Brands That Stand ™

The Beckham Era Has Begun

Jim Paglia — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:42:06 +0000

In addition to branding, I have a long-standing interest in soccer. I am invited to write guest columns for Soccer America. Recently, I wrote about David Beckham’s coming to America. If you want to read the full article, and my prediction about his impact on professional soccer, go to www.socceramerica.com. Click on “Soccer Business Insider” and then “A Naysayer’s View.” The title alone should give you a sense of the story.

The article was written and submitted around the first of June. SA decided to sit on it until sometime closer to ”Becks” debute with the LA Galaxy. However, one small reference in the article, and an announcement from Victoria Beckham, his wife, prompted SA to move up publication.

I suggested Beckham’s ultimate impact on pro soccer would be akin to Victoria announcing she was coming to America to reunite the Spice Girls in an attempt to save the recording industry. Once SA got wind of the rumors that she was holding a press conference (which she did) to announce a Spice Girls tour, I doubt it was coincidence that SA published my article prior to her announcement.

Beckham remains a solid, world-class soccer player. When healthy, he will make a contribution to the lowly LA Galaxy, but even that is unlikely to propel them into the MLS playoffs, which all but five teams in the league will make.

Purely by accident last Saturday night, albeit just before halftime, I stumbled on Beckham’s first game being broadcast on ESPN. He played about the last 15 minutes of the game, and if the night was any indication of the validity of my prediction, his greatest contribution was the enormous media coverage, publicity and celebrity attendance he generated.

The game itself was won by Chelsea, who with less than two weeks of preseason training under their belt, had fleeting moments of brilliance against an LA Galaxy team supposedly in mid-season form, but unable to mount an attack. An uninspired 1-0 result will hardly make rabid soccer fans of the newcomers sipping champagne in the skyboxes. For the unfamiliar, the score would appear to be a respectable showing by the American team. The game was much more one-sided than the score would suggest.

I am thrilled Mr. Beckham is here, I am more thrilled that his real soccer impact will be felt through the hundreds of academies he is launching for youth players across the country. I am most thrilled that Posh Spice and her friends are restricting their “world” tour to about 10 cities, and then, that too will pass.

The Most Important Brand

Bryan Povlinski — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 05:26:08 +0000

When you think of brands some popular companies may come to your mind such as Coca Cola, Nike, or McDonalds, but the most important brand to you should be yourself. If you are not recognized or respected it will be difficult to get anywhere in the world of business. This is why networking is so important and building up contacts so that you can improve you’re overall brand. If people like you then they will refer you and help you along your way. Opportunities that you may have never thought of will be opened and improving your personal brand is the best way to accomplish this. Some great resources on the topic are POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd and The Brand Called You

Posted By: Bryan Povlinski

The Wonderful World of Branding

Bryan Povlinski — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:52:53 +0000

What is branding? Is branding just a subcategory of marketing? Too often branding is just lumped into marketing or advertising and a business never really focuses on establishing a brand. This blog exists to disprove those myths and show how branding is essentially the core of a business and its most important component.

Branding is the actual “experience” a customer receives from using the product or service of a business. Marketing does nothing to improve a brand. Marketing may improve the awareness of a business, but the underlying experience and actual purpose of the product or service is not enhanced.

Brands That Stand ™ is about understanding brands, (as well as marketing, business in general, and other random musings) and I hope that you enjoy our new blog!

Posted by: Bryan Povlinski