What is an ambassador of a brand?
EVERYTHING! If that sounds a little dramatic for you, that’s okay. It was a purposeful and comprehensive answer – just as your brand should be.
Let’s define “EVERYTHING” further with just a few examples of brand ambassadors:
Employees: Uniforms and personal appearance, attitude, and knowledge of your products and services. Each of these employee qualities make-up one of the most important type of ambassadors – the human presence that reflects your company’s core values and beliefs.
Customers: Think of customers as an endless pool of brand ambassadors. A friend who tweeted about her new hard-to-find boots that came from a local boutique, a co-worker who told the office about an amazing lunch for under $10, a smart-phone-challenged dad who posted photos of his new BBQ grill cover… all of this free exposure is priceless. A happy customer is free advertising.
Mascot: This fun visual aid carries your brand with extra personality. Think Tony the Tiger or Mr. Peanut (or Mr. P’s stunt double). This character has the unique opportunity to showcase your company’s core values and beliefs, and is an ambassador in the traditional sense that directly relates to the consumer.
Website: Mobile and desktop sites should have content, design, and functionality that creates interest in your brand. This digital ambassador tells your brand’s story and delivers a clear answer to the question “Who are you and why am I visiting your website?” The visitor to your website should always be thinking “Wow…I need you in my life!”
Logo: This is the most recognized element of your brand and is singularly what people think of when they hear “brand”. A logo is NOT a brand. It is a brand ambassador, and like the above ambassadors, your logo should work in harmony with all other aspects of your brand.
A brand defines the entire experience of the consumer – first exposure from satisfied customer, researching online, purchasing, enjoying their purchase, and getting excited enough to tell others. Take a close look at every aspect of your business and ask “Are my brand ambassadors telling my brand’s story and demonstrating my business’ core values?”
Consumers look for what’s new and different. Like fashions, a brand can become dated. With old packaging, colors, fonts and style it could be time to do that makeover. If sales have gone down, take a look at your brand and packaging versus what the competition is sporting. How do you measure up?
A rebrand can re-energize your marketing, help you to develop a niche, or launch a new product. Rebranding can open up new markets, identify and maximize your social media channels and helps you to better connect with those who love your products. In a nutshell, strong branding will help you reach the right people more efficiently. If your current brand is flagging then now is the time to take a look at refreshing your brand.
When new leadership enters a company it means new ideas and new methods. This is a perfect time to rebrand and introduce the new management along with new ideas and a refreshing new look-and-feel.
When a small business begins to grow, a rebrand is often needed to reflect growth, change in audiences, and perhaps even geographic reach. The branding that was fine when you started out is likely not a good fit as the company matures and adapts.
Maturity means you most likely have more knowledge about your market and distribution, and may have a better understanding of your key differences and, without doubt, you’ve begun to write your history. A rebrand can refocus the perceptions of your brand community, while keeping your company relevant in the mind of the consumer.
New technologies have shifted the way your target market finds you and chooses you and how your brand is presented across new marketing tools such as your website, social media and online advertising. Key-word branding and SEO can also have a huge impact on whether you are even found.
People today want to know more about where their products come from, how they’re made, who created it, how it’s packaged. They want authenticity and transparency, whether real or perceived. If you have a story—about the founder, about the flavors, about how the product was created—they want to know. Adding a story to your marketing can add new life to your brand and could be the biggest difference between you and your competitors.
Creating an online conversation with a community who loves your products and will share your story can significantly improve profitability. How are you using today’s technology to create a stronger presence and greater recognition, online and offline for your brand? Today’s marketing is two-way communication between those who buy and experience and those who sell and deliver. Telling your brand story in an impactful way creates an emotional bond between the buyer and seller and, if it’s a good story, creates a loyal brand audience.
Sometimes when we quote a logo redesign or identity package update people are surprised – surprised at what a great logo can cost. I can explain until I’m blue in the face why you need a professionally designed logo and why you should find a company you admire to develop one (and pay them a reasonable sum of money to create one), but somehow people still doubt what a great logo is worth. So, to make my point another way, I’ll explain what a BAD Logo will cost you.
Lets start with your image to the outside world:
Now, let’s consider, more importantly, the image to your employees:
An old logo that hasn’t been updated will tell employees (1.) “We don’t care about the future of the company;” (2.) “We are cheap and don’t understand the intrinsic value of our Brand;” (3.) “We don’t understand what the current Brand represents or where it is headed;” (4.) “We fear or are against change or improvement.”
