Cosmetics, booze, fragrance, cars and apparel; we expect sexed-up selling from brands in those industries, right?

Take a look at some typical brands doing just that…and some not so typical having a go with sexy.

Behold.

Axe: The Axe Effect

Nothing new here…

American Apparel

And now for something different…

John West (Tuna)

Sexy Tuna (John West, Australia)

Trident (Insurance)

Auto Insurance (Trident UK)

PETA

Animal Rights Organization (PETA, International)

FGA Law Firm

via

Law Firm (FGA, Chicago)

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Sexed-Up Selling

The process of creating a strong brand* involves a lot of behind-the-scenes efforts that go unnoticed by clients, customers, and other key stakeholders.  When an organization decides to get serious about defining who they are, it is necessary to do a bit of soul-searching to determine how the company views itself (from the inside-out), and how it is viewed by external audiences (from the outside-in).

When it comes to the latter point, we can probably all agree that the aesthetics of certain brands simultaneously come to mind with the emotional connection we feel with those brands.

For example, when you hear the word “NIKE”, you likely have an emotional response to the name, as well as the image of the “swoosh” logo in your head.  The same goes for Starbucks – perhaps hearing the name, you feel the comfort of drinking your favorite cup of coffee or tea, while visions of Starbucks’ product packaging come to mind.

Customers connect with brands on many different levels – with the head and the heart – and the expression of the brand must be consistently presented to appeal to one or both of these aspects at any given moment.  As a result, the visual imagery of a brand will often be the most succinct and effective way to achieve these connections.  Images and color communicate in ways that verbal messaging cannot.  So, when it comes to developing your brand – or that of your clients – consider design as an integral part of your overall brand equity*.

*See below for a handy definition of terms

Brand Imagery: Realistic

Brand Imagery:  Abstract

Brand Imagery:  Wordmark

Brand Imagery:  Color

Brand Imagery:  Form

Brand Imagery:  Consistency

KEY TERMS (as defined via brandchannel):

• Brand – A brand is a mixture of attributes, tangible an intangible, symbolized in a trademark, which, if managed properly, creates value and influence.

“Value” has different interpretations:  from a marketing or consumer perspective it is “the promise and deliver of an experience”; from a business perspective it is “the security of future earnings”; from a legal perspective it is “a separable piece of intellectual property.”  Brands offer customers a means to choose and enable recognition within cluttered markets.

• Brand Equity – The sum of all distinguishing qualities of a brand, drawn from all relevant stakeholders, that results in personal commitment to an demand for the brand; these differentiating thoughts and feelings make the brand valued and valuable.

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Developing Brand Imagery

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Designing a new logo for a brand, especially travel/destination, requires careful consideration of the competitive set, content and how people perceive visual information. After shape, color is the most powerful element in creating brand recognition. It is also the most subjective element because it triggers strong emotions. And to further complicate the matter, individuals, as well as cultures, perceive color differently.

We often associate color with a variety of events, rites of passage, and objects. Things we taste, such as a lime or orange, generate color imagery. So does the scent of a pine forest or a bouquet of lilacs. Certain colors are often associated with emotions, such as blue with loyalty, yellow with cowardice, and purple with spirituality.

Some ancient societies believed in the healing power of color: red for energy, blue to reduce allergies. Although modern society is skeptical of such “powers”, consider this: babies born today with jaundice (a yellowing of the skin) are treated by exposure to a blue light which triggers a positive metabolic reaction.

In western cultures, some wear white to symbolize cleanliness, virtue or chastity. In China, white is associated with grief and mourning. In western culture black has negative associations — the dark side, blacklisted, the Black Plague, black magic and death. Our language uses color in euphemisms — the grass is always greener, don’t be a yellow belly, or his face was red as a beet. In the past few years the color green has taken on new-found meaning while becoming the color and word of the decade. Whether through subjectivity, spirituality or science, colors create meaning in our world.

Research shows that 60% of a purchase decision is based on color.

via

Sometimes that color is not defined in the logo itself, but how it is applied to the overall brand to stimulate recognition. UPS utilizes brown as their signature color on vehicles and uniforms, and even verbally in their campaign slogan “What can Brown do for you?” Tiffany’s is infamous for their little blue box and Target uses red everywhere.

via

But be careful: similar industries often use similar color palettes. Many beach resorts and coastal destinations use medium soft blues with some soft yellows and/or oranges in their palettes. Ski resorts tend to use a lot of cold blues and white. This is why carefully considering color palette for your destination brand is critical as you move forward with the implementation of your logo and the brand identity grid.

Sara Tack is EVP of Image and Identity for Wanderlust, a travel and destination marketing firm that specializes in communications strategies, Internet marketing, branding and management consulting for the tourism industry.

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The Emotional Impact of Color

It would probably be safe to say you’ve heard it numerous times (and uttered it a few more) because it happens to be true.  No matter the product or service that an organization is offering to its target market, their success or failure is dependent upon the consumers’ buying of what they’re selling.

