I am still reeling from the experience I had with the new book series, 39 Clues. It is series of books, published by Scholastic and has a very innovative spin that is taking 8 to 12 year olds by storm! 39 Clues is an innovative learning experience which utilizes all the forms of media for learning and provides strong creative incentives to continue learning. “Read the Books.Play The Game. Win The Prizes.”

Each book contains 6 cards which the book owner uses to uncover clues to a great mystery. There are 39 clues in total and 19 have been released to date. Not only is the marketing and visual creative design very appealing and relevant to the target book reader audience, there is a web platform which takes the series and reading experience to a new level entirely.

The website is very well designed, has an incredible animated mission/ game area (Arena 39) and offers rich interactive features for the 39 Clues book /game community. The real clincher is that the series offers over $100,000 in prizes to the clue hunters who succeed.

I am half way through the first book, The Maze of Bones with my children and we have succeeded Missions #1, 2, 3 and 4. My kids now know about the Bermuda Triangle, the Titanic, Amelia Earhart, Budapest, the Pyramids and more!

My son is eager to attempt Mission 5 and is anxious for the mission to be unlocked in September (they do not say which day to keep you checking the site).

Various authors contribute to the 39Clues series and there are also additional cards you can purchase to assist you in getting your clues.

In my opinion,  39 Clues is a complete success of marketing, education and merchandising. Well done Scholastic!!!!

Everything you do affects how people perceive you, and the brand you wish to build. All the details count, the smallest detail can affect your credibility.

I just recently created a TWITTER account, and was excited to create a moniker that branded who I am, instead of just using my name. {Your name is can always create a good brand, but if there is “stickiness” to a moniker, then even better } First step, create my account….simple enough, right? Pick a username and away we go.

However I came up against the challenge of creating a new username for my TWITTER account. The username I usually use online was no longer relevant for the topic I want be seen as an expert on: brand building.

I started with something obvious: BrandGirl. Problem: username not available. Hmmmmmmm……..okay, how about: BrandChick. Available. But then I got to thinking……. is “chick” credible enough for the brand I wish to build. No. So I hopped over to one of my favourite tools thesaurus.com, and it kicked up a slew of options:

Brand_Babe: catchy, but not quite credible enough
Brand_Broad: too brash, and makes me sound like a 50 year old in leopard print, *shudder*
Brand_Dame: not catchy enough, doesn’t roll off the tongue well
Brand_Gal: too casual
Brand_Lady: dunno know why, makes me feel like a realtor
Brand_Lassie: well, as much as I have Scottish blood, too young sounding
Brand_Minx: ummmmm, a little too sexy-edgy for what I want to convey
Brand_Queen: getting closer, provides fun options for a logo, not quite there
Brand_Skirt: neat, a little different, but still not it, too much “huh?” factor
Brand_Wench: ha! need I say anything?

hmmmmmmmmm………….*think*think*think*………..and then something not even in the list, but it definitely lead me there…….

BrandMaven!

A quick check, on another favourite tool, dictionary.com.

Maven: (m?’v?n) n.
(1) A person who has special knowledge or experience; an expert.
(2) Someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field.

PERFECT!!!
In two words it identifies what my focus is, credibility, with a little bit of edge.

So there you have the answer, to “What’s in a name?” A LOT!