The BIG Kahuna

So here’s where policies and procedures can effect your branding. Facebook is banning breastfeeding pictures because it deems them in bad taste and not in line with their policies.

First and foremost Facebook can do whatever it wants with it’s website. If you don’t like their policies then head over to Myspace or some other social site. Period. They have rules and their sticking to them and I actually applaud them for it.

It’s not a matter of whether or not it’s natural to breastfeed. Facebook doesn’t want 14 year olds downloading pictures they deem inappropriate to them. Here’s what they had to say:

Facebook spokeswoman Meredith Chin said Facebook – which has more than 200,000 Australian members and 31 million users worldwide – did not prevent mothers from uploading photos of themselves breastfeeding their babies, but it did remove content that was reported as violating Facebook’s terms of use.

“Photos containing an exposed breast do violate our Terms and are removed,” she said.

Here’s what I find interesting. Mothers aren’t boycotting Facebook but instead have started new groups to voice their concern. Why not just quit Facebook? If you go out to a pizza place and the pizza is not good you don’t go back do you? This is an interesting branding problem don’t you think?

What do you think of the Facebook breastfeeding controversy?

Seriously…is your 2009 marketing plan written? Don’t lie, fib or fool yourself. If you don’t have a marketing plan then you don’t have a way to determine whether you’re spending wisely.

Get a plan. Read about our process here.

The BIGpicture

I was watching TV today when I saw a commercial for a product called Heat Surge. It’s some kind of electrical heater/fireplace. But here’s the kicker….they’re branding it as Amish built.

Now I’m certainly no Amish expert but isn’t electricity against their code?? Here’s an excerpt from a site as it pertains to technology:

The Amish are averse to any technology which they feel weakens the family structure. The conveniences that the rest of us take for granted such as electricity, television, automobiles, telephones and tractors are considered to be a temptation that could cause vanity, create inequality, or lead the Amish away from their close-knit community and, as such, are not encouraged or accepted in most orders. Most Amish cultivate their fields with horse-drawn machinery, live in houses without electricity, and get around in horse-drawn buggies. It is common for Amish communities to allow the use of telephones, but not in the home. Instead, several Amish families will share a telephone in a wooden shanty between farms.

Read more here

If you’re going to focus your brand built by the Amish and tie it to quality why open the door for questions? And is quality associated with the Amish? Does this brand identity make sense to you?

In the spirit of Christmas I ask is your company a misfit?

being different ain’t so bad. Leading, not following is where it’s at.

All our Kahunas are busy spending time with their families this week. We wish you all a very happy holidays!

Not too long ago I wrote an article on using CrowdSpring for a design project. Here are the arguments:

Pro:

You get a lot of options both good and bad and It’s very cheap ($150-$500 for a logo)

Con:

Artists work for free hoping to win the project?to get paid and lack of real?strategy

As a client of CrowdSpring what are you concerned with? Nothing? As a designer why do you work for free? Give me your thoughts.

I stand firm on the subject. We get paid for our work. We never work for free. When asked to do spec work from any prospect I thank them for their time and nicely let them know we’re not a good fit. It’s not a relationship that is worth having if you have to work for free, in my opinion.

Sprint has the best deal in town for unlimited calling at $99/month. But here’s what they’re giving up for it.

Voice Command, that went bye bye about 6 months ago. Read my post about that here. Now they’re giving up a branding element that you will be shocked to learn.

Sprint has given up their email. That’s right on December 30th 2008?Sprint will no longer have email for their customers. So I can kiss my brandidentityguru@sprintpcs.com email goodbye.

Can you imagine the millions of emails that are sent everyday through Sprint??Each email that?is sent with @sprintpcs.com is another brand building element. Some companies like Blackberry use it as a signature:

Sent by Blackberry Wireless

I guess Blackberry sees it differently.

Sprint’s thinking is our price is lower so we’ll win. Yea, we’ll see how that works out for ya. When my Sprint contract is up I’ll be switching to another provider. I’ve been with Sprint for about 10 years.

Gosh, I wish?I had a way for my clients to say my name millions of times a day….

@brandidentityguru.com sounds nice!

What makes you loyal to a brand? Is there real loyalty anymore? Does perception play a role in your decision making process?

I won’t buy an American made car. Period. Why? A lifetime of bad experiences mostly. I don’t even give them an opportunity to sell to me anymore. Perception.

