Posts About Branding
Our Government, Their Brands
Designers, marketers, and pollsters have been getting pretty hot under their very different collars about politics and brands. And they’re right to do so, as campaign branding and consequently campaigns have gotten more sophisticated in technique and scope. Consider how talk shows and blogs waxed on about the choice of Gotham as Obama’s typeface or the hair and diction of Palin and her milieu.
Because politicians rely heavily on brand and messaging during campaigns, and because politicians exert vast amounts of energy in packaging themselves, brands and values have now seeped into the actual governmental work. It’s worth taking a dedicated look at how branding, rebranding, and positioning affect our legislation. David Mitchell, the comedian and the “PC” from the Apple ads that ran in the UK and Ireland, did this very nicely for the UK political system in his short study of the rebranding of the controversial Antisocial Behavior Order. Though I’m usually just happy to read his snipings and chiding (and imagine he’s saying them in this tone), his most recent article in the Guardian is some of the best writing about governments and branding I’ve read.
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Written by Katie Gillum on February 22, 2011 with 0 comments | 
Dear Gap, I have your new logo.
Dear Gap,
As you requested, I’ve redesigned your logo. It’s behind the post-it above. It’s unbelievably good. Fantastic, even. I’m convinced it’s what you need.
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Written by Mike Monteiro on October 7, 2010 with 175 comments |
Finding Romance in the Supply Chain
My mother taught me to love what I do, so when I see other people’s passion for their work—no matter how repetitive or basic it may seem—I love that.
I ride the metro to work. This morning, I noticed a new ad campaign plastered all over the Montgomery Muni station. Dozens of UPS poster diptychs with smiling people holding brown packages. People of all colors, shapes, and sizes. People who love logistics.
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Written by Nicole Jones on October 6, 2010 with 1 comment |
Ads are Content
The ads you allow on your site are part of your brand.
Advertisements and promotions contribute to the experience you provide. Like any other content on your site, ads should be useful, relevant, and current.
Hold your advertisers to the same quality standards as your product. Don’t let a third-party reflect badly on you or your site.
When managing campaigns, consider your:
- Audience
- Messaging (e.g., voice, tone)
- Reputation and character
- Unique offerings (i.e., how your company differs from your competition)
The Dieline, a site for the packaging design community, is a nice example of effectively targeted ads in good taste:
Even though there are a lot of ads, they are integrated well and do not interfere with the site’s other content. These ads were curated with care.
Your site should help tell your story; any content you publish should speak to your reader and the relationship you want to build with them.
Bottom line: If you’re trying to drive revenue, don’t drive your readers away from your site with annoying, inappropriate garbage.
Or, as Mike says, if you really want people to punch the monkey, find the best punch-the-monkey ad you can.
Written by Nicole Jones on May 11, 2010 with 17 comments |
Philadelphia, my love.
I grew up in North Philadelphia. It’s not a pretty place, but it’s where I’m from. And my Philadelphia pride goes deep.1 Although I live in SF now, there are three times a year when I can still put on a Phillies cap and walk into AT&T Park to root for my beloved hometown team. (It’s worth pointing out that I’d never have the cojones to walk into a Philadelphia park wearing enemy colors.)
This morning I read about the Philadelphia rebranding on the always informative Brand New. Although I agree with author Kosal Sen’s main point that the logo sucks, I disagree with him on one very important point:
Philadelphia’s history does not start and end with the Liberty Bell. Any visiting tourist knows all the other historic must-sees like Betsy Ross’s house, Independence Hall, and Penn’s Landing. Conceptually, the choice of using the Bell could not be more uninspiring and obvious.
Bullshit.
We own the hell out of that bell. You can’t look at it and NOT think Philadelphia. Few cities are lucky enough to have as strong an iconic representation as that bell.
Our informal office survey came up with this short list:
- Paris and the Eiffel Tower
- St. Louis and the Gateway Arch
- Seattle and the Space Needle
- Philadelphia and the Liberty Bell
I’m sure there are a few more, go ahead and comment away, but you get the point. (There was one lone vote for San Antonio and the Alamo, and before all you New Yorkers start complaining, the Statue of Liberty is more an icon of America and not the city per se. Enjoy your apple.)
The issue here is on Mr. Sen’s use of ‘uninspiring and obvious.’ By which I believe Mr. Sen means it was not a ‘clever’ choice. And I’d agree with that. It’s not clever, but neither does it have to be. The goal of design is to nail the problem, not showcase the cleverness of the designer. There are times when the solution to the problem is such a ridiculous slam dunk that cleverness only gets in the way of good work.
The problem with the new Philadelphia brand isn’t the bell. It’s the crap execution. No doubt impaired by the committee of 652 that oversaw the project and came up with that ridiculous tagline.
Don’t blame the bell though.
1. As proven by our I’m not angry, I’m from Philly t-shirt. Featuring the Liberty Bell.
2. …and by the way, anytime 65 Philadelphians get together to come up with a city tagline and it doesn’t come back as “Phuck New York!” you know you have a problem.
Written by Mike Monteiro on December 8, 2009 with 29 comments |
Because fair is fair...
After 14 years of crushing the musicians’ spirits with ‘meh’ and ‘fail’ reviews Pitchfork has created something THEY care about.
I’m giving away a bucket of Mule t-shirts to whoever can write the most Pitchfork-like review* of Pitchfork’s redesign.
Leave your review in the comments. We’ll know when we have a winner. Might have a few.
Please enjoy yourselves.
Written by Mike Monteiro on March 12, 2009 with 6 comments |
Oh, Burger King. You and your wacky marketing team.
Burger King has had its marketing stake firmly in the "Well, not really WEIRD, but definitely ODD" ground. They recently launched a Facebook app that shows a fantastic grasp of social networking and how to have fun with it. It's called "Whopper Sacrifice" and if you use the app to de-friend 10 people on your Facebook list, you get a coupon for a free Whopper. The best part, though, and what really makes it, is that the people you de-friend are notified that they've been de-friended so you can get yourself a burger. Will people use this as an excuse to prune their lists? Or will they de-friend their 10 best friends, the ones who would be understanding, and re-friend them later?
And why the hell am I using "friend" as a verb? Stupid Web 2.0.
Anyway. Click through for a video of Mike cementing his relationship with Anil Sippey.
Continue reading "Oh, Burger King. You and your wacky marketing team." »
Written by David McCreath on January 8, 2009 |
