B2C and B2B marketers are quickly seeing the potential of what a brand builder Pinterest can be. Many businesses have asked me, should we add Pinterest to our social marketing strategy?

Here is where I see the value in using Pinterest for business.

• Pin items to engage people. Tap into peoples emotions. Tell stories with pictures. Increasing engagement with people is a brand builder.

• Add visuals that will resonate with your brand community. Focus on the impact your visual messages have on people.

• Pins can show what people can do with your product and where it can take them.

• Learn what people like by watching your repins.

• “Like” other members pins, “follow” members and make comments on pins. These all help make you social and build your brand community.

• Allow others to build your brand. Create group pinboards where you invite others to pin content. This builds you a brand community around a subject or interest.

• Although it is not meant to be used as your online catalog, keying the price of a pinned item in the description field places a price banner on the corner of your pin. Clicking any photo will take you to the web site of the pin’s origin.

You definately need to focus on visual branding to be successful on Pinterest. Visual collateral like infographics, videos, whitepapers, photos, are all effective.

Find your audience

Each social media site has its own demographic. For Pinterest, that demographic is largely female. If your small business appeals to men, consider Gentlemint, Pinterest’s male counterpart. Pinterest users are designers (all types), marketers, online retailers, fashion boutiques, home goods, restaurants, food brands, auto manufacturers, and even GE and other large corporations.

Use Pinterest for indirect marketing, not direct marketing.

Strategize on how you are going to use it. What boards should you have to support your brand? Telling your story with pictures is easy, right?

Building your boards…

• Keep your boards relevant and well organized.

• Remember… your content helps convey your brand. What is the culture of your company? What causes do you believe in? Who are your people, who are your customers and what do they like?

• Let your brand’s personality come through in your pinboards. Think about what brand related info/content will resonate with your customer, make those topics your boards based on their interests.

• Stay focused. Try to add only relevant pins to your boards. If a pin doesn’t fit any of your existing boards, create a new board making sure it is in keeping with the brand.

• Pin, not only your products, but more importantly, how your products make people feel and how they add value to their lives.

• Pin images that might represent a challenge for your customer, conveying your solution.

Research!

To see boards and pins you will need to join Pinterest. Then use the Pinterest url with the companys name after it (no spaces) like this, <http://pinterest.com/companyname>. You can also search for pins by subject matter.

Here’s how a few companys use Pinterest and a sampling of their board topics.

• Whole Foods has attracted more than 19,000 followers for its “Super Hot Kitchens” board.

• West Elm – (for the home) Color Block, Modernist, Naturalist, Stripes, Spotted, Moroccan Style, Globalist, Revivalist

• General Electric – Inventions, Inspirations, Projects, Garages, History

• Honda – Things to do in a CR-V. Contest: Pintermission- active pinners are given $500 to take a 24-hour Pinterest break, to get out and do some of the stuff they’re pinning about.

• Scholastic – Classroom Ideas, Summer Reading

• Chobani (Yogurt) – Recipes, Ideas, Nutrition, Dieting, Staying Fit

• Sports company’s like Nike might want to show some products but what people really want to get a sense of, is where Nike products can take them, so include both.

• ModCloth (trendy online fashion retailer) – Textiles Style, Magic’s in the Makeup, Behind the Seams. As they say, what inspires us.

• ASPCA – Adoptable, Pet Care Tips, Plants Toxic to Pets, Animal Advocacy

• Oprah – Quotes We Love, Great Buys, Desserts, Fancy Feet, Places Oprah Loves, Say Thank You (videos of fans saying thank you)

• Lowes – 50 Projects Under $50, Bathroom Inspiration, Family Projects, Organize, A Real Pet Project, Bedroom Dreams

• Newsweek – Best Pictures of Last Year, History, Nature, Sport, Sailing

• Contant Contact – How Tos, Infographics, 10 Strategies, Tips, Best Practices, Life at Constant Contact, Brand Timeline

A picture is worth a thousand words! Pinterest’s phenomenal growth is a testiment to the power of visuals. See us on Pinterest.

