Friday, July 03, 2009
"i only bought a ford because of twitter."



Some people say trying to monetize Twitter is like trying to monetize the telephone (I tend to agree, mostly), but sometimes Twitter allows for stronger relationship and brand building. Seeing this tweet from Chris Lovett says it pretty succinctly.

And before you say "let's get our best intern on this," consider this post from Church of the Customer. Would you let an intern:
* Man your customer service line?
* Be your receptionist?
* Be your spokesperson to the Wall Street Journal?
* Be the main contact for your most talkative customers?
Is your presence on Twitter creating future tweets like the one from Chris Lovett? Could it?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:37 AM   0 comments



Wednesday, July 01, 2009
teens love events



A new study by Fuse Marketing and University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that teens see event sponsorship as adding credibility to a brand. Even more interesting - according to this survey, teens still know what "radio" is. Hmmmm.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM   0 comments



Friday, June 26, 2009
the story of a logo



Matchstic produced a gorgeous video about their exploration of a new logo for The Tabernacle. What a beautiful look into the process of identity design and an outstanding demonstration of the talent over at Matchstic. Pure awesomeness.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:14 AM   0 comments



Wednesday, June 24, 2009
confirmed: brandflakes is the best blog ever



There's a new chart in town, and we like it lots. Mostly because they put Brand Flakes For Breakfast as the #11 blog of all the blogs about branding. And the #6 blog based on unique visitors (!!) but you can visit the list to learn about lots of other really cool (but slightly less awesome) blogs around the industry and around the world.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:21 AM   1 comments



Monday, June 22, 2009
syfy brings free wyfy to nyc



Broadcasting and Cable has a nice overview of the new brand launch for SyFy, The SciFi channel makeover.

The majority of their efforts will center in NYC, (SyFy City?) and include year-long free WyFy at Union Square and Times Square, an interactive Imagination Park at Rockefeller Center and a presenting sponsorship of the Museum of Modern Art's Tim Burton retrospective in November.

They had me at free wyfy. From Steve Lettieri.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM   0 comments



Tuesday, June 16, 2009
best wedding invite you've ever seen



Who says wedding invitations need to look like what everyone expects wedding invitations to look like? Wouldn't they be better if they represented the "brand essence" of the couple getting hooked? Wouldn't they be better still if they told the story of the relationship?

You have to click through and read the story of Jill and Matt, and see the most awesome wedding invitation that you've laid your eyes on. We need to meet this couple.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM   1 comments



Thursday, June 11, 2009
how your sneaks got their names



(And guess what - Adidas doesn't stand for "all day i dream about soccer.")

The Wall Street Journal reports on how your favorite sneakers got their names. Because that's what you count on from the Wall Street Journal. Hard-hitting pop culture and fashion history.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:40 AM   2 comments



Tuesday, June 09, 2009
what your brand could learn from a hotel



The new ACE Hotel in NYC is like a textbook of brand awesomeness. NOTCOT has a really delicious pictorial that illustrates how ACE really, really, really understands the brand experience.

It's like they designed everything, and then walked through the entire place and examined every object, thinking "how could this be a part of the brand experience?"

If you are even remotely associated with anything branding, you have to check this out.

You could do the same with your brand. Have you really evaluated each and every single little thing that your client's see? Touch? Experience? How could they be more true to your brand?

(And yes, I would totally borrow one of those coat hangers.)

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:57 AM   0 comments



Friday, June 05, 2009
just a few reasons your brand should be using social media



Our friend CK gives you a boatload of reasons why you should be using social media. "Because everyone else is" isn't even on the list.

Use this list to create a killer PowerPoint presentation and impress your coworkers and your boss. You'll be the hit of the office. And then everyone will talk about you behind your back. And then they'll resent you after you get the big promotion. But it's ok, because you'll be able to lay them off. All of this is possible...with social media.

(photo has absolutely no relevance to this post, and is for your enjoyment only. Plaid employee RJ is really good with the margaritas, and he wanted you to know.)

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:22 AM   0 comments



Thursday, June 04, 2009
let your employees be themselves



If you needed just one more thing to convince you that Zappos owns customer service like nobody else in the business, here's a fun story. A story about a boy named Timmy, who needs a watch. Cute.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:05 AM   0 comments



Monday, June 01, 2009
facebook with your name on it



At some point this week, Facebook will begin to allow vanity urls. So you could finally put Facebook.com/YourBrandHere in your ads. This was something that was previously only available to brands with enough dough to pay megabucks, or to the personal friends of people inside Facebook.

Watch for the announcement some time this week, and then rush to get the url of your choice.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM   0 comments



Thursday, May 14, 2009
how to launch a brand to entrepreneurs.



WOW. This is how you do a brand launch. GotVMail just rebranded their service as Grasshopper (read about why here.)

Grasshopper provides an "advanced" phone number for entrepreneurs.
They needed to do three things: Identify their audience, create an inspiring message and then get that message out. They've scored on all three:

1. Audience: Entrepreneurs. Duh.
2. Message: They launched a campaign site. They've lead with a message inspiring entrepreneurs that they can do anything. Which of course ties wonderfully to the fact that they provide a service that helps entrepreneurs do anything.
3. Get the message out: Grasshopper sent 5000 chocolate covered grasshoppers to media. Yeah - real grasshoppers. Covered in chocolate. (Some people think they're delicious.) Look for a post later where Plaid employees give the grasshoppers a taste. Did it get our attention? You bet. This post is proof. And the subsequent grasshopper tasting, the tweeting about the grasshopper tasting and any posts that follow? Bonus.

Nice job, Grasshopper.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:12 AM   3 comments



Tuesday, May 05, 2009
what works on facebook



Appdata charts the most successful applications on Facebook.

News from the Herd has some interesting observations. First and foremost - the lack of any branded applications at the top of the leaderboard. Likely because most of the branded apps are intrusive, brand-in-your-face type applications that aren't providing real value to their users.

Herd suggests three routes to the creation of a successful application:

1. Produce addictive but simple to use games that don’t force ad messaging down users throats
2. Give them a way to organise their lives, and/ or:
3. Provide them with mildly competitive ‘social comparison’ tools vs their friends.

Here's what's cool: the rules haven't entirely changed. Things that provide value will always succeed over things that don't. What can your brand do to provide value to its fans, users and Facebook friends?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM   0 comments



Monday, May 04, 2009
when good logos get messy



Speaking of plane graphics...

Logo Design Love has put together a fantastic collage featuring all of the Virgin brands.

While the hand-written Virgin mark remains intact with each subsidiary, what they've added to it varies wildly. And when put together, feels pretty messy and inconsistent.

Yet Virgin doesn't come across as a sloppy, disheveled brand. As Logo Design Love says, "your logo is not your brand."

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:20 AM   0 comments



Friday, April 10, 2009
your business card is crap



Yes, this guy kisses himself in the mirror every morning, and then takes a picture. And he wrote the book on "A type" personalities. And, no, you probably don't want to hang with him - but oh boy, his advice on business cards is pretty good.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:20 AM   3 comments



Monday, March 30, 2009
betty crocker: faces of evil?



Advertising Is Good For You points to a post showing the story behind ten famous food logos.

It fun to see the history of the Morton Salt girl or Betty Crocker. I never realized how scary and uninspiring Mrs. Crocker was. With the exception of the 1965 Betty, I might hesitate accepting a cupcake from the others. Especially 1986 Betty. Pretty sure she's just a robot sent here from the future, to kill us.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:49 AM   0 comments



Monday, March 23, 2009
the right way to protect your brand



Pass this onto your PR firm, to your Brand Manager, to your legal team. Caleb Kramer writes about how awesomely Burger King handled the brand jacking of their brand on Twitter. While a company like Snickers does just the opposite and fails. Yummy.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:03 AM   0 comments



Friday, March 13, 2009
will you send this link to 100 friends, if i give to charity?



There's some real interesting discussion going on at Brian Morrissey's blog about the Tide promotion that took place earlier this week. A handful of agency type people were asked to come to the P&G offices, and in a true Jerry Lewis style tweetathon, reached out to their networks in an attempt to sell t-shirts. $6 from every $20 t-shirt went to a charity.

