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It seems that Aesop was on to something when he wrote his fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” In an age where advertising is generally considered the background noise you fast forward on your DVR- marketers everywhere are struggling with one glaring consumer need: believability.

Companies and brands have for too long “cried wolf” to consumers. Banks tell us they want to be our friends, actors tell us they are really Camry owners, and that we should buy one too, chain restaurants tell us their food is ‘garden-fresh, and toothpaste brands pitch ‘whiter teeth.’ Frankly, consumers just don’t believe any of it, and why should they? Brands are all saying the same thing and those that try to say something different often fail to deliver. Years of over-saturation and under delivering have turned consumers off to the notion of being sold.

In order to be heard, brands must do one thing very well: differentiate. Muhtar Kent, Chairman & CEO of the world’s largest beverage corporation, put it this way, “A good brand is a promise. A great brand is a promise kept.” While Mr. Kent uses the word promise, in my career, I have grown to prefer the term reputation. Building a great brand reputation is achieved through the use of influence in the marketplace. While not something we can control directly, influence can be achieved through four main objectives:

1. Authentic customer engagement: Engaging consumers in a way that comes across as sincere and believable is the first step to creating a solid reputation. Whether through social media, sit down meetings, or customer service, show the consumer that you are interested in them for more than what they bring to the bottom line. In my branding firm, we use our blog as a way to engage customers by providing what we see as valuable information that would be of interest to them as they build their brands because we sincerely want them to succeed.

2. Delivering real value: A firm should seek to add value in whatever space they are present. Going back to the social media example, I have seen countless Facebook pages from companies who have a high number of “friends” but who offer nothing of value to their customers. If, instead, these companies posted informative articles or case studies that educated and helped their customers, their Facebook page would become a thing of significance in the marketplace and in turn help to build their reputation as provider a value.

3. Core needs addressed: Companies often need to step back and determine if they are addressing the core need of their consumer or simply selling a product. The success of Kodak and failure of Polaroid is a perfect example. When digital cameras first started coming on the scene, Kodak knew they were addressing the core need of preserving memories rather than simply making film. They responded appropriately to the shift in the industry by manufacturing digital cameras and digital photo frames. Polaroid, on the other hand, did not understand that core need and instead maintained that they were in the business of manufacturing instant photo cameras. As a result, Kodak continues to be a presence in the lives of consumers while Polaroid languishes in obscurity.

4. Customer delight: This objective is placed last for a reason. If you fulfill the three prior objectives of reputation building, you will have customers who are delighted to do business with you and return time and time again. The delight comes not only from the fact that you sincerely engage them or address their core needs, but also from the fact that because of those things you actually kept the promise of your brand.

Maintaining your reputation as a brand is imperative in keeping consumers focused and loyal to your firm or product. The world today is filled with brands that have failed to maintain their reputation and in turn have been put out to the proverbial pasture. Fortunately, however, by following the four objectives mentioned here, you can cut through the false wolf calls and make sure that your voice is heard.

About the author:
Craig Johnson is the chief strategist and co-founder of Matchstic, a premier brand identity house. His Atlanta branding agency helps organizations create passionate brands that are memorable, relevant, and lasting. Specializing in brand development through brand strategy, positioning, business & product naming and brand identity services, Matchstic’s brand architects forge positive change and accomplish business objectives through creative thinking and smart design.

If you are in the graphic design industry, or thinking about joining, you’ve probably been faced with the quintessential question of: Mac or PC. The debate regarding which better suits the needs of a graphic design professional rages just as raucously today and remains just as contentious as ever.

The debate between the Mac and the PC is a massive topic that has generated a lot of interest in the computer industry.

Generally speaking Macs appear to be the graphic design industry favourite, while PC’s are preferable in the business world. However, when making the decision it’s still important to consider a variety of important factors when making your decision.

