Brand Journalism
Tell your story! Imagine a video presentation with zoom-in and zoom-out functions with music and narrative that draws the viewers’ attention to your branding message. Businesses can grow their reputation and identity by telling their company’s brand story. Why? Because consumers have for so long been bombarded with blatant marketing and advertising propaganda, to the point where they are reluctant to accept much of anything on face value. People generally hate being sold. More so today’s consumer because they are more savvy at deciphering typical advertising jargon, instantly recognizing empty promises written in marketing lingo, and being duped into blind acceptance of just how much they would benefit from parting with their hard-earned cash. Build Consumer Trust Even though the commercial landscape today of supply-and-demand has been a constant since the Industrial Revolution, producers of goods continue to flood the already saturated market with new must-have items. Of course ever-evolving technological development is essential to the progress of mankind and to accommodate our fast-paced lifestyles, society continues to build on its adverse status as being wasteful. Our landfills are bursting at the seams with discarded possessions to make place for the next best thing. Many argue that this cycle is precisely what makes the world go round, keeping the wheels of industry [and consumerism] well-oiled and economically sustainable. Yet, some things have changed to make us re-think our current automated acceptance of a so-called ideal existence. Social Responsibility Consumers expect the companies that produce goods and deliver services to be accountable for the outcome it has on people and the environment. In fact, any action that has the slightest risk of threatening our future must be questioned. As a starting point, people whose job it is to influence consumers or decisions that impact society at large are obligated to step up their game. Waffling about good intentions that are watered down as time progresses or making bold promises beyond their capabilities is a death knell to many industry or political campaigners. Once they lose the trust of their target audience, future attempts to salvage collateral damage are doomed. Marketers, for example, recognize that simply running an advertisement with a few catchy lines to provoke a desire for ownership, are long gone. Consumer Involvement Consumers today demand in-depth insight into behind-the-scenes decision-making processes and policies that effect end-users. They want the freedom to evaluate the validity of what is on offer for themselves, and in particular the source. Successful companies endorse a collaborative relationship with their public. The modern consumer is diverse in their expectations, which means companies must build a lifelong relationship with them to keep track of evolving behaviors. But is telling a company’s story enough to significantly sway a consumers’ loyalty to that business? Business managers and entrepreneurs, even politicians and educators, should utilize brand journalism to tell their story to strengthen public perceptions and experiences of products, services and solutions to social ills. Authenticity promotes loyalty A presentation video, supported by a catchy tune and text or voice-over narration, uses storytelling to connect with target audiences. The power of a well-written story lies in bonding with people in an honest, transparent, responsive and above all accessible manner that explores the culture of the brand, appeals to buyers’ interests, and creates meaningful impressions. But is telling a company’s story enough to significantly sway a consumers’ loyalty to that business? The bottom-line return on investment for sharing an authentic story people can relate to, prompts viewers to want to know more. The essence of a compelling story starts with an attention-grabbing introduction, and continues through the body of...
Read More21st Century Business
Question? A question people of all ages from all walks of life ask today is “Will I succeed in this new world of work?” I’ve been told by many human resource practitioners that success in any profession has three prerequisites: knowledge, perspective, and attitude. While I support this basic notion I also believe the ground rules to becoming successful and continuing riding the wave, is way more involved. It stands to reason that the individual must be competent in the particular skills the task at hand requires, but acquiring the relevant peripheral knowledge goes far beyond basic skills. It is important to not only know the concepts and principles of the project or process, one must also be committed to lifelong learning, be prepared to take spur-of-the-moment risks, and have enough insight to circumvent threats. Impending Excellence We all know that some skills can literally become obsolete overnight, and that keeping up-to-date is an ongoing challenge. While companies today are geared to identify and recruit highly talented employees, most do not know how to instill fundamental inventiveness or impel their staff to continually pioneer re-engineering strategies and rethink predictable approaches. The definitive workforce for emerging enterprises is expected to be multi-skilled, resourceful and practiced at adjusting to swift change. However, many people struggle to adapt to ongoing change. Our conscious mind interprets change as a significant loss of some sort, which makes us hold on to efforts already exerted. It’s the same when people hesitate to end a doomed relationship because it’s hard to accept the whole experience was an utter waste of time, even though in reality valuable lessons were learned. Consequently, change isn’t about having wasted time on past efforts but should rather be viewed as a leap forward in finding new fertile ground to assess the possibility of impending excellence. Elon Musk Resistance to change has no place in 21st Century business. Constant change should be embraced, not feared. If it was not for his aversion to accept anything less than outstanding, engineer and visionary Elon Musk might not have founded Tesla Motors and SpaceX, amongst other organizations. Colleagues and associates fittingly refer to Musk as the “real change-management man”. The success of 21st Century business depends on innovative process management, defined as “a systematic approach to making an organization’s workflow more effective, more efficient and more capable of adapting to an ever-changing environment.” But what does that actually mean? And how does it help a business determine its goals? Incidentally, Business Process Management isn’t a new concept, although it needs to be re-introduced to today’s mode of business thinking if an amicable answer is to be forged for people worrying about whether they can succeed in this new world of work. Konosuke Matsushita I wonder how many people today would recognize the name Konosuke Matsushita. This remarkable entrepreneur began working for himself in 1918. Despite having limited funds, no real formal education, and no connections his small firm flourished. Matsushita founded Panasonic and set the business on a journey to become one of the largest electronics companies in the world. It all started with the invention of a two-socket light fixture. Powerful lessons from Matsushita – as applicable today as was the case close on a century ago – reasoned that for management to be effective it should be perpetually creative and dynamic. He also stressed that one should never assume that something is impossible, and that bad times in business are crucial windows of opportunity to re-think objectives, recognize hidden imperfections, and capsize conventional thinking. Challenge the Absurd Like all true corporate giants, including Elon...
Read MoreAbout Theresa
I’m a published author of four business books and have written a number of self-study tutorials [creative writing; editing and proofreading; business writing; and self-publishing] and an eBook [Workplace Harmony]. I am an experienced writer, editor and publisher. 
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