The BIG Kahuna

Seriously LeBron James needs to hire a branding company and soon. Never mind a PR agency, he needs to look deep into his soul and figure out who the heck he’s gonna be.

From a brand image perception he appears to be all about himself and less about his team. After this years NBA finals he tweets:

“The greater man upstairs know when it’s my time. Right now isn’t the time.”

Geez LeBron are you just a moron? I mean doesn’t God have better things to do than decide NBA champions? And how about taking some personal responsibility for your play? Like averaging 3 points to Dirk’s 10 in the 4th quarter?

Magic Johnson went on to say:

He should have said “I played bad, I’m gonna work hard in the summer and we’ll be back”. Spoken like a true unselfish winner.

But then LeBron went on to say that his critics are gonna wake up to their lives (insert I’m rich and you’re not) and nothing is gonna change. They might be happy he lost for a day or a month (insert he thinks we’re miserable people).

It’s like he has no clue. I guess if you want to be the villian of the league then you may not need a branding company because you’ve accomplished your goal.

What do you think? Is LeBron just not the brightest bulb or is this a master plan?

Milk?

Seriously, can’t make this stuff up. Oh, add it with their tagline and you get “Homo Milk, Every Drop Delicious”. Another case of branding gone bad. Thank you Island Farms  for the chuckle and your lack of proof reading capabilities.

The Nissan Leaf that is.

That’s because the EPA’s tests estimate say the Nissan Leaf can travel 73 miles on a fully charged battery and will cost $561 a year in electricity.

Wow, a whole 73 miles before you need to plug in? Where can I sign up? Is that the best the Nissan brand can do?

Then of course you’ll need to buy a “charging station” and hire a professional electrician to install it at your home. That’s like another $2500-$3500 on top of the already ridiculous price of $33,000.

Have you seen the Leaf? Here’s what $33,000 gets ya if you want to feel like you’re actually making any change to the environment (which you won’t be):

But wait, there’s more…it takes ONLY 7 hours to charge, yippee! And the battery only lasts 5-10 years then throw the piece of junk away

Oh and where do you charge your new shiny Leaf after you’ve used up your 73 miles in less than 90 minutes? Are states set up with docking stations on every street? Block? 100 mile radius? And then what do you do for the next 7 hours?

Look I’m all for using green energy when it makes sense. I have solar panels on my house that run my water heater and pool pump. But the math added up and payback was within 4 years. This is a grossly overpriced vehicle that looks bad and doesn’t deliver on it’s primary function…getting you somewhere you can’t walk to!

I imagine it will sell just fine to the yuppie tree huggers, they’ll have something to talk about at their next kumbaya meeting but to the average American this is just ridiculous. Even after the $7500 government rebate the car will run you almost $30,000.

For this program to actually work it has to be mainstream. There NEEDS to be charging stations on every street. And the only way to do that is make the damn ugly paperweight affordable to the average Joe!

Mark my words, this will be a branding failure. It may take a few years but it is destined to fail. Americans want more if they have to sacrifice style and function.

What do you think?

On a Segway.

Um, er, ah…that may be a problem for brand Segway. If the owner of the company can’t avoid a cliff what does that say to potential buyers?

Granted the owner, James Heselden, is not the inventor or original owner of Segway. He just bought the company a year ago.

But dying on a Segway…what say you?

It stinks to be ripped off but when someone rips you off and does so promoting honor and trust it makes it even worse.

Meet Two Marines And A Truck: www.twomarinesandatruck.com. When you think Marines you envision strength but more importantly honor. Honor is everything to a Marine. Here’s the Marines pledge to honor:

Honor requires each Marine to exemplify the ultimate standard in ethical and moral conduct.  Honor is many things; honor requires many things.  A U.S. Marine must never lie, never cheat, never steal, but that is not enough.  Much more is required.  Each Marine must cling to an uncompromising code of personal integrity, accountable for his actions and holding others accountable for theirs.  And, above all, honor mandates that a Marine never sully the reputation of his Corps (see it here).

