What’s great about Hulu’s take on marketing and advertising is that they focus heavily on their product and what they do best. They leave the communicating to the communicators and know that the product will say the rest. It’s a recipe for an attractive and successful brand!
Design By Committee: A Scary Concept
Design by Committee is a frightening thing to think about when trying to build an online brand. With too many “cooks in the kitchen” a website can turn into a virtual house of mirrors before it even goes live! Of course it is perfectly natural for anyone to enjoy giving their input on what they like/dislike about art. It’s how museums like MOMA and the MET stay open! Everyone’s a critic. However, it’s important to remember that opinions are like navels, everybody has one.
In some cases, the input provided by the member of a review board can be helpful to the design process. More often, however, the comments are self-motivated and will take away from the design instead of adding to it.
Example 1: Wendy (Committee member #5) doesn’t like the color Red. This doesn’t mean that Red is wrong for the design. It’s simply Wendy’s opinion. While Wendy may have been working at the company for 10 years and has plenty of experience in her field, she may not have a background in advertising and design that would tell her that red happens to be the perfect color to attract the target audience and help them relate to her brand.
Example 2: Jack (Committee member #3) doesn’t like cartoons. He stopped watching them when he turned 7 years old as a way of declaring his young adulthood. This doesn’t necessarily mean that an animated mascot is wrong for his target audience. After all, there are plenty of illustrative company representatives that target adults!
The more people reviewing a design-in-process means there will need to be more room for egos and limits. In order to have a truly successful website, you have to push the limits. (We do not recommend actually pushing committee members) In fact, we are recommending having no more than 2 (total) people reviewing a website design. This will keep the motivation of the design team high and the time line moving quickly!
The most imporatnt thing to remember is that when a site is launched, the design will be a part of the user experience. Users will not be interested in critiquing the tiny details of the design. They’re just there to get information and/or make a purchase!
Uncle Chet’s Moped
Uncle Chet’s got a soft spot for his Honda PA50 Moped. You can find him mud-jumping in his back yard or cruising the neighborhood in his leather biker jacket and fighter pilot cap—the plastic license plate reading: “MoPeds-MoFun.” Chet never really got into Harley Davidsons. He likes to think of himself as…unique.
At Keylex we like our work to be unique too, but not the “Moped” kind of unique. When you’re trying to stand out among the competition, it’s important to stand out in all the right ways…not by wearing a hat & goggle combination and driving an old scooter.
When it comes to clearing sweet jumps on the ‘Ped, Chet knows best. When it comes to jumping ahead of your competition, Keylex knows best.
Brand Differentiation
You’ll find that well established brands usually have a clear and unique communication to the consumer. This angle is unique to the brand. No other company that competes can make their promise in the same way without being compared to the first to do it.
It’s necessary for your site to have its own unique selling point. It’s important to remember that consumers will not be familiar with your brand until it has established itself as different than its competition. It is also important that the brand is communicated as being more effective and convenient than its competitors. For example, it wouldn’t be wise to open up a department store across the street from a Walmart these days. They both may sell some of the same items, but Walmart as a brand is so well established that any similar store in the area would quickly become the copycat/underdog (as opposed to opening the same store in a town where there is no Walmart.)
Take a product that’s an all natural solution to hair regeneration. “All natural” may sound clean and healthy, but it’s is not a great marketing angle. Being “all natural” only goes so far these days, and with the “hair loss-stricken consumer seeking results, the fact that this product comes from nature isn’t likely to sell them on the idea that it will actually work. Look at Hoodia for example: Hoodia Gordonii, a plant found in southern Africa is claimed to be effective as an appetite suppressant. So is Green Tea. Both are all natural, but since the explosion in Hoodia’s popularity over the past year and a half in the health industry, it has become a glorified supplement for those looking to lose weight. It’s gotten to the point where the word “Hoodia” itself communicates weight loss to consumers with no knowledge of its effectiveness or side effects. It’s known more as an “active ingredient” in weight loss pills than a flowering plant in Africa. Green tea on the other hand is much less marketable due to its “all-natural” label. Most people know that they can drink green tea as a beverage, so they assume “How far can this really take me as a weight loss solution.” There is no sense of “mystery” when it comes to green tea. “I can grow it in my backyard, so it can be that powerful.”
Fiji Water is another excellent example. Bottled water is bottled water. You can dress it up, make it pretty, say how it comes from the springs of so and so and how “all natural” it is, but one thing that nobody else can say is that their water comes from an artesian aquifer, located at the very edge of a primitive rainforest, hundreds of miles away from the nearest continent. It’s so “all natural” that it is untouched by man until you unscrew the cap! This promise is what sells Fiji Water as a premium brand – not its packaging or the graphics on the website alone, but the combination of these and brand differentiation.
The angle that this hair solution should take should be similar to Hoodia Gordonni. It can be “all natural”, but it must have an angle to differentiate it as a brand and to communicate its effectiveness as a solution. Keylex would create a “buzz” about a unique ingredient and the discovery of the first all- natural acne product that is actually as effective as a prescription without all of the doctor visits, medicinal baggage and side-effects.
It’s all about the delivery. “Zagging” when everyone is “Zigging” won’t guarantee a product to sell unless it’s done with research, experience and a professional eye.
