by Miriam Hara | Apr 20, 2012 | Branding, Business Success, Creative
We’ve all said it before… but I’ll say it again. Brand is so much more than a logo, than a positioning statement. These establish the brand premise and the foundation to build the brand culture. A true brand must be bold, must stand apart every time it speaks to the consumer. It must always be authentic to its premise. It must reinforce its uniqueness and authenticity with every piece of communication… whether it’s an e-initiative, an ad, outdoor campaign, digital campaign, website, customer letter, greeting card and, yes, even a sign on the wall.
It has always been my belief that every detail that is viewed by the target market is an integral piece of the brand building process. I have always correlated building brand to building a house. The logo and the positioning statement are the foundation of the brand. Then the framework, dry walls, windows all have to be added…. to support and build the “total vision” of the house.
This “building strategy” recognizes the need of investing a little more in say, a business card or a leave behind , and is as integral as a full scale advertising campaign. Okay, I hear you asking the question… what do I mean by “investing a little more?” This is what I mean: look at every communication piece and ask the number one question… “How do I make my brand the sole owner of this piece?” Is it only colour? Is it simply by stating the brand’s offering? Does the initiative I am working on speak to my Brand and communicate my Brand solely… only and truly? Is it moving beyond the mundane, true and tried initiatives that have been done… offering no intrinsic value, no additional wow effect to my target audience? Does it assist in making my brand stand apart…even before they read it…as soon as they see it?
How to evaluate a marketing piece and increase the brand ROI of that piece. Here’s a simple way that will help you in answering the question.
If a competitor can replace your logo with theirs, change the colour and the words and use everything else that you’ve developed than you haven’t created a unique brand piece. This question works whether you are evaluating an ad, a flyer, a billboard, a sales aid, a leave behind, brochure, etc…
So how do you create a brand piece that no one can “take” from you. The answer is easy:
Create it so that it reflects your Brand Offering and USP… and I don’t just mean plopping a logo, and making everything in your brand colours (although that is must!). The initiative has to speak to the Brand Culture, position in personality, in format, in copy style. This is the only way that competitors can’t mimics your brand or “take ” your initiative and make it their own… because they can’t deliver on the promise or on your brand’s USP… only your brand can.
In short: creating brand ROI is the first step in achieving business success.It is obvious that Brand must provide ROI. But what should be the expectation of delivering on brand ROI? Is it reasonable to expect brand ROI immediately? Is it reasonable because you have a website and a logo to expect that your brand initiatives are done and all other initiatives just need to follow through? Today, more than ever, halfway measures and “me too look alikes” will damage the performance of you brand and believe me, that will definitely effect the brand ROI.
I look forward to your comments and discussing your point of view. I invite you to join in the conversation! If you got here via a link from a friend, or Linkedin, I invite you to join the conversation on marketing, branding and design… sign up on 3H hoopla! here.
by Madi Secareanu | Apr 16, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Interactive, Social Media
There’s no doubt that social media has changed the marketing landscape significantly within the last few years. There’s always something new; a new social networking site this year, a new app tomorrow, a new feature next week, a new enhancement next month…social media is constantly in flux. I think what makes it so successful is not only it’s ability to re-invent itself, but it’s ability to re-invent itself while keeping its core proposition intact – social media, for brands, for marketers, for individuals, helps tell a story.
What is social media storytelling?
The concept of brand storytelling is not a new one; it’s just also been re-invented to social media storytelling. Brands aim to take their consumers on an emotional journey by connecting with them, to create a demand by appealing to a consumer’s wants, needs and desires. That is the essence of social media storytelling. This connection is very important and partly the reason why social media has emerged as the ideal tool to tell the brand story and connect, more personally and more emotionally, with existing and potential customers.
Take a look at the new Facebook Timeline for example; it’s essentially a storyline. A storyline driven by the brand and enhanced by its followers. It’s about generating and amplifying stories, and because of this, timeline helps brands become better storytellers. How does it do this? Well getting people(followers) involved for one, they can help bring their own unique perspective to your brand, and helping facilitate that emotional bond between brand and consumer. But its layout is really what sets its ability to tell a story apart. Timeline speaks to a story about a brand’s history and its present but it’s designed with the future in mind. The bigger emphasis on visuals makes more impact – images often make better stories and the Millstones feature helps highlight important dates and facts that are essential to the brand’s (hi)story.
Pinterest, for example, is based on visuals. It tells a brand story through images, and how far can a brand go if the only images they feature are product images? With Pinterest, brands must show the bigger picture (pun intended). What inspires the brand? What type of lifestyle does the brand fit into? Pinterest is about going beyond the product and about creating a more complete story around a brand, visually.
Let’s not forget Twitter. It’s immediacy has been the reason brands have had such success with it – it helps brands tell quick and interesting stories while connecting with followers on a more personal level. I, for one, love when I tweet about a brand and they immediately acknowledge it by commenting or retweeting – I feel like they care about my story and how it fits into theirs.
Every brand has a story, and social media is here to help tell it in a more engaging way. How do you help contribute to the brand story through social media storytelling?
by Christine Marr | Apr 12, 2012 | Branding, Creative, Design
Our reaction to colour is subliminal. As consumers, we are generally unaware of the persuasive effects of colour. Psychological effect is instantaneous, stimulating the senses and power of suggestion. We see it in every level of communication: in corporate identification and logos, signage, advertising on tv, billboards, in print media and packaging, on the computer and in-store. As we zip down isles in our favourite stores, our eyes rest on a package for approximately .03 seconds. In that blinking-of-an-eyelash timing, the packaging/sign/logo must rivet the observers’ eyes, inform them of the product, and, more importantly, appeal to their psyches.
