Check out David’s latest blog post on MINDdrift:

“What would you do if the plane you were on crashed into the snow-covered Andes, you survived the crash with an injury, but then you had to figure out how to survive a night in horribly cold and treacherous conditions? Imagine what that would be like–not having food, enough clothing, perhaps even injured, and never having seen or felt cold snow before.

Now imagine having to face those conditions for 72 days.”

Read the rest of “Nando Parrado Talks Survival and Success“

You’re an entrepreneur or small business owner kicking the tires every day in an effort to build your company’s reputation. You are already involved in marketing, sales, billing, human resources, and customer support.

With all those responsibilities to juggle, you’ve got to be looking for cost-effective tools that make your life easier. How can you build a blockbuster brand that will enhance your reputation and get your customers talking?

Here are 3 tips and some resources to help you get going:

While most people are familiar with the popular “800″ prefix, not everyone knows that there are actually several prefixes that are considered toll free “800 numbers”.

To make it a little more clear, we have answered a few of the most common questions in regards to toll free numbers:

Sonja Jacob, the Founder and Chief Cultivator at The Cultivated Word LLC, and the creator of the Grasshopper “Entrepreneurs Can Change the World” video, gives us some insight into the video and re-branding strategy.

Just because you make an online video doesn’t mean anyone’s going to watch it. And it certainly won’t go viral just because you call it a “viral video.”

That’s because a video isn’t a marketing strategy in and of itself.

In May 2009, the video that I wrote and produced for the Grasshopper 5000 campaign, “Entrepreneurs Can Change the World,” generated lots of buzz. It was an inspiring video and touched a lot of people, but was the success of the campaign—and the company’s re-branding effort—due to the video alone? Quite frankly, no.

As of today, “Entrepreneurs Can Change the World,” has garnered over 250,000 views on YouTube. Despite the authenticity of the message, the campaign’s success wasn’t due solely to the video.

So GMAC decides to rebrand and move away from its association with General Motors and create a simple, straightforward online bank similar to ING Direct.

Great.

Their ad agency, BBH, creates hilarious commercials that couldn’t be more on point.

Perfect.

They name the new brand “Ally”, choose purple as the primary color, and go all minimalistic on us.

Wait, what?

Does GMAC not realize that their new brand identity is better suited for a diet pill or cleaning products targeted at women? That their minimilistic magazine ad designs miss very important concepts needed for an online bank called “trust” and “security”?