Image from @cubagallery

I have little patience for self-interested art trying to find its way into the branding conversation. Branding is selfless, in that it is interested first in what is authentic, second in how to represent that authenticity on behalf of an organization, and third (last) on how one's own talents can be used to accomplish this goal.

I love art, and have a deep appreciation for it. I consider the artists I work with to be immeasurably talented. But what makes them exceptionally unique is their ability to listen, understand, and represent – with clarity and distinction – the personality of an organization that exists outside themselves. This requires an ability to set aside one's own personal agenda for a better portfolio, and instead, focus on making that organization better.

I like this about branding. Finding beauty in the most unexpected of places – business.

The National Tooling and Machining Association, founded in 1943, is the premier center of knowledge for precision custom manufacturing in the United States. The storied organization stands to empower our nation’s manufacturers by providing resources and expertise in business development, education, government advocacy, and workplace development.

NTMA faced a perception challenge. While much of the economy has been in decline, manufacturing still produced gains and has hired more than most industries. The organization needed to tell its story accurately, increase awareness, and inspire in an economy full of doubt.

We developed an evolutionary mark that reflected experience and precision while elevating the brand. An identity system that was flexible enough for growth, yet provided consistency and organization for internal communication. Marketing and collateral highlighted the heart of the industry – its workers – and changed the conversation from dimness to hope. The future of manufacturing is bright indeed.

See the full case study.

Before

New Brand Mark

Brand Architecture Lock-Ups

Collateral Package

Publication Application

Website

Video Application produced in partnership with Green Tricycle

Image by Stephen Hunton

Two weeks ago I got married (whew-who!), and like most newly weds my beautiful bride and I took off for our honeymoon destination in paradise. Logistically we had a smooth run until our return trip home. Standing back in the Atlanta airport at the number 2 international baggage carousel watching bag after bag come out reality eventually set in that mine was not coming. Just for the record Delta is 50% on losing my bags on international flights in the last two years, so I know this feeling all to well. Frustrated, I expressed myself with this tweet…

The response to my complaint was almost instantaneous. I was astonished and while still frustrated I indulged curiously with @DeltaAssist to see if they could really help. After sending my info over the angel-in-twitter-disguise found my bag and informed me it was mistakenly in the over sized bag area. Here was the full DM conversation…

This experienced helped me see more so than ever the evolving value of social media for brands. Not only can you interact, market, and talk to you customers directly but you can instantly solve their problems by tracking the ongoing conversations. Like Judo, a martial arts technique that leverages an opponents momentum against them, Social Media is one way you can turn a bad customer experience into a great one (like @DeltaAssist did for me). Social Media gives you direct access to the most precious of all brand assets, its customers and their feelings (love or hate).

Starbucks was gaining ground for two decades before their decline came along. What's most interesting to me is that the decisions that escalated their brand decline were made during a period of high growth and a growing stock price – decisions like: creating a record label, a magazine, they started selling too much merchandise (like stuffed animals) in their stores, and started making smelly breakfast sandwiches. Starbucks started looking and smelling less like a European coffeehouse, and more like a fast food chain. The romance was being lost as the brand was commoditized.

And when the economy did decline in 2007 & 2008 – the Starbucks brand was diluted to the point that it was seen as little more than an expensive cup of coffee at a fast food chain. Their stock price soon began to tumble and the brand saw some of its worst days.

When Shultz returned as CEO in 2008 – his first order of business was to return the brand back to their roots – back to the romance of the European coffee experience. He quickly retrained Barista’s on how to make a proper espresso, updated equipment, instituted a return to freshly ground coffee in stores, and attempted to reduce the smell of the breakfast sandwiches. All of this designed to return Starbucks to their brand’s essence.

Even with those changes, Starbucks spent some time in the valley before they began their rebound.

Paranoia may be unhealthy, but it can be a good thing in branding. Otherwise, a brand's best days may produce such a sense of anesthesia that no one can sense the cliff's edge coming.

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.

I have unashamedly watched almost every episode of The Twilight Zone. Every single one following the same simple formula, bookended with thoughts from the only real star of the show, Rod Sterling.

Sterling was the series' creator, 40 percent owner, main writer and executive producer. He was the "driving force and unifying sensibility" of the show. Former CBS president, Frank Stanton said, "He was the only writer I had ever met who looked like his work." It's impossible to imagine the show without him. Over the show's five year run, he wrote 92 of the 156 episodes. Most of which he also appeared in with an honest, tense and intriguing prologue and epilogue. He was the signature look of The Twilight Zone.

As a writer, Sterling saw television as an "intimate medium… most meaningful and most effective when you keep in mind that the closer you get to people and the more vertical you probe, the better your drama." Never just an escape, every episode was an invitation away from the familiar only to bring you right back with a new perspective.

But not all episodes sat well with studio execs. "You argue, you fight, you try to protect what you have written… But you're battling networks, advertising agencies, sponsors and pressure groups. I've been forced to make concessions… in every television play I've written." Any creative can resonate with this tenuous relationship. The executive needs the creatives to be creative and the creatives need the executive to pay for the creative. The two are seldom in agreement and concessions are always made.

