Exactly what was AOL thinking when they redesigned the new bunch of logos instead of one. It makes me feel either the brand identity got lost somewhere in too many meanings or they are simply not worried into ‘single brand identity’ and wish to capture all the possible things in the world, which does not go well with the users.

• How does ‘Aol.’ expect users to remember so multi-facet brand?
• What impression it leaves in the mind of users?
• Above all what kind of users are they targeting at? (maybe the answer is not even clear with the AOL team)

Aol. – New AOL logo has moved away from all caps, supported with a Dot in the end and graphics in the background. The variety of new logos look like graphical icons to me and no more resemble the logo styling.

http://www.aol.com/

These Aol. graphic based logo can be applied as themes directly from the official site. Some graphic styled free flowing themes look good as they add spark to the page, to mention few Green splash, Blue classic, Kaleidoscope and Pink Swirls theme - full of vibrancy yet not dominating the content area, perfect balance of vibrant pink color being neutralized with a shade of gray.

While others get disturbing for user to concentrate on content – Brains theme does not go very well with the users – looks like a squashed bird with her tongue hanging out

Monster theme looks bizarre to me, while Stiletto and Sprout themes seem useless – I mean who would like to have a big stiletto on their screen.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, told  paidcontent.org – AOL is moving away from a monolithic brand and towards what he calls “Aol Dot.” The dot in the new logos will be a ‘pivot point’ that shows AOL plus something else—Aol.Music, Aol.Asylum, Aol.MapQuest and so on. But hey! in few of the new Aol. logos the “Dot” is hardly visible.

The AOL (America On line) earlier logo we have been seeing since years was reflecting its association with dial-up-services and the new series depict (or expected to depict)that AOL is part of the web now, not on its own. AOL is seeking branding help from the legendary agency Leo Burnett

In this era of multi-cuisine brand identity established by AOL, there is a buzz around – what we are seeing is just branding teaser and final one is still to come.

It’s not just a new logo, new colors, and new fonts. It’s about a core change within the company. The same principles of branding still apply to rebranding. The difference is you are needing to overcome a past to set up a ‘new’ future. The staff within your firm and your customers should “feel” the new direction and experience the change of identity that you are going through. Rebranding is about becoming more relevant to your customers in a meaningful way that makes their lives better, easier or quicker, because your old brand either wasn’t doing it well enough or wasn’t doing it at all.

"Aol. " Best Identities of 2009

AOL’s new logo has been selected as “No.1 Best identity of 2009″ by BRAND NEW(A site that reviews rebranding efforts). According to the survey 19% loved the new logo, 51% are willing to give it a chance while 28% hated the new logo.

Some of the other brands that made the list were “City of Melbourne” and “Nickelodeon”.

Bing(No.1) and MSN(No.2) were voted as the top worst identities of 2009.

The Best and Worst Identities of 2009

Hello everyone,

I’m Anna and this is my blog. It’s about visual things and others. but mostly about visual things. sometimes shoes or music or books or my grandmother’s drawing skills (that are gorgeous and I’m really planning to write an entire post about it because I admire her so much and probably I inherited some of her talent. I mean that gene thing. you know) Anyway this blog is a part of rebranding myself as a graphic designer and diving into the fabulous world of social communities. I’d like it to be a frequent station for a couple of you due to some awesome design stuff posted every night (Budapest time).

It does take a significant investment. You are looking to reinvent yourself into a more relevant, meaningful company to your customers, and you want to make sure you do it right! Before you commit to the investment, you’ll need to make sure you’ve weighed up the consequences of what proceeding with the rebrand will do – carefully. You also need to weigh up what you might be losing if you choose not to rebrand. It’s more than just what you are losing, it’s also about what you are missing out on. Don’t let emotional attachments or previous corporate cultures or traditions get in your way either or your company could die a death of becoming irrelevant in a very short time. By not making the investment, your firm could suffer or even fail, but always ensure the implications and commitments of what you are trying to achieve are thought through – there’s nothing worse than a ‘hash-job’ or even worse, a ‘Northwest Airlines’ (see previous post on that).

CHECK THE VIDEO OUT ON YOUTUBE

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wGW3TpnOnc

When I first received the brief from my professor to rebrand yourself using a concept video, let´s just say  I was slightly overwhelmed. I had no experience in video design or editing. To be honest I had no idea how I would pull this one off.

I really tried to envision this concept over the last 2 months. It allowed me to consider if I was a brand what would I transmit, what type of brand would I be? What values I have, as well as what I can bring to the table. 

It took me awhile to gather all the material, think of a strong  concept, finally shoot, and now its finished!!  Without the help of my friend Adrian, who edited and shot the clip, this video would of never been possible.

I have managed to rebrand myself successfully, btw branding yourself  is a truly bizarre concept harder than you think. I  hope my vision is clear!

I hope you like it.

Talana x

PRESS RELEASE
MVC Agency Dynamically Repositions Italmond Furniture in the Face of Change

Los Angeles, CA (December 08, 2009) — Italmond Furniture recently named MVC Agency its agency of choice to direct a comprehensive rebranding campaign to establish the company as a recognized leader in the high-end furniture market.

The custom furniture manufacturer – which works with designers and the hospitality industry – was acquired by new owners in 2007 and with the help of MVC is now positioning itself to take advantage of the rapidly changing furniture industry and the subsequent market opportunities expected in 2010 and beyond.