You can see all of the tweets, captured with the hashtag #pgdigital.

Sounds pretty cool? They raised about $40 - $50K for a charity. And people were talking about Tide. Not everyone thinks so. Some consider the tactic nice wrapping paper for pay-per-post. It is a little scary to think of our Twitter streams clogged with brands spamming for attention. And donations.

This clearly illustrates that the rules are still being written. That there's no "proven way to use social media" to market your brand - regardless of what the social media "experts" may tell you.

And the one thing that still wins EVERY TIME - is great content. Want to let the the social media masses spread the word? Don't wrap it in charity. Don't pay people to talk about it. Give them something awesome, that they want to share.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:30 AM   0 comments



Thursday, March 12, 2009
meet saul colt.



Saul is one smart dude. And he's got a pretty cool business tip that is especially appropriate while we're in the middle of this depressacession. A tip that's so simple, and yet so powerful that it could have your customers loving you forever.

We suggest you find a way to work this into your brand plan, your life plan and general way of doing business. Just follow Saul's advice, and you can be spectacular, amazing and wonderful. It's easy.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:48 AM   1 comments



Tuesday, March 10, 2009
it's good for you that big brands are getting social



There's a great post on Mashable about why it's cool for all of us that big brands are using social media. Read the list and you'll realize just how much business has changed - and will continue to change in the foreseeable future.

Transparency = quality product = stories = relationships = community. Nice.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:17 AM   0 comments



Thursday, March 05, 2009
how p&g rocks through tough times



BrandGymBlog points out how P&G is planning to rock the house during the depressacession. For those too lazy to click through, here's the hot three tips:

1. Cut costs, not corners.
2. Follow the money.
3. Steal share of voice to help steal share

Of course you'll have no idea what those bullets mean without reading the BrandGymBlog. So now you have to click through. Go ahead. We'll be right here. (Oh, and aren't the toilet paper bears cute??)

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:16 AM   0 comments



Wednesday, March 04, 2009
what's awesome about the economy tanking



Sure, you might lose your job. Your bank may fail. There won't be a car dealership left in your town. But there will be AWESOME retail shopping.

Retail Design Diva predicts that one of the good things to come from the down economy is that real estate will be cheaper. And successful brands will leverage that to make sure their locations are destinations. Plenty of room for fantastic design, awesome branding and whoah factor.

Two recent examples: the new Diesel, and Armani stores, both with new flagships on Fifth Ave. Screw retirement. Let's shop.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM   0 comments



Thursday, February 19, 2009
films using the internet for fun and profit



Some people in Hollywood are really starting to get it. There's a couple of new films that have totally harnessed the power of the internets to produce as much online entertainment as on the screen.

Coraline should be written as the new case study in blogger outreach and online promotion. If their blogger boxes weren't enough...there's the Bobinsky blog (Thanks, Liz!) And the Bobinsky calls your friends site. Or see your name in mice.

And there's the new Terminator movie. They've already launched the site for Skynet Research (thanks, Michael!) and the movie hasn't even finished shooting!

What's working:
+ Building buzz looong in advance of release
+ Multiple online properties (one microsite is no longer a healthy promotion)
+ Giving people the tools to use things in their own way
+ Specific promotions geared to the multiple audiences

How could you do the same with your brand?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM   1 comments



Monday, February 02, 2009
alternatives to the superbowl logo



Now that it's all over, do you remember what the SuperBowl logo looked like? The NY Times explores some alternatives to Superbowl logo design. From John Nack.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:08 AM   0 comments



Friday, January 30, 2009
friday flakes superbowl episode



Here's a special SuperBowl episode of Friday Flakes! Today's Friday Flakes is hosted by Justus, RJ and Darryl.

In this week's episode, we talk about:
+ A photoshoot at Plaid, for a profile at ConnCreatives
+ Plaid's snowday, earlier in the week
+ Sara defies death by eating peanut butter crackers

We chat about the "big game" coming up this weekend:
+ Who would win, if the game were based on brand essence?
+ How ridiculous of a team the Cardinals are, based on branding
+ Which ads we're stoked to see

We talk about how to watch the Superbowl:
+ With Twitter hashtags on Adrants
+ With your Twitter friends
+ Or with 3D glasses

Happy Superbowl from FridayFlakes!

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 11:37 AM   4 comments



Wednesday, January 28, 2009
when i was a kid, gi joes were dolls



OK, maybe they were action figures. But they weren't anything as kick ass as these posters for the new GI Joe Rise of the Cobra video game.

This is a total badass re-branding of GI Joe. Smart move, to capitalize on the brand recognition yet updated to today's gaming universe. Oh - and bonus - they've included badass female GI Joe's, too!

The Boy Scouts of America should hire the agency that did these, and rebrand themselves as adventure dudes.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM   1 comments



Monday, January 26, 2009
time for a new pair of chucks



There's a great piece on PostAdvertising about branding and the power of Chuck Taylors, the iconic sneakers worn by the cool kids.

Maybe this is just an excuse to write about sneakers. Or maybe Richard Parker is onto something when it comes to brands representing individuals. Whatever it is, we're inspired to go get a new pair of Chucks.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM   0 comments



Thursday, January 22, 2009
brands that get it, on twitter



What?? Your boss hasn't allocated sixty katrillion dollars to a social media marketing campaign?? She doesn't believe that brands are using it? Mashable is here to save the day, with a profile of 40 brands that are rocking Twitter to the best of their ability.

They've profiled each of the brands, and had them answer a handful of questions...in 140 characters or less, of course. Send it to your boss, and then ask for a raise.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM   2 comments



Monday, January 19, 2009
jetblue gets sued.



Agency friend Bill Baker had a bad experience flying JetBlue. He was basically left stranded in Portland, Oregon. And so, he started a blog.

Long story short, Bill Baker decided to take JetBlue to court. He sued them in small claims court, to prove a point. And he won.

Airlines are one of the few industries that continue to treat customers like crap - and social media will not reflect nicely on this practice. It's time to put the policy manuals away and start running customer-centric businesses. Or we'll see you in court.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:40 AM   0 comments



Wednesday, January 14, 2009
all of the u.s. logos in one place



What the United States of logos looks like. And Joe Rib has an excellent point: Connecticut is the lamest of them all. Perhaps the tagline should read: We blend in. Or we could send them back to England where ugly logos are in style.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:44 AM   3 comments



Thursday, January 08, 2009
get your customers drunk and they'll say nice things



How many times have you been producing new content for your site, your sales collateral, or your parole hearing and you just needed a handful of testimonials saying how great you/your company/your brand are?

Instead of having the copywriter craft something just perfect (and fake) that your client then gives you permission to use - why not throw a testimonial party?

Duct Tape Marketing points to an outstanding idea for gathering compliments about your brand. A Testimonial Gathering Party. This is a grand idea for so many small to mid-size businesses.

Clients spread across the world? No problem. Throw the party at your next industry conference. What a great excuse to get everyone together, get them all drunk, and to agree on the best thing to ever exist in the entire world: you.

(photo from the Plaid tour - at a stop in Silicon Valley, where we bought a bunch of tech/social media geeks some tasty beer)

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:53 AM   2 comments




spend more now.

Ads on Edge

If your boss just cut your marketing budget because we're in a recession/depression/end-of-all-times, slap him in the face with this sweet presentation from The Economist.

There's a handful of slides toward the middle that trash online spending inappropriately (this is to sell print advertising, after all), but the rest is spot on great thinking.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:35 AM   1 comments



Wednesday, January 07, 2009
the changing face of free



Stop and Shop has launched an interesting promotion. They're giving away FREE antibiotic prescriptions.

What a fantastic way to do a great thing. This will certainly drive traffic to the store - but it's also making a statement in the neighborhood: we care.

People lost interest in balloons, pens, poorly-designed baseball hats and other FREE crapola years ago. Offering something of value to customers who are sick is a refreshing approach.

If you were just prescribed meds and got them for free, wouldn't you remember the brand that made that possible? What could you do for free that has actual value?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:00 AM   1 comments



Tuesday, January 06, 2009
fun pirate products



Girls have been toting swap meet Louis Vuitton and Coach bags forever. And bootleg manufacturers have been crafting sophisticated knock offs that are many times difficult to differentiate from the genuine brands.

