As it officially becomes summer and the swimsuit suit season arrives, let’s look at a rebirth of a classic surf brand icon.

To begin, I must explain a little about my background. I grew up about a mile from the beach in Carlsbad, California. As far back as I can remember, we would ride our bikes down to the beach and spend the days of summer soaking up rays (pre-sunscreen days), catching waves, playing beach volleyball, tossing the Frisbee around and yes, girl-watching. I was a surf rat. I worked at a surf shop in Oceanside, California which was then called Hobie Oceanside, and has since been renamed Surfride. I grew up on brands such as O’Neil, Gotcha, Quicksilver, O.P. and Reef. My first job out of college was as a rep for several of these companies.

As a rep I learned early on that many of these brands were using sex to sell their products. Beautiful women in bikinis became a central feature of surf posters displayed in stores and on surfer boys’ walls. It had become a way for companies to make a name for their brand and to sell their product, and one of these famous surf companies did just that to stand out from the rest. Reef designed a marketing campaign that would change the face of “bikini girl marketing,” putting their models in tiny thong bikinis which they coined the “Reef Girl.” And what do you know; the idea of women in thongs was so outrageous that literally overnight this little flip-flop company became a world-wide brand. It catapulted them and their brand above the rest. From posters to calendars to bikini contests, Reef girls became the signature of the Reef brand.

After years of success in the surf company industry and wide spread popularity of the Reef brand they felt that Reef could survive without the marketing ploy of the
Reef Girl contest, and were confident that the Reef brand could stand on its own. Did they know they were cutting off their nose despite their face? The Reef Girls were such an important piece of the Reef brand, it had become their signature, and in a way it had become their brand. With the disappearance of the Reef Girls came the drop in sales for the company and Reefs marketing presence dissipated as other surf companies jumped at the opportunity to show off their own brands. Well, it wasn’t long before customers, dealers, and young boys came clamoring for their thong bikini babes to return on calendars, posters, and pictures on the website. And yes, for the Reef Girls and their bikini contests to return as well.

Following a two year hiatus, the Reef Girls returned. So is it coincidence? Could the brand and its products stand on their own without the wildly popular thong bikini stunt? Is it that the timing of repositioning their brand beyond a marketing stunt and the recession created a “perfect storm”? Is it because they listened to customers, dealers, and young boys around the world and relented to pressure? Or is it that this little marketing stunt which helped to propel their brand into a world wide recognizable one may have actually been a good idea in the first place?

Whatever the reason, they’re back and you can vote for your all-time favorite Miss Reef as well as enter to become a judge at the next Miss Reef bikini contest in Panama at http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/bikini-contest–win-reef-bikini-girl-trip_27263/. As for me, I am positive the return of the bikini thong girls will be driving tons and tons of traffic to their web site and creating quite a stir as well as helping to sell tons of flip flops. I’m also crossing my fingers that I win that contest!

by Michael Doyle, Brand Iron President

Brand Iron stepped up to an amazing opportunity to help the Inner City Health Center (a local non-profit) put on a bicycle tour.  The Inner City Health Center is a non-profit clinic providing medical and dental services to the un and underinsured population of Metro Denver. An event like this takes MANY, MANY dedicated volunteers to pull off - and we were happy to be a small part of the very organized and well-planned ride.

Most of the Brand Iron team participated in the rides, while our Ranch Boss, Mike Slife, pulled double-duty: helping with the coordination AND riding. The scenic and challenging route went through and around front range landmarks and mountain towns, including Dinosaur Ridge, Red Rocks Park, Idledale, Kittridge and the Brook Forest Inn.

Here are some pics from The Healing Wheels Bicycle Tour:

Mike, Andrew and Josh preparing for the ride.

Andrew and Josh descending Dinosaur Ridge.

On of the most beautiful rest stops in bicycle history. It wasn’t far from here we saw a white buffalo.

If we weren’t going up, we were going down (no flats found on this route). This was one of the enjoyable downhills.

