Every marketer in America liked Branding a lot.
But the Recession, who loomed over them this year, did NOT!
The Recession hated Branding and thought it was manure.
Please, don’t ask me why, cause I’m not really sure.
It could be the school where he earned his degree.
It could be, perhaps, his longstanding obsession with pedigree.
But, I think that the mostly likely reason of all,
may have been that his ego was the size of a mall.
The marketing halls of business schools across the land feature how-to courses on Brand repositioning; considered by many to be the Magic Mushroom of marketing. (more…)
The professor who had the most impact on my design vocabulary, recently posted his Design Code online. On his site he asks the following question and offers a glimpse at what is missing in this world of hype and Photoshopped concepts. (more…)
In the movie City Slickers their is a scene where Billy Crystal’s character, Mitch, is alone with Curly, played by Jack Palance.
Curly gives Mitch some life advice that makes more sense than most Brand Babble I have heard over the years: (more…)
The Rationality Project: One Man’s Quest to Ignore His Gut Instinct is an entertaining look at the biological reasons why humans are often not rational about how and why we attach meaning to rituals, untruths and ultimately the Brands we allow into our lives. The article has a neurotic bit about toothpaste, which makes my manifesto seem calm. (more…)
Over the course of my design/branding/art-slinger/reluctant-shaman/marketing-drone psychedelic trip of a career, I have, in addition to developing a massive case of Entrepreneurial-Attention-Deficit-Disorder, been blessed with the opportunity to work on many successful projects (and a few awful ones). (more…)
This cartoon strip on Flickr made me laugh at myself and, well, pretty much everyone in the marketing business. Then it made me think about what it is we do, and more importantly what it is we want to do with the gifts we’ve been given. Some Brands refuse to be saved. Life is too short to spend time working on assignments that will end up taking your soul and not giving you anything to show for it.
Be different. Make a stand. Keep it simple. Tell the truth with one voice. Demonize your opponent. The CMO of a top 10 retailer recently reminded me, “Sounds like Marketing 101.” Maybe so, but why is it so hard for marketing departments to follow it? (more…)
The front panel declares, “Frosted Mini-Wheats® cereal clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20%.” So I, being a “responsible father”, threw it into my cart, took it home and fed it to my kids. They were thrilled to see any cereal with frosting on it, and dove in with an animal-like vigor that, I admit, made me proud. Then I saw the back panel.
The fine print reads, “Based upon independent clinical research, kids who ate Kellogg’s® Frosted Mini-Wheats® cereal for breakfast had up to 18% better attentiveness three hours after breakfast than kids who ate no breakfast. For more information, visit www.frostedminiwheats.com.” (more…)
If Carly Simon were dead I am certain she would be rolling over in her grave. Heinz Ketchup packaging is being too clever to the detriment of brand heritage. The label has swapped out the 57 varieties brand positioning (which has helped Heinz prosper since 1872) with a bold, differentiating “Net Weight” statement.
Replacing the classic bottle neck label (above left) with a net weight message (right) is akin to getting all dressed up and missing the party because you got so captivated with your own reflection that you, engaged in a deep conversation with yourself about your favorite subject (you), forgot to go to the ball.
When I am dipping french-fries is not the right time to introduce me to new frontiers in graphic design nor try and change my brand perceptions. Aren’t package designers responsible for helping our clients think these things through? Bad things happen to brands who’s design team doesn’t understand branding.
