We recently had our niece move in with us to attend college in Toronto. Coming from small town Ontario, she seems more like 14 than 18. You forget how much wide eyed enthusiasm kids have, especially when you’ve been removed from it for a while.

Jumping sideways… we motorcycled out to Port Perry on the weekend to meet up with friends for a bite. We had lived out that way for a couple of years and like to go back on occasion. It’s a big bike town and they have a local bike night on Thursday’s during the summer.

Another step sideways…after our bike trip we went to a pub near our place in Toronto where for the last several months I have been jamming with the local band there. It’s a great release and I thoroughly enjoy it, as the level of musicianship is pretty good.

The revelation… As I spent a little time with our niece and followed it with activities that I engaged in when I was around her age, I came to the realization that as much as I have changed I am fundamentally the same guy today that I’ve always been. The package I present myself in has changed and I reveal and hide different characteristics now then when I was a kid.

The marketing application? Even if the essence of your company is similar to what it has always been, the packaging of that product has infinite possibilities. Of all the characteristics that make up your company you can choose to bring something to the forefront that has historically been in the background. If you have been quiet… you can be loud. If you have been all encompassing… you can be specific. It’s not changing the essence of your company so much as it is altering your perception to better suit current market conditions.

This type of repositioning can bring excitement to your brand and the people working there. You can effectively fill in the cracks and crevices that show with business maturity…a little botox for the bizz!

Lee’s quote for the day:

“If you find there is nothing to get excited about at your company haul out the “Marketing Shake and Bake”. Hey, if you can shake up a pack of dead chicken and make it palatable…
just think what you could accomplish by spicing up your company!”

As of March 2010, Google holds an overwhelming lead over its search engine competitors according to the latest NetMarketShare search engine report. Google commands 85.75% of the worldwide search engine market, an increase in nearly 6% year over year. Yahoo has dropped two percentage points year over year, and is at 5.38%. Bing has been hovering at around the 3% mark. Baidu, which primarily serves the Chinese and Japanese markets has lost a significant share of the market and is currently at 3.52%, while Ask, AOL and other search engines are all around the 1% mark. It’s obvious that all competition has been surrendering market share to Google.

What does this mean in terms of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Well, the answer is quite simple, you should primarily focus on optimizing for Google above all others, but don’t forget about Yahoo and Bing, because if the market shifts unexpectedly, it means that you have your bases covered. We all remember when AltaVista was king back in the late 90’s, only to be driven into irrelevancy by its failed portal attempt and the rise of Google. Whatever SEO marketer you choose, make sure they optimize for Yahoo and Bing as well.