There’s a disturbing new trend in logos–sameness. Is it the digital world that brought this on or are agencies and execs just not that concerned about differentiating anymore. Worse, are we so inundated with graphics and data every day that we can no longer tell what’s a good idea and what’s been used before?
Bravo TV is clearly excited about what they call a “punchy new Bravo logo,” but the rest of us? Not so much. I first noticed the new logo when cruising through my TV’s channel guide–it’s black on white, instead of the white lettering on black below–and looked kind of washed out next to the other logos in the guide.
Then, I saw a StubHub commercial and thought, “What the heck?” I know, they use different fonts and the dialogue box design is rectangular versus StubHub’s angular, but still, for two very different businesses they shouldn’t be this similar. Then I started looking at recent logo refreshes and found an Eventbrite before/after on Brand New’s web page.
Yes, it’s different than Bravo’s and StubHub’s, but look at their “before.” Did Bravo and StubHub take a step back?
I don’t fault Bravo for wanting to change their logo. They had their previous one for seven years, and with the growth and evolution they’ve experienced, it was time for a refresh. As Amy Troiano, Bravo’s senior VP of creative told Variety:
“The last time we changed our look was seven years ago, and our programming has changed since then and obviously life has changed, society has changed, and it was time to take a modern look at how we were presenting ourselves. We wanted to continue to appeal to our core viewers who love us and are loyal to us, but this was a chance to expand even to our casual viewers with a new look.”
So did they achieve “modern” or is it just blah? I vote for “blah.” Bravo is a network that has a certain high-voltage energy to it. Their new logo just doesn’t do their brand justice.
Last week, I mentioned that a trend I think we’ll see more of in 2013 is authentic storytelling—using true stories to create compelling advertising. This week, I’d like to show you another example.
Belfor is a property restoration company. In 2011, Carol Tice of CBS News called them “one of those big, successful companies you never hear much about.” (See “How Belfor Grew to be #1 in Disaster Recovery.”)
Recently, due to two commercials—one 30 seconds long and the other one minute long—not only do we know their name, but we know what they do and who they are as a company, as a brand.
All that is due to a very compelling story and the personal touches mentioned that give us insight into Belfor.
Here’s the 30 second ad:
We’ve all watched in horror as news reports show towns devastated by tornadoes and other natural disasters. But we don’t often get to witness the recovery. Belfor is a company that specializes in such recovery.
What makes the company memorable is its company culture. Read the CBS News article mentioned above and you’ll see. Belfor CEO Sheldon Yellen, who appears in the ads, drives a company culture that’s “intensely people focused.”
We get that impression along with the notion that they truly care through their documentary-style ads. Here’s the minute-long one:
Companies that are great know that the little things matter. Belfor, through storytelling, convinces us that they are a caring and great company. As Yellen says at the end, Belfor is “restoring more than just property”—a tagline they obviously take to heart.
Look for your company’s stories. If you don’t have any worth sharing, maybe you need to change your company’s culture. And if you do have stories, then what are you waiting for? Tell them in a compelling, people-focused way.
You probably thought this was going to be yet another article about Lance Armstrong. No. Amidst all the hubbub over Armstrong’s interview with Oprah Winfrey and the questions of will he or won’t he be able to come back, another fallen superstar has quietly (and arguably) completed his brand restoration.
Tiger Woods is back—the old, likeable, marketable Tiger.
Nike Golf smartly paired their newly signed superstar Rory McElroy with Tiger Woods in this fun “No Cup is Safe” ad. And Tiger looks as relaxed and friendly as ever.
Nike is the “too big to fail” behemoth of the marketing world. They remain pretty much untouched by scandal by knowing when to drop an athlete and when to hold on. They dropped Lance once he admitted to doping.
With Tiger, Nike didn’t waver. They were one of the few sponsors not to drop the big-name golfer after the embarrassing sex scandal that ended his marriage and left his career as one giant question mark.
Tiger, at the time, was Nike Golf. So, you can say (and I did in my 2010 blog post) that Nike didn’t really have a choice. They had to stick with their moneymaker.
They released a creepy commercial that featured Tiger’s father speaking while we were left looking at the golfer’s grim face. It reeked of “feel sorry for me” and had people all over the Internet talking. A risky move, but one that ultimately paid off.