Consumers make purchasing decisions based on any number of associations they have with individual brands, and companies spend millions on advertising and marketing activities so that they can influence what those associations might be.  Just as we each choose our friends based on their personalities, brands can elicit the same sort of response in consumers.  In light of this, wouldn’t it be interesting to know which human personality traits consumers tend to apply to brands?

Well, it’s good thing for us that someone has studied this and given us a few answers:

1^st Dimension – SINCERITY

Consumers interpret sincere brands as being down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, and cheerful.  Sure, some people find Rachael Ray annoying, but more people find her endearing – the kind of woman you can sit down with for a chat at the kitchen table.

2^nd Dimension – EXCITEMENT

The most exciting brands are daring, spirited, imaginative, and on the cutting edge.  Not only are Burton snowboards on the cutting edge of technology and performance, the products bearing the Burton name are designed with their audience in mind.  Funky graphics and forward-thinking designs make Burton a leader in their competitive industry.

3^rd Dimension – COMPETENCE

Reliability, intelligence, and success are the traits associated with these brands.  Even in these trying economic times, there are a few financial services firms that still manage to play well in consumer minds.  Charles Schwab is the stable, successful, smart guy next door who can tell you what to do with your 401k allocations.

4^th Dimension – SOPHISTICATION

A brand that is sophisticated is viewed as charming and fit for the upper classes.  When it comes to esteem and seemingly eternal longevity, the Chanel brand is unequaled.  In good times and bad, this brand remains strong as a symbol of a life lived in all the right places, doing all the right things.

5^th Dimension – RUGGEDNESS

Interestingly, consumers pick up on this personality dimension quite well.  Rugged brands are seen as outdoorsy and tough.  The North Face has built an empire by outfitting people who actually do scary outdoorsy things, and those who just like to look good on the streets of NYC.

MORE INFO:

• If you’re feeling “academic”, read the work of Stanford professor Dr. Jennifer Aaker.  Her 1997 paper, Dimensions of Brand Personality, inspired this post.

Are there any other personalities you would attribute to your favorite brands?  If so, let’s keep the conversation going – add your comments!

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The 5 Dimensions of Brand Personality

It’s a new year,

so it’s time to think about taking a close look at your branding to make sure it’s still fresh and relevant. Now I know what you’re thinking. “Brock,” you say, “I’m too swamped with the rest of my work to think about rebranding right now. Besides, my branding is just fine. Why would I want to change it?” I’d be the first to admit that you probably don’t need to do a complete rebranding. In all but the most dire circumstances, the equity lost in rebranding isn’t worth the shiny new marketing materials. And you don’t have to undergo a complete makeover. Sometimes, however, you should give your branding a much-needed spa treatment. After all, if you take care of your branding, it will take care of you.

Taking Stock

There are two things you have to do before doing any work to refresh your brand. The first is to understand that branding is a habit, not something you can “set and forget.” If you are responsible for branding your organization, expect to devote resources to maintaining your brand. We’ve all seen companies that use the same marketing materials for twenty years straight. It doesn’t work for them, and it won’t work for you. It doesn’t have to be much work, but you should plan to regularly audit your branding to ensure that it continues to align with your organization’s goals, mission, brand promise, market position and target market.

So that’s the second thing. Before beginning any brand refresh, make sure you know your organization’s goals, mission, positioning, etc. Without a firm grasp of the fundamentals, anything you do to tweak your branding will just be the proverbial lipstick on a pig.

Find the Balance

Keeping your brand fresh requires a careful balancing act of focused messaging and creative play. If your brand has become little more than a series of templates, it’s likely to be boring your customers as well as you. On the other hand, your audience needs to know that it’s you sending the message; your branding can’t be so inconsistent as to become unrecognizable. Remember, good design demonstrates a competitive advantage. Research shows that companies that invest in design are much less likely to compete on the basis of price alone. (For more on how quality creative can improve business results, visit Design Council.) Though it may have become a cliché at this point, discount retailer Target does a exceptional job at keeping their brand interesting and flexible. Their commercials, for example, are always wildly creative. And yet, you know that it’s a Target commercial the moment it comes on. Likewise, their inventive use — almost abuse — of their logo would make most corporate branding guides burst into flames.

Focus On Authenticity

When examining your brand and marketing communications, be sure to evaluate how authentic your messages are. Authentic messages are ones that speak to your audience and engage them on an emotional level. If your messages come across as too corporate or safe, it will hurt the value of your brand. This doesn’t mean that every brand should be edgy or extreme. Rather, it means that your brand should feel “real”. An absolutely stellar example is the new the Intel refresh. Their branding chief, Deborah Conrad, deserves huge kudos for their new geek chic, “Sponsors of Tomorrow”, commercials. Rather than promote a specific product or new innovation, the new branding admits — even celebrates — the nerdiness of Intel’s work.  Even though you know it’s just another commercial, it feels authentic in a way that most technology ads don’t.