Norton Antivirus Can’t Stop Swine Flu
Neither can Keylex. We’re not going to lie to you. Swine Flu is slightly out of our control. Trust us we’ve checked into it:
So what truth can we say about the big, scary world we live in today? Well, we can tell you that we know all about proactively monitoring user browsing patterns and footprints and blocking unwanted prowlers and stopping hacking and SQL injection before it starts.
Just ask your IT guy what we’re talking about or give us a call. ;) Oh, and keep washing those hands!
From Snapple to Crapple.
It looks as if Snapple has been courting Tropicana behind our backs. Yet another poorly redesigned brand has made it to market. Perhaps it’s the recession or a year-long full moon that’s causing these companies to “rethink their look” – who knows. What’s obvious however, is that we are seeing more and more of what seems to be the “anti-brand” and it’s downright depressing. What used to make Snapple unique and thought of as its own beverage, is all being stripped away to make it as commonplace and plain Jane as possible.
Snapple, the original new-age beverage, has undergone its most significant makeover in its 37-year history.
“We want to ensure Snapple continues to be the Best Stuff on Earth,” said Bryan Mazur, vice president of marketing for Snapple. “These changes to the formula and packaging come with one goal in mind: deliver the same great product, just make it even better.”
Mazur refers to the move as having a more premium and mature execution. “Gone will be the old logo and packaging, replaced with a sleeker bottle and label design that speaks to its new formula.”
Absolutely! It looks less delicious and more boring! Just like the new formula.
Snapple is dropping corn syrup from their drinks. As the “Official Beverage of New York City”, boasting exclusive distribution in NYC Public Schools and offices, it behooves them be as healthy and straight-forward as possible.
News Flash: Kids don’t beg their parents for homemade Earl Grey on the rocks. PASS THE BRISK.
Yet another brand gone south.
Southwest Airlines Mixes it Up
Like the words from one of our favorite quotes say: “When everybody zigs, zag.” That’s exactly what one of Southwest Airlines’ flight attendants is doing. David Holmes does his job in a way that’s a little bit different. When he used to recite the pre-flight instructions the passengers would tune out. Not anymore. Why? Because David actually raps the information. He has been told countless times by the passengers themselves that it was the first time that they have ever listened to the pre-flight info. One woman even recorded her on her cell phone and posted the video to YouTube. Since then, the video has gotten over 1,177,240 views. What can be taken from this other than knowing to fasten your seat belts? It pays to take a chance and do something that nobody will expect. Southwest Airlines has had their name all over the world wide web within days just because someone decided to take a risk! What did it cost them? Whatever they’re paying a flight attendant! This is just another example of how thinking outside the box and taking a risk can help a company market their product or service.
Keylex Launches Ribbonblend
This past week Keylex launched Ribbonblend.com a website helping to connect the global food industry. Ribbonblend.com connects people in the food & beverage industry with ingredients, products & facilities. With a sleek floating interface and custom development to allow it’s users to search, list, and browse manufacturing, processing, and packaging companies, Ribbonblend is a user-friendly site that will make connecting with others via the web both fast and simple.
Sak’s Fifth Avenue Spring Marketing Campaign
If you’re in Manhattan strolling down 5th Avenue, you might feel the need to obey Sak’s spring marketing “propaganda” in their windows. “Want It!” (Sak’s slogan) is inspired by the typography of graphic designer Rodchenko, one of the founders of Constructivism. The campaign’s design by Shepard Fairey and Cleon Peterson is sure to jump out at you from at least a half-a-block away.
It’s a humorous approach to Russian revolutionary propaganda, and is right on time to help weary shoppers “fight back” at the economic downturn our country is experiencing.
“What we do every day, really, is propaganda,” said Terron E. Schaefer, the senior vice president for marketing at Saks.
This is true. It’s also important to note that the average consumer is intelligent enough to decipher the message as tongue-in-cheek, and not a pushy sales tactic. (Let’s be honest, we know we’re being marketed to. Why not let us in on the fun?)
What may be most interesting is the mixed verbal response the campaign has received since its launch. A popular lifestyle blog has been littered with comments about the design. Some appreciate the historical nature, others have labeled it as unoriginal.
In our opinion at Keylex, the point at the end of the day is to be dramatically different. Are Neiman, Bloomingdale’s, or Bergdorf standing out and being talked about all over Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and 3G networks across the U.S for their spring campaings? Not like Sak’s. Is Sak’s standing out from its competitors in concept and creativity? You bet. I think it’s safe to say that one thing their spring campaign definitely communicates is differentiation. With the pricey inventory of Sak’s and its competitors, sometimes it’s not always about the lowest price or the biggest bargain. How a brand communicates and interacts with its audience can go a long way.
Uncle Chet’s Family Reunion
Nobody does Family Reunions quite like Chet, but this year’s story takes the cake. Uncle Chet showed up to the Eddyville Rec Center for his family reunion around 1:30pm. By 1:47 he managed to devour half of the mini crustless, triangle tuna sandwiches and make half of the wet-bar vanish in thin air. By 2:01 Chet was busting a move on the dance floor……..solo…….to no music at all. By 2:19 he was joined by nearly the entire family in what appeared to be a combination of The Carlton and the Hava Nagila dance. By 2:20 Chet realized that he was at someone else’s family reunion.
If Uncle Chet had made it to his family event he would have been surrounded by 100 Chets or more. He would have never stood out enough to make a difference and make the party a success!
When it comes to standing out like a soar thumb while leading the conga line, Chet knows best. When it comes to standing out among your competition and being a leader in your industry, Keylex knows best.
