Friday, January 28, 2011

My Take On Western's Re-branding Efforts

Last Spring quarter, I remember sitting in Dan Purdy's IMC class discussing what Western meant to us as a brand. How is Western different from any other school? This class discussion was a result of Western's crucial need to distinguish itself and give applicants a compelling reason to choose Western over its competitors. Now that Western has finally started rolling out its new brand image, I'm going to discuss my opinion on it and ask for yours in return.

First, the logo. My first impression of the logo was "Hey, that's actually pretty cool and simple". When I thought about it later, however, I started to question whether it matches the prestige as a top university that Western desires to be seen as. The logo in fact, looks a lot like Skagit Valley College's, as shown below.
I wish the logo was something more along the lines of the old one, which represented Old Maine, Western's oldest building. I believe one of Western's key differences between other universities is how focused it is on academics over sports, and the quality of the professors. The old logo was close to giving off that image. With that being said, I believe the student that created this logo has amazing talent and will have an amazing career in Graphic Design, but it's not the right logo for Western's brand. 

As for the tag-line, "Active Minds Changing Lives", I don't think it really sets Western apart, but it's not bad. I think you can plug that tag-line in any University and feel it could work. Then again, I'm not much of a fan of tag-lines. 

I'm hoping that the new website will be a substantial improvement over the previous one, but we'll have to wait and see. It's too bad that cost was what prevented the site and logo rolling out together. Anyway, that is my take on Western's new branding strategy. I hope I'm proven wrong and it helps to accomplish Western's goals. 

What do you guys think of Western's new brand image? What do you think Western's brand is all about? I'd love to hear the thoughts of some marketers  


Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Strong Branding Without a Dime Spent on Advertising

Branding and marketing are often used interchangeably with advertising. While it is true that advertising is an excellent and important tool to help build a strong brand, it is not always 100% necessary! There are companies out there who have built extremely successful brands without a dime spent on advertising, and I happen to work for one of them: Costco Wholesale. So, what's their secret sauce?

Three key words: Word of Mouth


Costco's strategy is consistent, strong, and followed in every warehouse in the United States and its other countries of operation. Their mission statement promises the best possible treatment of employees, vendors, and members and they stay true to that. They follow these core principles by supplying employees with amazing benefit packages, great wages, and time and a half Sundays. Even though their power over several vendors is strong, they do not bully them. As for their members, they offer great prices, the chance to test  their products through sampling, and amazing return policies. They have also created an adventure out of the Costco experience by a brilliant merchandising strategy. People are proud to say they found a great deal at Costco.

By consistently and uniquely bringing this exciting experience to shoppers seeking great deals, Costco has generated a lot of talk! Jim Sinegal, the CEO, refuses to spend anything on advertising, yet Costco has been showcased in several talk shows and even used in the filming of a movie, Employee of the Month. 




Here's a special done by Jimmy Kimmel at Costco that was shown to me during my Corporate Internship. It's pretty hilarious.
The point is, Costco has been able to communicate the essence of their brand in every way possible through its many actions, whether it be the way Jim Sinegal dresses (always simple and never classy), forever promising the $1.50 hot dog/soda combo, or by simply providing an entertaining shopping experience.

My closing points: Remember, marketing requires much more than advertising if you ever want to make it as a successful brand. You have to communicate your brand by every action you take and decision you make.

So, anybody have a crazy Costco experience to share? Can you think of another brand who is successful without advertising?

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Beer Brand of the Week: Heineken!


Of all the famous beer brands that pour their funds into advertising (maybe a little pun intended), here's the beer that I think is doing the best job at the moment, and here's why.

Heineken is positioning themselves as different than other beers, more classy, cool, and superior. This ad is a prime example of that.

  • Going viral, top 2 on the charts according to Advertising Age
  • Choosing not to advertise in football commercials, straying away from lower price beers such as Budweiser and Coors
  • The party in this ad is full of dressed up, upper class people yet still provides humor that is different from other beer commercial
Why is it important for Heineken to position themselves away from other beer? 

  • Almost all beer brands have the same associations (beer + football), target audience, and personality
  • Having all the same brand attributes aside from taste will only lead to a price war, especially amongst college students or others in a down economy who are willing to sacrifice taste for price
Which beer do you think has the strongest brand image? Enjoy this ad and let me know what you think of it. It's pretty funny!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

In a World Without the NFL....

