Many who observe these things have noticed an ongoing trend that has been developing for a number of years now – a retail and social gravity towards the ‘authentic’ – the appearance of some type of naturalness, spontaneity, unfiltered option.  This compares to what the public perceives as the opposite:  the appearance of extensive and manipulative strategies, mass-for-mass design styles, and the crowding out of competitors.

During my time working for package design agencies, I witnessed this growing pattern by consumers in its earlier stages – products such as Fresh Samantha, Pirate Booty, Ben and Jerry’s, and of course the many micro-brews locally made got their start in this earlier time.  These alternative products are often marketed as being ‘local’, or ‘organic’, ‘sustainable’, or ‘green’ to communicate authenticity.  But since ‘greenwashing‘ and other apparent cynical corporate strategies are quickly found out via social media, brands are having a harder time to connect with audiences that seem authentic.

What IS authentic?  These are some dictionary descriptions of the word ‘authentic’:

Not everyone sees color in the same way.  There are of course people with forms of color blindness, a physiological condition (most common among men in the red/green color ranges).  But color is also perceived differently between cultures.  For example, ‘death’ is often associated with black in Western cultures, but in Asia (China and India) ‘white’ is associated with death, and in some South American native populations ‘green’ is! (See chart – Exhibit).  Talk about love?  There is a wide range of colors associated between cultures on that emotion (from red to green to yellow and blue).

Color is a subject that has been explored often by social research to determine linguistic relativity.  Most people know that men and women generally have different color preferences – and women are more likely to have a color preference than men.  This can get started early on and reinforced by ‘political/cultural correctness‘.  And while men and women see the same colors (unless there is a physiological condition, e.g. color blindness), they categorize them differently (women are more ‘granular’ vs. men).  Thus, the argument goes, because women are  familiar with more color terms (e.g. olive and chartreuse vs. ‘green’) they have greater awareness of the subject.  Academics argue that because, in the case of women, they are familiar with more color terms, it has a greater influence on their thinking.  A cross-cultural example of this are the Inuit (Eskimo) words for ‘snow’.  Because snow is ever-present in their world and awareness of its condition can be critical to survival, they developed a complex categorization of ‘snow‘.  Literally hundreds of words for snow!

In branding a company, product or service, we need to be keenly aware of the audiences we wish to connect with and form relationships.  The choices we make in how to express our brand may be received differently (and negatively) in different audiences.  For example:

During its 1994 launch campaign, the telecom company Orange had to change its ads in Northern Ireland. “The future’s bright … the future’s Orange.” That campaign is an advertising legend. However, in the North the term Orange suggests the Orange Order. The implied message that the future is bright, the future is Protestant, loyalist… didn’t sit well with the Catholic Irish population.

Social scientists who believe that linguistic relativity goes beyond influencing thinking, but actually determines thought and perceptions of the world (called a ‘strong’ version of Linguistic Relativity), would argue that we are limited in what we can comprehend by our vocabulary.  As this relates to brand strategy, we may not only be using colors, symbols or even shapes that are ‘less appealing’ with certain audiences, but our brands could actually seem as ‘alien or foreign’ to their thinking.  Responses could be either to ignore your brand or provoke curiosity, but unlikely to generate sales…. And even if your brand’s reach is local, or confined to the USA (or other nations or regions), there is considerable diversity of perceptions and cognitive understanding within those local communities.  Turquoise deodorant for men? white packaging for vitamins in Asian markets?

If you would like to discuss color in branding, contact Raleigh Green.

Brands may call attention a cause – a public service unto itself.  But wrapping a brand around a cause, when there is no follow-through, will inevitably be discovered – especially with today’s social media environment.  This is true no matter what the cause, including Earth Day and ‘green branding’.