Be Passionate About Your Work

According to Robert Kyosaki, author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, “Brands die if the leader’s passion dies, or if the leader’s passion is simply to make money.” If the only purpose of your brand communications is to make money, your customers will know, and they’ll lose respect for you. This may seem like a rehashing of my previous tip about authenticity, but it’s entirely possible for branding to be entirely authentic and still lack any real passion for the organization’s core mission.

Think about the last furniture commercial you saw. Maybe they had a nice spokesperson telling you about the great special they had on that new bedroom set. You probably don’t remember, though, because you were leaving the room to go get a snack from the kitchen. It wasn’t because the message was too corporate. It’s because you knew that there was no passion there. That furniture store is human enough, they just don’t seem to really care about what they’re selling. Like you, they’d rather be out getting a snack.

Become More Sociable

The new rule in branding is that consumers want interaction, not just action. The voice from God marketing strategy of the 20th Century just won’t cut it anymore. Consumers care about brands that they engage with. So provide opportunities for your audience to interact with your brand, and watch their attachment grow. This isn’t really new, it’s just been brought to our attention with all of the new focus on interactive social media. And so you every brand from Red Bull to Office Depot has some sort of interactive Facebook page and Twitter feed.

The important thing to remember about social media is to provide value in all of your communications. Minneapolis-based writer Kris Decker loves Walgreen’s Facebook fan page for exactly this reason. “As a fan, I get special coupons and deals that only their Facebook fans get. It gives me a great reason to interact with the brand.”

Spruce It Up

Finally, remember that the purpose of a brand standards manual is to ensure the highest quality branding that is conveying the right message. If you have to break the “rules” of your manual in order to achieve good results, by all means, break the rules. So go on and spruce up your branding in 2010. A little bit of tweaking isn’t going to lose any of your brand equity. ‘Cause let’s face facts: your customers aren’t paying conscious attention to your branding materials. They really won’t know that this month’s ad had the logo 2 inches from the bottom while last month’s ad had it 2.5 inches from the bottom. The only thing that matters is that you’re communicating the right message to the right audience. If you’re not, it doesn’t matter a hill of beans that your branding is consistent.

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Dirty Brand? Clean it up…

Kraft

February 2009: New Logo

Explanation: “With a new purpose and values setting a fresh direction, Kraft Foods also gave its corporate logo a face lift to more clearly deliver “delicious.” Starting today, people around the world will begin to see the new identity that deliciously features a smile, the natural reaction to delicious foods and experiences, and a colorful flavor burst. It signals to employees, consumers and investors what the new Kraft Foods is all about.” Press Release

July 2009: New Logo

Guess the first logo wasn’t what “Kraft Foods is all about”.

But I have to say the ‘New Kraft’ corporate is more than this logo.

Check out the New Kraft. This feels pretty damn corporate so I’m wondering why they use the old logo. But, that’s what I mean about 2009, weird stuff happened all over the place.

HTC

In early 2009, HTC (High Tech Computer Corp.) also launched a new brand.

Old Logo

via rebrand

New Logo

Then, in October, they did it again.

New, New Logo

via Tracy and Matt

Tropicana

Oh Tropicana. Brand-owner Pepsi screwed this one up. After removing the classic orange and straw design and replacing it with something reminiscent of a private label brand.

Pepsi Co. chose Ominicom agency, Arnell, on the rebrand.  In an attempt to ‘refresh’ the Tropicana brand, Arnell removed the orange and put a goblet of juice on the package. Consumers were pissed. They wanted their orange and red-striped straw back. Peter Arnell, Chief Creative Officer at Arnell was surprised by consumer reaction saying, “Tropicana is doing exactly what it should be doing. I’m glad Tropicana is getting this kind of attention.” Oh Peter.

So the old design is back. GO CONSUMERS!!!

But Why?

Well folks, here again we see the mighty power of the Interwebs. In the early days of the world, pre-1995, we had TV. TV pushed everything at us. We were just waiting for brands to push their nicely packaged messages over the tube. They had time to prepare. Now, not so much. But there is a lesson in all this. Do your homework. Get a focus group together at least. Get some loyal customers and some prospectives in a room and get their input. If you can do it in a controlled white room with one-way glass, you’ll be much better off than on the Web.

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2009 Rebrand…Again

Before starting an identity project, it is essential that you analyze the competitive set and then determine what gives your brand distinction. Since the competition is so broad, its important that travel and destination brands understand where they fit so they can successfully stand out from all of their competitors.

Distinctive design can give a brand a unique presence and expression.

While a logo is only one component of a brand, it’s purpose can be thought of as a visual ambassador. The right logo will help create desire. It will have a point of view. And set the standard. It should represent a body of core ideas, yet rarely can it perform this task literally. The best logos imply meaning through representation and metaphor. They can take their form as wordmarks, or letterforms, as graphic symbols or a combination of words, letters and symbols. They range from the literal to the illustrative to the abstract.

With so many possibilities, how do you choose the right direction?