Watching the show, in order, you can see some of those forced concessions. Later on, some episodes begin to feel oddly similar to an I Love Lucy or Leave it to Beaver. Massively popular shows at the time whose "style" was probably encouraged as a way to boost ratings. The best mandated oddity though was some product placement within the credits of the show. I would imagine this to be a significant point of tension. The image at the end of each episode was always intentional. Always a key object from the show to help viewers marinate on what they had just seen. Probably not his idea to put powdered milk and toothpaste over it.

Source: In the Zone: The Twilight World of Rod Sterling

Disciplined adherence to strict branding rules; logos applied to as many surfaces as possible always in the same manner; experiencing a brand in the same way over and over again – these used to be the rules that equaled unparalleled strength in a brand. Today the rules have changed. Great brands are nimble, and yet still focused – flexible, and yet still dogmatic. They allow for the consumer's voice while still influencing the conversation.

Coke did this in style when they embraced a user-created Facebook page as their own (rather than shutting it down, crying copyright infringement). Coke maintains brand guidelines that keep three core elements intact – the red, the script, and the contoured bottle shape – and then leaves room for expression and variance.

I love a recent article I read by Fast Co. that puts it this way – ‘Branding Is About Creating Patterns, Not Repeating Messages‘. Marc Shillum went on to say:

Consistency in human behavior is not derived from repetition alone; it is about the formation and recognition of coherent patterns…Patterns are the way our brains perceive actions, thoughts, memory, and behavior to ultimately inform belief. They allow for differences while creating a whole.

Brands still need consistency, but in a consumer-driven era where a brand's every action is on public trial – that consistency needs to be expanded to include room for expression.

Relevant brands breathe.

1. A physical office environment matters. It can help or hinder a brand's perceptions and a team's morale.
2. Selling an idea doesn't happen at the first presentation, but at the first handshake. Great ideas are sold through relationships & trust.
3. Spontaneous creativity needs to be scheduled on the calendar or it won't happen.
4. Fields tests & focus groups results are contingent on asking the right questions.
5. A company is smarter & overall much better when it hires females.
6. When great things happen celebrate and open your doors for others to enjoy.
7. If you want to start something new, jump in and just do it.
8. Set goals and go after what you believe in, even if it leads to uncomfortable situations.
9. If you are doing great things find a way to tell an equally great story.
10. Take time to think about what you believe in and write it down.
11. Put super talented and fun people around you.

First, forgive my cliche fire innuendos, but I'm excited.

It has been quite a year. A new office, new team members, and finally — some new materials. We've had a new brand identity in the works for sometime now (reminded of the old saying “The cobblers kids don't have any shoes”). It started in fact last January when we decided to leave the Matchstic house behind and relocate to the Jane. We wanted to set the right perceptions for our own brand and felt the house just was not up to par with who we'd become. With a new office came a new matchstic once that again wasn't properly represented in our logo type. We needed a change.

Like all rebrands, we have two choices, evolutionary or revolutionary, when considering a change. We love our flame and wouldn't lose it for the world, but other outdated and uninspired elements were up for grabs.

We started with an update to the Matchstic wordmark. Running on over five years of use, the old type and banner was beginning to show its age. Not to mention the old banner had the by-line “Branding + Design”, a moniker found nowhere else since switching to “A Brand Identity House” in 2008.

For inspiration on a typeface we looked at our giant, metal found letters that hang by the front door. “Matchstic” is spelled out from a group of mismatched fonts, with a letter “t” that stood out with interesting character details. We used these characteristics to customize a new wordmark, simple with a subtle hint of personality, but better yet with a significant story to tell. Another slight tweak was evolving from a lowercase character setting to a title case. Even though our sign is all lower case we felt the new word mark held a stronger presence with a capital “M”.

After the word mark was complete and paired with our flame we moved into new collateral on a “doing retreat” back in October. We simply created, experimented, and had fun for a day. We came away with an idea of creating a system of standardized tools (like stamps) that ensure a consistent look and feel, but could be applied in infinitely unique and flexible ways. The result of that idea is 30+ custom Matchstic stamps that can be applied in various ways on business cards, note cards, packaging, and any other printed material (including body art). Included in the set is every team members personal stamp with their contact information to applied to our business card shell. This allowed us to letterpress two versions of really high-end cards for a fraction of the normal cost. The only catch is having to hand stamp all of your business cards (or have intern Patty do it). This stamp system allows us to have fun with our collateral. It allows us to make every piece unique. I no longer just send another thank you note, but I create one.

A few process images from our “doing retreat”:

Brainstorming Board

T-Shirt Comps

Some final products:

Blind Deboss – 2-ply 80# French Pop Tone glued to 279# Crane Pearl Kid Finish

Back Variations – "Start Fires" & "We ignite passionate brands"

Stamp Test Pad

Full Stamp Collection

Applied Stamp Set

Thank You Notes w/ "ch" blind deboss

Msc. Body Stamping

Gift Packaging & Set

Big thanks to Crayton-Heritage Letterpress in Charlotte for all their help.