A poorly conceived/executed logo tells your employees (1.) we do not connect with our employees; (2.) delivers the wrong message on who-the-company-is and what-the-company-does; (3.) gives the idea that we have poor quality standards; (4.) steers potential applicants away from applying by having them think, “If they don’t invest in their image, they probably won’t invest in me either.”
Next Printing Cost:
I’ll have to preface this with some basic info – a professionally developed logo is successful in black and white, one color – possibly two color. When contrasted with some poorly planned logos that are full-color for no good reason:
Imagine printing letterhead, envelopes, and business cards for an office of 10 people. If you have professional designed stationery with a two-color logo, your cost may be $2,000 depending on paper stock and quantities. For similar paper stock and quantities, using a logo that is full color, you will easily spend $5,000. So, you can see that anything you saved on the logo redesign is eaten away by poor planning and execution.
Another problem with an unprofessional logo, we have seen this more times than I like to admit, is when the logo is created in a non-scalable format. They had a friend put something together in a desktop publishing program and they only have one file format and it isn’t scalable. Each time the logo is used on different media such as on letterhead, then billboards or shirts, the company they contract with has to re-make the logo, OR turn it into a two or one color, OR (the worse) stretch the logo to fit the size so the final print/production is warped, fuzzy or pixelated.
We have encountered several poorly conceived, badly executed logos that are not helping the companies they are supposed to represent. So, if you are concerned about how much a good or great logo will cost you, it is nothing compared to what a BAD LOGO will cost you.
Think about what big prospects have walked away from your company because your brand looks old, confusing, or poor quality. How much did that logo really cost you now?
After the Gap fiasco a week ago, another company shows off their rebrand in the form of a logo design. DoubleTree has unveiled their new logo. I am fine with the new logo, I like the intertwined “D” and trees and the new brown look. According to the Brand Channel, the company said the new identity followed extensive research and “consumer feedback drove selection of the final logo.” What surprised me is the company’s statement that the new logo was “celebrating a modern, updated look and feel for DoubleTree”. The new identity looks like a throw back to the historical, stoic look of yesteryear. A well-established, upscale identity aimed at older business travelers is appropriate and a good move as many hotels go after the vacationing family such as Holiday Inn (see below). I would never call the new brown DoubleTree logo as “modern”.
The Holiday Inn rebrand shown below was genius and it went far beyond the company’s logo. Many times people confuse a new logo for a rebrand. A rebrand is a new look across the board and that is exactly what Holiday Inn did. Holiday Inn required all of their franchises to update their properties to the new look or leave the company. As the recession was really developing, Holiday Inn had little mercy for the franchise owners dragging their feet and the company cut ties. I have seen many former Holiday Inns and I see why the company cut ties. Holiday Inn upscaled their company image to be a preferred place for families to stay for vacations as well as frugal business travelers. The former Holiday Inns can mostly been summed up as “hell holes”. [I can not account for every one of them since I’m obviously not seen all of them, but the ones I’ve driven by or the few I’ve stayed at as a last resort where just horrid.]
Just remember a rebrand is not just a new logo, but a new company attitude, a position change in the market, or a rebirth of a very historic logo. Also, many small companies fail to inform their brand community that they made the change so they look like they were bought out or worse, a different company altogether. Obviously a small company is not going to international news like Gap, DoubleTree or Holiday Inn, but a simple email, letter, or small advertising campaign will go a long way.
I know we promised not to spotlight our clients in the New Orleans Logos section of our website, but this is not a design client for us. We actually just recoded & cleaned up Premium Parking’s website and helped them with some web marketing so we think the logo still counts.
Premium Parking’s logo reminds me of the London Underground logo and has a European feel to it which matches New Orleans’ European history and influence. The logo is clean, simple and to the point. We talk all the time that less is more and this is a good example of it and well needed.
When a potential customer is looking for parking, especially in the busy Central Business District (CBD) or New Orleans where much of the company’s lots are located, they need an easy to find, well recognized visual that quickly translates into available parking. The red color helps the logo stand out and draw attention toward the sign.
Oddly though, the logo reminds me of a No Parking sign, but in a good way. The Premium Parking “P” is recognizable as “parking” and without the slash through the letter, it looks like parking is available.
Check out the Premium Parking website at http://www.premiumparkingservice.com.
Not many things bring me back to my youth in New Orleans as a Hubig’s pie. It is a simple pleasure that one has to indulge on a few times a year. Regardless of your favorite flavor (mine is banana), a Hubig’s pie is a timeless treat and a part of New Orleans’ culture. You can see artwork using the Hubig’s logo in galleries in New Orleans and in households across the country. The iconic character is simple yet tells so much about the wholesome goodness inside. One of my favorite treats for friends visiting New Orleans is to have pick up a pie when at a convenience store or poboy shop. Each time, they remark how inviting the character is and it must be a good treat if it’s been around all this time with an almost unchanged look. In this case, I think changing the look of the packaging would be detrimental.
