Does Your Business...have a branding strategy that works?

Is Disney messing with its story?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:10:00 +0000

It looks like Mickey Mouse is going under the knife for a makeover. Some would argue that changing this icon is the worst thing Disney could possibly do. I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea, but unfortunately, when change like this happens it tends to be over the top. Eventually it usually backfires.

Change may be necessary, but they just need to be careful. According to this New York Times article , only 20% of the $5 billion spent globally on Mickey Mouse merchandise was forked over in the United States. That seems like a pretty low number to me and a figure that would require the cartoon surgeons to scrub up and grab their pens and Wacoms.

The biggest problem with Mickey Mouse, who is 81 years old, is that he's simply irrelevant. Kids aren't fooled or enamored by animated mice like they were generations ago. Buzz Lightyear and Aliens draw a lot more attention from my 3-year-old than a mouse with black ears and no real skillset. Rather than changing the Mouse like they changed Barbie a few years back perhaps Disney should let the old critter become more of a Chairman or retired consultant to the Disney franchise? Let Buzz and The Incredibles play more of a leading role.

As the NYT article mentioned, this does have a New Coke feel to it. Let's hope that if change does occur, he still holds on to some of his octogenarian and classic characteristics and doesn't become too salty like some of the articles I've read suggest.

Automotive Hall of Fame recognizes SOZO | Pivotal client

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:54:00 +0000

We say it a lot, but the best clients and greatest success stories are with those who are passionate about their business. Without exception that is always the case. So it's pretty exciting to see a client and entrepreneur who is extremely energetic and passionate about his companies be recognized for his outstanding efforts and achievements.

Last week, Jesse Berger, President of Eastern Michigan Kenworth, received the Young Leadership & Excellence Award from the Automotive Hall of Fame.

SOZO | Pivotal has had the pleasure of working with Berger for over five years. When we started he operated one location, Berger & Sons, in Clinton Township. Today, Berger has quickly expanded his group of Kenworth truck dealerships and in addition to his original location, has dealerships in Dearborn, Sterling Heights, Lansing. Last year he was named to Crain's Detroit Business' 40 Under 40 list.

Too often you get wrapped up in the day-to-day work, so it's refreshing to be able to attend an event like this and see one of your business partners recognized for his contributions to this region. Take a moment to watch this video and listen to one of Michigan's greatest young business leaders.

Jesse Berger — Automotive Hall of Fame Speech from SOZO Pivotal on Vimeo.

Congratulations, Jesse!

No you're not!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:34:00 +0000

The worst thing you can do in a branding campaign is tell someone you're something that you're not. So with that in mind when was the last time you thought Yahoo! as the "home on the web"?

Exactly.

It appears as though the online business is preparing to launch an aggressive brand strategy with the intent to position the website as the "end all, be all" on the web.

Unfortunately, things have changed. Yahoo! may have once been the home on the web. Heck, it was the mansion until Google came out of nowhere only a few years back. When crafting a new marketing message you can't make bold claims that just aren't true. It usually appears desperate and laughable.

We've had people call us in the past telling us they want to be the next (fill in the blank). I hate to tell you but branding alone won't get you there. Show us how you're different and we'll do whatever we can to make sure everyone realizes it. Then, all you need to do is stand behind it and be passionate. Easy, right? If you're really good it should be easier than it is difficult.

It will be interesting to see what the message really is when it launches later this month. But if what we read is true, it appears that Yahoo! is talking about what they'd like to be (or what they wish they still were) rather trying to figure out how to unseat Google. You can't tell me how great you are, I need to see it. I'm hoping there's more behind this than just a tagline. Maybe Yahoo! is actually reinventing its product. Maybe they're differentiating from the other second-tier search sites. Maybe they're doing something revolutionary that Google hasn't yet considered.

Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. If that's the case, brand the heck out of it!

Typecast typefaces

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:01:00 +0000

I must admit that I noticed it immediately. It was probably a week or so before my RSS feeder blew up from all the hysteria: IKEA's decision to drop the use of Futura in favor of Verdana in its recently shipped Fall catalog.

I'm certainly not trying to brag. In fact, I'm not all that proud of myself that I notice these things sometimes. I literally walked past the stack of mail in the office, saw the catalog and thought what happened to Futura?

So why all the hoopla over a stupid typeface? Well, just like the design of logos, typefaces garner a lot of attention in the design community. Without being in the room, we have no idea why IKEA decided to abandon Futura. Maybe the designer of the catalog didn't have the font loaded on the computer and figured Microsoft's Verdana would substitute just fine. Who knows.

And who cares. I guess I do, but don't listen to me on this one. I'm a typeface geek, but certainly not a snob on this issue — I'll be the first to admit when I finally see a great use of Comic Sans and I'll cringe when I lay my eyes on a hack job with Gotham (today's type darling thanks to its use in the Obama brand).