So why am I writing about Two Marines And A Truck? Because this company that represents itself as Marines miserably failed at the honor code. Two Marines And A Truck strangely have  the same copy that WE wrote for our client Humboldt Storage and Moving. Honor? You make the call.

Here is the copy we were hired to write for our client:

At Humboldt we understand that moving can be a stressful and unsettling experience. We look at every aspect of the moving process from your point of view and tirelessly work to make you feel comfortable and relaxed. We pledge our commitment to this promise, and that assurance extends to every level of our company, and every employee.

We believe that the first 100 years of our reputable history was only a beginning. What we see now is a great opportunity to reach new heights in our business and in our own lives, by making you, our most important asset, feel at ease throughout the entire moving process. This is our goal for the next 100 years.

You have my word on it.

Jim Sullivan
President

Now check out Two Marines And a Trucks “copy”:

At Two Marines and a Truck we understand that moving can be a stressful and unsettling experience.  We look at every aspect of the moving process from your point of view and tirelessly work to make you feel comfortable and relaxed. We pledge our commitment to this promise, and that assurance extends to every level of our company, and every employee. 

We believe that the first 234 years of our reputable Marine Corps history was only a beginning. What we see now is a great opportunity to extend our service to our country, to our community by employing motivated veterans to make you, our most important asset, feel at ease throughout the entire moving process. This is our goal for the next 100 years. 

You have my word on it.

Nick Baucom

We have your “word” on it Nick? Honor…seems you have little of that. But wait there’s more they then go on to more copy.

Here’s the copy we wrote for our client:

1. We promise to work diligently to add trust, not stress, to the moving process.

2. Your belongings are safe and secure for the entire moving and storage process.

3. You can always expect us to be efficient, professional and service-oriented.

4. We will handle every one of your belongings as if it were our own.

5. You will have all of the information that you need from us up front to successfully budget your move.

6. We will quickly address any and all issues that occur during the moving process.

This is what they are calling their copy:

Two Marines and a Truck Pledge
1.    We promise to work diligently to add trust, not stress, to the move.
4.   Your belongings are safe and protected during the entire move.
5.   You can always expect us to be efficient, professional and proficient.
6.   We will handle every one of your belongings as if it were our own.
7.  You will have all of the information that you need from us up front to budget your move.
8.  We will quickly address any and all issues that occur during the moving process.

Our client then contacts them to let them know that their Marine honor system has gone askew, here is their response via email:

Dan-

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.  Without admitting any wrong-doing, I am working on changes now.

Semper Fi

Nick E. Baucom
703-623-5288 office

www.twomarinesandatruck.com

Wow Nick Baucom even in defeat you are unhonorable. These guys did go on to change the copy but it’s still like our client’s (see it here on copyscape). They just tweaked what our client so honestly paid for. If they had any real honor they’d write it themselves, how about it Marines?

But thanks to the Internet we are able to expose Two Marines And A Truck and soon this article will appear in a Google search for that company for all to see. So think twice about trusting a company that has this kind of honor, you really want them in your house?

What say you kahunas, honor or not?

My wife loves both the Bachelor and Bachelorette and she MAKES me watch them. As I’ve watched these reality shows I’ve come to notice there are no minorities to speak of. None. Well maybe a token here and there.

Why? Why so white?

Here is the cast for this years new Bachelor:

And the lucky guy:

And last years Bachelorette and cast:

That’s a lot of white.

So why the obvious discrimination?

In 17 total seasons, neither show’s main role has ever been filled with a person of color. ABC representatives say they are “exploring” the issue for upcoming seasons.

How do these brands go unnoticed? Is this a branding strategy from ABC?

Whay say you kahunas, are the brands racist?

I’m sure you’ve all seen this cheeseball commercial:

Do you believe this brand called “Lend America”? Do you find it insulting how they pretend to be a newscast? In this day of mortgage crisis do you believe a bad credit score is okay?  Have you done a Google search for the phrase “Lend America Scam”? Would you be surprised to learn there are over 51,000 results? http://www.google.com/search?q=lend+america+scam&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLG_en

Your brand identity is everything, don’t blow it.

