Quite often we see brands making claims or offering benefits that are incredulous.

The product or service may be tops in its category and perform up to expectations, but an unbelievable statement of superiority will cause prospects to shy away, and perhaps even scoff.

Credibility is so important in building trust for a brand that any hint of exaggeration can be detrimental. Remember that folks have long memories, particularly about negative or untruthful claims. And even if a statement is true, it may not be creditable, so be careful that your enthusiasm doesn’t carry you away. Look at those claims from a customer’s point of view.

Even attempts at humor along these lines (Dairy Queen’s “cats in a bubble” ad, for instance) tend to diminish the brand’s credibility.

Now I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade, but I’ve seen advertisers time and again allow their brands to be diluted because of an over-zealous ad agency foisting exaggerated claims or absolutely unreal scenarios under the label of “creativity”.

I’m all for creativity, but I want an ad agency to be respectful of the brand and its values. I wouldn’t hire an agency unless it initially asked, “May I study your brand platform?”.

In dealing with “creatives” I’d be sure they reviewed my brand platform, knew its promise to customers and treated the brand with reverence. And I’d be sure your every utterance at all touchpoints reflected your brand’s values – honestly, creditably and realistically.

A palette brings to mind color – the artist’s palette.

But for the graphic designer, palette refers to many of the ingredients he or she uses in the design process. At least that’s the opinion of Chuck Green, one of the most literate graphic designers blogging on the web. I look forward to his monthly email, too, because he introduces me to many new ideas and the designers of those ideas. You might say it’s inspirational. (His site is called Ideabook, but be wary – you can spend hours being led all over the design map, being amazed and amused at the myriad sites he leads you to.)

The main thing about Chuck is he gets my motor running. That’s what he did by speaking about An Assertive Palette being more than a choice of colors. He looks at all the tools at a designer’s disposal: type faces and type styles, layouts and proportions, illustrative styles and subject, and, of course, colors.

My take: what about a brand palette. If Chuck can expand the term to include design elements, I can expand it further to include the many elements of a brand.

A brand palette would take in all the ingredients of a design palette and then expand that to include name and name hierarchies, logo usage and variations, taglines, brand associations, messaging, rules for brand architecture, guidelines for copy tone and style, and other elements, both graphic and non-graphic.

By incorporating the brand palette with a brand platform – the strategic underpinnings of the brand – into one volume, creative suppliers as well as employees would have the direction to ensure continuity in all aspects of branding. This document would be more than a graphic standards manual. It would become the brand bible.

I know of no other way to ensure everyone is in step and on the right path to a strong brand, except perhaps to have every corporate activity associated with the brand be reviewed by a “brand policeperson”.

So, thanks, Chuck for once again sparking my engine.

The logo designs of professional logo creators must be the absolute best in the world, right?

Well, maybe. Then again…

Several years ago a Swiss designer, David Pache, posted the logos of 100 logo designers, brand identity consultants and graphic studios on his blog. He declined to assess or critique the logos, but he did make some observations. You can see all the logos and his remarks at HelveticBrands – 100 Logos

But I’m not as impartial as David. I’ve made some assessments and specific critiques about several of the logos presented.

Critiquing 100 logos

First, several of the logos I highlight here would be more favorably received if they were executed in color. But I’m old-fashioned enough to believe a logo should work in black and white as well as color, in sizes from one-quarter-inch to three stories high and in all sorts of environments, including in a gathering of thirty or more logos in a sponsor’s array.

Second, since these logos come from all over the world, I may not have the perspective to see the value of several of them.

All-type logos represent 44-percent

Anyway, the first thing I did was attempt to classify the logos so that we might see what approaches these pros took in identifying their own organizations through their logos.

I first remarked that there seemed to be a lot of type-only logos in this group, particularly among the very largest corporate design companies. Here are the logos of five of the largest:

Major Corporate Identity companies

In all, there were 26 logos that were strictly type without any devises added to make them unique; not even a special character or punctuation mark. Add to that the 18 all-type logos that changed a letter’s look, inserted a special character, formatted unusually or changed font within the name for a total of 44 logos without symbols. A couple of examples of typographic devises appear below.

Logos using typographic devices

About a third of the logos used upper and lower case type, a third went all-caps and a third opted for lower case only.

There were abuses in the typography category when the fonts selected were not very legible, as seen below.

Two illegible logos - Brand Union and TYO

In summary, 44-percent of the pros relied on typography and typographic devices only to create their logos.

Symbols and Monograms mostly weak

Seven of the logos relied only upon a symbol and did not incorporate their firm’s names. Of those, three did use the initials of their names in a subtle way as in the Glitschka Studio ll design and BrandBerry logos below. In all 14 logos incorporated the company’s initials/monogram as part of the design, with or without the name spelled out as well.

