Articles of An Ad Man

Socially Awkward

2011-10-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

I passed by an Exxon gas station yesterday and noticed their sign:

UNLEADED $3.59/gal

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

Since when do I need to be an official Facebook member of a gas station in the piney woods of East Texas? Doesn’t this strike anyone else as odd?

Brands need friends on Facebook. They need fans, followers, browsers and passers-by. Facebook can be appropriately used for showing new products, highlighting old products, continuing the tone of the brand, starting conversation and so on. A brand’s Facebook page can be the voice, the vibe, and attitude of the company as well as the customers’. I was told that a major beverage company last year cleared out a top floor to set up three desks well spaced out apart. The business hired young 20-somethings to fill these three seats with one assigned to Facebook, one assigned to Twitter, and one assigned to something else. Maybe it was YouTube. Regardless, the drink company saw the importance of having someone “on it” at all times, communicating with their customers, fans, and potential loyalists. They realized the crucial quality of timely responses, proactive involvement online and good, current communication representative of the company.

A gas station, though? Please. This one wasn’t even a Buccee’s. Unless the gas station offers 1989 gas prices and pumps the gas for me, I’m not signing up for more infiltration into my Wall on Facebook.

Remember: Products are cool. Businesses are not.

People like brands, not conglomerates. People can get fanatical about a delicious regional iced tea or a spicy, tangy barbecue sauce. It’s tough to get excited about the holding group that owns that company’s parent manufacturing outfit that falls under the umbrella of the company that owns the rights to the company that sells the tea or BBQ sauce. I’ll sign up for what I care about and what pertains to me, and I even feel that I am more willing than most.

The Facebook and Twitter thing has gone too far when my two neighborhood Exxon stations are vying for my Facebook fandom (the two stations are less than 2 miles apart…same road). I don’t mind ads on Facebook. Part of my paycheck even comes from helping people advertise on Facebook, so that is not the issue. The issue is how the execution is handled. It’s one thing to dangle a product out there once in a while or tell us how many dolphins your company saved last week, but it’s another to invade our Walls with repetitive minutia. Too much of this, and we consumers reach a plateau of numbness and inattentiveness.

I view Facebook and Twitter as the online social equivalent to Jenga. The game, Jenga. Put stuff out there a little at a time, carefully, gently and let others have their turn. Then when you make a great big move, it’s all the more impressive. Too much, too often, and you ruin everything as it comes crashing down in backlash.

Otherwise, you’ll be like the Boy Who Cried Wolf. I follow several celebrities on Twitter. It’s the only reason I joined Twitter in the first place. I follow Conan O’Brien, Steve Martin, a few other notables, a few baseball writers and TV hosts, some pro athletes and celebrity chefs. Most of these guys do it right. Conan typically posts one funny line per day. I look forward to it and I am never overloaded. I’ve never seen Steve Martin post more than three tweets in one day; and the one time he hit three, it was a three-part series to a joke, each one playing off of the other. Eloquent. The reporters and hosts I follow may tweet something about an injury report, news alerts or plug a segment or something for an upcoming show. Their one-liners are little golden nuggets, little eclipses in the night sky that are gone as quickly as they came, so I am left to hang on and be grateful for the little daily offering as I patiently wait for the next 20 hours or so to pass ‘til I might get a taste of the next. There is one celebrity chef, however, who is playing dangerously with my Jenga set. I am a big fan of this particular chef. I own the chef’s cook books, I record this chef’s shows, and try out the chef’s online recipes. I am a loyal devotee to this chef, so it hurts even more that the tweets are out of control. Dozens. Every day. Tweets and re-tweets about mundane happenings and observations, what other people who I don’t know or care to know have tweeted to this chef. I have to read them all because they’re may be one among the plenty that is of substance like an upcoming interview or episode or new recipe. I have found myself starting to gloss over, though.

Glossing over is when you scroll past, seeing just a big block of text – viewed as more of an annoying shape of black and white as opposed to actual English language and information. When you start glossing over, you are becoming numb; you start to not care anymore.

When you don’t care, you’re not affected anymore…which is the whole point of signing up or sending out social media messages in the first place. As a person or as a brand, you want to affect people and attract people’s attention. If you are a brand or a company, don’t abuse it. Your fans and followers want to know what kind of deals you have, what cool new things are happening at the brand and what they can be a part of at their convenience. Make your website about you or your company. That’s not invasive. Visitors voluntarily go to your site for that stuff. Make your business/brand Facebook or Twitter or Foursquare or whatever else about your customers and your attitude/environment.

Just be cool. It’s like going to a party with tons of guests, fans, friends, potential friends, brands, companies, singles, jerks, jocks, nerds, cliques, and more. A total melting pot. Don’t try too hard to entertain. It’s not your party so it’s no pressure. Don’t be the socially awkward one trying to fit in or talk louder and more often to be heard. Nobody likes that dude. Just be cool and people will listen when you do talk.

-Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency in Beaumont, Texas 2011

Sports Logos Pt 1

2011-08-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

It’s quite a feat to combine mascot + city + team name + history + future + athleticism (+ other considerations) all into one emblem that can represent so much in such a direct, recognizable manner. Often times, they are done with only two colors. Sports logos have always interested me for this reason, in addition to the fact it simply combines two of my favorite things: art and sports.

The evolution of these sports logos, for me, is exceptionally compelling, too. Looking at some “successful” team logo designs from the 70s and 80s fascinates me because they look so juvenile and sloppy today (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Nuggets), while others have aged quite well (Chicago White Sox, Miami Hurricanes).

Tricks of the trade: study sports logos for a leg up on commercial art, no matter if the design is for sports, business, or other. I’ve designed logos for about fifteen years for everything from schools and churches to businesses and e-stores. After doing countless logos, I still get stumped from time to time on where to beging or what to come up with for a first draft. Sports logos can serve as great models for what to consider in layout, even when it’s not for a sports-related project. Aside from the attractive illustration, sports logos have to be flexible for different uses. A team logo is going to be used on everything to promote - jerseys, uniforms, signage, websites, t-shirts, billboards, koozies, foam fingers, paper plates, balloons, boxers, mouse pads, and umbrellas. So it must work on many different media, which should always apply to a good logo creation.

With this in mind, these are some of my favorite team logos. This includes MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, minor league teams and college teams. This is just part 1, so don’t get irate if your team isn’t on here. And, no, just because the logo is listed or shown here does not make me a fan of the team......

Toronto FC

N Y Yankees

Houston Astros

Chicago Cubs

Baltimore Orioles

Montreal Expos

Denver Broncos

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Redwings

Philadelphia Flyers

Houston Rockets

Corpus Christi Hooks

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

UNC Greensboro Spartans

Penn State Nittany Lions

The displayed brands/logos are in no way, shape, or form associated with blogspot.Admanarticles.com or LaRue. The logos are cited as examples under Fair Use, out of respect and for commentary purposes.

You don’t have to be a sports fan to get inspired from a few college team or pro team logos for inspiration. Usually they are anchored by a large main shape to serve as a foundation (like a circle or triangle or a large football in the background) that holds all the elements together. Teams tend to have two logos – a mascot illustration with the team name and a word mark or text symbol. Keep these in mind when planning out a new logo design and see how things come together.

-Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency in Beaumont, Texas 2011

Keep Reading

2011-08-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

I like reading. I really do. (My wife loves it, but I just really like it.)

I often recommend books, articles, blogs and such to the point of annoyance. But I think there is something to be said for reading responsibly. It is important to be realistic and responsible about the content we read and how we share it, and how we use it.

Harry Potter, for example, should be viewed for what it is: a fiction book, heavy in theme and detailed description, designed for kids to explore their imagination and entertainment. It is not the devil’s work in print, like many radical groups would like us to believe. (This really happened to me 7 years ago where a co-worker would rebuke the devil aloud whenever the book title was mentioned).

The same can be said for so many marketing books out there. And magazine articles, and journals, and blogs. The reader cannot always take everything as literal or as fact. In my opinion, most marketing books out there are too general and vague anyway. Rarely have I found where the authors give definite answers, detailed examples or how-to steps that are realistic – even in the books that I love. Many are written by marketing gurus that never really share anything; possibly because they do not want to give away the secrets that have made them rich. Or, perhaps, they don’t want to reveal how small their role was in the successes.

It has been my experience that even the best advertising books, ones I love and would never trade away, may fall short of excellence because the examples do not apply to most accounts. They often highlight the national brands that are, I am sorry to say, easy to get creative with on most levels. A 12-year old can come up with at least one idea out of 60 that’s clever and fun for a national Pepsi TV campaign, but what about a small auto body shop in a small market like Mobile, Alabama? Figure in the recession, a fixed budget…now THAT takes real creativity. Volkswagen and Nike are commonly referenced brands in these ad books, but these are also major worldwide names; these are brands that have multiple agencies working on different areas of their marketing; these are brands that have hundreds of millions of dollars behind them and they can afford to make some duds and still come out unharmed. They can afford a mediocre idea with an overwhelming frequency media buy that balances things out. (Just look at almost any Taco Bell ad in the last decade, or any freecreditreport.com ad…ever) A small insurance agent’s office in, say Manhattan, Kansas, may have just one shot at a good ad or ad campaign to drum up business. Most books leave these kinds of small business or mid-size business case studies out.

More importantly, I find that far too many business managers, sales managers and marketing directors focus too much on reading what others have written instead of finding solutions to their own business. I have met many smart managers who do their teams no favors by doling out reading assignments instead of having some real brainstorming time. I knew of one higher-up in the realm of education who started nearly every board meeting by referencing the latest book he read. No matter what the real issues were to discuss, it was as if he was convinced that the answers & inspiration would lie in whatever book he read that month. His passion and hunger for inspiration was appreciated, but it rarely worked and it often frustrated the team members. The employees thought, “Great. Our problems were not solved and now I have another chore for work to do in my off hours.”

