Most of the comments we receive on The UPS Store franchise opportunity are negative.  Some are from disgruntled franchisees who regret their decision and/or contend that the business model is flawed;  others are commenting on the status of one of the many lawsuits launched against the franchisor and its parent..

Social media has been refreshing to me. You may not guess this, but I have historically been quite shy. What I love about social media and social networking is that I can express myself, from behind the screen. The screen allows me to feel private in a public way!
Many times in our lives we try and conform. In fact we are urged to conform through uniforms, through rules and regulations etc

–Stories Ripped-Off From The Day’s Headlines – Automakers To Lose Stars In New Crash Tests Kanye West, Entire Cast of ‘Entourage’ Lead In Poll By Voters To Elect New Crash Test Dummies “Yo, I’mma let you finish running into that wall — but the Hindenburg was the best crash of all time…” Blockbuster To Close 960 Stores Move Means You’ll Now Have to Drive Two States Over To Return ‘Clerks’ DVD You’ve Had For Over a Year Satan-Worshiping Teen Sets Fire In Church Patrick Swayze Doing Lousy Job As Heaven’s Bouncer

Giveaways are a wonderful part of social media and as brands turn to them more, then you can really pick up some bargains, but how do you find the giveaways? Well I came across Freezly. Freezly answers the question “What’s free on the Internet?” Freezly aggregates giveaways found on Twitter so that you, the Internet user, can simply pick and try to win whatever giveaways

What makes you happy? What makes you REALLY happy? So happy, that you’ll jump for joy? Your company? Your job? Your team? Your friends? Your family? Today, focus on what’s making YOU jump for joy! If it’s a person…let them know. Write a thank you note, make a phone call, or bake them some cookies.

Ellen Degeneres has been tapped to be the new fourth judge on American Idol. The choice of the talk show host and comedienne is a brilliant move by the producers.  Ellen brings humor, a warm humanity and a fan’s perspective to the already popular show which, at times, can feel overly contrived and too full of itself.  Sure, we’ll all miss Paula Abdul’s nonsensical ramblings, but in return we’ll get a stronger foil to stand up to Simon Cowell and a

In recent new from their Global news room, Sony Ericsson announced that they would be realigning their brand strategy to fuse entertainment and communication for their customers. They plan on doing this by adopting a new brand message, “make.believe” in collaboration efforts with the Sony Group.

Earlier this week, FOMC minutes were released, sharing what went on during the last Federal Reserve interest rate policy meeting. The minutes reveal that the members of the Fed are fairly certain that the economy is starting its recovery. Some of the issues being cited as reasonably positive include: Housing market (home sales are rising, and prices are starting to recover in some markets) Motor vehicles (but that may be tempered now that Cash for Clunkers is over)

…uh, martini as it turns out. You’ll see the O-face pictured below on the Bravo and E! networks over the coming weeks as Three-O vodka ramps up its media spending on television after a successful print campaign and an attention-grabbing What’s Your O-Face? contest.

In this economy, small to major business are mergering to survive. When they merge, one of the things that is affected are the brands of each business. When they are merged, different decisions have to be made in order to make the merger successful.  Below are a few questions that need to be answered when merging brands.  How will the color schemes for each business merge together?  What are the key components that should be included from each logo?  How will the brand management strategies for each business work together?  What type of brand strategy is currently in place?