Category Archives: Branding

posted by Kevin

May 09, 2012 @ 10:15am

Design Finds: Poler Stuff

A series devoted to beautifully designed things found in unexpected places.

I was first introduced to Poler Camping Stuff through a design blog last year and I've had the camping itch (no, not chiggers) ever since. By that, I mean their branding makes me want to quit a job that I love to go live in the woods with friends forever. If you read my last Design Finds post on Best Made axes, you are probably aware of my affinity for the Great Outdoors and cheesy camping puns (see: pining over lumberjack paraphernalia) and are perhaps somewhat weary of such nonsensical outdoorsy quips. Well have no fear noble reader, for I'm fairly certain that I've exhausted all possible iterations of such tawdry wilderness lingo and can assure you that this post will not be nearly as campy as the last — well, starting now.

Poler is a company started in Portland by a bunch of skate/snow/surf boarding creatives who all share a passion for adventure and the Great Outdoors. They sell various camping equipment as well as branded apparel. Their logo is set in a wooly hand-drawn font and is often accompanied by a one-eyed monster/tree. I am currently the proud owner of their Two Man Tent — as opposed to just The Man Tent — as well as their beautiful canvas Rucksack (both pictured above). The Poler crew knows that details matter. The tent is the perfect size and shape for two people and has two entrances as well as a monster-eye-shaped window on the rain fly. The Rucksack has optional side bags for additional storage space, leather embellishments along the front and zippers and even a slot for your laptop — for when you're NOT camping of course.

Poler's branding shows the benefits of having creative people on your team. Talented designers like Caleb Owen Everitt and Aaron Draplin have helped keep the brand consistent and consistently awesome. Each item comes well-branded with their logo, or some variation of it, and is typically either black, orange, or camo. Every few weeks they release an Adventure Series — a photographic memoir of various trips and expeditions taken by one of their many talented photographers. The photographs, beautiful in an analogue/retro/1970's kind of way, serve not only as a catalog displaying Poler Stuff in use, but also as a harbinger of their brand essence: adventure.

shot by Ben Christensen

Shot by Benji Wagner

shot by Alana Paterson

Now get off your computer, go outside and stare at a tree.

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posted by Kevin

Apr 18, 2012 @ 7:00am

Design Finds: Best Made Co.

 
A series devoted to beautifully designed things found in unexpected places.

Last week I bought an axe.

I am no woodsman — though I’d like to be — and I have never cut down a tree. I can’t grow a beard and I only own one flannel shirt (it was on sale at Urban Outfitters). So when I found myself on the Best Made website drooling over hand-painted, individually numbered, luxury axes, I couldn’t help but wonder why. I’m not one to pine over petty lumberjack paraphernalia so I’m not exactly sure how this came to be. Perhaps it was the annual camping trip I’ve taken with friends for the past several years that got my, pardon the expression, fires burning. But that can’t be the reason because despite my boy scout efforts to always be prepared, I never go looking for camping materials more than a day in advance. So I’m left with one conclusion: beautiful design.

Not only is the Best Made website simple and easy to navigate — with sparse typography and all products placed against a stark white background — but the products themselves, aside from being handmade works of art, are utilitarian in nature. Axes that actually cut down trees. Scissors that could last a lifetime. They even sell tweezers designed by an industrial machinist. There are brilliantly curated books, maps turned into art, and even custom-made maple syrup. From the elegant tags that speak to the history of the company to the Best Made packaging tape used on the box, every detail is meticulously considered.


When I delved further into the Best Made brand, I was not surprised to find that their founder, Peter Buchanan-Smith, was a graphic designer. Best Made, through simple design and an awareness of its core values (courage, compassion, grace, fortitude) has successfully made a tool once exclusive to woodsmen and loggers into a work of art coveted by nerdy designers like me, who will use it once, maybe twice, for fear of scuffing the logo. In this way, we see that design can be used as a tool to reveal new interests to an audience formerly uninterested.

 

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posted by Cathy

Apr 04, 2012 @ 7:00am

New Work: Goodwill Outdoor

I love this outdoor campaign we produced for our friends at Goodwill.


I am happy they love it, too.

