A Great Sign for Lyrik Back Bay in Boston

A Great Sign for Lyrik Back Bay in Boston

Advertising, Boston, Branding, Business, Marketing
I have no idea how many new commercial developments are built in Boston every year, and I hardly know the names of any of them, but I know quite a bit about this big, new office, hotel and retail development. Lyrik Back Bay. Sure, it's situated on Massachusetts Avenue between Boylston and Newbury Streets over the Mass Pike in the Back Bay neighborhood, so it's hard to ignore. But it's some of the street-level signage that really caught my eye, not necessarily the unique location punctuated by two tall buildings that will house a citizenM hotel, the LEGO Group's new US headquarters and CarGurus. Seeing a line - er, a lyric, I should say - from the Led Zeppelin classic, Stairway to Heaven, especially caught my attention, admittedly because I'm…
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Noah Kahan at Fenway Park: Epic Show, Epic Livestream

Noah Kahan at Fenway Park: Epic Show, Epic Livestream

Boston, Music
What's the next best thing to actually being there, seeing Noah Kahan live in concert? Watching his show live via the TourGigs livestream. Seriously. For less than $20, I joined the 38,000 or so fans who were lucky enough to see Noah Kahan live in concert at Fenway Park in Boston last Thursday night from the comfort and convenience of my own home. From beginning to end, I felt like I had a front row seat for this incredibly gifted folk-pop singer/songwriter's ridiculously awesome performance, enjoying every magical moment of the concert as though I were there myself. Noah is an amazing artist who I've been listening to religiously now for about a year. You might know his music from his big hits, "Stick Season" and "Dial Drunk," but he…
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You Are A Rock Star

You Are A Rock Star

Boston, Branding, Inspiration, Marketing, Motivation
Students and colleagues, family and friends, neighbors and even complete strangers, everyone should know what it feels like to be a rock star, and that includes you. To feel like a rock star is to feel that you are invincible. It is to understand what it must mean to have all the fame and glory in the world. It is to do everything you do with a lot more confidence and determination and a lot less fear and trepidation. It is to imagine people looking up to you and cheering for you, shouting out your name at the top of their lungs. That's why I tell anyone within earshot that they are a rock star. I want them to be smiling. I want them to be happy. I want them…
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WHOOP, There It Is

WHOOP, There It Is

Advertising, Boston, Marketing
Make people aware of what you have to offer. That's of the utmost importance in advertising. If nobody knows about you, nobody is going to do business with you. You have to call attention to yourself. You have to build an audience for your products and services. You have to get the word out. Your brand name can help do that alone. WHOOP, "the human performance company," certainly stands out. To say it's a catchy name for a company would be an understatement. Locational excellence can be a competitive advantage in business as well. WHOOP's 121,000 square-foot office space in Boston's Kenmore Square is certainly conspicuous in its presence, especially with the huge sign on top of it and the spectacular promotional banner I saw across the front of the…
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The Importance of Having a Strong Personal Brand

The Importance of Having a Strong Personal Brand

Boston, Branding, Marketing, Social Media
My wife, Barbara, asked me recently why it was so important to have a strong personal brand on social media. Among other things, I told her that you can't be in front of people in real life, IRL, all the time, but you can be in front of them and heard by them almost all the time on #socialmedia. So you want to share content online on a steady, continuous basis that is a positive, accurate reflection of who you are as both a professional and a human being. I had a lot more to say about the topic, of course. Here's my answer to Barbara's question in its entirety...
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Teaching, PR, Inspirational Stories and More with Kim Ring

Teaching, PR, Inspirational Stories and More with Kim Ring

Boston, Business, Leadership, Marketing, Podcast
In this episode (Episode 173) of my podcast, Bob Cargill's Marketing Show, I talk to Kimberley Ring about her very inspirational career journey from founding her own PR agency, Ring Communications, over 15 years ago to her unbridled passion for teaching today as a faculty member at Suffolk University. About Kimberley Ring Allen Kimberley Ring is the founder of Ring Communications - one of the fastest growing integrated marketing firms in Boston. She is known as one of the leading public relations professionals and social media influencers in Boston and is known for her work with high profile brands in the lifestyle, hospitality, and sports industries. A self-made publicist and business owner that has built a successful career around joining “old school ethics” with “new school techniques,” she has been…
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Ridiculously Awesome Branding by Northeastern University

Ridiculously Awesome Branding by Northeastern University

Boston, Branding, Marketing
Meandering around campus at Northeastern University in Boston recently, I noticed the paw prints of the school's mascot, Paws, painted along the walkway, which made perfect sense to me. After all, the Husky is the school's official mascot and nickname. But I have to admit, I was impressed by the lengths that the school went to in putting those prints on the ground. That is branding at its absolute finest, make-believe paw prints as if the school's mascot had come to life and was actually making its way around campus with students, faculty, administrators and others. How can your business, organization or institution leave tracks so that members of your audience can't help but be reminded of your presence wherever they go? Online or in the real world (IRL), what…
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Getting Customers to Wear Your Brand

Getting Customers to Wear Your Brand

Boston, Branding, Marketing
Many professional hockey fans will wear their favorite team's jersey, especially when they attend a game, like the scene I saw the other night when I was walking around outside the TD Garden in Boston. All those Boston Bruins fans milling about wearing black and gold jerseys like the players themselves. Why? Well, as fans, they're proud to wear that jersey, to wear the black and gold. They want to feel that sense of belonging to a close-knit community, a community of loyal Bruins fans. And frankly, they know they look wicked cool wearing that jersey. Tough. Rugged. Again, like the players themselves. Okay. So you're not a professional hockey team, but you do have products and services to sell. How can you do what the Bruins do with their…
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Making It a Pleasure, Not a Pain, for Your Customers and Clients

Making It a Pleasure, Not a Pain, for Your Customers and Clients

Boston, Branding, Business, Communications, Customer Service
I was on the MBTA Commuter Rail Green Line recently heading home from work from Boston's Government Center station to Woodland in Newton. I've taken this route home, this train, the MBTA's Green Line, a lot, but never had I heard the driver of the train announcing the stops the way this particular driver was announcing them. She had a ridiculously awesome personality, a tone of voice that was making me feel like we were on a happy, celebratory tour of all the stops along the route of our luxury ride home, like those stops actually meant something to us as commuters about to call it a day. She wasn't reciting those stops in a listless, monotone voice like it was just another part of her job. Quite the contrary.…
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