It's not the typeface. It's not the font. It's the reason behind it.

Be the competition

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:32:00 +0000

Have you heard about Starbucks' new concept store called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea? When I first learned about the initiative a few months back I thought it was another shot at trying to regain a shine that's lost its luster over the past couple of years.

However, after reading Starbucks: Howard Schultz vs. Howard Schultz in BusinessWeek, I realized how brilliant of a move this is. Schultz basically pulled together a team of Starbucks employees, gave them a small budget and challenged them to create a coffee shop that could compete with Starbucks. Oh yeah, as the Starbucks' brass stayed out of it. What better way to ask how can we be better than to immerse yourself in the mind of a fledgling competitor.

Now, of course, we don't all have the budgets and resources of a company like Starbucks, but think about this for a few minutes. What would you do differently if you were entering your market today? How would you compete against, well, you? When you enter in that fresh thinking and start-up energy, all kinds of ideas come about. Remember how it was when you first started your company? Ideas always outnumbered hours available. Too often a rapidly growing and wildly successful business forgets to pack innovation into its portfolio. Just ask GM.

We also tend to spend lot of time worrying about the competition. What new products are they launching? Look who they've hired? How did they win that business? What are they're annual revenues? How can they support a staff like that? What are they doing differently? Why is everyone talking about them?

Perhaps we should forget all of that for a bit. Sure it's great data, but what do we do with it and how does it apply to us? After failed attempts of going head-to-head in the breakfast food category with the likes of McDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts and continuing to build, build, build aa the economy started pushing back in the other direction, Schultz hit a homerun with this idea. What better way to understand where your market is shifting than by reinventing with a completely different concept. Quite frankly, there's no way he could have done this under the Starbucks name. It would have been too risky and would have been another way of alienating even more customers—after all, regardless of the negative news your hear and read, there are still long lines at most Starbucks.

What would your competition have to do to knock you off your game? Figure it out and then go and do it. Let's call it innovative innovation.

Here's a video introducing the new store concept:

Woodward Dream Cruise changes logo...again

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:39:00 +0000

What's one way of confusing sponsors, alienating the public and blowing thousands of dollars? How about unveiling three logos in as many years?

That's what the Woodward Dream Cruise did when it recently unveiled a new logo that looks an awful lot like a bad classic car cliche and carries more detail than what could effectively be reproduced on the side of a 747. How exactly do they plan on printing that on hats, polo shirts and key chains?

I caught word of this change last night over at the Tanner Friedman blog and was stunned to hear that the sleek design created last year by former GM Design Director, Dick Ruzzin, was being put to rest.

Over here we loved the identity created by Ruzzin and thought it was a mark that could take the Dream Cruise well into the future and reach out to everyone (sponsors, affiliates and businesses included) in this area—whether or not you're a hardcore car enthusiast. From merchandising to visibility, Ruzzin's creation was spot on and had the ability to resonate with everyone from Detroit to Birmingham to Pontiac. This year's version is tough on the eyes to say the least. Catch someone walking down the street with that shirt on and you don't know whether they attended the Woodward Dream Cruise or a Wednesday night parking lot car show at Big Al's Diner.

I'm assuming the designer was a professional and he was just set back to the drawing board over and over again by an uneducated committee. Or, perhaps they did their research and this is the right direction for the event. But as far as I'm concerned, The Woodward Dream Cruise should stand out as the world's biggest and best classic car exhibit. In our opinion, it lost a huge part of that when it so quickly shelved last year's icon in favor of ... this.

This Is Working.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:09:00 +0000

We've decided to let you in under the hood, so to speak, here at SOZO | Pivotal with the launch of a behind the scenes video series, This is Working. We figured we'd get two episodes under our belt before we made any type of formal announcement. Sometimes you don't know how these things are going to work out. We didn't want to make any grand promise that we couldn't deliver. Two episodes was our benchmark for saying this is real, and here we are...Episodes 1 and 2.

So why are we doing these quick videos that take you into the inner workings of our small business?

One answer is because The Apprentice misses the mark. It's not about selling lemonade and designing a brochure. But seriously, we felt it was important to create a running documentation of what we're experiencing and how we're growing our business in a tough economy. As we get closer to completing our first decade of entrepreneurship, we reflected on all of our experiences, triumphs and challenges. Good or bad—it’s all part of the adventure. Perhaps us sharing our experiences will help others. Who knows?

We're excited to start a new chapter in the journey of growing SOZO | Pivotal and building a socially responsible company focused on doing outstanding work. It’s a journey that’s going to bring things back to the drawing board to analyze what the company is doing and how it’s doing it. You’re going to get a look into the inner workings of a real Michigan-based business that refuses to let recessions, FOR LEASE signs, dismal national statistics and unemployment rates drag us down.

