Early Attempts at Blogging
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With a new webinar on blogging coming up (March 9, 2021 at 9:30am), we had a look at early blog attempts and brought out this beauty by our very own Mike Hayes. This is a great reference point for the upcoming webinar "Shut Up and Blog" - sign up here
https://charcoal.marketing/landing-pages/shut-up-and-blog
SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2007
Brand Value
I have been traveling recently, and have been blown away by my stay at the Hampton Inn.
Let me note that the Hampton Inn building was nothing to write home about. It was new construction, but in fact, it looked very much like the building next door that sported a Quality Inn sign. It wasn't the construction or decor of the building that set it apart. Even the interior looked a lot like a Best Western/Holiday Inn/Ramada.
But inside, the welcome signs, the table tent cards, even the sign on the back of the elevator door - all looked the same as the Hampton Inn I last stayed at in Boston. Even the breakfast bar looked the same.
Is this simply a lesson in consistency - because McDonald's already owns that attribute? Partly - but it is the overall graphic design of the various signs and messaging that stood out - simple, bold (large visuals) and, yes, consistent (Branding 101).
The most interesting point (to me) is that Hampton Inn charges a little bit more per room a night (maybe $10-20) and I felt good about paying it, because of the way they make me feel (Branding 102) about the Hampton Inn brand.
Apple is perhaps best known for it's emphasis of uber cool graphic design (in its products, its packaging and its advertising) and interestingly, they manage to price their product at a premium. What a great business concept - invest in good design and you can achieve a price premium. It's the kind of thing that would strike fear in a "bean-counter". When you think about how many products are now manufactured (cheaply) in China, with increasing quality, it's time to start thinking about investment in the intangibles. Stay tuned.
POSTED BY MIKE AT 8:45 P.M.
Looking at how blogging has evolved since 2007 we now know that blogs are more successful with more visuals. For example, any of these would have added to the overall image of the story:
After going through the original blog we can see that there are a lot of points that are brought up that would have been beneficial to have a visual reference (c'mon Mike - Branding 101). With mention of the lobby and outside of the hotel looking the same as others, having a point of reference would have helped to show proof and build the trustworthiness of the author. But we'll give him a break because technology was much less advanced when it came to blogging back in those days.
Majority of the blog is emphasizing the branding and overall messaging on their signage and how it created a feeling. Showing an example of what that looks like and HOW it was effective enough to justify higher prices would have improved the story. Along with that, even an explanation of what the message was, even without a photo would have helped with the explanation - you didn't need technology for that one Mike ;). Overall, a little bit more detail would have gone a long way.
I guess this is something I will have to grill you on in our webinar on Tuesday!