As partnerships evolve over time, names may come and go.  As that happens, the flexibility of the brand is challenged each time.  Brand equity is constantly being eroded as the firm’s name changes around IF there isn’t something ‘more’ to the brand than the names and/or some ‘expected’ and forgettable graphic element  (e.g. the ubiquitous scales-of-justice for a law firm) to the identity.  Unique symbols and shapes, taglines, distinctive brand design systems, color and more can be leveraged to ‘kick-it-up’ a notch in positioning the brands of professional services.

As marketing consultants we must find ways to educate the partners to get on board with strategic branding, and offer creative solutions that will help them. They will be receptive to common-sense bottom-line goals with solutions that will clearly benefit them. Looking modern for ‘modern’ sake won’t cut it with this crowd.

Professional services of all stripes tend to be quite conservative when it comes to marketing.  They often think in terms of ‘setting up a shingle and they will come’ – very cautious.   They may not be natural marketers or ‘creative – out of the box’ types – they are disciplined in other areas.  As such many professional services, such as law firms, have historically had brands that were ‘yawners’ – forgettable type faces and unmemorable graphics.

A key challenge with partnerships is that the name of the individual partners are ‘on the door’.  Thus, the branding is not just a company but individuals.  It is very tough when you have just 1 person to brand, but getting multiple people to agree on anything like this is akin to herding squirrels!

Even with these challenges to helping professional service firms to position their brand for flexibility, growth, and change, it is important and must be done properly.  With a good rationale, patience, and perseverance, a true value-added brand solution can be achieved.

Visit the site on a mobile device at:
www.kingstonanimalhospital.com

We are taught very early that we have five senses that include sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.  When brands leverage these other senses along with visual/sight, it can add another subtle but powerful connection with its audience and circumvent the ‘filters’ so many of us have developed.  In fact, studies show that when combining multiple sensory stimuli, you get a more powerful impact on consumers than you would using a single sensory experience, e.g. graphics.   For example:  taste (the tang and fizzle of original Coca Cola),  touch (Isotoner gloves – a snug fit and now you can touch your ‘touch screen’ with them), smell (Cinnabon – have you ever smelled it in a mall before you ever saw the kiosk/store?) and sound (the comforting start-up sound of an Apple MAC, recognized even when you don’t see the computer).

When creating, refreshing or extending your brand, consider a multi-sensory approach where reasonably possible.  Something as simple as a ‘sound logo‘ like NBC or Intel’s ‘Inside’ logo can be quite powerful when consistently and thoughtfully applied.   Consider everyday things also.  For example, what do people hear when placed on hold at your company?  That can have a big difference on what kind of brand impression (and response!) you get.  What about scent and smell?  The sense of smell bypasses our logical brain and goes right to our memory and emotional part – it is powerful.  Have you considered what your office reception smells like?  how about the scent of your product? or store?  How we relish the smell of a bakery or bagel shop when the bread is just coming out.  And what about the sense of touch? Some companies, like Volkswagon are spending considerable attention and resources to align their brands with touch so their product feels like a natural extension of their customers.  On a more everyday level, what is the weight and texture of your business cards? do they have raised ink or texture?

Some people may not know that we also have other senses, that include temperature (thermoception), kinesthetic sense (proprioception), pain (nociception), balance (equilibrioception), time, acceleration (kinesthesioception), and magnetoception (direction).  Innovative companies may take advantage of these as well – things could get interesting….

The key to leveraging the senses, other than sight, in branding is to be open and adopt opportunities which can establish a multi-sensory experience.  Doing this in unexpected ways can also create additional impact.  For the particularly unusual combinations, market testing would be highly recommended.  However, whether the idea is a scented appliance, textured packaging, flavored toothbrushes, or singing fresh-smelling dishwashers, by creating unique sensory ‘mash-ups’,  your brand will stand out in the eyes of your audiences.