This latest commercial is Nike’s smartest move yet on Tiger’s brand comeback journey. Pairing Woods with one of the most likeable players out there—Rory McElroy—was a flat-out genius move.
Watch the ad, and notice the old Tiger moves—the flashy smile, the bouncing of the golf ball on the club and then launching it, the trick shots and sly “you can’t touch me” look—are back.
Even if the two top golfers weren’t actually together when filming this ad, this pairing is one we will all look forward to seeing again and again—on the course and in commercials.
Random acts of kindness are nothing new, especially not for Red Robin employees.
“Our team members, day in and day out, will bestow these random acts,” said Kevin Caulfield, a Red Robin spokesperson (as quoted in this ABC News article). “They’re empowered to do special things for our guests to make the experience a great one for our guests.”
The key word there is “empowered.” Empowering your employees to act on behalf of your brand to help consumers is key to building a great company culture and a well-loved brand.
What did Red Robin do this time that put them in the news?
The manager of their Apex, North Carolina restaurant, after a friendly chat with a very pregnant customer, took the charges for that customer off the family’s bill.
The husband told the story to ABC News with the goal that it would “make businesses see the value of being more personable.”
Businesses, customers are telling you what to do. Pay attention!
Stories like these are nothing new for Red Robin. In fact, they even have a special section on their website called “Unbridaled Acts” dedicated to these acts of kindness.
Caulfield said, “I can’t say enough that it’s just part of our culture.” And, really, it’s not that hard to do.
However, as much as it’s about empowering your employees, a customer-focused culture all starts with leadership that genuinely lives this culture everyday.
In the era of layoffs as regular practice for multi-million and -billion dollar companies, it’s hard to find CEOs who understand caring about people actually translates into creating profit.
And that’s exactly why I’m sharing this story. It’s time we change OUR culture and give more attention—and more business—to those companies that put people first.
On Christmas Eve, I had one more gift I was waiting for to arrive. I had two packages coming from FedEx. The gift for one of my nieces was due to arrive at 10:30 a.m., or so the tracking site said. The other package, which was a gift for me, was due to arrive at 4:30 p.m.
At around 10:40 or so, I checked the FedEx tracker again for the gift I cared about. Under “Scheduled to Arrive” it now said “N/A.” I called FedEx and talked to a cheery Tim, who put me on hold and then said they’d check with the driver and someone would call me. An hour and a half later, there was still no package and no call.
At about 1:30 p.m., just as I was thinking “Well, it’s not the worst thing in the world if the gift is a day late,” a FedEx truck pulled in my driveway.
Another cheery man, whose name I didn’t get, popped out of the truck with both my packages. I was hoping that would happen—that their systems would show I have two packages coming from two different places—so only one driver had to make a trip out.
“Oh great, you have both packages,” I said. “I don’t really care about that one,” I pointed to the envelope from the Gap. “But that was the one I was waiting for because it’s a gift.”
He said, with a knowing smile, “Ah yes, everybody wants these packages.”
As he was walking away, I wished him a Merry Christmas and said I hoped he didn’t have to work too late. “I only have an hour left,” he said with so much enthusiasm I couldn’t help but smile too.
If people working on Christmas Eve (probably dealing with a lot of cranky people waiting for their packages) can be cheery, why can’t people at every company?
I worked retail for years, so I know how nasty customers can get. It’s not always easy to stay cheery. But, here is one day—Christmas Eve, a very important day—and this company left me with such a positive experience.
I didn’t have to wait long for a person to answer the phone. I didn’t have to wait long when Tim put me on hold (yet he thanked me for my patience and apologized for keeping me waiting). My two packages arrived courtesy of a friendly FedEx driver. And Yolanda from FedEx’s Memphis office called me an hour later to make sure my packages arrived, and she was also super-friendly.
As a bonus, the Amazon items I ordered a few days ago were delivered in the mail (four days early!).
Be nice to your customers. Wow your customers. It’s the simple things that make us happy, so deliver—like FedEx does.
Weight Watchers has a new look and feel for their brand, and they seem to be adding themselves to a growing list of brand redesigns gone wrong. They did get one thing right—their old design was feeling dated.
