#ploy str

[starlightsaphron]

Blake and yang walk in on weiss making out with blake and yang sock puppets because her jealousy got too damn high

She freezes both of them solid, jumps out the window and goes full MIA for a week.

Shes spotted wearing a black hoodie and baseball cap at a coffee shop by qrow who walks up and goes, “yeah, i remember when i had this experience with tai” and then walks away without elaborating

He didnt even know the bees had caught her doing anything, he just clocked her ass

Idk im rambling

I’m losing at the mental image of “incognito” Weiss having this conversation with qrow, being thoroughly confused for like five minutes and then mortified when it all clicks.

Also sock puppet make out akdjkdkqkfndnkskakdk. Amazing. She totally would

[curiousscientistkae]

i made a rwby server! for team strq! pls be nice

I should add we have channels for rosebird, rosedragon, hummingbird, taiqrow, Phoenix, and ploy str

[grimgrinnr]

}TUMBLR, WHAT MORE IS THERE TO BE SAID?{

@spiderinheels​ asked: “Is my thong out of my shorts?” :3c

Do not look Alastor do not fall prey to this obvious entrapment by way of revealing clothing from Angel Dust. It is a ploy to make you flustered and you mustn’t fall for it! Hold str-

He glances down and turns read for the second he looks downwards at Angel’s lower half.

“ A little. ”

[fuckingfinwions]

it's pretty fucking rich of curufin to call the servants perverts for doing what he/his family forced them to do! omg! also i love the detail that sometimes fingon is just like 'suffer bitch' and doesn't stop curufin from getting his own self in trouble. i wonder what celebrimbor thinks about all the tension between the three of them--he must be terrified, poor bby. also i love the detail that maedhros believes in thematic/ironic punishment. i imagine he does it a lot to curufin esp when hes str

*stressed abt ruling the noldor and whatnot. i wonder if he ever directly tells curufin that if he actually put any effort into it that he *might* be the best sex slave/concubine? just to have more 'competition' btwn him and fingon? (and maybe its just a ploy, hes much fonder of fingon just for actually just getting on with it and not being so annoying). also maglor and his elaborate shows. maglor sounds insufferable. is he rlly perfectionistic and dramatic with his directions/ideas/visions? ver

*very particular and demanding? i can also see some really dark domestic humor with like, maedhros being like 'tf are my sex slaves' and it turns out they're all tied up in rlly weird ways running through 'rehearsal' for the 50th time that night or sthg and maglor is like 'oh damn its morning? i hadnt noticed' and ends up having a very very weird party a few weeks later full of avant-garde noncon horror that his pretentious artsy friends who all applaud his 'vision'. also i had wondered, if maed

*maedhros ever feels like he needs to punish nolo or fingon but in a more 'ironic' way, does he do it by forcing them to punish or touch eac other? like if fingon winces or flinches at jsut the wrong moment or something 'oh if i'm so disgusting then i'm sure you'd prefer him to rim you' and nolo is ofc desperate to fix the situation with his son hurt as little as possible. cant imagine curufin wouldnt be very upset too if celebrimbor is brought into his own punishments. cant see that ending well

Celebrimbor is rather terrified by the whole situation, but luckily, all of the other Servants are interested in keeping him safe. Curufin of course wants to protect his son. Nolo doesn't want this to be happening to anyone, and Celebrimbor is the only one he's currently able to make things less terrible for. Fingon thinks that Curufin deserves everything he gets, but Celebrimbor is innocent; and also that Curufin is probably bad at caring for people in general and a bad father. Curufin's defiance, coming at the same time when Fingon learns just how much his own father sacrificed for him and his siblings, just cements that belief.

In practice, this works out to Fingon teaching Celebrimbor a lot about both how to navigate life as a servant and just general socialization. Celebrimbor is torn between trusting Fingon's advice, because Fingon is acting like an older sibling/uncle and Celebrimbor misses that type of connection; and doing his best to stay far far away from Fingon, because Fingon hates his dad and might use him as a proxy, and also look what just happened with Celebrimbor's uncles.

(Also, I think just before he comes of age, Celebrimbor is going to decide he wants his first kiss to be with someone who is NOT Maedhros or Maglor. He might find one of the normal servants' teenage kids, or he might kiss Nolo, as the least scary option. Maedhros is unlikely to notice, and wouldn't be too upset as long is it didn't go any farther - there'd be a punishment along the lines of wearing a stimulating plug and a cage for a day.)

I like the idea of Maedhros encouraging competition, but I think he'd go for it sightly differently. "You always thought you were so special. So smart, could've been a genius at anything you chose, the only reason you didn't make a marvelous invention was because all the easy breakthroughs had just been discovered. But now I see you're mostly an idiot. You perhaps have a little natural talent at forgework, but with different birth could have spent your whole life making nails and horse shoes and never thought of anything greater. You can imitate if someone has already shown you the steps, but you have no creativity of your own. Nor can you figure out how to apply your skills to a new area, instead guessing blindly and patternlessly. Poor Inke, can't even suck a cock without someone smarter telling him how to do so."

Maedhros purposely avoided directly mentioning Feanor. That tends to just make Curufin more defiant, reminded of his pride and that he ought to be a prince. Also, Maedhros is not sure Feanor would actually approve of his actions, and Feanor's potential anger on his return is a bit of a mood killer. Being immortal, Feanor never felt a need to discuss in detail what would happen if he died and Maedhros took the throne. Maedhros is confident he's following Feanor's example, but some instructions might have been nice.

Curufin is now going to try and be the best lover Maedhros has ever had, purely out of spite.

Yes, dark comedy where Maedhros wants Fingon to ride him, but he's too exhausted from practicing double pirouettes where he jumps and lands with his cock an inch away from a spiked post. Maglor says it symbolizes the short distance between despair and desire. Curufin then fucks him using a strap on that he's wearing backwards (symbolizing fear of intimacy) while Nolo does the splits and fingers himself (symbolizing the loss of community in modern society).

Maedhros just thinks that, as king, there ought to be someone with enough energy to get him off the way he likes. Maglor says he's an artist, you can't expect him to make a masterpiece without using all the instruments. Maedhros is privately thinking maybe he should have made Caranthir crown prince, then he'd only be down two at once as Caranthir pretended to be a sadist rather than a masochist, or maybe one of the Ambarussa.

I think Maedhros ends making Nolo officially allowed to refuse sexual orders from Maglor it's been going on for longer than five hours. Also, despite Maglor's protest of artistry, if it involves nudity or genitalia it counts as sex. Nolo isn't Maedhros's favorite, but he's pretty enough, and both Curufin and Fingon would totally take advantage of the out.

Maedhros makes Nolo and Fingon punish each other sometimes, by making them be the one to inflict pain. But he doesn't use sex with each other as a punishment. They''re just so hot, he wants to watch them touch each other multiple nights a week, and he's not the type to make up new rules as an excuse for punishments. And the point of a punishment is that it's something the person involved dislikes, true, but it's also supposed to be something that they can avoid, so that you actually change their behavior. Maedhros likes ordering Nolo to kiss Fingon, and kiss a line down his body, stopping to caress every inch of him as if he's the most beautiful thing in the world. No one believes that Maedhros would stop ordering it if Fingon didn't disobey, so it doesn't work well as a deterrent.

Re: Celebrimbor being brought into Curufin's punishments, I had an idea for "power play" which I didn't end up using. Maedhros is trying to get Curufin to behave, and Curufin is being stubborn, and also insulting Maedhros. So Maedhros beats Curufin with a crop, then ties him to Maedhros's bed.

Maedhros sets oil and a very large set of anal beads on the bed. Then he draws the bed curtains.

"I'm going to have my dinner here by the fire tonight. Celebrimbor is going to bring it to me, and wait on me throughout. When I've finished eating, I'll check on you. If you have all the beads inside you and your cock hard, I'll send Celebrimbor away for the evening while I play with you. If not, I pull back the curtains, and he gets to sit by and watch you. Do you understand?"

Curufin nodded. "Are you going to gag me?"

"Why would I do that? I don't mind if your son overhears you moaning."

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, December 28

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Ghislaine Maxwell scandal explodes 

Page 2: George Clooney was rushed to the hospital after rapidly dropping 28 pounds to play an ailing astronomer in his latest movie The Midnight Sky and the harrowing incident has infuriated worried wife Amal Clooney -- George’s scare came when he was diagnosed with life-threatening pancreatitis days before he was scheduled to start filming on a glacier in Finland -- Amal was unhappy and angry that he put his health on the line for the role and she was also furious because this wasn’t the first time the father of her twins has been in harm’s way and she’s demanding he take better care of himself so he’ll be around to care for his kids 

Page 3: Lori Loughlin’s deluded daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli is clueless over the college admissions scandal that landed her parents in jail and believes her own hype according to a body language expert -- in an interview on Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk Olivia claimed she had no idea posing for pictures on a rowing machine to finagle a crew scholarship to the University of Southern California despite never having practiced the sport was deceitful but body language expert Susan Constantine said Olivia doesn’t appear to have any understanding of the consequences of her actions or those of mom Lori and dad Mossimo Giannulli -- after observing Olivia’s confession Constantine said she didn’t notice any deceptive indicators such as pauses in her speech or shrugging of her shoulders however she labeled Olivia completely unequivocally oblivious which she said made it challenging to judge Olivia’s truthfulness 

Page 4: Lonely Diane Keaton is longing for love and she’s turned to former flame Jack Nicholson for help in landing a new guy -- Diane is truly desperate to find a man and she knows if there’s one person who can help her navigate the dating scene after all this time it’s Jack -- the Oscar-winning actress shocked the world when she recently admitted she hasn’t been on a date in 35 years and she made a joke of it but the pandemic has made her realize how lonely she really is -- Diane would never date Jack again but knows he has a lot of eligible friends who would fit her dating profile 

* Dying Olivia Newton-John worries endlessly about her daughter Chloe and made a touching final request of close pal John Travolta: Please take care of Chloe after I’m gone -- Olivia’s concerns for Chloe spiked after she blasted the COVID-19 vaccine on social media writing that natural medicine is the party she belongs to -- Olivia has been battling stage 4 breast cancer while John lost his wife Kelly Preston to the same disease and John loves and admires Olivia for the way she’s battled this disease and she’s given him the hope and encouragement he needs -- now Chloe’s ongoing issues have pushed Olivia to beg John to pledge he’ll be there for her daughter because Chloe has spent over $450,000 on multiple plastic surgeries including breast enhancements and a nose job and lip enhancements and Botox and she’s also battled anorexia and depression which led to bouts with cocaine and alcohol addiction -- Olivia has always been deeply concerned about who would look out for Chloe if she wasn’t around and now that she can see the end is near she asked John to be that person; he never blinked an eye and said of course 

Page 5: Ozzy Osbourne’s frail and feeble appearance has friends fearing for the rocker but he has no plans to abandon a 2022 comeback even if it kills him -- the 72-year-old singer has battled Parkinson’s disease and crippling nerve damage but has vowed he will die onstage -- nobody disputes he has the heart of a lion and it’s great to see him out and about again recording music and talking the good talk but ultimately Ozzy is a very sickly guy who needs to protect himself and not charge around trying to delude himself by living life at a pace that doesn’t make sense anymore 

Page 6: Rattled reality star Kylie Jenner is living in fear after being terrorized by two crazed fans and is now spending $350,000 a month on a 25-person security detail -- Kylie filed court documents seeking a restraining order against Justin Bergquist who allegedly broke into her $36.5 million California home last month 

Page 7: Lonely Ryan Seacrest may have nearly half a billion bucks in the bank but he’d trade in his riches for another shot at love -- he was so devastated by his breakup with on-again off-again galpal Shayna Taylor last summer he fears he may never find a woman to spend the rest of his life with and he now realizes her put his career before his personal life one too many times and may suffer for it forever -- Ryan’s recent health woes have been a wake-up call and forced him to understand the price he’s paying for taking his partners for granted for so long -- Ryan now realizes life is too short to go it alone and it’s finally dawned on him he’s not invincible and not so self-sufficient after all 

* Miley Cyrus’ admission that she’s had a lot of FaceTime sex has left friends and advisers fearing she may be setting herself up for some unwanted exposure -- though Miley explained she’s turned to virtual hookups to avoid physical contact during the pandemic but she’s putting herself at an entirely different kind of risk and she’s setting herself up as a potential victim of revenge porn 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Brooke Burke showed off her toned figure in Malibu, Andrew Garfield looked bored on the NYC set of Tick Tick...Boom!, Busy Philipps cleaning, Audrina Patridge and her daughter Kirra on a Beverly Hills playdate 

Page 11: Guy Fieri is eating up heaps of praise for handing out $500 grants to more than 43,000 restaurant workers across the nation -- he scrambled to raise over $21.5 million in seven weeks to help legions of unemployed restaurant laborers who have suffered financially due to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis -- through his new Restaurant Employee Relief Fund Guy personally buttonholed fat cats at cash-rich corporations such as PepsiCo and Uber Eats and Moet Hennessy USA to make donations -- he shows how he did it and shines a light on the industry’s continuing challenges in Restaurant Hustle 2020 a documentary he produced for the Food Network 

* Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are spreading yuletide cheer with their TV holiday special but they’re more interested in ringing cash registers than Christmas bells -- Garth and Trisha rake in $60 million a year from concert ticket sales and CD purchases and merchandising but the couple saw their cash flow slow during the pandemic -- they lost a bunch of money but they had the unique opportunity to do TV specials and grab a big chunk of it back -- while the $10 million they are pocketing for their TV specials won’t make up for what they would have netted on tour it was a sweet stocking stuffer and they both want to get back on the road and really rake it in but TV has made the wait a lot easier 

