As if it wasn’t brilliant enough to package and sell assembly-line mishaps, the American jelly bean makers Jelly Belly have gone the extra step of coming up with a great name for the product. “Belly Flops” is at once descriptive, funny, evocative of the brand’s personality (fun and silly), and a bit daring (because a belly flop is a painful thing). And if Belly Flops really are Jelly Belly’s mistakes, it’s a win-win for company and consumer—incremental revenues for them, and for us, a fun, novel (presumably discounted) way to enjoy a favorite candy.
Can you think of any other companies that have managed to package and sell their mistakes?
[Thanks to Lauren for reminding me about this great name, and for the pic!]
Many brands operating in China—both foreign and domestic—choose to use two names to represent themselves to Chinese customers: one composed of Chinese characters and another that is alphabet-based, such as an English name. Coca-Cola, for example, does business in China with its American name as well as “可口可乐.” Of course, some brands opt to use just one name in either English or Chinese, but brands with both face the unique visual identity challenge of having separate logos for each or incorporating the two names into one, simple logo design.
The Options
After developing Chinese and alphabet-based names—both significant undertakings in their own right—companies operating in China must choose whether to create a “blended” logo—one that includes both names—and then make additional decisions about how and when to use their logo or logos. These decisions can be depicted as a decision tree.
Differentiate. Decommoditize. Zag. Conventional brand strategy wisdom dictates that in order to succeed, a brand must set itself apart from the competition. Examples of differentiation-driven success abound, and in fact most of the support for differentiation seems to be delivered through case study or anecdote.
But what do we mean when we say “be different?” Telling stories about brands that have succeeded by standing apart from their competition may support the point that differentiation works, but it leaves something to be desired when consulting with a client on how they can differentiate their organization. Instead of listing examples, I wonder if it’s possible to think more systematically about the dimensions along which a brand can differentiate.
I use the word “dimensions” because brand consultants (including me) are often guilty of simplifying everything down to a two-dimensional graph, plotting the competition on the axes, and pointing out where a client has room to stand apart. To illustrate, here’s one of my favorite two-axis graphs from xkcd.com, poetically entitled “Fuck Grapefruit.”
Gatorade has been befuddling me ever since the beginning of their “What’s G” campaign.
First it was “What is G?”
Now it’s “Who is Gatorade?”
At first I thought the new campaign was meant to infuse the beverage brand with a little more urban chic, with Lil’ Wayne narrating and the implication that the Jabbawockeez are just as much athletes as are Michael Jordan and Jackie Robinson.
Then came the Monty Python ads. Weird. Amusing. About as far from “urban chic” as you can get.
The goal of branding is sometimes explained as an attempt to create an emotional connection between brand and customer. It’s easy to demonstrate the effectiveness of this emotional side of branding with examples like Disney, Starbucks, and Harley-Davidson (brands that you may associate with happiness, indulgence, and rebellion, respectively). Brand managers working with business-to-business (B2B) brands, however, often chafe at the idea that their company or product—maybe an accounting firm or an esoteric scientific research tool—should be connecting with its customers at an emotional level.
“Welcome, to our viewers in the United States and around the world.” Every week, Fareed Zakaria, acclaimed author and columnist, begins his broadcast with these words. The show is Fareed Zakaria GPS, a weekly international affairs program on CNN, and the topic is public affairs with a focus on international issues (“GPS” stands for “Global Public Square”).
You can always count on the checkers at Cold Storage to 3x bag any raw meat and generally use as many plastic bags as possible. #Singapore Saturday 04 February
"P&G perfected the modern art of branding with Crisco" NPR: Who Killed Lard?-More at http://t.co/uY4c7sBP Saturday 04 February
I’m not sure how I missed this, but the designer know as Velociraptor has updated his original Crayola Color Timeline that I posted about last year, into the the new Crayon-Bow (half rainbow - half rising su...
I missed this Inception Chair by Vivian Chiu because it was being exhibited in Noho during ICFF. It was a big regret of mine being unable to get to Noho to check out the great installations.The Inception Chair...
My friend Tina (AKA Swissmiss) has launched Tattly, a new online store for — get this — designy temporary tattoos! Yes, now you can wear your love of design right on your sleeve. Why get a permanent MOM whe...
