What Paris Hilton Can Teach You About Branding - Alex Bogusky - Advertising - Crispin Porter Bogusky

Love this interview w/ bad boy Alex Bogusky. Not only does he tell us What Paris Hilton Can Teach You About Branding - Alex Bogusky - Advertising - Crispin Porter Bogusky, but he also isn't afraid to reveal a little "celebrity" awe. I mean, really, afraid of Paris Hilton?

Seriously, the point made about creating a brand via polarization, re-invention, and doing it with a certain amount of abandon is thought-provoking. I have to say there are plenty CP&B campaigns that really turn me off, but I don't forget them! Kudos to the agency and their clients for having the balls to try something outrageous. Kind of inspiring, no?

I'm in the midst of preparing materials for a seminar end of February where I'm one of the speakers. I'll be talking about Project Sequencing, you know, all that work that is supposed to be done before you go running down the halls, tearing at your hair, screaming, "Argh! We need to send an email blast tomorrow!" It's actually work that should be done before there's even a Project to Manage.

So, branding is definitely one of those things to be considered at this early stage. And, the biggest question is will you have the balls to really make a memorable statement about what your company is, your products are, and what you actually stand for?

Yeah, it's also about customer service, but we'll talk about that later. In the meantime, think about it.

Food for Thought

Ambition is a dream with a V-8 engine.
-Elvis Preseley

Character is what you have left when you've lost everything you can lose.
- Evan Esar


Those two thoughts pretty much sum it all up.

More later...

Happy New Year!

2007 went out quietly for me and 2008 has already sorely tested me. But, as Elvis used to say, "Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine" and we have more than our share of ambition.

You will see many changes this year, not the least of which we are in the final stages of relaunching with a new name, new positioning, and a brand new Website to better reflect what Private Label InterActive and PrivateLabel Mail really are and do.

The new name if you didn't already know is Venntive. There'll be more about that name later.

I've been accused of having the 7 Year Itch. Maybe so! PLI turned 7 Jan. 1, 2008. That's a milestone. And, the baby has gone through a lot in those 7 years! PLI will remain the parent company, but PrivateLabel Mail will be replaced by Venntive.

We realized that the solution we market and implement for our clients is far more than an email marketing solution. It really is enterprise email marketing tools integrated with that 10% of CRM tools that people actually use into a very tightly integrated suite. Sweet! No more integration nightmares!

Along with Venntive, we are working on a completely new and exciting venture, CaducesDotMobi. A caduce(u)s is the symbol for physicians, the staff with two snakes intertwined. The mission of CaducesDotMobi is to help women all over the world better manage their families' health and wellness. For women in developed nations, we will provide a subscription-based Website with a multitude of tools and features to go toward simplifying the task of staying on top of doctors' appointments, medications, etc. For the women of the third world, we will provide a goodly portion of our net revenues to subsidize healthcare and other initiatives to improve the quality of life for them and their children.

If you are interested in learning more about CaducesDotMobi, following our progress toward launch, helping us get it launched, and becoming first subscribers, drop us an email at CaducesDotMobi at gmail dot com.