by Joyce Turner-Gionet | Sep 9, 2015 | Agency, Branding, Business Success, Communications, Creative, Design, Interactive, Latest, Marketing, Social Media
Rah-Rah, Google! Give us an ‘E’ (but make it crooked!).
Gotta LOVE that crooked ‘e’ in the new Google logo. It’s so Google! Irrepressible, playful. I hear it’s annoying people. They want to straighten it. Personally, I think it’s perfect. Think about it. Leaving the ‘e’ crooked speaks volumes about Google’s personality.
Not everyone agrees with me, Twitter Users Think Google Copied Heineken with its new logo’s crooked ‘e’ (Google kind of admits it.)
All done in house, the rebranding is a composite of three elements: the word mark, a four-colour ‘G’ monogram and animated dots that represent the Google search engine in ‘thinking’ mode. For those who’ve been under a rock, or enjoying the last days of summer up at the cottage, here it is:
New Google Logo
New Google Dots
New Google Monogram
Here’s a reminder of the old Google logo:
1999 – 2015
Here are some Google logo ideas that presumably didn’t make the cut
Here’s why Google did the rebranding …
Says Google … (from the official Google blog)
“So why are we doing this now? Once upon a time, Google was one destination that you reached from one device: a desktop PC. These days, people interact with Google products across many different platforms, apps and devices—sometimes all in a single day. You expect Google to help you whenever and wherever you need it, whether it’s on your mobile phone, TV, watch, the dashboard in your car, and yes, even a desktop!
Today we’re introducing a new logo and identity family that reflects this reality and shows you when the Google magic is working for you, even on the tiniest screens.
Read everything Google said …
Are we impressed?
I asked a few graphic gurus and marketing types across the industry for their opinion on the rebranding:
“Google, with an upper case G … it’s all grown up!”
“The lower case (previous) logo was approachable. With this new logo, Google has maintained its approachability, but made it more mature. More established. The colours and the playfulness with the dots has added to its “fun” nature … almost showcasing its “magic”. Turning questions into a found result. The use of an uncluttered, streamlined font adds to the contemporary nature … the G, unencumbered, is almost futuristic.
More importantly, I love the Alphabet name … the idea. It’s the basis of communications. With letters and building blocks, imaginations soar. What else can we develop? Where else can we go? It offers the ability of each letter to have its significant place in the sun!”
– Miriam H, Chief Creative Officer at 3H
“… suits their position as a search engine (wayfinding system)”
“Overall, it’s a thumbs up from me. The font they used is called Product Sans and was one they created specifically for the new logo and overall rebranding with the animated dots and icons. Similar to the new-ish Twitter icon, it was (mostly) created using only circles and semi-circles. I think it has a much more ‘current’ feel and suits their position as a search engine (wayfinding system).”
– Lindsay S, Senior Graphic Designer
“They’re still leading the way, now with their very own font.”
“It has retained its simple look and colour palette, while bringing a more accessible and contemporary feel. The font also has a uniqueness, a quirkiness, which demonstrates Google’s lighthearted, forward-thinking approach. They’re still leading the way, now with their very own font.”
– Jayne B, Integrated Marketing Manager
“fun and playful”
“I loved the way they presented it, the animation is fun and playful. I like the sans serif font more than the previous serif font. They’ve had the same logo for a long time. The previous logo was dated and the trend is towards sans serif fonts. Nice and chunky. It was a smart move since Google is now owned by Alphabet company. A new beginning for Google and the new logo is a great start.”
– Craig C, Senior Graphic Designer & Mixed Media Artist
“Just another logo”
“Just another logo. Cultural relevance? There’s a lot of talk about this, but I really don’t think it changes much.”
– Jason H, Photographer
“… reminiscent of the avant garde style of the TTC subway signs that came out in the 1950s”
“The new direction of the Google logo makes it easier to display on smaller devices, the switch from a serif to sans serif will make displaying on smaller screens much cleaner and simpler, it will also scale nicely. The thickness also lends itself to displaying more clearly on mobile screens. The change in the Google Icon, the New “G”, now reinforces the colour coding that Google has progressively moved towards, so now even the icon hints towards the growing suite of properties and product offerings. It seems to be a successful step in streamlining the branding of the complete picture of essential elements that Google is trying to put forward. I find it clean, modern and simple, reminiscent of the avant garde style of the TTC subway signs that came out in the 1950s and are still used for everything in the TTC Subway System. I like it.”