Well, here's something different: Pirate products that are almost like the original brands, yet far enough away that they're hilarious. Like Pmua sneakers. What any true pirate wears to dinner.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:49 AM   0 comments



Monday, January 05, 2009
a photo tour of your mall



If you did any shopping over the holiday break, you undoubtedly experienced the same thing that Guy Kawasaki did. Only he documented his shopping trip with some photos. This is the ultimate picture tour and brand lesson all in one trip - just be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom...

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:50 AM   1 comments




your savings in vegas



What if investing in stocks was a little bit like going to Vegas? Oh....wait a minute....Well, Stereo Hell has taken that full tilt, and re-branded some popular financial services companies as Las Vegas entities. Yeah, baby!

Found on Urban Outfitters.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM   0 comments



Tuesday, December 30, 2008
donuts are on twitter. are you?



Even now, after like six examples a day, you're still unsure of what your brand could be doing on Twitter?

Here's another great piece about how companies are using the tool to help their brands. This post talks to Dunkin' Dave (Dunkin Donuts), Scott Monty (Ford Motors), Tony Hsieh (Zappos) and other professional Tweeters to profile how they've used Twitter to help their brands. (In the land of the future, we'll be able to deliver donuts through tweets. Mmmmm.)

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:05 AM   0 comments



Monday, December 29, 2008
what you can learn from a rented dvd



Chris Brogan writes about how he was inspired after watching the special features portion of the Iron Man DVD. He sums up how success can be reached by achieving three layers: vision, creation and execution.

He's onto something. Every successful director needs to communicate his vision to hundreds (if not thousands) of people involved in the production process. And if that process is going to work, then the creation and execution have to be aligned with his/her vision. Not an easy feat.

There's a great lesson here for any leader of any organization, team, or brand, large or small. Check out Chris' post, and the enlightening discussion in the comments over at his blog.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:34 AM   0 comments



Tuesday, December 23, 2008
what kind of jeans are you wearing?



This is Herd points to an interesting study that classifies two forms of personality measurement - avoidance and anxiety. Depending on how you fit into either category, you'll react to brands differently.

They've cited the jeans that people choose as an example:
"Anxious individuals who were more avoidant of relationships tended to choose Abercrombie jeans, which were perceived to be more exciting than sincere. In contrast, anxious individuals who seek intimacy in relationships were more likely to pick Gap jeans, which were perceived as more sincere than exciting."

This is some interesting reading, and further proof that your sociology classes have more to do with branding than any advertising class. Coworker Justus contemplates this information, above.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:16 AM   1 comments



Monday, December 08, 2008
microsoft: our fashion is cooler than our operating system



As a part of the new Crispin, Porter & Bogusky campaign for Microsoft, they're producing apparel. T-shirts. Like old school, looks-like-vintage designs. The line is called "Softwear by Microsoft" and hits select stores on December 15.

It's possible that some snarky Microsoft non-lovers might sport these, in true ironic style. And then the brand becomes just .05% cooler to those that see it. Proof that changing brand perception is a long haul, and that you need to do more than ads.

I like:
+ That Crispin is thinking beyond the obvious brand campaigns.

I'm confused:
+ T-shirts? Will it make your computer actually work, or easier to use?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:00 AM   1 comments



Monday, November 17, 2008
motrin's mommy mess



On Friday, Motrin launched a new campaign geared toward mommies, that referred to "baby wearing" as a trend that could could cause them personal pain. Lots of mommies disagree. And they started talking about it. And tweeting about it. And blogging about it. You could say that this weekend was Motrin-mommy-fest in the social media world.

There's a video devoted to the distaste for the campaign. A collection of tweets and links related to the distaste for the campaign. And countless blog posts. And as of the writing of this post - THEIR SITE IS DOWN, likely because it wasn't prepared to handle the onslaught of traffic.

So what did Motrin do wrong? They launched a creative execution that pissed some moms off. And they weren't listening to the internet over the weekend.

Realistically, no person's life is at stake here. This is not a 'stop the organization' emergency. But it's going to be very important to listen. And to respond.

Parents tell their teens that "the internet is permanent. Be careful of what you post there." Here's just one list of negative blog posts about Motrin. That's a permanently recorded negative response from a very large crowd of moms. Yikes. It will be quite interesting to see how Motrin deals with this, during the week.

In the end, what people will likely remember is how they handled it. Not the campaign itself, or the fact that they didn't have their Twitter ears on over a weekend.

What can you learn from this?
+ Be active in social media. Or have an agency that is monitoring it for you.
+ Social media doesn't stop at 5pm on Friday.
+ Have an emergency plan, or the ability to respond quickly to an audience. A blog is nice for this.
+ Mommies really enjoy 'wearing' babies.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:53 AM   3 comments



Wednesday, October 29, 2008
cigarettes in plain packages



Here's an interesting post about a proposed plan to eliminate all branding from cigarettes. Weird. And strangely reminiscent of the "Generic Brand" consumer products wave of the 1980's.

Even as an aggressive non-smoker - this seems harsh. What if all "bad" products were de-branded? Liquor, BigMacs, Donuts?

Maybe we could put them all together in Bad Stores and there would be Bad Super Centers. Maybe there would even be a Bad Mall. Perhaps Target could open up a Bad division. From Quipsologies.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:17 AM   1 comments



Friday, October 17, 2008
ultimate brand love



Account Executive on the Popeye's account? Fast food chains tagging their best work? Words cannot express.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:10 AM   1 comments




obama wins.



The Web Marketing Association has reviewed both the John McCain and Barack Obama websites, and Obama wins. Hands down.

I wonder if things might have been different, if they included the PalinAsPresident site. Thanks Giuli!

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:04 AM   1 comments



Tuesday, October 14, 2008
hooray for design



Brandon writes an excellent post on Make Design, Not War on how important design is for brands during this economic crisis. That is, if there still is an economic crisis (didn't they turn that thing off yesterday?)

Donuts have absolutely nothing at all to do with this post, but I thought you deserved a yummy image to kick start your morning. Enjoy. From FoundryDesign, via Twitter

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:27 AM   0 comments



Tuesday, October 07, 2008
not breastfeeding? need advice? ask a carpenter.



Ty Pennington, a shouting carpenter, is now the spokesperson for the next best thing to breast milk: Similac. Does that seem odd to anyone else?

Sure, mom's love hot carpenters just like guys love hot Axe girls. But products like beer and Axe attempt to persuade guys that their products will get them hotties. The hotties are a perceived benefit of the product. (Coworker Dave wears Axe, and he's surrounded by hotties all the time. It definitely works.)

Pretty sure that fake breast milk won't do the same for your neighborhood hot carpenter. And Similac isn't even making that claim. They're positioning the shouting carpenter as someone you can trust. Because before you pour any liquid down the gullet of your offspring, who would you turn to for advice? Your mom? Your doctor? Another mom? Nope. A shouting carpenter.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:34 AM   4 comments



Thursday, October 02, 2008
50 brands for 50 years of branding



The Marketing Society is celebrating a 50 year anniversary, and so they're doing it with brands. They've selected 50 of the most iconic brands that shone most brightly in each of the last 50 years.

Pick your birthday, your anniversary or the year that you tell everyone you were born in. And then check out the brand that they've chosen to associate with that year. A really good trip through brand history.

From Matt Noreen, via Twitter.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:53 AM   0 comments



Wednesday, October 01, 2008
sprint: using social media for good



While on our company's summer promotional tour, we utilized Sprint's mobile USB cards for the majority of our internet connectivity in the van. Fantastic service.

The first day of the tour had us crossing the border to Canada, and of course we utilized our internet cards for the 20 or so hours we spent over the border. To our surprise, we recently received an invoice for the "roaming" charges while in Canada. OVER ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS per card, for less than 24 hours of internet service.

Laughing at the absurdity, I called Sprint customer service. Yes - you've undoubtedly been in this situation yourself before. The sticking to the scripts, the time on hold, the ratcheting up to a supervisor, the sticking to the scripts, the time spent on hold again, etc. The call ended with a supervisor indicating "that's the plan that we agreed to, and the charges were fair."

