Too Much Copy

Holy cow.

I’ve been off the grid for too long. And as I flex my fingers for this new post, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to be back.

A Caveat

This is another one of those times where I must ask you to please do what I say and not as I do.

The Truth

I just took a look at the last blog post, and although I felt there was a lot to say, it was WAY too much. Whew. Embarrassing how much copy is on there.

People are busy. They don’t want to sit around reading my blog all day long. It’s not that important.

As much as I’d love to flatter myself into thinking everyone is dying to read my latest post. It’s not about me. It’s about what you as a reader can glean from the blog, or brochure or website…

So Here It Is

Keep it short. Keep it simple. 1 to 2 sentences per paragraph, max.

Use a snappy title. Put in subheadings so your readers can scan for what they want. Use pictures. Big ones.

Make it fun—and conversational if you can. Be transparent. Be human for goodness sakes.

That’s it. And now, so I don’t get caught not taking another piece of my advice, it’s time to bid you goodbye for now.

I hope you are all doing well—and give me a shout if you have questions about anything.

Lauren

Even a “Simple” Logo Isn’t Simple

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The first thing people typically think of when they think about a brand, is the brand identity.  The most memorable component of a brand identity for most, is the logo.

I can’t tell you how many times I meet with new clients who just want something “simple.”  ”Nothing complicated or fancy,” they’ll say, as though this gives me the hint that it’s time to give them a wink, cut the shenanigans and give them the shortcut to a high-quality brand identity or a logo.

What I have to explain is that even a simple-looking logo is never simple.  The hours of research, strategy and trial-and-error it takes to arrive at a “simple” logo will probably boggle the mind.

A logo should communicate exactly what the brand is all about in a concise package (sometimes it’s a mark, sometimes it’s typographical or even a combination of the two), and that’s not really all that simple- even if you’re a designer who is very very good at what you do.  Which, I sometimes have to remind my clients that they are not designers, (heck, I’m not a designer- nor have I ever claimed to be), but I know good design when I see it.

Not only is creating a logo not simple, but designers need help before they can get started.  They need a foundation to work with that tells them exactly what the brand is all about so they can communicate that in visual form.  This is where research, competitive analysis and strategy begin to come into play.  Designers need parameters.  They need information.  They need inspiration and direction- and they need to know what’s already out there.

As much as we may want this process to happen over night, it does take some time.

When your brand is at the point where it is time to create a brand identity, (foundational strategy already in place), it’s important not to stifle the creative process by giving too many guidelines.  But do keep in mind that you must give your designer the key ingredients they need to do the job you’re paying them for.

If you love a logo when you see it for the first time- if it just clicks, the designer has done a phenomenal job.  It’s rare to get the perfect logo on the first try without any tweaks.

A TIP ON HOW TO BE A GOOD CLIENT:  once you’ve seen the first round of concepts for your new logo, be prepared to give honest feedback, because ultimately, the brand identity is something you’ll want to be proud of.  Dig deep.  Tell the designer how the different directions make you feel and why they might (or might not) be the right direction based on the strategic foundation you’ve given them.  The more information you can give at this point, the easier it will be for the designer to hone in on what you’re looking for.

After the logo look has been settled on, colors and fonts are the next items to tackle.   These add additional layers to what is being communicated visually and are a necessary part of creating a brand identity.

A lot of research goes into colors and what people are attracted to; what will stand out; and what will put people off.  A good designer will be up-to-date on all of this and will know what the current and upcoming trends will be.  It’s important for the longevity of your logo, that your team chooses colors that aren’t necessarily “right now,” because in a couple of months, they could be overdone and out of date.  Work closely with your designer to determine what the right course is for your brand.

Fonts give your brand identity another level of depth.  They help complement what you’re trying to say and how you’re saying it on all your internal and external communications (marketing & advertising).  A scripty, cursive-font with lots of curly tendrils sends a very different message than a font that is boxy with all caps, or something san serif with round letters which are spaced far apart.

And to put things in perspective, there are hundreds of thousands of fonts out there- the number growing every day as new fonts are created.  That’s why it’s so important to have a designer who really knows what is out there and what will complement your brand best.  Keep in mind that It would be almost impossible for anyone to recall every single font in existence, so it may take some time to find the right fonts for your brand.

A good designer should also take into consideration practical applications of your fonts.  If the font is something that does not come standard in the majority of computer font books, chances are that you (and everyone else who wants to use it), will have to buy it.  Sometimes, it’s good to have two different sets of fonts – an ideal set that is the perfect match with your brand, used only for external communications, and another practical set that’s a good match which resides in most font books, allowing for the creation of documents and materials without having to use (or pay for) a specialized font.

This is all, of course, a very simplified explanation of all that is taken into consideration and what happens during the process of creating a brand identity.  The point being, that to do it right, even a simple-looking brand identity isn’t simple.  A lot goes into how a brand looks and feels- and while it is one important part of the brand equation, a logo is only a small portion of what branding is all about.

If you have questions about brand identities or what it takes to create and implement a strong brand, feel free to contact me.  I am here to help.

Lauren

TEDxDU Recap

TEDxDU has been an amazing experience.  Many of the people I’ve spoken to said they will be telling people about our first TEDxDU for many years to come.  What a wonderful compliment to all who were involved.

The production team rocked the show- it was FABULOUS!  As with any live show, there were little glitches (we had some mic issues), but that was it.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.

