Strategic Public Relations

We Interrupt This Blog...

So I've been playing with the blog's design as well as the content feed.

As I'm perfecting this, you've gotten one or two email posts without context that include my photos and my curated links.

The end result is better, more frequent content from me. Your patience is appreciated.

Branding with Color: Lessons from Coke

At my previous gig, my colleagues took pictures of a client's store and the competition's stores. A designer would convert them to black and white photos and blur any logos in the pics. Then they'd ask the client to match the stores with the brands.

It was rare for someone to ace this test. It's a powerful lesson in the power of color in branding (and the need for a store design that also helps reinforce the brand). This test is also done for web sites.

Cuckoo for Coke Colors
From store shelves to the packages on those shelves, Coke realized how well they've used color to differentiate their three big brands from each other when they broke their own rules. A holiday-themed design for the Coke can seems harmless enough. But as you can see, Coke and Diet Coke fans alike were understandably confused by the temporary switcheroo.

You can call this a Coke fail, but I call it a reminder of how good Coke's established its individual brands with just color. But then again, I'm not covering the cost from recalling the holiday cans earlier than planned and replacing them with "the right colors."

Branding through color is well-documented. "Color is one of the brain’s three visual pathways and, since we process every object within view simultaneously, color is the mechanism that places emphasis on certain areas. In addition to enhancing on-shelf visibility, the appropriate use of color can increase brand recognition by some 80%, while also serving as an important brand identifier."

Do you own your brand colors in your competitive space? Is your brand's color palette representing you correctly?

Sensory Branding 
Brands need to consider all elements of  their brand as it pertains to the five senses. Starbucks obviously uses smell to brand their coffee. But it also asked, "what does our brand sound like" and now they have an in-store entertainment network layered on top of its free wifi. It all works together to help connect with the consumer.

(RED) Taps Media Convergence to Promote Awareness

Some will tell you I've got an Instagram addiction. While I'm not sure about that, the social photo-sharing platform does have a loyal following.

Instagram has shown me some great examples of brands testing and learning the concept of No Channels.

Brand Power
Of the 35 or more brands I follow on Instagram, (RED) seems to have the most fun playing up the visual nature of its brand and the various partnerships it has with other brands.

But more than brand awareness, (RED) is smart about giving followers simple calls to action. In one example, (RED) is using Instagram to encourage users to tap into a promotion for the (RED)-branded Shazam app for music discovery on the go. The proceeds benefits the non-profit's push for AIDS awareness.

Convergence & Cross-Platform Thinking
The promotion starts and ends on a mobile device and it uses two niche apps to get users to support (RED). This is certainly not new. But it is a great reminder that thinking cross-platform doesn't just apply to multiple platforms. In this case it applies to a single-device.

Cross-Posted to my work blog