So, today I decided to expound on the social media world’s fascination with BACON.

Yep, Bacon! It’s the American blogger’s food-porn aphrodisiac. If it came between naked pictures of Kaley Cuoco (Penny on “Big Bang Theory”) and bacon, I truly worry that the bacon would get more views. Maybe Kaley’s photos would have a lower bounce rate, but that’s a whole different blog (and innuendo)…

Anyway! I honestly can’t go a single day without seeing a tweet or a post or a photo (notice the bacon bra?) of something to do with bacon. It’s everywhere!

So, why bacon? Why? WHY!?!

1. Bacon Emotes True Passion - Starting out with the obvious, bacon is… FREAKIN’ bacon!

You can whisper “I have bacon” in a crowded room and it’s pretty certain that you get a glorious, harmonizing response of “yummmmmmm…” similar to those Tibetan Deep Throat Chants.  (video)

that aside, the draw to bacon is so powerful, some retailers and hotels have been branded JUST by the bacon they serve!  I’ve read of entire restaurant menus dedicated to bacon, but to have an endorsement like this,

“if Bacon had a God he would live at The Roger Smith Hotel!” – Chris Brogan

makes an impact for bacon’s case that knocks you off your feet.

2. Bacon Has Spanning Relevance - While I really don’t need to go into the origins of bacon, I would assume that it took some grunting relative of ours about 10 seconds to figure out the salting and curing of the fatty back parts of pigs turned a generally disgusting part of the animal into one of the most succulent slices of meat human kind would ever stumble upon. It can be fried, diced, baked, grilled and even made into ice cream. So how can bacon NOT be relevant to every social and economical demographic under the sun?

3. Bacon Is Ultimately Unique – It has a taste like no other meat product.  It’s kind of a cross between glazed ham and beef jerky.  The sheer individuality of bacon makes it the most utilitarian meat source on the planet. And just try to search for “Bacon Recipes.” You’ll be reading (and drooling) for days…

4. And Bacon Is Soooo Engaging – How can one food, one simple, solitary slice of meat become the biggest meme of the 21st century?  How can bacon, a fat, salty slice of cholesterol become more consistently popular than Justin Bieber or Britney Spears put together?

Let’s just put it this way, have you ever been unhappy eating bacon?

UH OH…  look what I just did…

Can you hear it?  Sizzling like fat on a 400˚ griddle…  my branding brain did it again.

Even when it comes to writing a silly post about the popularity of bacon, I pull in the TRUE Branding formula.  It’s inevitable. When it comes to branding, like bacon, there has to be truth, relevance, uniqueness and engagement.

I haven’t asked pork producers but this could all be a big conspiracy to sell more pork product, but I’m sure they’re not complaining.

How would YOU like your brand to have the fan base bacon has? Imagine having your brand, your product, your name associated with everything personally rewarding and ultimately sinfully satisfying as bacon.

Try it.

Keep Cooking (until it’s crisp and satisfying.)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

And with a hat tip to my blogging buddy @AdMavericks (Josh Fleming) I give you another tribute to BACON!

“Mindless babble…”
“Fanboy frivolity…”

I usually sit and listen (patiently) while they list out the need for a drawn out conversation with their customers to explain the intricate mechanics of their products and the magnitude of value that their employees’ commitment provides to the bottom line – NOT TO MENTION their commitment to quality and the….

SNORE….

“Cult obsessions…”
“Waste-of-time…”

“INSANE”

Before you use that particular word, consider a recent example:

How hard do you think it would it be to produce and then promote a musical about a woman with bipolar disorder? Imagine the media.  Imagine the freakishly insensitive commercials and awkward attempts to make bipolar disorder “entertaining” (let alone make it a MUSICAL)!

The Broadway hit “Next to Normal,” did just that.
(Please click through to read about the musical.  It’s moving – Wikipedia-Synopsis, Show Site)

The producers and marketers of this compelling (and painful) story about a woman with bipolar disorder and her troubled relationship with her family, used Twitter to build audiences. According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, the play’s marketing team tweeted the entire show at 140 characters per installment, over five weeks through May and June.  At the time of this post, their Twitter account (@N2Nbroadway) had more than 730,000 followers and had sold more than 90 percent of their available seats!  Talk about ROI!

As added flair, due to their unique approach to using the tool, Twitter selected “Next to Normal” as a featured tweet. Saying so makes them an automated opt-in for new users of the service.  To be featured by Twitter is one thing, having almost three quarters of a million followers in just a few months (auto opt-in or not) makes quite a statement for this little bit of insanity.

There’s plenty of coverage about the massive success “Next to Normal” has had using Twitter to market (just to a Google search for “Next to Normal” and Twitter)

Think it’s so “insane” now?

How could Twitter fit into your marketing strategy like it did for “Next to Normal?” What could you or your company do to harness the power of Twitter’s network – or any social media marketing network for that matter?