Previous WeightWatchers logo
New WeightWatchers logo
Pentagram, the agency that designed the new look, explains the disappearing effect as a gradation that “conveys the brand’s spirit of transformation.” Adding:
“Modern, open and energetic, the identity brings to life the transformation that members experience when they adopt a new lifestyle that can lead to significant weight loss.”
Anyone getting that from this “energetic” black and white display?
Didn’t think so. In fact, most commenters in LinkedIn’s Brandixit group aren’t impressed with the new design at all. See some of the members’ quotes below and the entire discussion on LinkedIn:
“Wow, have the big agencies gotten lazy, and stupid. No better way to say FAT with type. Not only supremely uninventive, but contradictory!”
“I appreciate the effort that goes into any creative enterprise but I agree with others who don’t care for the new Weight Watchers logo. Disappearing does not convey ‘a narrative of positive transformation’. However, it is a brilliant metaphor for anorexia.”
“If they really wanted to tell a story, they should have had the gradient go from light to dark as it gets thinner; as though the person was becoming alive and vibrant, rather than fading away.”
All of these commenters make some very good points.
Even when you review Weight Watchers guides, you just see a collection of what looks like bright books and cookbooks. Nothing really defines an identity here. A bad thing for a brand.
I do love the colors and the brightness—very positive. And the stacked logo shown on the welcome kit materials below is a bit better than the standard horizontal black and white logo.
Now compare the new logo with the competition:
Like its new logo, WeightWatchers seems to disappear rather than stand out. Again, bad for a brand. I am not in WeightWatchers’ target audience, so I am interested to see what those consumers think. What do you think?
And why are all these brands (and agencies) getting their rebranding wrong?
I had no intention of writing anything about Hurricane Sandy this week. And then this email from Wegmans supermarket landed in my inbox and I had to say something. It’s a shining example of how a company should handle itself when disaster strikes.
Human, Thoughtful and Helpful
Wegmans sent their “In Sandy’s Wake” email Thursday morning. Rather than explain it to you, I’ll just show you how disaster response should be done. The email came from MaryEllen Burris, senior vice president of Consumer Affairs for Wegmans.
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, all of our stores are now open. Generators kept the stores going in areas most seriously affected by the storm (New Jersey and Pennsylvania north of Philadelphia in particular), but the current issue is being sure our employees can get to work safely so we can keep the Jersey stores near the shore open. Sufficient gasoline is a problem. We are working with the communities in need to determine how we can help with storm recovery.
We recognize that we provide an essential service, and not just for food, but prescription and over-the-counter drugs. That’s why we try to prepare for the potential of power outages. Plans started in motion behind-the-scenes last week, testing our generators, bringing in additional truck-mounted or leased generators when necessary and securing an adequate fuel supply just in case. We used many of the portable generators we needed to be ready, not only in our stores, but in our distribution facilities and bakeshop.
But this storm was particularly challenging because it affected all of our 81 stores to some degree. Some measures were already in place. We have 16 stores built with permanent generators (all new stores) and we keep 10 portable generators to move where we need them.
Ms. Burris hit the perfect balance of information and explanation without overdoing it. The tone is matter-of-fact and caring at the same time. No overexplaining, no making excuses.
Crowd Engagement
Burris and management at Wegmans recognized an opportunity to get closer to their customers in a time of need, and created a hashtag to help customers find information they were looking for and connect at the same time.
We started receiving a lot of calls and tweets from our customers looking for information. The topics changed frequently, as the situation changed. We created hashtag #WegSandy for customers who wanted to follow along for breaking news. You also shared with us different ways you were riding out the storm:
Thanks to the Bethlehem @wegmans employees in the coffee/tea department for their great work this morning! #sandy #frankenstorm –@pelcheck
Thank god for the Woodbridge Wegmans! #hurricanesandy #wegmans #coffee #aftermath–@keriannexo
But it’s comments like this one we received from a customer on Twitter that helps bring it all into perspective:
Thanks for being open today… Gives me and my community a step toward normalization… We’ll go to Wegmans, then it’ll be ok–@darcydorwar.
Very nicely done. Not only did they stay connected to their customers, but they gave them recognition as well, including sharing Instagram photos users shared with the #Wegmans or #WegSandy hashtag.