Logos with hidden monograms

Of all 52 logos utilizing symbols, 19 were not representative, just graphic devices or typography. Of representative devises that people could relate to, six used a human eye and two used the light bulb. Examples below.

The eyes have it

Best of the Breed

Of all the logos incorporating name and symbol, Aron Creative stands out as one of the best in this entire collection. Its symbol is relevant and well integrated. Its type is legible, unique, modern. It’s the most well-rounded.

Best of breed - aron

For type-only logos, I’ll give the nod to design success and Newlyn because both use unique fonts that are both legible and professional.

Best all-type logos

For the symbol-only logo, BrandBerry gets the berries. It’s a visual representation of the name, Its style is friendly and its imagery conjures growth and green. There’s also the suggestion eyes here as well.

What were they thinking

Here the designers, in my opinion, gave no thought to their potential clients, but only looked to be out-of-the-box – to sacrifice legibility for uniqueness. The logo that makes you work the hardest is Ejifa. Or perhaps it’s Jarek Kowalczyk’s cyberpuzzle, er logo. Call it a tossup.

The Artra  logo, probably because it was designed in color, has the symbol too close to the name causing confusion. Plus the type font itself has to be interpreted. Vanderbyl gets the award for least readable. It’s also a poorly proportioned logo – vertical is never as adaptable as horizontal. And the MovingBrands logo (the half circles) has no reference to any aspect of who or what they are. Looks unfinished to me.

Five losing logos

Logos by the pros

In summary, the 100 logos in this compilation show that the most creative and out-of-the-box logos come from the smallest and most design-oriented firms,  while the most conservative logos were created by the largest identity specialists. Over all, the use of symbols was pretty poor – only one (BrandBerry) emerged with an image related to the company and imparted a feeling of warmth and friendliness. The remainder had little to evoke emotion or action.

So again, take a look at all 100 logos at Helvetic Brands and draw your own conclusions. I was not impressed.

This morning I received an emailed newsletter from The Cult Branding Company, a branding consultancy and provider of tons of information on the subject. Despite its rather mundane name, they have done a very good job of practicing what they preach: developing a brand that attracts a cult following.

I clicked through to their website and spent over an hour reading and downloading articles and viewing videos covering cult brands and branding under these subject headings:

Cult Branding
Brand Loyalty
Consumer Behavior
Word of Mouth
Business Life
Brand Modeling
Cult Brand Profiles

In addition to these wonderful resources, BJ Bueno, a founder of The Cult Branding Company, has written a book and an accompanying workbook which can be purchased from the site.

But also, the Cult Branding Workbook in pdf form can be downloaded for free. Just scroll down past the “buy at Amazon” offer.

Even without having the attendant book, the workbook is an invaluable guide to developing a cult brand. Highly recommended.

They also maintain a blog (naturally), and a not-too-frequent newsletter.

I’m a member of this cult and urge you to look into its value for your business.

In this series, I’ve recommended six books so far, and all of them (except the possible exception of Blue Ocean Strategy) were specific to branding.

But the three books I’m recommending today address three non-branding topics, but each presents concepts that, in my opinion, can be effectively adopted to enhance a brand. They may not apply to every brand or every situation, but it’s always nice to have a “full set of clubs” when you approach the first tee.

Here they are in no particular order:

Crossing the Chasm

written by venture consultant, Geoffrey A. Moore, concentrates on marketing new technologies to mainstream customers. The first version was written 19 years ago now, and revised in 1999. But I believe the strategies explained within are not only valid today, but perhaps even more relevant than when first penned. My copy highlights many pithy concepts and strategies that are designed to help those who are creating “breakthrough” products (like the iPod or the Kindle) understand the process of identifying and nurturing early adopters, enlisting joint venture partners, “crossing the chasm between early adapters to the mainstream and the shelves at Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

Of particular interest to me is his approach to fashioning a positioning statement, and its need in the introductory process so people will know what the product is and who it competes against. This is particularly important when your product is a new concept because there’s the initial confusion of what it is and why should I, the consumer, what one.

Here’s his positioning statement structure. Just fill in your own nomenclature between the parentheses:

For (target customers)
Who are dissatisfied with (the current market alternative)
Our brand is a (new product category)
That provides (key problem-solving capability).
Unlike (product alternative),
We have assembled (key product features for your specific application).

I’ve used this model with several clients to good effect. And, yes, Mr. Moore advocates the original goal of “positioning” – to create and occupy a space inside the target customers’ collective mind.

Jump Start Your Business Brain

by Doug Hall is directed at small businesses and concerns marketing, sales and business development. Mr. Hall has studied small business practices (Merwyn Technology) and advised marketers of all stripes (Eureka! Ranch). Though based on research, the book illustrates its conclusions with many real-life samples. From it all, Mr. Hall has crystallized a formula for success, and for me, that formula is inherent in effective branding. Here are the three principles he has identifies and espouses for developing a successful business (or a successful brand).

