Below is a visual timeline that showcases the the various logos used by the Timbers, as it appeared in The Oregonian article.

What’s interesting, from a brand perspective is all the hoopla around the unveiling of a logo. If the identity used during the 2001-2004 timeframe didn’t “catch on with fans” perhaps it was less about the design and more to do with the Timbers‘ brand itself. Are the Timbers positioned well? What’s their distinction in the Portland sports market that sets them a part from other sporting options? It helps they are the only soccer team, but other than that, what’s the promise? And what does the brand stand for? I’m not sure I know and I’m a soccer fan. I do know that the Timbers along with owner and business phenom Merritt Paulson are hanging their hats on this as their step to the majors. And the development process took more than a year including research. All well and good, but that’s a lot riding on a mark. And, the questions I have for Paulson and the team? Tell me what the Timbers stand for. Tell me the experience I’ll have attending matches. Tell me what you are promising and how you’ll deliver. Then with the answers hold the new logo up in the mirror and tell me what you see.

[Added 6/12 post logo unveiling]

So the new Portland Timbers’ logo has been unveiled. See it for yourself here. Was there cheering? Don’t know. But the outcome is…just okay. Slightly uninspiring. At least the Oregon Ducks will surely enjoy the color combo.

Seattle's Best - new logo

Whatever happened to the distinct, strong brands? Will someone please tell me? It’s feeling more and more like a game of how low can you go to appeal to the masses. Granted Seattle’s Best is owned by Starbucks and the brand will be coming to a Burger King, Subway and movie theaters near you but did that mean to translate the brand’s identity in this way - oversimplified to the point of barely being recognizable? You dipped my Target into your blood bank.

So, I admit, the original Seattle’s Best logo was dated, as was the brand overall. But, at least the old logo had some history and recognition. It wasn’t in a circle. It didn’t have a tear drop. And, since when is coffee red?

What’s the consumer supposed to take away from this new and improved logo? Simple. Generic. Regular. Bland. Red coffee? And how does this reflect on the Seattle’s Best brand in general? With the shift to a broader scope of consumers and to potentially compete with the likes of Dunkin’ Donuts, positioning Seattle’s Best as the brand to go that mile versus Starbucks makes complete sense, but the way the Seattle’s Best brand is perceived is what will make or break this business decision. You might not like the coffee, but at least Dunkin’ Donuts has a huge, loyal following. Does anyone drink Seattle’s Best? Would you now?

If mediocrity was the goal then ding ding ding, we may have a winner. But brands that settle for mediocre tend to get that mediocrity reflected upon their products and consumers wind up walking on by. Hey you, Ms. Consumer. We know you want that cup right about now. How about a tall, steaming hot cup of average. Doesn’t that hit the spot? Mediocre doesn’t even get you to second best. It’s not even challenger status. It’s barely…there.

Starbucks has their own brand to maintain so I’ll cut some slack that adding a new brand to the mix makes their job slightly more work, but if they plan to be successful they need to look at a different brand architecture that allows the growth of the brands independently. Give Seattle’s Best the distinction that at least position’s it against the competition. Heck, make Dunkin’ Donuts run for their money.

It’s just a sad day when commonplace rules the roost. When you don’t stand for something, it makes it very difficult to compete on anything other than price. And competing on price turns the brand into a commodity. No business wants to be there. So, will all the distinct, strong brands out there please stand up? I’d like to buy you a cup of joe.

Betty White is not who you would normally think the 18-25 year old audience would relate to or even care to tune in and watch host America’s comedy hour. In fact, since 1992 when the long running Golden Girls left the airwaves she hasn’t had a long standing appearance or main character on any show. There have been bit parts here and there, movie appearances, naughty comedic roasts and let’ s not forget her Superbowl commercial. But for all intents and purposes, Betty White’s career was a burning out flame. Not someone you would think would draw record numbers for a show that is struggling with their ratings.

At the beginning of this year something happened on Facebook. A rallying cry from a group of people who just happen to love them some Betty White. This group of fans had a simple question; how could a part of comedy royalty never be asked to host SNL? Even at the top of her game, and her involvement in comedy would have at least made her a likely candidate at some point to host the show. Wayne Gretsky was asked, we know how that turned out… how could our lovable comedy granny be overlooked?

A Facebook fan group was set up to see if people shared this sentiment, and sure enough the fan group gathered large numbers. Who knew people loved Betty so much? SNL obviously didn’t.  But now people were taking notice. She was booked on Larry King, and did other press junkets. She modestly laughed at the uproar and admitted that it didn’t make much sense to her, she was no lady ga-ga. But would SNL take notice? Of course, they did! How could they not?

