Branding Evolution Heats Up

Branding Evolution Heats Up
When a business or organization decides to make a change to its established brand identity, it can either meet with great success (Denver Broncos), or embarrassing failure (New Coke).

by Teri Carnicelli

Promotional products distributors who have knowledge in branding initiatives are uniquely positioned to not only advise clients on the verge of changing their brand identity, but also provide the imprinted goods with the new logo and message.

If a distributor is less-than-experienced in branding identity issues, now's the time to do a little exploring. In the last couple of years, well-known companies like H&R Block and John Deere have revitalized their brands and altered their logos.

Brand identity issues and alterations are taking place in all areas of business. There seem to be two main reasons for change: a need to represent a more diversified company, or a desire to stave off the competition with a more contemporary look.

A distributor who hopes to help his or her clients who are facing these brand identity issues should first be able to speak the branding language.

COMING TO TERMS

Before getting started about why brand identity is so important, it may be helpful to define just exactly what we're talking about. For example, brand image is how consumers view the brand, while brand identity has more to do with how management wants the company's brand to be perceived.

Brand identity also incorporates the functional and emotional benefits consumers can reasonably expect from the products and/or services the brand represents. Brand position, in turn, is the part of the brand identity that relates how the brand is different from its competitors.

Finally, brand equity is the sum of a brand's assets and liabilities. It is the brand equity that is often the greatest concern to marketers. If the equity is low, then it may be time for a change. Perhaps consumers see it as being too traditional and tired, and are not aware of the company's growth and innovations. They may feel the business is out-of-touch with today's consumers.

So how can a company let its customers know that it understands their wants and is growing to keep pace with their needs?

TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

The first thing to do is examine the company's reputation with its customers. In any business, it all begins and ends with reputation, says Larry Chase, publisher of Web Digest for Marketers (www.wdfm.com).

"That's what branding really comes down to. It's not merely what you say about yourself, it's what others say about you, and what others say about you has much to do with how they experience you first hand. All the fancy slick-o jingles, taglines, and logos that a retail outlet can muster will never make up for that sales clerk that bit your head off," he points out.

Chase says a company needs follow-through before and after the impressions are distributed. "This is why I say the branding is in the doing."

Chase explains that a business like Amazon receives favorable reviews from its customers because of one-click shopping, and the way they handle you as a customer. "You don't pledge your loyalty to them because of their logo or tagline," he says. "Don't get me wrong. Logos and taglines are important. But they have to resonate with and come out of your core essence.

"In short, branding is what you stand for," Chase says.

UNDER THE UMBRELLA

Creating a strong brand identity also plays a role in the promotional products industry itself. Manufacturers like BIC Graphic USA, Cutter & Buck^® and even Fossil have taken their strong brand identity in the retail market and used it to build a foothold in the promotional arena.

But for companies that have multiple product lines, the question becomes whether to market them as a whole or try to build the brands individually.

"Umbrella branding is an issue faced by all those introducing new products and by those who have acquired a company with branded products," explains Jacques Chevron, a partner with JRC&A Management Consultants in La Grange, Ill.

"Does the new product need a new brand name or should it be placed under the umbrella of an existing product? Should the acquired product line stand on its own brand or should it be using an endorsement from the new corporate parent?"

Chevron believes that umbrella branding can be successful, provided the original brand was strong to begin with and associated with a set of values.

"A strong umbrella brand can help a new product generate faster distribution and trial. On the other hand, umbrella brands are weakened when they are used for sub-par products or products that fail--an unavoidable risk with new product introductions."

BIC Graphic USA has had great success with its umbrella branding strategy, trading off the BIC name and its reputation for high-quality, affordable goods.

"Never underestimate the power of a brand name," says Dennis Sherman, vice president of Sales and Marketing for BIC Graphic. "Those that have a brand name like ours are very fortunate in that regard, and as a result we promote it wherever we can."

Sherman says the "BIC philosophy" of high quality products at fair minimum price has been the company's cornerstone for more than 40 years.

"You know when you are buying a BIC product, or something branded under the BIC name, you will get a high quality product at a great price, whether it's BIC, Sheaffer, Eveready, or anything else that BIC Graphic would launch into the marketplace."

One such new product is the BIC Sticky Note adhesive notepads, being launched in the promotional market in August. It's the first such launch of a non-writing instrument product created in-house in many years, and company officials are very excited about it.

On the other hand, when it comes to acquiring new product lines, BIC Graphic is a veteran.

"When we've either acquired or partnered with a company, we've tried to find companies or products that have parallel philosophies," Sherman says. "Eveready, for example, is a brand name, it represents high quality, it has been around for many years. It makes things simple when discussing the 'BIC' way of doing things."