Taking the Extra Step
Notice how non-promotional Wegmans was in their actions so far. The next section of the post-hurricane email included food safety tips, which are so fitting for the many people who lost power for less than a day (and the others wondering what they would’ve done if they had lost power).
Wegmans’ actions here are completely consumer-focused, which all companies and marketers should realize are what people want in a time of need. In the same spirit of giving, I’ve decided to list those same food tips for you here:
Here are some important Food Safety Tips if you experienced a power outage as well as resources for further information:
Discard perishable items that have been above 40 degrees for two hours or more.
Freezer food: A full freezer will hold the temperature for about 48 hours. Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. More info available at FoodSafety.gov. http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/frozen_food.html
One More Thing
On Wednesday, I was shopping in Wegmans to fill my empty fridge. As I walked by long, empty produce shelves on one side of the produce department, I asked the two workers scrubbing the shelves there if they lost power during the storm. The young man answered cheerfully that they kept their power but their deliveries got delayed, so they took this opportunity to give everything a good cleaning.
Cheerful, compassionate, helpful, informative—I could keep going. But I know I don’t have to. Their actions speak much louder than my words. And I hope marketers everywhere hear them loud and clear.
Marketers, business owners, retailers and service professionals should know, it’s the little things that count. Making exceptions is sometimes the rule if you want to serve your customers well.
Zappos knows this. With their extreme focus on providing the best customer service possible, they don’t let any little things stand in the way of a positive customer experience. You can see how committed CEO Tony Hsieh is in the video below. In it, he even explains why they will help a customer buy through a competitor at times.
Banana Republic (at least my store) does not seem to quite understand this type of customer-focused philosophy.
Banana Republic Loses Appeal
Much of my wardrobe is from Banana. I shop at the outlet store near me and get fantastic deals. Plus, most important, their clothes fit my style and my long legs. In short, I am a fan.
On Friday, I hurried up there so I could take advantage of the 30-percent-off coupon I got through e-mail. I knew my weekend was busy, so I squeezed in a visit because I still needed more business and interview wear.
I found a ton of stuff! When I went to check out—waiting patiently I might add for a solid five minutes or more while one customer had a problem sorted out and another opened a charge account. No problem, I noticed belts and found the dressy brown belt I’ve been needing. Productive waiting—not bad.
My turn came and I handed the coupon over only to be told I couldn’t use it. The coupon was only good for August 4 and 5. My bad. I honestly thought that Friday was the 4th. Who can keep track anymore? The cashier gave me a choice:
I could buy the items and come back over the weekend with the coupon for a credit;
I could place the items on hold and come back the next day with the coupon to purchase them; or
I could open up a Banana Republic credit card account and get 30 percent off my order right then.
After a bit of conversation I asked, “Isn’t there any way you can give me the discount right now?” I did make an honest mistake, which was quite obvious by the look on my face when she told me I couldn’t use the coupon.
Turns out the cashier was also the manager. Even the manager can’t make an exception? Come on now. I’ve been a retail manager. I know it can be done.
The kicker is that she could give me the discount, but only if I opened a Banana Republic credit card. That’s what makes it so aggravating.
You cannot buy something in a store these days without someone trying to get you to open a credit card account. Irresponsible and annoying. Does no one learn lessons from our recent economic turmoil? These stores care more about their credit card promotions than they do their customers. Some stores even announce how many applications leading associates got as a sort of competition among the employees. Ever ask yourself what customers think of those announcements?
But I digress.
Notice how the burden of all those choices were on me? Three of the choices included an extra trip back—a huge inconvenience when I already had plans for the weekend. The fourth choice involved me adding another card to my credit report, wasting my time and the waiting customers’ time so I can give the proper information so Banana Republic can make out.
What were they willing to do for me—a regular customer? Nothing.
Do You Know How Your Customers Feel?
So, here’s the result. I felt very disappointed with my favorite store. I felt lied to and patronized by the manager (whether she was doing both or not doesn’t matter—this is how she made me feel).
Driving back the next day, I felt even worse. Yes, it’s my own fault for screwing up the dates, but the manager had a choice to do something about it and chose not to. I will remember that.
As she had to re-enter every item over again, I said to her, “See, it would’ve been easier for both of us, if you had just given me the discount yesterday.” I hope she realized how true that is and chooses differently for someone else next time.