Not only would the hearts of fans be broken, but also the hearts of several advertisers. The reason why I bring this up is because right now, the NFL is currently in some intense contract negotiations over how many games there will be next year as well as stricter salary caps for rookie players. If this isn't resolved within a specific amount of time, then the NFL will not be having a football season next year. While the likelyhood of THAT actually happening is next to none, it's interesting to think about what would happen in the world of fans as well as marketers. 

Think about how much money is put into advertising in the NFL. According to an Advertising Age article by Rich Thomeselli, combining the ad revenue, sponsorships, fantasy football leagues, and all the employees who would be out of work, and empty sports bars, this would roughly add up to $12 billion at stake. That's insane. Kudos to the NFL for becoming such a strong and relevant force in the marketing world. 

Anyway, I didn't want to give to much of an opinion on this blog but moreover open this up to all of you guys. What would be the next best place for these big advertisers to invest if the NFL wasn't around? Think of Doritos, Coors, Budweiser, Pepsi, all of those companies...

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Mini Vs. Monster

Here's an awesome brand that we never seem to talk about in school, Mini Coopers!!! Minis serve a niche of people and have a very strong following, almost cult like. This is a tribute to my best friend Ashley, who finally got her dream Mini.

Once you own a Mini, you become a part of a strong community of people. Similar to motorcycles, it is customary to wave to fellow Mini drivers when you pass by each other. According to the Mini website, these cute little cars must also have a name! Ashley's new car, for instance, is named Zippy. Mini Cooper also offers several ways to customize your car to the way you like it: Bar codes so they're toy-like, British flag paint jobs, you name it. Anyway, I think they have an excellent marketing strategy because they've made Minis into more than just a car, but more like a toy, pet, or something to cherish. Finally, a car company who is doing something different from everybody else. I don't know about you guys, but I'm sick of Toyota, Ford, Chevy, and other car ads.

Going with that emotional attachment idea, the above video is the final cut of their latest campaign: Mini Vs. Monster. It's kind of a funny and ridiculous ad, and I think people will be slightly confused at what they're trying to achieve. The way I interpret it is that they are trying to show how emotional people get over the well being of cute little Mini Coopers, which provides value that they are a car worth saving. In most monster truck contests, people hope for a little destruction! Watch the video and let me know what you think :).

Do you know any Mini lovers who have stories to share? Do you think the new campaign will be effective? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Amazing Tim Tebow: Will His Brand Last?




What is SO great about Tim Tebow? 

Well, that was the first question that came to my mind when I started witnessing the excitement amongst my fellow football fans when the Florida Gators quarterback was picked up by The Denver Broncos. I don't follow college football, but I was born and raised a die hard Broncos fan so I follow the NFL very closely. How painful that is to say after this season is beside the point. Anyway, throughout the football season, Tim Tebow was in the spotlight without even being the starting quarterback. This 23 year old rookie has achieved the following on top of all his awards playing college football:
  • He has the NFL's top selling jersey
  • 88,277 Twitter followers (That's more than Tom Brady)
  • "The Davie-Brown Index, an independent marketing research tool, found Tebow to be more appealing and more of a trendsetter than Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and Tony Romo."-The Bleacher Report (http://bit.ly/h2dx2q)
  • Current Endorsements: Nike, EA Sports, Jockey (http://bit.ly/h2dx2q)
How on earth can a rookie quarterback in the NFL be so popular? Some say it's the way he conducts himself on and off the field. Raised in a Christian family, he has followed his belief in all aspects of his life. Even though he has sored in popularity and still hasn't been given a starting position, he still remains humble and helpful to his teammates. He also started his own foundation (http://www.timtebowfoundation.org/) to help disadvantaged children. If you went to this website and saw what it was about, you'd probably fall in love with him too. 

Basically, Tebow is a genius at applying successful branding strategy. His strategy is relevant to all sports fans because after all the recent scandals in all the professional sports (Tiger Woods, Michael Vick, Brett Favre, Ben Rothlisburger), people need a good person they can trust and root for. He sticks to this brand strategy by refusing sponsorships that would distract him from football. Finally, he gets involved with the community through his foundation, and personally using social media to let his fans in on his life. 