– Kyle M, Digital Designer
“Google’s big enough to be brave”
“Rebranding is never easy. You can’t please everyone and it always opens you up to negativity, particularly for a global giant like Google. Not everyone likes change but Google’s big enough to be brave. The clean, linear font ties in beautifully with the Alphabet name that came out of the overhaul of Google’s corporate structure. The company’s new url abc.xyz gave me a chuckle. Nice, clean, modern logo.”
– Mark A, Marketing, PR & Social Media Consultant
“It’s not a WOW logo, but …”
“It’s simple. The colours are very basic. It’s not a WOW logo, but I think that’s the way it should be for Google. Google is not just a company name, it’s a verb, it’s part of our culture. The logo doesn’t need to be beautiful, it needs to be recognizable and it still is. Just like ‘Google Doodles’, the logo gets changed in those but we always recognize it.”
– Yukari Y, Senior Designer
What do YOU think of the new Google logo? Does the crooked ‘e’ bug you? Let me know!
A HISTORY, FROM A TO … no Z, because Google is far from finished changing the world:
From Gizmodo … The Evolution of Google’s Iconic Logo
From Time Magazine … A History of Google Doodles
by Miriam Hara | Aug 7, 2015 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Latest
The big ‘headline’ first made front page news during the 19th century newspaper wars when papers everywhere were fighting for readers’ attention. You’ve seen it in old movies — the kid on the street corner hawking the newspaper by yelling out the day’s headline! We’re still hawking with headlines. But are they effective? And do the old rules still apply? To be effective, your headlines need to be HOT!
If you don’t pull ’em in with the headline, anything else you write won’t matter.
Five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. That was true years ago and it’s still true. No one reads the body copy and ignores the headline. If you don’t pull ’em in with the headline, anything else you write won’t matter. The medium doesn’t matter either: online or print — whether it’s advertising, journalism, a magazine article, Social Media via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. — the headline’s job never changes. Where the medium does matter is the sheer volume of headlines we’re exposed to via technology. To stand out, yours has to speak up louder and clearer than the street-corner kid. It must:
1. Grab attention.
2. Speak directly to the target audience.
3. Work as a complete message. Body copy is there only to flesh out the message.
A simple Google search hits the hot spots for a good headline
At its simplest, and strange as it might seem, a simple Google search hits the hot spots for a good headline. You want to know why your goldfish are dying in your backyard goldfish pond, so you type into the search engine: ‘Why are goldfish dying in my pond?’ It’s short, snappy, to the point. I’m not saying it’s a headline, but when agonizing over headlines, it helps to think of them in this way. My Google search about goldfish:
- Grabs attention: the attention of all websites on the subject.
- Speaks to a target audience: everyone who has something to say about dying goldfish (more on this below).
- Is a complete message: I want to know why my goldfish are dying.
I typed the goldfish question into Google and got 336,000 results — those results also illustrate the kind of competition we’re up against in advertising our brands today; thousands upon thousands of headlines with products, services or information vying for consumers’ attention. Now think about the search results; they work in much the same way as a headline.
A good search response, like a good headline, will reel me in and leave me happily fishing in a pond of information.
Results that are concise, descriptive and resonate with me, I’ll click on them. The ones that don’t, I’ll ignore: just like I’ll ignore a headline that doesn’t ‘move’ me. (An aside: all of this also illustrates the point of how important it is to get SEO right, so your website cuts through the clutter and rises to the top in search engine results.)
There’s a global glut of information out there and multiple mediums through which our advertising message can be delivered. So how do we cut through the clutter and get our message across in a way that’s hotter than everyone else’s with a similar product or service to sell? The old rules still apply …
- Make it short. How many words? you’re probably asking. “As many as needed,” David Ogilvy, the father of advertising, used to say. As many as needed is important: it doesn’t mean use a lot, it means exactly what it says: as many as needed to …
- Make it immediately compelling so that customers want to read more.
- Speak to the audience. Vitally important! A headline speaks to a target market, one you’ve researched thoroughly (hopefully!) before you ever start to think about headlines and body copy. It speaks to people who care about what you have to offer and that’s where your focus should be.
- Make sure your headline works with the visual(s). Think about ads you’ve seen. Look at a few critically after reading this. How often is the headline simply describing the visual? What a waste of space. If the visual is so weak you need to describe it, then you have a bigger issue.