“Italmond’s mission has always been to manufacture the most exquisite custom furniture and provide customers with a superb experience at every step. Now our image, messages, and marketing will further build on that promise,” said Barbara Jiron, Italmond’s Director of Operations.

Italmond Furniture has a 27-year history in the industry and an acclaimed reputation for its creation and manufacturing of fine traditional and transitional pieces featuring quality wood, fine finishes and fabrics, and flawless custom work. The company will further broaden the scope of its designs to include upscale contemporary pieces equally suited for luxurious and high-end spaces.

“We searched for an agency with a modern approach to furniture marketing that had a track record of successes and could strategically fuse traditional, online, and new media,” Jiron explained. “It is crucial that they understand the high expectations of Italmond’s designer clientele and that their strategy also reflects the lifestyle of our end consumers. We feel this is essential for growth in today’s changing furniture industry.”

“MVC’s primary goal is to rightfully place Italmond at the very top of its market segment in terms of their brand position and the values that it projects about its products and services,” said Jason Pires, President of MVC Agency. “We are starting with a recreation of Italmond’s logo and development of new key messages and taglines, and then we will completely redevelop their website, including its look, feel, and content.”

The revamped website, www.italmond.com, will feature their existing collection of 500 pieces and will allow users to easily prepare and submit custom orders, including options to choose their starting design, materials, colors, and fabrics – while also submitting their own reference images.

MVC is a creative marketing agency specializing in brand development and advertising for the luxury lifestyles industries and specializes in the home furnishings.

For more information, contact (818) 718-2005 or pr@mvcagency.com.

1) NBC GOES ALL LENO ALL THE TIME

Edsel … New Coke … Lenovision.

NBC has joined the immortals of marketing stupidity. This year the molting peacock network and president Jeff “Have They Fired Me Yet?” Zucker decided to turn five of the primest pieces of prime-time real estate — the hour between 10 and 11 PM from Monday through Friday — into the Jay Leno hour.

The result? A 28% drop in viewership (through mid-November). This has not only killed network revenues but done in affiliates who have no lead-in for their late news casts.

Despite this, Jeff “10% Of Americans Are Unemployed and I’m Not?” Zucker recently said that all is going according to plan. “Right now, in terms of its performance on the television network, at NBC, in terms of ratings it’s doing exactly what we thought it would do.” Comcast recently bought NBC in what must have been an attempt to copy the government’s cash for clunkers program. Comcast shareholders can now only hope they are being lied to. The worst case scenario is that Mr. Z believes what he is saying.

On the plus side:

1. It is now possible to buy every ad slot during the Leno show for less than the cost of a house in Detroit.
2. The federal witness protection program is using guest slots to hide people.

2) TIGER, TIGER BURNING BRIGHT

(Originally #9 — Who knew?)

Because I have a really limited imagination I thought the big celeb marketing mishap story of the year would be Michael Vick’s failed attempt to become a spokesperson for PETA. Then along came Tiger who prefers women with bad nose jobs to the Swedish bikini model he is actually married to. The story broke on Nov. 27th, when Mrs. Woods apparently decided to prove her own golfing expertise. This was unfortunate for Accenture which two days earlier had kicked off its annual Tiger campaign. A print ad which ran in the Nov. 30th Wall Street Journal featured Tiger Woods walking in the rough under the headline: “The road to high performance isn’t always paved.” And watch out for the trees and fire hydrants. Accenture has since declawed its Tiger connection.

UPDATE: File this under “Pull the other one, it’s made of wood.”

“We decided several months ago to discontinue Gatorade Tiger Focus, along with some other products to make room for our planned series of innovative products in 2010,” Gatorade spokeswoman Jennifer Schmit said in an e-mailed statement.

3) BANKERS CUT BONUSES, INCREASE SALARY & BLAME JESUS

First the banking industry made a big show of cutting the obscene bonuses it was paying itself for going on the dole. Meanwhile they hoped no one would notice the allegedly eliminated bonuses were now being paid as plain old salary.

But wait … that’s not all!

Apparently still feeling that their efforts to destroys the economy were still underappreciated, bankers started claiming Jesus wanted them to do it.

“The injunc­tion of Jesus to love others as our­selves is an endorse­ment of self-​interest,” Goldman’s [inter­na­tional adviser Brian] Grif­fiths said Oct. 20, his voice echo­ing around the gold-​mosaic walls of St. Paul’s Cathe­dral, whose 365-feet-high dome towers over the City, London’s finan­cial dis­trict. “We have to tol­er­ate the inequal­ity as a way to achiev­ing greater pros­per­ity and oppor­tu­nity for all.”

How much LSD do you have to take to interpret Scripture this way? However much it is, it is certainly being passed out at all the best financial institutions. Two weeks later, Barclays CEO John Varley spoke at the venerable St. Martin-in-the-Fields and tried to wrap the Bible around his bonus.

“There is no conflict between doing business in an ethical and responsible way and making money. We make our biggest contribution to society by being good at what we do. Profit is not satanic.”