New Grand Street Medical Associates Logo

If you have read any of the blog posts at Raleigh Green Inc, then you are familiar with the importance of color, shape and symbols to to establishing effective branding.  A recently completed rebranding program for a large medical practice illustrates these principles well.  Read the case story:

Grand Street Medical Associates – one of the largest independently owned medical practices in the Mid Hudson Valley, with a 20+ year history, had a website that didn’t reflect well on their professionalism. In addition, the practice’s brand was highly fragmented and unmemorable.

Raleigh Green Inc. was retained to completely rebrand the practice and redesign their website and collateral. The new logo’s shape reflects how GSMA has grown over the years to include multiple medical specialties under one ‘roof’.  The practice has become one of the largest in the Mid Hudson Valley, and the new brand, with the powerful square form, reflects a boldness and strength commensurate with their industry position.

Shape is a very important key to good branding practices, but so is color.  The choice of ‘saffron‘ was based on a desire to reflect a warmth and compassionate feature of their service practice.  An orange ‘hue’ was also used in the old website, thus some color equity was carried over to the new site.  The color is also a reflection of heritage -  the medical practice’s founder originally came from India where saffron has been used as an ancient medicinal remedy for thousands of years and long held as a symbol of India (ref: flag of India).

How words are emphasized in branding are also key to building memorability.  Grand Street Medical Associates, a long brand name that most people abbreviated over the years to ‘Grand Street’, needed a more concise and memorable way of communicating its brand.  The practice physically and colloquially dominated the local town’s actual street, and RGI recommended that they codify this use in their brand by emphasizing ‘Grand Street’ in the logo.

Lastly, the logo included a small ‘cross’ symbol in the top right corner.  Crosses have often been associated with medical and health and healing in western cultures, e.g. the Red Cross, or the sign for pharmacies (green cross) in many European nations.  This symbol added an additional layer of meaning to the brand, reinforcing the medical dimension to ‘Grand Street’.  Also, small square with a lighter hue of the saffron orange can be seen within the symbol -  a reflection of the strong shape of the logo, further reinforcing the memorability of the brand through shape.

For more on this brand project, review the case study at:  http://www.raleighgreeninc.com/case_studies_gsma.html

Symbols Used In Public Spaces

Symbols to communicate ideas have been around for thousands of years.  Today, they are commonly found in brand logos, such as Shell, Travelers, Boeing,  Pepsi, and Nike, for example.   Notice how some logo symbols are very literal in appearance (a shell), and others are quite abstract (a swoosh).  While logos can evolve over time (and depart from their original, literal appearance), new logos are being launched all the time.  So when evaluating a symbol for a logo, an important consideration is to decide whether it should be ‘literal’ in appearance, or decidedly unique.  It is important to strategically start off right (remember, first impressions are lasting ones, and they can take less than a tenth of a second to form).  To better understand the use of symbols, it may help to know alittle more about how symbols evolved, especially literal-appearing symbols.

The First Symbols

Symbols that directly represent a concept, such as a ‘person’ or ‘people’ or ‘house’ or ‘snake’, are called ‘pictograms‘.  Pictograms have been around for as long as civilization.  Ancient examples of pictograms can be seen in various forms throughout time, such as in cave art, rock art (known as petroglyphs, e.g. Anasazi of the US Southwest), and designs carved on the ground (known as geoglyphs, e.g. Nazca lines of Peru).  Some cultures over time developed highly stylized pictograms, better known as ideograms (a visible use today is the Chinese language).  Today we see evolve before our eyes all kinds of pictograms used in every day life, such as emoticons used in text messages,  smart phone app icons, and various forms of environmentally ‘safe’ symbols (e.g. symbols used to communicate  something is recycled or organic).

Symbols Standardized

The desire to standardize and use pictograms in more modern history came during the Industrial Revolution when large numbers of diverse peoples of different languages and education came together (cities, where the jobs were). Where some philosophers, like Freidrich Engels (often associated with Karl Marx) saw urban environments as exploitative and intrinsically oppressive, others such as Otto Neurath saw an opportunity.

