RGC Brandvision

What we can learn from global brands

2009-10-08T15:06:00.001-05:00

Business Week listed the best and worst global brands, and said that "History shows that a recession can be an auspicious time to invest in a brand". Here are five lessons we can learn from global brands that have endured even in tough times.

Branding...

1) helps you stay focused on your long-term strategy, even during challenging times.
2) reminds you and others in your organization that you can’t afford to take anything for granted.
3) helps you take advantage of opportunities even when the economy is down.
4) reminds people that you’re better than the competition and offer better value.
5) helps you stay connected with people.

Color in the Context of Branding

2009-01-06T14:37:00.001-06:00

“Our very survival depends on the ability to identify necessary objects or warning signals whether they are animal, vegetable, or mineral, and color is an integral part of the identification process.”

—Leatrice Eiseman

The emotional connection that your audience makes to your brand is often the critical factor to converting new customers. And of the many design elements that impact the emotional content of your communications, color is chief among them. Take a look at some recent marketing stats on the subject.

The use of color must therefore be used discreetly yet deliberately and with a clear understanding of what those colors consciously or even unconsciously represent to your audience.

In the multi cultural world we live in, reactions to color can be heavily influenced by cultural symbols and identities, often making selection a complex process. For an example of how conflicting are the reactions to certain colors, consider white. In the West, white generally signifies purity, peace and marriage while in some eastern cultures it represents death. Check out a more comprehensive study of colors and their meaning here.

The way to avoid the pitfalls of using inappropriate or negatively-impacting colors in communicating your brand is to work with a professional that understands color in the context of the audience(s) and applications in which your brand will be manifested.

The first and most important principle to color selection is the realization that, in the world of branding, color is not fashion. Choosing colors based on whether they are in or out of fashion is a really misguided and yet far too common practice in corporate America.

Instead colors are to be selected for their strategic significance to a particular brand. The complex of criteria that determine this selection is the subject of volumes of theory and decades of practice in the disciplines of psychology, advertising and branding, to name a few. Therefore, distilling down the options for your brand colors will require a fair amount of thought. Pantone, the authority on color, has a handy online guide that is a great place to learn more about this fascinating subject!

The Higher Education Debate

2008-09-16T13:39:00.012-05:00

What is the role of branding in higher education? This is the debate posed by brandchannel.com recently. See their site for details. Many have written in to join the discussion.

I have found a wide range of perspectives on this subject among the several clients I have worked with in higher education. Some of them clearly do not see the role of branding in academia while others embrace the possibilities of what a proper branding campaign can do to promote the mission of their department, college, institute or program.

As higher education faces an increasingly competitive landscape with more players than ever, branding is playing a larger role in winning the hearts and minds of prospective students, faculty, research specialists and donors. And it's not just the admissions departments doing the marketing anymore. In fact, the clients I am working with are taking matters in to their own hands, challenged by maintaining the brand integrity of the larger institution to which they belong, yet striving to eek out a distinctive and differentiating presence for their department or college.

If at its core branding is the act of managing perception (be it an organization, product line or service), then essentially every effort we make to shape this perception is a conscious or unconscious attempt to brand. In academia or not, do we not all have some cause or mission to promote that is important to us?

Rex Whisman, founder and principal of the BrandED consultants group made a very insightful observation recently in his Brand Champion Blog that I'd like to share to close this post:

From my experience, almost all institutions [of higher learning] have undertaken a branding initiative in the past five years. Most have concentrated on creating taglines and trendy advertising campaigns. To date only a few have taken a broader brand development approach. Schools will need to think about brand and sustainability beyond external communications and carbon footprint campaigns, to long-term cultural and financial approaches. The need to recruit and retain brand champions will be as competitive as ever.

Strive to Be Different in an Age of Imitation

2008-09-11T15:04:00.018-05:00

While successful brand building typically requires a rather complex set of strategies, differentiation is the most critical among them. Some may say that differentiation as a business strategy in general is a "given," a no-brainer. Yet discovering distinctive brands these days remains more the exception than the rule.

The challenge of finding what is unique and therefore different about a brand is an enormous challenge today. Once only the domain of large organizations with deep pockets, a growing tide of small and medium size businesses are increasingly building more sophisticated and more visible brands.