I guess it all depends on who gets to determine how we define ethical and responsible. Perhaps Varley could have gotten away with this specious argument had he not added this gloss to the text after the service: “Is Christianity and banking compatible? Yes. And is Christianity and fair reward compatible? Yes.” (Not a good sign when a banker can’t even get his verb and subject numbers to add up.) Hey John, can we parse the word “fair” for a moment?

I believe the renowned 20th century theologian Ray Price put it best when he asked, “Would Jesus wear a Rolex on His television show?”

4: GM EXPLAINS AWAY ITS “LITTLE PROBLEM”

In the face of the greatest single corporate collapse in the history of the world, GM rolled out an ad that inadvertently explains the company’s failure.

It is a veritable symphony of weasel words.

Let’s be completely honest, no company wants to go through this.

By the end of that first sentence it is clear this ad has no intention whatsoever of living up to that initial clause. You can tell because the final pronoun is never made specific. That “this” covers billions of sins. It implies we all know what has happened without saying what that was. It is everything to everyone and thus means nothing. Is “this” an utter failure of leadership? Or is it an inability to have even the vaguest understanding of the needs of the marketplace? Sadly, I suspect “this” is “an economic calamity no one could have foreseen” – the preferred phrase of everyone from Alan Greenspan to, well, the Detroit-based car makers. There is no taking responsibility anywhere in this ad just as there has been no taking responsibility at GM for decades. (Read more here)

5) VOGUE: BLACKFACE IS THE NEW BLACK

The October issue of French Vogue had a photo spread of the very Caucasian Lara Stone painted head to toe in dark make-up. Vogue went with the old “I’m sorry if you found my words insulting” defense and told the Daily Mail “it was unaware it had caused offence, but said it could not give any further comment.” (Worth noting: Italian Vogue’s issue for the same month was filled with actual Black women.) In a keeping up with the KKK move inflight magazine EasyJet ran a photo spread featuring brooding generic models dressed in black POSING IN FRONT OF BERLIN’S HOLOCAUST MONUMENT.

Fortunately for me marketers just can’t seem to figure out that Nazi = Bad. This years examples:

• A wax museum opening in Thailand put up posters of mass murder Hitler with a slogan that said: “Hitler is not dead.”
• Two German coffee companies ran (and then pulled) an ad campaign featuring a slogan almost identical to one used at Buchenwald.
• Red Bull marketing mag calls Werner von Braun a “hero”

LATE BREAKING STUPIDITY UPDATE: NYT runs gift guide with special section devoted to:

“Somali fashion, do-it-yourself henna kits, children’s books that draw inspiration from the lives of Barack Obama and Sonia Sotomayor: it’s not hard to find gifts created for and by people of color this holiday season.” (emphasis added)

Why it’s almost like they’re real people!

6) CHOCOLATES SHAPED LIKE PRESIDENT OBAMA & MORE

CandyExpress said its commemorative Barack Obama heads would only be available for a limited time, unfortunately it wasn’t limited enough. Off the top of my head I would say there are three things Mr. Obama should not be used to advertise: Chocolate, fried chicken (a German company did it), watermelon (that’s a yet). However, the Russians came up with a bunch of things I’d never thought of. They used our President to advertise a tanning salon, a dental clinic and pre-packaged ice cream with the slogan “Everyone’s talking about it: dark inside white!” The bars have a chocolate-flavored center embedded in a layer of vanilla.

However these are just idiocy, the sheer stupidity award goes to Beanie Baby maker Ty. First they decided to sell two new dolls named Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia. Then they tried to deny they were named after America’s First Kids.

“[We] chose the dolls’ names because “they are beautiful names,” not because of any resemblance to President Obama’s daughters, said spokeswoman Tania Lundeen. “There’s nothing on the dolls that refers to the Obama girls,” Lundeen said. “It would not be fair to say they are exact replications of these girls. They are not.”

Sorry dear, but in order to get away with a lie like that you have to be a bank.

7) STUPIDITY? THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

The word of the year really should have been app. The ubiquitous iPhone has spawned an industry of companies trying to market their wares by providing allegedly useful and/or humorous apps. To paraphrase Pogo, this confronted Pepsi with an insurmountable opportunity. The company released an app called Before You Score for its Mountain Dew AMP brand. The app gives you 24 different types of women (sorority girl, etc.) and offers “appropriate” pick-up lines for each type and other similar information.

Not to be outdone, LawFirms.com, a legal referral site, decided to get attention with a campaign featuring the (fictitious) app iCoyote. It “packs all of the features of a real immigrant smuggler into the iPhone. Using GPS, navigate through the patrol packed desert without worrying about that pesky Border Patrol.”

The app included a variety of features such as:

• iWife. It “will take care of finding marriage prospects for you. Aggregating and analyzing data from a variety of online sources [to] match you up with only the most promising US Citizen candidates.”
• iLawyer. “Homeland Security is Cracking down. Not to worry. With iLawyer, you can find an attorney to convince the immigration court to grant Asylum Protection. A Green Card is a finger swipe away.”
• Weather Monitors. “The desert can get hot, and trying to cross it when it’s 120 degrees is not fun. Get up-to-date weather forecasts to pick the right time and ensure your trip to the US is comfortable and fun-packed.”
• City Statistics. “San Antonio? Albuquerque? Tucson? San Diego? Not sure which is best? Get unemployment statistics, current average wages, cost of living expenses and more. Get the job you want, at the right wage, tax free!”

