Mon
Nov
23
Now that AOL is spinning off from Time Warner, it has of course decided to rebrand itself. The company just released these new sneak peeks at its new look, and I’m not sure I like what they’re going for. Obviously that tired blue triangle had to go, but calling the company “Aol.” (yep, period and all) instead of “AOL” gives the impression that it should be pronounced as a phonetic word that sounds similar to “owl,” rather than being an acronym.
Minus the whole massive layoffs thing, I like the direction AOL has been going in as a company (less about e-mail for your grandma, more about editorial publishing), but I think they need to go back to the drawing board on this one. The new branding will be fully revealed on December 10. I’m kind of scared.
—Alyssa
Tags
- Alyssa - branding - corporate - design
Wed
Sep
30
Kraft Foods in Australia has decided to change the name of its new Vegemite-and-cream-cheese product after the recent uproar over the new name iSnack 2.0. The company originally crowdsourced the name by asking more than 48,000 people to submit a name for the product online. An Australian web developer submitted the hokey, 2001-esque name “iSnack 2.0” as a joke, and lo and behold, it won! The original Vegemite name was chosen through a similar competition in the 1920s, although snarky web developers didn’t exist back then.
I’m not even going to delve into the question of the actual product — every time my Aussie boyfriend makes a Vegemite and toasted cheese sandwich, the aroma alone makes me nauseous! The Awl suggests it may be made “from the carcasses of diseased koalas,” which is actually entirely plausible. The company decided to create the new cream cheese hybrid spread after finding that people spread about 13 grams of the creamier Vegemite on a piece of toast, versus five grams of the traditional version. All I have to say is, thank goodness they don’t sell The Spread Formerly Known As iSnack 2.0 in the States!
—Alyssa
Tags
- Alyssa - crowdsourcing - branding - contests
Wed
Sep
9
Ben & Jerry’s popular “Chubby Hubby” flavored ice cream announced via its Twitter account and Facebook fan page last week that the delectable treat will be renamed “Hubby Hubby” through the month of September in efforts to throw the company’s support behind same-sex marriages in its home state of Vermont.
Talk about using social media to make a social statement! Very cute, yet profound marketing tactic – I love it. I truly appreciate brands that stand behind a good cause, regardless of how it might impact their image and sales among those who don’t support their platform. It’s these kinds of bold moves that incite brand loyalty among do-gooders like myself!
-Andréa S.
Tags
- marketing - andreas - branding - Twitter - Facebook - politics
Tue
Jul
28
Tags
- Alyssa - branding - design
Tue
Jun
9
What do your logo colors say about your brand? M Booth’s logo is yellow, so apparently we are:
- Solar (whatever that means)
- Happy
- Cheerful
- Summery
- Fun
- Energetic
- Jubilant
- Young
- Sunny
- Friendly
Sounds good to me!
—Alyssa
Tags
- Alyssa - branding - M Booth
Fri
Mar
27
A secret luxury chocolate society!
Who knew Godiva has an all female, invite-only social network of 400 chocoholics! The members are consulted about insights on luxury chocolate and its place in this economy.
According to BusinessWeek, this group will soon be replaced by two new 300-person communities: one for Godiva customers, the other for fans of other premium chocolates.
- Rebecca
Tags
- Rebecca - social networks - campaigns - branding
Thu
Mar
12
Here is the least surprising statement to be made on this blog, ever: people hate Gwyneth Paltrow. Not in the way that some people hate (unjustly) Rachael Ray, or the way New Yorkers hate the Red Sox (I think that is a sports team, I always thought we hated garish footwear until I Googled it.)
This fact was originally pointed out on FWD Thinking awhile back (note: I wrote that blog post too, so in fairness perhaps I just hate Gwyneth.) But The Chicago Sun-Times is on board too.
Why do we hate La Paltrow? The Sun-Times says that it is because her blog is too high-falutin’ and holier-than-thou for these economic times. Face facts, the real reasons we hate Gwyneth are:
1. She’s faux-British.
2. It sounds like she got her kid’s names from a failed Mad Libs experiment (a macrobiotic food: apple, your favorite biblical character: Moses).