And from the tweets I’ve seen flying around, it seemed that, because of the variety of topics, there really was something of deep value for everyone to take away with them. Among the favorite speakers mentioned, there was:

• Neal Foard, creative ad man from Saatchi & Saatchi New York, who is now referred to in the TEDxDU circle as “the duct tape guy,” because of the logo he created to celebrate the true heroes who are worthy of our reverence above movie stars, sports figures and rock stars- Engineers
• Phil Tedeschi, who spoke on the incredible connection between people and their pets (Phil threw out some incredible statistics like: more children grow up with a pet in the home than a father; and loneliness, which can be as detrimental to our health as smoking and obesity, can often be overcome with the love of a pet)
• Photographer and documentarian, Aaron Huey came to us with his raw images and heart breaking story of the Lakota people struggling to survive the aftermath of Wounded Knee 90 years later
• Karambu Ringera, peace pro-activist, working to create and provide a sustainable model of education and enterprise that will empower the people of Kenya to become self-reliant and successful for generations to come
• Our fabulous emcee, Hilary Blair who tied the whole show together with a generous helping of humor and grace was a crowd-pleasing favorite.
• And there were so many other wonderful speakers who really had a lot of interesting things to say along the lines of our theme this year:  Issues.  Ideas.  Action. For the full list of speakers and their bios, please check out the tedxdu website.

I didn’t get to see most of the speakers (as it tends to happen when you’re running around trying to make things work)- but I’ll be excited to see the TEDxDU videos online by the end of this week!

More fun to follow, but I wanted to post some of my favorite shots from the event:

Phil Tedeschi’s dog, Samantha, stole the show!

Karambu Ringera moved the crowd to tears with her talk.

The finale gave me goosebumps with the Spirituals Project Choir, Art Jones, Arthur Bouton’s EWI Collaboration, Regan Linton, the Flobots and the audience all creating beautiful music together.

Photos taken by my good friend Wayne Armstrong.  Excellent shooting, Wayne!

Project Update: TEDxDU

Good evening all!  My apologies for slacking on the posts.  I am working with the University of Denver to put on TEDxDU, which is coming up on May 13th!

Everything is coming together beautifully, and hopefully some of you will even be able to attend.  Registration has already closed for the main event in Gates Theater, but there will be “watch parties” on campus with a live stream of all the fun.

The theme of the event this year is:  Issues.  Ideas.  Action.  And it’s all a part of some of the wonderful things the University is currently doing to showcase their passion for “DUing Something” to improve the human condition.

I feel so fortunate to be a part of this amazing and talented team putting this event together.

Stay tuned for updates on TEDxDU!

Lauren

Being Timely with Your Brand Management

We live in an age of information.  Our global culture can be accessed by social media sites, blogs and the like within a matter of moments.  Because of this, Brand Management must be timely for a couple of reasons:

• one, a brand should be able to capitalize on opportunity and be relevant to your customers at any given time,
• and two, sometimes, we have to do damage control.

In the article, Bringing Your Brand Back From the Brink from the UK magazine Marketing Week, the author gives several great examples of where multiple brands (like Domino’s Pizza, Toyota and Tiger Woods) have succeeded and failed with proper brand management.  The article talks about the necessity of  acting quickly, otherwise waiting even a week may send another message – that your company is not prepared.  And it’s not realistic to sit back and “hope for the best rather than plan for the worst.”

When I talk about being prepared, remember that I mean for both opportunity and for crisis.  At one time, “green” was a huge differentiator for a company- now it’s expected. Companies that are still bragging about being earth friendly at this point have missed the boat.  Keep in mind that whatever opportunities a brand manager links their brands to should be consistent with the brand attributes, the brand promises and pertinent to the customers’ values and desires.

With technology today and whether or not we are experiencing a brand-crisis, I believe our brands need to adopt a more humble, transparent approach to business and bring back that human element.  Isn’t it better to take responsibility for things we might not be so proud of, than to try and sweep it under the rug after we’ve already been caught?  I would personally much rather shake hands with someone who had made a mistake if I knew I could trust them to do the right thing afterward.

Being prepared, more than simply being reactive in a crisis, ultimately helps build trust and strengthen the perception of our brand(s).  For information on how you can manage your brand in a more timely manner, feel free to contact me.

Lauren Brenkle

LBrenkle@FlavorStrategies.com

Frequently Asked Question #27: “Can’t I just differentiate my brand by being the least expensive?”

Q: “Can’t I just differentiate my brand by being the least expensive?”

A: Although price can differentiate you from your competition, I wouldn’t recommend it as the only thing you use to attract and keep your customers.

Think about it from the perspective that “cheap” is not a good way to communicate value to your customers.

If things are always on sale or there is always a coupon, it automatically de-values the brand. Because who would pay full price if they didn’t have to? It sets an expectation and a stigma on your brand that you may not even realize.

The goal when determining how much to charge for your brand(s) is to offer them at a price point that your customers would be happy to pay because they see the value in it- whether that comes from the excellent customer service they receive, or the level of quality of the product itself.

If you don’t back up your brand with a great customer experience, there aren’t many customers who will put up with you over the long run, no matter how low your prices are.

Now, if your brand has a low price, high quality AND an excellent customer experience, that’s a triple threat that would put your competition right out of business.

Frequently Asked Question #4: “How do I know who to trust with my brand?”

Q: “How do I know who to trust with my brand?”

A: Choosing the right strategic partner to help you with the branding process is an important decision. It must feel right to you and your team because you’ll need to be able to work closely together over the course of several months and possibly longer.

It always helps if the strategic partner you choose is already familiar with your business, but that’s not always the biggest factor to consider. Do you like their past work? Do you get along?

Remember, it’s a relationship, and every brand is unique. Your brand should not come with a cookie-cutter strategy that works no matter whose logo is slapped on it.