8 AMERICAN GIRL SELLS “HOMELESS GIRL” DOLL

Your child can learn that the homeless are just like real people once you spend $95 to buy her a “less fortunate” playmate for her other American Girl doll(s). The latest addition to the American Girl line of how-do-you-justify-it-ly expensive dolls is Gwen Thompson. Ms. Thompson

and her mother Janine fell on hard times when her father lost his job; they later lost the house as they were unable to keep up payments. Soon after, Gwen’s father left them and they became homeless the fall before the start of the book’s events. Initially, Gwen’s mother has them live in their car until the winter comes; she then takes them to Sunrise House, a place for homeless women and children. Sunrise House helps them get on their feet and eventually get a new apartment.

And should you also want to teach the kid that the disabled are people too, American Girl also sells a wheelchair for $30.

9) KFC UNDERESTIMATES OPRAH’S POPULARITY

Why would you pay to have Oprah endorse your product if you didn’t know what the result be? In May the chain formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken paid Ms. Winfrey to discuss its new grilled chicken on her show. (This is part of an ongoing effort to rebrand KFC as someplace that serves something besides FC. By the time it’s over KFC will be Rhode Island Clam Shack. But I digress.) In addition to giving product to her audience — and how pissed were they? Other folks got a new car and they get a food experiment – viewers could go to a website and download a coupon for up to four free two-piece chicken meals with two sides and a biscuit. If there’s one thing the US loves more than Oprah, it’s Oprah and free food.

You’ll never guess what happened. OK, so maybe you will.

Several bajillion people downloaded the coupon and sprinted to the nearest KFC. Well, the food disappeared faster than a dollar bill on the floor of the Senate. As a result somefranchisees started refusing to accept the coupon, some told people the promotion was over for the day, some quickly pointed to the “while supplies last” clause, the more creative said that coupons with barcode numbers ending in “1234″ are not valid. Look closely at the barcode below to see what that meant.

All this brought new meaning to the chain’s horrible new tagline: “Unthink What You Thought About KFC.”

Another chain, El Pollo Loco, moved smart and fast and sent out a twitter saying they’d accept the coupons on Mother’s Day. Soon Oprah was having to apologize for the stupidity and KFC issued rain checks to the disgruntled.

All of which goes to prove that whatever you have to pay Oprah, the ROI is REAL!

10) (tie) BLACKWATER, NIGERIA & SWINE INDUSTRY LAUNCH REBRANDING EFFORTS

• In an attempt to change all the nasty connotations that go along with being mercenaries, Blackwater Worldwide changed its name to Xe. That’s pronounced zee, as in “zee idiots in marketing thought of it.”

Blackwater president Gary Jackson said in a memo to employees the new name reflects the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security. “The volume of changes over the past half-year have taken the company to an exciting place and we are now ready for two of the final, and most obvious changes,” Jackson said in the note.

That exciting place seems to include a lot of lawsuits.

• Tired of being thought of as the world’s foremost manufacturer of email con jobs, Nigeria decided to tackle it’s massive corruption problems with that most modern approach: Marketing. Its new slogan: At least we’re not AIG.

“At international airports, in trains, in shopping malls, and almost everywhere, every Nigerian is a marked person,” Dora Akunyili, information minister and self-styled chief image maker said at the launch of the re-branding campaign this week. “We are pulled aside for questioning. We are seen as potential drug pushers or fraudsters. We are unfortunately denied the benefit of the doubt.”

• Swine flu is no laughing matter. Especially if you’re the American Pork Association. They went into overdrive screaming about how it was hurting their sales and enlisted Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin who constantly referred to the “so-called swine flu.” Unfortunately humor trumps branding every time. Thus we got headlines like:
  • Pork Industry Has Beef With Swine Flu (NPR)
  • Swine flu not kosher in Israel (Reuters)

“We will call it Mexico flu. We won’t call it swine flu,” Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman, a black-garbed Orthodox Jew, told a news conference Monday, assuring the Israeli public that authorities were prepared to handle any cases.

CIO writer and friend Al Sacco came up with this: Swine flu isn’t a scary enough name. It needs a slogan, too: “Pork Plague, the (Other) White Death,” for example.

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS

AMAZON DELISTS GAY AND LESBIAN BOOKS

The online retailer blamed an “employee in France” for a “software glitch” which oddly delisted gay and lesbian themed books from its search listings. (Example: Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain vanished, but not her book The Shipping News in which all the sex is hetero.)

Amazon managers found that an employee who happened to work in France had filled out a field incorrectly and more than 50,000 items got flipped over to be flagged as “adult,” the source said.

CRAIGSLIST CEO SAYS SITE HAS NO SEX RELATED ADS

“I would not describe any section of our site as ’sex related,’ ” [Craigslist CEO Jim] Buckmaster wrote in response to a series of e-mailed questions from the Globe. He acknowledged that Craigslist offers an “erotic services” section that should not include more than “legitimate escort services, sensual massage, exotic dancers, etc.,” but said that offers to exchange sexual favors for money are “strictly prohibited” and removed from the site.

SPECIAL PENGUIN OF IRONY CITATION:

THE WISCONSIN TOURISM FOUNDATION
had to change its name to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin

BONUS: A few other totally wrong products from the year

• Hanah Montana brand Cherries,
• Linger, mints for your lady bits all but guaranteed to cause a yeast infection.
• Godfather-branded Italian organic vodka
• Starbucks instant coffee – the exact opposite of everything the brand stands for.