3. She likes to pretend that she is your slightly dumpy, down-on-her luck best friend, when in fact she hit the nepotism jackpot.
4. You know that if she came to a potluck, she’d bring plain brown rice.
Anyway, Paltrow got the memo and tried to soften her image with this morning’s Goop posting. This is perhaps the least convincing portrayal of an everyday woman since Tootsie:
I can do the whole rap at the end of The Revenge of the Nerds and all of Jeff Spicoli’s dialogue, but sadly, my expertise ends there. I do, however, love film and whether it is an exceptional documentary, a classic or a Seth Rogan [sic] vehicle, I am always excited about seeing something that my friends love.
First off, I’d pay $30,000 to see Gwyneth perform any rap song…an extra $20K if she does it with Blythe Danner and the song is “California Love.” The lesson learned? You build your brand online, it has to be accessible, but it also has to be believable. — Andrew
Tags
- blogs - celebrities - Andrew - branding
Wed
Mar
4
Ok, that headline didn’t exactly work.
Anyway, Jack in the Box, purveyors of delicious burgers made from a meat-esque product, dove into the viral video deep end with this commercial that aired during the Superbowl. (Note: The Jack in the Box campaign is not realated to this VV powerhouse).
Here is how the video works (spoiler alert): Jack Box, founder of Jack in the Box, gets hit by a bus. The video then directs consumers to visit HangInThereJack.com to see a series of videos about the state of his health. They also have a Twitter feed (sample tweet: “Jack just got the best hommade ‘glad you made it out of your coma’ card ever”), a Facebook page (sample comment: “stupidest marketing campaign ever”), and a place where consumers can post their well wishes.
They’ve engaged more than 4 million consumers, but is the campaign a success? Looks like advertising notables are split…some think that watching a brand image bite it might not equal bigger burger sales.
Though, it seems unfair that a bus would hit Jack, rather than that pretentious clown Ronald McDonald.
— Andrew
Tags
- Branding - advertising - viral - video - Facebook - Twitter - campaigns - social networks
Wed
Feb
11
Tags
- Alyssa - Twitter - branding
Tue
Jan
6
“ Too many people are obsessed with staying in the spotlight at the expense of doing what they do best. I think failure in personal branding comes from when you become more focused on being the brand (yes, I count speaking engagements in this column) and less focused on creative output. They’re different, you know. If that video blogger with a cult following can’t get beyond a single schtick, um, she’s going to crash and burn regardless of how much she pimps her ‘brand’ on Twitter.
Caroline McCarthy
Tags
- Alyssa - branding - Twitter
Yum Brands Offers Online Fitness Program
Yum Brands, which consists of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, A&W, and Long John Silver’s, has launched an online exercise program called the eFIT4Me tool, and is offering a free monthlong trial to customers.
The site offers customized exercise programs, shows eating patterns, recommends nutritional habits and includes goal tracking tools. Yum Brands started the site to coexist with its “Keep it Balanced” initiative.
Don’t worry, it’s OK to eat three fried fish sandwiches as long as you stick to the program.
-Maria
Tags
- Branding - maria - applications
Tue
Dec
30
WOM: Real People Win Deals, Corporate Blogs Spin Wheels
A new study found that 67% of consumers are likely to pass along information from an actual (“real live”) brand representative to other people, and 62% of them felt that information received from a brand representative was more valuable than advertising or promotional materials. This is why many of the successful brands on Twitter (including our own client @Travelzoo) are run by actual employees who let their personalities shine through.
—Alyssa (thanks, Josh!)
Tags
- Alyssa - WOM - Twitter - branding - M Booth
Sun
Oct
26
Pepsi is changing its logo for the 11th time in 110 years. The white band in the middle of the red-and-blue orb is supposed to evoke a smile for regular Pepsi, a grin for Diet Pepsi and a laugh for Pepsi Max. It’s going to take a while to get used to.
—Alyssa
Tags
- Alyssa - branding - marketing - advertising
