Introducing....Petey P. Cup

OK, I am all for creative, and love it when a company is willing to get out there with something new and innovative, maybe even a little edgy. But edgy is a fine line, sometimes it is just off the cliff. Now, I can't quite decide which this is. Typically, the Medical industry is some of the most conservative groups you see, but HealthPartners have really decided to stick their neck out and follow some really lighthearted, fun creative, and for that I think they should be commended. Yes, Petey P. Cup is a little out there, but hey according to his Facebook friends list, he IS more popular that yours truly. Petey even has a friend, Pokey the syringe, check out their website at: http://www.peteyandpokey.com/ and a YouTube site at: http://www.youtube.com/user/peteypcup

So as I patiently await friend approval from a pee cup, check out this video of the mascot.

The anti-brand = DebrandedHome

 When you look around your home, how many different brands to you see? If you are like the typical American, every day you are faced with hundreds, perhaps thousands of different branding messages, many of them in your own home. Does it ever get overwhelming? Want to get away from it all....Calgon (oops) take me away.....or not. This site DebrandedHome does just that. A proponent of purchasing in bulk and then using smaller reusable bottles sans-branding for display in your home. You select your own bottles, and get the labels from them to help "reduce the visual pollution" in your home. While many of us are working hard to focus on branding, and that will never go away, I thought it was interesting to find someone out there whose brand is the anti-brand.

Check it out at: http://debrandedhome.com/ 

Online training resources

 In the hurried world of marketing and advertising, or if you are just working on your own design work, there never seems to be enough time to train on new and ever changing software out there. So how do you keep on top of things? Some of the things that I have found to be very helpful are online training videos. You can watch and rewatch and one of the best that I have come across is Lynda.com.

I had the pleasure a few years back to visit the Lynda travelling road show as they stopped in Minneapolis, and Lynda W. was amazing. Her explanation and techniques were solid and came from someone who you could tell actually used the programs. Today, she has a number of talented trainers doing videos for her on the site. For the cost of even the most inexpensive seminar, this library is one you will access over and over again.

You will find a number of free training videos on the site, so if you aren't ready to sign up, there are a lot of great tips that you can find just in these alone. 

Check it out at Lynda.com 

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