- Understand catchy and clever! Sure, we remember catchy, clever headlines, but if we don’t remember the brand and what it’s selling, what’s the point?
- Humour can work, it can add personality, make a headline memorable, when used wisely and appropriately.
For small businesses without the backing of an agency skilled in creating great ad copy, it’s worth taking time to learn more about headlines, because dollars spent on advertising a truly great product using a truly ineffective headline are dollars wasted.
10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas that work
100 Good Advertising Headlines
The Formula for a Perfect Headline
Best recent headline you’ve read? Send it to me! #SharedWisdom
by Jayne Christopher Bintle | Jul 3, 2015 | Branding, Latest
As we approach the end of the week when we celebrated Canada’s 148th birthday, as a British ex-pat, it’s warming to me to witness the unashamed, and well-justified patriotism of the Canadian people. Their clear sense of pride in being Canadian does not manifest itself as brash or over-the-top; it’s not arrogant or repellent – it’s genuine, heart-felt and respectful – Canada is quietly confident. Canadian’s know they have something special here – that Canada is ‘cool’! Is this, then, the Canadian brand?
As someone relatively new to Canadian life – I moved here with my family just over one year ago – I can only provide you with my perspective. Growing up in Britain through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, Canada was always the quiet, conservative and, dare I say it, a little boring, neighbour of the brash and capitalist USA. ‘Outdoorsy’ with their log cabins. grizzly bears, moose and lots of trees – if Canada was a person, they would be robust, red-cheeked, athletic and a bit of a geek!
However, over the last 20 years, Canada’s conservative image has blossomed to become the envy of many countries across the world. People would tell us how much they envied us when we would tell them about our impending Canadian emigration – and it was more about us moving to such an aspirational country rather than us ‘escaping’ British life.
As the second largest country in the world, it is now being recognized as such and it hasn’t had to throw its weight around to achieve this – it’s all happened because Canada is not afraid to just be itself. As the host of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, Canadians had the opportunity to showcase the true spirit of Canada. We experienced a small hint of what it must be like to live in such a big and beautiful country. Following this, the revelation that, unlike so many other countries, Canada was not part of the financial recession which hit us Brits so hard – Canada was doing just fine thank you very much! So fine in fact, that the Bank of England enlisted the expertise of Canadian Mark Carney as their new Governor, building more credibility for Canada’s ‘brand’!
In recent years a plethora of other famous Canadians from the world of entertainment, such as Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Shania Twain, Celine Dion have also become household names, not only in Britain, but the world over. So whether it’s to entertain us or save a country from financial ruin, there is a Canadian to suit any occasion – perhaps that should be the Canadian brand strap line!
Yes, if Canada was a company, I’d like to shake its Brand Manager by the hand. From its iconic flag (logo) to its brand ethos and voice, the Canadian brand message is effortlessly emulated through the warmth, positivity, helpfulness, humanity, energy and authenticity of the Canadian people. The Canadian brand is thriving in a world that increasingly demands these attributes of their brands.
In the brash and capitalist 80’s, the USA reigned supreme – it appears now it is time for the ‘nicer North’ brand to shine!
by Miriam Hara | Jul 2, 2015 | Advertising, Branding, Latest
I was reading the Vanity Fair Article: “Call Me Caitlyn.” This isn’t a blog about how I feel about the issue of transgender, or a personal critique on Caitlyn. I read the article because I was interested in reading about such an incredible personal transformation. However, since after all, I am in advertising, a comment in the article by Buzz Bissinger popped for me:
“It was early May, and Caitlyn had just gotten three letters from transgender women thanking her for the interview and the dignified way in which ABC and Sawyer had handled it. One of them was addressed “Bruce Jenner, Malibu, California,” as if she had become her own country.”
“… as if she had become her own country”
My advertising antenna went up. Wow, a brand can spend millions trying to create that feeling in consumers. Coke is its own country, so is Apple, as are all iconic brands, but it took years and millions of dollars to become entrenched. One interview and the person of Caitlyn Brenner is already her own country. She’s a brand. Someone sends her a letter with no address, just assuming it will reach her (the name Caitlyn wasn’t announced until the Vanity Fair cover broke). But is it just one interview? David Ogilvy said brand is: “the intangible sum of a product’s attributes: It’s name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it’s advertised.” Since 1974, Bruce Jenner has been building his “country”, in other words, his brand, stoking its attributes, starting with setting that world record in the decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics, follow-up sponsorship opportunities, television series and movies, Keeping Up With The Kardashians reality TV show, even the transformation to Caitlyn and the Vanity Fair cover — 9 million hits viewing the cover pics in one day — and her upcoming reality TV show.