Andrew and I going through Red Rocks. Oh, did I mention I brought the bike stereo? It adds 15 lbs and 100 decibels to any bike.

All in all, Brand Iron rocked the route - and we were thrilled and appreciative to be part of such a great event.

Next year, you should go.

These tough economic times and rising number of jobs lost have left their mark on the interning world as well as the paid working world. Searching for jobs online, I have noticed that most places are looking for someone with “experience” but how do you get this experience without working? The answer seems to be, internships. I have found the world of interning to be more competitive this year than the two years before hand. When I think about it, it seems strange that people would be pretty much begging to work FOR FREE. But the more I think about it, it isn’t so much the working for free part we are begging for, it’s the experiences that come with it.

Since my freshman year in college I have been immersing myself in the world of internships, from a radio station, to a music festival, and now to a small branding and consulting firm I’ve been building up my resume with so called “work experience.” There have been the days when my title of “Intern” has included making coffee, standing at the printer, and spending hours battling mail merge, but on the flip side to that are the days when being the intern has allowed me to get in on creative meetings, network with clients, and learn new programs and tools which has made all the hours of unpaid work pay off.

I have become used to being the new person in the office, and the person who gets stuck with some of the more boring tasks at work, but I’m also really grateful for the time and effort my superiors have spent teaching me valuable skills. Not only can I have “mail merge expert” on my resume but also social media enthusiast, digital marketing experience, event planning, and a whole host of other useful abilities.  Beginning my third internship, I continue to take steps in new directions and grab onto any projects I can get a hold of.

Now that I have a variety of internships to boost my resume, I wonder what work experience is enough work experience to launch me into the working world post college. For the time being my plan is not to stress out about the job market, but to continue to show up each day and take it all in, who knows where it may take me next (hopefully a real job).

Written by Kaitlyn Anderson, Marketing Intern

Every day we are reminded that we are in a recession…the countless news reports, articles and blogs remind us constantly about how to cut costs to assure survival during these tough economic times. As a struggling citizen of our latest societal problem, I couldn’t help but think “how did we get here?” In my lifetime as a working professional, I could never recall any economic times as tough as they are today. In fear that my generation may have to experience similar hardships as the Great Depression, I started to research more about how people (more specifically businesses) were able to prosper during that time. And what I started to discover was amidst all the negativity, we are forgetting what made some companies even more successful as a result of the Great Depression.

No doubt during “normal” economic conditions, companies wouldn’t dream about cutting their marketing budgets, so why should we stop now? In fact, since most companies are cutting their commercialization, wouldn’t now be the time to get your brand noticed while most of your competitors have gone silent? Additionally, wouldn’t you want your brand to be perceived as stronger than your competitors? Ironically the companies that advertised during the Great Depression became even more successful, once spending finally did increase. Their “staying power” actually gave the public a reason to be loyal to that brand and they came out on top while their competitors tried to gain lost ground. The common denominator among companies who persevered during the Great Depression: they did not decrease their ad spending. Therefore, those businesses who actually tried to save money and stop advertising, actually wasted the brand building dollars they had previously spent.

You could say I’m biased because I’m in marketing or perhaps that I’m overly optimistic, but with companies such as GE, Disney, HP and Microsoft all emerging out of recessions, perhaps we should all be reminded of the advertising and marketing history lessons of the past. What businesses fail to realize is, that even in recessions, people still spend money, they just look for better deals (and appreciate it more) when they do. Therefore saving money by cutting budgets in a down economy doesn’t automatically lead to successfully surviving a recession…especially if you’re not looking to stay top-of-mind of the consumer! 