Will I stop shopping at Banana Republic? Probably not. It’s hard for me to find clothes that fit. But, I won’t be in a rush to go back and will most likely check other stores first.
Remember the Little Things
Ask yourself, how does your customer feel after doing business with you? If you don’t know, then ask your customer. You don’t want them walking away feeling like I did.
It’s the little things you do that people remember. Look for opportunities to make your customers feel appreciated in every transaction. It’s worth it, and it’s easy!
***************
Speaking of little things, all retailers should stop putting those sewn in tags on skirts, pants and other clothing. No matter how you remove those cardboard tags, they leave holes. Not good!
Rebranding is never easy. Even the best organizations can flop at it. Remember Gap’s failed attempt? Now, Wharton, one of the best and smartest institutes in the world, is struggling too. Not sure they recognize that yet though.
The Philadelphia business school’s new advertising tagline, “Knowledge for…” will be completed with a variety of words, such as “action,” “global impact” and “life.”
With 20 research centers and initiatives scattered about, Wharton faces a problem. As Thomas Robertson, Wharton’s dean and marketing professor, puts it, the previous brand was inconsistent and the research centers “weren’t immediately identifiable as Wharton.”
Makes sense, right? Their reason for rebranding is a good one.
Wharton also made a good decision to target their so-called “quant” audience. As Korn reports:
The new marketing materials rely heavily on charts and graphs, including an infographic with concentric circles to show how far students travel to study at the school and another with colorful vertical bars to represent finance professors’ years of experience.
Smart. So far, so good. So what went wrong?
Clearly, they want to woo potential students with knowledge. But, they forgot the most important part—the differentiator.
Sure, Robertson talked about it in the WSJ interview. He even cited differentiation as a reason for the rebrand. And if you’ve read the interview, maybe you’ve even spotted the problem in Robertson’s answer to one of the questions:
Why a Wharton undergraduate degree? Why should a 17-year-old want to study at Wharton rather than be a math or economics major at Penn or elsewhere?
Answer:You could get an undergraduate degree at Harvard, Yale [or] Princeton. A lot of these students would then compete with our students for jobs on Wall Street or with consulting firms. At Wharton, it’s half liberal arts and half business, and we think that’s a pretty good mix.
Lame. I expected to hear a strong differentiator there. Instead, we got a half-assed hint of “half liberal arts and half business.” And if the school overall thinks that, why did they just decide on “knowledge”?
Wharton is a top-three business school known for its strong finance programs. Living outside of Philadelphia most of my life, I can tell you that you have to be smart to go to Wharton. The best and the brightest want to go there, and the school has strong entrepreneurial ties.
Where is that in the new brand? What attempt did they make to shift promotions toward this new generation? (Besides just charts and infographics?)
What would make you choose Wharton over Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, and Columbia?
The One-Word Problem
Wharton is like Cher—recognizable in one word. As Olivier Blanchard said in comments on Google+:
See, I thought Wharton’s single word would be “Wharton.” Why? Because it’s Wharton. What other word or brand do they need? It’s kind of like Harvard or Yale. There’s no need for a tagline.
“Knowledge” is not like Cher. Rebranding around one word is not a good idea. Even if it’s a great word, it can get stale pretty quickly. You’ll see Wharton taglines like “Knowledge for action. Knowledge for global impact. Knowledge for life.”
Doesn’t every school impart knowledge?
In the interview, Robertson talks about how Wharton is investing in:
Innovation
Social impact
Global presence
Notice, he didn’t say “knowledge.”
Innovation, social impact and being global are important current focal points for schools and for businesses. These are factors Gen Y look for. Where are these in the new brand?
The economy has sucked for the past 10 years or so. Take students with exceptional minds and add Wharton’s strength in finance and global reach and the result is leaders who can make a strong global, social impact and solve these economic problems.
You want to change the world? Wharton can give you the tools. Who wants pithy little knowledge when they can have gravitas?
Brainstorm taglines that mean something:
Wharton. Shaping leaders who change the world.
Wharton. Your first step toward leaving a legacy.
Wharton. Giving you the power to change the world.
Wharton. Transform the future of business worldwide.
Innovators, difference-makers—Your home is here.
Knowledge for Action.
