Tedde finds opportunity in uncertainty.

This is a guest post by Sky Khan.
186-Word Story Idea
It’s been a long, prosperous era for American Business since the 1970′s. As onlookers and participants, we’ve become enamored with, addicted to, and sometimes made rich (and broke) by fast-pace, hi-tech industry, whiz-bang business models, indecipherable financial derivatives, get-rich quick startups, and outrageously easy consumer access to home mortgages and currency futures. But in a flash in October 2008, the feeding frenzy screeched to a resounding and abrupt halt and all that we’ve grown accustom to seems to be in peril. “Uncertainty” is the buzz-word of the day.

However, for many entrepreneurs, it’s an opportune time to go back to the basics and revisit long-lived business models and staple products to innovate. Sky Khan, of New York who in 2008 founded a Teddy Bear company called Tedde explains, “We evaluated a lot of different business ideas before starting Tedde, but we decided that we wanted to start a company that took a simple, well established product and gave it an updated look and message. What we’re doing is definitely not rocket science, but we think it’s an especially good space to be in right now”.

About Sky Khan
Sky is a life-long entrepreneur and has also been a marketer for MTV, Ask.com, Toysrus.com and Columbiahouse.com. She can be reached at skyk@email.com.

With trust expired, what do we do next?

161-Word Story Idea
We’ve taken for granted the importance of values like fairness and trust in greasing the wheels of capitalism at our peril. The rapidly growing divide between leaders & followers and the “haves” & “have-nots” is becoming the greatest threat to prosperity. If this economic meltdown and the unraveling of Ponzi’s was played out at the box office, it would open Xmas day dressed as America’s favorite actress in a black bonnet and petticoat and a never-ending chorus of bells would be ringing. A great BW cover story would be on the importance of fairness and trust in the achievement of higher living standards, and how to amend our situation. Many agonize whether we need more regulation (so Blago or FEMA can decide what is “right”?) or simply better alignment of incentives in free markets. Instead of obsessing on ways to protect adults from risk and each other, might we find the change we are looking for by investing in our kids?

10 Story Headlines
1. Trust for Sale
2. The Broken Virtues of American Success
3. The Presumption of Trust
4. The Trust Economy
5. Trust in the Marketplace
6. I Trust You to Kill Me
7. Meritocracy’s Promise
8. Where Did The Money Go?
9. The Future of Money
10. Achieving Greatness

Who could write this story?
Business Week, Time Magazine, Newsweek, Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, Economist

Illustrative: Your Story Idea on the cover of Business Week

Ever wanted to blog, but didn’t know how to get started? Are you already a blogger, but would like additional exposure for your site? Or, do you just have an idea and want to see if Business Week will write a story about it? If your answer is “yes” to any of these questions, then you’ve come to the right place.

I can’t promise that you will get a Business Week cover story, but I do know that objective 3 for this blog is to inspire Business Week to use an idea from here for a (cover) story. I also know that Business Week editors visit this blog and love it.

So, why not have some fun and be a guest contributor on this blog? Here’s how to get started…

What to submit with your guest post?

1. 100-Word Story Idea
2. 10 Story Headlines
3. Publications (or people) that could write this story. 10 or so is ideal
4. Picture (200×200 pixels) with a caption and keyword to place over the picture. If you need help resizing the picture, just send the picture as is and I’ll see what I can whip up.
5. 20-Word Bio. Optional
6. Any other suggestions? I’m open to discussing other formats and ideas.

A few pointers…

1. Have fun and experiment
2. Use this as a platform to share your ideas in a different context
3. Write something different than previous posts on this blog
4. Be genuine and not salesy
5. Try to be positive (there are enough doomsday cover stories out there right now)
6. Link back to relevant stories on businessweek.com, other publications, or blogs
7. Tell your friends and promote your post in a creative way or by posting it on other blogs. After all, objective 1 of this blog is to practice your craft, so practice.

Where to send your guest post?
Email your complete guest post to brian@businessweekcoverstory.com, agreeing to the not-so-fine print below. I don’t expect this blog to take off, but hey, you never know.