Today I have lost all respect from the brand Nobel. Today they awarded President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. A fine prize to win based on one’s dedication and hard-work to peace. None of which President Obama has accomplished or worked hard at (he’s only been in office for 9 months).

President Obama says: 

“I am both surprised and deeply humbled,” Obama said at the White House. “I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments. But rather as an affirmation of American leadership. … I will accept this award as a call to action.”

I’m sure he is surprised because he in-fact has only made campaign promises. Last time I checked we are still in Iraq (promise of peace not yet kept), Gitmo is still open for business (promise of peace not yet kept) and he’s actually sent more troops to Afghanistan. That is far from peace last time I checked.

The Nobel Committee said it decided to honor Obama for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” What exactly has he done? What peace treaties has he signed? What cooperation between conflicting countries has he repaired? What summits has he been part of that resulted in peace? Does Iran, Iraq, Russia or anyone really think differently of the USA now?  Do they mean just because he won the election? I’m confused?

I’m disappointed that the Nobel Peace Prize is now a political tool rather than an objective achievement of someones life and dedication. To me this is now a big joke, a scam.

Shouldn’t this award gone to someone who has made a real difference and not a smoke and mirrors wish? Wasn’t there someone much more deserving of this award?

The Nobel Peace Prize means nothing. They’ve sold out. Their brand is dead to me.

What do you think? Can someone, anyone win a prize like this based on promises or should actual achievment be the driver?

Well Republicans that like Glenn Beck anyway. In a recent branding blog article Jonathan says people that watch Glenn Beck are “a small group of right-wing loons, evangelicals, and would-be terrorists“. 

I happen to like Glenn Beck and I don’t seem to fit into the loon, evangelicals or terrorists categories?

So I wrote a response:

Let’s see in one week Beck got Van Jones to quit (fired) and the Census Bureau to sever ties with Acorn.

Add to that that he has the 2nd highest rated cable tv talk show. His show is so wildly popular with “terrorists” (like myself) that all the other shows on MSNBC and CNN and the like combined don’t add up to his numbers. The last time I checked ratings sort of matter.

But what you a SERIOUSLY MISSING is his awesome brand building. He doesn’t want you, he wants you to write these great articles though. Do you feel that hook in your mouth? That’s Beck reeling you in.

I sit in awe at his positioning which is clearly different than anyone out there. People (liberals) like you are never going to like him. The more you hate him the more his “right-wing loons” will dig in and defend him. So as far as branding goes he clearly eliminates liberals and makes his audience ferociously supportive. Sounds like a good plan to me.

I think you totally have this wrong. He’s not the Dems best friend. He’s their worst nightmare. He’s going to keep reeling in liberals like you who will do his bidding. Feel like a sucker?

I’m a huge fan of Glenn Beck and I certainly don’t always agree with his views. Sometimes he’s just to out there but other times I get a neck injury from shaking my head in agreement. He will play a pivotal role in unseating Obama.

I’m disappointed at the name calling and stereotyping in this article. It’s not your best moment and I’ve been a fan for a while. I think it’s also a good idea to go back to what you do best, it’s just to easy to hit the “UNSUBSCRIBE” from my Google Reader…

His response… I encourage you to unsubscribe

Years of me following and supporting his blog. Writing articles on my blog pointing to his blog. Talking on the phone and in one swift moment it all ended. He lost a fellow branding guy, friend and most of all my respect. It’s not cool to ever call Americans terrorists no matter what your political beliefs. Just throwing the word “terrorist” around so haphazedely is scary. He should apologize to a lot of hard working regular people for his statement. But that’s just my opinion.

I deceided to send him a personal email and clarify the issue and this was his response:

Sorry, Scott. I wrote about Beck’s ability to advocate extreme positions that take his followers out of the realm of real debate, and into the category of ideology and sometimes outright fantasy.  Your response to me only proved my case.  There’s no way to debate with people who can’t debate, but who’d rather make nutjob accusations.