When creating a travel or destination logo, we examine the competitive environment and then consider three elements – shape, color and content. It is unrealistic to expect a logo to represent every detail of your brand, but having a good ambassador with a unique, authentic expression will serve your destination well for years to come.

Competitive logo review

Given the benefits of a distinctive identity, it’s a wonder that so many travel and destination brands within a competitive set use similar iconography in their logos. Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Days Inn all have a sun icon. The MGM Grand and Ritz Carlton logos both sport a beautiful lion.

Many cities utilize a rendering of their skyline. Golf course logos all too often incorporate complex illustrations or clip art of golf clubs. According to Logo Design Guru, a website where you can buy a logo starting at just $99: “A golf course logo graphic should be very creative and must highlight the salient features of golf, like clubs, balls, etc.” In other words — make it look like every other golf course.

A few years back, when the Wanderlust team was rebranding Windham Mountain, we collected the marketing materials of 52 competitors, to better understand their competitive set and search for an opportunity to create meaningful differentiation. What we found was nothing short of cliché: 90% of the competition had a mountain in their logo. The mountain iconography ranged from the abstract to the literal, but in the end each of these resorts built an identity around what makes them similar, not what makes them different.

The folks at Windham learned from this exercise that mountain imagery in whatever form was something they needed to stay away from in order to stand out from the crowd. The place to draw inspiration for their identity was their unique brand positioning — that differentiating, relevant, deliverable and ownable mojo that makes Windham Mountain desirable to its customers.

There are actually a handful of ski resorts who have gone so far as to eliminate references to anything to do with skiing and snowboarding in their logos. The ones that have done this are attempting to communicate their brand essence, what makes them different. Now one might argue, for example, that a logo like Beaver Creek’s has nothing to do with skiing and therefore doesn’t communicate to skiers, especially if you had never heard of Beaver Creek before.

Beaver Creek’s logo is about luxury. Its monogram of interlocking ‘B’ and ‘C’ letterforms are reminiscent of Coco Channel’s C’s or Gucci’s G’s. The script typographic wordmark would more likely be found on a bottle of champagne.

While Beaver Creek’s logo is effective at differentiating the resort, script type and monograms are not necessarily the best way to communicate luxury in all situations. In fact, scripts and monograms are actually pretty common in the broad category of luxury. However, Beaver Creek was the first to successfully and sustainably position themselves as a luxury ski resort and, as a result, they own it. No competitor can take this position away from them as long as they remain true to the promise.

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Express Yourself: Logo Development Best Practices

Successful brand development rests upon achieving a thoughtful balance between optimizing the objective and subjective attributes of a brand.  When making the decision to purchase an iPhone versus BlackBerry, for instance, consumers are considering objective attributes – such as picture quality, compatibility with other media components, and the communication features available.

In addition to these factors, though, the purchaser will also make subjective judgments about the products before them.  What is the reputation of Apple versus BlackBerry?  What will it say about me if I am carrying an iPhone?  Would I prefer to type emails on a touch-screen or a standard keypad?

Brands that are able to capitalize on both subjective and objective criteria are subsequently able to create value for its target market. Often, this effort involves shifting the perception of a brand within the marketplace.

The role of the brand consultant is to identify the brand’s attributes and present them in a way that speaks to the target market and shapes their response to the product or service.

There are three commonly used approaches:

Change consumer beliefs

This is of particular importance when there are, or could be, negative associations with a product or brand.  Take the iPhone, for example.  When originally introduced into the market, the iPhone was cutting edge, unique technology.  Had Apple simply dumped the product into the marketplace without proper advertising showing how easy it is to use, and how it is similar to other technology consumers were already familiar with, it could have been rejected.

Perception is reality when it comes to brands.  You must shape your message to respond to your target market’s actual, and potential, concerns if they might negatively affect your brand’s place in the field.

Change what’s important

Before the iPhone, how many of us sat around thinking that our lives would improve immensely if only we were able to watch full-length films on our mobile phones?  Exactly.

Consumers are responding to various levels of need when they are making buying decisions for products and services.  They are accounting for everything from the basic necessities of food and water, to the need for social interaction, to the ultimate need to be self-fulfilled.

If a brand is able to respond to an existing opening in the market (meeting an unfulfilled need) or, better yet, to create a need in the market, it is well on its way to success.

Add a new attribute

In response to the new Apple-created need for multi-media capabilities in a mobile phone, those who distributed media began to create new ways to reach this opened market.  Thus, online news and media providers like the New York Times, YouTube, and others began to tout their web pages as easily-viewable on the iPhone and other handheld devices.

Adding new attributes to existing products and services can refresh a brand and give it renewed relevance in the marketplace.  As a consultant, when you recognize a differentiating feature in the brand you are developing; move quickly to capitalize on it and make it known to the consumer.  Draw attention to the fact that you have recognized a new way to add value to their experience of the brand.

What are your experiences with shifting consumer attitudes? How have you responded?