Name that ferry: yes, ferries are big in Washington State.

Is there finally a product name for the mythical Apple Tablet? Some people think so, since Apple allegedly acquired the TabletMac trademark from Axiotron last year.

Since September, an advisory committee on Whidbey Island off the coast of Seattle has been gathering potential names for a new ferry between Port Townsend and Keystone. Potential names include Squi Qui, Snakelum, Calista, Skookumchuck, Leschi, Defiance, Haida, The Salish Sea, and Mary Margaret Haugen.

Dockers is rebranding its faded 1990s image with a new line of khakis, with ads reminding men to “wear the pants.”

Comcast has renamed its OnDemand Online service to Fancast Xfinity TV, or Xfinity for short.

You have to give the audience what they expect from the brand – what they love, loathe, or fear. But you have to put a new spin on it, to re-engage their interest. And hopefully, pave the way for the new-old franchise to continue.

Not everyone succeeds in this.

I’m sure you can think of numerous examples (right, kids?) where your primary reaction is: “Why did they bother? The original was fine. Much better than this crap, anyway.”

Occasionally, though, someone gets it right.

Director J J Abrams, and the team that gave us “Star Trek,” for example.

I saw the film on DVD recently, and I’m currently picking my way through Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s screenplay (diligent screenwriter / eternal student that I am).

It’s all there. The cast of characters we know and love. The technology. The backdrop.

Same.

But it’s not played out exactly the way we remember.

Different.

They’ve achieved this by staying within the conventions of the science fiction genre: An alternate reality, where the same people exist, but their life situations have been altered.

And they’ve assembled a group of actors who are instantly recognizable as the people they’re supposed to be, in appearance and mannerisms. But there are no 1960s beehive hairdos in evidence. Modern-day vernacular. And inter-personal relationships that provide more than enough mileage for Star Trek 2, 3 and 4 (Or however many they choose to make). Where, presumably, we may get to see Klingons, the conman Harry Mudd, and those pesky Tribbles – in different circumstances, of course.

It works. It’s got a good beat, and you can dance to it.

Even if you’re not a devotee of the franchise, the film stands scrutiny as a good entertainment, in its own right.

Have a look at the trailer (or better yet, see the film), and judge for yourself.

Live long, and prosper.

Peace.

AOL just broke out some new branding…. what do you think?

old logo vs. new logo

How Do You Rebrand a Company?

Rebranding is a process that has a beginning, a middle and an end, with the end being the launch of the rebrand internally, then externally. 

Step one is to take an inventory of your current brand. What exactly is your brand? How is your brand or reputation perceived in the marketplace? One way to answer those questions is to critically review your key messages – what you are saying in your marketing or communications messages to your audiences.  Analyze your messages. Are they clearly focused on the benefits of using your products or services (i.e. we provide printing solutions that reduce paper costs and improve office efficiency), or are they all over the board (i.e. we sell the printer you need).  This step usually involves some form of audience and employee research to clarify the current brand position and help identify a new brand direction.

Step two is to set brand goals – what you want to accomplish with the rebrand. Planning is essential to ensuring the new position you stake out for your brand is realistic and achievable. Develop new key messages.

Step three is establishing benchmarks of where your business is currently so you can track improvements after the rebrand. Some items that you can benchmark are unique Web site visits, unsolicited inbound leads, media coverage and customer service requests. Choose some that fit your situation.

Step four often includes a design refresh that includes logo and tagline, as well as marketing materials and Web site.

Step five includes rolling out the rebrand internally to employees while explaining details of the process and how they can live the new brand.

Step six is introducing the refreshed brand to customers, prospects, suppliers and other external audiences. It helps to promote the rebrand.

Jim Thebeau

CEO, Henry Russell Bruce

jthebeau@hrb-ideas.com

It’s important to find a branding firm that has a proven process.

Está haciendo mucho ruido en los medios (Cinco Días, Expansión, El País…) la nueva estrategia de marca de Telefónica, cuyo lanzamiento general se producirá entre primavera y otoño de 2010. Una operación que conlleva el rebranding de Telefónica y Movistar

El verde pistacho de las letras de Telefónica desaparecerá y se sustituirá por el blanco, y el fondo pasará a ser un poco más oscuro, para dotar de seriedad y elegancia al nombre. ¿Por qué? Porque a partir de ahora Telefónica ya no se usará para vender productos sino que será la marca institucional que se empleará ante los inversores, los empleados, en responsabilidad social corporativa….

Nuevo logo de Movistar

Movistar, por su parte, tendrá una M menos voluminosa y las letras se harán más sólidas, para hacerse también más ”seria”, ya que será la enseña que venda en España todos sus productos, no sólo el móvil, sino también el fijo, la banda ancha y la televisión.

Y además hay otra novedad: la creación de un “Guardián de la Marca”, una figura que será la encargada de garantizar la coherencia en la identidad visual así como los valores que representan en países como Brasil, Colombia, Argentina, México, España y Reino Unido.

Esto da mucho que pensar sobre la importancia y el valor que tiene para una marca su identidad visual. Un logo no es algo totalmente estático, sino que tiene que evolucionar con los años y trasmitir las vibraciones de las grandes empresas y también, como no, de las pequeñas.

