Domains, branding and the corporate smell of the 1980’s

In the 80’s I collected corporate annual reports on offer via the Fortune 500 and Businessweek publications.

I simply ticked off every checkbox on those coupons, and a few weeks later, glossy booklets arrived at my doorstep.

My postman must have hated me, as the collective weight of those reports I’d get for free, week after week, was considerable.

These printed reports are long gone, but I still recall their distinct smell of luxurious printing on glossy paper, along with the lack of any reference to the Internet, emails, or web sites.

It truly makes me wonder how business was conducted efficiently “back in the day.” Personal computers were restricted to the CEOs, and their secretaries used Tippex to fix type-written errors, not the backspace key.

But enough with the memories.

When it comes down to branding and marketing, domain names opened a whole new universe for b2b communications.

A very interesting article on today’s markets by Claude Dauman, is titled “The Online Branding Article Every Marketing Executive and CEO Should Read.”

I’m not a big fan of Camel Casing, but the article itself is a reminder of those “old days,” and how domain names changed an entire industry, and the world.

You can read Claude’s article here.