The coolest thing about branding is getting to know people from other places and learning about their cultures. The other day I was on YouTube, watching and listening to IZ videos. If you're from Hawaii, you know what that means. If not, search YouTube for "IZ," and treat yourself to some practical Aloha. This gentle giant's sweetness came out through his voice and his ukulele playing (oo-koo-ley-ley). I get emotional over music sometimes. And there I was with my headphones on, tears welling, listening to this 800 pound man sing "White Sandy Beach," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "What a Wonderful…

I was just adding the category "Find an agency," and going through all the posts to see which ones should apply (check it out, there are a lot of them), and I notices that we're coming up on the first anniversary of this blog. In fact, we hit the one-year mark on May 7. Haven't blogged as much as I expected to. But looking back, there have been some pretty good thoughts in here, if I do say so myself. 20 days and counting. Also, it's starting to be Spring. So things are looking up around here.

We talk about this a lot. The thing is, agencies are willing to go to great lengths to get business from clients that fit. But all too often, a new business pitch becomes a fishing expedition, in which the client doesn't get the information they really need, yet the agencies take valuable resources away from current clients in order to impress prospective ones. Anne Peck Gibbons shot me an email today with these 21 points for choosing an agency and cultivating the relationship. I thought you might find this helpful. 1. Decide what kind of services you are looking for.…

We had the opportunity to return to Hawaii last week. We gave a report to some very cool clients (I guess they're products of their environment). We made a presentation in the morning to the marketing team. Then, we went up the elevator in the afternoon to present to the executive team. I think the findings were well received. So, we look forward to building the brand. Spent Saturday with our friend Ken, who showed us around some parts of Hawaii most haoles don't get to see. First, we went to the Honolulu Academy of Arts, where they have a…