I once worked with a higher-up on some projects who was all excited about a recent read. It was a teamwork/management type of book, geared to inspire and rally the troops to be proactive. I was thrilled to see him so amped up about a book, so when he passed it on to me to read, I was eager to dig in. The book was all about making things happen instead of waiting for someone else to do them; tie up the bootstraps and take things head on all on your own rather than assigning to others. The irony was that this manager told us to read it and then put it on us to come up with things to implement into our operation. Then it was up to us to do the actual implementation. If he’s staying true to what the book preaches, shouldn’t he have done that stuff himself? It’s funny how a do-it-yourself book suddenly leads to a let’s-get-someone-else-to-do-this-for-me motion.

I knew of another marketing manager who would introduce books and pass out copies with the best intentions, but a week later he would lose interest and tail off just as his team would be digging in. Inspiration is one thing, but the power of the written word deserves some time, full attention, and follow through; not just a flippant, sudden gust of euphoria that leaves as quickly as it comes.

In addition, I have encountered a few customers who stick with whatever they last heard or read. No matter how much or how long they’ve worked, they put all their weight into their latest conversation. These are tough because they are the customers and you always want to carry out their wishes, but at this pace, those wishes change from week to week depending on the number of books or type of blog that was last read. This clearly defines the business approach as following instead of leading, where nobody wins.

Read because you like it. Read because it interests you. Read to guide you as you plan your next course of action, but don’t let it make the decisions for you.

Read responsibly and no one gets hurt.

And now for a few of my favorites to recommend…

Advertising, Creative Books:

· Hey Whipple, Squeeze This | Luke Sullivan

· Then We Set His Hair on Fire | Phil Dusenberry

Sales/Business Books:

· Never Eat Alone | Keith Ferrazzi

· Management by Baseball | Jeff Angus

Sociology, Political, Philosophy/Religion Books:

· A Beautiful Game: The World's Greatest Players and How Soccer Changed Their Lives | Tom Watt

· Freakonomics | Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

· Searching for God Knows What | Donald Miller [also one of my fav. Book cover designs]

Sports Books:

· October Men | Roger Kahn

· Opening Day | Jonathan Eig

Fiction:

· The Pleasure of My Company | Steve Martin [also one of my fav. Book cover designs]

· A Separate Peace | John Knowles

-Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency in Beaumont, Texas 2011

Supply and Demand, and Talent Somewhere In Between

2011-05-31T20:16:00.000-07:00

At the corner of Art and Commerce, there is small crime scene. Bright yellow Police caution tape blocks off the corner close to the crosswalk. There is one chalk outline in the shape of Authenticity near another one in the shape of Talent. A few policemen and reporters pass by, but honestly, they seem more interested in the hot dog stand just ten feet away.

Talent and originality and cultivated, educated skill just aren’t as valuable anymore. There are cheaper ways to do the job “good enough” for those who just do not care, but just want to get out in time for happy hour and their rerun of 2 ½ Men. This is not limited to my advertising profession, but across the board: marketing, design, education, sales, art, music, literature, manufacturing, food and beverage, and even blogs like this.

It is not all necessarily bad; just not necessarily fresh or innovative. The progress of technology has connected artists and marketers in ways our predecessors would never have thought possible. I think of the struggling, talented graphic artists and would-be copywriters of the 1960s or early 1980s (when advertising was the rock-n-roll of the business world) who could have used the luxuries of online portfolios, ftp sites and LinkedIn accounts to get noticed by ad agency executives and brands alike. But with the advancements of communication and availability of talent (or something similar disguised as talent) have come a level of supply that perhaps has overwhelmed the demand. Ease and speed have replaced the core values of originality and skill for so many businesses, especially due to the price.

For example, twenty years ago an ad agency would hire an experienced, talented photographer with expensive equipment to shoot a hired model on location of which they had to rent or pay a sizeable donation to secure. This would all be for a rather routine, mundane print ad that would appear in any newspaper weeks after the whole production. It would look terrific, and different than most any other in that newspaper. Today, we have any company that could put out a blurb on Facebook that they need X photo or snag a $3 royalty-free stock photo and drop it into a template low-resolution banner ad that goes on any number of websites just hours – no, MINUTES – before the ad goes live. The photo may be common, it may be less than perfect, it may be the standard picture on every Hallmark card and picture frame on store shelves across the country, and it may contain inconsistencies; but it doesn’t matter because it’s quick and easy….and cheap. The artist who gave up his/her stock photo for a few bucks can collect his/her $0.90 commission and have a new story to boast at the lunch table of his/her REAL, actual, day job.

With the rise in popularity and accessibility of affordable, quality point-and-click cameras, the photography business has surely suffered. Customers are more than willing to sacrifice quality for cost in all sorts of scenarios, so why should art be any different? The economic trickle-down is abundant. Painters, draftsmen, sketch artists, copywriters, graphic designers, and other artists have to compete with others that simply were not even in the game years ago. This leads to a commonality among competing brands for which these commercial artists work, and a commonality in the artists themselves.

However dismal this sounds, there is always a positive or two to take away from scenarios like these. The level of respect for those true, original, talented artists is a bit broader than before. These folks have options, they have short cuts and the ability to “borrow” at every turn; but they choose not. Instead, these purists create with their brains and into their hands and outwardly onto paper or screen…or digital file. So when it is good, it is great. So when it is recognized, it is applauded.

It’s like how we defend the great Major League Baseball players of today who choose not to do PEDs and come short of homerun records and bulky stats. We respect them more because they have sacrificed the record books to “play the game the right way,” and settle for warning-track power. The purists take note and admire the virtuous paths and, in some cases, it pumps more air into the more mediocre stats because they somehow come off as able to keep up with the best of them in an unfair fight.

However, I do think it is cyclical. I think right now we are riding an affordability and settle-for-less wave that is just temporary. Just like how the media exploded into mega-corporations over a decade ago, I think we are on the brink of a sea change. Bigger companies, bigger partnerships, bigger chains and conglomerates have consistently stepped up higher and higher over the last 15 years. But just like the backlash of so many things, I think big media has produced just as many, if not more, anti-big media. For coffee fans, Starbucks is enormous, but there are just as many anti-Starbucks fans. Some really don’t like the coffee; some really don’t like the price. But I believe that most simply don’t like the perception. There is an aura and attitude associated with that green-label; it’s thought of as snobbish and elitist to just as many people who adore it. You look around and see hundreds of people holding their Starbucks cups, you may want to be the rebel who has brand x just for the sake of standing out. For talk radio, the Rush Limbaugh movement grew and grew, but now I see a change where audiences (and hosts) want a more localized, personal voice. Forget the national news and views – we’ve searched for those for years and now those are everywhere– but now we are in reverse. Now we have to hunt for the local stories and local stars. I think that is why sports talk radio has been so vibrant over the last decade. Smaller scale and more attention. It’s not better, it’s just different.

I say the same is with our era of creativity. I think we are on the brink of a new season. It isn’t here yet maybe, at least not everywhere; but it is coming. It may not be a big splash, but it will be spread far and wide. It may even be more valued this time around. Until then, I’d like to have a moment of silence for our dear friends, Authenticity and Talent. They weren’t always the best-dressed and they rarely had the nicest cars in the lot, but things sure were more fun with them around. We could always count on them and I think it’s safe to say that we all look forward to meeting up with them again.

-Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency in Beaumont, Texas 2011

Economy: Reason or Excuse?

2011-04-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

The sad state of the economy has been the reason for many businesses choosing to cut back or eliminate advertising. If businesses are laying dozens of people off, changing business models and procedures, and cutting other costs of business, what chance does the marketing budget have? If there is one thing in the industry that is a constant, it is that in troubling economic times, you can always bet that the ad budget is the first to go.

Worse than this is that there are just as many businesses out there blaming the economy – not as a reason, but as an excuse. By this I mean that there are owners and VPs out there who justify their lack of ad spending by the downfall of the economy when they are clearly not suffering the hefty blows of such. They have either found an excuse not to spend money at a time when their competitors are not pounding the airwaves (temporarily) or they have errantly dug themselves so deep prior to the downfall, that now they are trying to catch back up. It is disconcerting when you see two shiny, new company cars in the parking lot & new executive furniture, but they’ve decided to lay off their part time employees and simply not advertise for the next six months to “see what happens.” This begs me to ask just how hard they are trying; not at advertising per say, but at business in general.

I know, I know. Easier said than done, and it’s not fair because it is different looking from the outside in. But if fairness is important, let’s discuss…

It’s disappointing, first of all, because there are plenty of businesses out there truly suffering, and it is flat out unfair to claim some sort of equal plight. Secondly, the savvy investor knows that a down economy is a great time to buy. The term “buying on the dips” is used commonly in financial investments. Is cultivating your audience and branding your company/products while a large percentage of your competition waits on the sidelines considered NOT an investment? Historically, people (and businesses) panic in economic dips. They stop spending, start saving and try to wait things out. The problem, however, is that the economic dips can drag on much longer than expected. The longer you stay off the airwaves, off of the vinyl signs, and away from your consumers’ attention, the more time that those large corporations have to bombard them with all of the reasons that put and keep them at the forefront of their minds. And when the customers do start spending again, little by little necessities and then luxuries, they will likely have already made up their minds of where they’re going to shop, where they are going to eat, and from whom they are buying their furniture or even insurance policies.

Larger corporations have to advertise in these dips. It does drive the economy, and it does stirs the drink for commerce. Consider this: when no one can afford to buy ad space, the demand for it reduces; when there is less demand from the media avenues, the supply becomes wide open and advertisers can name their price. Big brands like Pepsi, Kraft, and Home Depot can make use of so much unused or unsold ad space inventory that they can corner the market while everyone else is sleeping (saving).

When Chrysler spent so many millions on Super Bowl spots, people were enraged that they would spend so much bailout money on something as silly as marketing. But think about this – how many other vehicle ads were rolling before that? From the local level to the national level, car and truck ads were down in number. The reason that Chrysler went big on the biggest platform in marketing is that they could…and the others couldn’t. They introduced something new while most others (not all) sat things out. The Super Bowl is a sponsored, commercial event. We as viewers do not have to pay to view it other than our monthly cable, dish or other bill. The spots sell for such big coin that only the "bigs" can buy that space. So, simply put, if not them, then who? As someone who watched the Super Bowl these last couple of years, thanks Chrysler.

