I love to discover new, cool web tools, and see emerging technologies being used to craft really great user experiences. I get excited when I see things like the Arcade Fire and Google Experiment and think, “I wish I had built that!”.

1. Develop An Annual Plan
Ideas don't mean anything if they remain stored in your head, and you can't measure success without goals. Write down your objectives for the year, develop a strategy for achieving them, then create tactics that will execute that strategy.

Christmas is upon us, and tis the season when we all turn to our favorite brands. Forbes came out with it’s most valuable brands of 2013 list this week, and who’d have thought it, a brand guy like me using nearly every one of the Top 10 (actually top 11, to make my point more to the point).

What should you wear to an interview?

Here’s a question- what has your bank done for you lately? Keeps your balance correct? Makes sure to deduct your car payment on time don’t they? Got a really cool debit card design…. Satisfied? Now that I bring it up, you’re probably not.

Ever met a business executive who watches Jimmy Fallon? Know a CEO that’s on Pandora? Seen one laugh? Cry? Even yell? Then why do marketers refuse to understand that business people are some sort of non-human entities that we must take a serious (aka BORING) approach to when we’re trying to sell them some sort of business related service?

Google. Apple. Nike. Coca-Cola. In my opinion, these brands knock social media out of the park. They make me want to behave differently. Google inspires me to go out and explore. Apple inspires me to be more creative. Nike inspires me to not be such a pile all the time. Coca-Cola inspires me to be happy and make others happy. These brands hone in on our emotions. They connect with us.

Written By VI Marketing and Branding’s PR Director Larry “Mac" McAlister

Volkswagen rolled out one of the most popular, and widely viewed Super Bowl ads of all time with its “The Force” ad featuring a cute kid as a mini-Darth Vader two years ago.

For years now, we’ve been writing about the importance of placing Television ads in live programming to avoid the DVR. With over 111.3 million viewers last year, the Super Bowl is obviously the ultimate opportunity to take advantage of a captive audience. That said, the question isn’t whether or not people are going to see this spot? The question is: Is the $4 million price tag worth it?

In the early days of advertising, a company's logo was referred to as their brand. In my mind, that term comes from the old west when livestock was marked with a branding iron to show ownership. The Lazy S Ranch burned their mark onto said animals with a branding iron. That mark is commonly referred to as a logo today. The notion that calling a logo or a design-look a 'brand' is about as outdated as the old west. Unfortunately, far too many marketers and agencies refer to logos, letterhead, brochures and other corporate identity materials as 'branding.' Basically, their design look is called their brand. Graphic design shops are experts at perpetuating this misunderstanding.

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