TAG. WHO'S IT?

Confused about the sell by and use by labels on grocery foodstuffs?  As well as the “I’m all natural” claims?

Rest assured.  You’re not alone. 

According to a recent Consumer Reports survey, nearly 2/3rds of respondents believe, for instance, that ‘natural’ implies the item is a better food and that it contains no artificial ingredients, chemicals, pesticides, or GMOs.  It’s food that is simple, less processed, and genuine (whatever that means).

Wrong.

Why?

The US Food & Drug Administration hasn’t defined it yet.

Which, of course, got us to thinking:  What about the labels we in the marketing and communications biz blithely toss around, like logo and tag line and slogan and campaign and … ?  Do our key audiences (for example, the C-suite) really understand what we’re talking about – and are we all on the same page?  And do all our labels result in further confusing the folks we’re trying to reach – and persuade?

You get our drift.  Obviously, we apply labels to simplify a complex world.  The words and phrases we use to describe things and ideas, according to a 1930s’ linguist (and proven true for decades and decades after), actually determine what we see.  Think of it as a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Twizzlers is a low-fat snack.  Natural cheese is simply that, without cellulose powder to keep it from sticking.

So is time to clear up our own noise – and, perhaps, set a great example for the manufacturers of this world?

LIKE MY LOGO, LIKE ME

Suddenly, logo-speak has gotten a lot more popular.

It’s no wonder:  With major enterprises like Airbnb and Google and Starbucks changing their primary look and feels, the talk centers on the whys and the styles.

Journalists, naturally, love to bash the new.  And pinpoint trends.  Google is criticized for its kindergarten-like fatter strokes.  Airbnb, for its erudite change (the design is called Belo, or a symbol of belonging).  And Starbucks, for its attempt to extend the brand beyond coffee.

The so-called logo trends, though, caught our eyes (and brains).  Many label the updates friendly and less formal.  More humanistic.  Calming.  Youthful and approachable.  Because, or so goes the reasoning, companies just wanna be liked.

Does anyone understand all that comes from the use of sans serif type, round letters, and bright colors? 

As uncommon consumers, we admit, the brand name gets our attention first.  We do the associating and the memories based on experiences with the humans who represent the company:  The friendly (or not so) drive-thru individual delivering our coffee.  A retailer who went out of the way to special-order for us.  The Web site that doesn’t chew up and spit out our credit cards – and actually gets us information via chat.

Sure, a logo is a symbol of the business’ public face, its identity.  But how much more frequently do we connect that nameplate design with a real being, an employee, an ambassador – than we do with Product Sans or names on soda cans or round and squat fonts?

AROMATICALLY SPEAKING

In our rush to win the hearts and minds of different populations, we just might have forgotten something.

As cbyd readers, you know we’re nuts about visuals, and the impact images can have on our work in branding, marketing, change, communications.  The “one picture is worth” is integrated into our mantra; every time the change word appears, so does our ‘eye’ thinking.  Science backs us up.

Recently, the power of a different human sense – smell – is invading the media.  Since the mid-2000s, retailers, from the obvious food chains to apparel stores, have been actively engaged in developing and using specific, often branded aromas to lure customers into their outlets and, once there, lure them into purchases. 

Cinnabon, for one, claims success from its sniffs of cinnamon and brown sugar. 

Hugo Boss, at the high end, deliberately crafted a smell to accompany its brand. 

And Panera (no surprise!) is transforming its bakery shifts to day time, with ovens and bakers upfront to explain and sample wares.

All is truth:  Through some practicums and research, one enterprising environmental psychologist from Washington State University demonstrated the compellingness of vanilla (women) and rose maroc (men) in doubling sales in an apparel store. 

Then, our questions:  How do we use this oldest and most primal human sense to drive other behaviors in our audiences and stakeholders … other than sales, that is?  Is it through that oh-so-80s’ scratch and sniff technology?  And/or via a fragrance that triggers important memories, putting us in more receptive, more conducive to change moods?  Or through emotions driven by oPhone use (watch for it at the end of 2014)?

We’ll sniff out the answers, if you will.

THE "R" THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED

Yesterday was 1/1/2013.

 So with this new year, we vow never, ever again to use the “R-esolution” word. To us, that means a promise to fix this, upgrade that, add on something else  – or “renovating,” the usual gist of our “gotta do this.”

We could be talking personal renovating horrors:  Contractors who appear – and vanish at the speed of sound.  Projects that don’t want to be finished (like the tile floors our builder swore weren’t crooked or mislaid).  Pristinely perfect bathrooms with, in the day’s light, faucets that creak and showerheads that gurgle. 

Yet the same kind of fear, uncertainty, and doubt surround us when starting to look at brands and the brand experiences, ours and the companies that touch us.  We read with extreme interest, for one, about the makeover of Holiday Inns’ hotel bars, morphing into social hubs for extroverted guests (and reducing restaurant labor costs since bar staff will serve customers).  This is more than a refresh or facelift.  It’s a significant renovation, even in pilot, that signals a major update and brand experience change to not only business travelers, but also to the hotel’s franchisees, their staff, and the various vendors who work with the brand. 

Which is why it’s so refreshing (!) to read/hear about CMOs and other executives who are not afraid to call a brand renovation exactly that.  For sure, overhauls like Holiday Inn are standard in the hospitality industry.   And retailing as well.  In our minds, all businesses need to emulate that same kind of straightforward brand thinking.  As well as the news that renovations are underway:  “We’re making over our brand to better reflect who we are – and what our customers want.  Watch for it!”  Now that’s a conversation we’d like to participate in – with “R”s that can be named.