I had the wonderful pleasure of spending the majority of LAST Friday with Mike Wagner, President of White Rabbit Group and author of the Own Your Brand blog.

I have always been impressed with Mike through his blog writings, his contributions to MarketingProfs and through our email and phone exchanges. He was even more impressive in person.

Mike presented a 1/2 day workshop for the annual BMA Tulsa(Business Marketing Assocation) Seminar Friday morning. Then we spent the afternoon together, meeting with a few Beyond Agency clients and partners.

What impressed me most about Mike was his ability to do two things simultaneously:

1. He acknowledged the difficulty of “brand ownership” for owners and managers. I know they appreciated the brutal facts being addressed.

2. He gave strong, applicable principles that demonstrated how organizations can own their brand. He gave them hope in the face of the brutal facts.

Many of you aren’t in the Tulsa area, so you didn’t get to come see and hear Mike last week. If Chicago is closer to you, I’d highly recommend you see him at SOBCon 07. Here’s a good synopsis of why you should attend.