David Boorstin

God Bless America But Please Hurry!

2011-10-14T18:40:00.000-04:00

The meaning of brand 999

2011-10-13T10:20:00.000-04:00

Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan (with or without the dashes) has already succeeded in getting him attention in a crowded Republican field. A former pizza chain CEO, Cain knows enough about marketing to see the appeal of a tax policy which, whatever its merits or demerits, people can actually understand. The New York Times reports the triple digits "have acquired the catchy power of a brand."

Any naming consultant could point out the negatives of 999 as a brand name: it's an area code favored by telemarketers; summons police in the UK; and opens the door (at Halloween time yet) to Michelle Bachmann's spooky 666 quip.

As I noted here, we've gone from the 1960s, when candidates learned Madison Avenue media and marketing practices, to 2008, when Obama taught marketers about the power of online branding. Now we've reached the perfect synthesis: a marketer running for president.

A brand is not a sunny day

2011-10-07T16:42:00.001-04:00

A perfect fall day exists whether we're here to enjoy it or not. But a brand is a purely human concoction--by us, for us--invisible unless someone is there to see it. Where in the universe is it written that there have to be brands?

It's Twenty-Ten

2010-01-04T20:38:00.003-05:00

One of those meta-branding questions that's easily solved: Why say two thousand ten when twenty-ten will do?

What WD-40 Stands For

2009-07-22T11:20:00.012-04:00

A moment of silence for John S. Barry, the "main force" behind WD-40 according to today's NYTimes obituary.

It's a classic story of how imaginative and determined marketing transformed a small, seemingly specialized product (developed by a staff of 3) into a global icon. Long before interactive branding was fashionable, Barry engaged customers with the brand by inviting them to come up with new uses for the stuff. (My favorite: a bus driver in Asia used WD-40 to remove a python that had coiled itself around the undercarriage of his bus.) Refused to patent it to avoid disclosing the ingredients. Changed the company name from "Rocket Chemical Company" to match its marquee product.

As Barry admitted, giants like 3M and DuPont made products much like WD-40. "What they don't have," he said, "is the name."

What does the name stands for? Literally, "Water displacement formulation successful in 40th attempt." But from a branding perspective, so much more.

Obama launches stimulus brand

2009-03-04T09:09:00.051-05:00

President Obama yesterday unveiled two new logos for his stimulus program which address its brand deficit (see here and here). One is for projects completed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the second for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery). Video of President Obama making the announcement.

It wouldn't be fair to expect the drama of a New Deal eagle in today's environment; nobody's going to name a football team after a government program, as they did in Depression-era Philadelphia (below). And one can only imagine the bureaucratic and political hoops these designs had to jump (or squeeze) through.

But I still can't help feeling disappointed. The Chicago-based studio that created them, Mode, also designed the evocative Obama sunrise logo. Given the magnitude of what the new marks represent and the bad feelings of the times we live in, I was hoping for something more inspiring. And one can only be struck by the low-profile launch--the new logos appear deep in Whitehouse.gov as little more than set dressing. All in all, the Administration could have harnessed more of the emotional power that a strong symbol can generate.

Now the brand is the candidate

2009-03-02T18:42:00.000-05:00

Familiar meme: "a brand is a story." But that doesn't mean a fiction: it means a narrative shaped by real qualities and events, even those that mar an ideal image. It's not as simple (or as complex) as making up the perfect story from scratch and then imposing it on a passive public.

Is this what political branding can teach corporate branding today? Admit you are a personality, with acceptable flaws, in the interest of the larger good you can do (Kennedy). Be willing to shape brand messages more quickly, like a political campaign with a war room mentality, always primed to respond to events (Clinton). Use the web to build your own constituency (Obama).

The 1960s and 70s saw the effective application of corporate media and marketing principles to political candidates and campaigns. Now the ideas are flowing in the opposite direction.

Who cares about branding?

2009-02-24T09:47:00.015-05:00

To counterweight the post below we have to ask: how trivial is this? Under the threat of world financial collapse, why pay any attention to the print on an orange juice carton?

Three reasons why we might care:

Brands are celebrities of a sort in our culture, and watching their ups and downs can have amusement value
Brands demonstrate human behavior (What do people care about? What do they believe in? What motivates them to act?)
Brands can drive business activity: surely more Tropicana will be sold this week...

