Leave Your Brand Feeling Refreshed

 By Jimmy Egeland, Creative Services Manager


What do some of the best brands have in common? At some point or another, they’ve all refreshed their identity. Even the classics like Shell, Coke and Ford—staples that are considered to be some of the most recognizable and consistent brands of the past century—all modified their looks to keep up with contemporary style. It may have been hard to notice the changes from year-to-year, but when looking at their logos from decades ago, the nuanced differences for even the champions of brand consistency are noticeable.

In honor of the brands that have been doing it right for so long, here are Vollmer’s top-five rebranding pitfalls to avoid. With these tips and a little luck, maybe your brand will be among the elite fifty years from now.

Misdiagnosing Your Branding Situation – Your logo was designed by your thirteen-year-old son…with Microsoft Paint. It looks like it should be hanging on the refrigerator, not anchoring your company’s identity. In this instance, a minor tweak here and there is not going to cut it. It’s time to embrace a branding overhaul. Put sentiment aside and compare your identity to the big dogs in the industry. Looking like a Chihuahua? Potential customers are going to think the same thing.

Rushing it – It’s December 23rd and you’re thinking “wouldn’t it be great if we started out the new year with a new logo?” Unless Santa has an elf that’s a whiz with Adobe Illustrator, you might want to adjust your timeline. Give yourself plenty of time for research, concepts, design, review and edits. Yes, that means planning! You may not have your new logo by New Year’s, but you’ll be much happier with the final product come Valentine’s day.

Copy & Paste – Brand X is the best thing since sliced bread. Their look is so hot right now. Why not just refresh your brand and do exactly what Brand X is doing and cash in on their success? Besides the whole copyright infringement thing, it’s always important to remember this: the tribute band is never as good as the original. Nobody’s buying tickets for Fred Zeppelin when Led Zeppelin is playing down the street. Understanding and embracing design trends is one thing, but xeroxing the Xerox logo is a no-no. Make your identity your own.

Mistaken Identity – Nothing says peaceful retirement village quite like grunge texture and bolded, neon pink font. Well, if it’s a retirement village for punk rockers. When choosing things like typeface, treatments and imagery, it’s important to embrace your industry and your target. First impressions are important and you don’t want your peaceful elderly community to be portrayed as a nonstop rock fest.

Moonlighting – Let’s face it—you are good at what you do. Part of being good at what you do is delegating what you aren’t good at to people who are. The logo refreshing process is no different and should be left to the pros. Does your input matter? Absolutely. Should you weigh in on important decisions? You bet. But when it comes down to the nuts and bolts, trust the creative people around you.

So now you have the inspiration and the tips on what to avoid. You’re ready to refresh your brand and embark on a new era of success. If you have a hiccup along the way or need any guidance, I’m just a call or email away. Good luck and enjoy that refreshing feeling. Jimmy@vollmerpr.com – 972-488-4790.

Got the Message? It Can Define Your Company and Your Brand!

by Tony Shelton, President Shelton and Caudle, a division of Vollmer Public Relations

If you’re in business, you ARE your brand.

So are your employees.  What each of you says and how you interact with others is an important part of what people know about your company.

Your brand is the whole set of impressions and reactions – often emotions, too – that people have to your product or company.  And it’s more than your logo, although that’s important. Reputation plays a definite role. (How do you react to seeing the letters B and P and that green flower/sunburst right now?)   

Your brand is the intangible sum of your company’s and/or products’ attributes.

Here’s a test.  Ask yourself what you say when somebody says: Tell me about your company.  Can you do it in less than 30 seconds?   Now ask a few employees to answer the same question and see how closely their responses match yours – or don’t.

Your company message has a huge impact on your brand. You only have 30 seconds, remember.    A good message tells current and prospective clients how what you do provides value to them. 

To get yourself started on your messaging, fill in these blanks:  “At (your company), we (what you do) for (your clients) so they can (clients’ objectives).”  (That’s your elevator speech.)

For example:  “Here at Acme Fun Supply, we provide affordable cotton candy machines to the leaders in the carnival industry, so they can met their sales targets in providing treats for kids and their parents.”

Also, make sure your messaging is up to date. It could be time to refresh your brand. If your main business once was selling fax machines, you’ve probably changed your focus in the past few years. Your brand, including your messaging, should reflect that.  Just as important, you need to be telling people about that change every chance you get.

So should your employees, consistently.

Right now, go ask your employees what they’re saying about the company.  But first, be sure and ask yourself!   

