We asked our team what their favorite brand is and here is what they said:

Tyson Misleh: For this week’s blog, I was asked the following: “What’s your favorite brand, and why?”   With all the stuff that I love, all the toys I have and all the activities that compete for my time – there’s no shortage of possible answers.   That’s the problem, this seemingly simple question isn’t so simple to answer.

I considered Quicksilver, Taylor Made, Apple and the travel brand Virginia is for Lovers.  Each of these brands holds a very special place in my life – but as I think about it more, I don’t know if I can name any of them as my favorite.  As I consider it now, I have to go with Dos Equis as my favorite brand (for the moment anyhow).  It’s not because of the product, or even because it’s my beer of choice (it’s not by the way).  I’m picking them because the Most Interesting Man in the World campaign is such a perfect fit for the product, and such an un-intrusive piece of advertising.  Whether it’s the TV Spots, the radio spots or even the digital ads – I will truly stop what I’m doing to engage with them.  They’re so well written that I honestly look forward to being exposed to new spots.  To me, that’s the holy grail for advertisers asking for and receiving interaction.

Richard Morrow: Many of the top brands utilize branding management techniques that are developed from the company’s founders, CEO’s or management teams, In-N-Out Burger is a company that has been recognized for its dynamic and compelling brand that has led to an almost cult following. Not only has In-N-Out succeeded in creating an amazing brand, but they have been able to align internal and external values according to the vision established by Harry Snyder over fifty years ago. The company has been able to maintain the brand through different eras, changes in management, and tragedies. Go to any of their locations during peak eating hours and there is always a line. Talk to anyone who has moved from West to East and they will tell you how they miss an In-N-Out burger.

I guess the funniest part about me enjoying the In-N-Out brand is that I don’t even eat red meat. Go figure…

Blair Kohn: I am truly one of those people that has a deep affinity and love of brands. As a preschooler, I remember getting upset when my mom tried to fool me with generic cereals. Now, you may think this makes me sound like a brat. However, I like to think of it as early development of my eye for packaging and design. I am extremely particular about my purchases, from fashion to food. It was my love and intrigue in branding that brought me into this industry and to pick a favorite brand would be like cheating on all of the others.

Jet Ames: Coined as the “Apple fan-boy” on numerous occasions, it’s a safe bet to assume that Apple is in fact my favorite brand. It’s the only brand in the world that I truly connect with. It’s not just the products that make this brand so amazing. In my opinion, they are the only brand that humanizes their technology. Apple does not simply sell computers and MP3 players, they create products to make your life easier through developing a lifestyle around their brand. I love Apple, and I hope that I can apply their genius to my own clients. No other brand out there can even come close to tell that story.

8 Bold Resolutions For Marketers | CMO.com http://shar.es/oSHXS .

Best Buy Christmas Commercial

Crazy Target Lady

Christmas by Heineken – Let It Snow

Hilarious Christmas Beer Commercial

Happy Holidays!

Cindy White:
Whether working with an existing brand or launching a new brand or product, we work to establish a brand’s unique essence and then bring it to life by creating an image, personality and voice that represents that unique essence. It becomes a living entity that grows and matures, and eventually occupies a clear mental symbol of how people view and perceive the brand.

A brand with life is expressive, engaging and interactive at every touch point of communication and expression, from its’ corporate vision and internal culture, to its’ marketing and voice in its’ social space. I truly enjoy the collaborative process of discovery and unearthing a new brand and then watching it come to life with real adoption and excitement within an organization as if they were bringing a new child into the world!

Keith White:
We give brands life has always meant to me that our belief about creating a brand has to go well past marketing. I believe that our system of creating a social outreach program and having the brands that work with PW consider giving back is what gives a brand life. Giving on an individual and corporate level says the brand is bigger than it’s product or service and has chosen to take on a life of it’s own.

People connect on a deeper level with a brand that has a persona and is doing it’s part in giving back in a way greater than just  donating money.

Blair Kohn:
While seemingly intangible, brands are one of most influential driving forces in all of our daily purchase decisions. Since childhood, advertisers and marketers have personified brands to attract our attention in characters like Tony the Tiger and Ronald McDonald. Giving brands life requires a strong and compelling messaging platform and a detailed narrative and description of precisely how we want to position a brand in the minds of consumers. When all of our efforts align, the outcome is a tangible product created from intangible concepts.

Jet Ames:
“We Give Brands Life” is our manifesto. We publicly declare to enrich your brand with multiple touch points. Whether you need creative to beautify your brand, strategy to dominate your industry, or simply a voice to personalize your social space. We research, we act, and we create to humanize your brand to stand out from the “everyday.”

Our goal is to look beyond the sales, and breath life into your brand.

Richard Morrow:
Brands are ideas that are developed to become entities in the hearts and minds of consumers. The goal of every brand is to evoke a response, but a good brand’s goal is to evoke emotion. So, to me, a brand has been given life at the point that you are able to trigger a response from the consumer. Whether that response is good or bad, your brand now has life.

Tyson Misleh:
What do Mickey Mouse, The Kool-Aid Man, The Most Interesting Man In The World, I Love New York and Mr. Peanut all have in common?  They’re icons.  While each were originally created to help “sell” a product, service or experience in some way, shape or form, each has out grown their intended role and gained a place in our collective culture.  They’ve each been given life.  That’s what “We Give Brand’s Life” means to me.  As advertising professionals, we strive to connect consumers with the products, services and experiences that really matter to them.  When we do, those brands transcend their medium and jump off the page – they interact with us in our everyday lives.  In essence, they are alive.

1. Customer Experience Management Is A Necessity!

Customer experience management is growing in leaps and bounds—a tool that marketers should be using to gain advantages for their companies and their customers. In fact, CEM is increasingly vital in a digital world in which company reputations and customer loyalty can be gained or lost in an instant.

2.Strategy Is King
Focus on the right strategy, and you’ll develop a winning marketing formula. The clear strategies get real business results—regardless of the tactics they employ at any given moment. Plan on thrilling customers and prospects by showing how your product or services will help them achieve their goals. Unlock what thrills your customers, and your tactics will be much more effective.

3. Integrate Or Die
Once you’ve nailed the strategy, it’s time to integrate, integrate, integrate. Use all your marketing platforms and expressions to explain how you’ll solve your customers and prospects problems, but don’t stop there. Solve their problems via your website, and outbound marketing, use every possible customer touch point, and your customers and prospects will love you and become brand loyal.

4. Make Your Offline-Online Seamless
You need to understand that each customer’s day is an experience through the online and offline worlds. Customers no longer have simply offline or simply online experiences; they have integrated brand experiences. Remember that offline-online integration requires consistency.

5. Multiplatform Marketing Is Not A Choice
Do not let the future of marketing, pass you by, start getting your strategic, integrated, multiplatform marketing plans in shape. The digital marketing ecosystem is changing fast, and the insightful marketer’s who adopt these new marketing disciplines will be successful in 2012.