 

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posted by Kevin

Feb 22, 2012 @ 11:20am

Humor has it: Old Spice

“If your grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist.”
- a bottle of Old Spice

Old Spice has long been considered a staple in the musky shaving kits of dads and grandfathers everywhere. However, it has recently taken on an entirely different role as the harbinger of red-blooded masculinity to younger men across America who long for hairier chests, lumberjack beards, or biceps the size of Mount Rushmore. Luckily for these men, Old Spice has just what they need — and it’s not a 2-year gym membership or a year’s supply of Rogaine, either — it’s a healthy dose of humor.

Two years ago, Old Spice began a series of commercials in which masculinity was personified through the likes of one muscular, smooth-talking man who, with the help of some common stereotypes, attempts to persuade viewers to buy Old Spice body wash. These ads use just the right amount of humor and irony to appeal not only to the woman buying smelly soap for her significant other, but also to the man who wants to smell decent without sacrificing his masculinity. The original commercial, which won the Film Grand Prix at the International Advertising Festival at Cannes in 2010, has certainly contributed to much of the company’s growth since then. The popularity of the commercial has grown so much that it’s YouTube video has now reached nearly 40 million views and there have been several parodies of it as well.

Old Spice has continued to sail the ship of satirical humor on into 2012. In one if their most recent commercials, former football player Terry Crews literally bursts onto the set of a Bounce Dryer Bars commercial via explosion and a giant jet ski, loudly proclaiming (or yelling, really) how Old Spice Body Spray is “so powerful, it sells itself in other people’s commercials.” These commercials, while very different from the other series in terms of content, are so unique that even the most curmudgeonly viewer couldn’t help but remember them.

 

 

Broadcast is not the only form in which Old Spice is appealing to its target audience. Their sense of humor trickles down to the packaging as well. Each item is adorned with a classy desaturated illustration, bold modern type in all-caps, and sleek matte packaging. All appealing looks aside, when a stick of deodorant is named after a 14,690-foot mountain in the Swiss Alps and purportedly smells of “ice, wind, and freedom,” the target audience is obviously a little more specific than just any old man.

This sense of humor appeals to a younger audience of men whose hands have not been calloused from hard labor like those of their fathers and grandfathers. They don’t take life too seriously because they don’t have to yet. Therefore, they laugh about their scrawny arms, baby faces, and complete inability to understand their girlfriends, as if it were something that couldn’t be helped. And Old Spice, bottling up the romantic ideals of a generation into one concise container of manliness, tells them that’s alright.

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posted by Cathy

Jan 25, 2012 @ 3:39pm

The Rise (and Fall?) of Brand Paula Deen

I find Paula Deen to be utterly magnetic. Her allure goes way beyond charm, I think; I want to hang out with her, to sit on that magnificent Lowcountry porch and dish about the neighbors, to be invited over for Thanksgiving dinner with Michael and the boys. (I would bring Bourbon Cranberry Sauce, and it would be a Big Hit.)

Isn’t that just the effect a really great brand has on you? I can see Paula as part of my life, a celebrity friendship as casual and easy as any meaningful relationship in my life.

So I was heartbroken to watch her appearance on The Today Show last week when she announced the Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis. Not so much because of the disease—I believe she will successfully manage it—but because the entire handling of the announcement was such a debacle.

How I wish I had been Paula Deen’s brand consultant when she learned of the diagnosis three years ago. (Of course, the report that her longtime publicist resigned last month after Paula began hawking a diabetes drug indicates the Food Network star didn’t follow the counsel she received anyway.) But I would have made a powerful pitch to her—one she may never have thought about or considered—and that perspective, I believe, could have changed every misstep that followed.

At issue is the protection of a multi-million dollar brand built around the very culprit in this significant and dangerous health diagnosis: rich, fatty, unhealthful Southern recipes. Paula and her team created an empire promoting comfort food, beginning with The Lady and Sons Savannah, Georgia restaurant, then expanding in every direction—publishing of cookbooks and magazines, multiple television shows, an extensive line of signature cookware, online and retail interests. A heavy consideration in the what do we do about this diagnosis discussion, no doubt, was Dean’s endless array of ”strategic partnerships” with other national brands, including Walmart, Smithfield, Harrah’s, International Greeting and Cooking.com, to name just a few.

