This Friday, our favorite headlines are just about as random as the weather has been in Michigan this summer. From cooler temps a few weeks ago, to the storms that left thousands without power last weekend, to this week’s relentless humidity, we’ve seen (almost) the full spectrum of Michigan summer weather.

In much the same way, this week’s roundup runs the full gamut of topics for business-savvy pros like yourself: from branding, to direct mail, to productivity, to wellness.

We’ll stop there and let you read the rest for yourself. Enjoy!

The Takeaway: Despite its name, Brandless co-founder Tina Sharkey has said that the company is “absolutely a brand.” And that certainly seems to be the case. Brandless has all the makings of a strong brand: a consistent look and feel to their packaging (despite not have a traditional logo), a clear mission, a killer Instagram account, and a partnership with nonprofit organization Feeding America.

But what Brandless is doing best is getting straight to the heart of their value proposition: fewer choices for high quality goods at a consistent (low) price. Their launch (and hopefully success) is a good reminder to the rest of us marketers/business owners to avoid spending too much time focusing on things like brand colors or font. Instead, we need to be constantly reflecting on the value our organization brings to customers, then building our strategy, message, and creative around that value.

The Takeaway: When you work in the mail industry, you hear from a lot of people that all direct mail just ends up in their trash. But it turns out that those people fall into just one of four traditional direct mail behavior groups. This article is a great overview of the four mail behaviors and the generational breakdown of each one, but there are a couple of strong takeaways we can share:

1. The type of stock, design, and copy of a direct mail piece must grab attention and elicit curiosity in just a split-second look. If you’re not sure how do that, talk to us.
2. It’s important to realize that, like every marketing channel, mail isn’t going to work on everybody, one-hundred percent of the time – and that’s okay. The key is to know your audience, and focus on reaching to the right people at the right time and letting the numbers work for you.

The Takeaway: Raise your hand if reading this is helping you put off a task that you just don’t want to do… Now check yourself, because there is no way that reading our blog could possibly be a form of procrastination. 😜

In all seriousness, we love that this article focuses on getting to the heart of why we procrastinate, and then gives simple, easy-to-implement tricks for getting through each challenge. If you actually are putting something off, see if you can identify the true cause – then find the corresponding solution and GET. TO. WORK.

The Takeaway: This video is a bit old by internet standards, but is worth sharing nonetheless. Whether you’re trying to slim down or just want to feel better, it’s important to know the role that diet and exercise each play. Unfortunately, it may be painful to hear that “exercise is actually pretty useless when it comes to weight loss” (especially for those of us who like to think of exercise as a free pass to eat anything), but understanding this can help you achieve your goals.

The reality is that diet plays a much larger role in burning fat, which is why it’s more important to pay attention to WHAT and HOW MUCH you’re eating if you want to lose weight. But that doesn’t mean that you should stop exercising altogether. Remember, taking care of yourself means focusing on your total health – not just the number on the scale.

What articles did you find particularly interesting or relevant? Let us know in the comments, or on Facebook or Twitter!