Businesses don’t determine what is a brand, consumers do
Despite the incredible power of advertising, businesses don’t determine what is a brand, consumers do. Am I brand? If consumers believe you’re a brand, then you’re a brand. The business of advertising and marketing just helps a brand along. Branding works to solidify the brand in consumers’ minds. Today, consumers expect branding to be equally about relationship building, authenticity and doing good works. If a brand doesn’t ring true, it won’t survive. Strictly from a marketing perspective, it will be interesting to see how this brand plays out.
What’s your feeling? Lots of people in the advertising will argue that a person cannot be a brand. Do you see Caitlyn as a brand?
Vanity Fair. Caitlyn Jenner: The Full Story
http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/caitlyn-jenner-bruce-cover-annie-leibovitz
by Joyce Turner-Gionet | Jun 30, 2015 | Advertising, Branding, Creative, Latest
It depends.
If the celebrity fits the brand and the spot acts as a springboard to elevate and personify the brand, then it’s good creative. Last year, Matthew McConaughey was in the driver’s seat for the new Lincoln Motor’s (luxury division of Ford Motor Company) MKC. According to ET Canada, sales for Lincoln shot up 25%, to their highest level in seven years. In this case, the campaign ads inadvertently also inspired a celebrity bonanza with Ellen Degeneres, Conan O’Brien and Canada’s Jim Carrey revvin’ their comedy engines to parody the commercials. A link to one of the MKC commercials is below and for those who haven’t seen it, just for giggles, I’ve included a link to Ellen’s parody. The parodies ended up driving the outcome, so the MKC ad spots got even more attention than they otherwise might have, thanks to … celebrity coverage.
There’s considerable financial investment attached to celebrity endorsement. The cost of the celebrity as a brand ambassador has to be weighed against ultimate traction for the brand, particularly for small companies with shallow pockets. So much about building brand and brand awareness is about breaking through the clutter. Yes, the right celebrity can cut through clutter like a warm knife through butter, but that warm knife also slices off a major part of your advertising budget. Don’t forget frequency of the message. In any company, large or small, there are only so many advertising dollars to go around. For the strongest traction, dollars need to be used on a message that’s seen frequently and for best results, spread across more than one medium.
Celebrity Endorsements: There is risk involved.
There’s the danger of the celebrity overriding the brand. What’s actually being sold? The celebrity or the brand? It pays to be careful.
There’s also credibility. Today’s consumers demand truth, which goes back to my first point: a celebrity must fit the brand. If something smells fishy, someone will Tweet the stink and quickly. Consumers are savvy enough to know that any celebrity is in it partly for the money. But it’s a fine line; if the celebrity is perceived as just in it for the money then brand suffers. There’s got to be authenticity; like Cher modeling Marc Jacobs’ stuff this month. Can you think of anyone who could better carry off this Marc Jacob’s dress? Talk about brand revitalizing for Cher too! Makes me want to go back and revisit her ‘Dark Lady’ lyrics, “The fortune queen from New Orleans …” (Yes, Cher really is almost 70!) In this case, endorsement is mutually beneficial, working for Jacobs and for Cher.
[inlinetweet prefix=”null” tweeter=”null” suffix=”#CelebrityEndorsements”]Celebrities can energize a brand or re-energize one.[/inlinetweet] They can change consumer perception of a brand, even old and dusty ones. Remember Proctor and Gamble’s ‘new’ Old Spice Man, ex-football player Issaiah Mustafa. ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”. It spoke to men and to women, the ones that typically buy after-shave or cologne for “their men.” The spot helped reenergize a brand that was, at that point, as old as Cher on her next birthday. Done by Wieden and Kennedy out of Portland Oregon, with more than 65 million views on YouTube, it’s still one of the most successful ad campaigns, ever.