There’s excitement and opportunity all around us, but sometimes it’s just a little harder to find. So come along as we show you how we’re repositioning our successful branding and design company.

Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:58:00 +0000

I'm not a big fan of building naming rights. Unless of course you qualify in one of the following:

you built the building
you always had your name on it or;
you are committed to it for the long-haul—Wrigley Field wasn't always Wrigley Field, but has been since 1926.

To hear that the Sears Tower is now the Willis Tower is about as ridiculous as calling Pine Knob (an amphitheatre in southeastern Michigan and popular Summer destination for you readers not from the area) anything else. My apologies to DTE Energy and whoever the heck you are, Willis, but your naming of these buildings doesn't resonate well with me or the masses. I'm certain that's not what you were trying to achieve?

RFP process leaves agencies feeling zapped

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:20:00 +0000

I must start out by saying that SOZO | Pivotal has responded to RFPs in the past. In fact, we've launched some of our greatest client relationships through the process. However, we don't respond to unsolicited RFPs anymore and after reading the Zappos ad agency review process and RFP fiasco, I'm even more comfortable with that decision.

More on Zappos later, but you may be asking: Unsolicited RFPs? How can a company asking to possibly do business with you be considered unsolicited? The problem is they aren't directly asking to do business with us or anyone else we're competing against. Someone at the company who made the determination that they need to fan out an RFP is trying to cover their behind. Can you imagine the uproar if they didn't painstakingly outline to the agency what it is that they needed? Can you imagine the hotseat someone would be on if they went ahead and selected an agency based on the chemistry between client and shop? Can you imagine, God forbid, the relationship didn't work out? That's a tough pill to swallow in a corporate America where in today's economy everyone is looking over their shoulder in fear that their next misstep will be their last.

So the risk is what keeps companies from addressing their real marketing needs. Essentially they're telling the professionals what they need. Well, the risk is there regardless and it increases exponentially through this process because one of two things happens as an agency responds to an RFP:

They tell you what you want to hear
They tell you what you need to hear.

So now all the proposals look exactly the same with a few gems that appear as though they didn't pay attention to the directions. Can you start to see why we no longer waste our time on RFPs?

Let's get back to Zappos and their RFP that brought in over 100 responses, free pizza and ice cream and a whole lot of negative attention. Yes, I said 100 responses. There's an outstanding blog post here by Ignited—a company that responded to the RFP. Ignited did something extremely smart. The crafted their proposal in a blog format and set up Google Analytics to track how long and how much of the proposal content was actually reviewed. Considering Zappos is built on customer service, it was no suprise that they didn't waste their time reading through a 100 25-page proposals word-for-word.

But there's something inherently wrong with all of this. Why are agencies still responding to RFPs? Why don't they all start to think like we do? We gave up on responding to RFPs after we realized we were losing a ton of hours in preparation of these meaningless documents. Sure we had won some lucrative contracts, but we'd also spent more hours than the contract was actually worth on a few of them. Unlike the gambling addict, we were able to admit to ourselves that we didn't always hit the jackpot when we walked into the casino.

The ironic thing is we've actually helped companies create a branding RFP. They admitted that they didn't know what exactly should be in their RFP, so we told them what they should outline. After all, it makes sense, right? We helped them with their RFP and got paid for it. I'm thinking somewhere along the line they didn't like what they saw or didn't feel they owned it because it never was sent out. That's too bad, because it was an RFP that hit the mark — the document outlined what they need to ask for, not what they thought they needed. (Here is an RFP outline we created and published to this blog a few years ago...maybe it will help you)

Unless you're dealing with a commodity, I strongly urge you to stay away from the RFP process. There are no two ad, branding or PR agencies that are the same. Some say they do everything. Some specialize. Some are good proposal writers. Some are actually good at what they do.

Here's what you need to do. Talk to some people you know and trust and ask they if they recommend an agency that could help you. Make a short list of agencies (no more than five) and call them up and say you'd like to stop by and meet with them for a half hour. If all goes well, invite them to your office for a one-hour meeting. Here's the secret: EVERY agency you put on your list will respond. I guarantee it. If they don't, they're obviously not the right fit.

And here's one more secret for you? Consider those hours that agencies spend in writing proposals with all those sections and details you asked for rather than allowing them to present their services to you in their format? More than likely the agency is building that price into the contract. Now that's a complete waste of money, don't you think?

Hopefully this is helpful in selecting an agency that is going to work with your brand. It's the relationship and partnership that fosters outstanding work, it's not the proposal or the free pizza.

Creating a portfolio is impossible

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Four years ago Kimberly Leclercq and I started SOZO | Pivotal. Along with that exciting new beginning came the responsibility of creating a new website full of information and project work to showcase that we really did know what we were doing.

