Harvard Business Review Post #4: Brand Building

“The One Thing You Must Get Right When Building a Brand” (by Patrick Barwise and Sean Meehan, p. 80). Barwise (London Business School) and Meehan (IMD) recommend paying attention to four key potentials offered by social media. Examples: Building trust (with the customer) by delivering on your promise and innovating beyond the familiar. The authors use Virgin Atlantic’s social media tactics as an example—like travel tips from its flight crews and much more. They also highlight one of my favorite YouTube stars, Tom Dickson of Blendtec, whose videos, called Will it Blend, show Tom blending IPads, leaf rakes, and cell phones. These videos are hysterical, AND they have gotten Blendtec over 100 million views on the Tube and sales have increased by 700%! Not a bad ROI.