The not-so-fine print

1. You will be given credit for your guest post and it will link back to your website, when possible.
2. All submitted guest posts become the property of Brian Lenhart Interactive, LLC and can be distributed in any medium for worldwide distribution in perpetuity.
3. Your guest post must be new exclusive content for Business Week Cover Story, unless expressly stated by Brian Lenhart Interactive, LLC.
4. I have the right to accept or deny any guest posts for any reason whatsoever.
5. Once a post is submitted, I have the right to edit the post in anyway.
6. Although there are no plans to monetize this blog or your guest post, if this site or your guest posts start to make money, all proceeds go to Brian Lenhart Interactive, LLC.
7. You have created the guest post and have all rights and authority to submit the post and agree to these terms.
8. By emailing your guest post for submission, you agree to these terms.

Business Week Cover Story shows up in Google

Today, I noticed that this blog officially became a real blog - Business Week Cover Story has been picked up by Google.

Just four days after launch, one of the Google top 10 search results for “business week cover story” (number 7 to be exact) leads to this site.

Is Tropicana's new branding Pepsico's latest step to posture for international growth?

100-Word Story Idea
Pepsico is at it again. On a recent grocery store trip, I noticed that Tropicana is now rebranded. This is just one of Pepsico’s many recent rebranding efforts – even the main Pepsi brand has been redesigned, although it seemed to be doing just fine, as is. Whiplash Design’s blog thought there was ”empty reason for change” with the Pepsi logo switch,  Brand Curve calls the new Tropicana logo ”generic,” and I think that all of the new packaging/logos have a distinct European retro/techno style. Does this signal that the US-focused beverage lines are going to make international expansion a priority in 2009? I think so.

10 Story Headlines
1. Tropicana, most recent Pepsico rebrand, signals global expansion
2. Tropi-global Orange Juice
3. Coca Cola watch out, Pepsi rebrands for a stronger international posture
4. Pepsico gears up for global expansion
5. Pepsi vs. Coke – is the battle about to turn into a world war?
6. Pepsi’s New Logos = International
7. Ciào Tropicana
8. Global on the Mind of Indra Nooyi, Pepsico CEO 
9. Tropicana везде
10. Las bebidas de Pepsico están en cada estante del colmado

Who could write this story?
Business Week, BeverageDaily.com, Brand Curve, Advertising Age, Brand Week, Ad Week, US News & World Report

sweetriot chocolate-covered cacao "peaces" are on a mission

100-Word Story Idea
Chocolate that tastes great, is loads of fun, has a mission, and is healthy?! They’ve got it all at sweetriot. Indulge in these bite-sized chocolate-covered cacao “peaces” or sprinkle them in your Christmas cookies for that extra special touch. As if having a great (and different) product is not enough - Sarah Endline, Mastermind and Chief Rioter (aka. “The Sweet Activist“) is one of the spunkiest, most passionate, and most articulate people that I know. With an artsy following of “rioters” (often celebrities), I’m sure sweetriot will be showing up in many stockings this Christmas. (Obviously, I’m a “rioter,” as well).

10 Story Headlines
1. Riot to change the world
2. sweetriot!
3. Just in time for for the holidays, healthy chocolate?!
4. Chocolate Redefined
5. Buy into the riot
6. Sarah Endline – on a mission to change the world – one chocolate “peace” at a time
7. ”Peace” for all
8. Hoping for World “Peace”
9. “Peace” of Mind from a Business Owner: An Interview with Sarah Endline
10. Cacao on a mission

Who could write this story?
Business Week, New York Times, Entrepreneur, Food & Wine

Note: sweetriot has already gotten considerable press, including a product mention in Business Week, but they deserve more, and ’tis the season for chocolate!

Business Week Editors "Unmass" and connect directly with Brian... on day two of this blog!