¡Viva el rebranding!

AOL gets wild. Nobody notices.

America Online is trying to hit the refresh button on their brand. After the multimedia company breaks ties with Time Warner next month, they will no longer be called AOL, but rather Aol. This not-quite-a name change has been met with a lot of head scratching from the branding community.

Recently, a handful of big brand names have been especially sensitive to competitors’ marketing comparisons, demanding proof of claims made in ads by filing lawsuits and other official grievances.

A handful of expatriate Tasmanian graphic designers are attempting to rebrand their home turf. Apparently, the Tasmanian Tiger that currently graces the logo is long extinct, and some locals even refer to the image as the “dead dog logo.”

A startup named Asana is launching a new information and communication service for the workplace that aims to make the flow of data in the office environment more transparent. Headed by former Facebook and Google employees, Asana has just received initial funding.

Picture from Pebbles From Paradise

McDonald’s, the fast food chain known worldwide, is updating its logo. The signature plastic red backdrop will now be forest green in some countries in Europe.

In an attempt to remodel the chain’s image, restaurants in Europe have changed the classic red McDonald’s sign to green. Apparently this color change makes up for the misguidance in McDonald’s ethical policies. A british blog, Guardian, has more information about the re-branding of the famous chain that sells heart congestion in hamburger boxes.

“Tim Lyley, a goldsmith from London, is one of the cynics. He says: ‘It’s just a marketing thing isn’t it? What McDonald’s do is so ingrained in people’s psyche that no amount of rebranding is going to change what people think about it.’

The group’s financial results seem to disprove that sentiment. In April the company reported an 11% rise in global first quarter sales to $5.5bn, and a 22% increase in net profits to $762.4m. This was put down to surging sales in Europe and strong demand for new menu in the US.”

I find the sales increase frightening. If people are so easily duped by a marketing scam and would actually start going to McDonald’s because of the logo color change, then society has bigger problems than rampant obesity.

The thing about McDonald’s is that its image is directly correlated to the actions of the company. Since the company’s debut in 1940, increasingly larger portions of the signature greasy, high in fat food have been promoted. Though it is ultimately up to the individual to decide what is best for her own health, a restaurant should not wield its power so irresponsibly. McDonald’s was often accused of contributing to the rise of childhood obesity and was said to be marketing to young children with the introduction of Ronald McDonald in 1963.

Marketers use re-branding as a tool to change the image and oftentimes the values of a company. When a company needs to associate itself or distance itself from a particular image, a revamp of the logo is usually indicative of re-branding.
However far McDonald’s feels it needs to run from the greasy environmentally corrupt image it was linked to, will not change the fact that it continues to serve these same products under the same conditions.

McDonald’s Facts

-There are McDonalds restaurants in 119 countries.
-The “play-place” first appeared in 1987
-Six weeks after the film Super-Size Me came out, McDonalds elimianted the super-size option.

A McDonald’s in Islamabad, Pakistan. Picture from Wikipedia.com

Author: Jason Pires
Source: MVC Agency (www.mvcagency.com)
(818) 718-2005 x10

Situation:

After reviewing several agencies, Armen Art, a furniture design and manufacturing company, chose MVC as its marketing partner. Armen Art realized that MVC understood the severity of its situation and is passionate about helping its partner clients create powerful results in the face of adversity and change. MVC presented Armen Art with a powerful creative vision and an unprecedented strategic approach that would be essential to the company’s future. MVC’s strength in lifestyle marketing, modern visual style and strategic thinking served as the right foundation for the leading brand that Armen Art needed to become.

When Armen Art partnered with MVC it was facing an internal renovation that included a change in leadership at a time when the industry itself was experiencing a generational transition and a waning economy. In its 30 year history the company had not made any changes to its brand and marketing. From a sales perspective the word “Art” in the name Armen Art Furniture had become a misleading roadblock as the art and accessories market had grown into its own distinct and thriving segment of the industry. The old logo, two ribbon style and interlaced “A” letters, didn’t do much more to communicate the company’s values or even offer an idea of the type of products the company sold. To worsen the scenario, the company’s marketing strategy had ignored the web. In essence, the company was in danger of failing if it did not make immediate and drastic changes.

Solution:

MVC realized that Armen Art was in need of a complete reinvention of its brand, which would include a fresh new market position and a marketing strategy that leverages the power of the web.

MVC knew that to reinvigorate the company’s appeal it would need to connect with the lifestyles of modern day consumers even though it does not sell directly to consumers. It would also need to demonstrate to its clients within the industry that Armen Art Furniture understands what consumers want in terms of design, quality and price. With this mentality, MVC would go on to help Armen Living bridge the disconnect between its products and the end consumer as it was perceived in the minds of the buyers. Ultimately this would set the platform for consumer brand awareness that will drive the behavior of industry buyers and create further interest in the Armen Art brand and products.

To start the process of rebranding, the Arment Art company name and identity needed to offer a completely new and fresh impression of the company. Through extensively studying the market, Armen Art’s history and the vibrant new product line introduced by the company’s new leaders, MVC decided that to reposition Armen Art it needed project the company’s values beyond those of just a company that sold furniture.