Written by Rebecca Watry

“Branding, it’s not about the logo,” a topic that comes up frequently on The Stampede, and it is definitely true…but a strong logo is a key element in a successful brand. A lot of company’s update their identity frequently in order to refresh their position in the marketplace, most of the time this is motivated by the desire of change merely for the sake of change, this is not an effective way to establish brand equity. Brand equity is created by being consistent in company goals, values, operations and visual indicators such as a logo, website and other marketing pieces. It is no surprise that many of the top brands in the world have not changed their logo for decades, for example; Coca-Cola, IBM, Ford, GE. This is why the brand equity for these particular company’s are priceless…they established brand equity by being consistent with their identity.

This does not mean that a company should never change their corporate identity. Companies evolve over time and sometimes need a re-brand if their approach, or values change. Another ideal situation for a re-brand is if a start-up company compromised it’s marketing budget and created a logo using Microsoft word art, trust me this happens more often than not. If the start-up invested in it’s corporate identity at the beginning, they would not need to re-brand and potentially lose some of their brand equity.

A true corporate identity is based on an overall system approach that is a visual indicator for the company’s overall brand, which resonates their key messages and core values.  A brand is just not a logo…but a strong, consistent logo is necessary to build brand equity and recognition by consumers in the marketplace. You can make only one first impression and a strong logo is what your customers will see first when they experience your brand. Brand Iron will help your brand succeed with our holistic approach; most marketing companies stop at marketing, but Brand Iron believes that a strong brand is built through the sales, marketing and the operations processes of your company. Brand Iron will help your company establish strong brand equity; we  “forge brands, and drive revenue.”

By Andrew Hoffman, art director

I woke up the other day and was watching the news and I heard the newscasters talking about something called H1N1 and how it is spreading across the United States. My first thought was, “there another pandemic like virus in our country?” This new term caught my attention and I started to listen to what they were speaking about more closely. I quickly put two and two together and realized they were talking about “Swine Flu”.

So, why the new name? Right…

It turns out pig farmers of America have some media pull. Because of the uneducated general public’s fear for “Swine Flu” and the misconception you can get it from eating a pork product, people all but stopped buying pork products. The Swine Flu has been re-branded by name only to H1N1. I did look it up and it is a medical term for subtype form of influenza A better known as the “flu”. I still think H1N1 sounds just as scary.  Now I am not saying that H1N1 is something to not be worried about; it could still turn into a major pandemic.  I wanted to bring up that pig farmers in this country are seeing the effects of a branded name for a virus, which ultimately had an effect on sales.

This reminds me of a dietary supplement that was wildly successful in the 1970’s to mid 1980’s. The product was called “Ayds”. It was a supplement that was supposed to reduce your sense of taste to curb poor eating habits. Ironically around the same timeframe, just around the mid 1980’s the HIV virus and AIDs was largely becoming a social issue. The avid AIDs awareness in the media and public was the start of the down fall of the “Ayds” supplement. The company did not re-brand itself by name and clearly stating that this product is in no way related to the life threatening disease. So the Ayds product quickly stopped selling and eventually the product stopped being produced.

Luckily the pig farmers in this case spoke up to have the media change the name of Swine Flu. Now they should actively campaign through commercials and other media outlets to educate the public that pork could in fact help prevent H1N1 by keeping you level of protein up in your body keeping you healthy which in turns helps your immune system. Just a thought.

Written by Mike Slife

Protecting your company – or more specifically your “brand reputation” – is the ultimate goal during a time of crisis.  The ability to withstand and endure a few “chinks in the armor” goes a long way to maintaining a strong, stable reputation.

Many companies, however, fail to develop a crisis communications plan thinking they can and will deal with it as necessary (in many cases they feel they are not susceptible to a business crisis).  As a result, the typical reaction due to unpreparedness is to hide in the corner and hope the problem goes away.

But enter social media.  With the explosion in recent years of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.,   information spreads more quickly than ever.  Last month’s Dominoes crisis where two North Carolina employees posted aYouTube video doing disgusting things to food should be considered Exhibit A.  Hiding in the corner won’t make it go away.

