There is a moment during every branding presentation I give when I offer something enormously valuable--for free. I tell clients to write down what is essentially the formula for successful branding employed by the best brands in the world. With their undivided attention and pens in hand, I summarize this formula for them in three words: Unify. Simplify. Amplify.

This is how the world’s best brands tell their stories effortlessly. Apple. Virgin. Lego. Dyson. Prada. They all apply this formula. But the good news is that this can work for any brand, old and new, large or small-- when designing a new brand identity or refocusing an existing one. This is how it works:
 

As you know, infographics are visual representations of information, data, or knowledge. They present complex concepts quickly and clearly, and communicate ideas in an easily understandable fashion.

Last year, I assembled a collection of 35 infographics that told the story of social media at that time. That post proved to be so popular that I wanted to update it, including images that are still relevant and adding newer visualizations that illustrate more recent knowledge and insights into the social Web. Since social media marketing is a relatively recent addition to organizations’ integrated marketing communications plans, it’s imperative for marketing professionals to gain as much understanding as possible about how people leverage social media for everyday interaction. These snapshots communicate essential information to help marketers make sense of the social networking space and how people are using it in their everyday lives to communicate and share information and ideas.
 

I recall the first rehearsal of a play I once worked on, where the director impishly warned cast and crew, "This show is going to flop." Despite this caution masked as irony, we slaved away. We rehearsed weeks on end during the dog days of August in a musty, mouse-infested theatre. Of course there was no air conditioning. Actors quit but new ones were hired. People fell ill, but the show endured. We never quite escaped that first rehearsal forewarning. The show did indeed do a massive belly-flop into a pool of scant audiences. There was not a single review.

But what do you do when you get reviews and they aren't the kind you want? It's torture to agonize over a production that ultimately doesn't get the kudos and press praise you know deep down it deserves. Do you disregard the criticism and soldier on? Or what about another familiar situation—when drama offstage proves to be more salacious than the drama on? Do you ignore the gossip or revel in it? Some clever souls—perhaps a tad perversely—turn these frowns, be they mixed reviews or offstage hearsay, into a bold marketing scheme.

As Thomas P. Campbell begins his third year at the helm of the cultural ocean liner known as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he hears fewer comparisons between himself and his illustrious predecessor Philippe de Montebello, who served as director for 31 years. But the game of “Would Philippe Have ...?” remains irresistible at times, as it was in December, when Mr. Campbell seemed to be everywhere at Art Basel Miami Beach, the contemporary-art bacchanal that Mr. de Montebello virtually ignored.

At virtually every discussion I have with board members of arts organizations (and many discussions with other arts managers as well), the desire to attract younger audience members is a primary topic. The issue is typically introduced by someone commenting negatively on the age of most current audience members: "Our audience is too old. Everyone has gray hair. Our audience members are likely to die away. We need a younger audience. How do we get young people to come to our performances?"

Putting aside for a moment whether we should call them “target audiences” or not, it’s always good to remember that, as a nonprofit communicator or fundraiser, you are very rarely the kind of person that you are trying to communicate with. Even if you match the demographics, the fact that you are employed by your cause sets you apart in major ways from those who are not. Therefore, what you personally think about your fundraising letter, or your e-newsletter’s design, or what so-and-so wants to put on your nonprofit’s Facebook page is not nearly as important as what the people on the receiving end will think about it.