This week, Marketing Magazine’s annual Corporate Reputation Survey results were published - although so far, only in print and not online. It’s an annual ritual, with media relations teams armed and ready to celebrate their upward status, or spin themselves out of a dip in the ranking.

I was recently introduced to the world of assembling IKEA furniture at TLM – a thought bubble just popped into your mind, didn’t it? And, this is exactly how we interact with a Brand – an image in our mind about a particular product or company.  I got a kick out of interacting with the IKEA Brand.

Getting healthy always seems like such a tall order. Eat less junk and more greens. Find time in your schedule to exercise. Keep yourself motivated. It’s hardly a wonder so many of us (yours truly included) fall off the wagon and back into the sweet embrace of some Rocky Road.

Enter Julie and Mark.

“We turn not older with years, but newer every day.”

Look, marketers are terrible for being the first ones to jump on the new-and-shiny train. It’s inevitable we’re attracted to new trendy things the same way cats and babies are attracted to jingling keys. And that’s ok.

What’s not ok is not using them properly because you’re unwilling, uninformed or uninspired.

There are times when I feel like the work I do is simply common sense. Anyone could do it if they took a moment to think about what makes sense. But over the past few weeks, I have had some conversations that made me realize that this really is not the case.

When we make suggestions to our clients the suggestions are based on a wide variety of things that we, as marketers, automatically consider. These include a wide range of strategic inputs such as:

Do as I say, not as I do; spoken from parent to child from time immemorial. In some ways, marketing has historically been the same way. Corporations have behaved with impunity and then sought to whitewash over their behaviour with some savvy marketing. In a recent blog post on Ad Age, Jeff Rosenblum argues that these days are numbered. He says,

As a part of freshening up our name and logo, we’re renewing our commitment to a fresh Guelph. This Saturday (March 24^th), we hope you’ll join us at the Guelph Farmer’s Market as we collect donations of fresh food for Wyndham House and the Welcome In Drop-In Centre. These two organizations work diligently to provide our fellow citizens in need with a wide range of services and support. We will also be handing out seeds to help you add a little fresh to your own garden.

Every once in a while, even the most solidly built house needs a fresh coat of paint. Welcome to the renovated version of MacMillan Marketing Group: The Letter M Marketing.