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Chances are the cell phone that's burning a hole in your pocket at this very moment is a smartphone. If that's the case, you're one of the growing number of people worldwide who own a Blackberry, iPhone, HTC or Droid.

A strong brand is important if you're selling products or services. It's even more important if you're selling a mission. Every non-profit has a brand. It's the emotional connection you have with your audience. It's your story and how you tell it.

Have you heard of Google Caffeine? We're not talking about a brand new premium coffee product that will power super geeks for hours at a time. No, Google Caffeine is the new search index that was launched by Google at the beginning of June.

Take a minute and think about all the different ways your brand interacts with your customers, prospects, suppliers and employees. Then, ask yourself, "Am I in control of these interactions?"

The best brands are simple. Simple to articulate. Simple to understand. Simple brand ideas result in powerful and memorable branding that people immediately connect with. Those ideas have to make it clear that the brand is different and relevant to their

You may not like what you're about to hear, but in just a few months our airwaves will once again be filled with countless political ads full of promises, finger pointing and baby holding.

We're feeling a little uninspired by the invariable New Year's resolutions that are popping up these days. Lose weight. Quit smoking. Drink less. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

In honor of Halloween, we've assembled some of the most spine-chilling, hair-raising, blood-curdling marketing tactics we've come across. Bottom line? This kind of marketing is scary. Scary, because of the damage this can do to a companies' brand.

We live in a buzz culture, where the best kind of exposure often comes from word of mouth. Word of mouth is the type of publicity that will fire up your sales and ignite brand recognition.

A solid brand can be the difference between business success and failure - especially in this economy. A strong brand helps you stand out from your competitors, adds value to your product or services, and helps you connect with your consumers.

The traditional marketing and branding model is changing. The standard model was a "one-to-many" proposition, where you try to get your message to as many people as possible.

There's been a powerful shift in control over the past eight years or so. Marketers used to be in control. They would shape advertising campaigns to influence how consumers viewed their products or services.