One approach to take is like drafting in Nascar. Let the big guys make the big moves, and follow in line on a scale that fits best. When the economy dips and begins to drag out, jump in when the demand is low and lock in for a longer media schedule at a lower price. You’ll be one of the few advertising in your industry within your market, and when things turn up and your competition decides to join the party the demand will be up so you can bet that their rates aren’t as low as the ones you locked up early on. Negotiate a lower rate for a longer commitment. If your competition is running crazy low sales and things, you can bet they can't continue that for long. They can only make 2% profit margins for only so long, so you have to be sure that they're commitment cannot be all that long.

Another reminder, you never have to advertise alone. If your business carries any product that you can partner with - a brand name or a larger entity or an affiliate - keep co-op advertising in mind. Co-op gets businesses through periods just like this. If you choose to wait on the sidelines and save money, that's fine. Whatever you do, don't blame your customers for going to your competition and don't use the excuse of the economy if it really doesn't apply. It's simply unfair to those businesses who are really being economized.

-Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency in Beaumont, Texas 2011

Billboards and Banter

2011-02-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

“It never works on me.”

This is the common remark I hear right after a new advertiser asks me if billboards “really work or not.” It is as if they feel the need to answer their own question or steer me in the direction of the answer they want me to give. I suppose outdoor advertising is viewed in such a negative light for a variety of reasons, but price is the most glaring. It is rarely the cheapest route to go, but maybe there is something to that. In everyday life, better things tend to cost more, right? So a billboard on a busy Interstate costs six times as much as a schedule on an obscure cable channel? Maybe there is a good reason for that.

I have always been fond of billboards and outdoor advertising. Billboards, vehicle wraps and other outdoor media all work for branding and top-of-mind awareness in one capacity or another. It doesn’t take much effort to view or engage, it can be 24 hours, it is often in the way of where drivers want to look so it has to be avoided in many cases, and it is seen as a soft sell – off on its own minding its own business, not invading your personal space. Often times it can be more powerful than regular print or TV ads. It can be informational, influential and just plain entertaining. As consumers, nay, audience members, we instinctively want to be entertained. I find that even the medium’s most pessimistic even refer to at least one billboard as funny, clever, attractive or noticeable and serviceable – even used as a landmark when giving directions. So I cannot just nod my head in agreement as someone tells me that billboards are a waste of money or that they just don’t notice them. Clearly it works, for better or for worse.

But what does “work” really mean? Most businesses consider billboards difficult to track, meaning they find little to zero direct response that can be accounted for in sales. They tend to overlook the psychology involved in the advertisements. Think about Coca-Cola. How many billboards for Coca-Cola can you count in your lifetime? Got a number? OK. Now how many times can you account for ordering a Coke at a restaurant or stopping by the 7-11 for a Big Gulp of The Real Thing and voluntarily telling the cashier, “I am getting this because of that cute polar bear sipping the icy Coke bottle on the big sign 23.8 miles from here” as you hand over your cash? Zero, right? (Which is also another fine product of Coca-Cola without any calories). Nevertheless, we see those images on the side of the road – how crisp, clean, cold, refreshing and icy the drink looks – and it seeps into our brains for years to come.

I once had a company tell me that they spent their entire budget on billboards for a solid six months and saw nothing in return, so they’ve sworn off billboards. I asked what the billboards looked like, but they couldn’t recall the ad. Strike one, in my mind. I think I’d remember how sorry the ad was that tanked my six-month budget. I’d have it on my dartboard as to never make that mistake again. I asked where the boards were positioned and again the answer wasn’t convincing. Strike two for me. If I wrecked my budget at a particular intersection of a particular city, I’d definitely cringe every time I drove through for the rest of my life. Strike three? Well…who spends their entire budget on billboards? Something doesn’t add up, so either I’m not getting the whole story or they were ill advised in dropping that much money in an unproven medium exclusively. Despite all of these swings-and-misses, how do we know they didn’t “work?” Unless the message on the signs read “redeem this code” or “this product only available at X location” it sounds like it may have been a branding ad to begin with, whereby six months is an awfully short deadline on seeing drastic returns.

Four or five years ago I worked on a billboard campaign for a medical client, which was the only ad medium they ran for 12 months. No radio, no TV, no newspaper. The billboard boasted their new logo and their new slogan, while at the bottom read their street and web address. Clean and concise, and strategically located on a high-traffic highway less than two miles from the office, and just three exits away. It was surprising to learn that many of their customers (new, first-timers) came in claiming that they heard the radio ads. Funny, since the one board was all we did.

Even though the customers see it on TV or see it on a sign, they are not always conscious of what struck them or moved them to act. The point is that it was absorbed and stuck with them. This goes for any medium, but billboards can visually have that affect in a significant, lingering way.

Choosing to do billboards or outdoor media certainly depends on your type of business, but it depends on your customers, too. After all, if you owned a tractor supply company, chances are a billboard at Times Square probably isn’t the best move to catch the attention of rural farmers. But a bread company might be wise to have an outdoor ad for their brand across the street from a busy grocery store to catch the eye of shoppers before they pull in the parking lot.

If I owned a restaurant, a salon, a retail store, or a tax office, I would make a billboard campaign as one of my core ad strategies. It’s 24 hours of someone seeing my company’s reflection, integrity, services, and possibilities displayed at a glance. Certainly to introduce at least. It makes my company look bigger than it really is and makes it appear legit. The public knows it costs money to put your name up in lights, so it says something positive about the position of your company. It can cover more ground consistently more than just about any other option. With the limited space, I wouldn’t put my numerical address and phone and fax like so many places do. The rule of thumb is no more than 7 words, but even that is pushing it. Instead, I would list the location as next to some landmark and put up my web address. Drivers will have better likelihood to remember a simple www dot name than 7 digits…while driving and probably talking, singing or, God forbid, texting. Have you seen those typical lawyer billboards? They list something about their big draw of injury or mesothelioma or something well-known and offensive; and there is usually a photo of the lawyer looking stern and well-groomed; and about four 1-800 numbers and locations. If I’m stuck in a traffic jam ten feet from these things, I still don’t have enough time to read all the text or, much else, make sense of what I do read:

· “Are You Suffering from Asbestos?”

· We fight for the right and our clients Get Their Due

· Offices in Denver, Golden, Sterling, and Thornton. Principal Office in Golden, CO.

· John Q. Everyman, Attorney at Law

· Member of BBB, Member of CO Bar, Member of My Basement Fantasy Football League, Member of many credit unions; Accredited by a neighborhood notary public

· Family-owned and operated Since 1993 (fine print here)

· The Law Office of Patience, Patience & Paragraph –

· 1234 Address Lane; 1-800 A, 1-800 B, 1-800 C

· (web address of 20+ letters, including hyphens and underscores)

We all know the ones.

I’d make sure it looks better than the landscape around me, and I’d make sure to change it before it got stale and expected. If your board hasn’t changed after six months, the daily commuters will begin glossing over the board as if it were a cloud or tree in the distance. Keep it fresh and keep their attention. If I was leery about the drawing power of it, I would have the ad read something like “mention this board and get X” – if the offer is worth it, the customer will speak up.

Billboards aren’t the only way to go, but they have a strong history of success that cannot be ignored. If billboards aren’t effective for you and if they truly “don’t work on you,” then take down your store sign above your roof or turn off that OPEN sign hanging in your door and see if your customers find you all right. You can bet they will at least see your competitors’.

-Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency in Beaumont, Texas 2011

Reward and Avoid

2011-02-01T20:43:00.001-08:00

If you own a business in 2011, at the end of each month you are probably thinking, “I need a quick sale now.” The need for quick sales usually leads to discounts, coupons and direct response marketing. The push for direct response marketing is statistically heightened during poor economic times on both sides of the Open/Close sign. Direct Mail typically goes up because consumers are more likely to want to open their junk mail and seek out coupons and savings.

More direct sales benefit the business, while more savings benefit the consumer. Coupons in the newspaper, mail, email and websites can have businesses busier than ever and customers happier and more willing to justify an extra purchase or two. Everybody wins…but is it a short-term solution to a prolonged problem?

In short, yes. Just because a retail store needs immediate sales, it does not necessarily mean heavy couponing is going to get them through the recession or drought (or whatever term seems appropriate). It may actually set them up for breaking point down the road where they must decide to lower prices or lower a returning customer base.

Once a retail business or brand goes down that road of constant coupons, forty-percent-off sales, and free gift promotions, it becomes more difficult to turn the car around and not sling a few passengers around in the process.

A company can unconsciously train their customers to expect lower prices and, in essence, actually de-value the brand. After months of reduced pricing and paper coupons, it will likely be impossible to raise prices back to the normal, profitable retail prices without losing the loyal customer base, which will always be the lowest lying fruit.

Kohl’s is a big player in the realm of advertising apparel, particularly where coupons are concerned. The saying goes, “If you pay retail for anything at Kohl’s, you’re a sucker.” A large percentage of Kohl’s customers shop around for what they want, but hold off on the purchase. Then when the coupons pour in or the clearance racks make way for a new turnover, the customers are ready and they get what they want at 40 to 70% off. Their sales are so frequent that customers naturally think, “Why buy this now at retail price, when I can wait a week and practically steal it?”

Now, Kohl’s can obviously get away with it because of their size, large inventory, and brand relationships. And, chances are, it is part of their continued strategy to some degree: constant sales, low prices for name brands. But how do smaller retail shops follow suit? Your average mom and pop or regional retailer cannot continue to cut their profit margins and spend advertising budgets on coupons. If discounts and coupons are too frequent and too absurd, a smaller company can only go through so many customer base changes before they are all gone.