Apple does it again. The best brand experience can be found everywhere at Apple.

The largest (23,000 square feet) Apple retail store opened Friday, April 6, at New York’s Grand Central Terminal.

If you are not a New Yorker or you don’t appreciate the overwhelming crowds of people, this is the answer for you Apple enthusiasts.

Apple has given the ability of iPhone 4 and 4S, iPad 2 and 4th-gen iPod Touch owners to take a virtual tour of it.
> Go to Apple’s Grand Central Terminal retail store website using Mobile Safari
> Choose “View More Photos”
> Choose the last photo

By just holding the device and moving around with it, it is almost as if you are standing in the store itself. If you don’t have an Apple device, why not find a friend who does.

Everything from their packaging multi-layered reveals to their store experience speaks the brand. Apple is, as Steve Jobs said he wanted to do,  “making a dent in the universe”.

Read more about Apple’s brand experience >

Total Rewards, Caesars Entertainment’s casino loyalty program has got a new logo.

To kick off their new look and benefits of Total Rewards, Caesars Entertainment launched a promotional giveaway called “Escape to Total Rewards” with, they say, upwards of 90,000 in prizes including two-night trips to Las Vegas.

Total Rewards, the country’s leading entertainment loyalty program, is the incentive program for players at casinos owned by the 52 worldwide Caesars Entertainments. The more you play, the more complimentary rooms, meals, etc. you receive. Caesars Entertainment says they are “focused on building loyalty and value with their guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership”.

To play, you enter a code online and “spin.” An array of images passes before your eyes and where it stops determines what you win. When it stops on the new logo, all you get is an entry into the sweepstakes drawing at the end of the contest. So essentially … you lose.

You get up to 11 spins a day. This was actually brought to my attention by a friend who uses it. She tells me that she and her friends who have been playing to win since its inception (March 1), all have several dozen entries into the sweepstakes.
So now, when they see the “coveted logo” (that’s how it’s described when it comes up!), they feel a terrible letdown. Who needs another sweepstakes entry?

Is this very good brand building to have players associate the new logo with losing? For those who recognize the Total Rewards logo and are forming impressions of what it stands for . . . this is, indeed, a misstep!

As far as the logo visual, their statement is as follows: It is intended to “capture the energy and excitement of the Total Rewards program, and to illustrate the global network of experiences to which guests have access just by virtue of being a Total Rewards member”.

My thought is … this logo is analogous to someone who got out of bed and forgot to comb their hair before they went out. A tangled web, which is meant to represent their “global network of experiences”, with an angry “TR” inside it. Not much positive going on with this branding.

Is Longwood Gardens just plants, flowers and gardens? Is that their brand? This is one my favorite places to visit anytime of year and I see so much more each time I go. Who they are, is definately much more than that.

The new logo, a series of interlocking script letter “L”s is very pretty with its floral and trellis influences. It is an excellent literal translation and clearly says “flower”. But … is this logo a good representation of their brand? Does it begin to tell what Longwood Gardens is really all about and who they are?

What is a logo? Let’s get back to basics and review a list of what a logo should be.

Is the logo…

Identifiable?

Simple shapes are easily identified.

Simple?

Simplicity builds recognition.

Recognizable?

When a visual is too detailed it becomes less recognizable.

Memorable?

The more easily identified, the more memorable.

Meaningful?

The vision behind the logo speaks volumes about the company.

Scalable?

The visual should be easily recognizable at all sizes – small and large.

A visual representation of a concept?

Does your logo’s visual representation have meaning and significance to your company?

Significant?

Does it use the positive and negative space effectively and meaningfully?

This logo can easily be helped by these visual brand rules.

It can be simpler. It could make better use of the positive-negative space. It could display a more contemporary and friendlier look and feel with the use of a sans serif font and upper and lower-case or just lower-case letters.

Here’s some basics to keep in mind….

In developing a visual brand we are creating a visual concept of your company. Behind your company there is a concept of who you are and what your objectives and goals are. Convey that clarity and the better your visual translation can be.