And therein lies an important question for anyone running a business. HOW CAN YOU NOT? There are people out there gathering around interests, interests that your product, your service could help. If you find them, and listen to them and cater your product around their likes and dislikes, it can benefit you.

I know what I am saying isn’t ground-breaking or even a new concept. But with Betty hosting SNL, it doesn’t hurt to re-iterate that businesses need to get out there find the tribes and listen to what they are saying. Like SNL, you can reap the benefits.

Chrysler is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC., Fiat is a registered trademark of Fiat Group Automobiles SpA

We all know about the troubles of the Big Three automakers in America. Deteriorating market share, strengthening competition, buyouts, bailouts, selloffs, consolidations, greening, heath care costs, unions, suppliers, loans, losses, more losses, our money, their money, someone else’s money… in the eternal words of Shaggy Rogers (of Scooby-Doo fame)…zoinks!

Forgetting about the healthier two of the trio for the moment, let’s talk about Chrysler. Chrysler is in a unique and unenviable position. Always the underdog, Chrysler has been on the ropes for quite a while. After the Daimler/Chrysler foxtrot fizzled, a new dance partner stepped in, the venture capital firm Cerberus. A few months later, yet another dancer stepped into the ring, Mr. Economy. The ménage á trois of Cerebus, Chrysler and Mr. Economy quickly started to circle the sombrero of diminishing returns. With mounting losses and no new venture capital to be found the Cerberus/Crysler newlyweds, (along with their distant cousin, General Motors) went to Capitol Hill looking for a loan. We all know what happened there, we gave them money. But with Chrysler there was a caveat, they must find yet another new dancer to tango with, enter Fiat SpA. Expensive shoes, nicely coiffed hair, and some old world style.

So you may be asking how this applies to marketing? I’m getting to that. You see Fiat and Chrysler have little problem, it’s called time. Because of production cycles, engineering workload, scales of economy, exchange rates, legal wrangling, and perhaps the moon, the first big influx of Fiat-based Chrysler products won’t be released until model year 2012. That’s one-and-a-half model years before new products with new engineering and the new Fiat/Chrysler brand strategy are fully in place. One-and-a-half years of scraping together a viable product line. One-and-a-half years of gap filling marketing. One-and-a-half years is an eternity for a company losing market share and sucking wind as hard as Chrysler. So what are Fiat SpA and Chrysler going to do?

Well, the first step was to re-brand the Dodge Ram truck series into its own singular brand now called Ram. A new ad campaign featuring five TV spots showcasing the recreational and vocational attributes of the new Ram brand. Seven print ads, and a new website, RamTrucks.com to support the spots. To further support the work hard, play hard attitude of Ram Truck customers, Fiat SpA/Chrysler came up with the Outfitter.RamTrucks.com site. Within this online wonderland, you can purchase a Ram brand G-Shock watch or an 18-can camouflaged cooler, or a bunch of t-shirts and other apparel emblazoned with Ram brandiness. Or maybe that’s Brand Raminess. Oh and they also have a blog, “Ram Zone”, and they say they will also leverage social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and the like to connect with like-minded Ram loyalists.

Next was to re-focus Dodge as a fun/lifestyle brand. Many of us have seen the “Man’s Last Stand” Super Bowl ad and the “We Make Getaway Cars” ad featuring the wheel-spinning tire-smoking, bad-ass Dodge Charger. These two ads, coming from distinctly different viewpoints, male and female, show how misogyny and misandry can both be relieved by pressing your right foot down really really hard on a gas petal. I’m not sure how these two TV spots speak to fun or lifestyle unless you enjoy lousy painful relationships.

Part three, re-focus Jeep to be a “dreamers/adventurers” brand. Jeep product advertising will center on lifestyle with the message that Jeep owners live life by their own set of rules/terms, “I live. I ride. I am. Jeep.” Kim Adams House, head of Jeep Brand Communications, “We want to expand the reach of the brand and provide examples…to see inside the people’s lives who embrace the Jeep lifestyle.” This is a switch from the traditional Jeep branding, the outdoor, go anywhere, macho vehicle that goes where no man has gone before, unless he had a Jeep of course. The new dreamers/adventurers advertising features a woman driving a convertible Jeep Wrangler after a visiting a hair salon in “It’s Only Hair,” a woman driving a carpool in a Jeep Liberty in “Open Lane,” a father and son and a Jeep Grand Cherokee story with a dad on a skateboard in “Dinner’s Ready,” and a Chihuahua in a Jeep Patriot living the good life in “This Dog’s Life.” Not your typical Jeep story lines.

