New Year’s resolutions range from ambitious (lose 30 pounds in 30 days); to vague (be a better person); to practical (reduce Starbucks trips from every day to twice a week).  In business, as in our personal lives, positive change is always the goal when making these resolutions.   And when you resolve to shake things up by abandoning complacency and embracing an entirely new approach to building your brand, that change can be surprisingly rewarding.

“Shaking things up” will mean something different for every firm.  Most companies know how they want their brand to be perceived,  but only a few can afford to pay for high profile advertising campaigns to bring that message to the consumer.  Apple always comes to mind when we think of creative branding efforts, and who can forget the E-Trade baby or the Budweiser frog?  However, considering that not every company enjoys that type of marketing budget, there are other ways to build your brand through interesting and unexpected methods of engagement.

Consider the following:

• Host an event:  use music, videos and lots of social interaction to introduce your next product or service
• Poll your customers:  with inexpensive on-line tools like SurveyMonkey there is no reason not to get the pulse of your audience through brief, focused surveys
• Engage in social media:  Facebook and Twitter are a great place to start, but consider branching out into Instagram, Google+ and Twitter’s Vine for micro-videos
• Extreme brand makeover:  bring your team together to consider what marketing touch points could use a makeover (printed materials, bags, pens, auto graphics, employee uniforms, etc)
• Cause-branding:  partner with a non-profit or cause-based institution to raise social awareness while increasing corporate profits

This year’s resolution should be to consider new and exciting ways to build your brand.  Ask your internal associates, customers and vendor partners to offer ideas – you may be surprised how fun it can be to shake things up!