I like Jones Soda. I’ve had a couple flavors and don’t even drink it that often, but I know they’ve never done anything by the book, and that is why I like them!

If you’ve been in a conversation with Shahar I’m sure you’ve heard her spiel about Pepsi competing with Coke and spending a bunch of money but even then never becoming the number one in the cola department, but that smart companies create their own niche and become the un-cola and so forth… well, Peter van Stolk did just that!

He basically built a cult and he did it well, in part by positioning Jones as the anti-Coke. Its offerings have included flavors such as Jelly Donut, Egg Nog, and Bug Juice, sold in bottles labeled with customer-submitted photos. The company does no traditional advertising. Instead, its two RVs ramble from town to town nationwide, stocked with sodas that are distributed free to teens in malls and schoolyards.

I must say that their strategies have changed since the start of the company, obviously (what successful company stuck to their original plan until the end?!) Granted they’ve had a few misses, but they have such an engaging approach that it’s worth pointing out…

1. anti-Coke.
2. Super weird, but original flavors.
3. Customer-submitted photos (phenomenal strategy!)
4. No advertising.

Care to read an interesting article about them? Go here.

For some odd reason I’m fascinated by the way people are. How they do things, why they do what they do, how they react, how they behave and so on. What also intrigues me are the many different ways people find to do the same things, through out the different generations.

That sounds a little confusing but essentially what I’m trying to get to is this: I read an article on ars technica about a study between Gen X moms and Gen Y moms. They were studying how both types of moms used the Internet and found out that while they both go online to accomplish tasks related to parenting, the way they interact with others differs depending on when they first logged on to the Internet. Put simply, Gen Y moms tend to be more “Web 2.0″ than their Gen X counterparts.

They’re both using the Internet as a tool, and they’re both looking to be better parents, but they do it so differently from one another.

Bonnier’s Parenting Group surveyed 847 mothers who visited Parenting.com to collect data. The company found that Gen X-ers, those who were born in the late 60s and during the 70s, tend to use the Internet to accomplish certain tasks rather than interact with others. This includes looking at photos, reading product ratings, and buying products online. On the flip side, Gen Y-ers, those who were (generally) born in the 80s and 90s, tend to be more social online. They are more likely to interact with other people through the use of blogs, social networks, and video-/photo-sharing sites.

See the importance of understanding who you’re really targeting? Your message needs to hit them at the core, and not having your audience well defined, not knowing what they do and how they do it, might just be the difference between your success and your failure.

I’m a movie fan, and I especially get a kick out of animations. You also know that I like to study Disney, therefore anything that Pixar releases I’m all over it! Disney and Pixar have found a way to make it work, so yes, I study them intensely!

Bill Taylor wrote a very interesting article about Pixar’s Blockbuster Secrets, here’s a snippet:

Pixar doesn’t just make films that perform better than standard fare. It also makes its films differently — and, in the process, defies many familiar, and dysfunctional, industry conventions. Pixar has become the envy of Hollywood because it never went Hollywood.

More than a few business pundits have drawn parallels between the flat, decentralized “corporation of the future” and the ad-hoc collection of actors, producers and technicians that come together around a film and disband once it is finished. In the Hollywood model, highly talented people agree to terms, do their jobs, and move on to the next project. The model allows for maximum flexibility, to be sure, but it inspires minimum loyalty and endless jockeying for advantage.

Turn that model on its head and you get the Pixar version: a tightknit company of long-term collaborators who stick together, learn from one another, and strive to improve with every production. Andrew Stanton, who directed Wall-E, was a key figure behind Finding Nemo, which won two Oscars, generated worldwide box-office of $840 million, and became the best-selling DVD of all time. But Stanton didn’t follow the success of Nemo by offering himself to the highest bidder or demanding perks and special treatment. He went back to his job as an employee of the studio, to pitch in on other films and eventually begin work on his next major project.

And Stanton is merely one of many superbly talented writers and directors who have staked their reputations on their work at Pixar. Again, in contrast to convention, these professionals have traded one-time contracts for long-term affiliation and contribute across the studio, rather than to just their pet projects.

Like Bill Taylor asked, how are you changing the game in your field? What is your distinctive take on how your industry operates? Do you work as distinctively as you compete?

You’ve heard quite a few of those stories and I’m sure my sharing one more might get a little “old” but I can’t help it, don’t worry though, this won’t be another one of those “create an experience like Starbucks” stories!

A little while ago Douglas Albertson wrote a great article about Nordstrom and the Importance of Storytelling in Branding, and I’d like you to read it.

Here’s a snippet of what you’ll gain from it…

“Do you have a similar story to tell about your brand? Do you have stories that are as impressive as the one above? Would your employees even go to such lengths to serve your customers?

Nordstrom has never told this story publicly and they do not encourage their employees to do so. They figure if the stories are good enough, word-of-mouth will take them to the marketplace and the stories will carry even more credibility than if Nordstrom is caught tooting their own horn.

Such is the case with the famous Nordstrom “tire chains” story. A man walked into the main Nordstrom store with a set of used tire chains and insisted that he had purchased them there. Nordstrom sells clothing and the like. Without hesitation, the clerk refunded his money, even though the receipt clearly indicated another store. She paid him out of her own pocket. Then, on her lunch hour, she went to the store where the chains had been purchased and got her money back. Brilliant.

If you don’t have stories like this to tell, your brand may be in trouble. If your customers aren’t telling positive stories about you, they may be telling negative stories about you. In short, if there’s no word-of-mouth buzz about your brand, your customer service probably stinks. “Adequate” ain’t good enough anymore. A brand isn’t something that’s “nice to have if you can afford it” as some people have said. It’s an essential ingredient to your business plan.

If you don’t think storytelling is an important part of branding, count how many times you tell (or are tempted to tell) the Nordstrom story to co-workers, friends, peers, business acquaintances or people at conferences. “

Sometimes it’s hard to focus isn’t it? I often times see people acting like my cute dog Apple. For instance, I throw her the ball and with all the excitement in the world she goes after it, fast as a cheetah and hopping like a gazelle in the savannah! She picks it up and eagerly heads back to me for all of two seconds when she spots an imaginary speckle of dirt on the ground and starts sniffing away and forgetting all together about her mission of bringing me back the ball. People do that too you see; they’re eager in the beginning but they get distracted along the way because they don’t see immediate gratification.

I see that all the time! They’re determined in their new venture, they give it all they’ve got only to let go of it before it can payoff. Kind of like a rocket… they power it up for what seems to be an eternity, make sure everything is working properly, the flames start coming out of the nozzle, the ground around them trembles, it’s going to take off, oh yes it’s now, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6… but it never makes it.

So sad.

Most first-time business owners think business is like riding a bike downhill… oh so fun!! They don’t realize though, that they need to ride it back up.

Don’t know what’s up with the analogies today! Business is like a Rubik’s Cube… you know what it’s supposed to look like in the end, but getting the colors to line up is a hell of a challenge! However, it’s extremely gratifying and the thrill of doing it is unquestionably good. Kind of like that tasty treat Apple gets when she finally brings me the ball!