Step D, do something with the Chrysler brand. Push it upscale? We know a couple models will be dropped, the PT Cruiser, and the woeful Sebring (it will be heavily reworked and brought back with a different name). That will leave the Chrysler brand with the 300 sedan and the Town and Country minivan. Not much of a brand lineup. There is talk of Fiat SpA bringing the Alfa Romeo brand back to the U.S., selling it through the Chrysler dealer network. It would give Chrysler a premium brand to compete against the likes of Lexus, Audi, Infinity, and Acura. But with Alfa having left the U.S. market during the mid-1990s with such a poor track record, will the memories and prejudices be able to be overcome? The campaign for that one will be most interesting.

So, as the next year and a half progresses Chrysler and Fiat SpA will have many challenges with repositioning, re-building and clawing their way out of the American automobile abyss. I have a feeling there will be more than one media rep with a smiling face, who will receive the windfall of this colossal reshaping of American perceptions. So turn off your DVRs, re-up your subscriptions, start watching those pitiful sitcoms and healthcare based dramas, and enjoy the front row seat watching it all happen. Besides, in the end, you probably paid for it.

On December 8, 2009 Pantone® officially announced their choice for the 2010 color of the year.  And the winner is – Pantone 15-5519. A round of applause if you please. Pantone 15-5519 or better known as, turquoise.

Turquoise!?! Whaaa? After last year’s mimosa, turquoise is a bit of dull thud in the empty swimming pool of hexadecimal life.

Insert fuzzy swirling images here.

I believe it was the year 1972 in which my family purchased a Dodge truck in a stunning shade of turquoise. The three most memorable things about this truck for me are; one, the color, two, a chilling winter trip from Portland to Hood River with myself and my sister stuck in the back with a catalytic heater for warmth, and three, a brutally hot trip to Sumpter, Oregon, in the middle of summer, with the whole family jammed into the cab. Two parents, three children, no air conditioning. I spent most of the Sumpter trip curled up on the floorboards underneath my mother’s feet in a state of heat-induced delirium.  The combined smell of rubber soled shoes, transmission fluid and graham crackers is still a stifling memory.  But really, the thing I remember most about that truck, is the color.

De-fuzz and un-swirl images.

At this point in my life, I cut Dodge a fair bit of slack for the color choice. My parents, not so much. It was the early 1970s, the world was just coming out of the 60s, the Vietnam War was winding down, free love, the hippie movement, Berkley and turquoise. Dodge was just trying to be hip. As for my parents, I have to believe it was the last truck on the lot and it was at a really good price.

So why did Pantone choose 15-5519 to be their color of the year? According to their press release on the subject, they say this: “In many cultures, Turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”  Further: “Turquoise adds a splash of excitement to neutrals and browns, complements reds and pinks, creates a classic maritime look with deep blues, livens up all other greens, and is especially trend-setting with yellow-greens.”  Hmmm.  A protective talisman, signals deep compassion and healing, the color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky, adds excitement, a classic maritime look, ESPECIALLY trend-setting with yellow-greens!  Pshaw I say! Obviously they never spent 9 hours on the floorboards of a turquoise Dodge truck in the middle of August on a trip to Sumpter, Oregon.

I can’t wait for 2011.

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‘Twas the night before deadline and all through the shop. Every creature was stirring…

We know what you’re thinking…”Uh oh, not another holiday letter.” Just read it. Please.

Think of it as our little tribute to 2009. Cheers!

And so it begins...

Competition is good…especially when friendly and when it involves a race. We’ve picked up our wooden block and getting ready to transform it into a lean, mean, racing machine for Stumptown 40.  

Between our team and our friends at SwellPath, we’re ready to go. Want to join in the fun? Check out the details from the Portland Ad Fed.

Think you have what it takes to win? Bring it.

I’ve run the race more than a dozen years myself and can easily say it is one of the highlights of my year. And I have always thought very highly of the management and organization of the event.  It is truly a feat to pull this off.  But the staff does not do it alone. Each team is required to provide three volunteers to man the 36 exchange points along the course at all hours of the day and night. It takes a lot of dedication for a person to get up at 2:00 a.m., drive to the middle of the Coast Range, and direct hundreds of vans and thousands of people who are sleep deprived and reaching their limits.  And for their efforts, each volunteer gets a t-shirt that just lets people know “I helped pull off one of the greatest running events around”.

