For a lesson in brand integrity, customer service and entrepreneurial zest, I need only eat a meal from Chef Donna at Reangthai, a family-owned Thai restaurant here in Tallahassee, Florida.

Reangthai is one of those unassuming gems, a consistently delicious and warm restaurant tucked into a strip plaza off of a busy thoroughfare. It is easy to miss, yet for more than 15 years, diners have been filling the tiny culinary oasis. They come for the qualities that every business should strive to offer:

• Quality
• Consistency
• Personalized service
• Fair prices
• A happy staff

There are only a dozen or so tables inside Reangthai. There is only one chef: Donna. And that is plenty. Donna makes sure of it.

In between making her famous Red Snapper platter or building a spicy new dish around fresh, fat scallops, she comes into the dining room several times throughout the evening to greet her patrons – and more importantly, to make sure they are enjoying the food.

Is it spicy enough? Did you like the coconut ice cream? I put the curry inside the pineapple just to make it look special!

Somehow, she also finds time to cook a family-style Thai dinner every night for her wait staff (no wonder they are the most pleasant, polite young men and women serving food in Tallahassee!).

On a recent visit with friends, she stopped at our table for about 10 minutes to chat.  As always, she first made sure we liked the food. She clapped her hands at the coconut shell she stuffed with spicy scallops and fresh vegetables. She asked my guy if his “Thai hot” dish was hot enough, because by now she knows he really DOES want it as hot as possible. She lamented that her husband only ever eats the same two dishes, even though her repertoire runs deep.

This banter with Donna is part of the Reangthai experience, the brand. It is why I, and her many other loyal customers, prefer this place over an anonymous mega-chain restaurant.

That night, we talked about her annual trip there in late December. She leaves every year for two weeks, and during that time she closes Reangthai. That is a significant amount of lost revenue. I asked her: “Can’t you have someone take care of things here while you’re gone? Why do you have to close?”

Her answer stuck with me. She is so particular about the quality of the dishes she creates, she trusts no one but herself to do it. This is how fiercely protective Chef Donna is of the quality and consistency of her product. “I am the chef,” she told us. “If someone has a bad meal, they don’t come back. So I close the restaurant.”

Think about that: Rather than risk losing a customer who might have a mediocre plate of Pad Thai in her absence, she shutters the kitchen and gives herself a brief winter rest.  And for 15-plus years, her customers have been OK with that.

Businesses here and beyond should take the Reangthai lesson to heart.

As I approach nearly a decade of working in the automotive industry, I realized so much of what I’ve come to learn about the business world has been shaped by my unique perspective of America’s love affair with the automobile.

When I was 15 years old, I realized that it was time to put a plan in place to ensure I had a vehicle of my own upon receiving my driver’s license. Of course, the underlying driver of that plan was to earn some money, and quick!  I went (yes-went and not “online”) to the mall and applied for any available position I could put my eager little hands on. Soon, I found myself with a job at Burdines (which is now Macy’s) working as the (very) official dinnerware specialist. I couldn’t have been more excited, well, until the weight of the responsibility of being a full time student, part-time dinnerware guru and balancer of all things extra-curricular set in. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy my ”career” in dinnerware,  it was that I didn’t like to miss out on the evening and weekend hangouts with my friends. Yet still, I distinctly recall putting everything into focus when I would think about the car I would soon own. The car symbolized freedom and truly owning something of my own.   I can unequivocally say that I have never focused on one single purchase the way I did when I was 15.

When the time came to purchase my first car, I decided on a pre-owned 1989 Pontiac Sunfire. My favorite feature was the pop-up sunroof; it made the whole driving experience more fun and more free! I was so proud and excited to show the world what I’d worked so hard for. I was finally part of the “freedom club” and found I truly loved to drive.

It was just a few years (and a few cars later, the Pontiac didn’t hold up so well) that I was working at an automotive group in Tampa as a receptionist. It was then that I witnessed first-hand the kind of excitement a new car can create in everyone, not just the anxious teenager. Each day, I met people who were thrilled to be taking delivery of something new.  It was also then that I learned the fundamentals of brand loyalty. As a 19 year-old, I pulled up to work everyday in awe of all the different options (admittedly, I wanted a new car every week). The auto group carried nearly a dozen different makes and models yet I would notice that customers were often very committed to “their brand”. A new family would trade up from a Mazda car to a Mazda SUV or a long-time Nissan owner would choose a compact Nissan car for their teenager. These customers had come to trust their brand and that confidence guided their purchasing considerations time and time again. 

