A Nice Try, but…

We went to Chili’s last night (I suppose because it was late and we had given up on eating any sort of good cuisine). They recently changed their menu and marketing campaign to this:

Now, after a long list of “Pepper in…”, are we to know that the giant pepper followed by an apostrophe and s is supposed to be read: “Chili’s”? The ad campaign isn’t really logical - if the name of the restaurant was “Pepper’s”, it could work. I know a chili is a pepper, but does anyone actually think that the dumb red chili identity is so ubiquitous and universally understood?

I guess “Chili in some laughs” doesn’t make sense either.

Logos in ‘08

Interesting post on Logo Design Trends in 2008 by the guys at Logo Orange.

There Is No Box

Have you seen FX Networks’ new branding efforts?

They ditched the klieg lights from the logo and have adopted the slogan: “There is No Box.” The TV spots are so innovative - I love them. It might be the best network branding since NBC first used the Peacock in 1956. Brilliant.

Learnings from Punk Marketing

Richard Laermer and Mark Simmons’ book Punk Marketing is one of those books that you keep on your desk for a long time. It isn’t boring. It isn’t too hard to grasp. It’s just one of those books that you can read a chapter and then set it down for a week, and try to apply what you learned.

Laermer and Simmon’s thinking is highly innovative. These two “punks” throw out some incredible idea. They challenge the status quo of marketing and inspire a new way to market (the subtitle of the book is Get Off Your Ass and Join the Revolution). Their “Punk Marketing Manifesto” is worth the price of the book.

Some major learnings:

1. RISK - Read previous post here.

2. “Trying to be all things to everyone inevitably results in meaning little to anybody.” (p. 02)

3. Stories sell. A narrative connects with people more than a flashy logo or ad. “Storytelling as a marketing technique has been around for decades in all kinds of forms. It’s all about a damn good anecdote, so your mission is to become the best raconteur you can be!” (p. 109)

4. Innovation is good. But don’t get caught up in trying to create the “latest and greatest” fad. Be thoughtful. Michaela Draganska, an associate professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business, puts it: “It’s a widely held belief that unless you constantly introduce new products, you cannot stay in the game.” (p. 126) But it’s just not true - a great product is worth a million crappy ones.

5. A billboard in New York read: “Don’t feel stupid if you hate the things that people pretend to love.” (p. 132; This was the smallest sidebar in the book).

6. “Believe in trends more!” Find visionaries and listen to them. Keep your thumb on the pulse of life - look out for change. True trendspotters are “always evolving, learning and growing.” (p. 198 )

For more, visit punkmarketing.com.

2007, Harper Collins.

Keep it Simple, Stupid.

I just started John Maeda’s The Laws of Simplicity.

I’ve only read the preface and the first chapter (or law). But, seriously - it’s so good.

I’m already inspired.

Say What?

We’re currently piecing together our Winter / Spring 2008 Weekend Guide - a great tool for our church. The Guide gives a three-month overview of each series and message, leading all the way up to Easter.

I’ve been assigned to create the identity and design concept for our pre-Easter series, Say What?: The Quotes of Jesus of Nazareth. I was inspired by the look of the marketing of the new documentary film, Helvetica, and used that as the basis of our design look. But, I can’t decide on which identity is the best.

Here are four of the candidates:

Riskiness

I’m reading a book by Richard Laermer and Mark Simmons, titled Punk Marketing. Laermer and Simmons are out to change the way the world markets. In the first chapter, the authors lay out the fourteen articles (plus another open ended discussion article) of “The Punk Marketing Manifesto.”

Article one stopped me…and I had to read it over and over: “Avoid Risk and Die”

The authors go on to say that “the trick is to take calculated jumps and share them among all stakeholders with your own blend of saucy verve and gusto” [italics mine]. They argue that Ted Turner never checked with consumers before he launched CNN. (Mr. Turner said: “There’s never a reason for a study if your idea is conceptually sound. You have to have confidence in your own ideas.” [South Africa's Young Magazine])

So…ideas don’t have to be run by your audience to make sure they like it. You don’t have to double check to make sure the data says that your idea will be a hit. Think through it (really think through it) and discuss it with people involved in actually creating the thing - do that, and risk much. We’re smarter than we give ourselves credit for…take calculated jumps! Think, discuss, risk - and come out a winner.

Visit punkmarketing.com.