Adventures in Candyland

Today I worked with Soul’s Calling at the Los Angeles Gift Show. And here’ s my observation — very few companies think anything or even understand what a brand is and how portraying it with thought is meaningful to buyers, writers and consumers. When you are thoughtful about creating a pleasing poignant environment that aligns with the messages and products you are pushing out - the result is something so strong that people react and respond to it even if they’re not conscious of it. But, it should be very consciously developed by the company. Some brands do, and for me, I am automatically attracted to those brands. But, overwhelmingly and shockingly (though maybe it shouldn’t be), only about 10 percent of the company’s exhibiting made their brand a focus. For the rest, they just throw a bunch of stuff together in a booth. Here’s a shot of the Soul’s Calling booth - it’s an example of how someone puts a lot of effort into creating a booth that spreads her message and makes you feel a certain way when you step across the boundry into the brand’s world. She even had a booth scent….It’s time for every company to be thoughtful and take it up a whole bunch of notches.

We spend a lot of time asking our clients to think about their favorite brands - the brands that speak to them, the brands they are loyal to, etc. We thought that in honor of the New Year, we would do that exercise ourselves, since we had never composed a formal list of our own favorite brands. Sooo…while this is definitely NOT a best of 2007 list, it is a list of some of the brands we at Sweet Talk are admiring these days. Let us know what your favorites are. Wishing you a happy 2008!

Apple
BMW
H & M
Method
Starbucks
Target
Whole Foods

Don’t know about you, but the day after Thanksgiving I made my holiday shopping list. I did NOT however take to the malls on Black Friday - can’t say I’m that motivated - and now I’m glad I didn’t. Today I learned about Nonprofit Shopping Mall. It’s a great site that lets you shop for a cause.

What’s unique about it is the huge brands they’ve partnered with and the full transparency about how much these brands will contribute to the charity of your choice - ranging from 2% to 10%. And with brands like Target, Toys R Us, Gap and iTunes participating, I’m sure to make a dent in my list.

Adds a whole new meaning to holiday giving.

Check out how Sweet Talk is helping to differentiate HalloweenMart in a crowded field of competitors in today’s San Francisco Chronicle small business column, “Mind Your Business.”

Social networking can be a powerful and inexpensive tool for small business owners to market their business, but they need to be creative and know how to use it right!

This article in Marketing Week struck me as bizarre. Coke is creating a new Sprite that will launch in the UK next year called “Sprite Super Chilled” that includes a mechanism, that when opened forms ice in the drink. And how is the ice created and what is it made of? None of those questions were answered in the article. But even stranger is the fact it’s being developed for urban youth who prefer super cold alcholic drinks, particularly beer. What’s the difference between super cold and cold? Obviously I’m not an urban youth, but pray tell, who is it that likes their beer or their soda warm? What do you guys think? Wierd or cool? I think both.

In my last blog, I wrote about a couple of brands that BusinessWeek gave design awards to.  The first brand I wrote about was Pangea Organics, and the other brand I noticed was Eclipse Aviation, who offers a very, very cool product – one of the first very light jets or VLJ’s as aviation people call them. 

Before starting Sweet Talk, I worked at an agency where I was responsible for getting publicity on number of aviation accounts, so I learned my fair share about planes and flying, topics completely foreign to me.  One of the newer ideas in aviation (believe me these don’t happen very often) were these VLJs, which only cost around 1 mill and seat about 8.  The idea is that these planes fly out of smaller airports, acting as air taxis for short flights and you’re in and out – no long lines, no million people and very light security – really ideal for the business traveler.  My agency did work with one of these companies, called Adam Aircraft, a competitor to Eclipse and I placed this article in the Dallas Morning News which actually gives a pretty good summary of what makes these VLJs cool.

In any case, what I did want to talk about was image here.  Eclipse Aviation is not only recognized for its performance, but for the design of its planes and being a well-branded company.  When I first saw the Eclipse 500 in person at NBAA,  I was struck by the look of it compared to all the big and little planes alike.  It just seemed there had been so much more thought put into its internal and external design (specifically the dashboard) and people were flocking to it. And if you go to the site, you will see the difference there, when comparing them to probably most any other aviation company.  Eclipse is definitely a stand-out in an industry that evolves very slowly – some are still stuck in another era.  And it makes sense the company would be more forward, as the president formerly worked for Microsoft and understands the importance of image and how it creates an emotional attachment to whatever your offering. 

I’m not saying business owners need to sink tons of money into branding for their companies, but it should be something fully-thought through.  Over and over again, it is apparent that the companies that are really making an impact in consumer’s minds and converting that into sales, are the ones thinking it through.

I know I am always harping on the importance of good branding and design, but it’s only because I know it makes such an important, though sometimes subconscious, impression in people’s minds when they are choosing which product or service to use.  They don’t say “it’s all in the marketing” for no reason.