Russell Corp., an apparel manufacturer that services the promotional products industry, is presently faced with the issue of umbrella vs. individual branding. Officials at Russell believe it is not widely known in the industry that the company is the supplier of several apparel lines--Jerzees, Russell Athletic, Cross Creek, and the recently acquired Three Rivers. The company is looking forward to opportunities to build the brand as Russell with its product lines falling under the parent umbrella.

"In the promotional products marketplace, people prefer to buy the brands they know and trust; they prefer brands with strong retail presence," comments Brannon Craig, Special Accounts manager for Jerzees.

Another industry supplier, Norwood Promotional Products Group, has already chosen an umbrella branding strategy. In May of last year, Norwood unveiled a new corporate identity system and branding campaign designed to increase awareness of the parent company and its product lines. The branding initiative featured a new, more contemporary Norwood logo linked to all of the company's product line logos.

EVOLUTION IN THE INDUSTRY

Russell Corp. and Norwood aren't the only industry suppliers who have made a change in the last year.

Apparel wholesaler Atlantic Coast Cotton introduced a new logo at the start of last year, one which company officials say reflects an overall commitment to upgrading customer service. It is the first change to the logo since the company was founded in October 1986.

"We wanted a new logo that reflects the changes in our industry," says CEO Richard Sacks. "Our former logo, designed to mimic the sportswear centric styles, needed to be updated to reflect the sleeker, more fashion forward attitude of the company."

The goal, he explains, was to update the logo, not do a complete overhaul. The new style kept with the arched design of ACC's first-ever logo as well as the elliptical design of today's predecessor.

The new logo includes the snappy tag line, "Print It. Embroider It. Wear It."

Sportsmaster, an apparel manufacturer based in Troy, N.Y., in January unleashed a strategic branding and marketing campaign to better define its position in the promotional products industry.

"As more big-name apparel importers are getting into the promotional products business, small companies need to stay ahead of industry trends and constantly reinvent themselves to ensure survival with loyal customers," says David Arakelian, vice president of Sales. "That's exactly what we've done at Sportsmaster."

Sportsmaster adopted a new logo united by a simple flag to reflect the company's American-made products and communicate the company's proud heritage of more than 75 years in business. To complement the new logo, Arakelian says a tagline was developed to match the enduring quality of materials and manufacturing that go into every Sportsmaster product: "Wear It Out."

Writing instrument innovator A.T. Cross in September 2000 unveiled its new brand identity and logo that reflect the company's growing worldwide momentum and leadership in new products for the writing instrument and digital communications categories.

Developed with Minneapolis-based advertising agency, Carmichael Lynch, the new brand identity is the culmination of a comprehensive global brand evaluation that included consumer and trade input from Cross' largest markets including London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Madrid, as well as the United States.

"Cross is on the move," said Dave Whalen, president and CEO at Cross. "Our new product focus demonstrates our commitment to innovation and to the marketing of high-quality personal accessories. This exciting new look will have a significant impact on our future point-of-sale presence, as well as add new style to all our marketing activities."

The logotype, encircled by an electric blue handwritten "Stroke-C", embodies the expression and spark that a Cross writing instrument can represent--a symbol of the emotion and power the written word can express.

The new look has been gradually incorporated into new packaging, point-of-sale displays, website, and all other collateral materials for both traditional writing instrument products as well as the Cross digital pen products.

Also launching a new look--and a newly designed website (www.toppersinc.com)--in January was Toppers Inc., a manufacturer of headwear as well as sports bags, business totes, and other business accessories.

"Toppers prides itself in being a progressive company," says CEO Bob Whitesell. "Just as we pride ourselves in technological advancements, we have redesigned the Toppers logo to represent our constant forward progression to supply exceptional design, quality and service to the promotional products industry."

In discussing the redesign of the Toppers logo, Whitesell comments, "We wanted our new logo to reflect the fashion-forward movement of our upscale, premium products for the travel, sport and corporate lifestyles."

WHY THEM?

It may be understandable why promotional products industry players are repositioning their brand identities to stay focused and stay competitive. But when you've got well-established brands like John Deere or H&R Block, why rock the boat with changes?

In July of last year, John Deere announced its widely recognized leaping deer trademark had been updated to appear "stronger and more dynamic" with a greater emphasis placed on the John Deere name. It is the first change to the John Deere trademark in 32 years, and only the eighth John Deere trademark since the company was founded in 1837.

"The symbol is more aspirational and reflects a more global company," says Jeff Gredvig, director of Corporate Branding for Deer & Company.

