Tag Archives: Branding

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson Proclaims July 2025 as ‘Made in the USA’ Month

Today, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson issued the following statement proclaiming July 2025 as “Made in the USA” Month:

“In honor of our nation’s independence, the Federal Trade Commission has designated July as ‘Made in the USA’ month. As Chairman of the FTC, I am responsible for enforcing laws that prohibit companies from making false or unsubstantiated claims that a product is ‘Made in the USA.’ It is important to protect Americans from deceptive advertising, and also important because it provides consumers with confidence that when they buy something that says ‘Made in the USA’ they are actually supporting American workers, American manufacturers, and American communities.”

See More [Made in the USA Today News]

America’s Favorite Gas Stations, Ranked

From average gas bills to how many minutes they’d go out of the way to fill up at a particular gas station, here are America’s favorite, and least favorite, places to fill up the tank.

America's Favorite and Hated Gas Stations

Payless Power surveyed 1,011 Americans about their gas station preferences, asking them about brand loyalty and how much they usually spend when filling up the tank. Ten percent of the survey respondents were Baby Boomers, 22 percent were Gen X, 43 percent were Millennials and 25 percent were Gen Z. Just over half (57 percent) were men.

Overall Costco was rated the best gas station, while Valero was rated the worst. Costco was ranked cleaner and cheaper than others, while Valero was ranked as one of the meanest stations.

On average, people who stopped at a Circle K, Speedway, Shell, Love’s or Wawa gas station spent more than $50 on each visit, whereas Costco and 7-Eleven had the cheapest bills.

Average Spend at Each Gas Station Visit

See More [Digg]

Business Idea? 4 Tips to Make it Successful

Build Your Brand – 1 min.

The first work day of 2023 is today for most and many are setting goals for the year.

Start strong! Your goals and ideas will always work better when you collaborate with top performers. Think about all of your past successes. Did you do it alone? Probably not. Build your brand! Here are tips to help you do that: Design, Content, Marketing Strategy, Reliable Team

See More [R. Michael Brown Tips]

Design of Everyday Things

DesignOfEverydayThingsOne of my favorite books: The Design of Everyday Things, Revised and Expanded Edition  By Don Norman [@jnd1er] – jnd.org

From the Preface: “This is a starter kit for good design. It is intended to be enjoyable and informative for everyone: everyday people, technical people, designers, and non-designers. One goal is to turn everyone into great observers of the absurd, of the poor design that gives rise to so many of the problems of modern life, especially of modern technology. It will also turn everyone into observers of the good, of the places where thoughtful designers have worked to make our lives easier and smoother. Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible, serving us without drawing attention to itself. Bad design, on the other hand, screams out its inadequacies, making itself very noticeable.”

See More (jnd.org)
https://www.jnd.org/books/design-of-everyday-things-revised.html

My Take From Brownie Bytes

I’ve used these principles for every product, marketing, website, and content I’ve ever worked on – since the first edition of this book. You would be wise to do the same.

Cool London Hotel Identity Campaign [videos]

AssemblyThe energetic identity for London-based hotel brand Assembly invites visitors to get up and go explore the city.

The affordable hotel category isn’t giving travelers what they want. Airbnb has raised the bar by offering genuine, relevant experiences, but, bland, cookie-cutter budget hotels have so far failed to respond. Assembly is looking to change that with a brand that removes the pointless extras, in favor of what really matters to its audience.

@Ragged_Edge @MaxOttignon @CommArts

See More (Communication Arts)

My Take From Brownie Bytes

Max Ottignon and his team at Ragged Edge faced the branding of this affordable urban hotel head on. Folks don’t go to central London to hang out in a hotel room. So they invite guests to get out!  Great concept.