Not happy with paying $1000/day for internet, I tweeted about the experience, as I prepared a blistering blog post in my head. Here's the awesome part: SPRINT WAS LISTENING. (Not to the blog post in my head. They were monitoring Twitter.)

Justin Goldsborough sent me a tweet, (having seen mine on a Twitter search for the word "Sprint"), asking if everything was taken care of. We connected, I explained our situation, and he brought it to someone's attention.

A day later, I received a call from John Crowdis, from their executive and regulatory services department. Within minutes, John looked at the situation (as a human, without a script or robot decision making tools), and realized this wasn't fair. He reduced the invoice on the spot. To our satisfaction.

That's how you use social media to create customer evangelists. You don't need silly campaigns. You don't need fictional characters tweeting. Just real people, listening, connecting and providing human to human interaction.

Will we use Sprint on next year's tour? You bet.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:09 AM   7 comments



Monday, September 29, 2008
wamu website needs a bailout







Mergers and acquisitions aren't only fun for the employees. They're also a gas for your website visitors! BoingBoing documents the Wamu website before the merger, at some point midway, and what it looks like today. Sloppy, unsettling and ugly.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM   0 comments



Friday, September 26, 2008
a brand through history



Here's an absolutely beautiful spot for Hovis Bread. What a grand way to illustrate a brand's history. From Daring Fireball.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:29 AM   0 comments



Tuesday, September 23, 2008
everything you ever needed to know about marketing



There are countless lists of the most popular blogs, the top blogs, the best blogs. Blah, blah, blah. Spotlight Ideas actually created something useful. The top 250 advertising, marketing and media posts. Not blogs - but posts. Things that maybe you could learn something from. Think of it as a free college course. Or a really good book. Start at the top and just work your way down.

Geez, that dude Seth Godin is pretty popular. We're surprised that our post about the dancing Ronald McDonald didn't make the list. That's marketing gold.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:05 AM   0 comments



Monday, September 22, 2008
entrepreneurs: start your brand here



One of the most difficult things for a startup (other than getting cash) is building a brand identity. Coming up with a good name, a strong identity and finding a url that's available.

Greg Verdino points to a pretty cool tool that makes it a lot easier. IncSpring is a site that sells brands. Pre-created, pre-designed, and some even come with the url ready to go. At reasonable rates, too - most are a couple of thousand dollars - which is less than many design firms would charge for the same quality work. That's affordable for a small business.

Even better - the public can vote on their favorite brands. So you can get a sense of what's good before you commit. I like HotCocktail. That would be a sweet name for an agency, an apparel company, or of course a bar. Or an identity. You should just rename yourself HotCocktail right now, and insist that all of your friends refer to you as such.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM   3 comments



Wednesday, September 17, 2008
we're going to make this as difficult as possible...



There's more qualifiers in this JetBlue ad than exist in many pharma ads. Completely off brand for the airline that otherwise prides itself on simplicity and 'easy'. The "restrictions apply" note at the end almost feels like a joke. Really??

There's an old advertising rule: If you can't explain it to your mom, simplify the concept. Seems like the copy from this new $50 coupon from JetBlue might have benefited from this thinking.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:25 AM   1 comments



Monday, September 15, 2008
some logo redesigns that work



Logo Design Love features ten successful logo redesigns. My fave is the BusinessWeek identity. There are quite a few that didn't make the list - but regardless, it's a good lesson in what works for brand identity, and how things change.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM   0 comments



Friday, September 12, 2008
how to do halloween



Agency friend Casey IM'd me yesterday with details about the most awesomely engaging marketing campaign that you've ever seen.

He's done such an excellent job describing the campaign, that I've just pasted our entire IM conversation for you to enjoy (it's long, but worthy of every word):

Casey:
so this is their annual halloween event, this is like the 18th year i think. their site has usually been a flash game sort of thingie.
this year it was a doctor's office where you could read a case book, with a new case being added every week since july
ultimately each case was one of the haunted house themes, based around a fear
each case featured photos, an audio recording of the doctor, case notes and other goodies and the date aug 27, 1958 all over the place on aug 27 a matchbook appeared on the doctor's desk that said "kitty kat club, 7 pm"
kitty kat club is an actual place at universal, so some die hard fans went down there and found 2 things:

1) was the office of private detective who was sending e-mails out (if you signed up for the list) with a for rent sign and a phone number on it
2) was a group of paranormal ghost hunter actors handing out fliers in front of the club

the phone number was the detective's answering machine, but the phone is picked up by the doctor who then proceeds to say really really creepy stuff over top of music box music

the paranormal group told people they'd be entering the old doctor's office, which has been closed for 50 years, at around 8 pm
on the nose a cell phone appears on the doctor's desk on the site, which has a phone message from the group saying they hvae located the office, are preparing to enter and expect to send another transmission in an hour
and again, like clockwork two more messages on the phone including a photo of the haunted house's fascade (which somehow hasn't leaked even though all the other house fascades have) and another which is some information about them going in the office at 11 to record video
mind you there is probably a VERY small group of people who would care to follow this, but we were following it intently
at 11 there is video of people entering a building, very dark and staticy, with a group of voices. they are attacked by something and that's the end of that.
at midnight they replace the entire site with another incredible flash site introducing the mascot, the television commercial and final information on the event

Darryl Ohrt:
HOLY CRAP. That's amazing.

Casey:
And they were texting people the whole time too, if you provided a cell number

Darryl Ohrt:
do you have link to the site?

Casey:
Halloweenhorrornights
If you check out the clock in the upper right hand corner you can see the other site, the doctor's office

(image featured above)
They bought 85 billboards in orlando alone. Those eyes light up and the Mary Mary Mary lights up in succession.

THANKS CASEY!

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:19 AM   1 comments



Wednesday, September 10, 2008
jj abrams understands engagement



Fringe, the new JJ Abrams scifi show premiered last night. A great show for sci fi/Abrams fans to be sure - but another Abrams lesson in content development for everyone else.

Old school content producers continue to struggle with how to incorporate the internets into their work. JJ Abrams has taken the same approach with all of his productions - and created a winning formula that gives his fans something else to consume, explore, and chat about. He gets that the "show" doesn't end at 10p eastern.

Last night's episode featured a company Massive Dynamic. Well of course, there's a Massive Dynamic website . And I'm sure there are countless hidden jems within the site for fans to discover.

Way to go, JJ. Are you extending your brand as far as you can?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:09 AM   0 comments



Wednesday, September 03, 2008
army: we kick hollister's ass




The Army is setting up shop in the mall. "A place for the American public to get educated about the Army and for us to show that the Army is very high-tech and relevant" says Army chief marketing officer Edward Walters.

This is smart. Really smart. They've thought about their target audience and set up shop where they're likely to be. They're presenting their message in a method that's less intimidating, and doesn't require a destination/special trip like the local recruitment center.

Next, they should feature giant photographs of shirtless army dudes, play the music really, really loud and turn the lights down. Kids will walk in looking for some Abercrombie cargos and walk out signed up four years.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:10 AM   2 comments



Monday, September 01, 2008
nike human race: the day after



Yesterday, NikePlus put together a pretty spectacular international event. The Human Race. It's reportedly the largest race in history, and inspired more people to run a 10K race together than ever before.

Here's why this was an awesome brand event:

+ Nike has influenced thousands - maybe hundreds of thousands of runners to run a race for the first time. That's something that many beginners never achieve. Runners will always remember their first race, and now these runners will associate their first with Nike. That's a lifetime brand memory.

+ They tied in charities. Most community races benefit charities, so it's awesome that they incorporated that element here too. Raises awareness, raises money, and everyone wins.

+ They did great promotion, education and inspiration prior to the event. An excellent job promoting the event on their brand properties. They provided training for those that have never run this distance before. And they inspired people to try.

+ When participants completed the race, they received a free training workout download. Nice touch - while promoting Nike audio products at the same time.

