Archives
Categories
“9 Criteria for Brand Essence” Deck
Uncovering & Articulating Essence
- 9 criteria for brand essence
- Why “trusted” isn’t the brand essence
- 7 common branding workshop pitfalls
- Patagonia: They also sell clothes.
- Why so few brands get it right
- Why intangibles are the more sustainable competitive advantages
- To inspire loyalty, ask why, not how.
- You say tomato. I say Fox’s Fine Gourmet Ketchup.
- Warning: Your brand is being commoditized!
- Brand essence by every other name
- For brand authenticity, look inside.
- Table-stake attributes do not differentiate brands.
Simplicity & Effectiveness of Messaging
Other Popular Posts
- What every non-marketer should know about branding
- When to hire vs. when to outsource
- Do artisan brands lose their fans when sold to conglomerates?
- So who is “the world’s greatest insurance spokesperson in the world?”
- Does Geico’s multi-concept strategy work?
- BMW uncovers its brand essence: joy
- P&G brands … itself?
Industry News
-
-
Category Archives: identity
Does Sun Life’s strategy bring any heat?
Have trouble remembering names? Have you tried word association? The guy you just met has a mustache and so does Teddy Roosevelt, which reminds you of your uncle who lives in DC. He had a terrier named Logan, which rhymes with the last name of the guy you just met — Brogan. Or something like that. Anyway, Sun Life Financial is concerned no one knows its name. So it provides some word-association suggestions, such as Sun Life Ski Resort and Cirque du Sun Life (see TV spots below). You get the idea. Of course, it’s a joke at Sun Life’s … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, identity
Comments Off
Pacific Life’s whale, both logo and cause
To establish a symbol as iconic as the swoosh and the arches requires an investment of time and money. Pacific Life is making just such an commitment. (Download your Pacific Life whale-song ringtone here.) The humpback whale has been the embodiment of Pacific Life since 1997, a few years before Geico hired the gecko and Aflac the duck. Featured in nonspeaking roles, the whale is working hard to build brand identity for the insurer. A recent TV spot features whales slapping tales to music. Nothing more. No voiceover. No sales pitch. Imagine spending millions on advertising to show whales breaching. … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, identity
Comments Off
Is Starbucks strong enough to drop its name?
The swoosh, the arches, the apple … and now the mermaid. Starbucks is attempting to join an elite group of brands recognized worldwide by their symbols alone. Is its brand identity as powerful as those of Nike, McDonald’s and Apple? The new logo, unveiled this week, drops both the name “Starbucks” and the category identifier “coffee,” leaving the mermaid alone to identify the brand on its omnipresent paper cup. Elimination of the word “coffee” from the name allows Starbucks more latitude to line-extend. As CEO Howard Schultz said, “Starbucks will continue to offer the highest-quality coffee, but we will offer … Continue reading
Posted in art direction & design, identity, packaging, retail, simplicity, standards
1 Comment
Top ten posts out of first 100
For me, it is informative and sometimes intriguing to see which posts you are most interested in reading. Following are the top ten posts since the launch of BrandSTOKE, according to page views: 9 criteria for brand essence and the accompanying SlideShare deck #1 by a landslide Best branding & marketing books Mayflower’s giant marionette: cute or creepy? Wow! The traffic to this post surprised me. The marionette deeply polarized opinion. P&G brands … itself? G, I don’t get Gatorade’s line extension. Since the post, the Gatorade lineup has changed yet again: G01 Prime, G2 Perform (Where’s the “0?”), and … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, art direction & design, book reviews, brand essence, identity, management, packaging, strategy
Comments Off
So who is “the world’s greatest insurance spokesperson in the world?”
Is it the gecko? In 1999, Geico introduced Martin, its talking reptile mascot. Why? Apparently as a memory device — the word gecko helps prospects for property-and-casualty insurance remember Geico’s unremarkable name. (And Martin was readily available during the Screen Actors Guild strike of that year.) Counter-intuitively, Geico introduced additional characters. Its cavemen promote the simplicity of switching insurance companies (“so easy a caveman could do it”). Its stack of money with googly eyes represents “the money you could have saved.” In contrast, Allstate makes due with just one spokesman. In 2003, 24 actor Dennis Haysbert and his deep authoritative … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, brand essence, identity, strategy
1 Comment
Coke and Pepsi merge, combine logos
In a surprise announcement, corporate giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo today announced a multi-billion-dollar merger of their soft-drink divisions. Following the recent example set by United and Continental airlines, the newly merged company will feature Coke’s trade name and Pepsi’s logo. “It’s easier to combine two existing logos than to create a new one,” said Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo’s chairman and CEO. “Besides, what could be better than two icons? We look forward to serving our new blended cola beverage in Coke’s iconic bottle with Pepsi’s trademark globe on the side.” Asked about the decision to combine trademarks, Muhtar Kent, Coke’s chairman … Continue reading
Posted in art direction & design, identity, packaging, retail, standards
Comments Off