Responding to this growing demand for micro-level branding is a plethora of boutique creative agencies that have become super specialized in certain industries and niche markets. As a result, the pool of brands—small and large—has increased exponentially, making differentiation even more critical to the success or failure of a business. The fact that 50 to 60% of start ups fail after the first year is a testament to magnitude of this issue.

Yet still this "democratization" of branding has not necessarily brought about a greater degree of successful, distinct brands. In fact, there are more imitators than originators than ever before. For that reason it is all the more important to select a brand partner that has proven ability to demonstrate how they have used differentiation to build their clients' brands, both in planning and in design.

While using differentiation may seem like a no brainer to some, how to actually use differentiation is certainly not. For an interesting article on this subject, go to http://www.marketingprofs.com/8/myth-of-differentiation-schultz.asp?part=2, log in and read a more in depth discussion on this.

Toward a Deeper Understanding of Branding

2008-09-10T09:11:00.009-05:00

There is much more that branding impacts in our lives than commerce.

Through the media, it plays an active role in shaping the hearts and minds of all of us in a variety of ways. It has manifested itself in ways that have triggered public outrage on the one hand and an unwavering loyalty on the other. It has gone far beyond influencing our purchasing decisions to how we experience politics, religion, and such major life events as marriage, birth, and death.

Understanding branding begins with a much more fundamental understanding of human nature. Looking deeper into who we are as individuals, organizations, and as a society is at the core of this exploration.

To read more about this, check out this interesting article on the brandchannel.com website at http://www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=680.

Can't afford a quality print mailing? Think Again.

2008-06-04T13:37:00.009-05:00

For the last couple of years, I have been using and referring a great online printing resource called www.modernpostcard.com. For those who think of vistaprint.com as soon as they think of online printing, please put away your preconceptions! MP offers a much higher level of service, quality and overall value!

MP is a high quality offset postcard printer that also prints a variety of folded postcard products that many have used for brochures as well as direct mail pieces. They also print business cards and some other specialty items, provide a complete mailing service, and deliver great customer service! In short, they continue to offer a great product and service each time I work with them.

There are a few drawbacks to working with Modern Postcard, but these may not be dealbreakers for certain budget-challenged jobs. For one thing, you have only one paper stock to choose from, the MP house stock, which is a coated semi-gloss card stock of good quality. Order a free sample kit. Secondly, the printing is done in California, so once you approve the proof, there is no further oversight of the printing process. And finally, they print only 4-color process or black (on white paper), so if you are intent on having precise spot color matching, this is not a good choice.

From the standpoint of a designer, I love working with them since they make the process of finalizing and submitting digital files via their online wizard a snap. Unlike services like VistaPrint, they acutally work with people in the trade as well as consumers and understand the specific needs of both. To learn more about Modern Postcard, go to www.modernpostcard.com.

The Big Picture: Not Always Part of Our DNA

2008-05-29T11:05:00.013-05:00

I see a lot of small and mid-size businesses planning one marketing project at a time and only when driven by a looming deadline, rather than looking at the bigger picture and determining a strategy and budget that will serve long-term goals. While the planning for the long term requires more work up front, the pay off down the line is well worth it!

Many people avoid long term planning because it means committing to something and resisting the temptation to change course. It means shifting the focus on the day-to-day ups and downs to a more measured future set of goals. And it takes a lot of discipline to stay the course and avoid the temptation of taking an easier route. Having a sound marketing or branding strategy is a lot like having a sound investment strategy. Both of these promise the building of appreciation over time, if and only if, the investor has the patience and perseverance to allow it to grow.

Since many small and even mid-sized businesses do not have experienced marketing professionals on staff, it is important to seek out a professional. Even larger firms often outsource this complex project, since the outside perspective in matters of branding and marketing is so invaluabe.

There are as many ways to develop a marketing plan and budget as their are types of businesses. One thing for sure, the marketing plan should be an extension of the business plan. For those looking for some good general information on this, www.marketigprofs.com is a good place to start learning. There is also an upcoming seminar on the subject. See http://www.marketingprofs.com/marketing/online-seminars/26 for details.

Print, Digital or Both?

