Bad Brand Spokes Figures

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Michael Doyle

Lately, I can’t stop thinking about good, bad and sometimes ugly brand spokes figures in today’s media. Some of my favorite ad campaigns are smoother than your very best wingman. However, I’ve observed a few commercials that offer up some pretty hokey spokes figures that have me flipping the channel just to escape their cheese.

Let’s take Car Fax for example. I really used to enjoy their commercials, especially the one featuring a dog driving a truck into the pond because he was chasing ducks. That was an undeniably funny spot. How can you not laugh out loud at this old commercial?

My question is, why did they think they had to develop an ultra lame brand figure? Check out the new fox:

I understand the need for the development of a brand figure to positively represent your brand. But…a Car Fox? Are you kidding me? The Car Fax Car Fox? No explanation, no cuteness, no redeeming brand attributes or values, no good old fashion funny spots like their former thirty-second gems. I honestly have no clue as to why their executive team OKed this bizarre puppet as brand spokes person. Can someone, anyone, explain this please? To me this seems like a lame attempt to associate your brand with a random figure so you can say you tried. It feels like there was no real thought or creativity put behind the campaign. Car Fax, I implore you: is a cheesy fox puppet really the best you can do?

Another great example of a brand figure gone wrong is the Bar None sock puppet. It was terribly cheesy and ineffective when Pets.com used it, so why would it would be any better now? See what I’m talking about:

Pets.com:

Bar None:

If this spot doesn’t say tired and low budget, what does? I am uncertain as to how the Bar None sock puppet conveys positive brand values or attributes. Does it even say cute, clever or funny really? No, no and no again. How original; buy the asset from Pets.com because you can’t come up with anything else better, funnier, or clever? I am also confused as to how a dog is related to auto financing; at least it made sense representing a pet supplier. Bar None, let’s go back to the drawing board.

So on the value side of the spectrum, your beer is a fringe product. Yet you are desperately trying to make it smooth and sophisticated. Even more mind boggling is the development of the brand figure/character Keith Stone. Do the head honchos over at Keystone really believe that Mr. Stone oozes smooth sophistication? Are you serious? Here is what I see:

Always smooth… really? Dude is the antithesis of smooth. Pardon my repetitive vocabulary, but this spokesman is CHEESY. When I first started noticing this guy on billboards, my first reaction was less smooth and more rough with a strong after taste. A few years ago Keystone aired  a campaign that poked fun of the “bitter beer face,” made when one drinks cheap beer. Keith Stone gives me bitter beer face, and I haven’t even flipped the cap. Keith, is this really the best you could do to represent your brand?

Just like an afternoon special, there is a lesson to be learned. When choosing or developing a brand figure or spokes person/character, try creating ones that represent the brand in a positive light. It’s always best to communicate brand attributes and values with a clever and memorable character, instead of using an obnoxious representation that is cheesy, rough and has a strong after taste.

Stay tuned for a blog entry about brand spokes figures that could show Keith Stone a thing or two about “smooth.”

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Branding Is About Winning

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Michael Doyle

If you think branding is about flashy logos, being trendy and unquantifiable results, you are dead wrong. Branding is about winning, producing tangible results and reaching both your personal and corporate goals. Here are a few qualifiers on which you can measure your brands success and see those results.

#1 Branding is about owning your space in the marketplace and being the #1 brand whether you are a consumer product or a service company. Winning in your space means you will be the most frequently sought out brand in your industry.

#2 Branding is about quantifiable results which allow you to see an actual increase in the number of leads generated, greater number of overall sales, increasing revenue and ultimately more profit towards the bottom line. These results are not just for the company, they’re for your entire executive team who will also help you to reach your personal goals.

#3 Branding is about winning the hearts and minds of your employees. I call this Internal Branding. It is so important to have everyone within your company understand your brand, your position, your value proposition and how to make it a great brand experience for your customers. Communicating the brand message to the marketing team, the sales department and the operations team will help your company deliver on the brand promise and produce results.

#4 Branding is about gaining market share, expanding into new markets and regions, and increasing your brand recognition both locally and globally. This includes introducing new product lines, expanding service areas and allowing you and your company to grow as experts in your field.

#5 Branding is about being the go-to resource and the expert in your space. As an expert you will be the one the media calls on for information regarding your industry. Your company will be the one they follow and write about. Winning also means staying ahead of your competition and having other companies strive to emulate your brand and be like your company.

Beyond the look and feel, branding is about winning and producing results, it’s about branding and positioning the company and yourself to reach your bigger picture goals and objectives. A strong brand has the ability to help your company get to the next level, raise capital for growth, go public, and maybe even get acquired so you sail off into the sunset….

