by Miriam Hara | Jul 14, 2011 | Branding, Business Success
So here it is after much creative soul searching and research, meet the new 3H, purple and titanium… the new platinum reflective of our heritage, expertise in classic and new media. You’ve heard it from me before. Brand is a Living Organism. Our 3H brand is no exception. In 1988 when we launched our 3H logo in purple and mustard… In the midst of burgundy and blue…purple, bold and original, stood apart. Adding a dash of mustard to our purple provided us with flair and easy recall. But colour isn’t a logo (I’ve said that before, too!). Our marketing approach to mandates and to our clients was unique, and that has made 3H a brand.
When one of the team suggested (thanks Gloria!), it was time to make a change, to instill new energy from within to change the perspective from the outside looking in… we asked the question why? The answer was resoundingly clear. It was time to evolve our brand so that the total scope of services we provide clients was at the forefront. I invite you meet us at 3h.ca and if you have the time, would love to here your comments on our Hoopla blog.
by Miriam Hara | Mar 23, 2011 | Branding
A worthy commodity product can become a household name… with a personality!
Changing consumer’s perception of a “commodity” type product takes long term vision and dedication. It also takes a superior product, offering a perceived commodity, a distinctive edge and a consistent delivery of promise… and USP.
In the Spring of 2010, “Ya gotta get the good one!” [link to video] once again rang out of television sets across Canada.
The commercial was the newest wave from a successful campaign started a few years ago with Windsor Salt to promote their home water softener System Saver. (more…)
by Miriam Hara | Feb 25, 2011 | Branding
It may be a market warrior’s dream to make the brand they develop for a company into an icon. Chanel, Coca-Cola, Nike, Michelin – all brand names that have become synonymous with their symbolism. Brands that became more than commodity culture, they became pop culture. When you have strong visual cue, brands are conduits. People relate to them on a personal level because good brands, ones that survive, have personality and wit. Going beyond the brand mechanics, they position themselves. They never follow a trend… they should encourage one.
Image provided courtesy of the Nike, under the creative commons license.
Iconic brands might be an industry brass ring, but brands don’t fail if they fail to become cultural icons—many widely respected brands still maintain a name within a designate community, such as Sick Kids and Anne Taylor.
Brands aren’t just for corporations either. Personal brands come by way of blogging, podcasts and other new media-driven personalities. Whether it is creating a personality for a product, or a person, the key is conveying that character to the market. The human element, in all forms of art, is the one that resonates. So get to know your brand, and perhaps in the future, everyone will know it too.
by Miriam Hara | Feb 1, 2011 | Branding
Brand is bigger than you realize. Brand is what consumers first see of a product/service… it’s the initial hook…but the follow through is even more important as it is how the brand becomes part of lifestyle.
Image courtesy of kudumomo@Flickr under a creative commons license
Your brand extends to your employees, clients, right down to your outfit. Your shoes are Nikes, your computer is an Apple, and your car is a Honda. You live in brand, and sometimes you don’t even know it – but the lifestyle these companies sell has worked, and that’s why you identify with them. Living in brand is also a way of building recognition. The iconic Nike swoosh, Apple’s…well apple, and Honda’s big H. My company is recognized by purple and mustard yellow. Purple is my brand, and I believe in brand – that’s why I wear purple every day.
This all-inclusive approach stays within marketing rules of simplicity, be direct and convey a single message. This strategy is a great “value-added” approach. But it’s all about the follow through. I wear purple and I get recognized, but if my service and “product” delivery is below par it won’t matter what colour I’m wearing. Luckily, my clients not only recognize purple, they recognize great service, solid work and expertise… and and this association sticks. Purple perfection!
mph
Miriam P. Hara
3H Communications Inc | www.3h.ca
by Miriam Hara | Jan 12, 2011 | Branding
Psychographics is an approach to marketing that uses personality, value, belief and lifestyle as a measure. It has always been around, but technology is the vehicle that is now tapping into it. Any market target is multi-dimensional in digital advertising – more than the rigid dividers of age, ethnicity or financial means. Online networks are the inclusive grouping of minds, and so commodities have to speak to that psychic presence – you have to speak to the psychographics of the demographics.
Smart technology is taking a page from Freud, and accessing the psyche. Google TV recently formed an alliance with Jinni, an Israeli company that has developed a semantic search-and-recommendation engine, which it bills as being based on “content genetics and user psychographics.”
Psychographics are the glue, connecting certain demographics, and speaking to an underlying emotional character – sometimes subconscious. Ascent app, a new fragrance questionnaire app from Estée Lauder tries to tap into this unconscious, aiming at a “higher awareness” of consumers’ personal fragrance using psychographics along with other psychological measures. According to The Independent UK, this application allows users to “discover” new fragrances they might not know they would have liked by heavily factoring in emotion and lifestyle into the selection process. Blurring the unit from consideration to purchase of product as a feedback loop.
It’s the 3-D way of marketing.
mph
Miriam P. Hara
Chief Creative Officer
3H Communications Inc.
3h.ca
by Miriam Hara | Oct 13, 2010 | Branding
Better to be a brand than not. Once consumers establish your product by brand, it is not an entity in itself. (more…)