Here's some things that Nike should consider for future events:

+ Distribute race numbers to those running the race. Over a million runners. That means that the majority of them weren't running in some of the official race cities. This was a race run in the suburbs, in the country, and small towns across the globe. Many runners collect the race numbers for every race they enter - so it's a cool brand opportunity. I ran the race in the burbs, and saw several other runners who I assumed might be running the same race...but there was no way to know. (Not only that - but you'd be collecting your fans mailing addresses at the same time.)

+ Allow more social networking. Let runners meet with people in their own communities and run the race together. Give them the tool to let them connect.

+ Work the PR angle more aggressively. This was a massive event. Granted, the news was busy with the RNC and hurricane coverage, but this should have been on every news station's sportscast, and the winners should be handled by PR agents just like olympic stars.

+ Create more features with the run results. It's just data - so why not let the users view it in more ways? Let them view by town, by state, by age, and other criteria. This is the value of an interactive race - so why not leverage it to the full extent possible?

Did you run the race? How was your experience? What would you have done differently, from a branding perspective?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:16 AM   6 comments



Friday, August 29, 2008
sears: we don't understand you.



Profits at Sears fell 62%. A brand that's lost it's brand.

Their advertising has become a billboard to the world proclaiming "we're clueless about you, but will you shop here?"

Check out their print ad attempting to appeal to college students and gamers. So many inconsistencies that it would be impossible for this to connect with it's audience. A headline about "playing hard", while the student relaxes in a chair. A Sony Playstation game - yet the kid's using an Xbox controller.

A wonderous two page spread that screams: "We don't understand you." Maybe it's time they ask "who's our audience?" and really spend some time getting to know them - and defining the 'soul' of the Sears brand.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM   3 comments



Monday, August 25, 2008
new stop and shop identity is tasty



Stop and Shop got an identity face lift. It's cute. It's friendly. And it's fruity delicious. So much of an improvement over that stupid stop sign beast. It seems like the grocery industry is waking up to this whole branding thing, and starting to pay attention.

This would seem like a great post to include Piggly Wiggly, only because I enjoy saying their name outloud. But the Piggly Wiggly has nothing to do with this. Carry on.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:19 AM   1 comments



Friday, August 22, 2008
what works for fortune 500: blue



ToddAnd points to a collection of Fortune 500 logos. What do they all have in common? Blue.

Something we've seen over the years, at our agency:
+ Blue is the only color that most people don't hate.
+ People don't get emotional over blue.
+ Blue makes people comfortable.
+ Blue is the committee buster. It won't get dumped, if it has to be approved by multitudes of management teams.

Which may explain the prominence of the glorious comfort color in the collection above. What can blue do for you?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM   4 comments




when brands talk to their fans, it's like heaven.



Video game dude Levinator25 discovered a glitch in the Tiger Woods golf game that lets Tiger's character walk on water within the game. Levinator25 posted video of the glitch on YouTube and the glitch becomes something all fans of the game can enjoy.

EA Sports responds, with their own video (above), proving that Tiger can indeed walk on water. Awesome marketing response.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:28 AM   1 comments



Thursday, August 21, 2008
jet blue: schedules schmedules.



This hurts me to post. Because JetBlue was always one of those brands that I've loved, loved, loved. One of those brands that I've held up as an example to other brands, as someone we could learn from. And still the airline of choice for our agency.

But things are slipping. The airline industry needs help, people.

Bill Baker is the dude who was left stranded (with a couple of hundred other passengers) in Oregon for a couple of days by JetBlue. Rather than just shrug it off as "I don't expect to get what I pay for when I buy air travel", Bill decided to do something. Like any good internet citizen, he started a blog. And a small claims lawsuit.

To help make him feel better, JetBlue invited him to their upcoming terminal opening party (in the LEGENDARY Saarinen terminal). Only...one thing...they screwed up the scheduling on the invite. Read Bill's post for the glorious details. If I didn't know Bill personally, I'd swear this was a joke, or Photoshop. But it's not.

Please, please, please JetBlue: Get back on top of your game.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:23 AM   1 comments



Tuesday, August 12, 2008
there's no surfing in ohio.



Here's a really engaging article about Hollister - and how they've basically 'stolen' the surf industry...from the surf industry. With branding.

Many don't know that Hollister is a product of Abercrombie. And that they're not an age old surf brand from California - but instead a manufactured story from the Abercrombie headquarters in Ohio.

What's weird is that Hollister really gets branding. And they've done a stellar job at creating, building and promoting a lifestyle brand to kids who now believe they're a legit surf brand. So much so, that they're eating sales away from the real surf brands - or the other chain retailers like Zumies and PacSun - who carry gear made by actual surf companies. They've made surf style popular with mainstream youth before the real surf brands could fully capitalize on it.

This is an interesting trend in retail. It used to be that indie brands could start with a fringe audience and grow into mainstream. Plenty of skateboarding, snowboarding and earlier surf brands have built their businesses on this. But now big business is watching - and they're getting adept at identifying a trend, and building a private-label brand to satisfy the need. They're doing this even better than the indie brand could, for a mainstream audience. Which will likely stunt future growth opportunities for independent brands.

If you're in branding, read the whole piece in TransWorld . If you're in the surf industry, get off the beach and start a campaign outing Hollister as "fake." It's a huge anti-brand opportunity waiting to happen. If you're a Hollister kid, don't worry. Keep shopping.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:50 AM   5 comments



Monday, August 11, 2008
stuff that i learned on tour: listen to smart people

We met a boatload of really smart, creative and inspiring people while on the PlaidNation tour this summer. I'm stoked to share with you interviews with three of those people - and three people that I really admire - Robert Scoble, Biz Stone and Cathy Brooks.



Robert Scoble actually invited us into his home. In this interview, we talk to Robert about a personal brands, social media, haters, and his Twitter-stream.



Biz Stone was an awesome host for the Plaid crew, at the brand new Twitter digs, in San Francisco. In this interview, we learn about the origination the fun and unique illustration work now synonymous with the Twitter brand, and how the fail whale came to be a celebrated, fun symbol of - failure.



Cathy Brooks is one of the many recognizable faces of Seesmic. Cathy gave us the royal tour of Seesmic headquarters, and then we sat back in some comfy FatBoys to chat about Seesmic, and how brands could use this wonderful tool in their marketing plans.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:07 AM   0 comments




go ahead. make a suggestion.



We ran into the folks at SuggestionBox (kinda sorta) while on tour this summer.

A cool idea. Anyone can make a suggestion about anything. If you're a brand, and you 'claim' your suggestion box, you get all sorts of features to integrate the box into your online properties. And you make it really easy for customers (or potential customers) to make suggestions about your brand, your store, your service or your haircut.

It's $495 for the year - which if one suggestion gains you a new customer, probably pays for itself. (Unless you're selling $4.95 hot dogs, then you'd have to gain 100 customers. Or 50 customers if they were hungry ones. You get the idea.)

The non-profit package is only $49.50/year, which especially seems like a no-brainer, as most non-profits are lacking the resources (or people) to collect this type of information.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:58 AM   2 comments



Thursday, August 07, 2008
stuff that i learned on tour: workplace culture.



Here's the first of what I hope to be a few posts sharing things that we've learned while on tour this summer.

Think cool environments are just for ad agencies and dot coms? Think that your company is too big to maintain a positive, cool culture? Think again. While on our agency's west coast tour this year, we met a host of companies - some in the agency business, most in other industries. And we were inspired but what we experienced.

What we learned: Work culture is everything. Create a successful culture and employees will want to work for you. They'll believe in your brand. And everyone on the outside will want to become a part of it. Great work cultures can exist in large environments just as much as independently owned small firms. I didn't really believe that, until this tour.

Here's an attempt at summarizing what we've seen work for some pretty spectacular brands during the PlaidNation Tour 2008:

Freedom of space.
Great company culture creates employees who want to work. Employees who want to do as little as possible will find their way to the boring, crappy workplaces. And they deserve what they get. Inspired employees believe in what they're doing, and love doing it. So give them space. Space to take naps. Space to goof off. Space to hang and space to explore. Don't worry about downtime. Give them freedom and trust, and you'll inspire them to do more.