Those principles are:

Provide an overt benefit.
Demonstrate a reason to believe.
Promote a dramatic difference.

In a way, these principles could have come from a good copywriting text. But Mr. Hall advocates real benefits, real credibility and real dramatic differences. This goes beyond promotional appeals and gets directly into the heart of the business. It’s what makes for powerful branding when the entire organization is concentrating on those three real core values. There’s where outstanding brands evolve.

Embracing the N.u.d.e. Model

by Scott and Donna Degraffenreid is sub-titled “The Art and Science of Referral Marketing”. This small tome contains the results of Scott’s research within the pharmaceutical community where prescription medicines rely greatly of referrals. His research and later analysis led him to develop a generalized model of how referrals actually work, and how knowing this, a marketer can benefit. He calls it the N.U.D.E. Model because of its four components:

Novelty,
Utility,
Dependability
Economy.

These four factors need to be present if a product or service is to be referred frequently, either by customers or gatekeepers. They add up to the reason people will refer others in the first place: to look good in the referee’s eyes. The formula to balance the four attributes is also presented.

I’ve had personal conversations with Scott (that’s why I use his first name) about the application of his model to the branding process. He and I agree that by applying the N.U.D.E. model a better branded offering will result. It will be consistent, differentiated and memorable.

So there you have three books not directly addressing branding, but from which branding strategy and tactis can be extracted.

As I stated in previous posts about branding books, if you click on a title you’ll be sent to the appropriate page in Amazon. And if you buy a book, I’ll get a very small commission.

Let me know of your favorite books on branding by using the comment box below.

I mentioned in my last blog about choosing three branding books I’d recommend as the text for a “night school” class in branding. I promised reviews on three other branding books I’ve found helpful.

Since I focus on helping smaller organizations develop strong brands, the books I’ve chosen have that orientation. There are several other books I like a lot, but they’re more for big brands with big budgets. Several of them are academic texts by Kevin Lane Keller and David A. Aaker.

Anyway, here are the “second-tier” branding books from my library.

Brand Aid

By Brad VanAuken is subtitled An Easy Reference Guide to Solving Your Toughest Branding Problems and Strengthening You Market Position. You can, and probably should begin this book at the beginning and read it straight through as you would a text book. But I find it valuable as a reference guide. Whenever I’m looking for a technique or process relevant to a client’s problem, I’ll find Brand Aid to be a great source. Mr. VanAuken has provided checklists, case studies and mini-tutorials on most major branding topics and issues. The book is organized in six parts: Introduction to Brand Management, Designing the Brand, Building the Brand, Leveraging the Brand, Other Brand Management Considerations, and finally, A Summary. Particularly helpful are two appendices, one on brand audits, the other on online brand management.

Integrated Branding

By F. Joseph LePla and Lynn M. Parker is another book taking a strategic approach to branding. The authors have developed an “Integrated Brand Model” involving three concentric circles that outline the three levels of activity that define brands: brand conveyors, brand drivers and organizational drivers.. The inner-most circle is designated “Organizational Drivers” (Mission, Values, Story). The next circle, “Brand Drivers”, consist of Principle, Personality and Associations. Brand Conveyors reside in the outer circle. They include communications and positioning, strategy and products. How it all fits together to form an integrated brand is discussed in depth.

Zag

By Marty Neumeier is the quickest read of any I’ve recommended. It, and a companion book,The Brand Gap, have simplified the ideas of branding. Both are fairly short books with big type. And both can be found in presentation form on Mr. Neumeier’s website.
I picked Zag over The Branding Gap for this blog because it speaks to the number one (in my opinion) issue in branding – differentiation. His premise is study your competition and do something they aren’t doing. As the book jacket proclaims, “Today you have to out-position, out-maneuver, and out-design the competition. The new rule? When everybody zigs, zag”. He outlines a 17-step process (simpler that it sounds) to do just that.

If you click on the titles, you’ll be directed to Amazon where you can buy them. I’ll make a small, commission if you buy.

So, that’s a total of six highly recommended books. Notice I didn’t include the highly readable and thought-provoking works by Seth Godin, Tom Peters or Guy Kawasaki. They’re helpful and useful, but don’t concentrate on branding per se. Next blog will feature three books that are not exclusively branding books, but ones that have helped be brand in unusual ways.

And if you have any favorites you’d like to share, please make a comment here and share your enthusiasm with others.

There’s a Meet-Up group here in Denver called Brand Café where 15-20 persons discuss a branding topic each month. This month our leader, Rex Whisman, suggested each of us bring in our favorite book on branding. It was to be a book we consider basic to our education as branders. Upon reading this notice, I immediately emailed asking the question: “must we limit it to one only?”

