The evolution of marketing communications during my career has come in waves of innovation and change. A lot of people these days hold that the innovations, the waves of change, are coming faster than in times past, but actually, the process of change has been pretty constant for a long time now.

Mainframe computers powering remote terminals gave way to mini-computers, then to desktop PCs, which are in the process of giving way to ever more mobile computing devices. Networks went from a loose affiliation of local and national telephone networks to national fiber optic networks to corporate LANs and WANs, to an awesome Web of fiber-cable-satellite capabilities all accessible via a unified protocol. Writing and design went from typewriters and typeset machines and film and printing plates to everything from self-publishing on blogs to all digital printing processes. Change has been constant.

There are, however, occasional rogue waves that startle us with their power. The first nationwide fiber optic network (by Sprint’s predecessor United Telecom) was a rogue wave. Printer quality desktop publishing (basically QuarkXpress) was a rogue wave. An accessible Internet browser (Netscape Navigator) was a rogue wave. A powerful website design app (Dreamweaver) that non-programmers could innovate with was a rogue wave. Social media integration (Twitter + YouTube + Facebook + Blogs + Your Website) is a rogue wave.

Fortunately, these surges don’t come that often. But it’s also fortunate that they remain predictable. There will be more on a fairly regular basis. It’s also important to remember that these continual developments won’t make you obsolete as long as you pay attention and keep an open mind.

In all of this, the marketing communications goals remain the same. You have a product or a service or a message that needs to be communicated. You must figure out why someone should be interested in that product or service. Then  you hire someone to help you figure out how to use the most effective “tools of the moment” to tell your story. It’s simple… but it’s not. That part hasn’t changed at all. And I really doubt that it ever will.

Yulan is a type of magnolia tree (Magnolia denudata) which originated in China. The literal translation of the word in Chinese means jade orchid… Yu (jade) Lan (orchid).

Why did we choose it for a company name? Two main reasons. First, we have a genuine interest in Asian culture… language, art, literature, philosophy, history, gardens, food… the list is long. So we liked the fact that the name had an Asian origin. We also liked that it was a type of tree. We love gardening, both ornamental and agricultural. So the connection to nature and gardening was significant.

One last variable in our quest for a company name is the fact that we were using the dictionary to find words we liked, and we had reached the letter Y without finding a name we could agree on. So the discovery of Yulan was an exciting moment for us, and for the marketing communications industry.