Food for thought…

Keep Cooking (remarkable ways to connect to your audience)!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Straight jacket image from: http://theshockdocshow.com/

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t get a lot of email through my Studio 24 site. I rarely look at it and it’s grossly out-of-date. When I do get email from there, it’s usually SPAM.  So, out of habit, I hit “delete” – without even reading!

REALLY BAD IDEA…

Recently, I almost messed up a HUGE opportunity for the Brand Chef blog to be included in some pretty heavy company.  It was a simple oversight, but looking back on it, I realize what a monstrous gaffe it would have been.

***

On a quiet Sunday morning, over a bowl of Grape Nuts and a cup of coffee, I decided to weed out my in-box – after over a MONTH of negligence…

You know how it goes…  Facebook notice…  delete… delete…  Twitter…  delete…delete…delete…  SEO Guarantee…  delete…delete… I was in a pretty good groove!  “Special” offer…  delete… delete… “Need a Date?”…delete… delete…

and then…  BrandManagement.com… de-HUH?… I had to pause.

I read it again. “A Message from BrandManagement.com”

Edward Mance, Co-founder and CEO of BrandManagement.com sent me an email.  Odd. But odd because of the long path his message took…

Edward found me through my old blogspot blog, and subsequently through the form on the Studio 24 web site.  This simple fact shows that he made a concerted effort to contact me.

With the push of a button, the story could have ended there. But it didn’t.

As I opened the email and read, my jaw about hit the counter (thank God it didn’t, my mouth was full of partially chewed Grape Nuts)…  Brandmanagement.com was being launched in late May, and according to Mr. Mance,

” …a significant element of the site will be comprised of leading thought writers’ most current, daily/weekly works.“

And he continued on to say,

“In short, we love the blog entries on your site, and we would love to republish those entries on the BrandManagement.com site as they become available on your site…”

Wait a minute… Me? I had to read it two more times and once to my wife, just to clarify who it was really addressed to…  Not only was I honored, but I was astounded that someone else (besides me) thought I had something of value to say.

As I reviewed the site, I realized that Mr. Mance was including The Brand Chef in a pretty darn respectable group of branding consultants, professionals from advertising agencies, the marketing communications field and respected commentators and branding advocates – people that I’ve read and respected for years – Oliver Blanchard, Anna Farmery, Tom Fishburne,  Katie Konrath, Laura Ries,  Dan Schawbel, and Chris Wilson just to name a few!  Go here to see a full list.

I immediately gave Edward my contact information, my RSS feed and anything else he asked for (could have asked for my first-born son, I would have considered it).  And, low-and-behold, the site was launched, on schedule, and there I was, right next to some of the biggest names in branding commentary and blogging.

What’s my return?  Self respect.  And click-through traffic has jumped a bit, but the sheer fact that I was included is return enough for me (honestly).

So, as a direct message to Edward Mance, Thank you!

My lesson learned from this?  Be careful what you delete from your inbox, because opportunity may be knocking – albeit quietly.

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Until that time, the snack candy company was finding difficulty positioning themselves in their respective market – finding their product a mere commodity in the consumers’ eye…

Why? There wasn’t a hook. There was no UNIQUE brand advantage.

Enter the hook – A Surprise In Every Box! What kid (let alone most adults) don’t like a fun surprise – guaranteed?!?

And the rest is tasty history.

How many brands can guarantee that kind of draw? What brand can cement itself in the pop culture lexicon by adding one simple surprise? Ever sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game?” (make sure you turn up the volume)

What surprise does your brand offer? Can you think of one thing to add (a surprise in your brand box) that would catapult your brand like Cracker Jack?

Food for thought…

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef
Technorati Profile

Let’s take a look…

I write – sometimes all day, every day – everything from ad copy to outlines for annual reports to blog posts, comments, and tweets. But not until I started reading did I learn that the words could be saying more than what was being read.

Confused? So was I until I saw a couple of posts (here and here) over at Angela Maier’s Blog, making me pause.

Are the words you’re using really portraying your message?

Wordle is a great visual tool to see if the actual words you’re using are communicating your story. Or are you using words that confuse and distract from the overall picture?

Try this. Have Wordle crawl your latest marketing piece. It’s easy, just cut and paste the copy into their Web site. Or if you have an RSS feed, just paste that into the space provided. It’s eye opening.

Here are a couple of examples:
(Click on the thumbnails to view larger images)

The Brand Chef blog:

My LinkedIn page:

This post:

Go ahead and try it. Try it on your marketing copy. Try it on your Web site. Try it on your competitors’ Web sites.

Are your words portraying your brand? Are they True, Relevant, Unique and Engaging?

Run a couple of tests and email me {thebrandchef(at)gmail(dot)com} your link.

I’d love to SEE what you have to say!

Until next time…

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
-The Brand Chef.