Put yourselves in your customers shoes for a good perspective. If you know your customer, then you know that they are visually and culturally evolving. Their visual sensibilities have been elevated by vastly improved visual effects in all media. So, help your brand evolve. Stay current and relevant to your customers visual world.

Speak to the Brand.

At face value Longwood Gardens is flowers but the brand is more than what you see when you go to Longwood Gardens. It’s what you don’t see that is equally as important.

See the new Longwood Gardens logo video here. It is terrific!

Why is a strong company brand important?

Because, it:

• Demonstrates organizational discipline

• Provides a sense of unity and guidance within an organization and to partner organizations

• Guides an organization as it naturally evolves and often, as it is forced to evolve

• Communicates without words

• Helps company leadership remain focused and inspired when needed

• Gives organizations direction in difficult times

• Provides leadership by example and inspires others

How do you build a strong company brand?

Building a strong brand is not only living it, in everything the company does but strengthening your companys brand value comes through communications.

What are the benefits of creating a visual brand?

You create the perceived value of….

Recognition – communicating a consistent visual representation over time builds recognition and recognition builds loyalty

Organizational size – you appear larger than you are and create the perception of a more comprehensive offering

Professionalism - those who pay attention to their visual appearance are also those who can give you that very same thing

Quality - with a quality visual representation, it shows you pay close attention to detail, the quality of your work and you think highly of yourself

Experience - a higher degree of knowledge will lend a better quality product

Reliability - using a common look and feel communicates consistency and means you offer your target market consistency

In the world of marketing, branding is not an option. It is a necessity. If you don‘t do it, someone else will do it for you.

Are you aware of the distinctions between brand, branding and visual branding?

Here’s a basic overview.

I have used the reference to “you” here, which can be a person, company, product or just about anything your brand efforts are focused on.

What is a Brand?

Who are you? What do you stand for? How do you differentiate yourself? You create a perception in the mind of your customer. Your brand promises to deliver value consistently over a long period of time.

What is Branding?

Everything you do, every message you send, every communication you make at every touchpoint. Branding is about using your brand to allow your customer to see you as you desire them to see you. Typically, we want to be seen as the premiere source who can provide the solution to their problem. It is how they see, feel, and experience you. It’s about creating singular distinction, strategic awareness, and differentiation in the mind of your customer.

What is Visual Branding?

Visual Branding enables companies to translate much of their positioning and branding effort into something people see (and experience). It is the visual expression of a brand. Visual Branding is about visually expressing a brand personality, anytime, anyplace, anywhere. It means you directly and subliminally communicate the brand by visually representing it with simplicity, consistency and repetition. Visual branding facilitates recognition through visual unity (shape, color, typography, imagery) and strength. The intended result is to build an emotional connection between the brand and your customer.

Let’s use Apple as an example of the genius of brand, branding and visual branding.

Apple’s Brand

Apple is about imagination, design and innovation. Apple products are simple, well designed, easy-to-use. Apple’s simplicity is its efficiency, productivity and dependability.

Apple’s Branding

Apple does very humanistic things as a corporation and with their products that support the brand. They have found a way to allow people to embrace technology by adding a human aspect to it. They make people smile and relax with the technology and thus, people become engaged with the product. Apple has clearly established an emotional connection with its customers at every touchpoint which has helped build communities around their products. Apple has turned their customers into brand evangelists and brand ambassadors. THIS is the epitomy of branding.

Apple’s Visual Branding

Apple uses simple and unique visuals in product design, support material and advertising which are clearly recognizable. The visual brand is based on the same simple visual expression carried through all their products, stores and website. The Apple logo is applied consistently on everything Apple. Support material, products, website and stores all use a distinct use of black, white, grey/silver and sometimes a blue accent. They incorporate glass or clear material wherever applicable. Colorful accent palettes are only used in accessories and to display on-screen content. The visual branding reinforces the simplicity and the humanness of Apple.

This answers the “What” of brand, branding and visual branding.

