Some say there is a “New Normal” and that business has changed in a profound way from the beginning to the end of the first decade of the 21st century. If so, then what are the implications for the concept of BRAND — is it more or less important than it was? Should more thought go into proactively creating and managing the brand experience? Should more resources be expended in shaping and defending the brand? And if the answer is yes to one or more of these questions, then by what means can we achieve this control and what can we expect as a return on our investment? These are important questions for marketers of all stripes — from agency denizens to company product managers to entrepreneurs launching new brands.

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Lots of client work is a good thing — but it left us with very little time to create a proper holiday greeting. SO ANYWAY, here are some videos we had lots of fun hastily cobbling together.

Using nothing but home-made puppets, action figures and a whiteboard, we improvised video recreations of our favorite holiday stories.

And hey… actors sometimes enjoy their performances more than the audience does. So, be kind!

As I stood with my fellow graduates from the Class of 2009 on our graduation day, I saw two emotions simultaneously from every single one of us: excitement and fear – pure, unmistakable fear.

No one was asking each other what they were doing after this milestone, because no one had any more plans than the person beside them (for the most part).While many chased after any job they could find, I followed the road less traveled with an internship at Fitting Group. And I haven’t looked back from the world of Brand Spanking since.

I knew that a few days a week interning in an industry I love was way more beneficial to me than a job that I hated. But as I spent more quality time with Brandee and the crew, I learned that Brand Spanking doesn’t end after companies or big-time consultants “get it” – branding is important for EVERYONE, especially new grads. (more…)

We’re starting a new file at Fitting Group. I’m going to call it the “turn down the heat and let it simmer” file. In this file, we will store all of the great and crazy ideas we have for clients and postdate them for 18 months to three years from now. We’re doing this to maintain our sanity.

In reviewing the work of our agency over the last three years, I began to see a pattern. In our desire to help clients get ahead of the curve, we have often promoted ideas that were viewed as too risky. So the conversation goes something like this:

FG to Banking client: (seeing the regulatory environment loosen up and allow more competition plus the trend in online banking) “We think you should change the name of your bank to UnBank. We’ll advertise that you’re a new kind of bank – completely transparent, with no hidden fees or evil practices. Unbank takes the pain out of the banking relationship for the customer. You’ll launch new products with no minimum balance requirements, no penalties for early withdrawal or loan payoffs, no ATM fees, etc.” (more…)

Senior Designer Andrew O. Ellis loves Pittsburgh. Read why.

I may have been one of the only kids in Michigan to have this card on purpose.

If you don’t mind, I’m going to spend the next few paragraphs patting myself on the back.

Why? Because I’m part of a small and exclusive group. I’m a young person who moved TO Pittsburgh and stuck around. And more than that, I did it before it was cool.

You see, I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit. One Christmas during the early 1990s, we came to Pittsburgh to visit relatives who at that time lived in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood. I don’t know if it was the rivers or the hills or the dinosaurs or what, but something about this town captured my imagination for the rest of my childhood. Pictures of the skyline adorned my bedroom walls. Bridges became more fascinating to me than cars and trucks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins became my hockey team – a move, in Red Wings territory, that was about as popular as being, say, a Cleveland Browns fan in Steeler Nation.

In Detroit, most of the art and design schools were rumored to be straight recruitment lines to the now-crumbling automotive industry – a path I wasn’t eager to follow. It seemed almost too perfect that I’d end up attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I still had friends questioning the move as my high school graduation loomed, but I was feeling the sort of satisfaction that you feel when things start falling into place. (more…)

Advertising, marketing and communications awards are more than just fancy dust collectors for the office walls and lobby.

Awards for a job well done are the calling cards of excellence that communicate our worth to clients, prospective clients and competitors. They’re also motivators for employees to keep up the good work.

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All eyes will be on Pittsburgh the week of the G-20 Summit in September, and local government officials, community leaders and the media are talking about what an opportunity this is to elevate the perception of Pittsburgh to something more than a dirty old steel town. Pittsburgh is not the market leader when we think of US cities. It’s definitely not the biggest. It’s not top-of-mind. And it certainly has never been thought of as the most prestigious. These characteristics make Pittsburgh a Challenger Brand city, and they’re why we must break the rules to take our rightful place in the market — as the most innovative and marketable city in the US. (Dream Big! Brand Spanking® Cardinal Rule #4*). (more…)

George M. Elish, Executive Vice President of Rosetta Capital Corporation, joins Fitting Group as a guest blogger.

No, this is not George Elish.

I have often talked with executives who believe that a marketing agency’s fee should be determined, at least in part, by sales results. When I hear this, I immediately think that they really do not understand the role of the marketing agency, and more importantly, perhaps, the fundamental difference between marketing and sales.

It also underscores why I believe that marketing and sales decisions are among the most difficult that executives have to make. (more…)

Fitting Group Account Coordinator Molly Schaefer blogs about branding & books.

Before I became a Brand Spanker here at Fitting Group, I was a graduate student studying literature at Carnegie Mellon University. People who know this often ask me how I ended up at a branding agency and if I’m able to apply my degree to my job. There are lots of answers to these questions – my education has made me an effective communicator and a strong writer and researcher, important skills in my field. And, while marketing and literature are very different, if you’re in tune with both, it’s easy to find instances where they overlap. Here are a few of my favorite examples:

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Scott Hanley, Director and General Manager of WDUQ, shares a bit of branding wisdom as a guest blogger.

Apple does not rely on focus groups.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use focus groups, but it does lead to an important point: Apple is sure of its brand.

Apple has had a tumultuous history. Today, the company has a solid brand, direction and products that people clamor for.

Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates and Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs in the 1999 cable movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley"

The 1999 made-for-cable movie Pirates of Silicon Valley is worth a rental or even purchase. Two statements from it stand out to me at the moment. One, from Bill Gates, I can only paraphrase: “a good product with great marketing can overcome a great product with good marketing.”

And, from Steve Jobs, “Real Artists Ship.”
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