Hail to the Citizens of Tropicana

2009-02-23T17:43:00.003-05:00

Amid all the gloomy news, one ray of brightness: Tropicana undoes its mistake.

(Which would you rather buy?)

I detested the new generic packaging and stingy logo on the left. A supermarket should be a place of visual delight. The true Tropicana orange leads me to an aisle of abundance where the Land O'Lakes lady kneels next to pink and brown egg cartons, white milk and yellow cheese.

This new watered-down look could only be described as perverse. Also infuriating to search for the variety, so clearly labelled on the neck before.

Not surprising: the backlash chronicled today, as people clamored for a return to the original. Surprising: PepsiCo gave in to their demands.

A brand's true owner may not be its trademark holder, after all.

Is a smile the new swoosh?

2009-02-18T15:43:00.025-05:00

Have things gotten so bad we need laughing logos? If two make a trend, then yesterday's unveiling of Kraft's new corporate mark, plus Pepsi's maybe-Obama-inspired new "series of smiles" must mean something.

Of course Amazon has worn a smile for years.

We may not mourn the swoosh as a design cliche--too achievement-oriented for the Millennials?--but maybe we should dread what it's turning into.

Update: Stimulus Naming Deficit

2009-02-17T08:59:00.025-05:00

Today President Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As I asked below, whatever its economic value, couldn't it have had a more stimulating name? Would a reassuring nickname or acronym help the program to create more confidence?

Reporters are calling it the "economic stimulus plan" or "economic recovery plan." Valpak, which distributes savings coupons, took out a full page in The New York Times to call their envelopes "The original Consumer Stimulus Package." (More colorful puns on "stimulus package" are showing up as well...far too colorful to be repeated here.) Would the fiscal package be more effective, wrapped as distinctively as those blue Valpak envelopes?

But then, there's a time for generics. Maybe this was a communication strategy: by not making the name too proprietary or distinctive, make it easier for Obama's aides to negotiate the contents, and the votes.

Why don't Presidents sell?

2009-02-14T19:06:00.094-05:00

To mark Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, let's take stock of how often we see his name honored as a commercial brand.

It's not as common as you'd think. Discount the Lincoln brands named geographically, like Lincoln Industries, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Subtract brands named for their proprietors, like Lincoln Electric , started by John C. Lincoln in 1895.

Most direct connection could be the Lincoln Financial Group in Fort Wayne, Indiana, whose founders "adopted [Abraham Lincoln's name] to represent the ideals the new company was founded upon. Robert Todd Lincoln, the President's only surviving son, gave the founders permission to use his father's name and likeness in July 1905, solidifying the name for the new company."

The best known Lincoln brand, no doubt--but what could be more at odds with the man's famously simple tastes?

Most appropriate: the Lincoln Logs of our childhoods.

Note: Founding father Benjamin Franklin gets pretty good use as a brand. From The Franklin Mint to Benjamin Franklin, the Punctual Plumbers, to Franklin Templeton Investments.

But for presidents it seems only appropriate that other rules apply. We pretty much agree that Lincoln is a town or a tunnel, not a carwash; Washington is a capital, not a cereal. We don't have all that many presidents and--Presidents' Day Sales notwithstanding--we save the power of their names for where we need it, on the larger stuff.

Citroën rebrands, refinances, remembers

2009-02-10T18:14:00.000-05:00

February 6: Citroën unveils new visual identity, updating 90-year-old chevron logo as part of move to upscale the brand.

February 9: French government unveils €3 billion loan to Peugeot-Citroën as part of auto industry rescue plan.

Happy to see: Citroën reintroducing its premium DS--one of the rare punning brands ("déesse"=goddess) and all-time icon of Gallic ingenuity, as seen in quirky ads like this and dozens of movies from The French Connection and Day of the Jackal to Les Triplettes de Belleville.

Could the best British brand be Sony?

2009-02-08T16:56:00.013-05:00

The Marketing Society, a network of senior marketers in the UK, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a selection of "50 Golden Brands," and website visitors are invited to vote on their favorite--um, favourite.

