Super Bowl XLVII: The good, the bad and the ugly

No doubt you have an opinion on the best and worst Super Bowl commercials from yesterday's game. In my opinion, the best way to judge the effectiveness of an ad is by how well it fulfills the objective of the brief. An ad that doesn't appeal to me, but appeals to my Mom, may be a good ad because that is to whom the ad was supposed to appeal. So, from that perspective, I will give all the ads the benefit of the doubt that they each of them fulfilled their brief.

Having said that, here is my critique of the ads that stood out from a brand or messaging point of view.

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The value of a Facebook "Like"

Facebook has turned many brands into a neurotic mess. Like some smothering and needy friend, brands are constantly asking us to show our allegiance to them with a “like.”

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The most important aspect of branding: follow through

If you're a golfer then you understand the importance of follow through. The same principles can be applied to developing brand equity. Today's Brand Rants post looks at defined steps to build brand equity.

The idea for brand managers is to create a brand strategy and tactical communication plans that combine all ten steps of brand equity development into one smooth swing. 

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Does Google really need help with their brand?

The Duffy Agency's Sean Duffy just finished publishing a four-part series on the Google brand, which we at The Duffy Agency believe has not been managed as well as it could be. It's a very quick, but very insightful read.

But I’m not saying that their business model is sinister or that they don’t deserve every dime they have earned. For the most part, I’m OK with that arrangement so long as Google can keep me convinced that it will stay true to it’s founders unofficial yet well-hyped corporate motto “Don’t be evil.” That's brand management. To date, they're not doing such a great job. In fact, they're doing a lousy job. Unchecked, I believe this will be the company’s undoing.

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The Real Value of Facebook for Brands

In Sean Duffy's latest Marketing Moxie column on Talent Zoo, he looks beyond advertising to explore the real value Facebook for brands.

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Are there lessons to be learned from @Sweden?

The @Sweden twitter account has captured the attention of social media folks. People are arguing about whether Sonja is helping or hurting the brand of Sweden, but I think they might be asking the wrong question.

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