My Concerns: Can He Keep This Up?
  • Once he does get playing time, he needs to be able to prove himself on the field as a professional quarterback and live up to all the hype.
  • He MUST remain humble and not become another disappointment like Michael Vick or Tiger Woods
As a Denver Bronco fan and sports fanatic, I sure hope so. 

Do You Think Tim Tebow is Overrated or Does He Live Up to the Hype?




Sunday, January 9, 2011

My #1 Most Confusing/Annoying Brand






Comcast!..Or, Xfinity? 

This has to be the longest readjustment to a name change ever.  There are STILL Comcast vans driving around out there as well as Comcast advertisements. This name change has been taking months to actually go into effect. It's doing nothing but confusing people. Here's a quote from The Philadelphia Inquirer that I found from the Seattle Pi Blog: http://bit.ly/9ciNzu

"This re-branding comes as Comcast has struggled to rebuild its reputation because of poor service and problems with its network that resulted in telephone and Internet outages. Its customer-satisfaction rating is among the lowest in the industry, but it has improved slightly in the last year."
Here's an idea. Instead of trying to mask the terrible reputation that you've created by changing names, actually fix the problem with customer service! It would make sense to change names if this change were taking place but let's face it, most people are still not happy with Comcast's service.  


My suggestion for Comcast? I believe that they should focus their assets into training and encouraging better customer service amongst their employees, and then going a step further by advertising their efforts once they have made an impact. An example similar to this would be Dominos Pizza, when they finally came up with a recipe for pizza that didn't taste like cardboard. They advertised their new and improved pizza. Perhaps after that it would have made sense to roll out with a new name, the new and improved Comcast.

As for the choice of the name Xfinity, don't get me started.

What do you guys think of the name change? What brand is annoying you the most right now?

Thursday, January 6, 2011

A New Logo for Starbucks: Good or Bad Move?

http://www.comcast.net/articles/finance/20110105/US.Starbucks.Logo/

Well, it looks like Starbucks is deciding to change things up again with a new logo. I believe their old logo was much more solid and identifiable, but does Starbucks really need to let everybody know who they are anymore? In my opinion, the new logo is cleaner and more simple, but who knows if the change was worth the money. Here's a quote by Howard Schultz I found when reading this Comcast article: http://bit.ly/gJuH70

"What is really important here is an evolutionary refinement of the logo, which is a mirror image of the strategy," said Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks. "This is not just, let's wake up one day and change our logo."
My first reaction to seeing this logo: "Oh my god what have they done?! It feels so empty and unfinished!" However, after thinking a little bit more about that quote and thinking about what other great brands have done, simplicity does seem to be the trend and evolution that Schultz was referring to. After reading an article by Thomas Stringham in Ad Age ( http://adage.com/smallagency/post?article_id=148060), his examples of Apple's trend towards minimalism in its logo convinced me that it was more than likely worth it for Starbucks to follow this trend as well.

What do You Guys Think? Was it Worth the Investment?

What's Branding?

That is one question I am SO tired of hearing. Why Couldn't I have Chose Public Relations or Something?

Every time somebody asks me what I want to do with my marketing career, I tell them I want to do branding for a marketing firm. That's usually where I see the blank stare and wait for that inevitable question. What's Branding?

The thing is, it's tough to describe, because it's in every aspect of marketing. Everything a company or person does affects their brand: their logo, design, name, positioning, advertising, actions, the list goes on and on. The best way that I've found to describe branding to somebody with no marketing geek in them is to give examples of some of the best brands and the emotional attachment their loyal customers have. While I seem to light up talking about the success of these brands, they somewhat understand but don't seem to capture my enthusiasm.

So, I made this blog in an attempt to show how branding is not boring, and in fact something that affects everybody whether they see it or not. I'm hoping that fellow marketers, experienced and inexperienced alike, will share with me their thoughts as I talk about branding from my point of view. And for those of you reading who asked me what branding was, maybe this will clear things up and my marketing geek will rub off on you. If you haven't read my previous blogs, go to amber-e-m@tumblr.com. Enjoy!