Lesson #4: Give Your Business a Little Brand Aid
Lesson #4: Give Your Business a Little Brand Aid
The company’s goofy but memorable name is one of its strongest advantages over its competitors, whose names get lost by the wayside. “It is a place for adventures,” says Filo. “A place to discover things.” And, its name perfectly conveys those sentiments.
Yahoo! was one of the first Internet companies to extend its name into a brand, something which Filo and Yang made a conscious decision to do. First, they chose to stay away from some of the more well-known high-tech advertising agencies. Instead, they went with a smaller company who understood Yahoo!’s needs to grow past its reputation as an Internet search company.
The ad agency created a series of television commercials called “Gone Fishing,” whereby an old fisherman would dip into Yahoo! for fishing tips and come up with one huge fish after another. The ad accurately conveyed the idea behind Yahoo! as a search company, but it stayed away from anything too techie. Yahoo! was on its way from being an Internet company to a comprehensive new-media company with a broad appeal.
The “Gone Fishing” television ads had drained Yahoo!’s budget, but the company’s momentum was rising. Soon, they were followed with posters on construction sites, promotions at major concerts, and even partnerships with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Yang and Filo were putting their logo everywhere they could think of. Yahoo!’s strategy was working. By 1998, its earnings were $203.3 million, up from $70.5 million the year before.
But Yang and Filo were not only proving their adeptness in selling themselves. They were also demonstrating their skills when it came to bringing on board other companies to advertise on Yahoo! Most of that $203.3 million revenue was coming from short-term contract banner advertisements. The company soon branched out into sponsorships, contracts that lasted between three months to two years. E-commerce also made up roughly 25 percent of the company’s revenues.
“Advertising on the internet is still very much in the beginning stages,” says Yang. “I think there are a lot of things happening that are making it better for both advertisers and consumers.” One of those things was that technology was improving, allowing for ads that were more visually appealing and relevant to users.
“Our purpose/goal is the same, to keep the internet free to the users and make the business part work by finding sponsors and advertisers who want to reach our audience,” says Yang. “I think it is one of the keys to keep improving the usefulness of the web and make sure that as many people as possible can use it and derive value from it.”
Lesson 4 Give Your Business a Little Brand Aid
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“Originally, it was Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web, but we settled on Yahoo!,” says Yang. “It is a pretty recognizable brand name.” Despite Filo’s admission that he was “not crazy about the name at first,” he now concedes that they made the right choice. “It grew on me,” says Filo, who is now grateful they selected a name that is “so memorable and that conveys the sense of fun involved in all this, the sense of adventure. This is what really distinguishes our site.”
The company’s goofy but memorable name is one of its strongest advantages over its competitors, whose names get lost by the wayside. “It is a place for adventures,” says Filo. “A place to discover things.” And, its name perfectly conveys those sentiments.
Yahoo! was one of the first Internet companies to extend its name into a brand, something which Filo and Yang made a conscious decision to do. First, they chose to stay away from some of the more well-known high-tech advertising agencies. Instead, they went with a smaller company who understood Yahoo!’s needs to grow past its reputation as an Internet search company.
The ad agency created a series of television commercials called “Gone Fishing,” whereby an old fisherman would dip into Yahoo! for fishing tips and come up with one huge fish after another. The ad accurately conveyed the idea behind Yahoo! as a search company, but it stayed away from anything too techie. Yahoo! was on its way from being an Internet company to a comprehensive new-media company with a broad appeal.
The “Gone Fishing” television ads had drained Yahoo!’s budget, but the company’s momentum was rising. Soon, they were followed with posters on construction sites, promotions at major concerts, and even partnerships with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Yang and Filo were putting their logo everywhere they could think of. Yahoo!’s strategy was working. By 1998, its earnings were $203.3 million, up from $70.5 million the year before.
But Yang and Filo were not only proving their adeptness in selling themselves. They were also demonstrating their skills when it came to bringing on board other companies to advertise on Yahoo! Most of that $203.3 million revenue was coming from short-term contract banner advertisements. The company soon branched out into sponsorships, contracts that lasted between three months to two years. E-commerce also made up roughly 25 percent of the company’s revenues.
“Advertising on the internet is still very much in the beginning stages,” says Yang. “I think there are a lot of things happening that are making it better for both advertisers and consumers.” One of those things was that technology was improving, allowing for ads that were more visually appealing and relevant to users.
“Our purpose/goal is the same, to keep the internet free to the users and make the business part work by finding sponsors and advertisers who want to reach our audience,” says Yang. “I think it is one of the keys to keep improving the usefulness of the web and make sure that as many people as possible can use it and derive value from it.”
Lesson 4 Give Your Business a Little Brand Aid
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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