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- With Beyonce and Taylor Swift facing off for Song of the Year at the upcoming Grammy Awards producers are scrambling to prevent another Kanye West explosion like what happened in 2009

* Killing off The Talk may be the only hope of saving Drew Barrymore’s tanking talk show

* The Real Housewives of New York are treating the first Black cast member Eboni K. Williams with kid gloves because no one wants to come across as racist 

* Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts (picture) 

Page 13: January Jones’ desperate bid for online attention has pals concerned she may be cracking up -- her red-hot career appears to have cooled since Mad Men ended in 2015 and January is dying to land another plum part like Betty Draper but she’s going about it the wrong way -- she’s been posting sexy bikini pictures and leggy dance numbers on Instagram but that’s not the way to catch the eye of casting directors especially with so few shows in production during the COVID-19 lockdown 

* Caitlyn Jenner has reached out to trans actor Elliot Page offering to be his big sister in an opportunistic PR ploy -- while Caitlyn was one of many trans celebs including Jazz Jennings and Geena Rocero to offer Elliot congratulations and support, Caitlyn viewed the announcement as a new opportunity to leap back into the limelight and she believes that by aligning herself with Elliot she can regain her status as an activist and the symbol of transgender rights in Hollywood -- Elliot is happy to listen to Caitlyn’s advice but he’s been navigating his gender issues for years and doesn’t need guidance and he’s not going to be rude but he doesn’t need the help 

Page 14: Crime 

Page 15: A never-before-heard audio recording is of iconic soul singer James Brown’s wish to leave his $100 million fortune to educate poor children -- in the garbled 1999 recording the singer who died suddenly in 2006 called the creation of his I Feel Good foundation his lasting legacy but his precious foundation has not seen a dime because his fortune has remained tied up in court since his death which is the subject of an investigation by the Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney’s office after allegations surfaced that Brown might have been poisoned by someone after his money 

Page 16: American Life 

Page 17: What Shocked and Rocked in 2020 -- the best scoops and stories of the year 

Page 25: Fired Hillsong Church pastor Carl Lentz was so starstruck by his celebrity parishioners he believed he was a star himself and his ego fueled his shocking fall from grace and now he’s getting mental health treatment after being accused of cheating on his wife and getting sacked for moral failures -- Carl tended the trendy megachurch’s New York City flock and regularly rubbed shoulders with celebs including NBA star Kevin Durant and singer Selena Gomez and even once invited Justin Bieber to live with him before being booted by bigwigs but now he’s said to be getting help at an outpatient facility specializing in depression and pastoral burnout but cunning Carl may have made the move simply to revamp his wrecked reputation 

Page 26: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are heading to couples therapy in a desperate bid to stay together because their marriage is hanging by a thread -- the pair are at each other’s throats as they struggle to adjust to their new life in America -- Harry’s gone from being excited about the move to feeling tortured and it’s like he swapped his royal prison in Britain for a new hell in a $14 million California mansion and he fears he’s made a terrible mistake but Meghan’s ordering him to man up and grab this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make millions away from the monarchy’s suffocating shadow -- the fighting came to a head before the holidays when Harry was feeling especially homesick and guilty about abandoning his family especially his brother Prince William and his grandmother Queen Elizabeth -- adding to their troubles Meghan seems hellbent on staying in the public eye during the pandemic and she masterminded their personal video calls to charities in London and the U.S. and the secret deliveries of meals to the needy but then she made them public and the truth is it’s The Meghan Show now and Harry’s just the side act 

Page 27: A charming Chinese spy bedded two Midwestern mayors and courted other clueless politicians to weasel her way into U.S. government circles -- Chinese national Christina Fang also known as Fang Fang, reportedly entered the U.S. as a college student in 2011 

Page 31: Candice Bergen moaned that at the age of 74 she’s a wreck and that she has a wattle -- Candice admitted to having her eyes done while filming the Murphy Brown reboot because they were very hooded and as for today she knows she should have injections because she has deep lines along her lip but she can’t take the pain 

* Rachael Ray lost her New York home to a blazing inferno but her holidays were salvaged by the warmth of community spirit -- following the devastating fire she and her husband moved into the property’s guesthouse and in a clip on The Rachael Ray Show the emotional host showed off her festively decorated digs and gushed she didn’t know where she’d be without friends and a community and people so dear to her that helped her bring Christmas to life even when you’re not at home 

Page 32: Health Watch -- blood test predicts Alzheimer’s 

Page 34: Longtime lovebirds Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell are hoping to make a movie with their whole family -- the star-studded cast would include Goldie’s kids Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson and the couple’s son Wyatt Russell -- as for filming with the entire gang Goldie gushed that they have thought about it and she’d love to do something with her kids and the grandchildren too 

* Hollywood Hookups -- Kristin Cavallari and Jeff Dye heating up, Malik Beasley and Larsa Pippen dating but Malik’s wife Montana Yao filed for divorce, Chrishell Stause and Keo Motsepe dating 

Page 36: Infamous Hollywood hotel Chateau Marmont has a storied history of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll ever since it opened its doors in 1929 and nearly a century later it hasn’t been tamed -- even during the pandemic the majestic hotel is wild with drunks, overdoses and luckily averted suicide attempts and according to 911 records the debauched celebrity haunt is filled with people having breakdowns -- the Chateau’s crazy days and nights are legendary: it’s where John Belushi died in one of the bungalows in 1982 from a deadly cocaine-heroin concoction 

Page 38: One of the most iconic images from the James Bond films which is a handgun used by Sean Connery in Dr. No has sold for $256,000 at auction in Beverly Hills -- the gun is a deactivated semi-automatic Walther PP pistol -- the winning bidder who asked to remain anonymous is an American who’s seen every James Bond film with his children -- a helmet created for Tom Cruise in Top Gun also sold at the auction for $108,000 while a sword used by Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction sold for $35,200 

* Dolly Parton has one major thing left on her bucket list which is she wants to see Beyonce sing Jolene one of the country star’s signature songs -- Jolene has been recorded more than any other song Dolly has ever written but that isn’t enough for her because she also wants to see it updated by one of the top female stars of a new generation -- it has been recorded worldwide over 400 times in lots of different languages but nobody’s ever had a really big hit record on it and Dolly always hoped somebody might do it someday by someone like Beyonce 

* Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has wrestled his way into the alcohol market with his own tequila brand and lifted it into first place as the most successful spirit launch in history and he’s even on track to double George Clooney’s first-year launch -- Dwayne is expected to move more than 300,000 cases of small-batch Teremana Tequila in its first year of trading 

Page 40: Smitten singer Rihanna has fallen hard for A$AP Rocky but friends fear the playboy rapper will leave her broken-hearted -- Rocky is a charming guy but he also has a love ‘em and leave ‘em reputation and everyone’s concerned she’s more into him than he is into her -- Rihanna’s desperate to meet a man she can see herself with for the rest of her life and she believes Rocky might be the one but everybody thinks she’s rushing into things with Rocky -- Rocky is not interested in a long-term romance and Rihanna shouldn’t be thinking of this as more than a port in the storm 

* Lizzo is livin’ large and she’s showing every inch of her jiggles and folds on TikTok -- the body-positivity enthusiast wore a white bikini for an all-angles video in which she amply demonstrated the tricks models and celebs use to look slimmer -- she bared her belly and back and legs and sometimes jiggled her thighs or grabbed a hunk of herself to prove there’s more to luscious ladies than meets the eye and wrote, “Wild to see the body positive movement come so far. Proud of the big girls who gave it wings.” 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- The Crown stars -- Claire Foy, Emma Corrin, Gillian Anderson, Vanessa Kirby, Erin Doherty 

Page 47: Odd List -- baseball fan Darren Johnson hatched an unusual idea for his new chicken coop making it a model of Houston’s former Eighth Wonder of the World The Astrodome

[percontaion-points]

All Grown Up Chapters 25 & 26

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 25

"Momma." I looked over to him and smiled as he held his arms out to me. I pulled him into a tight hug and kissed him firmly on top of his head.

He was too young to understand what had happened. The man he knew as his father would no longer walk through our front door, no longer teach him Italian and no longer lay next to me. I felt the tears start again and saw Tony’s confused face as he looked at me.

I know that we don't have any details about the crash other than it simply happened, but her grief seems more than a little premature.

Mina appeared a moment later wearing all black.

Where the fuck did she come from, and why is she already in mourning gear? How long ago did this plane crash?

I met Tony in the hallway before we both headed to the large, black limousine. Aron, Dom’s business partner, helped us both into the car and climbed in next to us. Dom’s family was following behind us.

Somehow the narration jumped from “the plane crashed” and straight to the funeral with literally nothing in between.

So pardon my confusion over this shitshow.

His plane was struck by lightning over Kansas.

Once again, this vital plot point is thrown out there in the same kind of tone as one might say “I like pizza.”

I almost ran to her when she was about to collapse by his casket. I still couldn’t believe that Domenico was dead, that his plane had gone down because of lightning. I was still in shock.

Why the hell does Leo somehow have more emotion talking about it than Chloe?

Granted, Chloe has plenty of emotion about the actual death, but what's lacking is emotion behind telling the readers how the plane went down.

Elaine

I watched Leo as he approached Chloe.

Random POV character is random.

Maybe she would have told me if I had answered the call or even

called her back. Maybe it would have even built a bridge of communication for her to have told me when she found out. This is not my fault, it’s hers.

Always the victim, says the man who intentionally continued to sabotage his relationship with Chloe.

I headed back to Anthony’s room as I wiped tears from my face and curled up next to him.

Chapter 25 summary: It's been a week since the plane went down. Which seems to be way too fast for the bodies to have been recovered from the wreck, but whatever. They have the funeral, and bury Dom.

At the funeral, Leo watches Chloe with Tony, and asks his mom about the boy later. Their mom doesn't know the entire truth, but she saw baby Tony and realized that he looked an awful lot like her son when he was that age. She then confronts Mina about it, and promises to get to the bottom of things.

A week later, Chloe is asked to come to the will reading. (Okay, will readings are 100% not a thing in the 21st century, but whatever.) Obviously, Dom left his wife a lot of things. So she decides to sell the huge manor house they live in, because the memories are too painful.

Some time later, Tony randomly starts to have kidney failure. The doctors pointedly tell Chloe that she needs to contact the boy's biological father because of this, but this only seems like a cheap ploy to hook Chloe and Leo back up. Ugh, the entire thing is so fucking stupid. Anyway, she has to go talk to Leo's family about a potential blood and organ match, but she's instead confronted by Leo's mom. Not only about keeping Tony from Leo, but as passing him off as Dom's child. But then Chloe tells her about Tony's failing kidney, and Leo's dad says that he had a kidney transplant when he was about Tony's age.

Later, Chloe calls Leo, and tells him about Tony and about his kidney failure. Leo naturally screams at her some, which she 100% deserved. He storms over to the hospital, where he whisper-screams at Mina for having guessed when Chloe was pregnant. Later, when Chloe shows up at the hospital, Leo tells her that she'll be hearing from his lawyer.

Chapter 26

"Hi, Tony," I smiled. "I’m Leo," I stuck out my hand.

He gave me a strange look and crumpled up his face.

"Daddy," he said and I stared at him in shock. He slapped my hand, like he was giving me five.

I'm no child psychologist, but I think randomly telling a really young child not even two months after the man who had been raising him died... that another man is his father... is probably not good for his psyche.

That was my son inside of my Chloe. I felt the tears form and then fall as I thought about missing this.

Right, and the only person who made Leo miss Chloe's pregnancy was Leo.

Then I covered my face with my hands and lightly

rubbed. I could still smell her on my hands. Torture. I was torturing myself.

I knew exactly what I was doing.

Chapter 26 summary: So the entire kidney thing was caught early enough that he needs some sort of medication and an extreme diet change. (Again, I'm no doctor, but the entire thing reeks of “shitty reasons to hook your characters up”. And now that that's been done, the kid magically gets better.)

Leo sues for custody over Tony. Dom's lawyer says that Dom wrote it into his will that Tony was a donor baby, since he couldn't have biological children of his own. However in court, they agree to do half custody with Leo. The judge comes back after a recess in which he chides both of them for their shitty behavior, but agrees to their 50/50 arrangement, where Tony will spend six months with one parent, and six months with the other. But full legal guardianship will remain with Chloe, so that she can continue to medically take care of Tony without needing input from Leo.

Leo walks around for a while after the verdict, and then goes to his parents. His mom is on his side... up until Leo finds out that she knew, and didn't say anything. He gets angry at Mina for not having said anything. However, with his father, he only realizes defeat. Apparently the only one who didn't know Tony was Leo's son was Leo. PROBABLY BECAUSE HE WAS NEVER FUCKING AROUND TO NOTICE. Literally everybody else did.

He later goes over to Chloe's house, where he spends some time playing with Tony. After they put him down for a nap, Chloe gives him all of the stuff about her pregnancy and leading up to the present. He goes home and watches the DVD Chloe and Dom had made about her ultrasound and recording some of her pregnancy memories. Time passes, and Tony starts to spend more and more time with his dad.

Leo and Chloe go to a work party at the same time. Leo gets jealous when he sees some randomly hot guy escorting Chloe, which is made worse because Chloe is wearing a fairly risque dress. However, he feels better when he realizes that the man is Chloe's former brother-in-law... who is married.

Leo then finds Chloe out on the balcony later, and tries to fuck her, but she pushes him away. When Chloe is called away, Leo has to ask himself what he's even doing in trying to seduce Chloe all over again.