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Objective + Subjective = Brand Balance

The Pareto Principle

What my father was trying to teach me, however, is  the principle known in marketing circles as the Pareto Principle, named for Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto.

These days it is normally called the 80/20 Rule, and it states that 80 percent of outcomes are a result of 20 percent of inputs. The actual numbers aren’t the important thing here; they don’t need to add up to 100, and they will vary from situation to situation.

The critical concept of the 80/20 Rule is that a minority of causes — whether that’s customers, software bugs, or employees — are responsible for a majority of results — such as revenues, system crashes or productivity.

For brand marketers, this has some important implications. As my father was trying to teach me, you should put your effort into the things that are going to give you the results you need. For example, Seth Godin points to recent research that says that only 16% of internet users are responsible for all of the clicks on internet ads. So if you spend lots of time optimizing your ads for clicks, but your target market isn’t part of that 16%, then you’re wasting your time.

So the low hanging fruit here is that you don’t want to expend marketing dollars in ways that are inefficient. This means Burton Snowboards wouldn’t advertise in the Ladies Home Journal, right?

via

Pursuing the Right Customers

There is, however, an even more important aspect to the 80/20 Rule. Some marketers have, unfairly I believe, charged that using the 80/20 Rule results merely in maintaining the status quo. Their logic seems to be that, if you’re going to apply the 80/20 Rule, you focus all of your attention on the 20% of customers that are already making you profitable, rather than trying to gain more profit from the remaining 80%. And, to be fair, Noam Chomsky has admitted that many corporations do precisely this, trying to drive away less profitable customers through poor customer service and other techniques.

The problem with this interpretation is that it fundamentally misunderstands the real value of the 80/20 Rule, at least as it applies to branding. Rather than limiting your attention to those existing customers that supply the majority of your profit, the smart brand marketer tries to understand what it is about those customers that makes them different than the other, less profitable customers. Once you know that, you can go after more customers that resemble your most profitable ones.

As a brand marketer, you need to figure out who your core audience is — the 20% that wants to buy what you’re selling — and make sure that you are connecting with them on an emotional level. Then:

Ignore what everyone else thinks about your brand.

This is the hard part that trips up most marketers and companies. Many reflexively shy away from marketing that they think might alienate people. But I’m not talking about doing things that are risqué just for the sake of being edgy . I’m talking about connecting to your core audience, even if that means not connecting with the rest of the population.

Case Study: Fox News and CNN

Love it or hate it,

Fox News has figured out an absolutely brilliant branding program. They tailor their news programming to conservatives and independents who are disaffected with the government. And while Rupert Murdoch is clearly conservative himself, I don’t think that has nearly as much to do with Fox’s brand as does the fact that he has found an audience that makes him buckets of cash. Fox doesn’t care that their brand turns away a large portion of the American populace — heck, the controversy probably helps them to draw in a crowd.

via

Now, let’s look at CNN. These people don’t have any idea who their audience is. Their branding steadfastly adheres to the idea that they’re a trustworthy news source. That may have worked in the 80s and 90s, but it’s failing them miserably today. CNN president Jon Klein insists that, “Excellent journalism is what we are focused on. We refuse to do the things that might get us a quick number or cater to the extremes that would alienate our core viewers”. In other words, they’re focused on doing things right, and desperately hoping that the customers will follow. But, despite Klein’s assertions, CNN doesn’t actually have a core audience at this point. Instead of just insisting that “excellent journalism” will save the day, Klein should be focused on doing the right thing and creating a brand that can emotionally connect with a large enough group of consumers to keep his teevee channel going.

In just about any successful brand, whether consciously or not, you will see this adherence to the 80/20 Rule. Those brands have figured out who their core audience is, and they tightly focus their marketing messages around connecting with those customers. Conversely, as soon as companies start trying to be everything to everyone, their brands lose coherence and start the slide into mediocrity and failure.

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Brand Marketing: Ignorance Is Bliss

Shock, awe and heartache?! How will this roll out? There is no doubt that any brand with a solid online presence, participation and edge will be the ones duking it out. What makes this so exciting for us at FYB is how contests like this provide proof for big brands still caught up in thinking no one is talking about them.

via

With categories like best Brand/Startup/Company/Agency, Best Social Media Agency, Best Use of Facebook and Best Use of Twitter,  the #openwebawards is sure to be a heated dispute. Mashable has made it clear that the winners are up to the people to reveal who is most deserving of category crowns – and by integrating the voting process with twitter and facebook it is ridiculously easy for us to nominate (now) and vote (next week).

Nominations can still be submitted for a few more days but Mashable has reported some leaders in the pack – some front runners in the Best Brand Use of Twitter category:

• @TrueBloodHBO
• Crayola Creativitycast
• @NHLBlackhawks
• @LiveLifeSolid
• @Philips_vs
• @140hours
• #socialmedia
• @Smartcares
• @Digsby
• @KiWeets

Voting kicks off on Nov 18. – Dec. 13, winners announced on Dec. 15 – make sure you vote!

