The Lakeview Blog

Let's talk about "brand." I would be hard-pressed to find a subject that is as misunderstood as is branding. This confusion is easy to understand since the term "brand" has evolved to mean different things over time. Many marketers cite the first brand as being that used by ranchers to identify their cattle. I argue that - although it wasn't called a brand back then - the seals used by nobility on their correspondence may have been an earlier use of branding. The branding of cattle or use of royal seals gave "brand" a physical presence, which has carried on in the minds of some today who believe that a brand is nothing more than a logo. The next stage in branding evolution came along when corporations began creating their brands. They they owned their corporate reputations. Most of the rest of us had little evidence to disprove them and took it at face value that they were what they said they were. Today, with the onset of digital a...

It may go without saying, but we're going to say it anyway: raising awareness of an issue or event takes thoughtful planning, creative execution and ongoing monitoring and measurement to ensure that goals are being met. In simple terms, there are five main steps to such a campaign. Consider the steps to be part of a loop-back process rather than a linear one as monitoring the campaign's effectiveness means looking back at goals, audiences, strategies, etc. and tweaking where needed. 1.  Set your objectives Know what you want to achieve so you'll know when you've been successful. Set the objectives against which your efforts will be measured. These can be both qualitative and quantitative. Is there an action you want people to take? Is there a prevailing attitude that you  wish to change? Objectives may be set out in phases to allow you to determine if changes to strategy and tactics are needed. You will also want to identify any benchmarks that exist or w...

"Brand" is one of the most-talked about yet least understood must-haves for any business. Join this lively, 90-minute interactive seminar that will debunk brand myths, identify the elements of a brand, and help you discover and build your own. You will leave with tools to help you polish - or change - your brand. A luncheon prepared by Chris Giugovaz, chef and manager of The Grocery Basket will be served. Be sure to arrive by 12:15 to settle in with your lunch. The discussion begins at 12:30, sharp. Colleen Gareau has worked in public relations for more than 20 years. She developed and led the communications department of the RCMP; was a senior consultant for the re-engineering of Canad's pension systems and led communications for departments and projects at al levels of government. Colleen has consulted with such companies as Canada Post, Bell Canada, professional associations, small businesses and nonprofits including the Canada Games and Amnesty Interna...

With the corporate mess-ups that have been in the news recently, a few comments about apologizing are in order. Let's suppose you've messed up. A mistake was made. You can't believe it turned out this way, but it has and to make matters worse, people noticed. What are you going to do? 1. Think fast. You won't have days to react. Often you won't even have hours. Figure out what went wrong, why people are upset, how damaging it is and to whom, what the likely impact will be to your customers, your staff, your reputation. 2. Apologize and be sincere. Say you're sorry. Not that you're sorry that people feel bad or that you're sorry that people took something the wrong way. That's the same as telling them that they are to blame, not you. A phoney apology is no apology at all. We've all been on the receiving end of one of these and it only makes us more angry. Say you're sorry that you messed up. Explain what happened. If it's appropr...

Over the years, I've come across so much conflicting information about branding that I've become quite annoyed about it. I can imagine how confusing it must be to a new business owner when they are trying to create their own brand by following this conflicting advice. To fix that, I'm going to develop some resources to help you navigate the choppy branding waters. (I think that's about as far as I can go with that metaphor.) To make the resources relevant to you, let me know what your top questions are on the topic, the things that befuddle you, what you'd most like to know. You can leave your thoughts in the comments below or email me at colleen@lakeviewpr.com. I appreciate your time in helping me with this project! Colleen Colleen

The top 3 things to consider before you start advertising from Colleen Gareau

There is not a public relations person on the planet who hasn’t had a client who wants coverage in the news. Sadly, there are many PR people that go to unprofessional lengths to obtain this coverage. I’ve heard stories from journalists about PR people sending gimmicky trinkets to garner attention — trinkets that cost the client money and end up in file 13; that hound journalists with call after call — again costing the client money while earning them a bad rep with the reporter; or sending a War and Peace length news release when one page is what is required. (If you can’t summarize your news, how do you expect a reporter to write a pithy news article about it?) What you need to know are the elements of news — the factors that editors and reporters are looking for. The nine elements of news Timeliness : Freshness matters; it's the new in news . Does the thing you’re trying to pitch have a best-before date, after which it won’t be relevant? That could be a good...