When it came time for me to attend Florida State University, I spoke with the leadership team at Tampa auto dealer to determine if they had any contacts in the Tallahassee area. That is when learned of the Proctor Dealerships, a family owned auto group since 1910. Upon interviewing at the Proctor GM store, I recall looking at the old black and white photos of all the different generations of the Proctors and their customers and thinking about the way the automobile has become such a staple in the American dream. There is such a tremendous amount of enthusiasm when people buy or even talk about buying their next car and I came to realize how much I wanted to be a part of this experience. Eventually, I became responsible for the marketing and communication efforts for the Proctor stores and came to enjoy customer events more than anything else. These events fostered conversation with customers, dealership employees and the owners about the “latest and greatest” in the industry. People are truly passionate about the cars they drive, the cars they want to drive and the cars they want people in their “circle” to drive. It’s tough to beat being part of a team that engages people with the automobile.

When I joined the Moore Consulting Group team, I was incredibly energized for the opportunity to work alongside one of the most prominent global automakers in the world. Everyday, our Ford team is charged with developing and implementing ways to engage media, car enthusiasts, dealers, influencers and consumers with the Ford brand. It is through these interactions that I have come to understand the magnitude and economic importance of the industry. Some of my most inspired career moments have been learning about the dealers who have built their career and in many cases, a legacy by selling and servicing Fords in their community. Take for example Wendall Crowe, second generation owner of Covington Ford. Next week I will be traveling to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony of Ford’s first LEED certified dealership (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design – LEED) in conjunction with the dealer’s 70th business anniversary.  As the original owner, Wendell W. Crowe was deeply connected to Ford in the company’s earliest days. Mr. Crowe was one of Henry Ford’s first working group members to bring Mercury to market and he worked at a Ford plant before purchasing his own dealership in 1941. Since his purchase of the Covington area’s first Ford dealership, he has since built a legacy for the second and third generation of the Crowe family.  Second generation owner Wendell D. Crowe made the decision to open a state-of-the-art green facility to ensure the Crowe family’s legacy with Ford continues with the third generation owners.  This is the kind of passion that drives the American automobile industry. 

In the film Art & Copy, it was noted that ones commitment to a brand is driven by the need to distinguish oneself. In essence, a brand connects you to something bigger. The brand is the symbol for the club or the badge of honor. Think about the Ford vs. Chevy bumper stickers you see around town or Mac vs. Microsoft ads.  When you combine the significance of this sense of belonging with the passion people feel about vehicles, it’s quite amazing to think about how endless the opportunities are for the industry. Automobiles set the foundation for freedom, create memories, and generate unparalleled excitement and it is so incredibly rewarding to be a part of the ride.

How do you merge two well-recognized businesses – each with a loyal following – under one umbrella, in a way that allows each business to keep shining but makes the new “brand” just as much of a household name?

Such was the conundrum facing Tallahassee chiropractor Dr. Cal Melton and his team when they recently came into Moore Consulting Group as part of MCG’s 10 in 2010 program that provides small businesses and local groups free marketing assistance. Dr. Cal, longtime owner of Downtown Chiropractic and Sports Development Center and Body Wisdom, plans to combine the popular and distinct businesses under the umbrella of Triumph Sports and Wellness.

It’s a move filled with potential, but also marketing risks. Dr. Cal doesn’t want to lose the customers loyal to what they know – Downtown Chiropractic and Body Wisdom. But he and his team also are eager to merge two success stories into one that can be even greater.

As the MCG team sat down over healthy sandwiches with Dr. Cal, his sister business manager Callie Griffin and others from their team, it became clear that they have a clear vision for Triumph Sports and Wellness. They just needed a solid brainstorming session to map it out, and to ensure that their vision for overall wellness and health is conveyed in a new Triumph website and branding materials.

By the end of our 2 ½-hour session, we had helped Dr. Cal and his team articulate their vision for a place where total wellness and preventative care are the guiding principles of how patients are served. In the weeks to come, we will work with them as they build a new website and marketing plan for Triumph that showcase the services offered to the existing customers and new ones to come.

Triumph is exactly the kind of business that makes a community like Tallahassee special, and I speak for the entire MCG team when I say that I truly look forward to helping get the word out!

Every two years I look forward to the Olympic games- winter or summer, it doesn’t really matter. It’s really interesting to look at how these Olympians are marketed before, during and after the games. You can find ski jumpers on the packaging of hot cocoa mixes, figure skaters on soup advertisements, they’re everywhere! Olympians, like so many other professional athletes, are a brand and a way to sell a product.

In contrast to the individual and more personal ads, you have what I like to call the one-man band approach. During the ski jump event I watched over the weekend, I couldn’t help but notice how the athletes’ suits are completely covered in ads: Sprint on the left knee, Honda on the forearm, Burger King on the helmet, Kraft across the back, GNC on the goggles’ strap… they’re practically playing the cymbals between their knees and blowing on a trumpet while ringing bells! Is all this clutter effective advertising? I’m not sure it is.

