New York SBDC Research Network

Ahundredmonkeys is a corporate branding and naming consultancy. Their site offers news items about what is going on in this field and some insight into how companies should be thinking about their names. They give some ideas about what to look for in a naming company. Although they are a commercial site and naturally selling their service, I liked it because it is nicely put together. They even look at their competitors to show how their approach differs. Their meditation garden allows you to ponder some ideas about naming and branding. Check out the many articles on their site, it can be a very entertaining read. Just an interesting site and food for thought. Here are some other pointers on the subject: Naming Your Business Entrepreneur.com By Phil Davis April 07, 2005 18 Pithy Insights for Naming Your Small Business Posted by Dharmesh Shah on Mon, Jan 08, 2007

I was thinking about changing minds. How difficult it is to do. To change one's own mind or another's. From the point of view of an individual but also from that of a company or a brand - once a person has made up their mind about something, it almost doesn't matter what they hear or see. It seems that lack of perception is reality. If a person is not looking for new information, they are only picking up on the elements in a person or product that agrees with their established opinion. All other information is weeded out so that the image agrees with the bias. We can see that in the political process, in the media; once a point of view has been repeated a few times, it solidifies in the mind and is intractable. They say the key to changing someone's mind is to acknowledge and understand their point of view and then slowly point them to another option, and repeat. Changing Minds: The Great Resistance Branding Strategy Insider Posted by Jack Trout November 12, 2007 Atta

Ben and I must be on the same wavelength because I came across a similar item. So while on the subject: Free Love Trendwatching.com March 2008 This month, we'll be looking at FREE LOVE, which is all about the ongoing rise of 'free stuff', and the brands already making the most it. Not to mention the millions of consumers who are happily getting into a free-for-all mindset. Absorb and apply!

The test consists of 20 questions from four areas; the last grouping is audible recognition, so I hope you have your sound on your computers. I got 18 out of 20, but misread one of the questions or I would have gotten 19. How did YOU do?

While this may not be hot off the presses, I still thought Brandchannel's 2006 Product Placement Awards interesting enough to merit a little blog space. 2006 was the third year for this series, distributing such honors as "Lifetime Achievement Award for Product Placement," (Everlast. Every boxing movie has a set of gloves), " Wayne's World Award for Product Placement" (for making fun of product placement. 06 winner = Thank You for Smoking ) and 2006 Award for Those Who Were Paying Attention (In mocking War of the Worlds , Scary Movie 4 created a scene with the same Penzoil box held by Tom Cruise in WotW ). The grand winner? Ford. Ford cars appeared in 17 of 41 of the top grossing movies of 2006. If this is all too frivilous for you, check out some of the other offerings at Brandchannel.com , including articles, case studies and papers on modern branding and marketing concepts.