[itsallavengers]

I was Wrong

@socketwrenching is in fact, a vicious and Hardened individual. There is NO TH IN G more terrifying than HIM, AT ALL. He will STRIKE FEAR into your trembling hearts just from a single glance out of those bespectacled eyes. His 5′3 is irrelevant, he’s 666 if you threaten him. Don’t Be Fooled by the way he offers to hug anyone even remotely upset and can make friends with literally everyone in this fandom- it’s just a ruse. A disguise. A PLOY.  Even his CAT is a menace. I will admit, when I hear him snorting his laughter into the camera on snapchat at three in the morning as he watches catwoman, I for one am absolutely terrified. I first found him after he drew art for me out of absolutely nowhere, what a power move. He’s not one you want to mess with, he eats mayonnaise and tomato ketchup together in some pinkish conglomeration and he l i k e s  i t. 

[hellahotlancelot]

I made some mockup FEH builds! Fates Part 1

I decided to make some builds for some of my favorite Fates characters who aren’t in the game yet. I went off the character’s growth rates and skills in Fates for this.

Charlotte is first. Her HP, Str, and Spd are wonderful in Fates, so I gave her high HP, Atk, and Spd in Heroes. She also has horrible Def and Res in Fates, so I gave her low Def and Res to reference that.

I gave her LnD to solidify her role as a glass cannon. I also gave her Firesweep Axe to finish the Firesweep series. Live for Bounty is a reference to her trying to marry rich.

Funfact: Orochi is the only Fates character I *really* want in Heroes. She has really good Mag and Res in Fates, so I gave her high Atk and Res. Her HP, Spd, and Def in Fates weren’t that good, so I made them pretty low.

I gave her Gronnblade so we could have another unit who comes with Gronnblade, like Tailtiu and Odin. I don’t really have a good reason for Blazing Light, I just like it on her. Mirror Strike is to make her already good Atk and Res better when initiating, and it’s currently only on one hero, so why not make it more available? Breath of Life is a reference to her being able to wield staves after promotion into Onmyoji.

Ah, Reina, an example of a character who likes killing done right. Her growths aren’t anything special in Fates. Her Str and Spd were pretty average, so I gave her average Atk and Spd. Her HP wasn’t too bad, so I gave her an average amount. Her Def and Res in Fates was pretty bad, so I gave her low Def and Res. Though now that I think about it, her base Def is lower than Charlotte’s. Just pretend it’s 28 Def or something.

Guard Bow is because we have yet to get someone who comes with it naturally. Vengeance is sorta a reference to her death quote, where she says she’ll “finally know what they’ve all seen.” (they being her enemies.). I just think it suits her. Now we’ve gotten to the interesting part: Air Superiority. In Fates, it granted Hit and Avoid +30 when against flying enemies. Since there is no Hit/Avoid rate in Heroes, I made Air Superiority give the flier automatic doubles when greater than or equal to 50% HP at the start of combat. Like a Follow-Up Ring for fliers. I also gave her Hone Fliers so it’s available on a new unit whose not seasonal.

Shura, one of the best Corrinsexuals. All of his growths in Fates are pretty bad, except for his Spd and Res. So I made his HP, Atk, and Def sorta low, and his Spd and Res pretty good. I am starting to notice that I have problems when given units Def, though.

Slaying Bow is a reference to the Killer Bow he comes with in Fates. I gave him Draw Back.. because I like Draw Back? There’s not much else as to why I gave him Draw Back. Highwayman is Shura’s personal skill in Fates. It’s effect is that if the enemy cannot counterattack, the enemy’s Str and Spd drop by 3 at the end of battle. This is a good skill, but only dropping Atk and Spd by 3 is too low, so I changed it to dropping Atk and Spd by 7. Give him a Firesweep Bow, debuff enemies, then have Gunnthra kill everything. I gave him Spd Ploy in the picture, though it wouldn’t stack with Highwayman. So pretend it’s Def Ploy, okay? Def Ploy would be so he and other physical attacks could hit harder. Pretty explanatory.

Nyx, the lady who hates her body yet wears that revealing outfit. She has really good Mag and Spd growths in Fates, so I gave her high Atk and Spd. Her Res isn’t that bad, but it isn’t good either, so I gave her low Res. Her HP and Def are abysmal, though. So I gave her very low HP and Def.

Nosferatu, nosferatu, nosferatu. Possibly one of the most overpowered tomes in FE, it’s a surprise that it hasn’t been added yet. Nosferatu has built in Daylight, as Sol or Aether would be too overpowered. It would also slow Special trigger by one, like Blade tomes. Vengeance is there because she learns it as a Sorcerer and because it’s pretty much obligatory for dark mages in FEH. Atk/Res Bond is to increase her already high Atk and to make it more available. I would have done Atk/Spd Bond but that’s not out yet. Finally, we get to Countercurse. Countercurse is Nyx’s Personal Skill in Fates, and what it does is if Nyx is attacked by a magical attack, the enemy receives half of the damage dealt. For Heroes, I decided to only do 30% of the damage dealt by magic attackers. Magic attacks mean Tomes, Staves, and Dragonstones (if they are not refined).

I’ve reached the limit of pictures allowed, so I’m going to make a new post with the rest of the builds.

[ayellowbirds]

Bizzy Sodov, Space Goblin

Guggit of the Oilstains Clan (or more properly, the “We Tell The Longshanks It’s Just Oilstains And Nothing Else” Clan) was born on Akiton well past the time the planet’s major industries had petered out. From one of the few groups of space goblins to leave Absalom Station and not die horrifically on the way to another world, she was born into worldwide urban decay and deindustrialization that ranged from steady entropy, to aggressive and abrupt. The uncertain life was familiar to most greenskins, but something in Guggit was hooked by a promise of more.

The AbadarCorp representatives with their fancy suit-robes and shiny video displays said a lot of things she didn’t understand, but the promise of rewards and wealth, and the shiny golden ties they wore made for a great temptation. So, when an opportunity to volunteer as a test subject for an experiment came up—with the promise of compensation and food as the real incentive—she jumped at the chance. With new chunks of technology shoved into her oversized noggin directly uploading oodles of training and technological know-how, Guggit woke up from the surgery as a test subject for a new marketing ploy to manufacture infosphere personalities to sell AbadarCorp products: an infomercial host.

After a misunderstanding where she was busy fooling around with the games now built into her brain, Guggit received the online alias of “Bizzy Sodov”, and was introduced to the Akiton infosphere as a charming (for a goblin), intelligent (for a goblin), tech-savvy (for a goblin) vidcaster. Her “GobHacks” attracted some small amount of celebrity over the planet, but after a few incidents of oh gods why is everything covered with ice this was supposed to make fire and how did you weaponize the subwoofer and what did you do to the district prelate’s hair, Bizzy was encouraged to hone her skills elsewhere and seek new horizons...

...by which i mean they bribed a crew of Starfinders to take her with them.

Physically, Bizzy looks like an atypically healthy goblin, chubby and with relatively blemish-free skin, all her teeth (except for one left out as a “charm point”), and the matte gold finish of her cybernetics capping her head, including a set of built-in welding goggles that are usually ratcheted in place higher on her brow. 

Guggit “Bizzy Sodov” Oilstains Trans Female Space Goblin Mechanic 1 (Icon) TN Small humanoid (goblinoid)

Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 13 Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +1 Skills: Bluff +2, Computers* +6, Diplomacy +2, Engineering* +11, Profession* (Infosphere Personality) +6, Sense Motive +2, Stealth +4, Survival +3 Feat(s): Mobility, Skill Focus (Engineering)**

Languages: Akitonian, Common, Goblin, Ysoki

Equipment: Azimuth laser rifle, survival knife, second skin, industrial backpack, everyday clothing, professional clothing, professional tool kit, 2x batteries.

Class features: Artificial Intelligence (Exocortex), Bypass, Custom Rig (cybernetic augmentation, brain); Exocortex Abilities: Combat Tracking, Memory Module. Proficiencies: basic melee weapons, grenades, heavy armor, light armor, longarms, small arms.

*Class skill **Class feature bonus feat

“I’m Bizzy and this is GobHacks! Today we’re going to see if the modifications to the engine hold on I’m stuck in the drift manifold—”

“Sometimes I hear myself talk, and I wonder if I’m still really a goblin, or just an exocortex and a prosthetic tool rig riding a goblin around. And sometimes I make my voice go like this and it sounds like I’m a shobhad,  look at me with my stupid face and my extra arms I think I’m so cool because I’m longer than a longshanks...”

“It slices, it dices, it goes for the eyes!”

[curiousscientistkae]

Making a new one because f it. I made a STRQ server because why not? Give some love to them. Still a bit of WIP but there are channels for all their ships. Come join us

[huntertales]

Part One: Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years? (The End S05E04)

Useful Links: Last Part | All Episodes Word Count: 6,187. A/N: Okay, I would have totally gotten this up yesterday, but if you could tell from the word count, this came out about a thousand words over goal. I totally didn't mean for this to get so long it just sort of...happened. These parts for this particular episode are probably gonna be super long, as there's nothing I can really cut out. Good news for you guys! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy!

Your name: submit What is this? // <![CDATA[ function replaceAll(find, replace, str) { return str.replace(new RegExp(find, 'g'), replace); } function myHandler() { var input = document.getElementById("inputTxt").value; document.body.innerHTML = replaceAll('Y/N', document.getElementById("inputTxt").value, document.body.innerHTML); } // ]]>

Driving the Impala was a rare treat of yours that almost never seemed like an option with Dean and his obsessive mannerisms. But the man was feeling a bit generous when the both of you departed on a grueling sixteen hour drive from the last town you ended up in. Dean offered you the keys at the seven hour mark when he stopped to fill up the tank before heading back on the road. He was worried about being too exhausted to continue on despite the coffee you were offering to share with him after you slept a few hours in the back. So you switched with him, allowing him to rest his eyes for the rest of the ride as you took your seat in the driver's side, At first it was kind of fun to be behind the wheel after such a long time away, but as the time drifted to about nine hours later, you were barely finding it possible to keep your eyelids propped open with the aggravation of sleep deprivation settling into your mood.

You tighten your grip on the steering wheel when you spotted the little motel crammed between an Italian restaurant that looked like it was about to close and a newspaper stand. You found a parking spot against the sidewalk and straighten out the Impala until it was perfect. Killing the engine, you let out a sigh of relief to know that you made it in one piece, and a comfortable bed was just a few hundred feet away. You opened up the driver's side door and slammed it shut, awakening Dean who had been sleeping on and off over the past few hours. Both of you grabbed your belongings from the backseat and headed to the sidewalk. Your attention was straight ahead on the person running the front desk in the motel, you walked passed a man standing next to the door holding flyers and preaching the word of the impending doom.

"Excuse me, friend," You were a few feet away from the door when you stopped in your tracks to see the man had come forward to you. "But have you taken time out to think about God's plan for you?"

Your lips stretched into a faint smile from his words, "God doesn't have a plan for me. I'm not His child."

"Of course you are." The man said as he let out a small laugh, thinking you were pulling his leg by .making him presume you were a nonbeliever of a higher power. "He has a plan for all of us."

"No, I'm not." You whispered to him. Your eyes wandered over to see that Dean was finally lifting up the duffel bag of his and slamming the backseat door. You looked over at the man to finish your thought. "I'm really a cambion. You know, sort of like the spawn of Satan. I'm the reason why the Devil's here on earth and my best friend is his sworn vessel. So, yeah, I'm sure God doesn't have a plan for me."

You wished the man a good night with a friendly smile, letting the truth that had been burning in the back of your mind over the past few weeks finally be let out, only for it to come across as a sarcastic ploy to get some bible thumper out of your way. He thought you were joking when he started chuckling ever so slightly, but when you looked over your shoulder, the man started to slowly back away, thinking you were dead serious.

+ + +

You managed to kick off your shoes and rest yourself against the most comfortable looking thing you've seen in the past twenty-four hours, the motel bed. Unfortunately there was only one room available for the night, not giving you much of a choice to avoid Dean and the impending truth that lingered over your head.  You were worried about how he was going to handle it if you decided to be be honest for once in your life. Maybe he would believe you and understand, sort of like how he had been with everything else. Or maybe he would view you like his brother—a monster he wanted to shun away, forgetting he ever loved such a thing that wasn't even really human. You looked away from the wall you had been staring at and glanced over to the window, watching as Dean kept himself busy by shutting the curtains, blocking out the street lamps so you could sleep in darkness.

"We're talking about the colt, right?" You asked. You sat on the bed with your cell phone on speaker so you and Dean could have a conversation with Cas, who had not even called you five minutes ago. He brought up some interesting news that seemed more like a blessing in disguise from what you had been thinking about. You turned your attention away from the window, finding the idea of having the colt, the one you had spent years gaining and losing, still in decent condition after Lilith got her hands on it. "I mean, as in _the _colt?"

“We are.” Cas said.

"Well, that doesn't make any sense." You said, watching for a moment as Dean wandered over to the small kitchen area directly across the bed to grab a beer from the fridge. "I mean, why would the demons keep a gun around that, uh, kills demons?"

"What? What? Did—" You overheard what sounded like a truck passing by Cas, making you realize he must be standing at the edge of the highway while having this conversation. "I didn't—I didn't get that."

You couldn't help yourself but let out a quiet laugh, finding the image a funnier than it should have been. "You know, it's kind of funny, talking to a messenger of God on a cellphone. It's, you know, like watching a hell's angel ride a moped."

"This isn't funny, Y/N." Cas said with a serious tone. "The voice says I'm almost out of minutes."

"All right, all right." You mumbled, letting your smile slowly drift away from your lips as you began tracing a pattern into the stained carpet with your big toe. "I'm telling you, Cas, the demons have melted the gun by now."

"Well, I hear differently. And if it's true and if you are still set on the insane task of killing the Devil," Cas argued with you, making you subconsciously roll your eyes in frustration at hearing just the mention of Lucifer's name. It made your skin crawl all over again from what he had said to you, all the insane allegations you wanted to believe were false. "This is how we do it."

"All right." Dean agreed with him, joining on in the conversation. "Where do we start?"