There may be some people out there who can absorb all that’s thrown at them at once- I’m not that guy. I much prefer an organized approach I can appreciate. I think that advertising dollars must be spent effectively in order to make the most of your budget. I understand that all eyes are on this one person and some may want to take advantage of this captive audience, but are people really looking at the cell phone company on their arm while the athlete is soaring down a mountain at amazingly high speeds? Personally, I’m thinking about what’s around the corner and whether or not they’re going to make a smooth landing after that double back flip!

 Without a doubt, advertising is crucial to a business. I just think you need to make sure your audience has time to absorb the message and that your “billboard” isn’t moving at 100 miles-per-hour.

This week I had the opportunity, with my colleague Audrey Stone, to brainstorm with some of the best and brightest in the communications industry at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.  This team, led by Ray Day, vice president of communications has accomplished some of the most brilliant work in the industry this past year—work that will be great case studies of how to transform a company facing some of the biggest business challenges in a tough economy.  As we recognized the great work of the past year and strategized on the opportunities ahead for 2010, I was so humbled by the experience we have to represent an American icon and all that it stands for. 

 It is also inspiring to watch and learn from Ray Day, who was featured by PRWeek as the top communicator of the year.  As the leader of the communications “dream team” (as Day calls the full communications team) covering grassroots and broadcast, print and social media, I am impressed with his vision to transform this organization and continue the momentum with the implementation of the One Ford plan.

I recently was on vacation in New Mexico and Colorado. I had never been to that part of the country, and the fact that some friends recently moved to that area was a big draw. The morning after arriving in Albuquerque, I was off to one of my biggest adventures to date…hot air ballooning.

After spending close to one hour helping the pilot and crew prepare the balloon, it was time to take off! Up we went so gently and quietly (with the exception of the occasional loud bursts from the VERY intense burner… seriously, I’d have been scared to try this if I was a few inches taller).

Albuquerque is, apparently, the hot air ballooning capital of the world. The way the mountains are located create ideal pockets of wind currents and because of them, these balloon pilots are able to take flight most days of the year. With hundreds of hot air balloons around and the eyes of all locals and tourists up to the skies, this adventure quickly became a lesson in regional public relations.

Our pilot with World Balloon, Craig, explained that many local companies choose to sponsor balloons and use them as community involvement and team building opportunities. The actual balloon part is used as a giant ad floating high above the city. With Albuquerque’s mid-size permanent population and a great number of tourists annually, this is an ideal option for getting your name out there and increasing your company’s name recognition!

As we descended back to earth and made a rather bumpy landing in a field behind a neighborhood, I was incredibly excited to have accomplished one more item on my bucket list. This amazing adventure also served as a reminder that while there are public relations efforts that can be used in any market, as professionals we can’t forget to tap into the local resources available to us and our clients. It’s this local perspective that most often gets the point across.

The Ford team at MCG just completed the Florida component of the Summer of Taurus 100 City Tour and I’m proud to announce it was a true success. The tour provided our team with the chance to debut two of the 2010 Ford Taurus models in eight different locations across the state, giving Floridians a sneak peak at the vehicle and one-on-one time with a Ford Executive from Dearborn, Michigan. While we secured exposure among the media, major opinion formers, and approximately 100,000 consumers, what made the entire experience worthwhile were the personal experiences of consumers that reiterated the impact event marketing can play in the promotion of a brand.

Case in point: During our stop in Jacksonville where we had the Taurus on display at a local wine bar, a married couple pulled up—in a Mercedes-Benz. They were instantly impressed by the Taurus, and couldn’t believe that it had all the technology that they’d come accustomed to experiencing only in luxury brands.

When we shared the starting price of the vehicle ($25,995 for the base SE trim level), they were even more impressed. In all probability, this couple would not have considered a Ford for their next purchase before that night–but because they had an experience with the new product and got to interact with an executive from Ford Motor Company, this couple will undoubtedly share their excitement with friends and family, and will hopefully consider Ford for their next vehicle purchase. 

At Sam Galloway Ford in Ft. Myers, the Taurus caught the eye of a customer who was at the dealership to look at another model. And despite the fact that the Taurus won’t ship until later this summer, Paul Gaspar was quoted in The News-Press as saying, “We are going to leave here with one of these somehow today.”

While our primary goal was to expose Floridians to the company’s new vehicle, we couldn’t have anticipated the immediate gravitation to the product. Everywhere we went throughout Florida, people showed incredible enthusiasm for what Ford and the new Taurus had to offer. Over and over again, we were struck by their eagerness to interact with the vehicle and the Ford team; from a communications standpoint, this opportunity to build relationships directly with consumers made an obvious positive impact.

And in case you were wondering, before he went home Mr. Gaspar pre-purchased the vehicle. He and his family will own one of the first 2010 Ford Taurus vehicles allocated to the state.