Graphics, colours and font variety are a key element to consider when you work within the graphic design industry. Having a computer that makes work with these three things easy and transferable between computers is extremely important. Apple has always established their brand as being a very design focused computer, often surpassing PC’s in many regards. Mac colour calibration and display is often more accurate, and more configurable.

The software that is unique to PC and Mac is another factor that graphic designers should consider when purchasing a machine to work on. All of the major applications, including the Adobe Creative Suite, are developed for both platforms. But, because Mac is more design focused, programs specifically made for the purpose of design have emerged and are exclusive only to those who use Macs. Some of the best professional apps are unique only to Macs. Apps such as best pro apps are tailored for it like TextMate, BBEdit, Final Cut Pro, Reason etc. In saying that though, if your work is focused in a particular faculty of graphic design, such as 3-D animation or game design, the programs available for PC are quite outstanding, especially considering the PC reputation as being a gamer’s computer.

There are other smaller details that make Macs more useable than PC’s. Short cuts, easy and obvious function buttons make using a Mac considerably less time consuming and frustrating than a PC, though there are those that argue that these characteristics of the Mac detracts from the traditional computer experience. Macs have also been reported as being significantly more reliable that PC’s. They crash far less than PC’s and experience less screen freezes. In terms of how this relates to the work of a graphic designer, having a faster and more consistently reliable machines means that you can remain confident that your work isn’t going to be lost or your work flow isn’t going to be constantly disrupted. As a graphic designer you often find yourself working with delicate and tedious scopes of work. Precision when working is a fundamental part of being a successful graphic designer, so having a machine that can accommodate to that is of particular importance.

Ultimately, the people behind Macs are very well aware of their primary audience and so they create and deliver equipment and programs accordingly. The scope for PC is a lot broader than a Mac, though that is certainly not to say that the use of a Mac is limited to just graphic design. The strength of the Mac remains firmly attributed to its brilliance in the area of design, where as a PC is less specific to design and more invested in other areas of computer usage.

It seems that Aesop was onto something when he wrote his fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” At a time where advertising is generally considered the background noise you fast forward on your DVR- marketers everywhere are struggling with one glaring consumer need: believability.

Companies and brands have for too long “cried wolf” to consumers. Banks inform us they want to be our friends, actors tell us they are really Camry owners, and that we should buy one too, chain restaurants tell us their meals are ‘garden-fresh, and toothpaste brands pitch ‘whiter teeth.’ Frankly, consumers just don’t believe any of it, and why must they? Brands are all saying exactly the same thing and people who attempt to say different things often fail to deliver. Many years of over-saturation and under delivering have turned consumers off to the notion of being sold.

In order to be heard, brands should do something perfectly: differentiate. Muhtar Kent, Chairman & CEO from the world’s largest beverage corporation, place it this way, “A good brand is really a promise. A great brand is a promise kept.” While Mr. Kent uses the term promise, in my career, I have grown to like the term reputation. Creating a great brand reputation is achieved through the use of influence in the marketplace. While not something we are able to control directly, influence can be achieved through four main objectives:

1. Authentic customer engagement: Engaging consumers in a way that results in as sincere and believable is the initial step to creating a solid reputation. Whether through social networking, sit down meetings, or customer support, show the consumer that you’re thinking about them for more than the things they provide the bottom line. During my branding firm, we use our blog in an effort to engage customers by providing what we should see as valuable information that might be of great interest for them because they build their brands because we sincerely want them to succeed.

2. Delivering real value: A strong should seek to add value in whatever space they’re present. Going back to the social media example, I have seen countless Facebook pages from companies who have a higher quantity of “friends” but who offer nothing of worth for their customers. If, instead, these companies posted informative articles or case studies that educated and helped their customers, their Facebook page would be a thing of significance available on the market and as a result help to build their reputation as provider a value.

