Writings from Force 5 Basecamp

08/08/23

Did you hear about Apple’s headquarters that runs on 100% renewable energy? Did you know about Ben and Jerry’s efforts to improve the treatment of dairy cows and their focus on ethically sourced ingredients, or their campaign to get young people to register to vote? Are you aware of Nike’s “People, Planet, Play” initiatives that focus on diversity and inclusion,

03/23/22

by Deb DeFreeuw, President & Certified Brand Strategist You may have heard us say “WHO are you, WHAT do you do, and WHY does it matter” when talking about brand? The “WHY” refers to your BRAND SOUL. What exactly is “Brand Soul”? It is what drives your organization, what makes you unique. We helped develop a brand for a manufacturer

02/23/22

by Jim Ragosta, Director of Digital Strategy & Sales YouTube remains the #1 social media platform, and the #2 most visited website domain in the United States, only behind its parent company, Google. (SEMRush) If you want to build your brand, it’s a safe bet that you should be on YouTube, whether that’s with a paid advertisement, or creating content

02/03/22

by Deb DeFreeuw, President and Certified Brand Strategist We know that sustainability and eco-friendly are big buzzwords in our culture, and companies like Patagonia are champions of a circular economy. But what does this mean for the average business, who may or may not be directly connected to a market where sustainability is encouraged? You may know it’s the right

01/27/22

by Jim Ragosta, Director of Digital Strategy & Sales 2022 is going to be the year of your brand.  Times are changing, as are consumers like you and me. How we buy products, gather information, entertain, communicate, etc. all revolve around one thing, your brand. That’s all well and fine, but what do you need to do to make your

05/12/21

By Deb DeFreeuw, President, Force 5 Recently I happened to shop at two different Martin’s Supermarkets in our area and each provided very different experiences. The different experience at each brought to light the importance of brand enculturation. Brand enculturation is making sure that the people on the team understand, believe and live the brand promise. Understanding the promise to

12/30/20

2020, well, what hasn’t been said – a year we didn’t see coming, a year we can’t wait to put in the rearview mirror. Needless to say the pandemic will have a lasting impact on many aspects of our lives and in the year ahead, marketers will need to be especially conscious to approach their messaging with empathy. That empathy begins

02/25/20

McDonald’s recently launched an outdoor marketing campaign which they call “Iconic Stacks”. Each design is a minimalist, typographic representation of one of their classic sandwiches. At face value, it’s a clever and fun way to ask people to pause for a moment and think about their sandwiches. But it’s just type. There are no photos with perfectly poised drips of

11/19/19

Recently my partner, David, and I were fortunate to have the opportunity to go to New Orleans to help launch the brand we developed recently for one of our clients, Centennial Mortgage. As a Certified Brand Strategists through the Brand Establishment, we subscribe to a specific methodology of developing brand for an organization. This is a proven and efficient process,

11/02/15

In a recent Facebook post, colleague Marty Heirty took us back in time to remember or learn about the famous confrontation between Muhammad (formerly known at Cassius Clay) Ali and George (before the grill) Foreman. When a young, strong, well-trained, highly-conditioned Cassius Clay took “the ring,” his strategy was encapsulated in his signature phrase, “float like a butterfly; sting like a bee.”

10/29/15

Do you need a new website?  I surveyed the team here at Force 5, asking them each for 2 or 3 signs that someone might need to update their web presence. Some of their responses are based on functionality, some on user experience, and some on overall look-and-feel, but here are their answers: Christian Mattix Web Application Developer & Network

03/03/15

March 3 marks the day that President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official national anthem of the United States, but that might not have happened if Francis Scott Key hadn’t practiced certain social media marketing principles that helped increase the song’s popularity. Francis Scott Key’s Social Media Tips… Find a way to be an ongoing