What it comes down to is is strong belief in his own thinking basically means he can’t communicate with people on the other side. Love or hate Glenn Beck, the fact that he can’t rationalize why people do like him is again…scary. 

This is not a you like Glenn Beck debate.

What say you kahunas? Cool, uncool?

Your brand identity has to be communicated throughout the organization. Even down to your weakest link.  Let me give you an example.

The other day we took guests visiting from St. Thomas on a Boston Duck Tour. We hyped them up for a fun day and a lot of “quacking”. The Boston Duck Tours are known for quacking at pedestrians or other Duck Boats. It’s corny but fun. Even I do it.

The tour started with our driver “Marco the Plumber” who was dressed like one of the Mario Brothers:

Marco seemed like a very nice man and was informative. But we couldn’t have had any less fun. I actually nodded off during the tour. The people behind me actually said and I quote, “we just lost two hours of our lives”.  During the tour another Duck Boat approached us and Marco actually said, “do you want to quack at that boat (he never discussed quacking during the tour so some of the guests looked at him cross eyed)? I was thinking yea, that’s fun…let’s do it. Then Marco said, “I never tell people to quack or not, it’s up to you”.

What? It’s up to me? No Marco it’s not. It’s part of your brand and therefore your brand is only as strong as you, Marco. We should have been instructed on the quacking at the start of the tour, then visitors could have had fun quacking at people walking by. Even pedestrians quacked at the Duck Boat, although we looked at them in confusion.

Marco lacked the qualities of being a Duck Boat tour guide, mainly he was not funny and he repeated the same attractions over and over again. We drove by the Boston Garden twice and he never mentioned it. That’s sort of famous I guess?

I actually apologized to our guests as my wife and I have been on other Duck Boat Tours that have been fun.

Moral of this story? No matter who your weakest link is they need to stay on brand. They need to know and understand the brand. Then they need to deliver on it consistently. Now I’m not bashing Marco, he was a nice man. Maybe he was having a bad day? And I’ve had other tours that were great. But on this day I felt like we just threw away $140 for little to no value.

If you have drivers, delivery people, movers, customer service people…remember these could be the face of your brand and ultimately the weakest link.

Social media puts you right out there. It’s unforgiving and it’s a permanent record. Recently I had a political conversation with Ex-Heavy Weight Champion of the World Shannon Briggs. Shannon is promoting his Fight 2 Breathe brand, http://www.fight2breathe.com. A brand he approached me on over a year ago.

We never worked together but became “friends” on Facebook. Shannon is HIS brand, so what your about to read may or may not change how you feel about brand Shannon Briggs (I only have his comments and others that joined the conversation, I was “defriended” after I divulged I was Republican):

“So now Bush is Ancient history? Meanwhile we are still fighting his 2 fabricated wars that’s costing hundreds of millions a day. Meanwhile we are still feeling the affects of his unregulated banking laws which lead to the housing collapse. And the oil prices being sky rocketed at any given time. Or the terror he instilled in the people about 9/11. The Arabs the Muslims! The enemy. The terrorist. Scott I travel the world and most if not all countries laugh and have disgust for America and it’s ignorance. Only now that Obama is in office and this country could elect a black president do they see hope for us. Who’s feeding you this false info on who Obama trust. The dude is trying to fix ole George’s mess. You have no clue or care for what Bush as done to this planet. Twilight Zone. Rod Sterling was an intelligent man.”

“Amazing. None of this was an issue when Bush ran the country in the ground. This has nothing to do with politics it’s fear that a black president means some sort of loss of power. I guess it’s called culture war? LMAO. You guys serious?”

“Scott we got attacked? By Muslims with box cutters that where skilled enough to fly 4 planes around the United States without being detected right? And then we attacked them in Iraq because Saddam was behind it right? And by the way he was stockpiling weapons for them right? And then we attacked their other country Afghanistan because that’s where the leader Bin Laden is right? In the mountains right? Although we can send men into space we can’t get a terrorist in a cave. Right. Wow. This all adds up to you? Does it make any sense to you Scott. Do you not see where you any so many like you are what Rod Sterling made so many episodes about? Fear. Playing into what people fear and using it for profit. This is some sad shit. Rod Sterling may you rest in peace.”

