יום ראשון, 22 במרץ 2015

The logo as a fig leaf

This post is about the massive effort invested by large and small businesses to create their logo. “This graphic element is what will differentiate us from our competition and make us stand out” they say “This is the tip of our iceberg, the cherry on our pancake. it engulfs the whole essence of our business.  So why is that the criteria for that Pinnacle are summed up in the grey area of “i love it  - its nice - i hate it”.


This is not nice


I dont mean to elaborate on the matter of lofos since i am not an art director of a graphic designer but i do think  a logo is a brand’s fingerprint. That unique graphic trait of each individual human that can not  (at least legally) be copied or imitated. Unless your name is Bond, James Bond.


Now. What do I want to say here? Take any action movie and look up the scene in which the FBI agent uploads the terrorist fingerprint and gets a complete and accurate profile of the man's appearance, character, habits, hobbies, aberrations, opinions and his “bad boy” resume. What happened here is that the man’s logo (fingerprint) became a point of reference, both emotional and rational. I find that the essence of a logo.


In practice, most logos act like the fig leaves on adam & eve's nakedness, a stylish and fashionable ornament which was designed to hide, not to expose.


For me, the logo is actually an invitation for a dance. It is the scent of the woman’s perfume standing in front of you in line. Its job is to embody the personality of the brand and/or of a brand owner, so that the viewer will experience the brand as personal as possible, before they actually meet each other at the point of sale.  


Take a few minutes to watch the following video in which a 5 year old girl describes logos in her so original and naïve way.

יום חמישי, 12 במרץ 2015

The Price of branding

The Price of branding

I overheard a conversation between two friends at a gas station. "Dude”, said one of them, “you have to eat the Artbuger at Moses (an Israeli burger chain, OG), it is one hell of a burger”. "...How did you call it?" ask the other. "Artburger. that's the name they gave it but it has no meaning to me. it is just a very tasty burger, i guess an advertising so-called expert gave it that Pretentious name”. "And how much did they charge you for it?” Was the next question."it was outrageously expensive piece of meat" said the first and i could see that he has just realized he was robbed. “Well, my friend, that was the price of branding you paid for" was the answer.

Brands charge us more and we pay them more for their feel privileges, that is , we pay them more because we want to feel something thoughts that object that we just bought. something that will upgrade our usage experience to irrational territories.

Now usually, this does not happen because the product has no true-to-life relationship with its branding. most of the times branding is an unfulfilled and empty promise designed only to hook the fish. In the case of the “Artburger” the brief was to differentiate the hamburger and the creative execution was a pretentious name that will justify the price. in my opinion they did not trust their fine product to engage effortlessly the customer based only on its merits.

Branding is an unconscious perceptual process that never ends. it happens whether you like it or not. it happens to people and businesses. it is the emotional reflection that create or don't create an emotional effect on the recipient side. A good branding process creates a never ending positive or negative emotional consumption.


Just like in my inhaler case.

From the age of 5 i hold it in my hand when i go to sleep ( i am 50 years old). it’s shape and packaging did not change dramatically. it stayed pharmaceutical boring and dull. but it is my confirmation that everything will be alright and i will wake up alive the next morning. the taste of that metallic cold air that is sprayed out of that blue container is my taste of life, and not coca cola, GSK, the company that manufacture my inhaler knows this of i think they know but it does not matter because branding, the ability of a product to produce emotions in people, is a subjective process that contains within it, much more than a good practical and cost effective product that solves a problem. in my case, asthma.

Yesterday, when i went to the pharmacy to buy my prescription inhaler, i was offered a new one with a flower on a red well designed package by a different pharmaceutical brand. “No thank you”, i told the Pharmacist. i even refused to take it for a test drive and “discover that it has no metallic aftertaste and it is much nicer and well designed”, as the Pharmacist explained. the little child in me did not want a better product or a better medicine, the little child in me wanted reassurance that he can go to sleep and wake up still breathing and if he has to go to 5 different Pharmacies to find it, he will.

The is the justified price of branding for me. it is the effort i make to get that desired feeling i want or need. i think many companies that present a well crafted brand image and identity that has no bearing to reality, will save money on marketing if they discover that hidden emotional component in their products that makes people feel. not think.

יום שני, 2 במרץ 2015

Why an outstanding brand idea is a musical riff



Why an outstanding brand idea is a musical riff
  1. Because it summarizes what the brand is all about
  2. Because it holds the brand’s promise and premise
  3. Because it is short and simple
  4. Because it can be instantly recognisable but yet, will not feel like anything else
  5. Because it take the audience into a journey i.e, into the brand
  6. Because it can be memorable  
  7. Because it acts like a hook and pulls people into the brand like into a song
  8. Because it allows the brand to improvise though time and still retain its identity
  9. Because if played properly it can  be unforgettable
  10. Because it saves time & money on marketing communication
  11. Because it can be copied or stolen but never imitated
  12. Because the more it gets stolen or copied the more powerful it gets as the original
  13. Now get to work and convert your brand's idea into a simple riff like  Mr. Ritchie Blackmore with "Smoke on the Water" and you might smoke the competition off the water.
  14. Via Con Dios