I loathe the term content calendar. I get that it is an easy to sell format of content creation. I will even consent that it is a simple road map for beginners to follow. And I am well aware that large, successful businesses have the business model and long term plans to back up this strategy.

The problem I have with the concept is that for brands in development, this approach, more often than not, leads to content that does not create value for the brand or its audience. There are, after all, ads from “marketing pros” who promise you…

“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” Gabrielle Chanel

Chances are you’ve come across this quote in one form or another. There are many quotes attributed to Mademoiselle. Some are accurate, not all are. I’m willing to bet that this one likely is.

She was extraordinarily different. A rule breaker, an innovator. She solved unique problems in unique ways by embracing modernity and dramatically changed fashion for women in the process. In doing so, she founded one of the world’s most enduring and prolific brands.

Many startups come to me with the idea that their brand is…

Years ago, a very savvy businessman told me: “If you want to be successful, then you have to spend time with people doing better than you.”

At the time, I was an itty bitty seedling startup — and rather intimidated by this idea. Why would experts in the field I aspired to be part of want to spend time with me?

“What should I do,” my insecurities replied, “just call up the top expert in my field and see if they will talk to me?!”

“Yes!” was the answer.

“Yeah, OK,” was my reply.

Fast forward a few years when…

One weekend, while reading The Wall Street Journal, the front page of the business section caught my eye. The two lead stories, “Goldman Sachs’s Messy Move to Main Street” (Liz Hoffman and Peter Rudegeair) and “The Trouble with Torid Growth”, (Heather Somerville and Rolfe Winkler) (Weekend Edition, Exchange Section, B1, Saturday/Sunday September 28–29, 2019). Both are interesting examinations into why some of the world’s most popular brands were forced to go back and do their homework.

We Co., Juul, and Goldman Sachs’s Marcus all share the same issue: they are facing serious problems as a direct result of not taking…

By Susie Ippolito, Brand Strategist at Susie Ippolito Brands

There are changes brewing in social media land that aim to forever alter how we engage and (hopefully) how it affects us emotionally. Changes like the possible (and highly likely) elimination of public access to our beloved Instagram hearts and comment counts. And the pressing need to grow our skills in the ways we show our skills. Ultimately, these changes will lead to a need to increase the level of quality in our content.

So what, exactly, defines quality?

Is quality defined by the absolute best product, service, or social post I am capable of putting…

Baseball players get paid bajillions of dollars to play the sport, which is often hard to wrap our heads around because, in the eyes of the fans, a player’s value fluctuates from game to game. When our favorite player hits one out of the park and the crowd goes wild, the player is the darling of the day and he is considered worthy of the lofty price of admission to pay his salary. However, when he strikes out or makes an error, the player becomes less worthy of his enormous price tag.

Luckily, that’s not how baseball really works. It…

I had an interesting experience today when I brought a few pieces of antique jewelry to a lovely shop in Rochester, New York. These tiny treasures had been hidden in a shoebox only to glimpse the light of day when I passed them over in favor of another piece to wear.

One of the items is a small gold broach in the shape of a tied bow, dotted with pearls with center cluster of a mine cut diamond, ruby, and sapphire in the center. A charming piece, for sure but not something I would wear.

This tiny gem brought great…

Almost every person who comes to my office for brand strategy services cries. Sometimes it is a small welling up of tears out a relief that they can share their fears about their business with someone who can help them solve their problems.

More often than not, it is a big, half of a box of tissues cry. Because the fears around entrepreneurship are real and they go beyond concerns about making enough money. They go deep into our internal dialogue and they love to engage with our insecurities.

And we are grateful to these fears! Yes! Because without them…