“Where are you two now?” Cas asked.

"Kansas City." You said. Cranking your neck over your shoulder, you see the room key was still sitting on the nightstand. You twisted yourself around in the bed, outstretching your free hand and snatched the key from the table to read the thick plastic tag to find your exact location. "Century Hotel, room one-thirteen."

"I'll be there immediately." Cas said not a second later.

"What? No, no, dude. No." Dean complained. He wandered over to the bed, grabbing the phone from your hand as you tossed the keys to the nightstand. "Y/N and I have been stuck in the car for the past sixteen hours together. We're still human. And there's stuff I'd liked to do. Eat, for example. And for this case, sleep." Cas agreed with the plan. You dropped yourself to the middle of the bed in a horizontal position and closed your eyes, letting the exhaustion you've been fighting off slowly take over your aching muscles. "Okay, so, you can pop in tomorrow morning."

"Yes. I'll just—" Cas tried to speak, but before he could finish his sentence, he heard the line from your end go dead. Dean tossed the phone to the edge of the bed as you rested the crook of your arm over your shoulder, deciding to spend fifteen minutes in this position before taking a much needed shower. You didn't realize you left the angel standing in the middle of the night at the edge of the empty highway, staring at his cell phone with confusion. When he realized you had hung up on him, he shut his phone and looked straight on, deciding this is how he would spend the next four hours. "Wait here, then."

+ + +

You must have fallen asleep for longer than you expected, because when you finally came back around, it felt like you had been out of it for years. Your back hurt from how you had been lying backside on the mattress and your arm had fallen asleep itself after you kept it in the awkward position it wasn't used to. With squinted eyes, you placed both hands on the mattress, feeling around the material, expecting it to be the soft cotton you had felt before. Instead your fingers brushed against something cold and almost like metal. Your eyes propped open when your finger accidentally slip into a hole, trapping it for a second before you roughly yanked it out, accidentally cutting the skin in the process. You examined your wound for a second before your eyes darted around at your motel room, and what new design you were given while you were sleeping.

Everything in your room like it was stripped bare and exposed to years of wear and tear. You shifted around in bed, only to see the mattress you had been sleeping on was long gone, leaving you on a very uncomfortable metal box spring. You pushed yourself to your feet and cautiously glanced around the room, noticing the paint had faded and chipped away, leaving nothing more than a dull color with shades of brown from mildew. The objects in the room weren't in better condition, everything was broken or tipped over, neglect for someone to take care of them was evident from the way it ended up. You swallowed as you turned around in your spot on the floor, now facing the window, you instantly noticed that you weren't alone. Someone was looking at the outside below with their back turned to you.

You were tempted for a second to open your mouth and speak, breaking the eerie silence that had surrounded the both of you. But before you could, you watched as the person turned around in their spot, facing you straight on. It took only a moment before you realized it was Dean, and from the look on his face, the two of you weren't in Kansas anymore.

+ + +

It seemed the both of you stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone. You and Dean wandered around the motel after you managed to get the door unstuck. The first thing the both of you did was to see if anyone else was here. You checked every room on the floor, there wasn't a sign of human life beside the garbage they left to rot. You were completely alone, there wasn’t even a mouse that popped up after you disrupted its search for food. The both of you decided it was best if you figured out what was going on by walking out of the motel and to the empty streets below. The feeling of nervousness wouldn’t leave your mind when you made your way out into the wasteland what used to be Kansas City. You knew this wasn't right, but your mind couldn't explain what happened, or if you were still sleeping--maybe you were having a very vivid nightmare from all the stress you'd been putting on yourself.

The streets were empty. You couldn't see a sign of anyone, not a single soul to tell you what was going on. Dean kept your company as the both of you took to the deserted streets, warning you to stick close, knowing anything might just happen if you let your guard down. Junk littered the streets from abandoned cars to debris that once belonged to someone's daily life. Maybe this was the apocalypse everyone had warned you about. Everyone was dead, except for you and Dean for some reason. You pondered on the thought for a moment's time until the perfect silence was destroyed by the sounds of glass shattering. You and Dean quickly looked over at one another when you realized the noise had come from an alley not too far ahead from where the both of you were standing.

Dean was a bit hesitant to follow, you shrugged your shoulders, thinking it wouldn't at least hurt to try. You followed the noise with Dean hot on your trail, the both of you headed down an alleyway tagged with graffiti, much of it you just glanced over, not giving it much of your attention. You  wandered around until you turned the corner, that's when you spotted a little girl. Dean quickly grabbed ahold of your arm and lightly yanked you backwards when he spotted her for himself, seeming to wonder if she could be considered a threat. From the way she was crouched down on the ground with her head hanging low, you noticed she was filthy from her matted hair and dress stained from dirt. You thought she appeared to be wounded, so you did the right thing, you began to approach her to see if she was all right.

"Little girl?" You quietly called out to her, she didn’t move a single muscle. You started to make slow steps when you started to approach her when she wouldn't respond to you. When you spotted the glass near her feet, you wondered if she had accidentally dropped it while lurking through the trash for something to eat. "Little girl? Are you okay?"

You bent down so you were at her level, curious to see if she was able to speak and tell you what was going on. When you reached out a hand to place it on her shoulder, your eyes drifted down to see a drool of a wet mucus seep out from her mouth, plopping right onto the shards of glass. You furrowed your brow in concern when you noticed it was blood from the color, but your attention was quickly pulled back into reality when you heard a piercing scream. You flinched back your arm when you felt a stinging pain come across your skin after the little girl managed to make her move. You hissed out in pain, but before she could get you again, Dean quickly acted out on his instincts. He roughy grabbed a hold of you, yanking you out of harm's way before swinging in arm directly at the little girl, throwing away all morals of hurting someone younger.

You stumbled away when you watched as the girl get tossed safely into a pile of mattresses after being knocked unconscious from the blow. You inhaled a deep breath as Dean took a step away from her, slowly approaching you again after noticing there was no movement from her. You inhaled a breath and glanced down at your arm to inspect the damage of the cut, not knowing where the glass had been, you might have been prone to an infection. You and Dean mindlessly turned around in your spot to find a way out of here, as you looked up from your cut, you noticed that you had two options to exit. But your attention was focused on the eight letter word spray painted in crimson red.

"Croatoan." You whispered to yourself. The word didn't register in your mind for a few seconds, but you could tell there wasn't something quite right about it. As you glanced over at Dean to see if he might know why it looked so familiar, it was the look on his face that made you suddenly remember fearful memories you associated with it. "Oh, crap."

If you thought things couldn't have gotten any worse,  it did. Your eyes drifted away from the word when you noticed a shadowy figure dance across the brick wall. You wondered what it was for a moment, until it came across the corner, making your fears growing even more. You could feel your eyes widened when you saw group of people shuffling forward to the two of you. It started off as no more than three people, but the crowd began to grow even larger, their feet shuffling forward to you. At first you were confused at what was going on. Everyone looked dirty and almost dead in the eyes, there was no emotion, that was, until the man standing in the front of the crowd spotted you first, his eyes drifted over to Dean not a second later. When you noticed the speed was starting to grow into a sprint after they spotted two targets, you bolted out of there.

You ran fast as you could out of the alleyway and back into the isolated streets. Your legs moved quick as they could and you forced yourself to keep your attention directly in front of you. This wasn't going to play out like a horror movie where the damsel runs for her life from the infected crowd of monsters, only to fall flat on her face and be dragged away for a snack as they tear apart her body. Dean shook the terrifying thought out of your mind when he snatched your arm, yanking you to the right, hoping this could be a way to lose the group. As you took the chance to at least look at the wild group of animals that looked like human, you inhaled a deep breath and focused your gaze in front of you. But you could see the horror cliches were working out when you spotted the high wire fence, cornering you, giving you no chance to make another run for it.

You and Dean stopped dead in your tracks when you spotted a large metal fence, a dead end. You let out a frustrated breath as you began examining the fence, wondering if you could somehow jump it in time or find a rip in the wiring just big enough to squeeze yourselves through. But there was nothing. Much to your dismay, you turned around to face the crowd of people that had been following you for the few blocks now. There was too many people, you knew there wasn’t a chance in hell you could fight your way out of this. But it seemed there was somebody looking out for the both of you.

The sound of gunshots registered in your ears just a few seconds after you saw the man who was starting to make his way forward to you take about six bullets to the chest. You instantly dropped yourself to your knees, Dean followed suit, the both of you stumbling out of firing range as you crawled to find better coverage. You fell to the pavement when you heard the gunshots come dangerously close, Dean did what he thought was necessary, he quickly shielded your body with his, waiting for a break from the madness before it would be safe to move. Both of you stayed in the position for a few seconds, listening to the gunshots as everyone who laid in the path was shot down with no mercy. You suddenly found this situation become even worse when you heard music being blasted through a stereo, drowning out the gunshot sounds. You furrowed your brow, listening to the lyrics, someone thought it would have been funny to play "Do You Love Me" by the Contours. It sure didn't fit the mood, but someone had a sick sense of humor.

Dean glanced up to see there was another alley just a few feet from where the both of you were lying. He moved up just enough so you could begin crawling to safety, all while trying to keep yourself hidden in the debris that you tried using to keep yourself hidden. The two of you managed to avoid any detection as you found another fence with a decent size break in it big enough to make a getaway. You squeezed yourself through as you stumbled down the steps, Dean followed behind close as possible as the both of you kept yourselves hidden from the danger that lurked outside. You dropped yourself to the pavement and leaned against the wall, trying to catch your breath from the unexpected chaos that was brought upon you. You listened as the gunfire began to slowly quiet down, you glanced over at Dean, both of you shared the same baffled look, unsure of what you had been subjected to.

+ + +

You and Dean traveled through the town, avoiding the dead bodies that littered the streets and listening for anything that might pierce the silence that had been keeping you on edge. Dean managed to find another fence that seemed promising, he worked diligently on digging through the dirt to make the ripped fence bigger for the both of you to squeeze into. When he thought it was decent enough, he had you go first, crawling through the tight space before making his way though himself. You pushed yourself to your feet and dusted off the dirt from your jeans, mindlessly looking ahead, that's when you noticed a sign. You wandered forward to read it, hoping it would give you insight on what you had landed yourself into. "Crotaton Virus Hot Zone: No Entry By Order of Acting Regional Command August 1st 2014 Kansas City."

"August 1st, 2014." Dean's voice came from behind you, he read the sign for himself to see what was going on here. You read the information for yourself just one more time before looking over your shoulder, wondering if you had really landed yourself five years into the future. Dea shrugged his shoulders, seeming unsure of himself what to believe, it seemed he found something the both of you could use right now, an abandoned car not too far from where you stood. "Let's hope the poor son of a bitch left us a full tank of gas."

Both of you headed to the car, happy to see the owner was in an obvious rush to get out of here, because they left the doors unlocked, giving you easy access to the passenger side. Dean took no more than a few minutes to rip out a few wires and fuss around with them until he got the car started, with almost a full tank of gas. You and him got started on the road, driving out to the empty road to see if you could find any survivors out there. You reached out to fumble with the radio, Dean took out his cell phone, hoping to find service. All you gotten was static and Dean the warning of no service. You let out a frustrated sigh, flicking off the radio as Dean shoved his phone back into his pocket, making a remark about how this wasn't a good sign.

"'Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia.'"

You heard a voice break the silence, making you jump out of your skin as Dean flinched, not expecting for a familiar friend to pop through. You glanced over your shoulder as Dean looked into the rear view mirror to see Zachariah casually sitting in the backseat, his attention focused on the newspaper he was able to read in the darkness. "I thought I smelled your stink on this 'Back to the Future' crap." Dean said, dropping his eyes back to the open road.

"'President Palin defends bombing of Houston.' Certainly a buyer's market in real estate. Let's see what's happening in sports." Zachariah was all too casual for your personal liking, he continued flipping through the pages of the newspaper and skimmed through the articles, looking at all of the sections, as if he was searching for a particular one. "That's right--no more sports. Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of congress, that is. Hardly a quorum, if you ask me."

"What the hell is going on?" You questioned him. "And how the hell did you find me?"

"Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late—human informants. We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier christian groups." Zachariah explained to you. You realized the man you had spoken to outside of the motel, the one who had been so truthfully sarcastic to, had put you in this situation. "They've been given your image along with Dean's, told to keep an eye out for you two lovebirds."

"The bible freak outside the motel," You said. "He ratted us out?"

"Onward, christian soldiers." Zachariah replied, closing up the newspaper.

"Okay, well, good. Great. You had your jolies." Dean said with a sarcastic tone. You looked over to see his grip around the steering wheel had turned dangerously tight, his knuckles slowly faded to a shade of white. "Now send us back, you son of a bitch.'

"Oh, you'll get back—all in good time. We want you two to marinate a bit." Zachariah explained to you. You narrowed your eyes on him, still unsure of what he was trying to accomplish here. "Three days. Three days to see where this course of actions takes the both of you. Your choices have consequences." Your eyes wandered down to the newspaper he was holding and read the headline. "This is what happens to the world if Dean continues to say no to Michael."

"Sarah Palin becomes president? Yeah, that is scary. And here people say Obama was ruining the world." You said, rolling your eyes in annoyance from the tricks he was trying to pull on you. "Are you going to tell me that Donald Trump is gonna run in 2016 and win, too?"

"Joke all you want, Y/N. Have a little look around before you make up your mind. I'm sure you won't like what you helped create." Zachariah warned you. "Have a look see. I'm sure the both of you will change your tune when these three days are up.”

You were about to look over your shoulder once more to give the angel a skeptical look, but when you searched the backseat, Zachariah was long gone. You found yourself sitting back in the passenger side seat and rolled your eyes, finding this situation all too frustrating. The both of you kept driving on the deserted road, hoping when you reached an old friend's house, he would still be there and could explain what was going on.