“Get over myself? What is it to get over? Oh the fact that when Bush caused all of this madness and a blackman was elected to step in to try and ‘HELP” he’s being attacked like it’s his fault. I’m actually pissed Obama is president. It’s giving fuel to the Twilight Zone and I hate to see so many “real American” people afraid of losing “their” country. And their taxes go up. LOL. Meanwhile they’re broke as hell and can’t afford healthcare and most get medicare which is socialized medicine. Sheeesh.”

“@ Scott should Bush not have been crucified? Should he not be in prison? People are dead because of him. Innocent people Scott. it was all for big business. I know that doesn’t register and it seems inhumane but that’s the sad case. 9/11, Bin Laden, attacks, Saddam, all set up to create an enemy. Their has to always be an enemy. War is money Scott. So guess what this drummed up fantasy enemy was created so bullets and bombs could be used. If not they stockpile like Saddams right?”

“It’s easy to call me names on here or say rude comments about me being knocked out Scott. In fact it’s the easiest thing you can do on the internet. Talking major shit has become popular. Backing it up has become near extinct. Watch your choice of words. I’ve never posted on your wall nor would I in any disrespectful manner. Once again you’ve proved that being a republican in this day and age is a disease. A bad one. There is nothing to back up anything you say besides ignorance. For you to call yourself a republican proves your clueless. The party of racism, fear and hate. And simple minded easy to trick ass retards.”

At this point another person enters the conversation:

Myron Luzniak also commented on Shannon Briggs’s status:

“With all do respect, Obama isn’t “black”. I love how people forget his caucasian mother Ann Dunham. So the race card doesn’t apply here, since he’s of mixed race. My fiance is a minority, so for anyone to imply that all republicans are racist is plain ignorant. 9/11 was not a conspiracy, and those that think so, are also ignorant. The world has some fanatical people in it, and we were too big for our own good and got caught with our pants down. You may not like Bush’s politics, but he kept us safe for the last 8 years and didn’t go around apologizing for us like our current leader. At least Bush led with conviction and did what he thought was right, and wasn’t on TV every other week selling himself to us like Obama is. Do we have a leader, or a talk show host, or maybe a reality star? We need a president, not a media whore. Have a great weekend all. Cheers!!!”

“Myron. Please never post on my wall again. I said please. And I’m only asking once. Thank you. “

“I’m so not interested in having republicans as fan of friends. Call it what you want but if your political views is that of that party it was nice being associated with you and no disrepect but you more than likely won’t like a super liberal like me. I’m for affirmitive action. I don’t care if gays get married. I love immigrants becuase they have the courage to try and escape to a better life. I hate Bush. I’m not religious. I’m for socialism I you want to call it that. I’m against guns. I’m against war. I’m for free healthcare and for more taxes. And Im getting taxed heavy. I make hundreds an sometimes millions. So go in peace. Defriend my blackass.”

Another new person comments:

Dave Wilcox also commented on Shannon Briggs’s status:

“wow Shannon I respect your opinion but to say you dont like all rebublicans is a bit wierd imo. Have you met them all? Im not even republican but that is the type of thought process that turns into discrimination. I agree about gay marriage and I dont like Bush either, but we need to keep an open mind i would think. I think anyone would agree Bush was a bafoon….Im pretty sure there has been a Democrat or two that did bad things as well. I like to judge people on their actions, not by the color of their jacket. (Red or Blue) with respect..Dave”

“Dave I’m over the birthers the tea baggers the socialist the facist all of the bullshit. It all inciting a riot. And calling on the death of the president. Bringing guns to speeches it’s all asking for the asassination of the president. Me as an African american that has risen from poverty I see this as an attack on a man of color who is only trying to help. And this is the thanks he gets. Bush was an oil man. Look at what he did. He invades Iraq for oil. Sarah Palin quit so she could make money. The party is Wack. I don’t need them. And they don’t need me. I know quite a few resumplicans and they have to common sense nor compassion. “

The moral of this story? In today’s digital world be careful how you use your words in social media because it may affect your personal brand. I’m guessing right now some people may be offended? What say you kahunas?