Here are some questions to ask to determine your preparedness in the event of a crisis:

1. Do we have a protocol in place outlining how we will react during the first few hours of a crisis?  Do we know where to funnel all information about the crisis?  Do we know who will serve as our company spokesperson?  How will we communicate the situation to our employees?
2. Are we properly prepared to deal with media?  Does our media spokesperson have a familiarity and comfort level in dealing with the press?  Who is monitoring the general media as well as the social media outlets so we can respond accordingly?
3. After gathering and reviewing the situation, how soon can we prepare ourselves with the facts to address our various publics (employees, customers, community, media, etc.)?
4. What is the best and most efficient method to communicate our message?  How do we respond to their questions and concerns?
5. During the initial days following the crisis, how can we best maintain and protect our reputation?  How can we show our willingness to be proactive in dealing with the situation?

Failing to address or “take control” of the situation can lead to more damage and deeper company wounds.  Taking hold of the situation, on the other hand, will have positive effects on your overall brand.

Written by Jim Miller

I admit it, it’s taken me a long time to REALLY understand how to brand and position a company and produce tangible marketing results. The best companies don’t just blast a message out without careful thought and consideration. First and foremost, they take a step back and look at things strategically.

One of my favorite sayings is the old, “ready, fire, aim” analogy, which I see all the time when it comes to branding and positioning. The best companies take the time to, “ready, aim and then fire” when approaching their branding, their position and their go-to-market strategy. They really understand the value they bring to the marketplace and how to effectively communicate it.

I can’t tell you how times I’ve heard, “we’re going to throw some stuff against the wall and see what sticks”. Bad idea. You will damage your brand by going straight to the market tactically without first figuring out strategically what you want your brand to be.

Why figuring things out strategically is so important:

1. Throwing things at the wall and coming off half-cocked makes you look like you are still trying to figure out what you want to be when your company grows up.
2. I would estimate 90 – 95% of companies say what they do but not why they do it or why their product is better then their competitors’ products.
3. Do you really want to be just like everyone else? Or do you want to be original, unique and stand out from the crowd?
4. Do you want to be a leader or a follower?
5. Can you clearly and concisely communicate your value proposition in a compelling 30-second elevator pitch?
6. Does your brand help position your company for where it wants to go in the future (i.e., acquiring funding, going public, selling the business, etc.)?
7. Have you figured out how your brand is going to become a reality with a company-wide, holistic launch? What’s your plan to launch your brand internally and externally?
8. Will your brand have legs and resonate for a period of time or is it just a one hit wonder?

If you are committed to getting your company to the next level, following these strategic guidelines will help you develop your company’s brand and position – and will greatly increase the chances of a successful implementation. Add that to a holistic, managed brand implementation while pro-actively getting your message out to your target audience – you have a winning recipe for success.

Written by Michael Doyle, President of Brand Iron

Brand Iron believes that as a company we should be not only be proactive with our clients but with our community as well. On Thursday April 16th, I participated along side some of Denver top creative professionals at “The Student Review.” The Review is a design-portfolio review for students from regional colleges and universities co-hosted by Art Directors Club of Denver and AIGA Colorado. This year’s event is focused on students ready to benefit from creative input and only open to juniors and seniors. The Review put advanced design students in front of specially invited Denver Advertising and Design professionals for invaluable feedback on their books. The Review was a great way for Brand Iron to give back to the design community! This participation also gave us a chance to survey the state of the entry-level designers from the area schools, and make connections with emerging talent. I saw some great work coming out for the local design programs and the event also awarded scholarships to the best portfolios. If you are a student be sure to be on the look out for this event next year, it is a great chance to meet face-to-face with industry professionals.

Written by Andrew Hoffman

No, this is not a headline in The Onion.  Someone I may or may not know was fired for twittering about how they were enjoying a day in which they called in sick.

Twittering.  Is it a fad we will be ashamed of in 5 years?  - OR - Is it a long-term, useful marketing tool?

Only time will tell.

Written by Mike Slife, Brand Iron Ranch Boss