The 50 offer golden examples of how brands cross national lines. British brands like Schweppes, Guinness, and Virgin have become familiar worldwide, while brands from the US, Europe and Asia are embedded in the UK (e.g. Levi's, Lego, Sony).

But it's also comforting to see that brand globalisation only goes so far. It takes a British perspective to appreciate the iconic value of a Hovis, Andrex, or Fairy Liquid, not to mention my own choice:

Recession reshapes brands

2009-02-04T16:23:00.006-05:00

What football team did FDR name?

2009-02-03T17:54:00.010-05:00

The football season is over, but it's never too late for a quirky question:
Which team was named after a potent symbol of the New Deal?

Answer: In 1933 the NFL franchise known as the Frankford Yellowjackets was sold for $2500 and rechristened the Philadelphia Eagles in honor of the National Recovery Administration logo.

Let's hope President Obama can generate such popular enthusiasm for his stimulus programs.

When life gives you lemons...

2009-02-03T16:47:00.005-05:00

... make overpriced lemonade!

This 15-year-old Calvin & Hobbes cartoon strikes a chord today. How can any company build trust in an atmosphere like this? (Click to enlarge)

Coke Drops "Classic": Update

2009-02-01T16:50:00.006-05:00

While meant to signal change, this move could better be interpreted as culturally conservative. The “Classic” tag was the constant reminder of a failed experiment—one where Marketing overcame good sense. So dropping the word now is a rejection of change, a call for going back to basics. Stick with the classics and you never have to call anything “Classic” to begin with.

Coke drops "Classic": Earth moves

2009-01-30T18:02:00.007-05:00

News Flash: Coca Cola confirms "Classic" will be removed from its flagship cola in the United States. "Some people interpreted it like a vintage car," a Coke exec was reported to say.

Other people saw it differently: as detritus of the 1985 New Coke debacle, which now can only be described as--classic.

Nomenclature deficit!

2009-01-30T16:33:00.006-05:00

Whatever its economic merits, Obama's fiscal proposal deserves better naming.

Outside of Whitehouse.gov, how often have you seen the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan"? Lengthy articles devoted to "Obama's economic recovery plan" or "the stimulus package" rarely mention its actual name. (What CMO would settle for that?)

Could you possibly write about "No Child Left Behind" without its name?

Following on the heels of TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) and SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program)--names only a bureaucrat could love--Obama's sophisticated communicators must recognize the need for something catchier.

The people who brought us the "Fair Pay Act" and now the "Middle Class Task Force" could do better on the brand for their landmark legislation.

Obama brands: Update

2009-01-29T09:08:00.011-05:00

Forest Berry joins BlackBerry: Honest Tea, "the president's favorite organic brew, in preferred flavors of Black Forest Berry and Green Dragon" joins the list of known Obama brands J. Crew and Blackberry...
...and now the first Top Secret Obama Brand, the Sectera Edge (no Razr this!) from General Dynamics.

Not to be confused with Obama wannabes. Pepsi brand chief addresses rumors that the fizzy drink's new logo and messaging were, shall we say, inspired by Obama's campaign. Or is it just the zeitgeist? View video.

Superbowl mascots: Is meaner better --

2009-01-27T17:26:00.024-05:00

Your football team may be losing because your mascot doesn't look angry enough, according to the Wall Street Journal (1-23-09 p. W5)

Really good news for Cardinals fans!

Old Arizona Cardinals mascot

New Arizona Cardinals mascot

--Or will hypocycloids rule?

2009-01-27T17:07:00.014-05:00

The Steelers logo was based on the Steelmark of the American Iron and Steel Institute--a spiky icon of early '60s design:

"...Created by U.S. Steel Corp. (now known as USX Corp.), the logo contains three hypocycloids (diamond shapes). U.S. Steel attached the following meaning to it: Steel lightens your work, brightens your leisure and widens your world. The logo was used as part of a major marketing campaign to educate consumers about how important steel is in our daily lives. The Steelmark logo was used in print, radio and television ads as well as on labels for all steel products, from steel tanks to tricycles to filing cabinets."

And why are the Steelers the only team to sport their logo on just one side of their helmet? Find out at http://news.steelers.com/tradition/logohistory/

Obama brands so far

2009-01-27T16:28:00.006-05:00

BlackBerry
J. Crew