A contemporary brand in an accelerated world
By Ken Hagan, Nelson Schmidt
I also read Bill Marsh’s article Warmer, Fuzzier: The Refreshed Logo and found it both insightful and thought provoking. It made me consider the role that technology has played in the world of branding, too.
Updating logos is nothing new, companies have been doing it for years—think the NBC Peacock, Visa, Northwest Airlines or the great Paul Rand’s UPS logo to name a few. It just seems that recently, the pace is accelerated. Read More »
Do companies still need long-term visions?
By Ryan Rieches, RiechesBaird
With companies so focused on next quarter’s sales, it seems that many CEOs have forgotten the importance of rallying their team around a compelling purpose and vision. Or have statements like purpose, cause, vision, mission, positioning, or values been butchered for so long that they don’t mean anything anymore? Unless their importance is driven from the top, these statements don’t have a chance of success anymore than a $5 motivational poster hanging in the break room. Read More »
Think twice before “evolving” your logo
Bill Marsh’s article in The New York Times a few days ago pointed out that a number of companies have recently redesigned their corporate logos, replacing “emblems of distant behemoths” with updates that are “non-threatening, reassuring, playful, even child-like.” The article includes a nice Flash click-through showing before and after logos. Marsh’s assessment is that these redesigns are aimed at addressing “the economy, environment, image repair,” and that while logos are meant to be differentiating, “there are striking similarities among recent redesigns.”
He’s right to point out the similarities, but the trend he’s seeing—which includes lowercase lettering, “softer” fonts, and lightened colors—began well before the recession. I first noticed it in 2005, while at Interbrand during the design of the new AT&T logo. Shortly after it launched, it seemed, Chevron and Allstate made very similar changes to their logos, incorporating lighter colors, rounder type, and highlights and shading that give the logos a 3D feel. Read More »
Social media strategies for B2B
By Marty Ellery, Nelson Schmidt
While the role of social media in B2B marketing continues to spark debate—which networks are most appropriate, should your CEO be blogging and do you really need to tweet—the fact that it should play some role in marketing strategy is becoming more and more accepted among marketing pros. The challenge is not only how to identify the best ways to create meaningful content for, and engage in dialog with, your customers, but how to successfully maintain momentum over the long haul. When a company looks for ways to leverage social media, it is important to recognize the level of commitment required to support a multifaceted social media strategy. Read More »
Marketing, messaging & the Medical Device Safety Act
By Mike Ritchey, RiechesBaird
This past week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee began holding hearings that could have far reaching implications for manufacturers, users and recipients of medical devices. In a nutshell, they are examining the pros and cons of overturning a 2008 Supreme Court decision that prohibits patients from being able to sue medical device companies for damages resulting from defects or poor design. Without going into all the legal mumbo jumbo, the gist of the original decision was that the FDA should have the final word in determining what was safe and what was not. By definition, products approved by the FDA were deemed safe with the Supreme Court concluding that the companies that manufactured them be immune from any product liability or litigation. Read More »
Brand architecture: Creating clarity or organizing chaos?
By Alan Brew, RiechesBaird
The problem with brand architecture is that it’s such a fuzzy term. There are many definitions and most at least seem coalesce around the Wikipedia version which asserts: “Brand architecture is the structure of brands within an organizational entity”. Beyond this point it is hard to get specificity on the subject, which unfortunately leaves it wide open to interpretation. Read More »
B2B means Back2Basics
By Lutz Eckardt, Heller & Partner
In B2B communications, online tools have been at the center of attention for quite some time now. Managers write blogs, new online channels are used, mobile marketing is also in the mix. The good old printed custom publications have somewhat gotten out of the focus. Wrongly so if you ask me. Read More »
Creative quid pro quo
By Tim Price, RiechesBaird
Coke’s big announcement about value-based compensation for its agencies has spawned an endless stream of debate, but one important aspect of the new model is seemingly going unmentioned. Read More »
Can B2B be sexy? Should it be?
By Rob Meyerson, RiechesBaird
I don’t always agree with the folks over at Gyro:HSR, but I just read a post by Milan Martin that makes some strong points. He takes awhile to get to it, but eventually does a nice job of making the case that B2B brands need to be built to resonate with people, not “businesses.” I’ve heard this argued time and again—I even wrote a post on it awhile back—but since many B2B companies’ marketing communications betray the fact that they (or their agencies) haven’t realized it yet, it’s still a point worth making. Read More »
PBR ME ASAP!
By Dan Nelson, Jr., Nelson Schmidt
In the April 27th, 2009 AdAge.com article “Coke Pushes Pay-for-Performance Model,” Coke’s director of worldwide media and communication operations Sarah Armstrong declares, “We want our agencies to earn their profitability…but they have to earn it through performance.”
Hallelujah! I say, especially in the B2B space.
Performance-based, or Pay-by-Results (PBR) agency compensation is not only about results. When implemented correctly, it’s really about forming long-term, mutually beneficial client-agency relationships built around common goals. And particularly in a B2B application, it’s easier to accomplish than common opinion would lead you to believe.
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