100-Word Story Idea
John & Shirley at Business Week sparked this idea, personally. Within about 24 hours, I had direct (and personal) contact with two of the most influential people in the business press. With the era of 140-character messages, communication became quick, allowing mass media to “unmass” and become personal in select hotspots. One-to-one relationships are being born, but of a different type. This is not just another chapter in the blog epic or an Obama monologue, but the beginning of a whole new book. It’s a new old concept, where once again people talk to people. Now, let’s unmass and do this right.

 10 Story Headlines
1. Unmassification
2. Unmassed – How people started talking to people
3. How a 140-character limit changed the way we communicate. 
again.
4. Direct Connect Quickly (and Personally) Online
5. Short zaps of personality
6. Defriended, now unmassed?
7. How to get the attention of the Business Week editorial staff in 24 hours
8. Poking, Blogging, and Tweeting… Oh My!
9. Tweet Tweet
10. A new cover story

Who could write this story?
Business Week, Tech Crunch, Webware, Groundswell, Guy Kawasaki, Chris Brogan, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BJ Fogg or Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, Newsweek

Editor-in-Chief and Community Editor from Business Week connect with Brian

Yesterday, I started a blog about Business Week story ideas.

Today, I received very nice (and personal) notes from both the Editor-in-Chief and Community Editor at BusinessWeek.com via Twitter.

Objective two of this blog was met on day two. Now, I just have to keep the ideas flowing…

My personal note in response…

John & Shirley, 

Thank you for such a nice personal note of congratulations on my acceptance to the Columbia eMBA program and for checking out my new blog. I’m glad that you like Business Week Cover Story - let me know if there is interest in any of the ideas from here! 

Also, thanks for checking out my Twitter feed – I rather like the Richard Branson video clips, as well. 

All the best. Take care,
Brian

Rolling Stone says, "Britney Returns." But, how?

100-Word Story Idea
Rolling Stone cover. Birthday wishes from Good Morning America. Yahoo! #1 search term for 2007 and 2008 (but I bet for different reasons each year). It is very clear that Britney Spears is back. But, how? Arguably, her music didn’t change all that much. I mean, it certainly wasn’t a Madonna-style reinvention. She has a nice website, sings as well as she ever has, and looks great, but that’s not enough, is it? Not all the buzz has been positive, but it’s clear that there has been significant marketing genius behind this ”re-” branding effort – someone should talk with her team and share best practices!

10 Story Headlines
1. Britney Spears: Miracle Rebranding
2. Hit me with some more Brit
3. How Britney’s team reinvented an icon
4. Branding 101 from Britney Spears?!
5. Star “Reinvented”: How Britney Spears came back by doing what she does best
6. Britney “Re-” Branded
7. 5 Ways to “reinvent” yourself like a rockstar
8. Marketing Exclusive: Britney’s relaunch
9. ”Brit fit” no longer: More mature Britney emerges
10. Hit me baby, two more times

Who could write this story?
Business Week, Advertising Age, US Weekly, People, Britney’s Blog (official), Britney’s Blog (unofficial),  Brand Channel

Illustrative: Facebook adds a "Defriend" button

100-Word Story Idea
As social networks proliferated, rules for accepting or denying friends quickly became complicated, cyber-hackers began to befriend us, and we quickly gathered loads of “friends.” Now, with 86 trillion friends each (exaggeration), what is an average Joe supposed to do next? The answer – defriend. But, how? What does this mean for society as we know it? Charlene Li predicts that exclusivity will trump accessibility in her 2009 trends: “Having thousands of friends becomes ‘so 2008′ and defriending becomes the hot new trend… The movement is rooted in a desire to have quality, not quantity.” Simplification is good, but what are the implications for consumers and business?

10 Story Headlines
1. 5 Easy Ways to avoid having to defriend
2. How to subtly defriend your “best” friend
3. What does defriending mean?
4. Will I lose business if I defriend a business partner?
5. I don’t want to be your friend anymore
6. Breaking up is easy to do
7. Why defriending is good for us all
8. “Friend” Redefined
9. How many friends do you not have?
10. Reduction of Friends

Who could write this story?
Business Week, Mashable, Chris Brogan, Website Magazine, New York Times,  Charlene Li, Webware