With the understanding that consumers now look for furniture that can help them enhance their lives and express their unique personalities, MVC substituted the word “Art” for the word “Living” in the company’s name, and kept the “Armen” so as not to lose the company’s core personality, culture and existing brand equity. To compliment the new name “Armen Living (Furniture)”, MVC created the tagline “Furniture for Contemporary Lifestyles” to encompass what the company offers and that can be further qualified by the remaining facets of the company’s branding and advertising.

Having set the initial feel for the company’s brand, MVC would then create a modern logo that directly reflects the form and idea of furniture, and a color palette that exudes the warmth of a joyful life while balanced by an air of self-assured sophistication.

MVC would then bring the marketing to life with the campaign titled “This is Living” which gave context to the company’s new name and that is supported by custom lifestyle photography and images depicting the alluring aspects of a sophisticated contemporary lifestyle.

Through the use of a dynamic web video presentation that introduced the direction of the new brand and the vibrant new collection MVC succeeded in generating immediate buzz as well as new business for Armen Living. The video proved to not only keep viewers tuned in to its entire message, but it was also distributed virally through the internet by furniture enthusiasts and followers of the new brand.

Building on the “This Is Living” campaign, MVC created an elegant catalog designed to compliment and unify the eclectic and diverse nature of Armen Living’s new products. MVC also designed and developed a fresh new company website for Armen Living. The website not only features an optimized SEO framework but also social networking aspects that allow users to share the products and content on Facebook, Twitter and other networking websites.

MVC continues to expand the reach of the new brand through a carefully planned and executed marketing strategy which includes PR and advertising campaigns, email marketing.

After only five months of partnering with MVC, Armen Living experienced the best month in sales that it had in over 2 years. The company is not only steadily growing again, it is also poised to be an industry leader in the coming years. The partnership between Armen Living and MVC Agency has been a true success in terms of brand positioning, marketing strategy and most importantly in terms of financial growth for Armen Living.

To learn more about specific aspects of the new brand:

Logo/Brand Identity:
http://www.mvcagency.com/#/works/?cat=55&id=102

Video Presentation:
http://www.mvcagency.com/#/works/?cat=51&id=106

Website:
http://www.mvcagency.com/#/works/?cat=50&id=105

Catalog:

http://www.mvcagency.com/#/works/?cat=52&id=101

New entry for our Acronyms, Appelations and Aphorisms for our trouble age section:

CHARTIS: Cunning How AIG Reinvents and Tarts Itself Shamelessly

Past entries such as AIG – America’s Insolvent Giant may be reviewed here:

http://box3.wordpress.com/acronyms-appellations-and-aphorisms-for-our-troubled-age/

Get off of my island: Porsche Cayman gets a little frisky.

This week’s product naming trademark war comes from the unlikely duo of Porsche and Crocs. The two companies have been sharing the product name Cayman for the past few years. Now, the German carmaker is suing the American clogmaker in a German court for alleged trademark infringement.

In honor of Sesame Street’s 40^th birthday, the City of New York temporarily renamed a portion of Columbus Avenue after the beloved children’s show. According to New York Magazine, creators originally considered naming the show “123 Avenue B” but decided against it for being too New York-ish.

Chrysler is getting ready to spread its new wings as part of its rebranding effort. The new wings logo will be featured on all upcoming Chrysler-branded vehicles. Some have noted that the size and shape of the logo make it very difficult to read the company’s wordmark.

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit is at a loss of what to rename the unit that oversees all of its hedge fund operations. Its current moniker, Citi Alternative Investments, has gotten a bad name after two years of underperformance.

The latest reincarnation of the search engine we all know and love goes by the name Google Caffeine. Two Google employees have said that the imminent introduction of this latest search architecture will push boundaries in size, speed, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. Hm…sounds just like regular caffeine.

You know it's the best because of the crown. Photo: neato_coolville (flickr)

by Mars Riley

Best Western has an identity problem that has been 60 years in the making. Simply put, each of their hotels is an independently owned and operated franchise—each one unique. Considering they have 4,000 hotels in 80 countries, that may be too much uniqueness. It is impossible to predict what kind of hotel you are going to get when you book a room at a Best Western. It might be high-end, low-end, or somewhere in between. There is no way of knowing until you get there. Once when I was in Venice, Italy I was surprised to come across a 3-star Best Western. This unpredictability might be fun on a road trip, but people typically don’t like to roll the dice with hotels. Some internet research probably will help, but the “Best Western experience” is inconsistent to say the least.

To remedy this issue Best Western President and CEO David Kong is considering adding a marketing tag to the name of the hotels. Nothing has been officially announced yet, but early suggestions have been for Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier.

Unfortunately for Mr. Kong, many of the franchise owners don’t seem to like his plan.

“When you do this you have what I call a Less Western,” said David Francis, owner of the Best Western of Lynchburg, VA. “I don’t want to be associated as an economy hotel.”

Many of the franchise owners are worried that their hotels will be unfairly labeled as a lesser hotel simply because they don’t have the same amenities (pools, restaurants) the other hotels do. They also don’t want the higher rated franchises to receive more corporate attention and advertising dollars.

This could cause trouble for the potential name change. Unlike some of the other franchisors like Marriott and Hilton, Best Western is a nonprofit membership association with each franchisee paying a fee for advertising, reservations, a frequent-guest program and other support. As a result of this arrangement, they also have a big say in the direction the company takes.

