Yesterday when the Brand New blog posted this rebrand of the Carolina Panthers, I was instantly excited to mix my two favorite things: NFL Football and Branding. The Panthers rebrand was a simple evolutionary update to the icon and revolutionary change to the type.  I was personally happy to say goodbye to the font that seemed like it was trying way to hard to be edgy and trendy in 1995 when the Panthers entered the NFL.

Within the NFL, there are teams that change and there are teams that stay the same.  For instance, the Chicago Bears have had virtually the same uniform since the 50s.  The 49ers tried to update their uniforms in the 90s with an awful drop shadow, then  in 2009 reverted back to their classic 80s uniforms.

The more I thought about it and processed it with some co-workers, the question arose, Should an organization's brand identity be made timeless or is it okay to change every decade or two with the trends of the day?

Recently I was in a meeting with an executive team that was working hard to make a very important decision about possible revolutionary changes to their brand.  The outcome of the decision would have quite an impact on all of the people that are involved with the organization, both internally and externally.  As opinions flew around the room, the CEO sat quietly letting everyone speak their mind.  Finally it was time for him to speak, and he said something very profound (this is my paraphrase), “There is a lot of history and existing brand equity for us to consider. But we have a vision of where we are to go from here, and we owe it to the vision to make this decision based on that future.”

Courage is one of our three core values represented in the Matchstic flag, and the piece on our website says:

Excellence comes at a risk. Risk of humiliation. Risk of failure. In order to risk, one must have Courage. Courage to act in accordance with beliefs, in spite of criticism. We must also encourage our clients to take the risks they need to take in order to accomplish their dreams. Courage is not easy, but it is a vital component of building a brand and working at Matchstic. Red represents that courage.

When making decisions about the future of your business and your brand, understanding history and existing brand equity are very important, but ultimately the decisions should be based on vision.  A vision that has yet to be realized.  And those decisions require great courage.

Last week I wrote about the origin of the naming of Microsoft's Xbox.  Today I'll look at the origin of the name of the Mac computer.  Jef Raskin, an Apple employee, wanted to name the computer after his favorite apple, the McIntosh, but the name had to be changed because it was too close to that of the McIntosh audio equipment manufacturer.  Jobs requested a release of the name but was denied, forcing Apple to buy the rights to use the name.

In the case of both the Xbox and the Macintosh, the names came relatively easy to an internal team.  And this often happens.  But what I think is interesting about these is that likability of a name is less important that key principles of a good name. Our 7 principles of a great brand name are:

1. Meaningful
2. Memorable
3. Distinctive
4. Ownable
5. Likable
6. Intuitive
7. Flexible

Note that likable is one if the 7, but too often it becomes the most important characteristic of a good brand name.  In the case of both the Xbox and the Macintosh, while the initial was very likable, but also fit the other principles of a good brand name.

In 1998 four engineers from Microsoft‘s “DirectX” team took apart some Dell laptops to build a prototype Windows-based video game console.  During development, the original “DirectX box” name was shortened to “Xbox”.  As they neared launch, the search for the right brand name for the console began.  A list of possible names was formed and presented to focus groups.  The Xbox name was included in the list to build a case against it as the development team was so tied to that name, but the marketing group at Microsoft hated it.  Surprisingly, consumer testing revealed that the Xbox name was preferred by far over other suggestions and became the official name of the console.

This doesn't mean that the first idea is always the best.  Before launching any product, the name should be well tested, so as to go to market best positioned for success.  It would've been too risky for Microsoft not to test the names before launch.

A key part of our branding philosophy is to find what is already working and do more of it.  In this case, it's hard to deny that the Xbox name worked great for Microsoft not only for the development team, but also for the public.  Our friend and advisor Alina Wheeler talks about the “Blinding Flash of the Obvious”.  It's that thing sitting right in-front of you and you keep looking past it trying to find the right answer.

Naming isn't about finding the most fun or creative name.  It's about finding the right name.

Yesterday I was discussing New Year's resolutions with folks around the office, asking if anyone made any this year or had ever kept any in the past.  Only one person had made a resolution this year, but they couldn't remember it anymore (yes, after 3 days). I have only kept one or two resolutions for an entire year of my life and really only did it to check it off of a list and say that I didn't quit.

As we discussed this idea more, one person commented “I've never set any New Year's resolutions that weren't already goals I was working towards.”  I thought that was profound and thought later that the same thinking applies to a company building a brand.  If what you are trying to accomplish is just a goal on paper and isn't woven into the fabric of your organization, it will be hard to achieve.

Next time you're in a meeting and someone says, “Great! Let's design a logo for that”, I suggest you stop, drop, and roll out of the room.  If they are able to drag you back in, don't leave until they have clearly explained to you how this “logo” will solve the problem at hand.  Chances are you'll need to spend a lot of time trying to define the problem.  And if you get to the point where this problem is not only clearly stated, but all decision makers agree that this is the real problem, there's a good chance your solution will be quite different than the original idea.