Otto Neurath lived in Vienna in the early 20th Century.  He was a philosopher and urban planner during a time of great change and upheaval.  He wanted to bring organization, clarity and commonality to the masses by developing isotype – a method of showing social, technological, biological and historical connections in pictorial form.  Neurath wanted standardized symbols to ‘make it possible for a casual spectator to gain knowledge during a coffee break, for example, or during periods of complete distraction.’ (“Otto Neurath:  The Language of the Global Polis” 2008 Nader Vassoughian, NAi).  This standardization and use of symbols, rather than written words, would help to humanize and democratize the urban landscape and assist the widest audience possible.  He believed standardized symbols, when viewed, must communicate:

“At first glance the most important aspect of the subject; obvious difference must be distinguishable.  At second glance, it should be possible to see the more important details; and at third glance, whatever details there may be.  A picture that has still further information to give at fourth or fifth glance is… to be rejected as pedagogically unsuitable.”

Otto Neurath and his fellow members of the Vienna Circle helped to usher in a new, global language that we today commonly see in airports, highways, shopping malls, and many other places.   These little signs for directing us through buildings, highways and transit systems are often referred to as wayfinding, and have often saved me getting completely lost!  What started with a collection of generalized public service messages has grown to become a global language of symbols (see The Noun Project).  These public symbols are meant to be shared and exchanged for the purpose of creating a universal language, meaningful to the widest group of peoples possible.

Symbols In Brands

In contrast, symbols used for brands are meant to be proprietary, and associated specifically with a product, service or company.  But, how unusual and/or abstract can a symbol be when used in branding?  Should it be unusual and ‘sculptural’? or familiar to the average viewer?  Deciding whether a brand should be easy to comprehend or highly unusual is important for strategic reasons.   This brings me to an insight I have when considering how literal or abstract a symbol might be (once a determination a symbol is important to have for your brand):

Brands that will receive little advertising, PR or other forms of repetitive exposure (the ‘fourth or fifth glance’, as Neurath would put it), benefit from the use of more literal symbols.  If there will be more opportunities to get a brand in front of target audiences ( e.g. ads, billing statements, signage, online, etc.), then a wider-range of symbol types can be considered, including abstract symbols.  More brand exposure allows for the  training of audiences to recognize your brand identity.

This idea is based on an innate ability of humans (and animals in general) to recognize ‘patterns’, like pictograms, and associate them with meaning based on previous experience or knowledge. If we recognize something, like a symbol of a hand, umbrella, globe, or lighthouse, then we can quickly connect it with a familiar meaning.   This can be a very useful tactic for brands with limited exposure opportunities (e.g. limited ad budgets).  However, familiar symbols may not be distinctive enough to set a brand apart, and in some instances it can be hard for a brand to claim images that are very common, such as an  apple.  But given enough visibility, repetition, time, and support by great service and products, like Apple, this can be overcome.  If we do not recognize a symbol, and it is abstract, it is harder to remember and may take multiple impressions before it is fixed in our memories.  Thus, the use and type of symbols in branding is always a strategic balance and should be considered against a brand’s planned use and application.

It is important to note that the use of pictograms in a brand identity (logo), without investing in any stylistic distinctiveness, will unintentionally communicate a generic and uninspired feeling.  It may even unintentionally suggest a lack of interest in engaging important audiences (e.g. the use of clip art may look just like that – clip art!).  So be sure to make even the most literal symbols in a brand uniquely your own.   When it is strategically beneficial to use symbols in branding, it is essential to consider creative ways that balance familiarity with uniqueness.

If these anthropological theories are correct, then there is a strong connection between color and survival strategies and the emotions associated with them.   An interesting note – in primates, there is more color-blindness among male primates than females (suggestive of the ‘gathering’ focus of female primates???), and today among humans there is more color-blindness among men than women, a biological fact one might consider when developing brands that are heavily targeted towards men.  When compared to words or symbols used in branding, color is far more powerful – indeed it may even be genetic.