Come on brands, this is like “peek-a-boo”. You don’t think we notice, but we’re right here watching.

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Vote Best Brands in 09: #openwebawards

Starting this week, and every Friday from here to forever, Fuel Your Branding will be featuring ‘Brand Spanking’–a smattering of happenings in the fairy tale land of branding. We’ll be taking a look at the week in review with regard to product launches, rebrands, brand buzz and branding movers and shakers. Send your brand sightings and brand spanking news to editor@fuelyourbranding.com if you spot something we should know about. Now onto the news.

Ok. The auto industry. Last week we posted about Cadillac’s shiny new logo. It’s been said more than once that we (@bethlapierre + @lisakribs) are mildly obsessed with advertising. But I have to be honest.  I really do get that excited feeling in my belly when Phoenix’s “1901″ comes blasting through in HD.

Chrysler

Rumor has it Chrylser is now preparing to dive into a new 5 year strategy for the brand – via MediaBistro tip!

image via mediabistro.com

Dodge is also expected to receive a brand facelift. More to come.

Motorola’s Droid

…has been making crazy waves the past few weeks. Yesterday Droid hit the market. We’ll have a full review of the launch up shortly.

Controversy a plenty!

AT&T sues Verizon in a downright fist fight of phone carriers:

Via the LA Times: “We’re getting this out of the way now: Motorola’s Droid is the best Google phone on the market.”

Pfizer

image via adam_d

The strongest player in the pharmaceutical company (thank you Viagra) is in the process of releasing a new, more approachable look/feel. Initially the update seems subtle, but after the first few glances, the oblique wordmark by the designer’s @ Siegel + Gale seem to really help…to quote every client I’ve ever worked with….’make it pop’.

You can see the side by side comparison at Bnet.

MSN msn

And msn’s new butterfly:

via istaredsomething.com

That’s a wrap! Any brand newstuff  you guys are seeing out there?

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Brand Spanking [11.06.09]

We’re going to ogle three brands that took some dangerous risks in 2009.  They each generated a ton of positive buzz, but even more criticism.  It should be noted that besides their detractors, the following campaigns were almost universally supported by their intended audiences – and as a result should be applauded for their efforts.

Volskwagen Real Racing GTI iPhone app (10.09)

What the people who mattered had to say: @thirtytwofeet “the vw gti app is great fun. i’m going to buy the full version – game and car. it’s ‘everyone’s a winner ‘advertising. Awesome”

The risk that they took:

Went straight to iPhone.  VW Golf’s young male techy audience likely spends a disproportionate time playing games and with their smart phones versus watching television.  VW decided to forgo the traditional TV buy for their new GTI launch and focus on showcasing the vehicle through a customized version of an already-popular paid iPhone racing game.  Upon download players are entered to win one of six suped-up GTIs as they play.  There is also a showroom in the game where they can get a close-up look at the redesigned auto.

What they could’ve done better:

Take it beyond the iPhone racing game. Real Racing GTI limits users to a racetrack where speed is the only objective.  There is certainly room to showcase the other vehicle features that matter in other iPhone apps.  Where else is this audience talking about and drooling over cars?  In their own cars? Why not create an augmented reality app that can transform someone’s current car into a new GTI?  VW can also benefit by highlighting the real-life experience of the vehicle – from the plush interior to the Euro suspension. Maybe integrate into an app that highlights European fashion and luxury – like Gilt Groupe?

Takeaway:

Simple, non-pigeonholed ideas can propel a digital-only launch.  Where mass market buys are too inefficient or have too high a barrier of entry, highly targeted digital activations will always work.  It’s important to not create an app for the sake of it, but to add value and be super-specific in messaging.

Burger King Whopper Sacrifice (01.09)

What the people who mattered had to say: Rajesh Shetty “It was a brilliant campaign where you win if you win and win if you fail”

The risk that they took:

Burger King enabled their consumers to wreak havoc on Facebook.  A more dated but still relevant case study, BK allowed Facebook users to sacrifice 10 of their friends in exchange for a Whopper.  In this hilarious take on the true value of social networking “friendships,” Burger King enabled their consumers to prioritize a delicious burger over a purely digital distant relationship.

What they could’ve done better:

Work closer with Facebook to avoid getting pulled.  The application was discontinued in less than a week due to supposed violation of Facebook’s privacy policy that forbids a user to be notified when they’ve been defriended.  Nearly a quarter-million friendships were sacrificed for a Whopper in this manner, fueling Burger King’s viral branding fire.

Takeaway:

Brands often get caught up in the desire to satisfy everyone without offending anyone – a task proven impossible since the dawn of man (though promised by most politicians). Our consumers are smarter, more intelligent and cynical than we give them credit for.  They can appreciate when a brand is real enough to aid them in their personal guilty/evil pleasures.  In the game of branding, success can be found in helping our consumers offend each other, rather than please.