Capitalizing on a Brand

by Helen Vollmer, CEO Vollmer Public Relations

In Tuesday’s New York Times, writer Stuart Elliott notes that many of the big mealtime packaged foods companies that we all knew in the Mad Men days have made a branding comeback. Seems that the Kellogg’s, Kraft’s and Jif’s of the world are sustaining, and in some cases, increasing their advertising buys. All I can say is hooray!

As someone who cut their teeth working on brands like Coca-Cola, Kinney Shoes, Pentel Pens and Borden’s, the fact that Americans are going back to basics and actually spending time at home and cooking in their own kitchens is really pretty wonderful. Of course, the foodie in me felt gut punched on learning of Gourmet’s demise, so clearly all is not well in the land of Madison Avenue media spends.

With that said, as these brands come back to life and into the mainstream, who wants to bet that we’ll be seeing more of them via mobile phone promotions, YouTube, and at tailgate sampling events? Oh yes, and on blogs like this one that celebrate how PR initiatives have always been and continue to be a cornerstone of brand building. Anyone want a Swanson TV dinner topped with a Betty Crocker cupcake for dinner?

Vollmer Video Series: Branding in this Economy

Vollmer Public Relations Dallas GM Denisha Stevens talks about the importance of branding in the current economy.

Are You Following Me?

by Mary Kate Smither, Vollmer Public Relations

At the end of July, millions of tweeters logged into their Twitter accounts and noticed a decrease, sometimes significant, in followers. For once, a drop was positive, as Twitter took measures to eliminate spam accounts and correct data inconsistencies. When I noticed the drop of about 40 followers from my account @mksmither and discovered the reason it brought to mind a question we often receive when working with clients to help them engage in Twitter: “How do I know if the people following me are the ‘right’ people and how do I attract them as followers?”

This is an excellent question as we strive every day to make sure that our efforts impact upon the correct audiences to achieve measurable, successful results that will help meet our clients’ end goals. Luckily, there are some simple ways to help make sure you’ve got the right followers. First, make sure you’re following the right people that fall within your brand’s target audiences. This can be done easily enough just by using Twitter’s advanced search capability that allows you to search by keywords, hashtags, people, places, etc. Other services, like Twellow, which acts as a yellow pages for Twitter, offer lists of Twitter users broken down by industry and topic. In addition to using tools such as these, here are some questions to ask yourself that can help determine whether or not the people following you are the right targets to help further spread your messages.

• How often do they tweet?
• How often do they tweet about topics similar to the issues surrounding your brand?
• How often do they retweet your tweets or ask you questions that engage about your brand?
• Who are their followers, and how many of them are common to your followers?

Looking to take your Twitter feed to the next level? Contact Mary Kate Smither, Vollmer’s social media practice leader, at marykate@vollmerpr.com or 972.488.4790.

Santa's Got a Brand New Bag

by Denisha Stevens, VOLLMER Dallas/Dayna Steele, VOLLOCITY Editor

Strong brands evolve and change as trends and consumers change. Since Rudolph had recently gone through a rebranding effort, and with the holidays fast approaching, Mrs. Claus and the elves decided it was time to follow suit and give the Santa brand a bit of a refresh.

Where to turn? VOLLMER’s positioning and branding experts, of course!

So, we took the Polar Express and secretly headed to the North Pole to meet with the big man himself for a branding workshop in Santa’s private conference room. Flip charts and ideas were flying. And while we can’t tell all (we don’t want the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy to know all our secrets), the VOLLMER group’s SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis quickly pointed out that Santa has been violating some key branding guidelines:

· Be consistent. The client goes by Santa, Santa Claus and Old Saint Nick, just to name a few. It would be helpful if the jolly guy would pick one name and stick to it. Also, there are too many shades of red being used in his logo. The elves need to put out a graphic standards manual right away.

· Define your brand personality. What does Santa stand for these days? Is he big, sweet, round and jolly? Or, is he hip, cool and connected and wants to be Paris Hilton’s new BFF or the next Dancing with the Stars contestant? Should he play up his speed and amazing ability to make reindeer fly? Whichever it is, Santa needs to pick a lane.

· Deliver on your brand promise. Over the years kids have come to expect great things from Santa and it’s hard to live up to all of the hype. Our research shows that he’s been a little late making his rounds to deliver goodies. We think he could improve his delivery times by investing in a few more reindeer. Also, he needs a Blackberry to help him maintain his list of who has been naughty or nice.

