{"id":410,"date":"2011-12-16T16:18:33","date_gmt":"2011-12-16T21:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/?p=410"},"modified":"2016-11-04T16:20:12","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T20:20:12","slug":"the-very-best-in-branding-hallmark-keeps-doing-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/?p=410","title":{"rendered":"THE VERY BEST IN BRANDING. HALLMARK KEEPS DOING IT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again I watched a Hallmark Hall of Fame original movie the other night and was impressed as always by the quality of the commercials that ran throughout the show. Some of these have been running for a few years (at least) and yet they still make the point and re-emphasize Hallmark\u2019s position as the best brand in greeting cards and gifts year after year. The company understands its customers and understands the motivation behind sending a greeting for a special occasion.<\/p>\n

However, what is impressive is the way Hallmark has aggressively solidified its position by changing with the times with creative use of the media. The Hallmark channel is one of the best vehicles for getting out the Hallmark message without seeming like your simply watching another commercial. The programming over the holiday\u2019s is sheer genius as the non-stop holiday movies (some new, some repeats) that all seem to have the same message, but somehow manage to get you in the spirit of the season and provide an alternative to the reality shows and pre-event music awards concerts that fill the airwaves in between college and pro football games. The Hall of Fame specials continue to provide the best quality programs year after year without overdoing it and provide an excellent environment for the branding message that Hallmark consistently maintains every year. Add to this, Hallmark\u2019s online subscriptions for e-cards which gives us the opportunity to send \u201cthe very best\u201d online easily and economically. No doubt the internet and social networking has made a huge dent in the conventional greeting card business, but Hallmark has filled the void and gives you the opportunity to personalize while maintaining the Hallmark brand assurance.<\/p>\n

\"have-faith-rabbi-rev\"This brings me to another brand message at this time of year. This month\u2019s Hall of Fame movie was \u201cHave a Little Faith\u201d<\/a> based on Mitch Albom\u2019s latest book of the same name. I\u2019m a big fan of Albom\u2019s books and this one was particularly poignant.
\nIt\u2019s the story of his encounter with two clergymen\u2014his rabbi from his youth and an African-American minister in a broken-down Detroit slum church. I was particularly moved by the wisdom shared by Albert Lewis, Albom\u2019s New Jersey rabbi, who asked him to write his eulogy and then spent 8 years sharing that wisdom with Mitch. In one conversation, Rabbi Lewis tells Mitch that one of life\u2019s great challenges is to answer the question: \u201cWhat is your glory?\u201d In other words, what have you done to make the world a better place. It\u2019s from this question, that Albom\u2019s faith and commitment is awakened and drives him to help the Detroit church as well as his family and community. I\u2019ve often asked my branding audiences and college classes to think about \u201cWhat their brand\u2019s are famous for?\u201d in their quest to make their brand\u2019s (product or personal) more successful. However, it struck me as I watched the movie that it\u2019s the \u201cglory\u201d of our brand that makes it successful and enables it to stand out from the competition while building a relationship with your customers.
\nAt this time of year, when we hear the word \u201cglory\u201d in many of the carols of the season. I hope that you consider what you can do to make a difference in the world as well through your personal and corporate brands. Like the companies (i.e. Hallmark) that stand out year after year during the holidays without relying on just another sale, you, too, can find the glory of the real meaning of this season.<\/p>\n

Merry Christmas.
\nKen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once again I watched a Hallmark Hall of Fame original movie the other night and was impressed as always by the quality of the commercials that ran throughout the show. Some of these have been running for a few years (at least) and yet they still make the point and re-emphasize Hallmark\u2019s position as the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":412,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions\/412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}