Amp “B4 U Score” iPhone app (10.9)

Credit: Wall Street Journal

What the people who mattered had to say: @thelifeofnate “I don’t know what’s worse. That people take time to complain about this stuff or that Pepsi rolled over.”

The risk that they took:

Help men fulfill their carnal desires.  Amp Energy solidified their stature amongst Maxim-reading, Axe-wielding males 18-24 by creating an iPhone app that provided these guys scoring tips for 2 dozen lady types – from Cougar to Rebound Girl to Twins.  They introduced witty/cheesy pickup lines along with bits of conversational knowledge that could aid in conquest.  There was even a feature to “brag” to your friends about the whole experience.  It essentially was a male/iPhone version of Cosmo’s monthly “195 Ways to Please Your Man”.

What they could’ve done better:

Stuck to their guns and not pull it down.  None of Amp’s intended male target asked for the app to be taken down from the app store (which also happened within a week of launch, like the Burger King case above).  If Pepsi had the guts to set this dating application for men live, they should’ve defended it all the way through.  Instead they yielded to external pressure and apologized for something that they shouldn’t have been sorry for.

Takeaway:

If you’re going to be badass, stay badass ‘til the end.  The second you waiver, your authenticity is called into question.  Obviously you need to keep concern for your shareholders and the halo effect on the other brands in your portfolio – but not at the risk of diluting a powerful and effective branding message.  It is totally possible to surprise and delight your target audience while offending everybody else just enough to avoid protest marches outside of your corporate headquarters.

Its fairly safe to declare each of these risky executions as brand winners – they all strived to become not just the subject, but part of the conversation.  To do so they talked with and enabled their youngish male audiences – instead of simply talking like them and pissing them off (see “Poochie”, The Simpsons 1997).

As our brands evolve in the social media space, we must peel off the white gloves.  If we’re already convinced we’ve been risky and bold, we should examine the criticism we’ve received.  If there is none, then I think we we’ve played it too safe.  Let’s all take risks like Burger King, Volkswagen and Amp as we position our brands as something quite the opposite of lame.

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Brands With Balls: Taking Risks Pays Off

via idsgn.org

Take a peek at a few new logos and rebrands launched during the tail end of 09. Some more inspiring than others, but nonetheless something fresh from the branding block.

I have to hand it to Kayak, for their incredible rebrand and logo. Plaid, the agency responsible for the strategy behind the new look, has created a display flap/Grand Central Station theme that Kayak will tease and play off over time.

Kayak Rebrand

Youtube & Google, “1bn Served Daily”

It’s been three years since Google bought YouTube. This week the new ‘1bn served’ tag and icon were unveiled in celebration of the anniversary.

XL

YouTube also launched  YouTubeXL. Not a spankin’ new headline, but it’s quiet release flew under the radar. Purposeful or not, optimized YouTube on TV sounds dangerously addictive. Hulu is bad enough.

Nickelodeon Rebrand

Coming from a 90’s kid, this feels like the end of an era. Nickelodeon made news of the rebrand earlier this year and has recently started rolling out the new look. Part of their motive was to bring all elements of the network together: NickJr., Nick@Nite, Teen Nick and Nick Toons.

Nick@Nite’s transition has been more subtle, but it too has received the new brand skin, as well as the other sub brands.

Then

via retrojunk.com

Now

Hilton

Still getting acquainted with Holiday Inn’s rebrand, we now have Hilton’s new look:

Hertz

Hertz decided they needed a bit of a facelift and ditched the massive drop shadow and oblique text, opting for a simpler, more straightforward look.

Cadillac

Caddie’s been targeting both gamers and ladies for the past few years. Guess they decided this depth also called for a more web 2.0 logo.

What do you think? Did these big brands move in a direction that compliments or hurts?

Perhaps we’ll get a few more rebrands in before the end of the year, stay tuned.

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New Logos On The Block

Diagnosing the problem

image via little miss no name

Let’s think about this for a moment: what brands do you really trust? Which brands, when they make a claim about their product or service, do you believe them – no questions asked? I’m willing to bet there aren’t that many. Why? It’s easy to be skeptical, and now, more than any time in the recent past, it’s popular to be skeptical of marketing messages. People want to believe that they’re savvy consumers who can’t be fooled by expensive ad buys. For most people the default position is to believe that companies will say just about anything to get buyers.

If you’re anything like the rest of us, you tend to put your faith in brands that feel authentic and are relevant to your life. That is to say that you believe in brands that are speaking with you, not at you. Finally, the strongest brands get their fans to spread the word for them. This transfer of trust through brand advocacy is more valuable than any other marketing message you can buy.