One way to combat this trap door is to reward your loyal customers as opposed to luring in savings-seekers. A routine e-mail launch or web-only offer is a cost-effective route so long as the profit margins are not entirely in jeopardy. Instead of giving $10 off or 40% off or giving away free product, work in a free or discounted service that may have an intangible price tag. Include a redeemable coupon or insert on their next purchase IN their shipment box or in their shopping bag – but be ready to continue as an ongoing part of your business model. The reward is that customers get savings for committing to your brand, and you get rewarded by gaining more committed customers who probably will glady share their story with trusted friends and family. Do giveaways of a related or ancillary product, not the real deal.

Notice that Polo perfume does not simply give their perfumes away, but rather they give the branded makeup bag away with your purchase of the perfume. This inherently makes the customer feel special that they get something free for spending $80 on a 6 oz. bottle of perfume. The scent, the bottle, the logo, and the sexy model on the cover of the box are still $80 (and a bargain at that), but the bag is dispensable, needless and nearly valueless. So the longtime, loyal fans of Polo perfume have a less likelihood of getting ticked off in a year when that same bottle becomes $86.95…so long as that bag is along for the ride.

The “quick sale now” is what separates companies from shops. Invest in your customers for a better chance for them to invest in your brand. A frivolous coupon campaign attracts frivolous customers. There is never one right answer, but dropping prices without a continuity strategy in place is should not be the first move, but rather a last resort. It’s the same move that all other competitors have handy, too, so it does not fall in line with efforts of making your brand stand out.

If you tell your customers that you are different from those big box stores, prove it. Be different, not just discounted.

-Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency in Beaumont, Texas 2011

Illustration. Uniquely Organic and More to Come

2010-10-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

If you’ve paid much attention to commercial art design trends in the last 12 – 18 months, you may have noticed more retro, vintage styles and more hand-drawn illustrations; flawed and imperfect in a very refreshing and honest way.

This trend is going to continue to grow and perhaps give a greater value to artists, illustrations, and to the creative process in general. All of these have been devalued over the last four to eight years with the commodity drivers of sites like photos.com, 99designs.com and istockphoto.com, where even the most detailed and complex vectors, photographs and even videos are bought and sold for as low as $5 each. Sometimes less. The photographers who have invested years of workshops & thousands upon thousands in equipment and education have seen their business suffer and their work underappreciated. After all, why would you spend 3 weeks and $500 for a photo shoot and a series of photographs when you could spend $65 for a dozen images in an hour of perusing the web and a few download clicks? The same goes for talented painters and sketchers who see their commission work gobbled up by clichéd vectors for sale or rent.

The problem is the lack of originality and, ultimately for businesses and brands, differentiation. Six years ago I attended a college recruitment program where I saw the same exact image of a student on the cover of multiple brochures for different universities. Royalty-free is a beautiful thing, but it can make things difficult if you want to stand out from your competition. Would you hire the same spokesman that your direct competitor uses in her ads? No. Absolutely not. Then why would you use the same design element to represent your brand that your competitor can use…just as well as any auto-maker, bank, restaurant, hair product, and investment firm?

Something that can’t be overly duplicated is a hand-drawn illustration. Aside from the organic nature and aesthetic beauty, hand-drawn illustrations can give big businesses a piece of approachability and a lighter side to their otherwise distant, cold, corporate identity. It breathes a life of creativity and appears youthful. It shows appreciation for talent, raw and unpolished. And most importantly, it’s unique.

As more and more businesses adopt casual atmospheres and softer attitudes, I expect to see more styles like this. More websites have definitely showcased these illustrations, whether they reflect such attitudes or whether it’s simply reflecting the age of the businesses owners and developers, and the trend is strong to continue over the coming years. I have found that I am not alone in my theory. See Web Design Ledger's Web Design Trends for 2010. The motion picture, Juno, had an art direction and typography using this style much in the same light as Napoleon Dynamite from years back. This style looks similar to some teenage notebook scribble or doodle between home room and gym class, but with texture and depth interlaced with commercial goals and marketability.

Be on the look out for more corporate websites to release campaigns with themes using hand-drawn illustrations just as much as small businesses by young America. If you look closely, you may be able to see the marketing meetings taking place behind the sketch.

-Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

Real Inconvenient

2010-09-24T21:57:00.001-07:00

The simple things in life are best. The same goes for slogans and tag lines.

Unfortunately, there are only so many simple lines to go around. Occasionally a good idea or a catchy line can innocently turn out to be someone else’s good idea or catchy line, too. Unknowingly.

Such is the case involving the “Real Food” campaigns going on right now.

Over the past year, Starbucks has adopted the campaign of “Real Food. Simply Delicious.” It adorns their napkins, menus and other marketing items to help promote their food menu that they have been trying so hard to further. The “real” aspect is representative of their low-calories and their absence of artificial flavors and other fantastic tasting evils.

Jason’s Deli has also launched a relentlessly “real” campaign to promote their healthy, natural, and organic food ingredients and options. Their campaign is “Real Food. Real Choices.” It, too, was launched over a year ago, with proudly inked menus, napkins, signage and marketing material. Even their house coffee is organic whole bean, freshly brewed coffee. And it is exquisite (try the mild roast).

I recently found this Jason’s Deli take-out bag in the back seat of my car and a stack of these Starbucks napkins in my center console. I had to take a photo of this unplanned fiesta of culinary coincidence. I do feel that the shared theme in these two brands’ campaigns is genuinely coincidental and innocent. I do not think that they view each other as true direct competitors, and frankly, when describing all natural ingredients, there are only so many words before you land on “real.” So, I have little reason to believe that one brand was cheating off of the other’s paper in this case.

However, the disappointing piece of this is that since they are in the same industry and one is of far greater ad exposure than the other, it is only natural for consumers to assume that the larger brand is the original creator. It is unfair, but yet instinctive for the average consumer to think that the coffee brand from Seattle, WA beat the deli brand from Beaumont, TX to the punch.

So if you are out on your way to work in the morning and you see someone flaunting their Starbucks Venti Skim Chai with the words “Real” boldly exposed, consider all those creative minds behind Jason’s “Real Food” campaign and know that they are right on par with your mega coffee brand. For all we know, they could be the Real originals of the line anyway.

And their coffee may just taste better, too.

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

PSP

2010-07-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Locally-owned. Great Customer Service. High Quality.

If these are your top three selling points, I may need to take my business elsewhere.

When putting together an ad campaign for a business or brand, I ask my clients to provide me with some bullets to brag about. These three almost always come up. I like to respond with “so what?” and wait for their reaction. What I find more often than not is that these answers tend to cause the client to examine their business a little closer. It isn’t always pleasant, but it is healthy. I ask them to find their PSP, or Principle Selling Point. The simpler they can make it, the better for all of us and their customers.

I read about PSPs shortly after my college graduation and before I began my advertising career. It is merely another acronym that represents the common sense of what we always knew but never assigned a term, and it is one of the few that stuck with me. It comes in handy when my client wants to single out every positive offering, product, and service in the 30-second radio spot.

All I say is, “That’s great and it is true that you are an amazing company, but we only have 20 seconds. The other ten seconds are going to be used by your phone number, website and address. If you want consumers to know you for one thing in 20 seconds, what would that be?” This forces the elimination. I once had a sporting goods client who was adamant about advertising their affordable prices, brand names, wide variety, the locally-owned aspect, their new t-shirts, sports memorabilia, their online store and customer service. When we tried to narrow it down to their PSP, the client sort of had an awakening. He realized that his prices were not as low as his competitors and his customers knew it. He realized that t-shirts, though a new offering, were not his big money makers. They were popular, but the slim margins had them working far too hard for their profit. The sports memorabilia was limited & sporadic throughout the year. However, their customer service was outstanding. Each employee (even the part time college kids) were highly-informed about the products and they offered a demo area within the store unlike any competitor within a 200+ mile radius. Vendors included big name brands who were very involved with the company. The variety of sporting goods was not as wide as originally assessed, but they discovered they had more of a niche than ever assessed. So once we had a truly defined PSP, we were able to put together a campaign that was worth the investment instead of just reaching for commonly used phrases and mundane selling points.

What we did NOT do was target the big three: locally-owned, great customer service and high quality.

With all due respect, these are wonderful traits for a business or brand that I admire, but they are bland and common. These are Norman Rockwellian bragging points that fail to differentiate any restaurant business in New York City from any kid’s lemonade stand in Cut-N-Shoot, Texas.

Furthermore, they imply opposite definitions and showcase what is lacking in the offering. For example, when a business owner leads off his ad with “locally-owned” he thinks he is saying that his business is community-involved, bringing tax money to the neighborhoods, and has small town pride. What his potential customers may be hearing, however, is that he is limited on resources and more than likely has higher prices than competitors. Local pride is important and can be advantageous in many ways, but remember – it is not just what you say, it is how you say it.

I think I am like a lot of folks who try to make a conscious effort of spending money locally when I can. If Best Buy has the same earphones that my hometown electronics store has for $1.50 less, I gladly go to my hometown electronics store. The extra dollar or two is worth it. But when it’s $10 difference and it’s frequent, well…justification is a stretch. Local also does not carry the same weight it once did. I recently waved around a little American flag on the 4^th of July. One of those small, handheld ones for kids that are popular for parties or decoration. As I proudly waved my American flag, I noticed the tiny gold sticker that read “Made in Taiwan.” If customers really decided where they bought their milk, cheese, eggs, underwear, tires, toys, and small American flags based on their love of the local man, then Wal-Mart would not exist. Sadly, price does matter and it is only getting stronger. Shopping local is what some of us refer to as an “after-taste trait,” meaning it is a reason that helps us justify our purchase after we have already made our choice. Or to put it another way, shopping locally isn’t going to get us in our cars to drive across town; but it will make us feel good about our choice as we slide our debit cards through the machine at checkout.

Touting your local status also comes with a word of warning: Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged. If you are a local company on your high horse, you may want to examine your inventory. How many overseas brands do YOU carry? How many wholesalers do you buy from out of market or out of state because their price or reliability or supply is better than domestic/in-state competitors? You cannot fault your customers for lacking loyalty if you are out there price-shopping your self…at least to a degree. If promoting your local-man status is truly important to you, then back it up with some detail of your community-involvement, local school contributions, neighborhood heritage, and annual sponsorships. If nothing else, it never hurts to tout your local employees and their years of service.