The information part was easy. We are never at a loss of words when it comes to talking about what we do. However, the online portfolio has been a thorn in our sides for a long time. After a year or two we finally got a bunch of screen shots up there showing corporate identity work, screenshots of websites and photographs of printed materials. The problem was that it just didn't do the work justice.

Sure, it looked great, but there's so much more to our work than just what you see. An online portfolio is a must for people who solely practice graphic design, printing, photography or website design. But us showing a logo or a brochure design is akin to showing just the answer to a long and difficult calculus problem.

We all remember the excitement in 7th grade when we realized the math answers were in the back of the book. That thrill was dampened when the teacher wanted to see our work to know that we truly understood the problem.

The same can be said for what we do at SOZO | Pivotal. We provide answers to our clients through the use of a wide variety of tools, but it's the strategy and creative thinking that guides us to the right solution.

So you can see why showing images of our work just doesn't tell the whole story. Nonetheless we're excited to have finally figured out a way to capture our process — from strategy to design. The hardest thing for us was getting the term portfolio out of our heads. All we saw was a nicely cataloged booklet of fancy artwork and nice photography. Clearly that was not the right approach in communicating and illustrating what we do as SOZO | Pivotal. Please take a moment to look at our new website and some of the relationships we have with our clients (or as we like to refer to them, our friends). Also, please take a gander at the Beyond Strategy section. Here is where we take a closer look at individual client projects that are the results of clearly developed brand strategy.

It all makes perfect sense to us...finally. We hope that you find it just as informative. If you ever have any questions about the work that we've done with our clients or how we can apply what we do to your needs, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thanks for stopping by and while you're at it, please consider following us on Twitter and becoming a fan of SOZO | Pivotal on Facebook.

SOZO | Pivotal Day 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:05:00 +0000

Four years ago today Kimberly Leclercq and I officially formed SOZO | Pivotal and it's been a fun, exciting and challenging 1,461 days.

It's amazing what can happen during a span of 48 short months, but we're excited about the next 48...that's for sure.

We'd like to thank all of our clients, friends, associates, partners and employees for all of their support. Prior to forming SOZO | Pivotal, Kimberly and I had both run our own companies—her's SOZO and mine Pivotal—which we had started back at the turn of the century. So actually, we're both celebrating 10 years as business owners.

You're probably thinking four years isn't all that much of a milestone, but screw it, we're excited! We feel this four-year mark is even more notable not because so many businesses and partnerships fail to make it this far, but because we know we're just getting into a groove! The next four years are really going to be something special...stay tuned!

Pornography

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:12:00 +0000

So I'm meeting with a client yesterday and this is how it went...

After showing the website design concepts and site architecture our client, who loved both concepts, favored the second version. Both directions were different in their approach, but similar in that either one would have been effective in communicating the client's message.

This is when I heard the best testimonial ever...

"Dave, it's like pornography," said the client. I wasn't quite sure how to react, but I knew it was a compliment so I laughed.

He continued, "You know it when you see it. I knew what I wanted to see, but I wasn't sure how you were going to pull it together and this is exactly what I wanted to see.

We have great clients here at SOZO | Pivotal!!

Are you dropping your prices?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:05:00 +0000

I certainly don't claim to know much about wedding gowns, but I do know that Vera Wang has established herself as the preeminent fashion designer in this category.

The fact that I'm not Dennis Rodman and I've never been in the market for a wedding dress are important to note considering her name and brand should hardly come close to crossing my radar. Wang has done a masterful job over the years in promoting her brand and positioning her name as the wedding gown designer to the stars as well as an author of a wedding book, Vera Wang on Weddings. She also has a line of jewelry, fragrances, home collections and has made a number of appearances on television; all in a strategized effort to strengthen and promote her brand.

All in all it would appear that she has done everything right...until now. I read in today's Detroit Free Press that Wang has drastically slashed the prices of her gowns by a 30-50% as she introduced her Spring 2010 lineup. Of course, we're in a recession and people just aren't buying and spending like they did in the heyday. That affects everyone, even the Vera Wangs on the luxury goods tier.

But just like cutting marketing in a down economy, slashing prices is just as detrimental when trying to preserve a brand that identifies exclusively with the elite. It's hard to imagine that this price cut will do anything but hurt the brand long-term if only to move a few units during rougher period.

This drastic reduction only makes you wonder: is the Vera Wang brand just a status item or truly a luxury brand. True luxury brands carry clear value and can hardly be reduced under any circumstances. Status items, on the other hand, come and go and they ultimately go by way of red marker mark downs in a pile of wrinkled mess in the back of the store. Luxury is a fickle market to be in. One misstep and you're going from niche market to no market.

