Going Green

Going green is one of the newest market fads, though I hesitate to actually call it a fad because it implies that it is temporarily the cool thing to do. Wrong. If you are paying attention, it should be a permanent habit, like our transformation into buckeling up in the late 70s.

The way in which your company goes green really depends on your type of company. Even in small ways any company can creatively incorporate their new green status into their brand image.

As you take your first steps, don’t get discouraged by entire green companies. Most visibly are food chains like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Big companies can afford to create entire green brands. Clorox recently created a new line of environmentally-friendly products called Green Works. Clorox tells us all about it.

Your company might need to begin with something smaller, like using greener materials such as recycled paper and ink, and letting customers know in a subtle, smart way. Other green materials will be industry specific. Other examples can be as simple as recycling. Choosing to associate with environmentally-conscious companies.

Going green can only hurt your budget, but may help increase your profits. Hopefully, through your efforts, the change in company perceptions, internally and externally (i.e. the brand), will attract and retain more and dedicated customers.

If you are still interested, this guy puts it well.

Clarity though definition

Where does word brand come from?

It first appeared in the epic Beowulf around 1000 as bronde. Like many words the last e was dropped during the middle ages. It was the late 1500s before the a replaced the o.

Since the first recorded use of the word, brand has meant some result from fire, burning or marking. Branding was, and still is, a way to make other people know that something was yours and not theirs. Though not the most pleasant picture, think of a rancher using fire and iron to put his mark (his brand) on his livestock. That way even if they wandered away, the rancher could prove they were his property. In the most basic sense, fire in the country brough about this whole branding business.

The 20th century brought about the change from branding belongings to branding products and companies. The definition has changed from “this is mine and you can’t have it;” it has transformed to fit the society’s current needs. Now branding is about presenting your company and wanting others to be a part.

Furthering Your Brand Through a Corporate Blog

You probably already have a news or press section of your web site, so there is no need to turn your blog into the latest news about your company. Is your blog topic or theme something you would want to read? If not, then you definitely are on the wrong track.

The blog you create is an online “voice” of the company. In some ways, your blog visitors will apply the writer’s personality onto the company brand. So if you want to writer in such a way that you want your company to be viewed.

Is your organization witty and vibrant? If so, your blog needs to be that way too. Are you from a careful, introspective, and nurturing environment? Then your blog will sound totally different than the blog written by witty and vibrant group.

Also remember is a corporate blog and the company is more than just you, meaning you don’t have to write every entry. If others have ideas and would like to write one, let them. Just make sure there is a constant editor, so the tone is the same regardless of the author.

It might take some time to get readers, but stick with it.

Branding, as defined by Webster

Branding as a basic concept is not hard to describe. Miriam-Webster says it pretty well, but breaks a rule from my fourth grade vocabulary class—defining a work with the same word:

brand•ing \ˈbran-diŋ\ : the promoting of a product or service by identifying it with a particular brand
brand \ˈbrand\ a: a class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer b: a characteristic or distinctive kind

However, like any industry branding change and evolve. This blog will comment on recent trends, branding success and failures, the importance of a good brand, and ideas to help you apply this multifaceted process to your work.