Maybe cubicles are a necessity in your company - because of the size, and the number of employees. But do they have to be lame? At iiiDesign, they custom crafted their cubes. At Zappos, every department is decorated in a theme. The upstairs at Jones Soda feels more like a tree fort than office. Aptera decorated their office area like a giant fishbowl. All of these companies have one thing in common: Their workspaces reflect the collective culture of their employees.

Fun.
Great workplaces and workspaces need to be fun. The majority of workers spend their time on boring tasks in boring industries. But that doesn't mean they can't have fun. Fun isn't reserved exclusively for "video game testers."

Are your employees smiling? At this very moment? This is more difficult than most people realize - but it starts with little things. And it almost never has to do with money. Most of the places that we visited were filled with smiles. Humor. Friendships. Lively discussion. Encourage this, and let it grow.

Stop worrying about the board. About the bank. About investors. Your workspace wasn't created for them. It's for your employees.

Greetings are in.
As the phone becomes the most ignored device in the workplace, many companies have removed receptionists from their lobbies. But don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. We experienced some awesome greetings while on tour - and the majority of them weren't people assigned to answering phones. The "greeter" should be a new role in every firm. Sometimes assigned to a single person, sometimes a shared role - but everyone who walks in your door should be greeted as a friend. As a part of the family.

At Jones Soda, we chatted with Chris, and learned about Seattle. And some funny characters at Jones. At Zappos, the front desk friendly squad entertained us and gave us the pre-show to the company tour that would blow us away. At Twitter, whoever is within earshot will greet you with a friendly smile and make you feel welcome. Welcome. That's the key. Security is out. "Hello" is in.

Lobbies can rock.
Your lobby should be impressive. But not in a marble floors and 40 foot ceilings kind of impressive. Your lobby is the very first physical impression of your company's culture. The lobby at Zappos is messy. But you know what? I have never had more fun hanging in a lobby than we did at Zappos. There was food and entertainment (DDR!). Friendly employees. Conversation. Company history. Toys. Books. Drinks. The next time you're in Vegas - stop by and experience it yourself. You'll get the Zappos culture in about 30 seconds.

Get a Mayor.
Your company needs a mayor. Zappos has Jerry. While giving us a tour of the Zappos headquarters, Jerry greeted every single person from every department and every hallway by their name. Jerry knew every detail of the company's history. Jerry understands the industry trends and could remark on where Zappos was going. Jerry knew what couture was. I'm pretty sure that Jerry could replace CEO Tony in a meeting, if he needed to. Who's your Jerry?

I learned as much as I shared on this year's tour. Which is pretty cool. And you don't need a Plaid van or a summer tour to do the same thing. Visit firms outside of your industry. Who are the hot employers inside your market? Just outside of your market? You'd be surprised by what you can learn from a simple company tour.

Thanks to everyone who opened their doors to the Plaid van in 2008!

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:31 AM   9 comments



Tuesday, August 05, 2008
protect your identity. unless you have oil money.



Someone's tweeting as Exxon on Twitter - and it's not Exxon. Sure, Exxon has the luxury oil money, that would allow them to buy Twitter and shut it down. Or buy the town of the person that's Tweeting and shut it down, or buy every computer of every person and block Twitter. But you probably don't have that kind of oil money.

So you might want to protect your brand on Twitter before it gets hijacked. Even if you're not sure how to use it today. (And if you don't, maybe you should get an agency who does. ;p)

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:57 AM   3 comments



Monday, August 04, 2008
an opportunity for airlines



Fellow blogger Bill Baker is pointing to a problem. A problem that you're already familiar with. It's the situation that everyone talks about, but nobody does anything about.

First, imagine this scenario:
You call up to make a dinner reservation for two weeks from now. The person on the phone takes your reservation and asks you to place your order. Then you are asked for your credit card and it is immediately charged for the amount of your order.

Two weeks later, you show up to consume what you have already paid for, only to be told that the restaurant can not serve your food tonight. Further, they will not give you a refund because they think they can squeeze you in for dinner two nights from now.

Of course, Bill is writing about the airline industry. And while his personal quest is focused toward JetBlue, he's clearly pointing to an industry issue. And he's actually attempting to do something about it. He's filed a small claims case against JetBlue, and is documenting the entire event on a blog My JetBlue Lawsuit.

What Bill points out is an industry problem and and a horrible trend. From his blog:
"Today, service has deteriorated so much, that the airlines are trying to convince us that's just the way it is. If a flight happens to arrive any time close to the schedule, consider it gravy."

Bill's blog is getting a lot of attention. He's not the only person that feels taken advantage of. Early on, JetBlue stepped up and changed perceptions of how an airline could deal with their customers. It will be interesting to see if they (or any of their competitors) will step up to the plate and deliver a valuable customer service that breaks the trend which continues to make air travel a torturous experience.

Bill's not the only customer that would gladly pay twice the price for a product/service that delivered what it promised. Airlines: here's your chance.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:09 AM   2 comments



Wednesday, July 09, 2008
when people become fans of your failures



Possibly the most wonderful thing in the world that a brand can achieve is love so strong that users worship your failures.

Twitter has been a victim of its own success. So many new users, so much volume that the application crashes regularly. Sometimes hourly. From the getgo, they've managed to brand their "failure screens" in true twitteresque flavor. When Twitter is down beyond repair, users get the screen that is now lovingly referred to as the "fail whale."

Here's the thing. Despite the failures, Twitter fans remain users. And they joke about the down time, the failed tweets and the fail whale. Someone's even produced a line of Fail Whale merchandise.

Can your brand generate that kind of love? Can you fail consistently, over and over and STILL keep your customers fans? Not many brands can. And that's a wonderful testament to the power of Twitter. Tweet. Tweet.

Already onboard?
Be sure to look me up (darrylohrt) and follow the Plaid van (Plaid) during the upcoming Plaid Summer Tour.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM   0 comments



Monday, June 30, 2008
let's go drink champagne and kiss each other at midnight.



Duct Tape Marketing has some really, really wise advice. Treat tomorrow (July 1st, in case you don't have a calendar handy) as if it were JANUARY 1st. It's your halfway point.

How are you doing with your goals? With your budgets? With your brand plan? With your personal life? What a great time for reflection and course correction.

Photo courtesy of Times Square NYC.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:14 AM   0 comments



Thursday, June 26, 2008
your marketing plan in five easy pieces



Seth's being super smart again, over at his blog. His latest post, Five easy pieces is a must read for the marketing geeks. And their bosses.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:11 AM   0 comments



Friday, June 20, 2008
what a politician can teach you about marketing



Paul Mcenany, one of my favorite bloggers, has some really cool advice for marketers that he gleaned from the eulogy festival around Tim Russert. Inspired by a wonderful quote from Pat Moynihan, Paul's pointed out that we don't all fit into "buckets" as nicely as our marketing demographics would like us to.

If you've ever been tempted to trust a focus group over talented creative instinct, there's some wise insight here.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM   2 comments



Wednesday, June 18, 2008
steal this pen



It looks like these pens aren't available yet - but I sooo need about a hundred of them. I want to leave "Springfield Sexual Addiction Center" pens on people's desks everywhere I go.

These would make awesome trade show giveaways - promote a funny url - and then create a fake website that promotes your product or service.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:59 AM   1 comments



Friday, June 13, 2008
stop the smears: awesome promo tactic



This is a seriously great promotional tactic - regardless of what side of the fence you're on.

Obama has launched Fight the Smears, a site devoted to answering any of the accusations that are being thrown around by McCain supporters. Worried that Obama eats live babies in satanic rituals? Now you can get the facts.

This is fantastic on multiple levels:

1. Presents the Obama brand as being a part of the conversation, and willing to answer any challenge brought to the table.

2. Creates one place for his supporters to point their friends who have heard "smears".

3. Works as yet another tool in the arsenal for the campaign. When questioned on any item, Obama supporters can claim "We've answered this in detail on our site Stop the Smears.com." In one sentence, you've just labeled the opposition's claim a smear, and driven traffic to a your promotional site.