I’ll only buy Crest Toothpaste. Why? It’s what I was raised on. I won’t switch. I never look at the price, price does not and will never matter to me. Perception?

I only buy Gillette products. Why? Because they are the shaving leader. I buy products that shave my face, presto they work. But I don’t buy the newer products from Gillette, just the good ole Sensor.

I’ll buy gas from any gas station no matter what the brand is.

I don’t drink Starbucks Coffee because it doesn’t taste good to me. And even though they are “cooler” than Dunkin Donuts It doesn’t make the coffee taste any better.

Here’s what I know.

Superior product/service + Brand Promise = Loyalty

I think it can really be broken down that easily. Your product/service has to be able to deliver what you promise. If it does you can capture brand loyalty. But if either are out of whack you’ll have no chance.

What say you kahunas?

Gosh, these bailouts seem pretty common now huh? Here’s why we should let the greedy, poorly managed automakers fail:

1. A clean slate- Here’s our chance to let small companies invent some cool cars. Cars that Americans WANT to buy. I see many brands developing to tap into niches. Sure they wont be huge companies but they’ll sell products that people love (think Mini Cooper). I know Mini is owned by BMW but imagine if a bunch of new, fresh companies developed and sold hits like the Mini?

2. They’ll never learn- If we bail these losers out they will just make the same dumb mistakes. They can’t seem to see the forest through the trees.

3. Unions- here’s our big chance to get rid of this god forsaken union. This union is arguably to blame for their failures. They’ve made it almost impossible for Detroit to compete.

4. Lessons- It’s time to let capitalism run its course. The weak must die in order for the strong to survive. Let these brands die.

Sure, sure, I know we’ll be in financial trouble if we let them die. Many people will be out of work. Sometimes you have to take two steps back to move forward.

Last night my wife and I went to a birthday dinner at one of the nicest St. Thomas?restaurants. We really happen to like this restaurant. There were 8 of us in total. The food was fantastic. The service was white glove.

One of the members of our party brought a birthday cake and the waiters all got together and sang happy birthday to our friend. It was really nice. We all had a great time.

Then the bill came and I happened to look at it. The restaurant charged us a $40 cake cutting fee ($5/person). Two things were wrong with this, first I didn’t have any cake. Second, we should have been told before said cake was cut.

Now this is not Manhattan, this is laid back, ultra casual St. Thomas. And we’re not tourists, everyone in our party?is a local. Sure, the restaurant will argue that they don’t get to sell you dessert. That’s thinking small. Because here’s what happened after we saw the charge on the bill…

8 people now criticized the restaurant. Words like cheap, pompass and jerks were thrown around. This all after we had a great meal and service. What a way to end.

Ultimately one of us (another restaurant owner) asked the manager to remove the charge and they did. But not before the damage was done.

So think twice before you nickel and dime good customers because thinking small can loose more than a couple of bucks.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky?are at it again. Gimmicks, that is. Now they’re schelping off to remote areas of Romania and Greenland to ask folks what they prefer, a Whopper or Big Mac. Of course the catch is they’ve never seen a Big Mac or Whopper so they’re supposed to be “objective” in the minds of Crispin.

Here’s a thought, that’s ridiculous. And meaningless and yet another gimmick. Let’s just assume the Whopper wins (Crispin represents Burger King). Then they come out and say hey…people in the forests of Romania choose the Whopper!

Big freakin deal.

It’s just sad the companies like Burger King actually approve this junk.

As I watch TV shows get cancelled I can’t help but think that last years writer strike ultimately destroyed these brands. Many of them like Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money were on the fast track to becoming major hits, then they got hit by the writers strike. Now they’re gone.

When I think about unions I don’t imagine they?ponder the effects they have on the branding. I think they want higher pay, better healthcare, more benefits etc. Back in the day unions were very good and helped many people out. They did their job. But today?

Look at the US auto industry. Many people believe that unions have crushed our ability to compete. As the unions fight for the things they fight for one thing gets neglected…the brand. Now our US automakers are about to go out of business. That’s a lot of unemployed union workers and possibly the death of some major brands.

I’m obviously not a fan of unions but if they are going to play a role in a brands life then maybe part of the unions plan should be to?develop a brand advocate. Protection of the brand should always play a role in anything a union negotiates or the brand could die. The last the thing a brand wants to be doing is Pushing Daisies.