RadioShack has been out of touch with consumers for about 15 years. I just recently visited a store, one of their flagships in Braintree Massachusetts. They’ve remolded but nothing has changed. Except their name…sort of.

In an obvious effort to become more relevant they’ve dropped the “Radio” from their advertising and communications but left the name “RadioShack“. I can already see the board meeting that took place.

Some smooth talking, wanna be hip CMO says hey, we need to get rid of radio in our name because no one uses radios anymore. Then the President says, but what about all the brand equity we have in the name? The CMO wobbles and says how about we keep the name but call ourselves something hip, like The Shack. Presto, case solved. Brilliant.

No guts no glory folks. First off I’m pretty sure any brand equity RadioShack had is long gone now. So changing the name to The Shack would have been a better move. But just changing a name really doesn’t mean anything. What is RadioShack’s brand identity? What makes them better and different than say Best Buy? How does RadioShack stand out? The answer is they don’t.

So the half assed attempt to look cool really isn’t going to work. Soon they will fade off into oblivion, like Circuit City.

Today I read a blog post from self proclaimed word of mouth marketing guru Andy Sernovitz. Here’s what he has to say about advertising:

It’s not scalable. The problem with advertising is that you pay for each impression, regardless of how successful you are. It’s not genuine. For enough, you might buy a little attention; but no amount of advertising can establish true love — the kind that makes fans line up for your new products, drag their friends in to see you, or defend you from the naysayers.

How ridiculous. I particularly like this statement: “regardless of how successful you are“. Huh? Advertising is a tactic to get people interested in your product or service. It sparks a flame. Then it’s up to you to provide the product or service that will make people become brand ambassadors. Proclaiming it doesn’t work and that everyone should run out and start a blog, get on twitter and facebook is even more ridiculous. Those tactics aren’t for everyone either.

Social media is a tool that can be used very successfully but it’s not for everyone. Just like certain advertising tactics are not for everyone. But to make statements like Andy does makes me question his knowlege of marketing all together and those that follow him.

What do you think kahunas?

In an effort to keep making horrible ads that have nothing to do with whatever Burger King’s brand identity is they’ve come out with this pile of crap:

Let’s not forget their past insulting work here, Mexican get sizzled, and here, Slap that booty.

Obviously the only branding strategy Burger King can come up with is to be controversial. Brilliant.

So I’m out of the Burger King loop. They obviously want people in the business to write negatively about them because what women is gonna run out and buy this sandwich now? And do men really think they’ll get a blow job? No, the only thing Burger King wants is press, so stop giving it to them, they don’t deserve it.

Ads are meant to do one thing…sell product, period.

Last week I wrote about Burger King introducing the Booty Call to 5 year olds. This week they’ve insulted an entire country and race of people. In this spot they feature a little Mexican draped in the Mexico flag. Why is he little in stature compared to the tall cowboy? Because they’ve introduced a “little spicy mexican” to the Whopper, check it out:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) ? Fast food giant Burger King apologized Tuesday for an advertisement featuring a squat Mexican draped in his country’s flag next to a tall American cowboy and said it would change the campaign. Read about it here.

Obviously Burger King feels that any negative PR or Buzz is helping their effort. Tell me, when did bad advertising get better because of additional buzz? Burger King has been going down this road for years now, they don’t care. About you, or anyone else they’ve offended. To them the more complaints the better.

Here’s the wonderful spot aimed at kids to promote their kids meal:

If any of this offends you make a conscience decision, don’t eat at Burger King.