 + + +

When in doubt, go to Bobby's house. You and Dean arrived in South Dakota an hour after the sun rose, marking the first official day of whatever Zachariah was trying to prove. Bobby's place was usually in a messy state, but when you took notice, it seemed more out of place than it normally was. The both of you headed to the front door, knocking a few times, waiting to see if somebody would answer. But when nobody did, Dean took it upon himself to slowly open the door and peeked inside, hopeful to find Bobby hiding somewhere.

"Bobby? Bobby, it's me and Y/N! We’re coming in!" Dean called out as a precaution. He opened the door wider and began to take slow steps inside, you followed behind. The both of you began walking through the house, tracing your steps through the familiar setting, but with much different interior than you had remembered. Everything seemed to have been shoved around and more cluttered than you had last remembered it seeing. Papers were thrown across the floor and books laid all over, not to mention the faded wallpaper was torn off and frames were barely hanging on. You let out a heavy sigh and followed behind Dean, the two of you stumbled into the living room, where you found a sight that didn't leave a good feeling in the pit of your stomach. "Oh, no."

You moved forward into the room, your eyes drifting to the wheelchair Bobby used to get around. It laid abandoned on the floor, tilted to the side with its owner nowhere to be seen. You bent down and picked it by the handles, you shoved it upwards so the wheelchair was sitting up properly. In this position, you could see the years clearly in the ripped fabric and rusted metal. You ran your fingers down the armrests, wondering what the hell was going on. "Where is everybody, Bobby?"

You looked around the room to see that Dea had disappeared from your sight, drifting off to another part of the house. You pushed yourself to your feet and searched to see where the man had landed himself. It took a few tries but you found him in the library, his back was turned to you as he stood in front of the fireplace and took apart the secret hiding place where you kept John's journal when you didn't carry it on hunts. You wandered forward when he grabbed the journal and began flipping through the familiar pages, hoping to find a certain clue of what was going on, and when he found a photograph sticking out, it seemed that he had done just that.

You peered over his shoulder to see that he was holding a sepia toned photograph. You examined the faces to see it was a group of five men standing outside of a compound you'd never seen before. You glanced over to the right to see Bobby himself in the crowd, along with an all too familiar face, Cas. The angel seemed out of place, holding a gun amongst the group, and sharing the same casual attire, something completely different from what you were used to seeing. Dean's index finger pointed at something in the background, you didn't notice it at first until he directed your attention. You noticed it was a wooden sign with the words "Camp Chitaqua" carved into it. You glanced over at Dean, thinking you may have found your first clue to figuring out what really was going on.

+ + +

The best thing you could find with the word Chitaqua was a lake, and with a simple search of a map, you learned it wasn't too far from where Bobby lived. You and Dean headed over to see the lake also had a campsite with the same name, providing cabins to locals for a summer's resort. The both of you wandered through the darkness to try and find a way in, but one thing lead to another, you found yourself lurking in the woods alone. You shoved a tree branch out of the way and took a giant step forward, trying to make your way through. You managed to find an opening that lead directly to the sign you were looking for. You began heading forward after you noticed there was yet another fence keeping you out and a sign that looked confidental enough was only glanced over by you as you walked forward, wanting to take a look around for yourself.

You made it just a foot away from the fence until you spotted two men walking the grounds, probably keeping an eye out for people like you. You quickly hid yourself behind a bush, watching from the shadows as they kept on going, neither one of them seemed to be a threat as they kept a conversation, laughing at certain parts as you watched them head to a cabin way in the distance. You made your way to the fence and looked your fingers through the holes, your eyes drifted across the empty field, not seeming to notice much, that was, until you spotted a very familiar piece of your past. You leaned forward and squinted slightly, wondering if the junk car with its missing wheels and doors was the Impala itself.

You found the smallest beak in the metal fence, but it was enough to get you through and onto the compound. Quietly, you walked forward to the Impala to see your suspicions were right. The car laid with its front doors missing and all the wheels stripped away. You were rather shocked to see what time had done to the car which had shared so many memories for you. You bent down to examine the damage even further, only to see it was even worse. You let out a sigh and rubbed your hand on the steering wheel, the question yet again what was going on lingered in the back of your mind.

The sounds of footsteps crunching underneath the tall grass caught your attention. You looked over your shoulder to see there was somebody coming forward, giving you little time to find a hiding spot. As you were about to circle around the Impala and hide, you squinted your eyes to see in the dark, the shape of the face was a familiar one. You noticed it was Dean, he must have found a way inside and made the same discovery you had. You peeked your head out just enough to see if your suspicions were right. You quietly called out his name, deciding it wouldn't do harm to put yourself out in the open. When you stood next to the car, Dean's eyes wandered over to you, but his expression was all from what you were expecting.

Dean stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted you standing next to the Impala. His expression changed ever so slowly as his gaze lingered longer than it should have been. You watched as his brow tightened and his jaw slowly slack open, almost like you had appeared out of thin air. "Y/N?" Dean whispered your name, breaking the long pause of silence between the both of you. His voice sounded strange, it was quiet and soft, almost like he hadn't said your name in a long time. You gave him a look as you stepped forward to him, that move instantly broke him out of this trance. "Stay right where the hell you are. Is this some kind of messed up trick your boss thinks is funny? Well, I ain't laughing."

"Dean," You did what you were told, leaving a few feet of distance between the both of you. "What the hell are you talking about? Did you fall down and bump that stupid head of yours while we got separated? It's me, Y/N."

"Sure you are." Dean replied with a bitter tone. "I aint' falling for this again."

You gave him a look of confusion when you listened to the words coming out of his mouth. While you were about to ask him what had crawled up his ass, your eyes drifted down to his outfit, taking notice of the subtly different parts you didn't notice until now. The Dean standing in front of you was wearing a navy green jacket, something you hadn't seen before, not to mention the gun holster on his right thigh. You knew something was wrong here, but before you could declare your innocence from whatever accusation he thought you were holding against him, you felt a sharp pain against the side of your head.

Dean watched as your body dropped to the ground, landing safely on the wild grass that hadn't been taken care in the past four years he'd called this place a safe haven. He dropped himself to a crouch and loomed over your unconscious body, he let the moonlight reflect the features he hadn't seen in a long time. Reaching out a hand, he softly ran a finger across your skin and flicked a piece of hair that landed in your face. Dean examined you for what felt like a lifetime, his throat was starting to tighten up when he noticed you looked exactly how the day you left him, even with the mouth to match. As a smile began to creep across his lips, the rarest moment of happiness that he hadn't felt in five years was broken by the sounds of another pair of footsteps approaching from behind.

Pushing himself to his feet and drawing out his gun from the holster, Dean pointed the barrel directly at the stranger who dared creep up on him. Everyone in the camp knew curfew was at nightfall, and all of his men knew not to approach him without warning him first. Dean stared at the person with a dangerous glare, wondering if a croat had somehow snuck itself on the property. But the person staring at him was almost like looking at a mirror. It was him—a much younger him. The Dean standing across from him had his arms drawn out with a pretend look of panic, something he'd always liked to do just to give the look of surprise when monsters got the jump on him. Dean, the real him of this year, cautiously stared at the man, wondering what the freakin' hell was going on here before his double met the same demise as you.

[thelmasirby32]

The 16 Advantages of Strong Branding for Your Marketing Campaign

Consistent branding across multiple channels can increase your revenue by 23%. A strong brand relies on consistency to make a memorable, considerable impact on its target audience.

If you want to protect your brand, you need to invest in strong branding strategies with a professional marketing agency.

There are several advantages to building a stronger brand strategy. Learn more about the benefits a new or improved, the professionally-designed brand will do for your business.

1. Customers Recognize Your Business

Strong branding naturally grows customer recognition. When customers recognize your brand, you will see several side positive side effects. The power of familiarity can inspire more purchases from customers.

A strong brand should be easily recognized through its slogan, theme, color scheme, or logo. Your products should not look like other brands’ products, or this will diminish customer recognition.

2. Boosted Customer Loyalty

When customers recognize your strong branding, they are more likely to become loyal to your business. Customer loyalty is the way of the future for any marketing strategy. If you do not have loyal customers, your business will suffer. 

Customer loyalty can function as an extension of your vibrant social media presence. Your target market may form a community around your brand’s mission or message. This is critical for any social media marketing strategy.

Loyal customers can also make your brand more recognizable. The more viral your virtual presence, the more your company stands out. Strong brand loyalty supports your business’s future growth, all while generating leads.

3. Stand Out From Your Competition

Strong branding ensures that you stand out from the competition. Any professional marketing agency will ensure that your brand’s content outshines the industry’s opposition. An expert knows how details like blog titles impact your search engine optimization (SEO), making you more or less visible in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Search Engine Optimization

SEO requires a fair amount of expertise but offers significant advantages when employed by a professional marketing agency. You can significantly benefit from higher visibility when potential customers search your business on Google.

SEO can optimize your search ranking on SERPs. The higher your rank, the more visible your business. More visibility means customer recognition, which, in turn, generates leads and customer loyalty.

SEO is just one of the many tools an expert marketing company knows to use when crafting strong branding from the backend of your website to the front end. 

4. Premium Pricing for Your Services and Products

A strong brand can increase your profit by 25%. With increases in your revenue stream, you can offer customers premium pricing. As a marketing tactic, strong branding changes how customers perceive your brand.

If marketed correctly, your company’s products or services will be recognized as more than a commodity. Instead, your strong brand loyalty will generate an emotional effect.

When customers emotionally connect with a brand, they trust your business. More trust means more loyalty. Loyal customers will pay more for your business’s products or services.

You will see higher rates of revenues from your strong brand. In turn, you can reward your loyal customers with all sorts of incentives.

5. Differentiate What Your Business Has to Offer

Standing out from your competition is more than search engine visibility. Strong branding differentiates what your business has to offer, compared to industry opposition. You can use what customers perceive about your unique products and services to amplify your marketing strategy.

Whatever your business has that makes it your business, emphasize on that. Sell that component in whatever you can, especially if it impacts your target audience. If you have niches in sustainability, community-oriented products, or elsewhere, these should be a part of your coordinated brand strategy.

6. Simplified Product and Service Launches

When you roll out a new product or service, strong branding simplifies this process. Your company is perceived as more valuable when you have strong brand loyalty. The emotional connections generated by your newfound loyal customer base can cushion the blow of any seen deficiencies.

If your newly launched goods or services do not hit home right away, a strong customer base can protect your brand. Loyal customers trust your company more. You can leverage this trust for additional time when enhancing new projects with other features.

By the time a new project is launched, new customers will recognize your brand as competent and credible. In turn, any perceived deficiencies from the initial phase of your project launch vanish.

This will save you time, money, and reputation when you do not have to backpedal and justify any misunderstood changes.

7. All the (Loyal) Employees You Could Want

Where you have loyal customers, you have loyal employees. People want to work for a company they respect and trust. Strong branding is not just an external marketing ploy to generate leads and turn a quick profit.

A strong brand is built on strong relationships, from within and without. Your company will attract qualified, dedicated employees with a credible brand. Loyal employees are another way to protect your brand. 

Where there is strong brand loyalty, there is usually a strong purpose. It’s nearly impossible to have a credible, authentic brand strategy without a strong mission inspiring its creation. Your employees will want to participate in this and share it with the world, where possible (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook).

8. Enhanced Teamwork and Decision Making

Your loyal employees are not just loyal to your brand or company. They are also loyal to one another. Ultimately, you cannot put a price on good teamwork.

But, you also can put a price on something so valuable. As wonderful as it is to have a work culture with strong teamwork and strong brand loyalty, you still run a business. Teams that work together are more effective and productive.

Strong branding is just the beginning of enhanced teamwork and improved morale. These fuel higher rates of interaction with your loyal customers and elevates your company as a whole, both in profit margins and culture.

9. Cultivate B2B Connections and Partners

When you differentiate your business from the competition, you stand out to more than potential customers or employees. Your company stands out to prospective partners, too.

Strong branding stands out on a corporate level and inspires interest for business to business connections. These B2B connections are potential partnerships you can leverage to develop your company—no more catering to potential partners who never saw your business from the beginning.

A strong brand caters to more than customer recognition. Do you not want to work with other businesses that recognize your company’s strong branding?

10. Expand Your Business

When you cultivate B2B connections in your professional network, you can expand your business. A more reliable brand paves the way for operational growth. Where you save time and resources catering to potential partners, you can now turn to grow your company.

Customers will recognize your brand as even more valuable when you partner with other companies. This increase in perceived equity opens the door for even more profit. It also grants you higher returns on funds you initially invested in marketing and advertising efforts.

With these increased returns, you can invest in new marketing strategies aligned with your brand. You can even consider more than operational expansion, depending on the partnerships you have cultivated in your B2B connections.

11. Increase Your Credibility

Perception is crucial for a stronger brand. You want customers to recognize your brand as credible and valuable. You also want other businesses, both competition and partners, to view your company in a similar light.

Whenever something goes wrong with a product or service connected to your brand, the more credible you are perceived as, the more insulation, you have. Negative feedback, legitimate or not, becomes less destructive with a stronger brand. 

More credibility means you are less likely to have legitimate harmful exposure in the first place. Your brand’s message will stand out even further with a professional marketing strategy behind it.

12. Connect With Affiliated Influencers

When you develop enough digital clout from your increased B2C and B2B connections, you will attract the attention of people who want to be affiliated with your brand. These potential affiliates resonate with your strong branding and want to use its influence on their campaigns.

Investing in influencers is a potential tactic in social media marketing. Depending on the community and equity of those who want to associate with your brand, affiliating with influencers can open expand your brand recognition. In turn, your company could reach new audiences and generate more leads.