Did you feel that dip? That blah at the end?
Check out Wharton’s new video. There are plenty of directions they could’ve gone using the words and ideas in this video, yet they still chose knowledge.
Knowledge only gets you so far. It’s the application of it that breeds success, and that comes from wisdom.
Don’t believe me? Wharton gained plenty of knowledge from all the data they collected from their crowdsourcing efforts—really good data. But they chose Knowledge.
Wharton. Wisdom is your window to the world.
Get students excited about being there.
Yes, use the charts and infographics, but also keep the testimonials. Get good ones. Why not get alumni, especially famous and successful ones to say why they chose Wharton over Harvard and the like. Get alumni to share powerful stories of how they’re making a difference now.
That’s smart! And I’m not just saying that because these are my ideas. C’mon Wharton, your knowledge tagline just makes you sound like the 131-year-old you are.
And you’re welcome for the free advice. Feel free to contact me if you want more.
By the way, Wharton, if you don’t want to listen, maybe one of the other schools will. Kellogg’s message is so long you can’t call it a tagline and has “we believe” in it—a major mistake. I’m sure they’d be happy to change to: Kellogg. Because wisdom takes you further than knowledge.
Two marketing trends that will continue to grow (per many marketing experts’ predictions) are mobile marketing and gamification. The two go hand in hand, and one startup just may have been ahead of the curve on this.
SCVNGR is a social game played using your mobile phone. Unlike foursquare—which has been much more popular, but still isn’t quite sure how to engage users past check-ins—SCVNGR nailed the engagement factor.
How SCVNGR works
The basics of SCVNGR are similar to foursquare. You download the free app on your iPhone or Android phone. Then you check in at participating locations. Once you check in, you complete challenges to earn points and unlock rewards.
For example, you can get points for checking in, writing a review or taking a photo. You can then share what you’ve done with friends on Facebook and Twitter. Brands can create all sorts of challenges, like the one on the demo video (below) at Boca Grande. You can earn 4 points for Tin-Foil Origami—unwrap the foil from your burrito, fold it into an interesting shape and snap a photo of it.
You’ll know exactly how many points you’ll need to claim a reward (a store discount or other reward). And you’ll see the point-earning options listed on your phone. Once you earn a reward, you show your phone to the waitress or employee of the store and redeem it right away.
Check out the video showing you how to play. And no, that’s not Gabe from The Office talking–it’s Seth Priebatsch, the company’s founder.
Brands are seeing results
GameStop worked with SCVNGR for their launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops. The results they saw were exciting:
17,000 players competed in mobile challenges within just four weeks after launch.
10,000 rewards were unlocked.
4 challenges were completed per player.
Users stayed engaged for at least 10 minutes per play.
Of course GameStop saw good numbers for their promotion. Their customers are the perfect audience for social games. But other brands are seeing success too. (See a list of current SCVNGR clients here.)
Mobile payments add a valuable twist
So far, SCVNGR has partnered with 1,400 merchants for mobile payments in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, and Chicago.
LevelUp, their payment app, is pretty simple. Users register a credit card or debit card on the app. They then get their own unique QR code, which they can scan to pay at any one of those 1,400 locations. After each transaction is completed, a receipt is sent to their e-mail.
In 2011, LevelUp passed the $1 million mark in transactions. Now, users spend over $1 million at local businesses per month, using LevelUp. And engagement has been doubling every 5 to 6 weeks. (Source: TechCrunch)
I never really got into foursquare and their mayorships, but I have to say that SCVNGR is something I could totally get into and have fun with. The keys to success are making it easy, fun and rewarding in a tangible way, and SCVNGR and its brand partners seem to be doing just that.
In exploring SCVNGR’s site and articles about them, the biggest negative I’ve seen (other than some early growing pains and mistakes with LevelUp) is their attention to their blog—or “blag” as they call it. The last post is from December 23. For a company that lives or dies by engagement, this isn’t a great example to set. Nitpicking, maybe.
Overall, it’ll be interesting to see where SCVNGR goes or grows. Will another social media site acquire it? Will it die out as competition in the mobile payment space opens up? What do you think?
Yes, it’s different than Bravo’s and StubHub’s, but look at their “before.” Did Bravo and StubHub take a step back?
In the crowds 
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