You have to clearly define the problem.  Otherwise, there's a really good chance that all the time and money spent “designing a logo” will be a waste.  And if we care at all about minimizing waste, we'll spend the extra time up-front understanding the real issue at hand.  Being a good steward of resources doesn't just apply to natural resources, but also making sure we're not spending money on wasted services and wasting our own time in the process.

As inventor Charles F. Kettering said, “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.”

The entire study is a fascinating read and if you want to dig deeper you can read the study at ibm.com/cmostudy. The above video recaps a lot of the ideas in the study. As I read the study, a few things jumped out at me as a branding guy.

The first is on page 41 of the report which recommends that CMOs should “Champion your Corporate Character”. It goes on to suggest that a CMO should  “Help the enterprise define and activate the traits that make it unique” and to “Work with the entire C-suite to meld the internal and external faces of the enterprise.”  No longer can you hide your internal culture from the outside world.  If the inside doesn't match the outside, you're in big trouble.

The other thing that stood out to me was at 1:35 in the above video, Carey Roundtree of Atlanta's own Georgia Aquarium states, “We believe that being able to differentiate yourself from your competitors is the ONLY thing you have to do in marketing.”

Being a CMO of a large organization is a very stressful job with a lot of pressure to prove the value of the marketing activities you are performing.  But that job becomes a lot easier when you have clearly determined who you are and what makes you different from the competition.  Integrate those two things into the entire culture of your organization and you will create a very strong foundation for all marketing activities.

Dear Arby's,

Why, oh why, do you refuse to focus your efforts on building your brand around roast beef.  Truth is, I love your roast beef sandwich.  I love the beef n' cheddar.  But every time I turn around you're promoting some sort of burger or a market fresh sandwich, chicken sandwich or most recently it's your reuben.  Why do you find it so hard to continue building your brand around roast beef? It's what your company was founded on and what helped you grow into such a successful fast food franchise. Even if you are going to promote a sandwich, why can't it be a Market Fresh Roast Beef Sandwich?  It would keep your Roast Beef position strong.  I don't have a problem with you putting sliced turkey on the menu, but to let it be the center of an advertising campaign baffles me.

Listen, I know you're struggling. Money is hard to come by for you, and I can understand why you keep trying to find new things to promote.  It's what we do when we're scared, we come up with new things we hope spark new sales. But take a look at your friends from Starbucks and how they responded to bad financials: they innovated, but within their brand focus.  They created new products like Starbucks Via, the instant coffee.  They didn't build ad campaigns around tea.

I hope you make it. I really do. I want to enjoy your roast beef sandwiches for years to come.  I just think it's going to require a newfound focus on what makes you who you are: Roast Beef.  Don't hide from it.  Stand behind it with pride and build the entire company around it again.  We all know you're done for if you rely on sandwiches, burgers, fish and chicken.  There are too many other fast food joints that have a strong hold on those brand positions.

Sincerely,

Craig Johnson, an Arby's customer

#10 – WE RECOGNIZE THAT ANY SUCCESS WE ACHIEVE IS A GIFT FROM GOD

This belief is centered around the idea that life is at its core, a gift.  Our work is a gift.  Our talents are gifts.  Our clients are gifts.  Matchstic is a gift to us all. One thing about a gift is that it's given, not earned.  While we all work hard each day to do our very best, we also know that we're not the orchestrators of life. Rather there is one greater than us all that has hung the stars, crafted us with his hands and pulled us all together to do this work we love.  It's about living a life of gratitude and being content with what we've been given.  It's knowing that the paths that have brought us all together are not accidental.

This belief hits home for me.  Truth be told, I'm an accidental entrepreneur.  I never dreamed of owning my own company, but I kind of fell into it through a series of events that I cannot take credit for. Knowing how easy it is for me to try and take credit for something, it's important for me to hold this belief close to my heart and know that at the end of the day, there is one far greater than me giving me gifts I don't deserve.  And for that I am incredibly grateful.

Past Beliefs:

• #1 – We hold each other's feet to the fire.
• #2 – We follow through on our word.
• #3 – We rise and fall as a team.
• #4 – We know the difference between a career and a life.
• #5 – We will be profitable; this is not a social club.
• #6 – We recognize that it's their flag, not ours.
• #7 – We know our clients aren't always right, but neither are we.
• #8 – When in doubt, we will fight for relationships.
• #9 – We will make our city a better place to live.

Today's belief is…

#2 – WE FOLLOW THROUGH ON OUR WORD

This belief is simple and straight forward at first glance.  It means we do what we say we're gonna do.  As we looked deeper, we noticed the words "WE" and "OUR".  This is not just about us individually doing what we said we would do, but we have to cover for each other.  We have to do what others have said would be done, and we are all accountable to those results. We have to cover each others tracks and stand up for the collective word that Matchstic proclaims. We can't make promises that we can't keep, which means having the hard conversations as early as possible.  It also means that when we do make a mistake, as we inevitably will, we own up to it and take responsibility for our actions. It means we take our word seriously. Ultimately, we have to be able to trust each other as a team to do great work for great clients.

I've often said that my role at Matchstic is to make big promises that everyone else has to keep, and I sleep incredibly well at night knowing that they will.

Past Beliefs:

• #1 – We hold each others feet to the fire