-Michael Doyle, Brand Champion

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Brand Iron launches new site for The Nesbitt Group

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Josh Barker

Brand Iron has just completed the redesign of The Nesbitt Group’s website. This included a creation of new messaging, new look and feel and the integration of the WordPress platform. The use of WordPress has been very beneficial to our client’s performance needs with their new site. These benefits include:

1. Ability to update content and new pages in-house.

2. Greater visibility to search engines (SEO).

3. Quick and easy to update clients with up-to-date news (blog).

4. Ability to easily add new functions to your site (plug-ins).

Check out http://www.thenesbittgroup.com and see the power of WordPress. It might be a great fit for your companies needs.

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Website Branding and Development

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Josh Barker

Brand Iron does websites. Actually, we do lots of websites, but not too many that we don’t celebrate the launch and birth of every single one. Below are some of our recent “prides and joys”. Launching a new site is an exciting time for our clients because they start seeing the rewards almost immediately. Benefits of a new site include: better positioning and messaging to prospects, improved SEO, or simply having a better, more dynamic presence on the world wide web.

Revenue Enterprises :: Accounts Receivables and Collections :: www.revenueenterprises.com

ESS Software :: A software solutions company for commercial real estate :: cresync.esssoftware.com

Infinite Health & Wellness :: www.infinitehealthandwellness.net


The Nesbitt Group :: Denver commercial real estate broker :: www.thenesbittgroup.com

Venture Law Advisors :: Denver law advisors for emerging and growth companies :: www.venturelawadvisors.com

Contact Brand Iron today and let’s start building your new site.

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Protecting and Defending your Brand: Preparation is Key

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Jim Miller

Today’s economic climate and growing market competition create major challenges for businesses of any size.  As business pressures mount, it is proven that stronger brands have better success weathering storms.  Being able to differentiate, demonstrate value and cultivate meaningful relationships with customers is critical to long-term success. In other words, “Brands are the express checkout for people living their lives at ever increasing speed,” says Brandweek.

But businesses who work hard to create strong brand value sometimes fall into the trap of thinking the work is done.  Protecting and defending your brand can prove to be just as valuable as building it. “Reputation Management” is a necessary component that must be part of every company’s strategic, long-term plan.

Warren Buffett once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”

The formula for potential disaster is simple: Surprise creates uncertainty, uncertainty leads to distrust.  Any sort of distrust in business is a threat to your overall viability. The “crisis” may be an allegation, an accident, a lawsuit, an investigation or a media inquiry.  Companies that are prepared to deal with the unexpected are in a better position to maintain their reputations.  In many cases, preparation and the ability to respond quickly can minimize the depth of a crisis.

Preparation and crisis communication planning involves many aspects.  It should include the development of protocols, procedures and rapid response action steps.  It should address the proper chain of command and identify those who may be designated as spokespeople.  It should define the various target audiences (including your employees) to whom communications would be delivered and the various methods or sources for how it would be delivered.

“A reputation is an incredible asset, one you can’t appreciate until you lose it,” said the former CEO of Waste Management, Steve Miller.  “And when you do, every aspect of business gets harder and more costly.”

-Jim Miller

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In Defense of Facebook

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Heather Sundell

It was the beginning of my sophomore year and the entire student body at USC had just gained access to the newbie social networking site. We learned that Facebook originated at Harvard, spread to the other Ivy’s and finally made the 3,000 miles journey west to Stanford, UCLA, and USC. My friends and I carefully crafted our retrospectively primitive profiles by adding birthdays, classes and other basic information. We agonized over the perfect profile picture because if you recall, users were only offered one pixilated representation.

Recently Facebook has undergone scrutiny regarding their privacy settings. It seems that people are suddenly feeling violated by the somewhat complicated privacy options. In fact, recently I have found myself defending Facebook’s honor whenever a disloyal user casually threatens to un-friend the online sphere. I stand by my conviction that social networking will only further infiltrate our society; there is no sense in fighting an inevitable. I’m sure there was much controversy over e-mail in its infantile stage; how impersonal! Can you imagine not using it now?

Honestly, having been a Facebook user for six harmonious years has afforded me the luxury of growing with the network. Mark Zuckerberg and his team have introduced countless changes and tweaks every year, which has made understanding what Facebook is today fairly seamless for long-time members, such as myself.

However, every one of those new additions was met with resistance from users, because people don’t like change. Some people might remember the controversy over the introduction of the news feed about three years ago. The modification took some adjusting, but right on its heels followed its cousin, Twitter.

But back to the privacy uproar of present. Yes, more information is available online; your information to be exact. However, skeptics tend to overlook that users are in full control of how much information is given. The only real requirements are your full name and email, which is a heck of a lot less incriminating than ordering a pair of shoes online.

While the sharing of personal information is admittedly a scary subject, it’s the future. I suppose I just don’t find our future to be bleak. The world wide transmission of information has led to so many wonderful reunions and created an easy way to connect. I personally keep in touch with literally hundreds of people I would have otherwise let fall to the wayside of my life. Aside from personal connections, I feel more connected to the world in general, and I don’t even mind being shown targeted advertisements every three seconds.

Bottom line: Next time you get frustrated/upset because you keep getting Farmville invitations or you just saw that your Ex is engaged…rethink pressing the delete button. The truth is you’ll only end up signing up again once you get bored/curious/over your Ex.