If your local coffee shop promotes their customer service above all else, what does this say about the coffee? I have had fantastic service at garage sales, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to show up every Saturday for more items under a dollar. Customer service is one of those aspects that PREVENTS customers from going back; it is rarely the motivation for getting customers in the door. Customers expect a certain level of customer service. We expect your employees to be helpful, informed, and, if not nice, at least polite. Unless you do something really special, don’t harp on it. Instead of bragging about customer service, brag about the type of customer service you offer or why it is important in your business. For example, if you are a local, small hardware company and you cannot compete with Home Depot or Lowe’s on price, customer service has to be your strength. But instead of your ads saying “great customer service,” how about your ads promote the fact that your employees are certified or that they work closely with local builders and contractors? Home Depot offers little workshops on “how-to” projects on Saturdays. If you are bragging about your customer service, be prepared to counter this or one-up this somehow. Otherwise, you may find that price isn’t the only thing the big retailers have on you.

My last pet peeve is the old standby, High Quality. In my PSP consultation, I frequently ask why a customer would shop them instead of their competitor down the street. The response is typically something like, “We have such high quality…”

Who doesn’t have high quality? Who promotes the fact that they have poor quality? No one. There is a reason that Taco Bell’s slogan isn’t “Low Prices - Because Low Quality Means Low Expectations!” They are smarter than that, and you should be, too. Who is to say that your quality is better than brand X’s quality? Your audience assumes you have good quality. They may not know just how good, though, so if you have evidence of this, go for it. List any certifications or awards, discuss the tedious quality-control practices, or describe the natural ingredients involved. Make it stand out. Make it different & unexpected.

The principle selling point (PSP) is just one way to look at this. A sales advisor of sorts, Jonathan Farrington, refers to these as USPs (Unique Selling Points) on his updated site. (See http://www.jonathanfarrington.com/downloads/ebooks/12GPOS_EBook_3.pdf) Other similar approaches are out there, including the “Elevator Sell.” This has many names to it, but essentially this is a scenario that puts you in an elevator with someone of particularly high influence wherein you have just a few seconds to sell this person on you, your business, your brand or your idea. What few words would you use to attract? Much like the PSP, it forces you to simplify and cut out the fluff. It is a great exercise to help confidently assess your concept and your goals.

If you cannot quickly identify your PSP, chances are you need to get back to the basics and set yourself apart. Things look easier and less emotional when you put them down in pen or pencil, so make a pro and con list. Why are your customers coming, leaving, stopping, starting or splitting sales with you and your competitor? Make a list & strip away the fluff. Your customers certainly are, and you should be, too.

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

Denim

2010-07-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

The newest gem from JWT comes to us in the form of denim diapers. The new Huggies Denim Diapers spot is catching a great deal of attention, as it should. Much to my dismay, it is causing some heated debate in message boards and the blogosphere.

Some say it is cute. Some say it is brilliant.

Others argue with criticisms like creepy, sick, and perverse. Racked.com even includes opinions of pedophilia. To those critiques I say: Whooooa, Sigmund Freud! Take it easy. It’s just a cute diaper commercial, not the deep recesses of your twisted, dark mind. Move along and be sure to pick up some Handi-Wipes to clean up your dirty thoughts.

Me? I say success. The idea is as simple, beautiful, & appealing as anything I’ve seen in a good five years in terms of an entertaining execution of selling and relating the right product to the right audience.

This 30-seconds includes fashion, style, parenthood, babyhood, and a story that makes sense and is – get this – easy to follow. It’s not weird for the sake of being weird, and it’s not cliché cute that makes you want to vomit. It is better than you expect it to be within the first 10 seconds. Aside from the adorable baby boy (that’s a given), I am perhaps most impressed with the color of the commercial. Bright, innocent, clean, and crisp, the camera colors and even sound act as an exciting opposition to the reactions of the adults and the coolness of the little Tom-Cruise-Toddler. The lighting and camera speed is a perfect match to the concept and the goal of the commercial. And there is even a touch of classic to it. From the utopian skies and beautiful people in the spot, JWT manages to fit in the classic white backdrop with the product centered as the closing shot. This could have easily been made in the ad-happy 1980s, only with worse clothing and hairstyles. But, lucky for us, Huggies has this coming out now, in a time where we are not flooded with astoundingly interesting commercials.

Pampers commercials or print ads? I cannot recall one. How’s that for memorable advertising? This is saying a lot given the fact that, as a relatively new father, I actually prefer Pampers’ product better. But since we’re speaking advertising and design, I prefer Huggies as a brand so far.

Kudos to Huggies for going this route and kudos to JWT for adding another hit to their portfolio. I would be interested to see a series of these or seasonal promotions. Christmas, Easter, or a tie in with a children animated movie or something. I am not saying I’d necessariliy like it, but I would be interested to see all the different places this could go. I mean, hey, even the Cavemen got a TV pilot out of there schtick. The clever creatives behind their monitors have achieved a great level with this and I’m eager to see what else they could work up. I am also interested if any copy cats are en route. I am afraid of the local, small market copy cats that only butcher the original in their efforts to promote only who knows what. It is inevitable, but I don’t have to like it.

Keep an eye out for this spot or see it here and enjoy the commercial for what it is. But if you want to further appreciate the spot, look closer at the colors and imagine this shot a little faster, a little less vivid, and any louder. Particularly with adults speaking versus their wise choice of no speech.

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

A Love Song for the Logo – Part I

2010-05-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

Logos are the great communication devices that go far beyond the athletic swoosh or the golden arches. The policeman’s badge, the spilt Starbucks cup on the sidewalk, the blue star on the Dallas football helmet, the little blue “e” at the top of your computer monitor right now, and the faint little acronym in the bottom corner of your TV screen – they all communicate to us. All are symbols that tell us to stay back, to respect this authority figure, to trust that company, and to expect the very best from this very expensive SUV . All while no words are spoken.

Logos have been serving us long before we ever realized it. The field of advertising & graphic arts has been chosen as the lucky protector of the crown in today’s time. Has it always been this way? Will it always be this way? In the design world, logos have made tremendous strides and the Internet has generously lifted the logo to a higher notoriety, though at a tragically decreased cost or value. Logos have delved into the past to revisit failed attempts and revive historic triumphs. Fonts, colors, and shapes have come together and created thousands of careers and provided millions of opportunities for those of us striving to avoid manual labor.

Some logos have even led to salvation. It is well known that Christians made use of the Jesus fish symbol, or the Ichtus (ICHTHUS and a variety of other spellings), to symbolize Christianity as a masked communication device to identify one another during times of persecution. It is believed to have debuted in the 1st Century, predating the cross as a symbol of the Christian faith. St. Bernardine of Siena is the patron saint of advertising and public relations among, other causes and occupations. Appropriately included in the mix is graphic design. According to www.AmericanCatholic.org, St. Bernardine was a great communicator of the Holy Name of Jesus in the late 14th century and early 15th century. He would roam from region to region proclaiming Christ’s love, announcing his arrival and identifying himself with signage. (Some may argue he gave birth to the first billboard. I also argue that this may have been the first ministry logo that didn’t include a cross. Even in the 1400s, this designer avoided the clichés.) From Catholic.com we learn that it is believed that Bernardine introduced this signage custom in Volterra in 1424 whereby he would hold a large board ahead of him while preaching. On the board he painted the Gothic letters I.H.S., the sacred monogram – the first three letters of Jesus in Greek, among sun rays. This was more than announcing his presence. This was illustrating the tangible devotion to Jesus. And perhaps the first logo to use an acronym. (Can I get an Amen from UPS, IBM, AMEX, NBC, and NYU?) Then in Bologna, he introduced what I believe to be as the first impromptu freelance gig in Christian history. Bernardine helped a card-painter climb out of a gambling addiction and turn to the Lord, and persuaded him to use his talents for painting the boards. The painter then made a living by designing these tablets. Other accounts indicate that this card-painter was not the only one, but that our good saint may have made a habit out of pulling talent out of the depths of despair and into commercial arts. A career was launched, countless people became Christians, and the evolution of graphics in religion progressed.

Logo design may very well be my favorite of all. I enjoy the entire process, from the initial discussions to the final unveiling. Logos serve as both the starting point and the final period for businesses, groups, churches, ideas, and communication itself.

My satisfaction of this may be the idea of creating something to embody the vision of a company, the attitude of a movement, the future of an organization, or the personality of a business all in a mark or illustration that can never spell out everything we wish to say in words. There is a certain amount of fear that goes along with a logo design. Many artists cringe upon the task of a logo creation largely because the question easily arises – “Where do I start?” Others find it frustrating to see how the simplest of logos are often the most successful.
The silhouette of an apple – Apple.
The red and blue chevron – Chevron.
The heavy font of closely-spaced letters with just one off set – Dell.
Simply the Helvetica font – Bloomingdales, Target, Crate & Barrell, Jeep, Panasonic…

It is a little daunting to look at intricate details and full-depth illustrations and consider the time, talent, research and precision that went into it, only to then compare it with the 3M logo and think, “Genius! Simple, red genius!”

If you’ve never designed a logo or if you’ve never put much thought to what your design team does for you, I challenge anyone to spend twenty minutes and try to sketch out a logo for something you like. Maybe a brand of potato chips or a brand of clothing. Or recreate a logo for your favorite sports team or for your car. What other way would you design the Buick logo that is better than what they have now? Think about how you would start, what your goals are with the logo and how your audience would react when shown the logo for the first time. What if you were given the task to design a logo for a subject in school like science? Science alone encompasses plant life, biology, chemistry, physics, outer space, engineering and the basics of mass, volume and depth. How can all these things from 2nd grade science to doctorate-level neuroscience be summed up in one recognizable symbol, a few colors and a distinct font? Not easy.