Genius. Big brands could learn something here. Found on MaketheLogoBigger.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:30 AM   6 comments



Wednesday, June 11, 2008
hope that your company isn't on this list



Because sports brackets are boring, Consumerist has put together their own bracket. Of the worst companies in America. Enjoy the "playoffs." I had my money on Delta Airlines, but they didn't make this bracket.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM   0 comments



Monday, June 09, 2008
every brand in sex and the city



In case you weren't taking notes, or weren't paying complete attention, here's a list of every single brand mentioned in the Sex and the City movie. Just in case you wanted to go shopping, or something. I just threw up a little, in my mouth.

Photo credit: Richard Corkery, via NY Daily News

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:44 AM   0 comments



Monday, June 02, 2008
are buses hot again?



A few of us recently drove to New Hampshire for a couple of meetings. We passed a handful of Bolt Buses, and were intrigued with their branding. Cooler looking than your average buses. Now people are talking about it.

This is a mode of transport that has largely been ignored by great branding, unique service, and for the most part, just left by the wayside.

Bolt Bus has taken a super cool approach to busing. They sport cool graphics. They're cheap. They're only available in select routes. THEY HAVE WIFI ON BOARD. Let me say it again. THEY HAVE WIFI ON BOARD. Something that trains and most planes are still scratching their heads on.

I'm loving the concept. Build a powerful brand, offer a unique service, and have fun. Go Bolt, go.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:51 AM   1 comments



Friday, May 30, 2008
a day in brands



The Girl Riot has produced a really, really cool window into her life. She's documented a full day of brands. Every single brand that's 'touched' her from the time she wakes, until the time she goes to sleep. Wow.

This would be a really sweet experiment on Twitter, if everyone tweeted their brand experience minute by minute, and then collected them all together in a Twitter mashup site. A real-time show of which brands are 'active' in people's lives. Brandstreaming.

Definitely check out Girl Riot's post. Awesome.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:20 AM   0 comments



Wednesday, May 21, 2008
green marketing: not painting brands green?




A new report is showing that people don't necessarily see a company as being environmentally responsible, just because they spent millions of dollars telling them so.

Walmart, GE, and Bank of America, three brands that lead spending (of green) in bragging about their green-ness, weren't perceived as being green. This, by an audience of people who really, really want to know which companies are green.

Would have been fun to do the same survey, using the word greed.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:11 AM   1 comments



Tuesday, May 20, 2008
wacky packs celebrates 35 years



Wacky Packs is celebrating their 35th anniversary! To commemorate this very special time in history, the Topps Company has released a Wacky Packs coffee table book. Or kitchen table book.

Wacky Packs were the ultimate slap in the face to all things branding, and a celebration of irreverence for a generation of Mad Magazine readers.

The clip above is a cornball teevee show that details what a Wacky Pack is, for those of you that were born yesterday. From Kristin Gorski.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:05 AM   2 comments



Monday, May 12, 2008
what you could learn from a couple rocket scientists



Last week, a few of us from Plaid had the distinct pleasure of meeting a couple of the original engineers/developers for Segway. As a part of their worldwide brand team, we were entertained with some of the most glorious background on Segway. Doug Field, Scott Waters and Michael Taylor presented background on the device, with details on it's history, development, and shared some of the overall R&D philosophy at Segway.

We could all learn a lot from Segway. Their development team is an inspiration to creative people anywhere. I wish their presentations were bottled up for sharing with the world. These were some of the most inspiring, passionate, and intelligent people that I've enjoyed meeting. Here's a couple of awesomely sweet nuggets from my notes at the brand summit:

They celebrate what they call "Frog Kissing Days." These are days where engineers attempt to produce wildly creative devices and ideas that are beyond anything they'd normally attempt. Development without rules. When complete, they celebrate the grandest failures. Kissing frogs. That's a holiday that should be celebrated every month, at every agency.

How do you know that you've created something grand? When your solution creates 50 additional problems. That's what Doug had to say about creation and invention.

The technology adoption curve applies to branding. They detailed some history on great technological advances and explained the technology adoption curve (detailed here), which details how humans accept and use new technological advancements. It turns out that the typical adoption of brand new advances usually takes 15 - 20 years before they're accepted by society. Pretty amazing when you look through history and place items on the curve. This is an important consideration for branders who are dealing with technology - so as to best understand where your audience is in the curve, and what messaging they'll be open to.

Thanks to Michael, Doug and Scott for hanging with a bunch of creative types, and allowing a few people that couldn't even complete a basic math equation, bask in their intelligence.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:30 AM   1 comments




what do people think of...



Want to see what people think of brand logos, in a web2.0-licious way? Check out
brand tags. Enter your immediate thoughts as you're presented with the logo. Then, view the results in a wonderful tag cloud.

Here's what people think of Burger King. This will make for some great slides in a future presentation.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:01 AM   1 comments




how to create a mission statement


Working on a company mission statement, or brand mantra? Try fitting into a single Tweet. What a grand idea, from Jared Goralnick, on Twitter.

Since Twitter only allows 140 characters, it forces the writer to weigh every word. Like a producer weighs every second of a 30 second spot. More importantly, a 140 or less brand mantra is more likely to be read by your audience. So much more than those 3 paragraphs that the marketing committee drafted as a group, and then legal edited after the CEO added a couple of lines...awesome advice.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM   3 comments



Wednesday, May 07, 2008
your logo needs to cost more than your lunch.



I always say that half of our job is education. And I love sharing, teaching and exploring with clients. After all - they don't have time for things like Twitter, Second Life or the latest branding trends.

But there's one thing that always gets under my skin. People's perception of logo value. I've been in countless situations, where an otherwise reasonable business person expects that a logo can be developed for $175. (As recent as last week!)

It's not their fault. They don't understand the time (or the life experience) that's devoted to the process of creating a new brand identity. They get it when it comes to sales collateral. Campaigns. Websites. Videos. But logos seem so simple and small, how difficult could they be?

Of course, we know better. So nothing but big smiles when I discovered this excellent post on why your logo should cost more than your lunch...

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 5:35 AM   5 comments



Monday, May 05, 2008
if you spent the weekend on your lawn, this post is for you




Ben Kunz points out that it's all about peer pressure. Peer pressure that's supporting a $57.9 billion industry of turf building. Supporting almost a million jobs. You work on your lawn, because you don't want to be "that guy" in the neighborhood. The one with the bad lawn.

In a way, that's what we're all supporting - not just in grass, but fashion, music, deodorant, real estate, automotive and consumer culture in general. All a part of a big peer pressure, branding machine.

Yikes, Ben. Thanks for pointing this out. Time to go paint my lawn black, and install some obnoxious yard art. Or, keep it all green, and support my brand industry. Damn. Now I'm more confused than ever.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:48 AM   4 comments



Friday, May 02, 2008
accidental branding: the "i didn't read it" review



Here's the thing. Publishers send us books all the time, for review on BrandFlakes. But I've sadly given up books for everything internet. There are some really, really hot books out there. Worthy of reviews. But there's only 24 hours in a day. And at least a few have to be devoted to sleep, for now.

So here's an attempt at a review, for a book that I haven't had time to read. I'll highlight the things that you might find helpful, if you're considering purchasing Accidental Branding.

But let me be clear: I didn't read this.

(All ratings are based on a 1 - 10 basis, 10 being "excellent.")

The book's concept: 9
How a handful of really cool people have built some very successful brands. Each chapter is devoted to another personality. Really, really cool people that you'd like to know more about - Craig Newmark (Craigslist), Gary Erickson (Clif Bar), Roxanne Quimby (Burt's Bees), and other super influential business people.

Cover design: 3
This one won't pop off the shelf. You've got to look for it. I would have given this a "2", but I'm in a good mood today.

Font size/typography: 6
Nothing uber creative, but nothing annoying or intimidating either. Clean layout, clean type, done well.

Pictures/info graphics: 0
No photos. No sexy info graphics. I think that's ok, given the subject matter. It's about the people, and their stories.

How it feels in your hands: 8
There are three kinds of books:
a) The kind that your English teacher assigns you to read, and is about 900 pages too long, and 43 pounds too heavy.
b) The pamphlet that's trying to pass as a book, but really isn't a book at all. It's a brochure.
Accidental Branding isn't either of these - it's a appropriately sized. Like a good book should be. The kind of book that feels good in your hands, after you've bought it. Your messenger bag will accept it, and it will feel just right to open, on a long train ride.