-Heather Sundell

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Allow myself to introduce… myself

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Justin Clark

I usually look much more professional than this

Hi, I’m Justin! I’m the newest addition to the creative team here at Brand Iron. I started here right as we moved into our amazing new offices (perfect timing if you ask me).

I grew up in Oklahoma, you know, “where the wind comes sweeping down the plains”, making me a perfect fit here at the Brand Iron ranch. As a freelance graphic designer I had the opportunity to work from anywhere, so last summer I decided to saddle up and hit the ol’ dusty trail, which led me straight to Denver City.

One of the best things about being a freelancer (other than the fact I could just roll out of bed and be at “the office”) is the opportunity to be involved with a variety of design projects. That definitely hasn’t changed since starting here at Brand Iron, which is one of the reasons that my transition has been such a smooth one. On top of the variety of projects ranging from coding websites to designing bike jerseys, Brand Iron has the added bonus of working with highly motivated talent and an inspiring work environment. I’m very excited to be a part of the Brand Iron team and I look forward to cranking out some awesome designs for our clients!

A tad more about me…

When my mom would take me shopping as a kid I’d make my own toys from objects I found on the floor. I’ve known what I wanted to do since middle school and have been designing professionally since the 11th grade. Since then I’ve designed everything from edgy band merch for artists you’ve heard on the radio to corporate websites for brands you see in stores.

I have a balanced love of technology and nature. I love any sort of creative outlet, especially ones that require me to get my hands dirty. I love music, and chances are if you stop by I’ll be the one wearing gigantic headphones and maybe even dancing in my chair a little.

-Justin Clark, Design Bandit

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Branding and Positioning for Acquisition

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Michael Doyle

You can’t ignore that fact that business has been down the last several years. The question is what can we do now? Today is perfect time for businesses to brand and position their companies for expansion, growth and a possible acquisition. Having gone through two major recessions over the last 10 years, money has been next to impossible to come by for many businesses and mergers and acquisitions have come to a screeching halt. With this current recession ending and the dot com bust becoming a thing of the past, many business owners want to build up their businesses and cash out.

The best and most effective way to get acquired is to brand and position your company for growth, expansion, increased revenue and profits which will in turn lead to increased business value. Now is a great time to gain market share because a lot of businesses have been hammered by the recession and many don’t have a lot of cash to finance branding, marketing and expanded sales efforts, thus making it great time for you to take advantage of weakened competitors and gain market share.

Branding and positioning your companies to own your space in the marketplace, by defining key differentiators and an easy to understand brand value proposition allows people to understand how and why you are better than the competition and why they should buy your product or service.

Don’t waste any time or allow your competitors to grow and expand before you do. Brand and position your company and prepare yourself for an acquisition that will set you up for life. Get started today.

-Michael Doyle, CEO and Brand Champion

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Brand Iron | Day 41

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Josh Barker

Hi

Hi

It’s been a few months since my first day here at Brand Iron, (41 days to be exact) so while a little delayed, this technically serves as my introduction post.

The professional-me snapshot:
My early agency existence sprouted primarily public relations and social media experience. With a few shifts on the marketing scale over the past several years, I had a good feeling from the get-go about the awesome opportunity Brand Iron offered to continue down this path. Joining the team as a Brand Wrangler, (in Google Translate terms, think – account manager) I right away took the reins of the race horse that was my client project list.
My days were busy at the onset but great nonetheless. In fact, I’d like to take this second to say how rad the team is here at ‘the ranch.’ It’s always a transition to start somewhere new – getting ingrained in the processes, adapting to the culture, absorbing the general agency practices – but starting with day one I was embraced by this group. A collective mix of talent and passion, I realized it almost instantly. Things are different here. Hard work doesn’t come easy but here, it’s done well because the people love what they do. In short, I thought (and shared with others), ‘this is awesome.’

And now a few other things:
As a Colorado-native and former-Denver dweller, I recently (re)relocated back to the Mile High city, after being in Boston for a bit. Living just up a square from Harvard and a stone’s throw from the Charles River, I worked with PR firm Porter Novelli while there. From traffic and digital mapping to B2B software to commercial printers, I supported a list of technology companies through PR and online marketing. After my return, I spent a few months with the Denver Film Society as a part of the media relations team to promote the 32nd Starz Denver Film Festival, before saddling up with Brand Iron. Among many things, a definite high point of 2009 was investing in some serious mat and mental time to become a certified yoga instructor. Whether in the studio or at the office, the practice keeps me grounded.
Now that the weather has turned, I’m stoked to be back near the Rockies. White water rafting, baseball games (let’s go Sox!), and hiking – have set a goal to conquer my first 14-er this year – will fill the summer’s when-not-at-Brand-Iron activities list.

And in the meantime, you’ll find me, along with the rest of the crew, doing what we do at our sweet new digs on 24th and Larimer. (More on that soon…)

-Abbey O’Neal, Brand Wrangler

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