Here, apparently, was the Protect the Brand strategy:

  1. Wait three years to publicly announce that she has Type 2 Diabetes, all the while continuing to expand—rather than refining—her brand
  2. Form another strategic partnership, but with a drug company rather than a highly respected, mission-driven nonprofit
  3. Make the diabetes announcement during a live segment on The Today Show, an appearance in which she was (uncharacteristically) nervous and disingenuous

How did a brilliant business woman capable of such extensive brand expansion come to make so many poor crisis communications decisions? Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t believe greed is the heart of the issue. (Pollyanna, I know. But I don’t.)

I believe the problem is having a brand strategy based on this flawed core premise:

Brand Paula Deen = Southern Cooking

Wrong. So wrong. This powerful brand is based on one thing that should have been protected at all cost, but wasn’t:

Brand Paula Deen = the authenticity of Paula Deen, herself

I can’t think of another celebrity more utterly charming and disarming in her honesty. Likely to say anything at any time, she lights up stage and screen by saying exactly what she’s thinking—and what we are thinking, too, but are too timid to say.

How powerful it could have been had she announced the diagnosis early, long before she had “something to bring to the table.” What if, three years ago, she’d said:

I didn’t expect this. I don’t know enough. I am afraid.

What if she’d invited us all to take this very human journey with her, changing our lifestyles and habits and menus, one day at a time, together.

Would her brand have disintegrated? Would the Food Network have dropped her? Would corporate partners have abandoned her?

Would we?

I surely don’t think so.

Paula Deen, the person, will survive this misstep, I do believe. But the brand has suffered a severe blow. And the best thing it can do (I sure hope it moves quickly) is to get real about what Paula Dean, the brand, stands for. I, for one, think there is way more there than just another stick of butter.

 

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posted by Ryon

Jan 24, 2012 @ 9:35am

New Work: Paradise Valley Estates

We’ve been busy creating new work for Paradise Valley Estates, a continuing care retirement community in beautiful Northern California just south of Napa Valley. After we conducted several discovery sessions, we developed brand positioning and message strategy. We designed and updated logos and created a fresh new identity package as well as print advertising and a sales collateral system . The campaign emphasizes the fact that residents can enjoy an active and adventurous lifestyle at Paradise Valley Estates. We enlisted the talent of photographer George Fulton, who captured the personality of PVE beautifully. And going live very soon will be a new website by our WECOmates truematter. Thanks to everyone involved on this project!

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posted by Apprentices

Dec 13, 2011 @ 10:33am

Publicité & Graphisme

“A poster, unlike a painting, is not and is not meant to be, a work easily distinguished by its manner—a unique specimen conceived to satisfy the demanding tastes of a single more or less enlightened art lover. It is meant to be a mass-produced object existing in thousands of copies like a fountain pen or automobile. Like them, it is designed to answer certain strictly material needs. It must have a commercial function.”

-AM. Cassandre, translated by Michael Taylor

AM Cassandre, "Dubonnet" - 1932

In a few days I will be traveling to Paris for a vacation and I wanted to familiarize myself with the history of French design, but I found no books or blogs on its history. This is, perhaps, due to France’s overwhelming amount of cultural history in painting, cinema, food, and fashion. Though French design seems to play a smaller role in France’s cultural history when compared to so many other facets of artistic expression, it’s advertising (publicité) and typographic (graphisme) legacies are by no means insignificant to a broad popular culture. (1) Below you will find an assortment of beautiful French posters that represent a rich cultural history of French graphic design.

 

Toulouse-Lautrec, "La Chaine Simpson" 1890's

Roland Ansieau, "Berger" 1935

Raymond Savignac, "Autorail Paris" 1937

Ramond Savignac, "Cigarettes Collie" 1952

Bernard Villemot, "Orangina" 1953

 

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posted by Kevin

Dec 07, 2011 @ 7:30am

The New Art of Conversation

I’m in planning mode for several clients now, and McKinsey’s much discussed “customer decision journey” is dominating my thoughts. This theory holds that consumers hold a portfolio of brands, evaluate other brands constantly based on peer influencers and decide periodically which brands to add, discard or replace.