There are so many good ones available today.

I almost instantly thought of three books whose principles I’ve come to use in helping my clients develop their brands.

So I went with them, even though right on the heels of my initial selections, three more titles popped into my consciousness.

Here are the first three books that have been the most useful in helping me help my clients fashion strong brands. I’ll blog about the second three next week.

BrandSimple

by Allen P. Adamson, Managing Director of Landon Associates lays out some brand principles and a process that begins with establishing your brand idea. Then you can capsulate that basic idea – really get to the nub of it by creating a “brand driver”. Then he speaks to employee involvement: buying in to and participating in the branding process. Not until then does he introduce branding elements – first the name and then the other, relevant elements. The book also introduced me to a tool Adamson calls the “Customer Journey”. It’s a map showing the various touchpoints in the brand-customer relationship, beginning with first introduction through using and endorsing the brand. This process identifies customer and prospect mind sets along the various main paths from intro to evangelist (or critic). The book is as simple in organization as it is in message. Highly recommended.

Blue Ocean Strategy

by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne was a business book best seller a few years back – and with good reason. First, it’s not strictly a book on branding. It’s a book on creating a company that, as the subtitle suggests, shows “How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant”. And the authors really deliver. From a brander’s perspective, Blue Ocean Strategy is a primer on differentiation. By using the techniques expressed within these pages, the basic work of developing a brand platform and the brand driver (see BrandSimple) are presented as a by-product of this corporate strategy. I find the “Strategy Canvas” introduced in Blue Ocean Strategy to be helpful with even the smallest clients who usually begin the process believing their business is just like their competitors. This is just a beautiful presentation of how to create an exceptional business – and its associated brand.

The Infinite Asset

by Sam Hill and Chris Lederer is on this list because I find its “Brand Portfolio Molecule” a great way to analyze, develop and present a company’s brands in relation to one another, and with other brand associations like sponsorships, joint ventures and personalities. Although I’ve not had an opportunity to use all the features of the portfolio molecule with my base of smaller clients, the authors promise this tool is useful in many ways: identifying your lead brand in the eyes of customers, finds “holes” in a product line, helps judge the health of a brand, helps balance the portfolio, gauges the relationship between corporate and product brands, helps determine metrics and their measurement, I have found it most useful in demonstrating the great number of associations a brand may collect over time, and determining which are to be nourished and which weeded out.

That’s just a paragraph on each of three books I consider outstanding. If you click on the titles, you’ll be directed to Amazon where you can buy them, and if you do, I’ll receive a small, and I mean small, commission.

Incidentally, if you live in the metro Denver area, you are welcome to attend a Brand Café get-together. Just go to http://www.meetup.com/Brand-Cafe/ for more info and to sign up.

Logos have always been pretty static. Even in the age television, when a logo was animated it retained its identity. But in recent years, there has been a trend toward not only animating by presenting the logo in different forms and formats

Chuck Green, blog master at PagePlane, recently posted about an art gallery in New York City that has taken its logo and morphed it with each of six different web pages. It is pretty slick. It starts with the illustration below.You could see it morph by clicking Charming Wall.

Chuck labeled the technique, “Foundational Illustration” because there is a basic piece of art from which the variations spring.

I commented on Chuck’s blog that I had mixed emotions about this type of logo presentation. When there is no continuity in the logo it will not perform one of its traditional duties with authority; that is providing immediate brand recognition. It does however attract attention and provide a uniqueness which leads to a pleasant and memorable visual treat.

I concluded as long as a great number of advertisers do not use this technique the small number of companies who do use it will find it beneficial. But if people start jumping on this bandwagon, confusion will reign.

Several months ago I began a series of posts about differentiating your brand. Over the next couple of months I identified several ways you could explore differentiating your business or product.

Well, here�s one I missed. And a good thing, too. [Read more →]

Last blog I mentioned the three most useful reference books I use when generating name candidates.

But I neglected to publish the Amazon links to these volumes.

Here they are:

Word Menu by Stephen Glazier.

Roget�s 21st Century Thesaurus edited by Barbara Ann Kipfer.

The Complete Word Book by Mary A. De Vries

In addition there are several other good sources of name candidates that I’ve had some success with. Several are “classic” reference books and the rest books I’ve picked up and found useful on more than one project.

The Synonym Finder by J.I.Rodale

Word Stems: A Dictionary by John Kennedy

Brewer�s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, edited by Ivor H. Evans

Dictionary of Art and Archaeology by J.W. Mollett

Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion by W. L. Reese

Merriam Webster�s Geographical Dictionary

The Complete Rhyming Dictionary by Clement Wood

The links above were current at the time of posting. Several are out of print and only used copies are available, so you may find upon clicking the link for a particular volume that it’s sold out.

As promised, I’ll provide some info on web-based naming resources and software in future posts.