Think of how that 3M logo could have gone in so many different directions. 3M is a mega brand that thrives in fields of packaging, technology, healthcare, safety, security, and office supplies. 3M began in Minnesota in 1902 and their first breakthrough was sandpaper after a failed attempt of mining a mineral deposit for grinding. Besides Scotchguard, Scotch Tape, and various dental products, we have 3M to thank for the Post-It Note. This is just a sample of their brilliance. At the time of 3M’s development of their logo, they had no idea they’d be making devices for hospitals, school supplies, and invitations to bar mitzvahs many decades into the future. They had to adapt to the change and their logo had to represent that change. And change again, and then in the 1970s they had to change yet again. This last logo has served quite well as it is still regarded as “simple and smart.” Just because it’s the number 3 and the letter M, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t identify their company, their future, their history and their customers accurately. It most certainly does.

To be a logo designer is to be an inventor. Instead of calculators and drill bits covering our kitchen tables and nightstands, we have different tools. Edison invented the phonograph for communication. Bell invented the telephone for communication. Al Gore invented the Internet for communication….and porn. Logos are invented for art, commerce, and for communication in its most silent form. Read below for Part II.

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

A Love Song for Logos – Part II: Don’t Be a Statistic, Be Someone’s Case Study

2010-05-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

A good logo is versatile, meaning that it can be used equally as competently for the corner of a business card as it is the monogram of a t-shirt. Logos must have the ability to be used on stationery, products, clothing, signage, websites, emails, billboards, mugs, bumper stickers and small pens that we steal from the bank. The Internet has devalued the logo in my opinion. Many designers are designing icons or web 2.0 logos and, though they look outstanding, they are frequently not thought out very well. What looks good on a website cannot accurately be depicted on a Polo-style shirt or on a vinyl sign atop a trade show booth. The fancy glare and drop shadows should be accents, not the basis of the piece.

Take the logo of a corporate giant like Ford, for example. At ford.com, you’ll see their logo includes a slight gradient from a light blue to a royal blue with a slight shadow behind the cursive word. Some of their online ads show a glare, more shadows and depth, and other web 2.0 details. But at the core of their design, is that spectacular blue oval that signifies the blue-collar America as well as a known color of trust, outlined in a thin white stroke for an added touch of class and the cursive font for unique, historic style. That logo can be altered in a variety of formats while the structure and impression remain the same. Another example at a small business level is a small East Texas company called Metal Depot Inc. Metal Depot is a family owned company that has maintained a specific logo for many years of a black sans serif font and a symmetrical grouping of lines that illustrate a roof’s peak over a black background. Very masculine and bold, this logo has served their company well for many years. So when it came time to update their website, this logo kept its frame and the integrity of the mark that has served them so well and added an arced glare for an icon look, variations of crimson and black with individual glare lines and the ever-popular Web 2.0 glass reflection. No need to change all their signage, work shirts, stationery and brochures that bear the flat vector logo. The “web-ified” logo and the standard logo are ultimately the same design that serve different purposes.

These are things to look for in choosing your organization’s design as well as choosing your designer. Consider if they are designing with the future in mind, consider whether they’re creating with versatility in mind. Years ago a client came to me very downtrodden because she spent a good amount of money towards a logo for her company with a designer she found online doing it for cheap. The portfolio looked great, including other designs that featured reflections and stylized typefaces so she said the decision went quickly and easily. The first draft consisted of all these tricks and all the decorative icing, but the substance was dense and incomplete. These flashy extras, however, looked wonderful initially as JPEGs going back and forth over e-mail. Frustration soon set in when the artist was late on correspondence, wavering on artistic direction and – you guessed it – he kept charging for disappointing revisions and subsequent drafts. Before she realized it, five months and hundreds of dollars were lost and all she had was a folder of subpar designs that would ONLY look good atop a website header or as a signature in an e-mail. Once I was hired, my team and I scrapped the extras and went for a straight forward, vector design. The client now has a logo fit for TV commercials, company apparel, signage, web and looks best on her printed materials. Always ask for vector first, always ask to see it in black/white as well as color, always ask to see it displayed on various mockups of stationery/web/product/clothing, and always ask for a standards document that include the raw materials of font, Pantone colors, etc. Your designer(s) should really supply these without you asking if he/she is legit. If you do have to ask, though, it will definitely help your case. Your designer will take the job more seriously knowing that you know what to look for and as a result you will get exactly what you need. And you’ll probably even get a tighter design in the end. Who knows? Yours could be either the statistic or the case study.

Hug your logo designer today. It is a lot more than just making pretty colors and something that looks cool or girly or fancy or plain or smart or strong or cheap or playful or techy or sporty or professional or hip or funky (I’ve had requests of all of these). There is marketable thought, experience, and time-wrenching research that goes into a good logo and in the words of people much richer than the most of us, “…better you than me.”

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

Oil Spill Action and Reaction

2010-05-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

Nashville is under water, Mississippi is trying to stand upright from the tornados, and the DC area is just now starting to see the snow melt from an unusually long, heavy, crippling winter.

On the surface, it is easy to say that the situation in the Gulf is perhaps most horrid because of the fact that this is “preventable” and man-made. We cannot avert snow and we cannot block out a tornado. And despite Creedence Clearwater’s refrain, no one will stop the rain. Looking past the surface, the oil spill carries enough toxins to turn one’s stomach. It is so much more than ruining the ecology and the shrimpers.

Before you get too emotional, do not confuse or compare this with Katrina. The common denominators can begin and end with poor engineering and the debatable speed of government aid.

The economy of Louisiana, Mississippi and the shores of Alabama thrive on the gifts of the Gulf. Louisiana may look like bayous, Mardi Gras and Zydeco music. It should, because that is what our brochures are made to look like. But consider this:
Where do people work? What do the universities produce? How do families afford all those great flavors in New Orleans restaurants?

Oil and seafood. Louisiana has a ton of it and everybody wants it. The economy of Louisiana is at stake, certainly, but this far extends the state lines. For example, a large percentage of Maryland’s famous crabs do not come from the amazing Atlantic. It’s from the Louisiana Gulf. The best, most productive seafood starts in the Gulf. Shrimp, trout, catfish, crabs, and much more.

How BP will react is yet to be seen because so much is still unsettled on just whose fault was this in the first place. Who is responsible? Unfortunately for the Louisiana (and we cannot forget Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi) seafood industry, this will not matter. The immediate responsibility factors will be on the shoulders of business owners, distributors and marketers. Not to save face by doing P.R., but to save their businesses. They do not have a choice. When competing for position on fresh, quality seafood, grocery stores and markets will rely on a less-is-more approach. There will be many weeks, dare say months, to see labels dropping the word “gulf” or “Louisiana” on their packages. Since when has Gulf-less fish been the fashionable advertisement?

Be prepared to see a lot of signs that read “Texas Shrimp” and “Florida Fish,” though it is all from the Gulf. I foresee Texas coastlines to see the best benefit, though all will suffer for some time. Galveston restaurants and markets should have the best luck for promoting such delicacies if they jump on things now, in my early estimate. One blessing is the potential added boost to Texas’s economy, though short term no doubt. Perhaps Maryland finest will not notice the difference between those wonderful, full crabs caught off of Port Arthur, Texas and those they’re used to getting from New Orleans, and they may strike up a great new vendor. This would be a valuable turn of fortune in such a sad situation. No time is good for an oil spill, but this is what many consider the best time for seafood. We are in the middle of crawfish season and this is a peak time for shrimping, too. As the stories unfold, keep your eyes and ears open. Watch for clever ads with executives with suits, but no ties for a buttoned-down approach to level with the common man and say, “we’re with you” and “way to go” to the American public, workforce, and fisherman along the coast. No doubt they’ll have a silver-haired male with piercing blue eyes and a pale blue shirt to match. Give him a slight Southern accent or a Cajun drawl and almost all will be forgiven.

In the meantime, there will be countless fisherman, shrimpers, distributors, and business owners who are without a public spokesman or a tailor-made executive to stand in front of the high-budget camera and state their cases. They will have to rely on the sweat and grunt work that has made them great for so long. Refreshing, isn’t it?

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

Heineken’s Performance Woes

2010-04-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

The high profile account has just switched agencies for the fourth time in four years.
Yes, sales are down over 10% and, yes, this typically means time to move on from the current creative and brand strategists. Heineken’s revenue has been on the decline for several years, but from everything I’ve seen, heard or read, I’m not sure it is just as easy as pointing a finger at any agency involved. The pattern is quite telling.

Four different agencies. Four years. Is this true?

If I had four breakups with four different women in as many years, even I would look in the mirror and at least question, “Is it me?”

If I wrecked four different cars in four different accidents over four years, I don’t think I’d have time to re-evaluate my driving skills. I think the Texas Department of Transportation and their fine, stern, annoyed state troopers would beat me to it.

Apparently the shiny import has indeed looked in the mirror, but instead of seeing any internal problems, they just saw a beautiful, rich, handsome can staring right back at them. Heineken’s wrecks haven’t stopped them from driving as fast; but rather, they’ve just cut off all ties from their Driver’s Ed instructor and sent nasty complaint emails to their county tax assessor.

Perhaps it is this rationale that prevents them from seeing what so many American’s see…er, taste. Heineken has long established its place among the shelf as a social, elite, European, high-brow, country club brew. Its fans are loyal and often viewed as uninviting, which reflects (or is reflected in) their marketing. So when the recession hits and millions of red-blooded Americans lose their American manufacturing and factory jobs to overseas outsourcing and corporate partnerships, are they really surprised that these newly unemployed folks are choosing a different brand to drown their sorrows at the local pub? And those who aren’t directly hurt by the economy are using the topic as their go-to excuse for lack of spending on, say, expensive European beer…?