If you're selling a product or service today for less than you did five years ago, let me ask you a tough question: were you gouging the consumer during good times? Was your product really worth that price considering to you it carries the same value today as it did five years ago, what's the difference?

Luxury brands with staying power don't mess with pricing. They may tweak other things, but they don't touch the tag. It raises all sorts of questions you don't want your customers asking about your brand. Are they using cheaper materials? Is Vera Wang outsourcing the design to a cheaper apprentice? Why was the gown I bought in 2003 for $9000 now listed for $5500?

I don't mean to pile on Wang, but doesn't she feel she has a "must-have" product? Everything she's done up until now would lead you to believe that, but what happens when things turn around and now she's catering to the masses—trying to grab marketshare in a tough economy? Will her high-end clientele come back or will they flock to a fresh designer waiting in the background and ready to pounce that segment? Could she even consider moving her prices back up?

One of the biggest brand killers is messing with your pricing structure and I don't feel that's exclusive to luxury items. It happens a lot in fashion and it occurs quite often in beer. Believe it or not, Busch Beer used to be considered a premium beer in the late 70s. Sales go stale, drop the price and soon college kids and buying up the 30 packs for $12.99.

So have you considered dropping your prices in order to compete in a new world? Think carefully. There are many things that we should be doing in order to address the fact that our phones aren't ringing as much or the foot traffic in our stores has dwindled. But slashing prices isn't something I would ever consider doing if I wanted to maintain the integrity and value of my service or product.

If you must take a look at pricing, ask yourself: Is it the best decision in the short and long term and how do you plan on answering the questions from your most important critics—your customers?

Microsoft does it again

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:16:00 +0000

A few years ago Microsoft unveiled the Zune to compete with Apple's iPod. Its attempt to steal market share failed miserably. Now it's trying to do the same thing in the search engine game with Bing.

Bing? What do you think? This is Microsoft's attempt for a Google killer? Will we be binging for our information? Will you Bing Dave Bing? You get the sense that Microsoft tries way too hard to be cool—that's the kiss of death in business. You're either cool or you're not...there is no try.

GMAC becomes Ally Bank

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:37:00 +0000

Go to allybank.com and one of the first things you'll see on the homepage is a question:

"What is your bank trying to sneak by you?"

Ironic. You may have noticed the new Ally Bank TV spots over the weekend. If you haven't, you will. The new Ally Bank is the old GMAC.

The reason to bring on a new name appears to be two-fold: 1) sweep away the negativity associated with the collapsed auto and housing markets and 2) offer new consumer banking products and drive deposits to offset losses in those loan departments.

So this name change and brand shift is an effort to get people to forget about the GMAC name and its troubles. The Ally Bank mission? Straightforward and honest. What doesn't line up here? Apparently they've been talking about this switch since June. I'm curious to know what those internal conversations sounded like? Who was involved? How did they get everyone on-board? Surely it wasn't just sent out via an email announcement Friday afternoon. Or was it?

This has definitely been a very tumultuous last couple of years in the banking industry. A disastrous financial crisis, numerous mergers, confusing names changes, changes in fees and products and lackluster customer service to name a few. People really don't have anything good to say about banks. Does it really all end with a name change and a promise?

I don't think this approach by GMAC, LLC is necessarily wrong, but I would like to see a little more clarification from Ally that it was formerly known as GMAC—after all that would be the straightforward way of doing things. Sure they do come out in say on the site that Ally is built on the foundation of GMAC Financial Services, I just think it needs to be a bit clearer. I also hope it's not misleading in the sense that they'll never be able to deliver on what they're trying to promise. A new name alone does not bring a tighter promise.

Stadium naming rights done right

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:53:00 +0000

The millions of dollars that are spent on putting a corporate name and logo on a stadium—especially in a world of mergers and bankruptcies—has always been lost on me. Consider Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park and AT&T Park, the nine-year-old home of the San Francisco Giants has had more visits from sign companies than BALCO reps.

Clearly I understand why teams sell the rights, but what doesn't make sense is the obscene amount of money invested to hear your name when they say "you are looking live at...."

I just never quite understood how Comerica or DTE Energy ever justify having their name on a ballpark and ampitheater. But word out of Miami is that Dolphin Stadium could be re-named LandShark Stadium and this makes perfect sense. Consider the connection and the intentions of the Miami Dolphins. According to this article, they want to create an "entertaining, tropical South Florida feel." What better way to do that than to align with Jimmy Buffett and his beer?

Essentially I could see this becoming a 65,000 seat Margaritaville. You have to believe that's some sort of a draw—at least in concessions. To me the Dolphins look like geniuses here. While the article estimates the team won't get the $10 to $15 million that they would like, you can't really lose with this association. If the South Florida branding is what they're after, it appears to be a win-win because aligning your beer with the NFL has never been a bad idea.

Finally a naming right pairing that seems to make sense.