The customer decision journey replaces the old purchase funnel, rightfully acknowledging that spouses, children and friends influence our decisions more than advertising, public relations or social media.

It is worth acknowledging that consumers have denied the influence of advertising on their decisions since the beginning of market research. Nevertheless, Gallop’s poll paints a clear picture.

Peer influence and referral have never been more influential than before.

This dynamic is made all the more powerful by technology’s ability to offer everyone a voice, a megaphone and an audience. So what’s a marketer to do?

Start a conversation. Be bold and give consumers something to discuss.

Amidst all the noise about cyber Monday, Patagonia did just that.

There has been disagreement in marketing circles about Patagonia’s strategy. Some have questioned whether or not the approach was sanctimonious.

I love that the company has taken a stand against excess consumerism. Even better is the fact the company started a conversation about Patagonia. No doubt people are consuming less. So why not increase loyalty from current customers and attract new ones with likeminded values?

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posted by Cathy

Nov 09, 2011 @ 4:00pm

A Good Night’s Sleep

This is quite a special day for me. After a great morning meeting with our spectacular Greenville-based client, Goodwill Industries of the Upstate/Midlands SC, I am spending the afternoon/evening enjoying one of my favorite locales on earth: Main Street Greenville, SC. What’s more, my daughter—a college student I no longer see often enough—is driving from Clemson University to meet me for the night. We shall stroll the West End, windowshop, eat a fabulous dinner somewhere along the way (Who can say where? There are so many remarkable options along this famed route.), then enjoy Gavin DeGraw and David Cook at The Peace Center.

Later, perhaps after coffee and dessert, we’ll make our way back to the Poinsett Hotel, where we’ll talk late into the night about all the goings-on in her life, which has no doubtedly changed significantly since she made the transition from high school student to college girl this fall.

When I planned this outing, I recognized what a Life Moment it would be for me, and hopefully, for her. I intentionally chose this historic hotel, and sitting here in the room, waiting for her to arrive, it feels just right. The bellman was courteous and helpful, check-in was a breeze, and the room is Exactly What I Wanted.

doesn't it make you want to slip in and curl up?

Even the ride up the elevator was worthy of note. A sweet lady who had been working in the lobby rode up with me and offered this perspective:

Wait ’til you feel that bed. It is heaven.

Here’s what I find interesting. How many centuries did it take before the hotel industry realized a comfortable bed is a vital part of their offering?

Today there is a comfortable bed war going on between many national chains. Not only that—many, including Hampton Inn,  now sell their own branded linens, pillows and comforters. The Westin has gone so far as to brand theirs the Westin Heavenly Experience and describes 10 layers of pure comfort, 1 extraordinary sleep experience.

I think a hotel branding the bed, and the sleep experience, is a smart, smart move. And I’ll let you know if their promise holds true—assuming my Eliza and I don’t stay up all night talking.

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posted by Kevin

Nov 02, 2011 @ 4:42pm

Persist or Advance

Occupy Wall Street is proving to be the definition of persistence. Meanwhile, the European debt crisis continues one week after the next. In a better world, crises would at least be short, especially such severe ones. The congressional stalemate continues despite national frustration. I can’t imagine anything worse than being on a “Super Committee.” A regular committee is painful enough.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola does something beautiful. They turn their cans white for the World Wildlife Fund . This profound gesture reminds me why I love the business of branding. Amidst all the chaos, Coke’s Arctic Home campaign feels like a refuge. A company doing something good, just because it is a good hearted company.

Coke’s white can inspired our marketing strategy for our client Moe’s Southwest Grill. Moe’s is incredibly supportive of schools and children’s charities, and we’re working on ways to further deepen their support at a neighborhood level.

Moe’s reminds me that we have to continually raise the bar. They are constantly tweaking their menu. They were the first retailer in town with Coke’s incredible new Freestyle machine. Better training, improvements to the prep line, and monitoring measuring customer feedback all followed a discussion about marketing strategy.

As the economy continues to strain business, brands easily fall into a mentality of persistence spawned by risk avoidance. I would argue that today’s challenging business climate demands constant improvement and innovation. I invite you to share a Coke with a colleague and start exploring how you might change things for the better.

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