Heineken has a good audience. That audience fills up a big, wonderful room. A room with sparkly chandeliers, antique Italian furniture, broad balconies, and burly German maitre d’s. As for most of us, however, we cannot get into that room. I’m sure our invitations somehow got lost in the mail. Maybe next year, but as for today our parties are in our garages and out on our patios. We have our beer in ice chests and coolers packed with convenience store ice. Our seats are lawn chairs and tailgates. We originally invited just a few neighbors, but we’re glad the whole block showed up. And the funniest stories are told by these fellas from three different ad agencies…

Seriously, their product is good. The problem I see is in the mass appeal direction they’ve given their agencies. Just because agency A didn’t do it right, doesn’t always mean that agency B will. Their work is always great, but it’s only in applause when what they are looking for is sales.

I think a great approach for Heineken would be a geo-targeted approach and try a grass roots campaign. Sure, brand H is a mammoth of a brand and they’re so far beyond grass roots that it’s absurd. But wouldn’t that be fun? Wouldn’t that be unexpected? And wouldn’t that be….cost-effective? Oooh, there’s some jargon we all want to read.

Instead of a blanket campaign across the continent, I think it would benefit brand H to go out to particular markets. Maybe 20 and customize some ad campaigns particular to these regions. Houston, Texas, for example, is probably not a region where brand H is going to get a warm reception. Having seven billboards in a row on Westheimer will more than likely not affect the local Kroger. Houston is home to the livestock and rodeo show, for suds sake. Then, fine. Don’t go to Houston. Go to Phoenix. Go to Sarasota, FL. Go to Santa Barbara. Pass over the big metros and find their high-dollar suburbs. Or find the suburbs that aren’t getting the attention they deserve. I think it would be a folksy approach that would be a welcomed surprise and it may be the ignition needed to get some of these consumers to see a different side to brand H. Without committing to a full out national campaign, many of these efforts will go unnoticed in the larger metro areas. So even if a 6-month campaign fails in Santa Barbara, chances are that your current customers of LA and San Francisco will never know.

It’s out there and I know it’s absurd for a company as big and shiny as Heineken, but it’s an approach that has worked for smaller companies and consumers before. They are in a tough spot where they feel the need to address another audience and another style without ignoring or offending their current base. Take a number, right? When the recession fades and consumers are comfortable spending bigger bar tabs, Heineken will be surely be back on top regardless if they do anything. It’s the in between that will determine if brand H has headlines that read “…back on top” or “…still on top.” We just don’t know how long that will be and how many agencies will be marked out of their rolodex before the big toast.

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

Pondering Pettitte

2010-04-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

OK, a break from ad talk...

Special thanks goes out to Keith Olbermann’s recent blog entry concerning Andy Pettitte and the Hall of Fame. For years, I’ve stood on my soapbox (er…back patio) and made my case for Pettitte and the Baseball Hall of Fame. I am pleased to see someone with as much baseball and history acumen and someone with such a loud forum as Olbermann has put pen to paper on this. He is far smarter and more articulate than I, and I appreciate knowing that I do not have to walk in this Pettitte Parade alone.

The arguments against us come and go without any strength, much like the opinions of any of the five hosts of The View. The flimsy excuses questioning his dominance over any year or set of years, his winning percentage and the age old one – he plays for a stacked team, the Yankees. The fact is that he is one of the best pitchers of his decade by categories including winning percentage, no-decision team wins, strikeouts, innings-pitched, playoff wins and, ultimately, World Series wins.

The argument that he is on an already-stacked team is wasteful, given the notion that hey – he is one of those elite players that qualifies the label of “stacked.” Pettitte has never been a hanger-on or just a team member. On the contrary, he’s been a leader and a force to be prepared for by the oppositions. And let’s not forget the hiatus from the Yankees wherein he played for the Astros and greatly contributed to their 2005 first-time and only appearance in the World Series. I cannot say I am blind to the fact that he had a couple of years of self-admitted HGH use. I cannot say that I am not disappointed by this, but I also cannot rule out that he was one of many and at least he came forward and handled the scrutiny as well as anyone else has thus far. In fact, I think it is quite telling of his quality of both his athleticism and his character that he opted not to go quietly into the night amid this controversy, but instead piled it on his back and stepped out onto the mound for an insulting salary contract, and added a couple of clutch playoff wins and a World Series title to his repertoire. Who else can say that? No one. And neither did Mr. Pettitte.

With as long as Pettitte has been in the league, you’d think that some of these hitters would have him completely figured out by now. He has a good fastball, but he’s no Randy Johnson in terms of speed. He has great movement on his pitches, but he’s no Greg Maddux. He has a truckload of wins, but he’s no Roger Clemens…but then again, neither is Mr. Clemens, apparently.

I liken Pettitte to an alt-rock, country indie band that has a strong following and has produced dozens of critically acclaimed records. He’s not a band you’d hear on the top 40 radio station and he’ll never have a platinum selling record. He’s not a group that will have a shelf lined up with Grammys, nor will he be on the cover of Rolling Stone. He had a couple of hits that cracked the top 10, but people forget that he’s had several crack the top 20, which is something rare in itself. Lastly, I think he is one of those artists that we hear about, respect and appreciate, but we don’t own any of his albums. And then one day after he’s long retired and has unplugged his amp for good, we hear something that we like and we want more. So we go on Amazon.com or iTunes and dig up all we can find of his past albums, previous singles and collaborations, only to discover a new love and appreciation. Then a little frustration will ensue, knowing that we can only browse the archives.

All in all, he is consistent in all such areas and he has a great case for the Hall of Fame. Even if the ballots don’t produce justice, we can bet that the Steinbrenners will make him a Yankee-Hall of Famer for the new Yankee Stadium. When you consider the top five pitchers that hitter did not want to face from 1996 through 2010, it is difficult to leave Pettitte out of discussion. Sure, we can throw in bigger names from year to year or by short-lived dynasty, but when you consider 1996 – 2010 (and beyond) those other names find themselves on the disabled list or signing generous minor league contracts. Please visit http://keitholbermann.mlblogs.com/ and read March’s entry for Pettitte, and reconsider any pessimism when you see the stats.

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

The Pace Picante Sauce – Whataburger Comparison

2010-01-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

The newest TV spots for Pace Picante Sauce have a great, polished style which has really caught my eye. The lighting is different than their usual look, along with several other artistic differences, however subtle they may be.

The first time I saw the new TV spot, I hit the rewind button on my DirecTV DVR remote and watched it twice more. Their voice over’s resonance and cadence is different. It’s dramatic, engaging and has a familiar, comfortable style. And that’s how I noticed it.

Pace's newest spot looks an awful lot like the long-running and well-received spots from Whataburger. The southern drawl and friendly sound from the voice over combined with a distinct art and photography direction is plainly evident. They've replaced their campsite, cowboy, cattle-drive setting with a rural, small, simple home with a tiny kitchen. They've replaced their loud-mouthed characters who yell, "New York City?...That really chaps my hide" with a meek and mild woman who says nothing at all, but rather stirs her measly chicken dinner with a wooden spoon and quelled frustration.

The close up of the product (jar) with the proud, deep voice over is so close to Whataburger's signature shot, they had to notice. Right? Instead of a kitchen table top, Whataburger uses the restaurant table top. There's nothing wrong there. I assume that the question arose in editing or storyboarding, "Hey, isn't this just like Whataburger's?" But perhaps it was so close that they decided to go full tilt because anything short would look incomplete.

It's a common challenge in any art direction of TV or radio spots. There are so many details that have been done and been successful, it's hard not to see some duplication of technique. Some would say that it's all been done before, rock-n-roll is dead, and that the Tonight Show will never be the same. C'est La-Vie, no?

The similarities lead me to several questions.
Accident? Surely not.
Is the same group working on both projects? Possibly. (McGarrah-Jesse I assume..??) A little research can answer this one.
Did Pace like Whataburger’s spots and aim to replicate it? Hmmmm….
Either way, it’s a nice move for Pace Salsa. Not necessarily a complete departure from what I’ve seen them do in the past, but nevertheless, it is a definitive move. Being a fan of both companies’ TV work, I wish there would be a little more distinction between the two. Whataburger has succeeded for so long with this style. It is theirs and they do a fantastic job of owning it and offering it up as a superb alternative to the common fast food commercials, particularly burger joints.

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010

Where’s the Rest of It?

2009-09-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

Whether you are in marketing, manufacturing, or if you are simply the average consumer in the grocery store, you are sure to notice a severe lack in quantity lately. Not quality, thankfully; but definitely quantity. This is not exactly a welcome advantage.

Earlier this week, I had lunch at my local Red Lobster and I encountered this dilemma first hand. Oddly enough, it related all too directly with the animal we call “marketing.”

I had a mountain of boring research to review and a corner booth (with those addictive biscuits) seemed the perfect setting for the chore. I settled into my seat with my stack of folders to my right and my menu, water, and napkin to my left. Fully armed, I was ready to take in both lunch and labor.

Among my folders’ contents was an issue of Advertising Age magazine, which proved to be a viable procrastination ally to thumb through while I enjoyed my Caesar salad. Then it happened. Serendipitously and rather disappointingly, it happened.

Just as I turned the page, the waitress brought my plate. The plate was broad, white and spacious with a small, yet intruding bit of fish sitting in the center. I ordered the flounder, but this seemed too small to be it. Next to the fish was one dollop of mashed potatoes. I looked closer and realized that this was indeed my meal. Perhaps this was a baby flounder? Nope. Just scaled back…excuse the pun.

I looked on with dismay, unable to eat due to the feeling of being under-whelmed. I glanced back at my newly-turned page to find the lead article that shared my sentiment. “Package goods get bigger again: Marketers that shrank products – though not prices – start to upsize” by Jack Neff. The article quickly calls to light the growing number of shrinking quantity in products (particularly food).

Here I am, sitting in a dimly lit seafood restaurant wondering where the rest of my meal went, while reading an article about how food packaging and price has remained the same, but their contents have shrunk. We’ve all seen the effects: a huge bag of Lay’s potato chips, with a large percentage of air to fill the bag; a bottle of cleaning solution that seems a little lighter than the last one you purchased; a few less “yellows” in the ol’ M&M bag.