Lions rebranding starts today

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:23:00 +0000

Last week the Detroit Lions pulled the curtain on a new logo and uniforms. If you don't pay too much attention to this stuff you'd hardly recognize the changes if not for the team making it a bigger deal than it is.

During the press conference—which drew a ton of fans chanting "don't draft Stafford" or some variation of that—the Lions called these changes their new brand.

Ouch. Really? You can change your brand at the drop of a curtain? Why didn't I think of that? Heck, why didn't they think of that when they were 0-4 last year.

Rebranding actually started when Bill Ford, Jr. came out and said Matt Millen should be fired. It continued when he actually was let go a few weeks later. The effort continues and really becomes public with the NFL Draft. The players they draft today and tomorrow won't produce overnight results. Don't get excited about their college stats—YES, last year's Lions team would easily defeat an NCAA National Champion.

Last month when the new logo leaked on NFL.com, I wrote here that I thought the minor revisions were perfect. Those remarks got people excited. People said things like "this team needs to change everything from the top down," or "look at New England and Tampa Bay, they changed their uniforms and won Super Bowls."

Rebranding is a transformation process that has to start from within the organization. It has to be a mandate from the top. The right people have to be in the right places. I find it hard to believe, but perhaps this new logo and sense of identity has made the organization stronger internally. I won't completely dismiss it. Maybe that's indeed what happened when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got rid of the creamsicle uniforms and opted for a better color scheme. Did it lead them to the Super Bowl? Perhaps in some small way. But you couldn't put last year's Lions team in Pittsburgh Steeler uniforms and think their record would be anything other than 0-16. We've seen clients get excited when we launch a new brand identity. It's helped to reinvigorate their brand, but it's not the only answer.

On a side note, from a pure business standpoint the only thing I don't understand about the new logo is that with such a minor tweaking can they really expect a significant spike in merchandise sales? Maybe that loss of revenue will be a wash since they don't have to rent a bunch of jackhammers.

An inferiority complex is never good for a brand

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:05:00 +0000

This past weekend the Detroit area hosted another national sporting event—the NCAA Final Four. Over the past 10 years events like this have become a fairly common occurrence. We've had the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup, MLB All Star Game, Stanley Cup Final, World Series, NBA Final, Wrestlemania and the PGA Championship just to name a few.

Wow, every major sport has held a championship in the Motor City since 2004. Unfortunately, every time a big event rolls into town we, as a community, tend to worry about how we'll be perceived outside of Michigan. "What are they going to say about Detroit now?" "I hope there aren't any cars set on fire." "I hope they clean up the downtown area."

Detroiters also fall into the position of saying how great it is that we get these events, and it is! It's a huge lift to our economy if only for a short-term. But don't we bleed some sort of inferiority complex when we talk about how great this or that will be for our area? As a community why don't we portray a sense of entitlement that these major sports organizations choose Detroit for their rotation. Granted, the World Series, Stanley Cup and NBA Finals don't choose our region, but the others do.

It's great that there are leaders like Roger Penske who play significant roles in paving the way for these events to come to our city, but we spend too much time saying "wasn't it great to go downtown and see all the people while the (fill in the blank) was in town?"

I'm all for it and the fact that I'm even writing this blog post may to some people seem as though I'm feeding this complex, but the fact is, we need to just own it. Let's embrace for what it is. Let's carry a sense of entitlement that says, "of course, Detroit. Where else?" The fact remains, these events only last a few days and Detroit and the surrounding areas return to a status quo after the final TV truck rolls into the town. We can worry about the message that is pouring through the cables of those trucks and out to the rest of the country, or we can just realize we are what we are that it only makes sense that Detroit is in the rotation for the Super Bowl and PGA events.

This city could be better and it could a lot worse. But as a city and a region, let's own it and build the brand and image from there. Forget the "See, look at us. We can do it too" mentality. There's really no need to pose for the cameras or clean up the streets in hopes that visitors don't see our shortcomings. For the most part, we should just let it unfold.

Effective...At what cost?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:51:00 +0000

I first learned of this anti-smoking spot yesterday morning while watching the Today Show. I have to say that I think the spot is brilliant and could end up being one of the most effective PSAs I've ever seen.

But, BUT! This kid can't acting. I have two very young boys in this kid's age range and I've never seen that look on their faces. One's had stitches above his eye and the other managed to climb up over his crib one day and bounce off the wood floor (both are ok now, no worries.). When the incidents happened there was a lot of screaming and crying. But nothing like this.

Could the producers of this spot really dropped this boy in the middle of a train station and filmed his reaction? Or could a 4-year-old boy be this outstanding of an actor?

Take a look at the spot. It's powerful, but is it too much? What do you think?

