Brand Essence in Advertising

The message a brand tries to convey is the essence of what the brand is all about. I recently saw a Pampers ad which reflected the current position of the company. Initially, their advertising centered on a functional positioning, the new ad 'For every little miracle' tugs on your heart strings and has a decided emotional appeal which reflects the evolution of the brand especially in a very competitive market where you got to have more than just a functional edge, combined with Pampers well recognized name within the industry it would help in getting a leg up in the market.

Another advert which captured the brand essence beautifully was the new ad for the new VW beetle, 'Black  Beetle'. Its zippy, fast, kinda cute, and overall quite appealing, just like the new 2012 Beetle.

A great example of this is the Old Spice campaign. I have talked about it before, and the sheer loveliness of it, their new ad, with a new spokesman, while similar is just not quite the same. Somehow I feel that by copying it and trying to be similar the magic of it is missing, are they trying too hard?? is it too much to say bring back Isaiah Mustafa!

What is refreshing to see is a brand actually being critical of itself and its efforts to be environmentally responsible. I am talking about Starbucks and their critique of themselves for Earth Day. Through their advertising they hope to encourage their customers in participating with their recycling initiatives, in a win - win situation. 

A good way to measure up on how committed a brand is to the environment, would be to read the article "The 7 stage evolution of a socially responsible brand" by Simon Mainwaring, in which he highlights the seven stages a brand goes through to become socially responsible. Its a good tool to be used in measuring where on the ladder of responsibility a brand is. 

On a related note, the Nissan Leaf seems to be having some supply issues. Besides the States, the car is also available in Japan and Europe, but unfortunately production has not been able to keep up. Ideally it would have made more sense to launch the car in one country at a time, establish a strong base, satisfy demand, while steadily increasing promotion in other countries, or at least have a strong production base before having to face such issues, which only reflects poorly on the brand. This combined with increasing competition from the Volt and other brands, the Leaf is going to find itself in a tight spot. 

What's in a Brand? Logos

What's in a Brand?: Is it defined by its Logo? OR even its Font?!

Starbucks' New Logo

Starbucks is still making news in regards to its logo change. Some are critics calling it too radical as it  alters  its trademark style and color combination which it has fought so hard to protect, as well as gets rid of all words going only with its mermaid icon. While I'm quite sad
 to see the distinctive color combination go, on the other hand I quite like the new direction. Starbucks has become such an iconic brand that it no longer needs to mention its name for people to recognize it, the mermaid in itself in quite recognizable and by focusing on it only its able to convey what the brand is. Another plus is that by removing 'coffee' from its name they are no longer restricting their brand to be viewed only as a 'coffee' house (although that is its primary produce) but it acts as a signal that its shifting into a lifestyle brand where it is to be viewed as a product to be consumed for leisure as it shifts into making available other drinks, as well as to be found on supermarket shelves.

While I feel Starbucks' logo change has been successfully carried out, I cannot say the same for the many other logo changes that have been cropping up (and yes there have been many). In these disturbed times, companies often feel that re-branding themselves to appeal to changing audiences always has to start with a change in logo design and I'm not sure why. A logo should only be changed if it provides added meaning, and recently a lot of brands have changed their logo design to no additional advantage, and even to an extent where it can be harmful to them. A few examples include: NBC, Seattle's Best Coffee, Kraft Foods and of course GAP. All of these have removed the distinctiveness of their logos and in such the distinctiveness of their brands. For eg: NBC's peacock symbolized that it was the first to offer color and sure it may not be relevant now, but it meant something and based on it, they were able to build strong brand. Ok so it may not have any value at the moment, but what does removing it achieve?....Nothing....!

Nokia New font & old font

Some companies like Nokia are even going so far as to change their font in order to "re-brand". Sure a font is important...but not when its one of the few (or only) changes made to help keep a brand afloat. Also it does not help when you can't tell the difference between the old and new fonts...unless you look really really hard. Nokia was good, Nokia was great! and we have all owned a Nokia at some point or another, but it is my personal belief that they need a lot more to help the brand rather than just a negligible font change. The main reason Nokia lost out was because they could not keep up so I'm going to wait and see what else they have up their sleeve as part of their re-branding strategy.

On special mention, I have to give a heads up to Lacoste who are trying to protect their logo and quite literally. Lacoste is a supporter of the 'save your logo' project which aims to encourage companies to support endangered species which act as a logo. A commendable project which not only does good but also says a lot about a brand and its commitment, and everyone wins!

Brand Extensions

Consistency is not always the name of the game, Virgin being a prime example. Although the Vigrin brand did not make it into the top 100 of Interbrand's list, it does deserve a special mention. It is one of the most well known brands operating within various industries, and while its in-consistency might send other brand enthusiasts reeling, it's one of the few that has been able to successfully pull off brand extensions, which are different from their core. 

Recently Virgin announced the global expansion of their Virgin Hotels which they are developing for the high-end traveler. These 4 star hotels will be targeted for the luxury business traveler and will be currently located in North America. More details about the project can be found in Silverstein's article Branson's next move.

The reason for Virgin's success, while I touched on it before, is got to do with their positioning and overall image, which is not based on functionality, but rather emotions such as fun, excitement, daring etc.. which according to Branson appeal to their chosen consumer segment or as they are termed the 'creative class' who can relate to the values of the company....so in other words who does not like to have fun? therefore allowing Virgin to expand into any segment where this is probable. 

Speaking of brand extensions, RIM have decided to enter into the world of tablet computers with a launch of their very own version, into an already crowded market. Is this a bid by RIM to support its brand by creating product extensions for wider appeal? Most likely the tablet would be purchased by existing Blackberry loyalists, and by hooking their customers on they would be following a similar path to Apple; and their creation of a fan base. This is quite a stretch for them, as most of their other competitors are technological companies who have previous experience in IT, unlike RIM for whom this would be a first, but while it is a stretch, playing devil's advocate one can argue that RIM stands for efficiency and effectiveness combined with innovation of mobile technology which is exactly what they will be achieving through the tablet. More information can be found in the article RIM readies answer to i-Pad (why is everything compared to the i-Pad??? a better differentiation is needed). 

Starbucks on the other hand is committed to protecting their trademark which involves suing other brands who copy their distinctive style, color and design of the logo, even if their small cafés who claim innocence. Although there is more to a brand than just its logo, like for Starbucks, its quality coffee, atmosphere etc. they are compelled to protect their rights. Always a tricky decision...what would you do?

Samsung as part of their promotion of the Galaxy Tab, have launched a YouTube video depicting the features of the product ... makes me wonder why couldn't Amazon do the same for the Kindle rather than changing their distribution strategy? 

On a final note Ford have released an app on the iPad to promote the 2011 Fiesta, which highlights the vehicle's features, connectivity and accessories. This is a rather dismal attempt by Ford, as the potential of social media is astounding, so by using it as as an online catalog is only a drop in the ocean.....when the limit is only your imagination.