In a 2007 episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien (New York), guest B.J. Novak of NBC’s The Office brought a similar case study. Novak describes purchasing Cadbury crème chocolate eggs around Easter, as so many of us do. Novak mentioned that he remembered them being larger in size. He consulted the Cadbury website and says that he did not even have to hunt for a rather disconcerting, convenient headline that read, “No, they have not gotten smaller; you’ve gotten bigger.” Too strange of a headline, right? Novak just so happened to have some older Cadbury eggs from previous Easters. He compared them side by side and the size is noticeably different. He showed them on the program and the audience roared.

Along with this Easter delight case study, comes the obvious next question of price. Due to inflation and law of diminishing returns and other variables, prices have increased. But the public is losing out by paying more for less.

More for less. There is a phrase that no one likes to hear, with or without food being the matter. Boss wants his employee to work more for less pay. Employee wants his boss to pay more for less work or responsibility. Both want you to pay more for that box of cereal or that less-than-fulfilling flounder. Should we as consumers accept it and move on, or should we strike somehow?

Neff goes on to say how many new packaging and marketing efforts are including key phrases and stamps like “33% more free!” and that “…it gives the appearance marketers are simply adding back what they took away in the first place.” Consumers are not stupid, and they are not completely oblivious. Just watch Conan O’Brien’s guests for proof.

It is my belief that as proud, strong-willed American consumers, we will rise up and…deal with it. Sadly, I believe it is as cyclical as anything else in marketing. After a while, we will subconsciously justify the amounts of food and product, or lack thereof. We will get excited when we see stickers of “20% More!” on packages that feel the exact same 15 years ago when it felt 80% full. The times will catch up with us, and the depression will soon fade; replaced only with a competitor’s product with new or “standard” packaging and labeling.

If marketers and manufacturers are smart, they’ll get together and create a standard size when launching a new product, slightly smaller than typical. Be it glass cleaner, yellow mustard, or stain remover that gets rid of mustard spills and cleans glass (patent in progress), the products should have a standard size that leaves us all wanting just a little more. Then after the product is established favorably, marketers can let loose and release limited-time large sizes with 25% more or 33% extra or whatever value-add they desire. Knowing that there is a time limit for a truly up-size product will have consumers clamoring to the shelves. Happily. It gives consumers a foundation for the value of the product and it justifies the price from the manufacturer & even retailer. Then it gifts the consumer with the larger value sizes; causing them to experience a tangible value that they know will not last forever.

Disney does it with the release of their movies on DVD. Every few years they have a limited edition for Snow White or The Little Mermaid, and every year parents and grandparents knock each other over to pay pretty prices. If it works for Disney, then it can work for anything else, right? Or does it?

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2009

The Brands of Baseball

2009-09-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

Polo. Lacoste. Nike.
Yankees. Mets. Cubs.

They go together like a jock strap and a Big League Chew. Fashionably speaking, of course.

There are immediate reactions when a baseball team is mentioned. All can be applied to their branding, whether it is chosen by them or for them. It’s the smell of the dirt, the lighting in the ball park, the fit in the uniforms and the easy, slow time of play. It’s the dance around steroids and PEDs (Giants), the history of great teams who are now floundering (Royals), and the scrappy style of play that turns men into boys (Red Sox). They know it and they capitalize on it in a way that, even when we notice, we do not seem to mind.

So, too, are there connotations with brands of clothing. The timeless look of Polo, the cutting edge of Nike, and the top of mind awareness like Dockers. Ah…you can already picture the khaki slacks, can you not?

When it comes to baseball, fans dip themselves head to toe in team gear and, often without knowing it, present themselves in a very telling light. The simple, plain navy t-shirt with the large Detroit Tigers “D” screen-printed just left of center tells the story of a purist, probably well-studied of the game and team; someone probably sure of himself and a team player in efforts around the office. Someone wearing an oversized Florida Marlins t-shirt, full with busy graphics of teal, orange, blue, and chaos may reveal a rather fair-weather fan; an easily-excitable spirit with whom the Tigers fan would share very little in common. How? Detroit is such a storied-franchise, with firecracker ups and depressing downs. The tradition of their uniforms, team colors, and style of play reflect their hard-working fan base, which is largely associated with automakers and cold weather. This is an icy, hard town and it takes a very committed, loyal and determined type of person to stay here. If you are going to like the Tigers, you probably share the same level of dedication and attention to tradition. The Marlins, however, are a very different franchise. They Marlins have two championships to their name, but they’ve only been around a fraction of the time the Tigers have been grinding it out. The Marlins are famous for bringing up great young talent, winning big, and then selling them off for profit and starting all over with humble beginnings. Their team color is trendy (teal), but fitting for their locale and lifestyle (Miami, Florida). They have trouble filling their seats at home games and they gain strong momentum every 5 or so years, then the cycle for wins and for fans starts anew.

Try comparing this to the NFL and you will find similarities in various degrees, but not across the board. Try looking at the NHL or the NBA in this light and you will most likely lose interest before you even begin.

Here is a list of teams with their equal clothing brand:

NY Yankees – Polo, Ralph Lauren. Classy, timeless and top-of-mind awareness. Any time you think baseball, you think Yankees. There is something so elegant and respected in pinstripes. No matter what brand you refer to, we all call a short sleeved and collared shirt with a couple buttons a “polo.” Like Kleenex or Xerox. The brand names double as the noun or verb. Polo makes high-fashion suits and, the main man, Ralph Lauren, is the face of the franchise. Steinbrenner anyone? Nothing is quite as iconic in upscale fashion as the little horsey polo logo. Nike comes close, but it’s not expensive enough to qualify. The NY logo for the Yankees is as comparable to the power of the Polo logo as it gets. The NY logo, in fact, is a brand all its own. When you see the NY logo on a polo, it just fits and, for a second, the brand is understood first before the connection of baseball. It’s as strong a brand as it is a team.

NY Mets – Lacoste. Lacoste is expensive, and so is New York. Lacoste was once the epitome of the fashion world and is still highly-regarded, but just beneath the cusp of such routine place-holders like Polo and Nike. Just like the Mets. Lacoste comes close to being the top of the fashion food chain, but their shirts cost about 10 bucks too much and we seem to want them to look better than they actually do. Just like the Mets. Plus, that little smiling alligator (or crocodile) is akin in character to the smiling Mr. Met.

Chicago Cubs – Nike. Everyone likes the Cubs. Everyone likes that target of a logo and all logos are compared to the Nike swoosh. It’s easy to like the Cubs. Who doesn’t like Chicago? There is an everyman quality, but with an added upscale aspect of which to be proud. The Cubbies have celebrities at their games who sing and bring the 7th inning, and Nike is known for bringing celebrity endorsements. The Cubbies have all American colors and have a history of an all American attitude, believing that “this is the year.” And ultimately failing. Nike is similar in that it is the epitome of sportswear in America and, no matter how much they diversify their clothing lines, they still come just a hair short of Polo’s class and respect. Also, Chicago has a history of mystique with their relations the mob and prohibition, while Nike has had its share of mystique with talks of sweatshops overseas. If they don’t win, it’s a shame.

LA Dodgers – Calvin Klein. It’s LA, it’s fashion, it’s celebrity stardom, it’s Mannywood, it’s Hollywood, and it’s initials. L.A. = C.K. Look at the logos and you’ll see a similar overlap in the letters. There are a lot of great looking uniforms out there. In my opinion, the two greatest are first the Yankee pinstripes and second the home Dodgers uniform. That bright, clean white with the Dodger blue looks so much like other teams’ home garb, but somehow theirs looks better. Not unlike the CK logo of Calvin Klein, whose logo is easily pictured in one’s mind as black background with the lowercase and uppercase stark white letters – plain and simple. The LA in the corner of your shirt could easily be replaced with CK.

San Francisco Giants – Dockers. Hey, it’s San Fran. Gotta give them that, right? There is something about the off-white uniforms with the black and orange that khakis just kind of go with in a way. Little old school style, but always goes with something. Kind of like the Giants in a way: good baseball town that is often thought of as a “once was” team, but every ten years they emerge as a threat to win it all. It’s hard not to like and appreciate a good pair of Dockers. It’s equally as difficult to dismiss the Giants as a viable team as they are quite respectable.

Houston Astros – Wrangler. Put on your boots, fasten your oversized belt buckle, and let’s get ready for a long cattle drive. The Astros are infamous for not scoring runs, but not easily giving them up either, which means they often go deep into extra innings. Just like a long cattle drive, it takes patience and a calm, cool head. The font of the Astros in their latest logo set is similar to a rope. Wrangler’s logo is very fitting. Strange isn’t it, that the word Astro is short for Astronaut? Shouldn’t this be a typeface for the Texas Rangers? Not so. They, on the other hand, have painstakingly put their efforts toward a large red “T” for their logo. Really, Rangers? You have been completely upstaged by your southern foe. The Astros aren’t always the best brand, but they’re consistently known for coming up strong in the latter half and not completely letting you down. They have a history of gunslingers, bigger stadiums, longer games and slower pace. Around a body of work like theirs, these Wranglers fit quite nicely.

Tampa Bay Rays – Under Armour. They are flashy, young, and looks like both will be increasingly competitive for the next few years.

San Diego Padres – Hurley.

Seattle Mariners – Nautica. Hello?

Cincinnati Reds – Tommy Hilfiger. The Great American Ballpark matches well with the red, white and blue flag like emblem of Hilfiger.

St. Louis Cardinals – St. John’s Bay. Saintly, no?

Toronto Blue Jays – Reebok.

Baltimore Orioles – Fossil.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Jordache. Perhaps baseball’s tackiest logo is out of fashion. Much like the brand.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Panama Jack. Both logos have a guy’s face with only one eye prevalent.

Texas Rangers – Russell Athletic.

If your team logo can easily replace a brand’s logo, chances are your team’s image and emblem can be a definitive brand on their own, right alongside top fashion powers. The White Sox logo, the M logo of the Twins, and the glove and ball illustration of the Brewers are all great logos for this regard. And, just like on the field, the New York Yankees are at the top.

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2009