How Twitter can help your business' brand

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:54:00 +0000

Are you on Twitter? If not that's ok, but surely you've now heard of it.

Chances are you've read about it in the mainstream media—a group that is generally split into two camps: the first being the avid users and the second the naysayers who don't use it but somehow know enough about it to dismiss it as a colossal waste of time.

Regardless of what you've read or heard, I'm about to shed a totally different perspective on the use of Twitter. I've actively used the service for about six months now and the biggest advantage I've gained is that I've been part of an ongoing conversation with some very great people. Some of those I've had the opportunity to meet personally while others are still just an avatar and quick quips of 140 characters here and there. They may be right down the street or on the other side of the world—with Twitter it doesn't matter.

I really believe that Twitter has helped my business evolve—not so much in a promotional way, but in a way that is harder to calculate. I'm inspired by the tweets that I read and I tend to follow people and businesses that I have something in common with—business owners, entrepreneurs, marketing and tech professionals, sports fans and the media. I learn from all of these people by following and participating. I also have heard that people have learned from us. I see opportunities that I just wouldn't have been open to or aware of had it not been for this service. I also see that the people I follow are genuinely taking the positive perspective to what's happening in our world today. That's refreshing in its own right.

In fact last week, Kimberly Leclercq, the co-founder of SOZO | Pivotal and our new not-for-profit organization ADOPT MORE, was interviewed on a Voices of Detroit podcast by Larry Henry (@detroitvoice) and Dave Benjamin (@davebenjamin)—both people I've met through Twitter. It was a great opportunity that was fostered through Twitter. The interview was great and you can hear it here. While you're at the site listen to the other podcasts and you'll hear about some great things that are happening across the Detroit area.

We've also noticed a significant uptick in blog readers and website visitors after we started using Twitter personally and professionally.

Just as most of us don't pick up the phone and expect to make a sale right then and there, you don't wake up and ask what is Twitter going to do for me or my business today. But, after six months you start to realize that it's been a pretty useful tool in branding ourselves and our businesses.

Follow us at the following Twitter handles:
@kleclercq
@daveklonke
@sozopivotal
@adoptmore

Check us out but also take a look at some of our followers. There'ss a lot to learn out there and even more importantly, there are a lot of great people that we should be meeting.

Why the new Detroit Lions logo is perfect

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:55:00 +0000

They could have done something drastic. The Detroit Lions could have come out with some freaky blue and black concoction that would look like an awkwardly fierce safari animal as well as another boring minor league baseball team.

It seems like all the Otters, Beavers, Grizzlies and Eagles of the sports world have redesigned their logos to be these three-dimensional emblems jumping out at you. Simply Y7-rated cartoons on hats and helmets.

Thankfully the Lions made the right decision. They didn't change the one that wasn't broken. Instead they mildly tweaked and improved upon it and I really like it.

I'm also sure there was a larger business decision behind this re-design. The fact that the Lions logo is built into the entire architecture of Ford Field was probably an expense the Fords weren't willing to absorb. With this enhanced logo version, they can rather easily touch-up the logo applications around the stadium without the use of a jackhammer.

This is a perfect example of making sure that business, branding and design are all sitting in the same room. Now let's focus on what's really important...the NFL draft and what's happening on the field.

Introducing ADOPT MORE

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:09:00 +0000

Unless you're a doctor or work for a non-profit organization, you may have at one time or another asked yourself what is the greater purpose behind what I'm doing?

As much as we absolutely love and are passionate about what we do here at SOZO | Pivotal, we oftentimes find ourselves searching for that higher purpose—using our talents to contribute on a greater level. After several months of planning and development, we think we've really figured it out.

It's call ADOPT MORE. Throughout the development phase it has taken on many incarnations, but today we're proud to say that the plan is solid and the mission couldn't be more perfect:

ADOPT MORE is an educational forum that speaks about adoption and gives prospective adoptive parents a platform to raise funds in order to help bring their little one/s home.

Through our branding, marketing and design talents, it is our hope that more people will become aware of the children in the world who need homes, love and families and will choose to grow their families through adoption.

Today we have a simple blog at www.adoptmore.com that showcases the participating families who are using this medium to raise funds for their adoption and the larger cause of adoption awareness. The first ADOPT MORE product is the orange bracelets. Proceeds go towards adoptive families who are selected by the individual purchasing the bracelet.

Tomorrow, who knows what's in store for ADOPT MORE, but we can guarantee that it will be exciting. As we say on the blog: there are 140,000,000 reasons to adopt. But more specifically, there are 140,000,000 children in this world without homes and families.

The things we're planning and developing are extremely exciting and we hope you decide to follow us on this journey. In addition to the blog, you can follow us on twitter @adoptmore.

Thank you for checking it out and we hope that you at least help us spread and adopt more awareness!

