Author Archive for Steve Woodruff

Re-Branding Chrysler

Written by Steve Woodruff
on May 24th, 2007 / 10 Comments / Print this

It’s been high up in the news columns of late - the U.S. car company Chrysler is being split off from its unfortunate marriage to the German company Daimler, and will return to its status as an unwed manufacturer. In fact, the Cerberus Capital Management purchase will give Chrysler a very interesting opportunity - re-asserting [...]

How To Be Unremarkable

Written by Steve Woodruff
on May 19th, 2007 / 18 Comments / Print this

It’s doubtful that any small business owner sits down to compose his or her Business Plan, and starts the list with a #1 priority such as this:
Get lost in the crowd
Yet, it would almost seem that many, when naming their companies or coming up with a tagline, actually adopt that as a goal! Therefore, here [...]

Are You Telling Your Brand Story?

Written by Steve Woodruff
on May 7th, 2007 / Leave a Comment / Print this

Every brand has a message. That message can be communicated in a number of ways, and one of the most crucial tools in your brand messaging toolkit is one of the most simple. Storytelling.
We are hard-wired, as a species, to connect to stories. That is why some of the most effective teachers throughout history were [...]

Favorite Brand of All Time

Written by Steve Woodruff
on April 29th, 2007 / 9 Comments / Print this

I asked myself a question this morning, one that became more difficult to answer than I would have thought.
Question: What is your single, all-time favorite brand?
By that, I mean a brand that has stood the test of time, creating warm feelings of gladness, enduring attachment, readiness to go-out-my-way for the brand experience, and an easy [...]

Bullet-point Branding

Written by Steve Woodruff
on April 19th, 2007 / 4 Comments / Print this

We’ve all seen it. The company that presents itself as a series of bullet points, on a website or a brochure or a Powerpoint slide show.

It’s a bad practice
In fact, it’s a really bad practice
Because it’s ineffective
And turns off the audience
So don’t do it!

Recently, I was at an evening meeting for a professional organization I [...]

10 Lessons Learned from Starting a Small Business

Written by Steve Woodruff
on April 10th, 2007 / 20 Comments / Print this

After almost 20 years of “career” jobs, I finally ventured out on my own in the middle of 2006. I’d thought about such a move for many years, but did not feel ready - until late 2005, when it dawned on me that the ONLY way I was ever going to have a tailor-made opportunity [...]