The 2009 Hood To Coast volunteer t-shirt

That’s why I was more than a little disappointed in organization’s response to an obvious mistake on the volunteer t-shirts printed for this year’s event.  As reported in The Oregonian, the bright orange t-shirt proudly declares the person wearing it is a “Race Offical” rather than “Official”. It’s an honest, if not unbelievable, mistake. And our whole running team got a chuckle out of passing around the news.  But, at our final race preparation meeting last night, all we could talk about was the dismissive response of Robert Foote, Hood to Coast Relay president, who shrugged off the mistake and said it “is pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.”  What does that say about the Hood-to-Coast brand?  And how must the sponsors whose logos appear under the mispelled word feel?

I can understand and sympathize with the complexity of running an event like this.  It is a huge undertaking and, yes, a t-shirt misprint must seem like a small gaffe.  But, the dismissive public comment and failure to correct the mistake indicate leadership that fails to recognize the difficulty teams have in providing volunteers and the sacrifice those people make to help pull this event off. It also sends a message to event sponsors that the organization might not be as professional as it appears.

The only possible rationale for the decision I can think of is that it was too late to reprint the shirts once the mistake was discovered or the staff felt that the extra cost would take away from the donations that will be made to the American Cancer Society, the beneficiary of the event.  If either of those is the case, just say that rather than trying to dismiss the mistake as insignificant.

It is a lesson for all organizations (and people) that make mistakes, because we all do.  Own up to it.  Correct it. And stay true to your brand. Certainly the main event sponsor, Nike, understands this. And I hope the Hood To Coast staff has spent the last few days figuring out how they can quickly reprint the t-shirts for the 3,000+ volunteers who will be setting their alarm clocks, grabbing a coffee, and heading out to a place they’ve never heard of — all in the name of fun.

Since GM went belly-up – and let’s not forget the recent troubles banks are having – GMAC took a strategic move, and re-positioned  their brand. I know I am a little bit biased, but good for them for putting those TARP funds to good use.

During this banking crisis, GMAC made a decision to become a “trusted partner” with their customers. They drew a line in the sand, and are making the lofty claim that they are “a bank that will always be open, accountable, and honest.” Yes, honest!

It is certainly refreshing to hear a bank make these kinds of promises. Ally has already launched  a very fun marketing campaign that very clearly states they won’t “hide behind fine print” or “hold out” on you because “it’s the right thing to do.”

There is nothing wrong with setting the bar high. And I applaud Ally for having the courage to actually do right by their customers. If they can follow through with meeting their brand promise then they have an opportunity to really stand out in the banking brand landscape. After doing an unscientific brand survey on twitter, response to the service and new brand position has been favorable, especially when it comes to their promise about rates.

There have been some bumps in the road too, as seen on customer Ryan Finnie’s blog, where a rate switch caused him to question the brand by using their very own advertising. Or on the Suns Financial Diary blog, where their user experience with signing up for an account didn’t quite pan out to the friendly partnership they had hoped.

But regardless of these bumps, there is definitely something encouraging in both of these examples. Ally bank contacted each, and listened, if not to resolve the problem, but to help make all their customers’ banking experience better. And to me, that is definitely not banking as usual. The bank brand is still young, it will be interesting to see how they carry the brand forward.

Well, what if you sell beds? In the sea of retail, the only dry land tends to be commiditization. Come and get ‘em for the lowest price. Prices slashed. Two-for one. We’ll even throw in free delivery! Sometimes there’s good will and a donation or two. All that noise sounds like a car dealership. But, there’s a company in the U.K. called Benson for Beds. They aren’t selling beds – they are selling sleep. Something everyone wants but not everyone gets. Their focus isn’t on showing hundreds of beds on sale in a warehouse with giant-sized price tags (okay, yes they had some ads like that in the past). They focus on what you can do if you get your sleep. Sleep to Live. Check out their very cool intro spot on their site. http://bit.ly/i1p8f

Their brand screams “have all the fun in the world and at the end of the day you’ll get the best night’s sleep” or in other words, Sleep to Live. Brilliant brand position. They embraced their Sleep to Live mantra by shooting for the Guiness Book of World Records in mattress dominoes. Gimmicky? Perhaps. But, it does go to show that when you think outside the box, you can turn a simple idea into something that helps differentiate who you are and what you offer. It can help an organization rally around a common goal and ultimately help everyone deliver on the promise made to consumers. It can help you grow. And, in the end…might just help you sleep.