To help convince the franchisees and help shape its new image, Best Western has hired well-known consulting firms Boston Consulting Group and Booz & Co.

“Our consultants have told us that our customers view us as risky,” Kong told franchisees at a recent convention.

“We’re trying to just let the people know what we are and what they can expect—what their experience is going to be no matter what Best Western they go to,” said Rich Schnakenberg, owner of a Best Western in Tempe, AZ.

If they do change to the proposed names, about half of Best Westerns will remain “Best Western” while 45 percent will become Best Western Plus and 5 percent Best Western Premier. Kong believes the altered names will result in new business at all levels, some from new customers, others from roadside regulars and vacationers who might book at the higher-end locations. It will also allow for travel-agencies and tour-companies to better match the hotels with the appropriate customer or tour.

“By better describing ourselves, we hope to get slotted into more programs, and more hotels will get to play,” Kong said. I guess the reason this doesn’t make sense to me is that usually when a company splits off into a high-end and low-end version of themselves, they really try to differentiate the two. It seems like Best Western vs. Best Western Plus doesn’t seem to help on either side of the equation. If they created two different experiences with two distinct names, the chance of survival would be much higher.

“Rebranding America” is a very interesting op-ed by Bono on Obama on the reasons of why he feels right that Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize. Bono has long been an admirable activist and known as Africa’s biggest advocate for the struggle against poverty. Always playing neutral with politicians, he’s been aiming for his goal while having a huge influence on political leaders. Bono also states his roles as an activist and his strong acquaintance with world leaders. His opinions always have a great delivery.

Rebranding America

In the article, Bono lays his trust on Obama after stating a previous quote made by the president at a United Nations meeting, quote: “We will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year’s summit with a global plan to make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time”… Bono claims that these 36 words, if put to action, are why he believes that Obama can and will be a huge factor in bringing prosperity. Bono follows with reasons of how these 36 words should remind one that America is not just a country, but also an idea.

Bono doesn’t mention the areas where Obama has fallen short of so far, but he does make comparisons with pros and cons of the Obama Administration to the previous administrations. He reminds the world how much American politics affect world politics. He takes a stand not as an Irish man, but as a global citizen. In the last paragraph he states how the world has and always will turn to America for ideas when the rest of the world starts running out of them. Bono’s cool language is very cleverly written and gives pathos to many of his points, like his stubborn aim in making poverty history. He adds humor by making comments like, “The Nobel Peace Prize is the rest of the world saying, “Don’t blow it.” Bono provides logos for his claims by recalling phone calls and meetings with leaders and generals.

I admire Bono’s goals and applaud his work. He correctly identifies the greatest threats facing America and recognizes where the greatest hope resides. Many say that Nobel lost its name by giving Obama the peace prize way ahead of time, but remember that the people who are giving the award aren’t irrational. As Americans we should have faith in our Commander-in-Chief. Obama was given the peace prize not for what he has done, but for what he is doing, and will do.

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На 10 септември БТК и vivatel влязоха в историята. Всъщност двете компании се сляха още в  началото на 2009 г., а през април месец БТК погълна веригaта магазини 2be. Всъщност фактическото сливане на фиксирания и мобилния оператор се случи около година по-рано, но сливането на двете търговски марки беше в началото на септември.

Големият период между юридическото сливане и обединението на брандовете беше продиктувано от необходимостта хората да бъдат подготвени чисто психологически, че БТК няма да съществува повече. Все пак това е една от емблемите на комунизма, която макар и да е частна собственост от шест години все още беше с имиджа на социалистически динозавър.  Точно това беше и една от основните причини вече обединената компания да бъде напълно ребрандирана, за да избяга от представата за архаичен и нискотехнологичен оператор и да покаже новото си лице на модерна компания ориентирана изцяло към клиента.

Въпреки всеобщата представа ребрандирането е един процес, който засяга почти всички звена на една фирма. промяната не е само на логото или корпоративните цветове, тя засяга начина на работа, ориентацията и приоритетните цели както на цялата фирма, така и на всеки отделен служител. Ако ребрандинг екипа успее да предизвика тази промяна и я контролира успешно значи половината от работата е свършена. Половината, защото не по-лесна задача е да успееш да убедиш и всички останали, че новата визия, мисия и цели са реалност не само в промяната налогото и цветовете, а в съзнанието на всеки служител и клиент. Всъщност това е дори по-трудна и продължителна работа, въпреки всички трудности и напрежение в процеса преди официалното обявяване на ребрандирането.

Продължителността на този процес е различна и може да варира в много широки граници. Това за виси от стратегиите, които ще се използват от PR и маркетинг екипа. Като имам предвид досегашната практика на Vivacom  и стратегията която реализират за тези два месеца от официалното обявяване според мен основният етап от налагането на новия бранд и визия ще бъде реализиран за първите шест месеца, а пълно покритие на бранда ще има след година, до година и половина.

На пръв поглед това изглежда много време, но не трябва да се забравя факта, че абревиатурата БТК е налагана дсетки години и това влиятние не може да бъде премахнато с няколко месечна активна кампания.

Тепърва ще наблюдаваме как ще продължи налагането на новия бранд и ще анализираме грешките или успешните ходове.