After the success of the Operation MySpace concert in Kuwait, featuring Jessica Simpson and the Pussycat Dolls, Harley jumped aboard to sponsor the event's home page and ongoing conversation in an effort to reach veterans.

McDonald's

"Big Mac Chant," the burger chain's pick-the-next-jingle contest on MySpace, garnered nearly 1 million page views in three weeks.

Cartier

A Kick In The Career: What Do You Do When You're Branded?

Tom Stern — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:00:34 -0400

Shifting Gears at 105 mph -- Without Flying off a Cliff

Karen Post — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:49:54 -0400

If you've just joined us, Oddpodz is a new online community for creative doers and problem solvers. Founder and branding expert Karen Post, who writes a regular column for fastcompany.com, brings you the play by play of a startup brand. Check out more on FastCompany.com.

Making the Most Out of a Time-Crunched Day

Karen Post — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:49:34 -0400

Finding Funding For Your Infant Brand

Karen Post — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:49:25 -0400

Funding -- finding fuel for young brands

Ride the Rollercoaster

Karen Post — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:49:13 -0400

Roller Coasters: Just Enjoy the Ride

8:00 AM -- A stranger sends a friendly email saying they discovered Oddpodz through a blog and absolutely love what we are doing.

8:15 AM -- A key investment firm that we felt was positively "100% in" says it will pass on the Oddpodz investment opportunity.

Is Google Killing Radio Advertising?

Tim Manners — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:49:05 -0400

Google makes so many announcements about so many things that you may have missed that it has joined forces with Clear Channel Entertainment to make radio advertising quicker, easier, and even more ubiquitous than it already is.

In a nutshell, the alliance with Clear Channel is designed to give Google's advertisers the ability to buy radio ads online with a simple click of the mouse.

Strategic Partnerships That Soar

Karen Post — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:49:00 -0400

When I started this series, I promised un-candy coated stories and honest hard lessons learned on my journey to start-up success.

Patagonia Values

Tim Manners — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:48:52 -0400

The very same day that McDonald's announced it would tie-in with Shrek to promote healthier diets, Hamas militants introduced Mickey Mouse as its new mascot of Islamic domination.

In both cases, the intended audience was little kids.

This is not to compare McDonald's to Islamic extremists. Nor did Disney have anything to do with the misappropriation by Hamas of its most famous icon. In fact, the Hamas mascot was actually just a bad Mickey rip-off.

The Creative Class^SM -- Reshaping Brands and the World

Karen Post — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:48:48 -0400

If you've just joined us, Oddpodz is a new online community for creative doers and problem solvers. Founder and branding expert Karen Post, who writes a regular column for FastCompany.com, brings you the play by play of a startup brand. Check out more on FastCompany.com.

End Marketing Apartheid Now

Tim Manners — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:48:45 -0400

Perhaps it was no coincidence that the rise of Obama and the fall of both Richards and Imus roughly coincided with a spate of newspaper stories about marketing practices that expose arguably ugly assumptions about who buys what, and why.

The most controversial of these stories appeared on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Written by Jeffrey Trachtenberg, the piece took on the issue of whether books written by African-Americans should be segregated from all other books in America's retail stores.

Oddpodz on the Launch Pad

Karen Post — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:48:41 -0400

If you just joined in, Oddpodz is a new online community for creatives. Founder and branding expert Karen Post, who writes a regular column for fastcompany.com, brings you the play by play of a start-up brand. For past articles go to Marketing Columns.

It's amazing how time flies when you are building a brand. It starts as a dream, moves to a cocktail napkin, ends up in a business plan, and before you know it, you are on the public launch pad.

Start-up Brand Stamina

Karen Post — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:48:34 -0400

I suppose if it were easy, every person with a brain would be doing it. Start-ups require lots more than possession of a brain. They require an uncanny drive, a fearless spirit, a sense of humor and thick skin.

In my last column, I introduced you to my new start-up company and brand, Oddpodz.com. I promised uncoated truth, lessons learned, and wisdom earned.

Communities of Commerce

Tim Manners — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:48:32 -0400

Usually, when marketing people are talking about "creating a community," they are thinking figuratively. They mean the kind of togetherness you might find over coffee at Starbucks or the sense of connectedness that makes MySpace.com the online phenomenon that it is.

That's not exactly the sort of "community" Leon Redgate had in mind when he re-opened a shuttered movie theater in Fairfield, Connecticut. Leon just thought that a movie theater was one of the few places in town that could bring everyone together. When Leon thought about "community," he meant it literally.