Walking the walk

All the fancy advertising and letter-pressed business cards in the world won’t do any good if your brand can’t perform the way it says it will. Especially in today’s hyper-connected world, any bad customer interaction will spread like wildfire. Don’t, for example, tell me that you value my time and then make me wait on hold for 10 minutes to speak to a customer service rep. A brand is a promise, and not following through on that promise will destroy trust quicker than anything else.

image via Indexed

Authentic and relevant

Your brand won’t be considered authentic unless it come across as real to your audience. So what does it mean to be real? There are a lot of definitions, but for marketing purposes, the key factors are knowing who you are and being relevant to your audience. That means you have to figure out your brand’s unique value proposition and stay focused on it. You can’t be all things to all people, and you can’t always go chasing after the latest fad.

Being relevant is about reaching deep down and speaking to that part of your audience’s hearts where their excitement is concentrated—the core, if you will, that represents something very significant to them. How does your product or service address those feelings, desires, and ideas?

Forget about what you want to communicate to the audience; focus instead on what they need to hear.

Brands like Nike and Apple are often cited examples of relevant brands, but smaller brands like Veer and New Belgium Brewing Company also “get it”.

Transfer of trust

I cannot emphasize enough the value of brand advocates. While people are inherently distrustful of marketing messages, they place an inordinate amount of trust in what their friends and associates tell them — whether good or bad. Accordingly, a brand that inspires people to encourage others to use it is going to have much more success than one that tries to compete on features and benefits. And personal endorsements are much more powerful than paid sponsorships. Think about it, which are you going to trust more: a NASCAR driver pimping fast food burgers, or your friend who, unsolicited, tells you enthusiastically about this great new restaurant they went to the other night? Of course you’re going to trust your friends more.

Brick by brick

image via Esparta

Building trust with consumers is never easy. You can’t just put up a Facebook fan page or send out some coupons and hope that people are going to fall in love with your brand. You have to do the hard work of getting to know your customers and always stay focused on helping them to achieve their goals. But helping people in this way is a sure-fire secret to putting your brand on a path to success. People are most loyal to the brands that matter to their lives.

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Building Trust Into Your Brand

However, there is another, equally important, aspect of many branding efforts – that is, the built environment.

Architectural and interior designers spend a great deal of time assessing the functional needs of the spaces they create.  In the end, a “successful” design is deemed so only when it facilitates a client’s daily operations.  Having said that, however, the built environment must also be representative of a client’s organizational brand.  Therefore, in addition to meeting practical requirements, the space should have an aesthetic appeal to the target market.

Brand Totality- The Sum of All Parts

As the design process emerges from the quantitative fact-finding phase (determining everything from staffing adjacencies to equipment sizes), the creative team must also begin to explore the totality of the client’s brand.  To accomplish this, the team reviews current branding materials; explores the company’s web presence; and perhaps most importantly, they talk to the people within the organization.  All of these elements are essential to presenting a cohesive brand identity to the public.

Whether it is a retail or corporate space, designers and others responsible for the visual expression of the brand must have a clear understanding of the ideas and messaging they are charged to convey.

The consistent communication of an organization’s brand reveals a sense of purpose and intent that can enhance the perceived value offered by the company.  An organization that thoughtfully considers every aspect of its own brand strategy inspires confidence that the quality of its products and services are similarly well-considered.

As branding professionals, each of us has a responsibility to ensure that our counsel to clients includes an educational component that explains the holistic nature of what we do.  An all-inclusive brand strategy that addresses the sum of the customer experience – from the design of the reception area in the corporate headquarters to the packaging of products – will have a positive effect on an organization’s bottom line.  Ultimately, this is where the value of three-dimensional brand development will be most appreciated.

When Branding in 3D:

•    Explain the value of consistent brand communication to your client – why should they undertake the effort and expense to heed your recommendations?
•    Understand the organizational mission and culture to understand the overall Brand Idea – what message do you need to convey?
•    Talk to people – what can you learn from the employees and customers that will inform how you communicate the organizational brand?
•    Review current branding materials, in print, online, and in 3D – are all aspects of the brand communication strategy aligned? If not, how will you bring them into alignment?
•    Develop relationships and alliances with other creatives who practice outside your field of expertise – diverse points of view lead to the most holistic solutions.

3D Brands:

Takashimaya – retail store – New York City, NY and international locations
Everything about this Fifth Avenue luxury goods store is in line with its brand of understated elegance, right down to the personal attention offered by the salespeople.  Yes, they even talk to regular folks like you and me.

Photo by World’s Luxury Guide (Weld Online)

Dean and Deluca – the original gourmet grocery – National locations and Tokyo

The flagship retail environment (in New York City’s SoHo district) for this “artisan food” company reveals that the owners seemingly paid as much attention to the store design as to the food on its shelves.  Of course, this might be partially due to the fact that Dean and Deluca was founded by two foodies and a designer.  Integrating your brand doesn’t get much easier than that.

Photo by Dean and Deluca

ING – financial services – International locations

According to their stated mission, ING is a firm that seeks “to deliver its financial products and services in the way its customers want them delivered: with exemplary service, convenience and at competitive prices.”  The firm’s online presence, printed materials, and “Direct Café” locations work together to present a seamless brand expression.

Photo by New York Times Magazine (www.nymag.com)

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Branding In 3D