Influencers could potentially negatively impact your brand if your branding is not recognizable enough. A stronger brand can hold its own next to external messaging, which might detract from its central identity. Strong branding remains clear to customers, despite any contradiction from affiliates.

13. Defend Against Negative Exposure

When you have strong brand loyalty, you will see customers more likely to discredit negative commentary. Even with valid concerns about adverse messaging, such as less than usual product quality, customers are more likely to trust your resolutions.

Negative messaging is far less damaging, with a strong branding strategy in place. Even if a disgruntled customer or employee’s complaint goes viral, you remain insulated if you have invested in a strong brand. Your business would suffer disruptive messaging if it did not have a strong brand. 

14. Watch Your Marketing Budget Go Further

Your strong brand loyalty will save you money. It will also generate more money for your business because you have customers who advertise for you. Loyal customers want to share their favored brands in their communities.

Strong branding engages customers on a personal level. More personalized marketing strategies increase rates of interaction, naturally generating more leads without investing in new advertising projects. Additionally, the more recognizable your brand, the less you have to invest in being seen on any platform.

When you have to allocate funds elsewhere due to external crises or increased expansion costs, the capital you saved on marketing can be invested back into your business. You will have a more economically sustainable business.

15. Increase Your Actual and Perceived Value

Perceived value from a positively associated company is almost as valuable as actual equity. Strong branding increases customer loyalty and recognition. For your business, this means that customers will find your brand more relevant.

When you have higher rates of perceived equity, you save on investing valued resources for expanding your business. Fewer funds have to be spent on marketing strategy and upselling for possible B2B connections. 

Any money your business can save by cashing in on perceived equity is a priceless return from strong brand loyalty.

16. More Opportunities and More Potential

When you invest in a professional-level branding strategy, it shows. Your opportunities for growth and expansion will go as far as you are willing to push them. Ultimately, your chances are only limited by how long it takes for customers and potential partners to recognize your brand’s value.

Working With a Professional Marketing Agency for Strong Branding

Now you’re aware of how impactful strong branding can be for your business; you might be tempted to try and develop a strategy on your own. After exploring the benefits of a strong brand, you can see how important it is to maintain consistency in your brand’s messages. Consistency requires expertise, and time you may be unable to invest.

Instead, consider working with a professional marketing agency like Riserr. We work in a wide array of industries and have offered top marketing services for over 11 years. We can help your brand stand out and stand strong if you contact us today. 

Source: https://riserr.com/the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign

from Riserr https://riserr.wordpress.com/2020/07/21/the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign/

[racheljhaydentx]

The 16 Advantages of Strong Branding for Your Marketing Campaign

Consistent branding across multiple channels can increase your revenue by 23%. A strong brand relies on consistency to make a memorable, considerable impact on its target audience.

If you want to protect your brand, you need to invest in strong branding strategies with a professional marketing agency.

There are several advantages to building a stronger brand strategy. Learn more about the benefits a new or improved, the professionally-designed brand will do for your business.

1. Customers Recognize Your Business

Strong branding naturally grows customer recognition. When customers recognize your brand, you will see several side positive side effects. The power of familiarity can inspire more purchases from customers.

A strong brand should be easily recognized through its slogan, theme, color scheme, or logo. Your products should not look like other brands’ products, or this will diminish customer recognition.

2. Boosted Customer Loyalty

When customers recognize your strong branding, they are more likely to become loyal to your business. Customer loyalty is the way of the future for any marketing strategy. If you do not have loyal customers, your business will suffer. 

Customer loyalty can function as an extension of your vibrant social media presence. Your target market may form a community around your brand’s mission or message. This is critical for any social media marketing strategy.

Loyal customers can also make your brand more recognizable. The more viral your virtual presence, the more your company stands out. Strong brand loyalty supports your business’s future growth, all while generating leads.

3. Stand Out From Your Competition

Strong branding ensures that you stand out from the competition. Any professional marketing agency will ensure that your brand’s content outshines the industry’s opposition. An expert knows how details like blog titles impact your search engine optimization (SEO), making you more or less visible in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Search Engine Optimization

SEO requires a fair amount of expertise but offers significant advantages when employed by a professional marketing agency. You can significantly benefit from higher visibility when potential customers search your business on Google.

SEO can optimize your search ranking on SERPs. The higher your rank, the more visible your business. More visibility means customer recognition, which, in turn, generates leads and customer loyalty.

SEO is just one of the many tools an expert marketing company knows to use when crafting strong branding from the backend of your website to the front end. 

4. Premium Pricing for Your Services and Products

A strong brand can increase your profit by 25%. With increases in your revenue stream, you can offer customers premium pricing. As a marketing tactic, strong branding changes how customers perceive your brand.

If marketed correctly, your company’s products or services will be recognized as more than a commodity. Instead, your strong brand loyalty will generate an emotional effect.

When customers emotionally connect with a brand, they trust your business. More trust means more loyalty. Loyal customers will pay more for your business’s products or services.

You will see higher rates of revenues from your strong brand. In turn, you can reward your loyal customers with all sorts of incentives.

5. Differentiate What Your Business Has to Offer

Standing out from your competition is more than search engine visibility. Strong branding differentiates what your business has to offer, compared to industry opposition. You can use what customers perceive about your unique products and services to amplify your marketing strategy.

Whatever your business has that makes it your business, emphasize on that. Sell that component in whatever you can, especially if it impacts your target audience. If you have niches in sustainability, community-oriented products, or elsewhere, these should be a part of your coordinated brand strategy.

6. Simplified Product and Service Launches

When you roll out a new product or service, strong branding simplifies this process. Your company is perceived as more valuable when you have strong brand loyalty. The emotional connections generated by your newfound loyal customer base can cushion the blow of any seen deficiencies.

If your newly launched goods or services do not hit home right away, a strong customer base can protect your brand. Loyal customers trust your company more. You can leverage this trust for additional time when enhancing new projects with other features.

By the time a new project is launched, new customers will recognize your brand as competent and credible. In turn, any perceived deficiencies from the initial phase of your project launch vanish.

This will save you time, money, and reputation when you do not have to backpedal and justify any misunderstood changes.

7. All the (Loyal) Employees You Could Want

Where you have loyal customers, you have loyal employees. People want to work for a company they respect and trust. Strong branding is not just an external marketing ploy to generate leads and turn a quick profit.

A strong brand is built on strong relationships, from within and without. Your company will attract qualified, dedicated employees with a credible brand. Loyal employees are another way to protect your brand. 

Where there is strong brand loyalty, there is usually a strong purpose. It’s nearly impossible to have a credible, authentic brand strategy without a strong mission inspiring its creation. Your employees will want to participate in this and share it with the world, where possible (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook).

8. Enhanced Teamwork and Decision Making

Your loyal employees are not just loyal to your brand or company. They are also loyal to one another. Ultimately, you cannot put a price on good teamwork.

But, you also can put a price on something so valuable. As wonderful as it is to have a work culture with strong teamwork and strong brand loyalty, you still run a business. Teams that work together are more effective and productive.

Strong branding is just the beginning of enhanced teamwork and improved morale. These fuel higher rates of interaction with your loyal customers and elevates your company as a whole, both in profit margins and culture.

9. Cultivate B2B Connections and Partners

When you differentiate your business from the competition, you stand out to more than potential customers or employees. Your company stands out to prospective partners, too.

Strong branding stands out on a corporate level and inspires interest for business to business connections. These B2B connections are potential partnerships you can leverage to develop your company—no more catering to potential partners who never saw your business from the beginning.

A strong brand caters to more than customer recognition. Do you not want to work with other businesses that recognize your company’s strong branding?

10. Expand Your Business

When you cultivate B2B connections in your professional network, you can expand your business. A more reliable brand paves the way for operational growth. Where you save time and resources catering to potential partners, you can now turn to grow your company.

Customers will recognize your brand as even more valuable when you partner with other companies. This increase in perceived equity opens the door for even more profit. It also grants you higher returns on funds you initially invested in marketing and advertising efforts.

With these increased returns, you can invest in new marketing strategies aligned with your brand. You can even consider more than operational expansion, depending on the partnerships you have cultivated in your B2B connections.

11. Increase Your Credibility

Perception is crucial for a stronger brand. You want customers to recognize your brand as credible and valuable. You also want other businesses, both competition and partners, to view your company in a similar light.

Whenever something goes wrong with a product or service connected to your brand, the more credible you are perceived as, the more insulation, you have. Negative feedback, legitimate or not, becomes less destructive with a stronger brand. 

More credibility means you are less likely to have legitimate harmful exposure in the first place. Your brand’s message will stand out even further with a professional marketing strategy behind it.

12. Connect With Affiliated Influencers

When you develop enough digital clout from your increased B2C and B2B connections, you will attract the attention of people who want to be affiliated with your brand. These potential affiliates resonate with your strong branding and want to use its influence on their campaigns.

Investing in influencers is a potential tactic in social media marketing. Depending on the community and equity of those who want to associate with your brand, affiliating with influencers can open expand your brand recognition. In turn, your company could reach new audiences and generate more leads.

Influencers could potentially negatively impact your brand if your branding is not recognizable enough. A stronger brand can hold its own next to external messaging, which might detract from its central identity. Strong branding remains clear to customers, despite any contradiction from affiliates.

13. Defend Against Negative Exposure

When you have strong brand loyalty, you will see customers more likely to discredit negative commentary. Even with valid concerns about adverse messaging, such as less than usual product quality, customers are more likely to trust your resolutions.

Negative messaging is far less damaging, with a strong branding strategy in place. Even if a disgruntled customer or employee’s complaint goes viral, you remain insulated if you have invested in a strong brand. Your business would suffer disruptive messaging if it did not have a strong brand. 

14. Watch Your Marketing Budget Go Further

Your strong brand loyalty will save you money. It will also generate more money for your business because you have customers who advertise for you. Loyal customers want to share their favored brands in their communities.

Strong branding engages customers on a personal level. More personalized marketing strategies increase rates of interaction, naturally generating more leads without investing in new advertising projects. Additionally, the more recognizable your brand, the less you have to invest in being seen on any platform.

When you have to allocate funds elsewhere due to external crises or increased expansion costs, the capital you saved on marketing can be invested back into your business. You will have a more economically sustainable business.

15. Increase Your Actual and Perceived Value

Perceived value from a positively associated company is almost as valuable as actual equity. Strong branding increases customer loyalty and recognition. For your business, this means that customers will find your brand more relevant.

When you have higher rates of perceived equity, you save on investing valued resources for expanding your business. Fewer funds have to be spent on marketing strategy and upselling for possible B2B connections. 

Any money your business can save by cashing in on perceived equity is a priceless return from strong brand loyalty.

16. More Opportunities and More Potential

When you invest in a professional-level branding strategy, it shows. Your opportunities for growth and expansion will go as far as you are willing to push them. Ultimately, your chances are only limited by how long it takes for customers and potential partners to recognize your brand’s value.

Working With a Professional Marketing Agency for Strong Branding

Now you’re aware of how impactful strong branding can be for your business; you might be tempted to try and develop a strategy on your own. After exploring the benefits of a strong brand, you can see how important it is to maintain consistency in your brand’s messages. Consistency requires expertise, and time you may be unable to invest.

Instead, consider working with a professional marketing agency like Riserr. We work in a wide array of industries and have offered top marketing services for over 11 years. We can help your brand stand out and stand strong if you contact us today. 

from Riserr Marketing https://riserr.com/the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign from Riserr https://riserr1.tumblr.com/post/624284545412415488

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, November 2

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Jealous O.J. Simpson killed Nicole Brown over sizzling photos 

Page 2: Melanie Griffith was caught in lockdown meltdown mode outside her Los Angeles home yelling at an unsuspecting laborer and giving him a good working over after he somehow crossed her bath and pushed her buttons but it doesn’t take much to get Mel to blow these days because she’s upset about two things which are getting old and not having a man in her life 

Page 3: Lisa Marie Presley’s son Ben Keough’s tragic last moments were caught on tape as he argued with his girlfriend according to the coroner’s report on his suicide and security camera footage also captured the eerie sound of an apparent gunshot said the officer who viewed the tape -- Ben had hosted a party for his girlfriend Diana Pinto then about 4 a.m. the 27-year-old musician went to his bedroom; two hours later Diana went to check on him and had to jimmy the bedroom door lock with a bobby pin and she discovered his body and called 911 but Ben was pronounced dead at the scene -- since his death a devastated Lisa Marie has blamed herself for not intervening sooner; Ben had been to rehab several months before and Lisa Marie could see he was struggling with drugs and depression and she has kept a close eye on Ben’s gravesite with Graceland’s surveillance system 

Page 4: Anne Heche’s shocking public pronouncement that she wants to reunite with former galpal Ellen DeGeneres was met with fury from Ellen wife Portia de Rossi -- Ellen and Anne were Hollywood’s highest-profile lesbian couple when they dated for three years before their bitter split in 2000 and they haven’t spoken since but Anne announced after her elimination on Dancing with the Stars that she would love to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show but Portia has made it clear she wants Anne nowhere near her wife and she believes Anne is using Ellen to drum up publicity for herself, lonely Ryan Seacrest is longing for a reunion with former flame Shayna Taylor but she wants no part of him -- workaholic Ryan announced the combustible couple’s third split in June after eight on-and-off years together -- Ryan’s obsession with being the next Dick Clark tests the patience of everybody around him and it’s made him a nightmare to be in a relationship with as Shayna found out firsthand -- Ryan seemed so cocky and sure that breaking up was the right thing to do but not having Shayna there to lean on has really gotten to him however Shayna is refusing to be played for a fool 

Page 5: Kelly Clarkson made a massive mistake dumping husband Brandon Blackstock according to famed numerologist Glynis McCants 