Next up: The Why and The How.

I like the meaning and depth of thought and the strategy that went into this new visual brand. The constellation below is a visual inspiration for the dotted man figure icon.

The dot icon is simple, friendly and flexible. It represents a Belkin brand that is more contemporary and relevant. The wordmark works well to reinforce the icon. The common trend of using lowercase letters for the wordmark lends a friendly, fun and modern look and feel.

“The new Belkin logo, affectionately named PIP for People Inspired Products, symbolizes our commitment to take inspiration from people, and acknowledges the connection between people and the experiences they value most.” states Ernesto Quinteros, Belkin’s Chief Brand Officer in their recent press release.

The new brand was facilitated by the return of Belkin’s founder, Chet Pipkin, or “Mr. Pip”. This is absolute genious! If you want to get CEO buy-in on a new brand identity, use his/her ego on the brand to help get you there. An emotional story that “connects” with the CEO wins every time, because, we all know that the branding process incorporates alot of CEO and EGO.

See how beautifully the icon works interactively.

Aetna has a new logo – the 12th logo in the company’s 157-year history. This is part of their new brand’s “passion for helping people make confident choices and celebrate the equity and tradition of the Aetna name.”

Aetna’s logo evolution from the 1860s. Courtesy of Business Insider.

The new logo is clean, simple, memorable, unique and appropriate for the new brand. They use all lowercase letters in a modern font. The trend of using lowercase letters has become popular recently as they represent a friendlier look and feel. Shown below, the bright color palette with its vast spectrum of color represents youthful, friendly, fun and cheerful. The logo symbolically reinforces Aetna’s brand promise of a connected health care experience by visually connecting the letters “a” and “e” – a visual they retired in 2001.

The row of their colorful icons below are made by using the negative spaces of the “a” and the “e”. Very nice touch!

Applications of the logo shown below display the use of bright colors and the friendly look and feel.

Visual brand images, courtesy of Brand New.

Aetna says its new look is “Vibrant. Energetic. Flexible. It shows our passion for helping you feel confident in your health care decisions, fitting into your life, and making it easier for you to live healthier.” As they say, Aetna continues “its evolution from an insurance carrier to a health solutions company” and establishes themselves as a more consumer-focused brand.

Read Aetna’s press release.

Cigna went through a similar process of rebranding last year. Read about Cigna’s new logo here.

Our good friend (and former client, now retired) Anne Ritchey, gave us a very appropriate holiday gift – The Logo Board Game. Thanks Anne, for thinking of us in a big way!

The game is like a trivial pursuit. There are cards that ask questions in relation to brands we are often familiar with.

Although it is a board game, we had much fun with answering questions. Some relate to visuals and logos, some to taglines and branding. But mostly, it got us thinking and helped us build on our brand vocabulary.

We share some of the fun here with questions for you:

1 Which brand uses a red spoon as its logo?

2 Which brand’s slogan is “Love the skin you’re in”?

3 What is the chorus to the well-known Sara Lee jingle?

4 According to their ads, “nothing beats a great pair of” these.

5 Which Japanese car company’s logo is made up of three red diamonds?

6 Which famous cake mix maker had previously been a food critic?

7 What did the initials AT&T originally stand for?

8 What brand of sunglasses did President Barack Obama wear on the cover of Ebony?

9 Which web company’s name comes from the math term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes?

10 What do burgers at Wendy’s and White Castle have in common?

______

Answers:

1 Betty Crocker

2 Olay

3 “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee”

4 L’eggs

5 Mitsubishi

6 Duncan Hines

7 American Telephone & Telegraph

8 Ray-Ban

9 Google (from Googol)

10 They are both square.

______

Happy new year!

There are many different spiritual beliefs that have become part of the holiday season. Of the many seasonal icons that exist, the imaginary one that remains the strongest, most fun and most playful is the belief in Santa Claus. Let’s just pretend for a minute.

We have posted this in years past, so please excuse us for pulling it out of our sack again!

All in fun, we share with you… The Santa Brand.