Product Background

The 2010 Ford Taurus has been named America’s smartest full-sized sedan as it will come equipped with over 20 different applications such as Ford SYNC , MyKey, and Travel Link navigation, among others. Further, the vehicle is priced very competitively and has a truly remarkable design. Already, the 2010 Taurus SHO has earned some powerful recognition from Esquire, naming it the 2009 Esquire Car of the Year.  Both the 2010 Taurus and 2010 Taurus SHO models are slated to hit showroom floors later this summer and the debut is highly anticipated by dealers and enthusiasts.

In today’s connected world, it seems everyone is making an effort to keep their life, opinions, and status updated in the social media world. Admittedly, some make the effort more than others but nevertheless, most recognize that this process is a way of life for many people.

More and more businesses are recognizing the importance social media in their integrated communications strategy–but I believe Ford Motor Company’s Fiesta Movement epitomizes a business maximizing these efforts.

The Fiesta Movement is Ford’s new campaign to promote the 2011 Fiesta coming to the United States. As part of the campaign, chosen “Agents” will test drive and live with a Fiesta for six months.  The Fiesta Movement Agents embody everything about the core social media community: they are technologically savvy, very social, and are enthusiastic to broadcast their life experiences through their various social media outlets. The agents span the entire United States and represent wide diversity in personalities and lifestyles.  Ford’s goal is that these agents will bring along potential consumers, through social media and in real life, on their “missions” each month as they create content about their experiences.

Ford really got it right with this campaign. The Ford Fiesta’s target market is the millennial, the age group born between 1979 and 1985. According to Ford, the millennial demographic will represent 70 million drivers by next year and social media is a major component of their daily lives. Ford recognizes that targeting the millennial demographic presents a great opportunity to make a lasting impression on a group that hasn’t yet established brand loyalty.

Ford’s decision to rely so heavily on social media to promote the Ford brand demonstrates that the influence of social media is greater than ever; it allows anybody to be the ambassador of any product or service they choose to support. I encourage you to think of techniques that will enable you to create relationships with digitally connected people and ways that you can be a digital ambassador for products and services that you believe in. These types of synergistic tactics can propel the social media component of your communications strategy to the next level. Ultimately, Fords commitment to social media tactics will lead to many millennials developing brand loyalty for the Ford brand. Stay tuned for updates on Ford’s progress with the Fiesta Movement!

As part of a social media initiative, check out Ford’s Social Media Links:

Fiesta Movement on Facebook

Fiesta Movement on Twitter

Ford Fiesta on Twitter

Fiesta Movement on YouTube

Fiesta Movement on Flickr

Regardless of how you voted, most communications professionals would agree President-elect Barack Obama’s communications strategy played an integral part to propel him to victory.  The communications strategy was built around the product of a charismatic, well-spoken individual with the message of “change.”  But even more important—which will be a case study for years to come— is the grassroots campaign from the ground up via social media.  The internet was used successfully for both fundraising efforts and volunteer field work. 

With consistent, clear and confident communications Obama campaign managers were brilliant in their grassroots approach and communications strategy, motivating their target audience to action.  One of the masterminds behind the strategy was Campaign Manager David Plouffe, providing the steady message and making regular appearances on YouTube.  There are many lessons to be learned from the communications strategy.  We saw the importance of the Web, SMS texting, Facebook and other social media forums in this campaign.  Interesting analysis will continue in the days ahead—check out this article on Bulldog Reporters’ Daily Dog with campaign lessons for the communications industry. 

The Obama presidential campaign has changed forever how candidates will interact and communicate with the people that help them make it into office—or in this instance all the way to the White House.  

If you ever have the opportunity to dine at one of Ted Turner’s restaurants, Ted’s Montana Grill, be sure to request the best seat in the house – at the bar on the end in front of the grill and food prep area. My wife and I have found that not only do you get seated much quicker, you get to meet some of most friendly and talented staff in the restaurant business.

Dining while seated at the bar in Ted’s Tallahassee location also afforded us the occassion to witness how constant communication and teamwork combined to turn out a great product, in this case great food. Working furiously in a small cramped area with the heat cranking from the grill, steamer, ovens and fryer, this talented team continuously multi-tasked through a variety of orders, each of which was handled in an quick orderly process. To those seated at tables, they just realized it did not take long to get good food served fresh and fast.

What we saw and enjoyed with our meal was an organized team that communicated in normal tones with all of their co-workers and that team members jumped in and helped one another without being asked and without gripping or complaining. We got to be eyewitnesses to working examples of good communication and true teamwork.

A quality product produced in short order through the right recipe of communication and teamwork…add the special touch of fresh strawberry shortcake and you’ve created satisfied customers.