After a lunch break VOLLMER shifted gears and brainstormed suggestions for updating Santa’s image. Some of the Vollmervillians’ suggestions included:

· Lindsay Stout, VOLLMER Dallas To keep up with the times, Santa should be accepting e-mails, Facebook messages and Tweets from Twitter to track wish list requests. He also needs a branded email such as - ivebeengoodthisyear@claus.com

· Lori Martin, VOLLMER Houston Santa really needs to consider promoting a healthy lifestyle. He needs to get in shape and set a good example for children.

· Kim Tillinghast, VOLLMER Austin Everyone who is anyone has a New York Times best-selling memoir. Santa should let the world know the real story behind the beard, and - naturally - work with his publicist to ensure a spot on Oprah's Book Club list.

· Nicole Buckley, VOLLMER New York City There's a lot to be said for a man who has been around technically since the 4th century and who remains a household name to this day regardless of religious/cultural beliefs. And it's nice that we have at least one "person/mythical figure" who will always reward good behavior and remind us that common courtesy to others is never lost. However, there are some instances where Santa is in need of an update. Because Santa's main audience is children still, I think that's where the re-branding focus should remain. Children are becoming more tech savvy at a younger age than ever before. So, let's create a space on the computer where young children (with the aid of parents) can go online, upload their Christmas list and letter to Santa. That way Santa has less wait time for the list which will then increase toy production in a more timely fashion. Another way to stay connected with the children is to attach a GPS to the sleigh so children all around the world know where he is and how much time they have before he arrives at their house.

· Dayna Steele, VOLLOCITY Editor I can’t say it enough. Black is the new red.

· Alyson Gomez VOLLMER Dallas What if he enlisted a posse of multicultural Santas to help him out? Jewish Santa, Kwanza Santa, etc. This could be interesting because it would mean that his brand would be spread out throughout the year instead of just around the Christmas season. And he really should consider a blog for the elves.

· Tony Shelton, Shelton & Caudle Training & Crisis Counsel Given the state of the economy, Santa could benefit from having a crisis communication plan tucked away in his sleigh. Anything that affects Santa will be news. Not only is he a celebrity, but he’s seasonal and that’s always an attractive news peg. Were Santa’s reindeer to fall through a “blue tarp” damaged roof, for example, Anderson Cooper likely would fly in for on-the-scene coverage. To save his reputation, Santa would need to act quickly. Issuing a statement reinforcing his commitment to serving children around the world and demonstrating action through flying in reserve reindeer and expressing concern for the wellbeing of those reindeer who may have been injured would be essential. Through such quick action, Santa surely would be able to, not just protect his reputation for compassion and on-time delivery, but actually enhance the Santa brand. Godspeed, Jolly Old Saint Nick!

· Mauren M. Kunz, VOLLMER Houston In this day and age of being environmentally conscious, perhaps you should consider showing your “greener” side as part of your new rebranding campaign. You’ve been doing your part to be green for years by using pollutant free animals for your means of travel, where all byproducts are naturally recycled by the environment. I don’t know a single person in the entire world that can say they’ve traveled the globe without using any kind of pollutant – you’re unique, so make a big deal of it!

· Karen Marino, VOLLMER Dallas Santa should consider taking advantage of new technologies such as the Internet and Google maps for satellite images and real time tracking data.

· Peggy Hubble, VOLLMER Austin Tell your story! Have we forgotten the meaning of Santa and the holidays in the hustle and bustle of it all? Children (and the media) love stories of old. The customs and traditions of Christmas are rich in history, myth and culture. Get that story out there for children of all ages. Father Christmas is based on a real person - Nicholas was a Christian leader in the 4th century AD. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings.

· Helen Vollmer, VOLLMER Houston Why not look at new target market groups? Maybe the kiddos have had too much attention for too long from Santa. What about all of us grown-ups who could use a different kind of holiday greenery in this economic downturn? Santa, look to those who can help your brand grow the most!

Finally, after much deliberation a consensus was reached. Santa may need a few tweaks, but his overall brand remains strong as long as he stops giving out lumps of coal. So, while you may note a few changes this year in Santa’s image and his channels of distribution, branding done well takes time. You better watch out though, ‘cause VOLLMER is keeping our total Santa rebrand under wraps until 2009!

Ho, Ho, Ho . . . Happy Holidays to all (by the way, we’ve already gotten a call from the Seven Dwarves after they heard about our working with Santa)!