Page 6: Doting dad Kanye West is spoiling oldest daughter North rotten and it’s causing even more problems between him and wife Kim Kardashian because Kim feels North is getting too spoiled but Kanye won’t hear any of it because North is his firstborn and his princess and he treats her like it -- North is regularly served breakfast in bed on a silver tray and gets whatever she wants even if it’s waffles with strawberries and ice cream and she also has a team of beauticians and a stylist to cater to her every need as though she was a full-grown woman and her wardrobe is extensive and expensive and she never wears the same designer outfit twice plus North also loves to shop online for jewelry and Kanye gives her his credit card and she can spend $100,000 in a single sitting and Kanye just thinks it’s cute 

Page 7: Daring Jill Duggar and husband Derick Dillard are rebelling against her conservative parents and causing a full-scale family war as the couple has publicly defied Baptist patriarch Jim Bob Duggar several times since their 2014 marriage and now they’ve been banned from the 19 Kids and Counting reality clan; Jim Bob’s even demanded that their neighbors have nothing to do with them -- Jill and Derick drew Jim Bob’s fury after criticizing her parents’ conservative views and shutting down their own family factory after having two sons and said they’re stopping there for now unlike Jill’s folks who had 19 kids, dog lover Jennifer Aniston adores her new rescue puppy but potty-training the pooch has been the pits so desperate Jen had to sign up her new pup Lord Chesterfield for private lessons with a dog trainer -- she has two other dogs Clyde and Sophie but they’re well-behaved and know to do their business outdoors and Jen loves them all but she forgot how much work it is to train a puppy 

Page 8: Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle revealed her private battle with depression as her struggles with first-time motherhood and fitting in with the rigid royal family pushed her over the edge but Queen Elizabeth thinks her conniving confession is simply a ploy to sully the monarchy -- Meghan described the emotional pain caused by criticism as a death by a thousand cuts and said if people are saying things about you that aren’t true what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging -- Queen Elizabeth believes Meghan’s confession is a calculated attack on the monarchy and Meghan is acting like the royals waged a war against her but Meghan and Harry’s actions since they quit have infuriated Her Majesty because Meghan keeps orchestrating situations where she takes center stage appearing to support and put the spotlight on those in need but she turns them all into opportunities to talk about herself and how hard her struggle is

Page 9: Rattled Tyra Banks’ rocky start on Dancing with the Stars has her looking for a way to waltz off the show and she is already trying to back out of hosting because she hates the criticism she’s been getting from virtually everyone plus she’s unpopular with the contestants and is bickering behind the scenes with producers who now regret replacing longtime hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews -- ratings have also plummeted since Tyra took the helm with the show losing more than a million viewers in early October from the same week in 2019

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Gwen Stefani during a photo session in Calabasas, Tiffany Haddish used a leaf blower during a skit on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Justin Bieber on a scooter in Beverly Hills, Zosia Mamet donned a unicorn horn as she wrapped the final scenes of The Flight Attendant, Robert Pattinson and Colin Farrell on the Liverpool set of The Batman 

Page 11: John Oliver’s jokey jabs have earned him a crappy honor from the town of Danbury in Connecticut -- after he ragged on tony Danbury on his show Mayor Mark Boughton vowed to rename its sewage plant after him and now it’s official that the Danbury Sewage Plant is now the John Oliver Memorial Sewage Plant and as promised John is donating $55,000 to local charities which has spurred fundraising efforts for local food banks and Boughton is offering tours of the plant for $500 donations to local food pantries, ailing Phil Collins was rocked by ex-wife Orianne’s betrayal and pals fear he won’t make it to Christmas -- the singer was shocked when it emerged that Orianne who he’d divorced in 2006 and reunited with a decade later married another man in Las Vegas and the stunning news prompted him to serve an eviction notice to get her out of his Miami home and his life for good but Orianne refused to leave

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Nev Schulman on roller blades in an L.A. parking lot (picture), Eboni K. Williams only landed the gig on The Real Housewives of New York City because she co-hosts State of the Culture on Sean Diddy Combs’ Revolt TV cable network and Bravo is desperate to get famous New Yorkers on the show so cameras will be following Eboni around at work hoping to catch Diddy, with Keeping Up with the Kardashians ending E! is looking for the next big reality family and it may be Sylvester Stallone’s daughters Sophia and Sistine and Scarlet Stallone who are all models and not one has a sex tape, with Bravo boss Andy Cohen and axed Housewife NeNe Leakes at war their mutual friends are being forced to pick sides -- Andy gave NeNe access to his famous non-reality show friends and now he’s regretting it -- Kelly Ripa and Anderson Cooper are all Team Andy

Page 13: Kris Kristofferson is battling Alzheimer’s disease and has been forced to retire from singing and acting but the songwriter is in the best place he can be at his home in Maui with family and friends who are surrounding him with love and support, frantic Kate Gosselin is feeling a financial pinch and ready to take a bath on her house by putting her $1.2 million mansion on the market for a measly $815,000 because she’s been struggling with money because she hasn’t worked in a while and living off the money she made in past 

Page 14: Crime 

Page 15: Marie Osmond was blue over being booted from The Talk but husband Steve Craig gave her something to get over it which was a stunning pair of opal and tanzanite earrings worth nearly $3000, Megan Thee Stallion cheated death when she was shot twice in July and is now using the terrifying incident as a platform to empower Black women and she wrote an op-ed saying the attack proved she and other Black women are not protected as human beings -- fellow rapper Tory Lanez was charged with the shooting that left two flesh-shredding wounds in Megan’s feet and allegedly took place after they argued in an SUV in Hollywood Hills 

Page 16: Cover Story -- Rampaging O.J. Simpson was driven into a kill-crazy rage after seeing photos of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson dating hunky young boytoys and flaunting her body in modeling shots -- 25 years after the disgraced football star’s 1995 acquittal intimate images from Nicole’s secret photo album including a picture of the blond beauty posing topless with lover Brett Shaves is believed to have given the jealous ex-jock a motive for murder 

Page 18: American Life -- I found a $1M diamond in the rough 

Page 19: John Travolta paid tribute to wife Kelly Preston on what would have been her 58th birthday three months after tragic death following a secret two-year battle with breast cancer -- John addressed his late love in a touching Instagram post featuring an image from their 1991 wedding day alongside a picture of his own parents as newlyweds, sci-fi legend George Takei has fired yet another shot at former Star Trek castmate William Shatner as the aging actors’ war of words continues to rage on well into their 80s -- George who played Sulu claimed Shatner was jealous of the amount of fan mail received by their late co-star Leonard Nimoy who played Spock but Captain Kirk shot off a testy response and claimed George was making things up and the only person with jealousy is George -- when told Shatner’s comments George calmly remarked that you can tell by those words that he is upset to put it mildly 

Page 20: In a rerun of their long-running rivalry Madonna and Mariah Carey are prepping dueling biopics -- their cold war dates back to the ‘90s but Mariah ramped up their feud when she revealed the very exciting prospect of her biopic but that followed Madonna’s announcement that she was collaborating on her own script -- they’re each obsessed with getting their film out first and getting the right It Girl to play her so the other one doesn’t grab her first

Page 21: Elton John and ex-wife Renate Blauel agreed to zip their lips about their four-year marriage and privately settled her $3.8 million lawsuit over claims he blabbed about their relationship in his memoir Me and the movie Rocketman, Stevie Nicks admitted her insomnia has gotten so bad that she needs therapy or needs someone to hit her on the head with a hammer -- she’s long been nocturnal and it used to be she could sleep from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. but now says she doesn’t nod off until 8 a.m., singer Amy Winehouse died in 2011 but her dad claimed he still can’t get her out of his house -- former taxi driver Mitch Winehouse who is working on a movie and stage show about the late singer insisted he’s regularly visited by his daughter’s ghost who comes and sits at the end of his bed -- Mitch also said Amy helps around the house in his dreams 

Page 26: Niecy Nash’s new bride Jessica Betts has a nightmarish criminal past according to police reports -- Jessica was arrested twice in Chicago once for domestic battery and then for selling a gun to a minor

Page 28: Stars Who Refuse to Zip It -- cringeworthy confessions and nasty habits and more -- Jennifer Love Hewitt, Megan Fox, Al Roker, Olivia Wilde 

Page 29: Kristen Stewart on Robert Pattinson, John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Suzanne Somers 

Page 32: Demi Lovato’s relentless ex Max Ehrich refuses to let her go and her friends are worried he’s turning into a stalker -- since their breakup he’s been particularly creepy, Tatum O’Neal’s confession that she was ready to jump off the balcony of a Los Angeles home was actually a desperate cry for help -- Tatum was reportedly put on a psychiatric hold at a local hospital after the alleged incident and the event signaled she was in unbearable emotional and physical pain and she feels lost and rejected because she was the youngest Oscar winner ever and now she has trouble finding a job and lost all confidence in herself 

Page 34: India Oxenberg has confessed she was afraid of former NXIVM cult master Allison Mack of TV’s Smallville -- India found herself Allison’s slave and realized she was being groomed as a sexual partner for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere and she was branded with Raniere’s initials in her pelvic regions, a disturbing TV interview in England has sparked new fears for the well-being on boxer Mike Tyson -- Mike looked like the train wreck he was when he was plowing through drugs and was sent to prison in the early ‘90s; he looked barely conscious as he slurred his speech and offered incoherent responses -- Tyson blamed his interview on lack of sleep and insisted his contact with drugs is now limited to growing and smoking pot on his California ranch 

Page 36: Health Watch

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Zendaya 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Debbie Matenopoulos on Home and Family 

[riserr1]

The 16 Advantages of Strong Branding for Your Marketing Campaign

Consistent branding across multiple channels can increase your revenue by 23%. A strong brand relies on consistency to make a memorable, considerable impact on its target audience.

If you want to protect your brand, you need to invest in strong branding strategies with a professional marketing agency.

There are several advantages to building a stronger brand strategy. Learn more about the benefits a new or improved, the professionally-designed brand will do for your business.

1. Customers Recognize Your Business

Strong branding naturally grows customer recognition. When customers recognize your brand, you will see several side positive side effects. The power of familiarity can inspire more purchases from customers.

A strong brand should be easily recognized through its slogan, theme, color scheme, or logo. Your products should not look like other brands’ products, or this will diminish customer recognition.

2. Boosted Customer Loyalty

When customers recognize your strong branding, they are more likely to become loyal to your business. Customer loyalty is the way of the future for any marketing strategy. If you do not have loyal customers, your business will suffer. 

Customer loyalty can function as an extension of your vibrant social media presence. Your target market may form a community around your brand’s mission or message. This is critical for any social media marketing strategy.

Loyal customers can also make your brand more recognizable. The more viral your virtual presence, the more your company stands out. Strong brand loyalty supports your business’s future growth, all while generating leads.

3. Stand Out From Your Competition

Strong branding ensures that you stand out from the competition. Any professional marketing agency will ensure that your brand’s content outshines the industry’s opposition. An expert knows how details like blog titles impact your search engine optimization (SEO), making you more or less visible in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Search Engine Optimization

SEO requires a fair amount of expertise but offers significant advantages when employed by a professional marketing agency. You can significantly benefit from higher visibility when potential customers search your business on Google.

SEO can optimize your search ranking on SERPs. The higher your rank, the more visible your business. More visibility means customer recognition, which, in turn, generates leads and customer loyalty.

SEO is just one of the many tools an expert marketing company knows to use when crafting strong branding from the backend of your website to the front end. 

4. Premium Pricing for Your Services and Products

A strong brand can increase your profit by 25%. With increases in your revenue stream, you can offer customers premium pricing. As a marketing tactic, strong branding changes how customers perceive your brand.

If marketed correctly, your company’s products or services will be recognized as more than a commodity. Instead, your strong brand loyalty will generate an emotional effect.

When customers emotionally connect with a brand, they trust your business. More trust means more loyalty. Loyal customers will pay more for your business’s products or services.

You will see higher rates of revenues from your strong brand. In turn, you can reward your loyal customers with all sorts of incentives.

5. Differentiate What Your Business Has to Offer

Standing out from your competition is more than search engine visibility. Strong branding differentiates what your business has to offer, compared to industry opposition. You can use what customers perceive about your unique products and services to amplify your marketing strategy.

Whatever your business has that makes it your business, emphasize on that. Sell that component in whatever you can, especially if it impacts your target audience. If you have niches in sustainability, community-oriented products, or elsewhere, these should be a part of your coordinated brand strategy.

6. Simplified Product and Service Launches

When you roll out a new product or service, strong branding simplifies this process. Your company is perceived as more valuable when you have strong brand loyalty. The emotional connections generated by your newfound loyal customer base can cushion the blow of any seen deficiencies.

If your newly launched goods or services do not hit home right away, a strong customer base can protect your brand. Loyal customers trust your company more. You can leverage this trust for additional time when enhancing new projects with other features.

By the time a new project is launched, new customers will recognize your brand as competent and credible. In turn, any perceived deficiencies from the initial phase of your project launch vanish.

This will save you time, money, and reputation when you do not have to backpedal and justify any misunderstood changes.

7. All the (Loyal) Employees You Could Want

Where you have loyal customers, you have loyal employees. People want to work for a company they respect and trust. Strong branding is not just an external marketing ploy to generate leads and turn a quick profit.

A strong brand is built on strong relationships, from within and without. Your company will attract qualified, dedicated employees with a credible brand. Loyal employees are another way to protect your brand. 

Where there is strong brand loyalty, there is usually a strong purpose. It’s nearly impossible to have a credible, authentic brand strategy without a strong mission inspiring its creation. Your employees will want to participate in this and share it with the world, where possible (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook).

8. Enhanced Teamwork and Decision Making

Your loyal employees are not just loyal to your brand or company. They are also loyal to one another. Ultimately, you cannot put a price on good teamwork.