Since the trademark last changed in 1968, the company has grown from a farm equipment business focused mainly on North America to its current status as a global leader with a variety of interests, including equipment manufacturing, financial services and special technologies.

The newest incarnation was created with the assistance of Landor Associates, a worldwide branding and design consultancy firm headquartered in San Francisco.

The updated design has, among other things, the deer leaping upward instead of landing, as it had been in previous renditions of the corporate symbol.

A phenomenon almost unique to John Deere is the vast number of fans and collectors of John Deere logoed items.

"A lot of companies would kill to have the brand loyalty we have," Gredvig says.

"In many instances, the creation of a new logo makes the previous one become more valuable in the eyes of collectors--but that had nothing to do with the change," he emphasizes.

Considering the large number of businesses licensed to distribute John Deere promotional goods, the company knew it would be of great importance to meet with its licensees prior to the launch to give them enough preparation time.

"They were given the appropriate artwork so they could have product created as soon as possible after the launch," Gredvig explains. "We had also sent a special medallion to every John Deere dealer in the world as a symbol of the event and the power of the brand. Since that time we have come out with a full line of new products with the updated logo on them. The licensees were an integral part of that."

Though revised, the company's trademark is firmly based on the continued and strong commitment to the popular slogan "Nothing Runs Like a Deere" and the famous green and yellow colors.

Also deep into the process of changing its corporate image and familiar logo is H&R Block^®. In fact, the well-known financial services company even used the same design firm as Deere & Co.--Landor Associates, which recently won a Gold-level Clio advertising award for its corporate branding work with H&R Block.

Last September, H&R Block introduced its first logo redesign in more than two decades to symbolize the company's continued transformation from tax preparer to financial partner to its 21 million customers worldwide.

The new logo--a large, bright green block accompanied by the company name to the right--is meant to signify the new products and services added to meet customers' financial needs.

"We adopted the new identity system and logo into everything we did, so everything started looking different--business cards, letterhead, forms, documents, etc.," says Carl Ploeger, vice president of Creative & Media Services.

"We did merchandising materials in house, like the typical pens and peel-and-stick notes, as well as company store products, like caps, T-shirts, coffee mugs, and even square Slinkys^® with the green block on the side of them."

Company store purchases have never been better, Ploeger says.

The new look represents just one facet of H&R Block's new brand identity program. In addition to the logo change, H&R Block has simplified and unified the names of many of its business units, products, and subsidiaries using the well-known H&R Block prefix for each. Olde Discount Brokerage, for example, will now be known as H&R Block Financial Advisors, while Block Financial Corporation's software division is now H&R Block e-Solutions.

"Historically our company didn't have a strong, consistent identity system. By having one now, it was easy for people to be enthusiastic about it and embrace it," Ploeger says. "We also developed a really new, fresh, contemporary identity system, which has really helped the company come together and feel more connected. You'll see more shirts around the halls than before because they just look better."

It's not just companies with a global presence who are changing their identities. Take, for example, Denver, Colo.-based Flying Dog Brewery. Formerly known as Broadway Brewery, the company decided to change its name and logo to better fit
with the name of its most well-known product (Flying Dog Ale) and with its major growth in sales.

CEO Eric Warner knew he needed a certain look to sell his products to his target audience, so he commissioned world-famous artist Ralph Steadman (known for his illustration of the Pink Floyd album cover The Wall) to create a very specific look for his products. The look is, well, distinctive, to say the least.

"No one really knew that we were Broadway Brewery, so it just made more sense, from a corporate standpoint, to become Flying Dog, since that was the name of the beer," explains Dara Bassock, National Marketing manager. "On our bottles, we also didn't have it prevalent enough that it was a Flying Dog product, so we've changed that as well. We've done a heavy amount of branding on the labels, so that Flying Dog is the brand name and then the style name is underneath it."

The company has several events planned for the summer and fall to promote the new labels and name change. A summer piñata promotion will be launched in Colorado bars and brew pubs and eventually going nationwide, with each piñata containing various promotional items--yo-yos, matchbooks, candy, etc.--along with a coveted entry form to win a trip to Mexico.

For the winter season, the company hopes to team up with a top ski manufacturer to do some cross promotion, featuring a grand prize trip to Whistler, Colo., to heli-ski with a well-known pro skier.

"Again, that creates awareness for us and gets the new bottles and packaging out there," she says.

MAKE YOUR MARK

There is no question that promotional products play an important and necessary role in any branding campaign or strategy. A distributor who can be on board with a client from the get-go, offering useful insight and information about brand strategy, can virtually guarantee to receive the new product orders when the branding campaign is ready to launch.