Brand Central Station

Skip Lindberg, resident genius at Maple Creative and author of the Marketing Genius blog gives us a good rant about what’s not quite right with Walmart’s identity makeover. 

Skip brings up a problem faced by dozens of brands going through an identity re-boot: a mark that looks too much like another brand that may – or may not – be complimentary.  In this case, Skip says (and I agree) that Walmart’s new mark looks too much like the Holiday Inn mark located on hundreds of marquis signs throughout America.

Yikes.

I have another problem with the new Walmart mark and that goes directly to the discount chain’s “every day low pricing” positioning.  The retailer offers that positioning as some kind of guarantee.  But the new mark looks too much like an asterisk for me to take any kind of guarantee seriously.

Am I reading too much into this or is it a real problem?  Let me know what you think.

We might as well weigh in on this one, too.  If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s a new mark coming out for the Pepsi family of products – and they’re all variations on the “globe” mark used for good, old Pepsi (shown here).  The re-design of the brand’s marks extends to Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist as well (check out the logos and the packaging here).

(Laughing Lion Design did a nice job showing the progression of Pepsi logos over time, here.)

So what do we think of it?  Well, Pepsi could have spent their money better – but we’re glad to see the demise of the 3-D globe mark.  Too tricked out for our taste.

For all of you business and marketing folks thinking about a logo redux for your company or products, keep this in mind:

A complete overhaul of your logo/mark can be very upsetting to your loyal customers.  You need to make sure what you want to do is “evolutionary” rather than “revolutionary.”  History (and past brand equity) are important considerations.

Slight variations of an existing logo to draw a distinction from one product line to another can be confusing (to say the least).  Differentiating Pepsi from Diet Pepsi from Pepsi Max based on the width of the “smile” in the globe is, in our opinion, too much “self-talk” and a form of “brand conceit” to think that anyone really cares that much to notice.

The line between changing logos to stay trendy and changing logos out of boredom seems to be growing thinner and thinner as the pace of consumer interaction heats up.  Don’t fall into the trap of having to make a change because of fatigue inside your marketing department – remember, you’re exposed to your logo and marketing messages more than anyone else on the planet.  Change when it makes sense to change your story, it will make the resulting loss of brand equity (and there will be a loss) worth the trouble.

If you want to see how one company handled an “update” of their current product label in expert fashion, check this out:

Diego Rodriguez’s metacool blog started me on a search for sites and blogs that tracked the evolution of different brands.  There’s something about this that appeals to both the marketing guy and the historian in me. 

Check these out:

Evolution of automobile brands
Evolution of tech brands

Let me know if you find any more studies like this!

Laura Ries offers some worthwhile evaluations of celebrity endorsements enjoyed by Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.  You don’t have to be a political wonk to enjoy her post.

From a marketing perspective, many of the lessons taught through this endorsement excercise carry over to consumer products and services.  A celebrity endorsement isn’t worth that much if the celebrity doesn’t really understand the “what” and “why” of the brand he or she is endorsing. 

One-dimensional product pitchmen, even if they’re well-known sports or entertainment celebrities, can elicit the same response Laura has about Cheer’s star Ted Danson: “Does anyone care what Ted Danson has to say? I don’t think so.”

One of my favorite blogs on the Internet is the Namewire blog, written by Bill Lozito at Strategic Name Development.  The other day, Bill wrote an article about Ralph Lauren’s just-launched collaboration with JC Penney (via the Ralph Lauren American Living brand). (more…)

It’s happened before, but never with this much fanfare or attention.  eBay is feuding with its customers again.

I must admit, I have an interest in this fight.  It’s my wife.  She sells stuff on eBay.  But she’s not as hot as some of the “Power Sellers” who have called for a boycott of eBay February 18-25 to protest the online auction service’s new policies on rates, release of payment through PayPal and (most controversaly) significant changes to its rules on feedback left by sellers about buyers.

Now Money Magazine is wading into the fray with an article and a post on YouTube asking for disgruntled eBayers to contact them for interviews (note: the post requesting contact from disgruntled eBay sellers was removed overnight Sunday evening). (more…)

Back in November, I wrote on the topic of cross-cultural branding – a specialty here at B&LPR and a discipline that, we think, will become more and more relevant for two reasons:

1) The global marketplace continues to flatten, putting US brands in direct competition with other brands from other parts of the world. Very often, the battle for share-of-mind and consumer pocketbook doesn’t even take place on our own shores or in our cultural idiom, so US brands need to be prepared to act global but market local; and2) The demographic shift in the US (away from Euro-centrist and towards Latin-centrist) is an inevitability we need to embrace. In order to compete in our own domestic market, we need to start identifying the cultures that will influence American culture in the future and make sure we’re positioned appropriately.

Many business people, when faced with these two facts react predictably – they deny. Denial is to be expected. Who wants to admit that they are not only in a minority globally (Americans only account for 5% of the world’s population) but that we may very soon be a minority in our own country (by 2040, no single ethnic group will constitute a majority).

But sticking your head in the sand and hoping the problem will go away won’t work for long. Eventually, someone or something is going to come along and ask you to move or, worse yet, pave you right over. Action is required and it doesn’t have to be painful.

In fact, many clients take consolation in the fact that many of the core values that make up their brand are shared by cultures all around the world. Interpreting those values may require some legwork (and nuance is an acquired taste, I’m convinced), but the end up to this whole situation is actually much to the benefit of Americans and our culture (thanks, in large part, to our inherent diversity):

America still stands for something in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. And nobody makes that case better than Americans. We may still have a lot to learn about how we present those values and how we listen to divergent points of view, but we still have an incredible advantage in the sheer attraction of things American.