2008-05-23T09:46:00.002-05:00

As a growing number of corporate communications move from print to digital formats, clients are often asking me what I think they should do. I tell them that there are pros and cons to both that should be carefully weighed against the nature of the piece itself. For example, a company brochure placed on a coffee table in the lobby takes advantage of the opportunity to inform people about your brand while they are waiting. On the other hand, a web-based form that allows users to register for your company event quicker and easier can translate into higher recruitment rates. So consider the unique circumstances of the project and get advise from a professional. Sometimes the best solution is to distribute your marketing piece both in digital and print format to maximize your audience coverage.

Digital Pros
• saves paper and printing resources
• eliminates paper, printing and postage costs
• distributes easily via email or hosted on a web page for download.

Digital Cons
• less control over how the layout looks on screen or in print since computer monitors and office printers have wildly different preview and output results
• perceived as "cheaper" and sometimes less important than the same thing in printed form.
• some people don’t like to read on screen and have much lower retention for digital media formats.

Evolving from Logo to Identity

2008-05-13T20:40:00.005-05:00

For most people, the company logo is a static mark, an end in itself. We view the logo as an essential part of a broader whole—what we call the identity. A visual identity consists of all the design elements—colors, fonts, imagery, artwork, language—that strategically manage the perception of the brand and collectively constitute the brand’s look and feel. We like to refer to the identity as our design toolbox. This toolbox equips us with the key elements we need to build all forms of communication—all of which should convey a compelling and pervasive expression of that brand’s core values and heritage.

At RGC we work with clients who want to take a proactive approach to preserving the long-term equity of their brand identity. The identity provides the direction and tools for how their communication strategy will evolve over time—building greater value at each stage.

How strong, mature, and developed is your brand? If the answer is unclear, it’s probably time to get the perspective of an outside consultant.

Book Review: Brand Aid

2008-05-08T12:39:00.000-05:00

Author Brad VanAuken’s Brand Aid is a practical, hands-on guide to branding for the professional and non-professional alike, since it is written primarily in laymen’s terms. Identifying the importance of brands in today’s society, designing, building and then leveraging their value, is just part of what Brand Aid explains so well. Common problems with brand management, legal issues and the role of branding in the company as a whole are also carefully considered. It’s more to me a book about facing and overcoming the challenges that we confront with branding in the real world rather than a static “how to” manual. And even professionals in the field stand to gain valuable insights by studying it.

The New Green Paper Frontier

2008-05-08T12:28:00.000-05:00

Not too long ago, printing on recycled paper cost a premium over non-recycled options. That scenario is quickly changing, thanks to the fact that almost every major paper mill is striving to meet or exceed new green certifications for not one but most all of its paper lines. These new standards dictate, not just the content of the paper (percentage of recycled or post-consumer waste), but also responsible foresting practices, and even what chemicals and energy sources are used in production processes. To learn more about responsible paper options within your budget that can give your next project the polish it needs, give us a call at 773-334.7977.

Branding Photography through Art Direction

2008-05-08T12:27:00.002-05:00

After reviewing over 600 shots from our day-long photo shoot for our client, Comprehensive Therapeuics, we hand-picked about 20 “hero” shots like this one. The concept behind this shoot was to portray actual CTL therapists in their own work environment, championing the qualities of the CTL brand: compassion, pride, skill, intuition, relationship, experience, respect, kindness, and passion for work. This photography is being used in many online and offline CTL marketing communications. The photographer was Joe Branske with art direction provided by Robert Grillo Creative.
More of Joe’s work can be seen at www.branske.com.

Making Design Decisions Should Not be Chaotic

2008-05-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

We are—by nature—tactical thinkers, expressing our immediate reaction to things with split-second decisions. I like that font! I don’t like this color! But branding requires strategic thinking, and sound strategy is based on principles. Design, as a highly strategic component to the brand, is no exception. Therefore, design should not be evaluated on the basis of likes or dislikes, but on how well it reflects the brand personality and essence. There are also some universal principles of design that should be embodied in every design piece. They are:
- Coherence
- Sustainability
- Meaning
- Vision
- Differentiation
- Value
- Authenticty
- Flexibility
- Commitment