Other reviews that I would believe:
Greg Verdino
The Marketing Spot
ToddAnd

Scale of "I'd like to read it": 8
We can learn so much from others. Accidental Branding is chocked full of stories from people that you can't help to admire for their business and brand success. I swear that I intend to read this one. I just need a free weekend. Or a couple of nights...

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM   7 comments



Tuesday, April 29, 2008
campaign brands by swag style



Animal New York has an interesting view of the democratic candidates - judging them by their campaign swag style. Obama has cool stuff, Hillary has stuff that only older white women would wear.

I wonder if the campaigns are designing to the audiences that they already have, or are they missing opportunities? Is their swag a reflection of the audience they're targeting, or a reflection of the design teams that are creating them?

If Hillary had cool t-shirts, would hipster white guys identify with her? If Obama had gold embroidered sweatshirts in bad fonts, would the old women taking the bus to the casino like him? Just wondering.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:17 AM   1 comments



Monday, April 28, 2008
best podcast ever recorded



Maybe even the best audio ever recorded. Imagine hearing my voice - drone on and on, about the new Zyrtek campaign, about Earth Day, and online ethics (!)

Now you can. Thanks to The Custom Scoop Magazine and their Media Bullseye Roundtable.

I'm featured on the latest episode, along with experts Sarah Wurrey and Jennifer Zingsheim. Listen to be dazzled. Or listen to count how many times that I say "um."

This is a great series, featuring some really intelligent discussion about marketing, branding, social media and our industry in general. They've lowered their standards for this episode on a one-time-only basis, and assure me that the rest of their shows will feature real guests. Who don't say "um" as much.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:24 AM   2 comments




desktops are back



Desktoptopia has released a product that feeds desktops to your computer. You can rate them, and it learns what you like, and continues to feed your desires. And there's a kabillion beautiful, cool and fun images.

Hal Thomas, VP of Marketing at Desktopia, says they're open to including brand-styled desktops, too. Not the trashy stuff - but think entertainment properties, lifestyle brands, and things people would actually like on their desktops.

I'm intrigued, because desktops have largely been ignored for the last few years. Not long ago, it was presented as the future of communication.

What elements exist within your brands, that people might want on their desktops?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM   0 comments



Friday, April 25, 2008
the elevator is lying to you.



This is an interesting factoid, about human behavior, and product design. You've probably seen the clip that's made its way around the internets, featuring the guy stuck in the elevator for 41 hours. Yech.

This leads to a fun fact about elevator design. It turns out that the handy "close door" button doesn't work. In ANY elevator manufactured since the early 90's. It's only there to make you feel like you have a sense of control.

When I read this, it made me angry. Why can't we be honest?

There's a new Quiznos spot running, featuring a yummy looking chicken thing. And in the new spot, it features the sandwich as "naughty." I laughed, because I saw that as honest. I'm not going to eat a mega-calorie gut buster because I think it's the healthy thing to do. I'm going to eat it because I deserve it. Or because I feel like being naughty. (In the eating, kind of naughty way.)

So, bring on the honesty. Let's stop deception. Let's get naughty.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:32 AM   2 comments



Thursday, April 24, 2008
spreading brand hate, via twitter



LessAccounting is taking advantage of the fact that there's a lot of disdain for for their chief competitor, Quickbooks. A quick scan of Twitter shows that the majority of chatter about QuickBooks is negative.

So LessAccounting is celebrating that fact with the creation of We All Hate Quickbooks, Do You?.

This is awesome, for LessAccounting. They've now illustrated to internet workers that:
+ You're not alone in your hatred for QuickBooks;
+ There's an alternative to the product you hate using.

As a small agency that uses Quickbooks - we're in the demo. And we've looked for alternatives to the nasty Mac version of Quickbooks, to no avail. We'll be checking out LessAccounting - because they've captured our attention.

This is a great lesson on both sides of the fence. LessAccounting is capitalizing on a situation that the larger competitor created with a less-than-spectacular product.

Quickbooks needs to do a better job of monitoring the chatter about their product, and become a part of the conversation. They can't hide behind their #1 status forever. They could be using this conversation to their advantage, and improving their product.

In the meantime, tweet away about how much you loathe using QuickBooks. LessAccounting is paying attention.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:14 AM   3 comments



Friday, April 18, 2008
unexpected licensing that makes sense



Two licensing deals this week caught our attention, and are great examples of brands coming together to produce greatness.

Levis is partnering with snowboard apparel company 686. Snowboard culture and 686 brand awareness bring much needed cool factor to Levis. 686 gets a unique product line, and credit for helping to reinvent Levis in a new category. Win-win.

Burton is partnering with Playboy. They've done this before, just not at this level. Their new fall line has some pretty sexy boards that are sure to get attention. And melt snow. Burton makes Playboy relevant, in a world where magazines no longer matter. Playboy bunnies look super hot on boards. Win-win, again.

What brand could you partner with, to create unexpected success?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:28 AM   0 comments



Thursday, April 17, 2008
those are some mighty sweet slacks



This is either a great idea or licensing gone too far. Apparel with over the top Kellogg's cereal brand licensing.

I never would have thought that kids would trick their cars out in tribute to brands either, but they do. So maybe somewhere, there are people who will really, really dig Froot Loop pants. Or a Honey Smacks hoodie. I might like them if they came in the skinny fit, instead of the sooper baggy style. (Toucan Sam and I go way back, so that's me.)

Thanks David's sister!

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:13 AM   0 comments



Tuesday, April 08, 2008
blow energy drink. cheap shot at a quick buck.



The latest ridiculous energy product aimed at capturing tween dollars is Blow, a product made to look exactly like cocaine. The white caffeine powder comes in resealable white vials, so that kids can put "blow" into their drinks.

The cheap promotional site features strippers and poorly designed gear sure to turn the average 14 year old onto the product. They can even by it in bulk, and become neighborhood dealers of...blow.

Sure to get loads of free publicity on the local news, featuring protesting parents. I'd love to know what they paid for the rights to use the Cult's song WildFlower on their site. Or if they paid. I know some pretty large brands who don't have that kind of licensing budget. ;)

Thanks Suzy!

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:30 AM   4 comments




product placements: ten stories.



AdFreak points to stories behind ten television/movie product placement deals. Some cute behind the scenes stories. Like here's the memo that Staples released after Dwight left his job at the store, in the show.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM   0 comments



Monday, April 07, 2008
some awesome bimbos at the bodega



The bodega on the corner by our agency is filled with Bimbo products. And they always make us snicker. Brand Identity Guru points to this, and a couple of other funny and unfortunate product naming blunders, and wonders why they even exist.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:24 AM   0 comments



Thursday, March 27, 2008
reward all customers, not just some of them



Andy Sernovitz has an excellent point: In grocery stores, why don't they have a 'super lane' for shoppers with $200 of groceries? Two cashiers, two baggers and they're treated like stars. Instead of rewarding only the shoppers with 10 items or less.

I say - why not reward all shoppers? Have the super lanes for overflowing carts, and the 'lite' lanes for shoppers with a few items.

How could you make your customers feel special, in an industry changing way?

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:28 AM   1 comments



Wednesday, March 26, 2008
new twitter logo!



The sun wouldn't come up if we didn't have at least one post about Twitter each day...so here it is: Twitter changed their logo. In case you were wondering.

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM   2 comments




be good. be consistent. be a strong brand.



Chris Brogan writes another typically brilliant post about maintaining our online personas, and points to someone who gets it - Gary Vaynerchuk.

Think about it. You have a Facebook profile, you're on Twitter, LinkedIn, and about 68 other social sites. Are you the same? What image are you projecting? What is your personal social media brand?

Gary points out a lovely side effect of personal online branding- bad guys can't hide. Good guys will prevail. Transparency is a wonderful thing. People that are evil are being found out and identified for their actions - faster than ever in history. So here's to genuine, honest, great personal branding. Woot!

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posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:29 AM   1 comments





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