3. Core needs addressed: Companies often have to take a step back and see if they are addressing the core need of their consumer or simply selling a product. The success of Kodak and failure of Polaroid is a perfect example. When digital cameras started coming on the scene, Kodak knew these were addressing the core need of preserving memories rather than simply making film. They responded appropriately towards the shift in the by manufacturing digital cameras and digital photo frames. Polaroid, on the other hand, did not realize that core need and instead maintained that they are in the industry of manufacturing instant photo cameras. Consequently, Kodak continues to be a name within the lives of consumers while Polaroid languishes in obscurity.

4. Customer delight: This objective is positioned continue for a reason. Should you fulfill the three prior objectives of reputation building, you’ll have customers who’re delighted to do business with you and return again and again. The delight comes not just in the fact that you sincerely engage them or address their core needs, but also from the proven fact that because of those activities you really kept the commitment of your brand.

Maintaining your reputation like a brand is imperative in keeping consumers focused and loyal to your firm or product. The planet today is stuffed with brands which have didn’t maintain their reputation and as a result have been released towards the proverbial pasture. Fortunately, however, by using the 4 objectives mentioned here, you can cut with the false wolf calls and make sure that the voice is heard.

About the author:
Craig Johnson may be the chief strategist and co-founder of Matchstic, a premier brand identity house. His Atlanta branding agency helps organizations create passionate brands which are memorable, relevant, and lasting. Specializing in brand development through brand strategy, positioning, business & product naming and brand identity services, Matchstic’s brand architects forge positive change and accomplish business objectives through creativity and smart design.

If you are within the graphic design industry, or thinking about joining, no doubt you’ve been confronted with the quintessential question of: Mac or PC. The controversy regarding which better suits the needs of a picture design professional rages just like raucously today and stays just like contentious as ever.

The controversy between the Mac and also the PC is really a massive topic which has generated lots of curiosity about the computer industry.

Generally speaking Macs seem to be the graphic design industry favourite, while PC’s are preferable in the industry world. However, when creating the decision will still be important to think about a variety of key elements when creating your final decision.

Graphics, colours and font variety are a key element to think about when you work within the graphic design industry. Using a computer that makes use these three things simple and easy , transferable between computers is very important. Apple has always established their brand as being a very design focused computer, often surpassing PC’s in many regards. Mac colour calibration and display is usually better, and more configurable.

The program that’s unique to PC and Mac is yet another component that graphic artists should consider when choosing a machine to work on. All of the major applications, including the Adobe Creative Suite, are developed for both platforms. But, because Mac is much more design focused, programs specifically made for the purpose of design have emerged and therefore are exclusive simply to those who use Macs. Some of the best professional apps are unique simply to Macs. Apps for example best pro apps are targeted at it like TextMate, BBEdit, Final Cut Pro, Reason etc. In saying that though, in case your work is focused inside a particular faculty of graphics, for example 3-D animation or game design, the programs around for PC are very outstanding, especially thinking about the PC reputation as being a gamer’s computer.

There are other smaller details which make Macs more useable than PC’s. Short cuts, easy and obvious function buttons make utilizing a Mac considerably less time consuming and frustrating than a PC, though there are the ones that reason that these characteristics of the Mac detracts from the traditional computer experience. Macs are also reported to be much more reliable that PC’s. They crash far less than PC’s and experience less screen freezes. In terms of how this relates to the work of a graphic designer, having a faster and more consistently reliable machines implies that you can remain confident that your projects isn’t going to be lost or perhaps your work flow isn’t going to be constantly disrupted. Like a graphic designer it’s easy to find yourself dealing with delicate and tedious scopes of work. Precision when working is really a fundamental part of being a successful artist, so having a machine that can accommodate to that particular is of particular importance.

Ultimately, the people behind Macs are very aware of their primary audience and they also create and deliver equipment and programs accordingly. The scope for PC is a lot broader than a Mac, though that is certainly not to say that the utilization of a Mac is restricted to simply graphic design. The strength of the Mac remains firmly related to its brilliance in the region of design, while your personal computer is less specific to design and more committed to other areas of computer usage.