Trust: a two-way street

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:14:00 +0000

As business owners we're always trying to build trust with our customers. But can you really gain their trust unless you trust them first?

I noticed something very interesting today when I walked into Biggby for a coffee. They trust their customers so much that they have a Brewed Coffee Express area where patrons can skip the line and get their coffee. To pay they are asked to simply leave exact change in the piggy bank next to the coffee carafes?

But aren't they worried about people running off with free coffee? That would be short-sighted. In fact, for every cup of coffee that may be stolen, there are probably 100 people happy they can run in and out quickly. After all, this isn't 7-Eleven where a bunch of zit-faced high-schoolers are hanging out at the Slurpee machine.

It's a nice convenience for their customers, but more importantly its a relationship that they are building with everyone that walks into one of their stores — we trust you and hope you trust us. This is a great example of living your brand when it comes to placing the customer first. You can't fake that and you can't design it.

See my other blog post about the Biggby brand here.

Social Media: Are you talking or listening?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:40:00 +0000

Social media this, social media that. Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. Everyone's jumping on the Web 2.0 bandwagon and trying to make some noise.

And that's the problem.

If you participate in any of these great social networking tools you've surely identified the spammers and so-called social media experts from those who truly want to engage in a conversation.

The other day a very intriguing email came across my inbox. The subject was "Yelp Me Out Please!" It came from Tim Castaneda, owner of Zumba Mexican Grille in Royal Oak, and it wasn't your typical email promotion.

Since I've subscribed to Zumba's e-newsletter I've been impressed with the way they approach marketing and promoting the restaurant. I'm never annoyed by the volume of email they deliver and there's usually a really good coupon or promotion that benefits me, the customer.

This email was totally different, but it did benefit the customer. Apparently Zumba's had recently received some negative comments and reviews about its salsa bar. Instead of dismissing the bad reviews and only relishing on the positive news Tim noticed an opportunity to get more feedback on his salsas. Tim did what many companies — and restaurants specifically — wouldn't, he copy and pasted his negative salsa reviews into the body of the email. Whoa!

Comments like:

I would have probably given it three stars until I walked around to the salsa bar. What a disappointment!
the salsas were awful!
The mild salsa tastes like spaghetti sauce, the tomatillo is too acidic, and the chipotle-tomatillo is garbage.

At the end of the email he said he would love to hear our opinions? That's a very impressive and constructive way of using social media to provide a better experience for the customer. I've always liked the salsa at Zumbas and the food in general is always great and fresh. Everyone has an opinion and people tend to get very passionate when it comes to restaurants. Tim clearly realizes how important his customers are to his success. He could have decided to just plow ahead and ignore the complaints. Instead he engaged in a conversation with all of his customers and will come out ahead and perhaps with improved salsa—at least if that's the consensus.

Just as I was beginning to think tools like Facebook and Twitter were getting a bit too loud, along comes Zumba showing us all how it's supposed to be used!

The currency of branding

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Klonke) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:00:00 +0000

What percentage of your branding efforts cost money versus time? I'm sure we've all had our share of customer experiences where the response is:

"We'd love to do that, but, you know, it's just not a good time right now. Money is tight."

I was catching up on some reading this afternoon and a couple of different topics collided to form this post. One had to do with time and money and the fact that they usually don't coexist. Basically, when the money is rolling in, we don't have time and when money is scarce the hands on the clock move a little slower.

For the most part that seems to ring true—at least from my experience. But then I started thinking how businesses must control the swing between money and time and create a more balanced approach to investing both into their companies. They really must coexist.

So take a look at how you invest in strengthening your brand identity and message. How much of it is in dollars and how much in time? Now how do both those currencies work together?

We tell our clients all the time that branding and communications must be a passionate endeavor that is built into the fabric of the company. You have to live it and living it is more an investment in time and commitment than money. The foundation of what your company is all about can't be faked and it certainly can't be bought. If you hire a creative company to tell you who you are aren't you actually just hiring an outside CEO? Having someone re-design your logo or packaging without the higher purpose of embracing it throughout your organization isn't going to do anything but empty your pockets.

So where are you investing TIME into your brand?

Identifying what it is you want to be and how you're different
Truly living your brand in everything you do. Giving it that extra effort to be memorable in a very authentic way.
Hiring the right people to represent your company
Brainstorming ideas that complement the brand
Going above and beyond in delivering an exceptional customer experience

And, when do you need to realize it may be time to open the checkbook?

Creating a corporate identity that reflects all that you've identified above
Building a website that serves as a tool for recruiting, prospecting, educating and showcasing
Designing experiences that appeal to the senses
Writing copy and crafting imagery that engages your audience

Spending the necessary time understanding what it is you want to do with your brand will actually save you a ton of money in the long-term—whether you're designing in-house or working with a creative agency like SOZO | Pivotal.