Here’s the setting…

Burger King CMO and marketing team want to promote their .99 kids meal featuring Sponge Bob Square Pants. Sounds easy enough? Here’s what they came up with:

There are so many things wrong with this spot I can’t even begin, but here goes.

Target Market: 5-9 year old: Really, you want 6 year olds running around saying “Booty is Booty”, seriously?

Sir Mix Alot should be ashamed for letting this big pile of crap use his song. I’m a child of the 80′s and I loved Baby’s Got Back, but not for my freakin 7 year old.

Burger King has been consistently putting out this whacky advertising. Apparently they think the buzz (good or bad) is worth it. I find their commercials to be weird, creepy and insulting.

I will never, ever again visit a Burger King.

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!

I spoke with Charlene Li, the author of Groundswell recently. She’s smart. And she’s got a brand new successful business up and running. I’m on her RSS feed. So I was shocked and actually saddened when someone as smart as Charlene did this:

I’ve had good success setting up my own business at Altimeter Group but one thing I never got around to doing was getting a logo done. Last summer, I was briefed crowdSPRING, which is a marketplace for creative projects. So I’ve decided to put my logo up as a project there, where designers can submit their ideas.

Why put my brand logo design in the hands of complete strangers? Well, I figured that anything is better than the simple font-based brand identity I have now! I also looked at some of the existing projects that are on the site, like the logo design for Zodiac Tea — which has 360 submissions as of this post.

All for a $400 fee. That’s not smart.

It’s really disappointing to see this stuff happen from professionals. And it shows her total lack of understanding when it comes to branding and brand identity. Having hundreds of people guess at the soul of her company by drawing “pretty pictures” is insulting not only to the designers for participating but to professional companies who design strategic logos for a living.

Here’s her first comment to her post:

Hi I’m a graphic designer. This type of thing is called ‘spec work’. It devalues the creative process and the design business in general. It is also a disservice to you as a client.

You can learn more here:

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/position-spec-work

http://www.no-spec.com/

http://www.zeldman.com/2007/08/14/dont-design-on-spec/

thank you.

I agree. This from a woman that charges tens of thousands of dollars a day to her clients. Maybe she should just work for free (or $400) and if her clients like what she does she’ll get paid. Sad, sad, sad.

What say you kahunas? You think she’ll get a logo that leverages her brand identity (whatever that is)?

Taken from Adfreak by David Gianatasio :

BzzAgent is yammering on about word-of-mouth ROI again, issuing a new report called “Calculating Your Communication Dividend.” Players in this space devise new “formulas” or “metrics” every few months, but the “dividend” is always the same: They get some play in the media. The numbers, buzzwords (bzzwords?) and pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo make my head spin. BzzAgent now claims that the “profit” on an eight-minute brand conversation is 38 cents.

Excuse me, an eight-minute brand conversation!?? How can these BzzAgents possibly keep verbal exchanges going that long? Agent: “Nike makes good sneakers.” Human being: “Yup.” End of conversation! Who is going to hang in for more? I’m sure the WOM crowd would claim I’ve misunderstood the whole concept, but that just reinforces my point. If these guys can’t effectively communicate their basic raison d’?tre, how can they compel tipsy bar patrons to switch mixers or try the salted peanuts? That’s my two cents on the subject. At the very least, it’s worth what you paid.

I can’t agree more. Never mind the fact that in my opinion people sign up for BzzAgent only to get FREE STUFF. Then they very possibly?report bogus information. How is this tied to the branding of the companies that use BzzAgent?

It’s been a while since I wrote on my continuing series of “When Naming Goes Bad” but here ya go, branding at its finest:

Manjunk

From the Manjunk website:

Developed by a man for men, Man Junk is a combination of world-class ingredients and relentless attention to detail. Any product that’s made to clean your neck, back, buttocks or legs isn’t going to provide the specific levels of odor fighting and skin treatment that Man Junk does.

I had no idea my personal Manjunk reeked that bad? All these years of using the same soap to wash my entire body? What was I thinking? I need this product like I need a 5th blade on my razor.

Here’s a better more appropriate name for this product:

MANJOKE