And the best way for us to take advantage of that advantage is to put it into action inside our own borders. As people of different countries and cultures see Americans embracing and appreciating the value brought forward from different cultures, they see something they can’t see anywhere else. Application of cross-cultural branding principles inside our own country makes perfect sense and it’s good for business in the long run.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Advertising, B2B Marketing, Ethnic Advertising, Minority Marketing, Client Management, Leadership, Creative Thinking, Culture, Cultural Diversity

(c) 2006 – Bawden & Lareau Public Relations, all rights reserved.

We love it when a brand extension hits it big-time or crashes and burns. It’s exciting. It’s dramatic. It’s also not about the product/extension itself.

As a business strategy, deciding to extend an existing brand is sound but wrought with potential disaster. With every brand extension, you are putting all of your chips on the table and betting against the house.

Anything short of a home-run could be construed as a defeat. Successes, like the Apple iPod or Kellogg’s newly revitalized Eggo’s are noteworthy. But the failures, like water-filled bras from Evian, can be devastating. (more…)

The first dividends you reap from your investment in market research should be in the form of re-crafted (and much more effective) message statements about your brand and your products/services. Research gives Bob LeDrew and his communications team from the University of Ottawa a critical look at what their publics think. “We’re abe to understand the perception of our brand (as opposed to OUR perception of our brand),” says Bob. (more…)

It’s called the Hawthorne Effect and it was discovered in the 1930’s. Yep. That’s right. The big marketing and branding breakthrough of the 21st Century was discovered about seventy years ago.

Way back then, researchers from Harvard Business School were running employee feedback research on various proposed innovations in their working conditions … this is what the Harvard researchers found:

• Brighter lighting conditions resulted in better productivity but so did dimmer light conditions.
• Shorter working hours also improved productivity, but then so did longer working hours.

Further research resulted in the following – dubbed the Hawthorne Effect:

“If you seriously involve others in trialing, testing, reviewing and suggesting improvements in your work/products they will inevitably become positively disposed to it and be among its biggest champions.” (more…)

Developing a corporate vision sounds like some kind of creative exercise, doesn’t it? Well, in one sense it is. After all, the project essentially asks all participants to think of their company in the future and to discuss it openly.

But while there’s probably some value (however little) in sharing “blue sky” dreams about a company with co-workers – we prefer to take a much more measured and deliberate approach. This approach is specifically designed to help employees achieve greater inter-dependence; assist managers in day-to-day decision making; grant customers greater emotional ownership in the brand; and give vendors an opportunity to succeed by making the company more successful.
We begin the visioning process with research. After all, the best clues as to what the future holds for a brand is to understand its journey to the present. This research process uncovers all sorts of insights behind innovations, traditions, customs and practices that help define the brand for what it is. (more…)

Do you know what your company’s mission statement says? Chances are, even if you do, many of your employees and most of your customers and vendors don’t … and don’t want to!

Why is this?

Because if your company is like most, your corporate mission statement isn’t all that different from anyone else’s. White out the product-specific stuff and the name of your company and your mission statement probably says something about commitments to quality, profitability and innovation. About half of the mission statements I read say something about “our people are our most important asset.” And another forty percent are sure to through in jargon that doesn’t really mean anything to people (e.g. synergies, strategies, paradigms, et al).

There isn’t anything wrong with having a stated commitment to quality, etc. That’s commendable. But why is it, after a management group has spent a while (sometimes days or weeks) squeezing a multi-paragraph statement down to a few sentences, that employees are under-whelmed and customers and vendors don’t really seem to care?

Why aren’t people excited?

The answer is relatively simple – most mission statements sound like a lot of hard work that will result in relatively little in terms of personal or professional gain. As my 14-year old is fond of saying when I give him a mission (like cleaning his room): “So what?”

As rude and self-serving as that may sound, there is a point to the question. People (whether they’re customers, employees or vendors) need a reason to commit to a mission. They need to know their agreement to do whatever it is you want them to do will result in something they want to have happen to them. In short, they need to “see” their own success first in order to be motivated to make the success a reality.

We call this process “visioning” – while not a particularly clever term, it does describe the process we use. When put into practice, clients are able to clearly and succinctly explain what they are trying to do with their business in three to five years. This answers the “So what?” question for most people and gives them an opportunity to create their own, personal vision of their success in the future.

Making sure the vision of the company is shared is the responsibility of the CEO and senior management team. But internalization of that vision is everybody’s job. In fact, the visioning process makes the development of a mission statement much easier:

“Live up to the promises we make and turn our vision of the future into a reality.”

Plentiful communications inside the enterprise helps reinforce the fundamental changes required to realize the future. As more and more people start to see the role they play in the company’s future, though, something remarkable happens. So remarkable, in fact, it’s actually measurable.

Internally, people begin to take advantage of opportunities to make the corporate vision a reality whenever and wherever they present themselves. This “strategic opportunism” can lead to productivity gains in the most unexpected places. Vendors, armed with the relevant parts of the corporate vision, start presenting proposals that fit within that framework – not only is it easier to sell to a client when you know what they’re trying to do, you have a steak in their continued success and prosperity.

“Strategic opportunism” can be found on the sales and customer support side, as well. Sales leads become easier to evaluate and targeted leads worked faster once ideal customer types are identified and the brand’s USP is clarified. With existing customers, lifetime values can be maximized according to the company’s plans for the future.

All of these are examples of companies making their own reality – turning their “vision” into success.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Strategic Planning, Corporate Vision, Brand, Brand Equity, Branding