But, you also can put a price on something so valuable. As wonderful as it is to have a work culture with strong teamwork and strong brand loyalty, you still run a business. Teams that work together are more effective and productive.

Strong branding is just the beginning of enhanced teamwork and improved morale. These fuel higher rates of interaction with your loyal customers and elevates your company as a whole, both in profit margins and culture.

9. Cultivate B2B Connections and Partners

When you differentiate your business from the competition, you stand out to more than potential customers or employees. Your company stands out to prospective partners, too.

Strong branding stands out on a corporate level and inspires interest for business to business connections. These B2B connections are potential partnerships you can leverage to develop your company—no more catering to potential partners who never saw your business from the beginning.

A strong brand caters to more than customer recognition. Do you not want to work with other businesses that recognize your company’s strong branding?

10. Expand Your Business

When you cultivate B2B connections in your professional network, you can expand your business. A more reliable brand paves the way for operational growth. Where you save time and resources catering to potential partners, you can now turn to grow your company.

Customers will recognize your brand as even more valuable when you partner with other companies. This increase in perceived equity opens the door for even more profit. It also grants you higher returns on funds you initially invested in marketing and advertising efforts.

With these increased returns, you can invest in new marketing strategies aligned with your brand. You can even consider more than operational expansion, depending on the partnerships you have cultivated in your B2B connections.

11. Increase Your Credibility

Perception is crucial for a stronger brand. You want customers to recognize your brand as credible and valuable. You also want other businesses, both competition and partners, to view your company in a similar light.

Whenever something goes wrong with a product or service connected to your brand, the more credible you are perceived as, the more insulation, you have. Negative feedback, legitimate or not, becomes less destructive with a stronger brand. 

More credibility means you are less likely to have legitimate harmful exposure in the first place. Your brand’s message will stand out even further with a professional marketing strategy behind it.

12. Connect With Affiliated Influencers

When you develop enough digital clout from your increased B2C and B2B connections, you will attract the attention of people who want to be affiliated with your brand. These potential affiliates resonate with your strong branding and want to use its influence on their campaigns.

Investing in influencers is a potential tactic in social media marketing. Depending on the community and equity of those who want to associate with your brand, affiliating with influencers can open expand your brand recognition. In turn, your company could reach new audiences and generate more leads.

Influencers could potentially negatively impact your brand if your branding is not recognizable enough. A stronger brand can hold its own next to external messaging, which might detract from its central identity. Strong branding remains clear to customers, despite any contradiction from affiliates.

13. Defend Against Negative Exposure

When you have strong brand loyalty, you will see customers more likely to discredit negative commentary. Even with valid concerns about adverse messaging, such as less than usual product quality, customers are more likely to trust your resolutions.

Negative messaging is far less damaging, with a strong branding strategy in place. Even if a disgruntled customer or employee’s complaint goes viral, you remain insulated if you have invested in a strong brand. Your business would suffer disruptive messaging if it did not have a strong brand. 

14. Watch Your Marketing Budget Go Further

Your strong brand loyalty will save you money. It will also generate more money for your business because you have customers who advertise for you. Loyal customers want to share their favored brands in their communities.

Strong branding engages customers on a personal level. More personalized marketing strategies increase rates of interaction, naturally generating more leads without investing in new advertising projects. Additionally, the more recognizable your brand, the less you have to invest in being seen on any platform.

When you have to allocate funds elsewhere due to external crises or increased expansion costs, the capital you saved on marketing can be invested back into your business. You will have a more economically sustainable business.

15. Increase Your Actual and Perceived Value

Perceived value from a positively associated company is almost as valuable as actual equity. Strong branding increases customer loyalty and recognition. For your business, this means that customers will find your brand more relevant.

When you have higher rates of perceived equity, you save on investing valued resources for expanding your business. Fewer funds have to be spent on marketing strategy and upselling for possible B2B connections. 

Any money your business can save by cashing in on perceived equity is a priceless return from strong brand loyalty.

16. More Opportunities and More Potential

When you invest in a professional-level branding strategy, it shows. Your opportunities for growth and expansion will go as far as you are willing to push them. Ultimately, your chances are only limited by how long it takes for customers and potential partners to recognize your brand’s value.

Working With a Professional Marketing Agency for Strong Branding

Now you’re aware of how impactful strong branding can be for your business; you might be tempted to try and develop a strategy on your own. After exploring the benefits of a strong brand, you can see how important it is to maintain consistency in your brand’s messages. Consistency requires expertise, and time you may be unable to invest.

Instead, consider working with a professional marketing agency like Riserr. We work in a wide array of industries and have offered top marketing services for over 11 years. We can help your brand stand out and stand strong if you contact us today. 

from Riserr Marketing https://riserr.com/the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign

[williamlwolf89]

The 16 Advantages of Strong Branding for Your Marketing Campaign

Consistent branding across multiple channels can increase your revenue by 23%. A strong brand relies on consistency to make a memorable, considerable impact on its target audience.

If you want to protect your brand, you need to invest in strong branding strategies with a professional marketing agency.

There are several advantages to building a stronger brand strategy. Learn more about the benefits a new or improved, the professionally-designed brand will do for your business.

1. Customers Recognize Your Business

Strong branding naturally grows customer recognition. When customers recognize your brand, you will see several side positive side effects. The power of familiarity can inspire more purchases from customers.

A strong brand should be easily recognized through its slogan, theme, color scheme, or logo. Your products should not look like other brands’ products, or this will diminish customer recognition.

2. Boosted Customer Loyalty

When customers recognize your strong branding, they are more likely to become loyal to your business. Customer loyalty is the way of the future for any marketing strategy. If you do not have loyal customers, your business will suffer. 

Customer loyalty can function as an extension of your vibrant social media presence. Your target market may form a community around your brand’s mission or message. This is critical for any social media marketing strategy.

Loyal customers can also make your brand more recognizable. The more viral your virtual presence, the more your company stands out. Strong brand loyalty supports your business’s future growth, all while generating leads.

3. Stand Out From Your Competition

Strong branding ensures that you stand out from the competition. Any professional marketing agency will ensure that your brand’s content outshines the industry’s opposition. An expert knows how details like blog titles impact your search engine optimization (SEO), making you more or less visible in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Search Engine Optimization

SEO requires a fair amount of expertise but offers significant advantages when employed by a professional marketing agency. You can significantly benefit from higher visibility when potential customers search your business on Google.

SEO can optimize your search ranking on SERPs. The higher your rank, the more visible your business. More visibility means customer recognition, which, in turn, generates leads and customer loyalty.

SEO is just one of the many tools an expert marketing company knows to use when crafting strong branding from the backend of your website to the front end. 

4. Premium Pricing for Your Services and Products

A strong brand can increase your profit by 25%. With increases in your revenue stream, you can offer customers premium pricing. As a marketing tactic, strong branding changes how customers perceive your brand.

If marketed correctly, your company’s products or services will be recognized as more than a commodity. Instead, your strong brand loyalty will generate an emotional effect.

When customers emotionally connect with a brand, they trust your business. More trust means more loyalty. Loyal customers will pay more for your business’s products or services.

You will see higher rates of revenues from your strong brand. In turn, you can reward your loyal customers with all sorts of incentives.

5. Differentiate What Your Business Has to Offer

Standing out from your competition is more than search engine visibility. Strong branding differentiates what your business has to offer, compared to industry opposition. You can use what customers perceive about your unique products and services to amplify your marketing strategy.

Whatever your business has that makes it your business, emphasize on that. Sell that component in whatever you can, especially if it impacts your target audience. If you have niches in sustainability, community-oriented products, or elsewhere, these should be a part of your coordinated brand strategy.

6. Simplified Product and Service Launches

When you roll out a new product or service, strong branding simplifies this process. Your company is perceived as more valuable when you have strong brand loyalty. The emotional connections generated by your newfound loyal customer base can cushion the blow of any seen deficiencies.

If your newly launched goods or services do not hit home right away, a strong customer base can protect your brand. Loyal customers trust your company more. You can leverage this trust for additional time when enhancing new projects with other features.

By the time a new project is launched, new customers will recognize your brand as competent and credible. In turn, any perceived deficiencies from the initial phase of your project launch vanish.

This will save you time, money, and reputation when you do not have to backpedal and justify any misunderstood changes.

7. All the (Loyal) Employees You Could Want

Where you have loyal customers, you have loyal employees. People want to work for a company they respect and trust. Strong branding is not just an external marketing ploy to generate leads and turn a quick profit.

A strong brand is built on strong relationships, from within and without. Your company will attract qualified, dedicated employees with a credible brand. Loyal employees are another way to protect your brand. 

Where there is strong brand loyalty, there is usually a strong purpose. It’s nearly impossible to have a credible, authentic brand strategy without a strong mission inspiring its creation. Your employees will want to participate in this and share it with the world, where possible (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook).

8. Enhanced Teamwork and Decision Making

Your loyal employees are not just loyal to your brand or company. They are also loyal to one another. Ultimately, you cannot put a price on good teamwork.

But, you also can put a price on something so valuable. As wonderful as it is to have a work culture with strong teamwork and strong brand loyalty, you still run a business. Teams that work together are more effective and productive.

Strong branding is just the beginning of enhanced teamwork and improved morale. These fuel higher rates of interaction with your loyal customers and elevates your company as a whole, both in profit margins and culture.

9. Cultivate B2B Connections and Partners

When you differentiate your business from the competition, you stand out to more than potential customers or employees. Your company stands out to prospective partners, too.

Strong branding stands out on a corporate level and inspires interest for business to business connections. These B2B connections are potential partnerships you can leverage to develop your company—no more catering to potential partners who never saw your business from the beginning.

A strong brand caters to more than customer recognition. Do you not want to work with other businesses that recognize your company’s strong branding?

10. Expand Your Business

When you cultivate B2B connections in your professional network, you can expand your business. A more reliable brand paves the way for operational growth. Where you save time and resources catering to potential partners, you can now turn to grow your company.

Customers will recognize your brand as even more valuable when you partner with other companies. This increase in perceived equity opens the door for even more profit. It also grants you higher returns on funds you initially invested in marketing and advertising efforts.

With these increased returns, you can invest in new marketing strategies aligned with your brand. You can even consider more than operational expansion, depending on the partnerships you have cultivated in your B2B connections.

11. Increase Your Credibility

Perception is crucial for a stronger brand. You want customers to recognize your brand as credible and valuable. You also want other businesses, both competition and partners, to view your company in a similar light.

Whenever something goes wrong with a product or service connected to your brand, the more credible you are perceived as, the more insulation, you have. Negative feedback, legitimate or not, becomes less destructive with a stronger brand. 

More credibility means you are less likely to have legitimate harmful exposure in the first place. Your brand’s message will stand out even further with a professional marketing strategy behind it.

12. Connect With Affiliated Influencers

When you develop enough digital clout from your increased B2C and B2B connections, you will attract the attention of people who want to be affiliated with your brand. These potential affiliates resonate with your strong branding and want to use its influence on their campaigns.

Investing in influencers is a potential tactic in social media marketing. Depending on the community and equity of those who want to associate with your brand, affiliating with influencers can open expand your brand recognition. In turn, your company could reach new audiences and generate more leads.

Influencers could potentially negatively impact your brand if your branding is not recognizable enough. A stronger brand can hold its own next to external messaging, which might detract from its central identity. Strong branding remains clear to customers, despite any contradiction from affiliates.

13. Defend Against Negative Exposure

When you have strong brand loyalty, you will see customers more likely to discredit negative commentary. Even with valid concerns about adverse messaging, such as less than usual product quality, customers are more likely to trust your resolutions.

Negative messaging is far less damaging, with a strong branding strategy in place. Even if a disgruntled customer or employee’s complaint goes viral, you remain insulated if you have invested in a strong brand. Your business would suffer disruptive messaging if it did not have a strong brand. 

14. Watch Your Marketing Budget Go Further

Your strong brand loyalty will save you money. It will also generate more money for your business because you have customers who advertise for you. Loyal customers want to share their favored brands in their communities.

Strong branding engages customers on a personal level. More personalized marketing strategies increase rates of interaction, naturally generating more leads without investing in new advertising projects. Additionally, the more recognizable your brand, the less you have to invest in being seen on any platform.

When you have to allocate funds elsewhere due to external crises or increased expansion costs, the capital you saved on marketing can be invested back into your business. You will have a more economically sustainable business.

15. Increase Your Actual and Perceived Value

Perceived value from a positively associated company is almost as valuable as actual equity. Strong branding increases customer loyalty and recognition. For your business, this means that customers will find your brand more relevant.

When you have higher rates of perceived equity, you save on investing valued resources for expanding your business. Fewer funds have to be spent on marketing strategy and upselling for possible B2B connections. 

Any money your business can save by cashing in on perceived equity is a priceless return from strong brand loyalty.

16. More Opportunities and More Potential

When you invest in a professional-level branding strategy, it shows. Your opportunities for growth and expansion will go as far as you are willing to push them. Ultimately, your chances are only limited by how long it takes for customers and potential partners to recognize your brand’s value.

Working With a Professional Marketing Agency for Strong Branding

Now you’re aware of how impactful strong branding can be for your business; you might be tempted to try and develop a strategy on your own. After exploring the benefits of a strong brand, you can see how important it is to maintain consistency in your brand’s messages. Consistency requires expertise, and time you may be unable to invest.

Instead, consider working with a professional marketing agency like Riserr. We work in a wide array of industries and have offered top marketing services for over 11 years. We can help your brand stand out and stand strong if you contact us today. 

from https://riserr.com/the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign

from Riserr - Blog https://riserr.weebly.com/blog/the-16-advantages-of-strong-branding-for-your-marketing-campaign