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Microsoft's heavy-handed attempt to advertise Bing to tech types is misguided, talking about what they want to be vs. what they actually are.

Of course, you already know all about “branded entertainment.” While that can be an expensive, hit-or-miss proposition, at least one company has adopted a relatively low-cost, high-value approach that’s better described as “branded journalism” -- hiring journalists to produce content for a company-run site.

Scent branding (also known as scent marketing) is an emerging field in the worlds of fragrance and design. Because of the power that smell has to communicate directly with our memories and emotions, scent branding is an effort to add multidimensional meaning to our experience of products and spaces.

A Purpose-Idea, or brand, doesn’t live in a vacuum. It needs to be articulated via a Social Object, so the idea can spread. Ideas spread not on their own steam, but as social objects.

SEO is a process that often takes a commitment of 10-12 months or more, but it’s been proven to offer the best return for online marketing when properly done. And there should still be evidence of making advances along the way.

Internet “marketing” doesn’t work because it’s really hard to interrupt people on the Internet. Don’t use the Internet to hype, pitch, or sell. Instead, give away great content and have conversations with real people.

There are lots of articles about how Chinese companies can build global brands, but unfortunately most of them are lacking in substance.

Small businesses can create a signature sound of their own with custom musical selections programmed to play in the workspace, on their websites, and as on-hold music.

The pickle story is a great example of a story that will persist in the minds of those who hear it and affect the perception of the unfortunate merchant for years to come.

It's important to recognize the "moments of truth" in the process of creating a relationship between your brand and your customers. Here are three tips for negotiating those critical moments.

A recent study found that `as few as 6 percent of consumers believe they can trust what the company says about itself. Are messages that tell consumers what they want to hear, even if those messages are somewhat out of line with who the company really is, really going to help build consumer trust?

What can we learn from all this tomfoolery? Branding is now completely crowd-sourced. Any attempt to control the message is so last year. Get on board this cluetrain before it departs the station for good, as BP found out.

With the advent of social networks and Web authoring tools, companies and brands have found ways to circumvent the traditional media spend and instead engage in product placement, branded integrations, brand underwriting content, content syndication, and sponsored communities. Since we now experience more branded content rather than brand-sponsored content, what will the future look like? Two trends emerge.

Brand extensions may not only generate incremental revenue, they may actually enhance the value of the original brand. But willy-nilly extensions can also muddle a brand’s image.

BlackBerrys are still America's most popular smartphone, but they don't generate nearly the buzz that iPhones and Android do. Here are five ways RIM can get its mojo back.

Perhaps CMOs would get a better seat at the executive table if they stood up for doing the right thing when nobody was looking.

The "ambush" by 36 women wearing bright orange mini-dresses to advertise a brewery at a World Cup game between Denmark and Holland illustrates the potential and the pitfalls of guerrilla marketing.

A sonic style guide, which can establish a brand's sound the same way a visual style guide can establish its look, can be a key element in maintaining consistent branding across media.

The Social Overton Window is a means of identifying the range of acceptable ideas and media. Over time what was once unthinkable becomes standard practice, and the cycle continues which fuels even more social changes, good, bad and indifferent.

An interesting test comparing the wording of two guarantees indicates that while some marketing messages may need longer text, simple may be better when it comes to guarantees.

Employees are a brand’s first line of marketing, its original sales force that is consciously or unconsciously providing word of mouth advertising as an extension of their job, and social media can help rally them around their brand.

Brand presence on Facebook may not be completely measurable, but it also cannot be downplayed. Check out findings from a recent study by Publicis on how Facebook users are using the social networking site to learn about and recommend brands or products.

Data from Famecount shows that the top five brands on Facebook people "Like" are food and drink brands. But do the number of Facebook likes matter? Not always. Here's why.

Sixty-nine percent of companies in the U.K. said they regard social media "as the next big threat to protecting their brands online." But don’t worry, they won't be abandoning the Web altogether. Read on to learn more about a new study by London-based intellectual property firm Marks & Clerk.