What do you think of the Hubig’s pie character and packaging? What is your favorite flavor?
This is another legendary household name in New Orleans – Tiptina’s. Many locals just call it “Tips”. Tiptina’s is an Uptown New Orleans concert hall and music haven.
I’m not sure where the banana comes from and the importance of it. A friend thinks the banana is a sign of luck or happiness. Regardless the background, Tipitina’s uses the banana consistently throughout their other brands. You can see the hand and banana rising out of the water in their Foundation’s logo in the picture on the right. Their workshop logo also incorporates the banana.
If you love this music mecca and the logo, you can purchase shirts and merchandise from their website. Let us know if you know the history behind the banana. We’re curious.
Audubon Institute’s logo is one of my all-time favorite logos and I do not think the designer of the logo gets enough credit for it. (I’m not even sure who designed it.)
This logo is one of the reasons I become a graphic designer. The logo captivates the spirit of the animals and the interaction that Audubon gives to its guest. My favorite part about each park is the interaction where the animals are not behind glass or in an enclosure, but right out in front of you so you can touch them. I love seeing a volunteer walk a tortoise and the keepers walking around with owls and hawks on their left hands as part of an impromptu “rapture parade”. The logo projects the animals coming out of their enclosures and the interaction they have with visitors.
The logo also works perfectly for each park as a separate logo with the tiger as the representative for the zoo, the shark for the aquarium and the butterfly for the new insectarium. What do you think about Audubon Institute’s logo?
We decided to add a new section to our blog about New Orleans Logos. Basically, we will share some of our favorite logos that we see around New Orleans and give a brief description of why we like them and why they work. Don’t worry, we won’t be plugging our own logos; we actually will not post logos we’ve designed.
You’re invited to join in too! If you see a logo that you like, just comment on one of our posts the name of the company & why you like it and we’ll create a post for it with a picture of the logo.
Enjoy!
10/27
What is an ambassador of a brand? EVERYTHING! If that sounds a little dramatic for you, that’s okay. It was a purposeful and comprehensive answer – just as your brand should be. Let’s define “EVERYTHING” further with just a few examples of brand ambassadors: Employees: Uniforms and personal appearance, attitude, and knowledge of your products […]
10/14
1. Keep your brand “fashionable” Consumers look for what’s new and different. Like fashions, a brand can become dated. With old packaging, colors, fonts and style it could be time to do that makeover. If sales have gone down, take a look at your brand and packaging versus what the competition is sporting. How do […]
7/18
Sometimes when we quote a logo redesign or identity package update people are surprised - surprised at what a great logo can cost. I can explain until I'm blue in the face why you need a professionally designed logo and why you should find a company you admire to develop one (and pay them a reasonable sum of money to create one), but somehow people still doubt what a great logo is worth. So, to make my point another way, I'll explain what a BAD Logo will cost you.
10/18
After the Gap fiasco a week ago, another company shows off their rebrand in the form of a logo design. DoubleTree has unveiled their new logo. I am fine with the new logo, I like the intertwined “D” and trees and the new brown look. According to the Brand Channel, the company said the new […]
10/13
I know we promised not to spotlight our clients in the New Orleans Logos section of our website, but this is not a design client for us. We actually just recoded & cleaned up Premium Parking’s website and helped them with some web marketing so we think the logo still counts. Premium Parking’s logo reminds […]
9/18
Not many things bring me back to my youth in New Orleans as a Hubig’s pie. It is a simple pleasure that one has to indulge on a few times a year. Regardless of your favorite flavor (mine is banana), a Hubig’s pie is a timeless treat and a part of New Orleans’ culture. You […]
9/11
This is another legendary household name in New Orleans – Tiptina’s. Many locals just call it “Tips”. Tiptina’s is an Uptown New Orleans concert hall and music haven. I’m not sure where the banana comes from and the importance of it. A friend thinks the banana is a sign of luck or happiness. Regardless the […]
8/19
Audubon Institute’s logo is one of my all-time favorite logos and I do not think the designer of the logo gets enough credit for it. (I’m not even sure who designed it.) This logo is one of the reasons I become a graphic designer. The logo captivates the spirit of the animals and the interaction […]
8/19
We decided to add a new section to our blog about New Orleans Logos. Basically, we will share some of our favorite logos that we see around New Orleans and give a brief description of why we like them and why they work. Don’t worry, we won’t be plugging our own logos; we actually will […]