Case in point: Pangea Organics – body care products sold at stores such as Whole Foods.  Pangea Organics was a winner of the Business Week’s Annual Design, Catalyst Award, which measures commercial market success for well-designed products.  I go to Whole Foods (yes, very expensive but in my opinion, no better marketing experience exists – and I mean that in marketing and in buying food) probably twice a week.  I often make it into the vitamin and grooming area, and only recently did I notice these Pangea Organics products – they don’t look as though they belong in a health food store.  Every time I walk by, I come closer to buying them, primarily because they look cool and designey (is that a word?) and they are organic (obviously) – the products meet my standards in a number of ways.  I know that may sound ridiculous to some, but it is true.  Fortunately for Pangea Organics, I’m not the only one who feels that way.  Business Week states that once the company redesigned the product packaging, revenues tripled.  Though some of the other organic products I see are ok, and some are so not (still packaging for the granola bunch), this brand keeps bringing me back and I know I will buy something one of these days.

Does your brand and the design that surrounds it draw customers in like this one does?

In part two, I’m going to talk about another Business Week Design Award winner, Eclipse Aviation.  Check it out….

So Friday I was walking down Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and you couldn’t help but notice this gargantuan line that went for like five street blocks. In fact, I didn’t even see where it ended so I have no idea how long it really was, but the people in it looked pretty exhausted, slouching in their lawn chairs or even laying in sleeping bags??  What were so many people waiting for?  But of course, the iPhone.   It began selling at 6pm on Friday and obviously people were very anxious to be the first to own this little treasure. 

Now, I know people love them some Apple.  I mean the iPod is one of the best inventions of the century if you ask me and millions of others, so I guess I kinda understand why they would want to be the first to try this sleek sucker out.   But, once again I must play the contrarian and ask is a new cell phone that sells for $500 worth sleeping on the concrete for?  Especially since the phone is probably going to improve dramatically over the next few years.  Apparently the early adopters who probably love waiting in line for these things just so they can bond in the same way Trekkies and Star Wars freaks do, are giving it mixed reviews – well they seem more bad than good if you check out CNET.

I don’t know.  Maybe I’m just jealous because I can’t have one.  What’s up with that Verizon???

Today I read an article about a company called PRstore, which basically sells a la carte marketing to small businesses who might normally just use a family member or friend to develop their logo, collateral or what not.  Point is, these small businesses don’t think they are able to afford real agency prices, so they sort of slap something together because they think they need something no matter if it’s good or bad.  So PRstore comes in and offers per-project fees that are much lower than what any typical agency would offer.  Even more, this company is a franchise, so there are currently 41 locations in 20 states with plans to be at 350 stores in three years.  Interesting…

Since I found the concept to be good, I proceeded to the company website.  It’s an understatement to say I was shocked.  Now – who am I to be judging another company?  We’re a small start-up ourselves and while I’m sure I would not necessarily appreciate someone judging, I would at least listen and try to understand.  So, lets just call this a little constructive criticism and obviously you (the reader) or they (the company) can take it or leave it.  I am sure they will leave it as they will probably never read this, they are very successful (hello, 41 stores so far) and seriously, who the hell am I? 

Ok – after that huge disclaimer, let me just get to the point.  There site is so generic-looking…absolutely zero personality.  Though I get what they are doing, what I hope they are doing – sort of leaving it as a blank slate so companies don’t immediately judge them and think they aren’t right for them.  But, what is marketing about if not about creativity, meaningful copy and drawing people in.  From this company’s site, you would think they were trying to turn people away.  Have I passed the point of constructive criticism?  If you can’t take it anymore, stop reading, cuz I ain’t finished.  I just can’t control my opinions – it’s like diarrhea of the mouth.  BTW – and this is a TOTAL side note.  Does anyone else feel like spell check has completely abolished their spelling skills?  I used to be a better than average speller, but now…You should have seen my first attempt at diarrhea – so, so sad. Now back to my rant…

So my question is would this be the company you choose to create your logo?  I mean, look at their logo.  Have we turned back time, because I feel like we just stepped back into the ‘80s.  Is the bar so low for small businesses that they feel like this is the level they should reach for?  It’s funny because you can scroll over each one of their services and another area talks about the importance of it.  For instance, when you scroll over “Corporate Branding” it says, “Never Underestimate the Importance of a First Impression.”  Whoa!  If you’re expecting other companies to go with your advice, don’t you think you should follow your own?

I only say this because I know that when we create anything or work with someone to create something, we put so much effort into making it unique, stylish, sophisticated, fun or whatever feeling we think it needs to evoke.  We don’t stop until we’re happy and the client is happy. 

We took the time putting together the Sweet Talk brand because we know it truly makes an impression.  And people are always complimenting us on it, which is great to hear.  Our brand, combined with our energy is really what is bringing new business to our door.  That’s what the PRstore brand and site seems to be lacking – energy. 

But again, who am I to judge? You can’t help but admit there are true benefits to the service they are offering. Some marketing is better no marketing and this company is obviously filling a needed niche (41 stores and counting).  Also it is raising awareness and educating people about the importance of branding and marketing in a non-threatening way. 

But that logo and site is so cookie-cutter…maybe I should email them to see if they want to do a re-brand. 

For the past two weeks, we’ve been working on a branding project for a client.  We’ve been looking for inspiration in modern architecture.  So I found all of last week’s hoopla about the London Olympics logo pretty interesting.  If you haven’t seen it, click here to check it out.

It was released to a firestorm of criticism, much of which wondered where the inspiration came from.  That night, I was building blocks with my toddler and I began to wonder…what type of inspiration translates into good logo design?  Seems like I might have a budding architect or designer on my hands. :)  Check out his designs here.