There is a downside, of course: If a celebrity puts a foot wrong, or the ad campaign hits a nerve. Think Tiger’s troubles (even shareholders of his sponsor companies lost billions!). Think Rob Lowe’s recent spots for DirecTV which ticked off a rival cable company enough to lodge a formal complaint and one particular spot that incensed the International Paruresis Association (also called shy bladder disease, a surprisingly common social phobia in which people who have trouble doing their business with other people around). The ads were cancelled.
[inlinetweet prefix=”null” tweeter=”null” suffix=”#CelebrityEndorsements”]Done well, celebrity endorsements can be a big boost for brand.[/inlinetweet] Gone wrong, they’re a PR nightmare. But at the end of the day, a celebrity is still an actor and no celebrity endorsement goes far without good creative backing it. Just make sure your ad budget can support the star light.
View the Celebrity Endorsements:
[dt_sc_one_third_inner first][youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoGGDKV88Fg][/dt_sc_one_third_inner]
[dt_sc_one_third_inner ][youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K69chHMtrs4][/dt_sc_one_third_inner]
[dt_sc_one_third_inner ][youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE][/dt_sc_one_third_inner]
by Miriam Hara | Jun 26, 2015 | Branding, Communications, Latest, Social Media
When is too much, too much? Have we reached the over exposure point? Nowadays we get “news” (perhaps a better word is “info” since whether it’s all “news” is often debatable) from so many different sources. We see the same celebrity on TV, on magazine covers, on websites, in commercials, we get them tweeting, they post on Facebook. Often, it’s to the point of nausea … the celebrity has achieved over exposure. Malcolm Gladwell coined the phrase the ‘tipping point’ years ago and it stuck: “the moment when an idea, trend or behavior tips, and spreads like wildfire.” Over-exposure is like a tipping point gone wrong. Suddenly, things come to a head and everyone’s sick of hearing about that celebrity. When things reach this point, you actually get an outcome opposite to the desired reaction. Fans experiencing celebrity fatigue are turned off, tuning out any more news on that celebrity. They accuse the celebrity of chasing the “star light” (or hogging the limelight). Too much exposure is, in effect, too much.
The same is true for technology. We’re all (most of us) tech-savvy. Information is quite literally, always at our fingertips. Over stimulation leads to information fatigue, leading to an inability to process any more information. We live in an age of instant technological accessibility. I was reading a piece in the April/May 2015 issue of Marketing, written by Russ Martin. He was chatting to Michael Howatson, CD at Toronto’s Sapient Nitro about overstimulation. A couple of lines stood out for me: “Now that everything from toasters to cars is web-enabled, there’s a surplus of data being thrown at consumers who are already nearing their capacity for information.1” I was amazed to read: “Humans take in 27,000 times the info every day that a person in the 1500s would have.2” 27,000 times! No wonder we’re overwhelmed. The chatter is unending. In fact, where will it end? Imagine getting up in the morning and having your toaster speak to you! Don’t laugh, it’s closer than you think.
Never have we been so connected to so many people (and so many things!) at any given moment. Granted, there’s an upside, especially when it comes to keeping family connections vibrant, maintaining long distance relationships and ensuring business growth. But there’s a downside and it’s dramatic: the line that once defined work/life balance is becoming blurred … sometimes non-existent.
Yes, technology-enabled accessibility has had a considerable positive impact for businesses and brands trying to break through the clutter.
Reaching people and building rapport has never been easier. However, our customers’ minds are already taxed by the barrage of emails and text messages that pour into their business and personal lives daily. Now add to that the additional rivers of extraneous media chatter channeled through to them from all access points –radio, TV, our PC, phone, iPAD, tablet, even newspapers, books and magazines.
For business, the social media channel is accessible to all and that has made customer accessibility effortless. That being said, businesses and brands may still be using outdated “objectives” in this new world.
I agree with Howatson: As a business and a brand, “If what you’re doing doesn’t solve a problem or make your customers’ lives better, then don’t do it3”. I’d add: Don’t risk your business or brand becoming labelled a star-light chaser … splashed everywhere, but with no good reason.
If nothing else, I hope this post was helpful and insightful. Maybe it will resonate with you, perhaps start a conversation in your business, as the Marketing piece resonated with me. If your brand is a rising star, be wary of burn out. Heed the adage: too much of anything is never a good thing.
1,2,3 Quotes are from Marketing, page 26, April/May 2015; marketingmag.ca. Our apologies, for some reason, even with our subscription, we couldn’t pull up the link to pass it on.
