Where America Shops...including me?

I consider myself to be somewhat hip. I lived for years downtown, consider myself at heart to be an artist, and have a drawer full of black turtleneck sweaters. Imagine my dismay when I saw the Sears logo nestled inside the Land’s End catalogue! I had been buying my tees and zippered fleece there for years! They had great funky shoes with rubber soles! They had decent, not ‘old-fogey’ colors! What was Land’s End doing to me? That is where mom took me as a kid for underwear. Good grief.

Evidently, for years, Land’s End has been a sub-brand of Sears…Where America Shops. Me, along with thousands of others were averse to the brand of Sears because we got our school clothes there years ago. Now that we have graduated and are well into our careers, I suppose “we are too cool for school” and have moved along to the J Jills, Chicos, Nordstroms and other famous brands when it comes to women's clothes. Thus, Sears needed to be creative when it came time to lure us back to Sears:

• First, develop a brand that appeals to this audience: Land’s End. It would be:

1. approachable, feature product styled simply like business clothes
2. well photographed
3. athletic in nature
4. well-priced and
5. creatively colored, beyond the humdrum maroon and grey
6. a place where you could find clothes for the busy professional to wear on weekends, or among friends who don’t want to see you in your slippers and sweatpants.
7. staffed with phone-in staff that were professional, efficient, and well prepared. There wasn’t much time to hold on the phone when making your order.

• Second, maintain this customer base for several years under the Land’s End sub-brand name and experience.
  
• Third, let the “cat out of the bag” by slowly showing this customer base that they have been buying Sears product and experience all along. Do this slowly and subtly so it isn’t too much of a shock to we black turtleneck wearers.
  
• Finally, embrace this new audience as Sears customers.
  

Now, that’s how branding works.

Post contributed by Catherine Shaw.

Food Trends and Brand Expansion

Unfortunately, healthy eating is a trend. The phenomenon began in the late eighties/early nineties, and has seen many iterations: the salad boom, low-fat, low-carb, no-trans-fat, organic, etc. Recently, we have seen some popular restaurant chains adding not just new items to their menu, but entire sections. To their credit, these additions weren't simply bolted onto the menu; rather, they were smart brand extensions.

A few examples of this would be Burger King's "fire grilled" message along with its higher-end sandwiches, the TGI Friday's Right Portion, Right Price menu, and Red Lobster's new Wood-Fire Grill selections (albeit, these items are advertised as literally dripping with melted butter). The common thread within these examples is that each one is carefully integrated within the brand. Each is presented using the imagery and messaging that consumers have come to expect from these restaurants.

When introducing a new product that runs contrary to other products in your line (high-end vs. cheap burgers, slim vs. large portions, etc.), it is of the utmost importance to think ahead and plan on how you will integrate them without reinventing your brand. Usually, it is about mapping out the marketable elements of the new product and then matching them with your existing brand attributes. Do this, and consumers will see it as a natural extension, rather than an alien offering that looks like it is jumping on the bandwagon.

A Dress to Last a Decade

Today I sat at a table of new friends as they discussed how best to get the word out about their entrepreneurial efforts. They were animated about how they could get this and that deal for a logo, developed quickly for great prices. I watched in amazement, not only because my firm produces logos that support the brands we create, but also reacted to the lack of awareness in the marketplace when it comes to decisions such as these.

We are all familiar with this scene: A woman has a group of other women huddled around her, she has recently purchased the services of three of the finest craftsmen in New York. She takes a deep breath, and heads down the aisle, knowing that she looks her best…for one day.

In contrast, a brand is developed to last at least ten years. To work, it needs to have a long shelf life, be memorable, fresh, accurately represent you, and versatile—all at the same time. It is interesting when it comes to the deliverables that come after a brand is developed, that we go for the cheapest outfit to represent ourselves.

Post contributed by Catherine Shaw.

Branding Is Not for You

Attention brand and project managers: branding is NOT for you. Please allow me to explain.

Whether it is a company, a product, or nonprofit, a brand is not at its strongest when it is developed to suit your personal tastes. Like the color blue? Fantastic--go buy a blue car. That particular name sounds good to you? Use it for when your baby is born.

Too often, I see clients steer their branding in the direction of their own wants and desires for a number of reasons. Maybe they want to leave their own personal stamp on it. Maybe they just want something that they can look at and feel good. This is completely mistargeted.

A brand exists as a promise to your customers and should be made up of elements that resonate with their needs. One cannot expect those needs to be addressed when the brand is made up of the CEO's favorite aspects of the company along with his/her favorite colors. Logos, messages, colors, fonts, and all the components that make up a cohesive brand should all be developed with the target audience in mind and - guess what? - that might not be you.