I doubt I am saying anything new here. However, last week, we went to visit a client at their office and what happened there, prompted me to take note about colour and how we identify with it. We hadn’t been to Dentsply Canada’s office in a little over six months. As we walked through the door, the receptionist glanced up and said “…from 3H?”. Wow, that completely floored me. We make a point of always wearing purple when we see clients, because purple is the dominent 3H brand colour. This was enough for the receptionist to remember our visit from 6 months ago. We, at 3H, are strong believers in Brand Recognition!
We practice what we preach. While we clearly know and acknowledge that it takes much more than colour to build a brand… what you do with a “brand” colour clearly enables and facilitates brand recognition. Colours are so intimately associated with a brand that just the suggestion of a colour is enough to bring a brand to mind. That’s isn’t simply amazing… it’s awesome in building equity.
Think about this…
When you think of Home Depot, what colour comes to mind?
Which bank is “blue”, which one is “orange”, and which one is ‘green”? Close your eyes and picture the Google logo. The McDonald’s logo? And for my Canadian readers… what is meant by the “Windsor” blue.
Our reaction to color is instantaneous and this lens is a quick look at general responses based on research, historical significance of color and word association studies. Let’s take this one step further… picture the Home Depot logo, but with different words in the same font in the orange box… would you still recognize it? Would you see the logo as a whole, as one image, and recognize it instantly, associating it with Home Depot.
So when developing a brand and beginning with the basics of creating a logo… choose a colour that would represent your brand identity effectively for now and the future…And repeat after me….
Repetition, repetition, repetition… consistency… everywhere… all the time. Exposure over time ensures success….. but that’s a different point of discussion! Colour makes a brand stand out and command attention and make sure that the Logo colour matches your brand mission and message to create the brand identity you want.
So what do colours mean anyway? Here’s a brief overview.
Green occupies more space in the spectrum visible to the human eye than most colours. Green is the pervasive color in the natural world, making it an ideal backdrop in interior design because we are so used to seeing it everywhere. Green is considered the colour of peace and ecology.
Purple embodies the balance of red’s stimulation and blue’s calm. This dichotomy can cause unrest or uneasiness unless the undertone is clearly defined, at which point the purple takes on the characteristics of its undertone.
Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable, and committed. As the collective colour of the spirit, it invokes rest and is calming.
Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colors and instill optimism and energy, as well as spark creative thoughts.
Pinks are youthful, fun, and exciting, while vibrant pinks have the same high energy as red; they are sensual and passionate without being too aggressive. Pink is the color of happiness and is sometimes seen as lighthearted.
Orange sparks more controversy than any other hue. There is usually strong positive or negative association to orange and true orange generally elicits a stronger “love it” or “hate it” response than other colours. Fun and flamboyant orange radiates warmth and energy.
Understanding colour and what they represent is important in establishing a brand persona. In today’s world of fast communication and overload of visual stimuli, it is more than vital that brand expresses its identity at the blink of an eye.
If you had to define your personality as a brand colour, what would it be?
by Miriam Hara | Feb 6, 2012 | Advertising, Branding
Last week there was much talk about the Super Bowl and specifically, of the Super Bowl TV commercials, which is the reason for this post. Over the years, the Super Bowl TV advertisements have been conceptualized beautifully and superbly executed. They have made us laugh, made us talk about them around the “water cooler” and now they have made us “share” them.
The best advertising campaigns are those that show the brand’s features by illustrating the benefits into a memorable 30 second TV commercial, print advertisement, radio advertising, or an online/social media initiative. In short, the ads must be developed to have a one track mind: Brand Recall. Has the creative raised the Brand to be the ultimate star or did the storyline and the execution or special effects become the star? If there are too many creative elements; creative, copy, special effects, design, or information which intrude on the “space”, then you may not necessarily lose your target audience… but you will lose the opportunity of making sure your ad builds brand awareness and recall. This is true of a 30 second TV commercial, billboard campaign, print campaign or online initiative.
Developing campaigns is part of the marketing process, so it’s important that advertising strategies are in line with the marketing plan. It is an extension of the Brand. It must communicate the marketing message though Brand’s persona and its reason to believe. It must without any exception make the brand memorable… not the ad. The objective of any creative commercial advertisement is to Brand Recall. A couple that come to mind are:
Almond Joy and Mounds Ads created an advertising jingle that became their slogan.
“Feel Like a Nut” 1980
Apple
Apple 1984
Bud Light Magic Fridge
“The Magic Fridge” Super Bowl XL Commercial
Chrysler Halftime in America
Chrysler “Halftime In America” Super Bowl XL Commercial
In all of these the creative integration of the features, the promise and the benefits and concept all in one. The Brand is totally integrated.
Next time you are involved in assessing a brand campaign for any media… ask yourself if the proposed concept asks of its audience to do too much to get to the creative message and to your Brand. Here’s a quick checklist:
- Is your Brand Logo and Brand Name prominently featured?
You really don’t want your target audience to say….what was that ad for?
- Does it speak to your Brand’s persona?
Is it too funny? Is it too casual? Is the ad fresh, innovative within the context of your brand?Does it use the right colours?
- Does the creative premise take the product’s features as the main theme?
What is your brand’s competitive edge…its unique selling point and does the advertisement speak to it.
- Does the ad have a single focused message?
You really can’t say it all. Make sure there aren’t too many messages vying for attention. Equally important, is the ad taking off on a creative track that has nothing to do with the intended message. Does the ad show the benefit/experience/promise. Don’t forget, what’s in it for the our intended audience and their psychographics.
- Is the message on brief?
Don’t get caught up in the beauty of the copy or the cleverness of the ad. If it’s not on brief. Then it’s off.
Share with me what you feel is the best advertising campaign (TV, Radio, Social Media, Billboard or Print) you’ve seen that show fabulous creative concept with strong brand recall.
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.
