http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog Invent. Create. Renovate. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:23:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en We think so, obviously.  But there are still objections and hesitations from some quarters about whether "brand strategy" has the importance -- if any -- for B2B that it does in the B2C space. It's an argument that may never be fully resolved, in some minds.  Some of the objections to ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/uncategorized/ibm-making-branding-matter-in-b2b As this BRANDWEEK article explains, Caribou Coffee is undergoing a major re-branding. Part of the reason is, in the words of Caribou's CEO, that the brand suffered from a "schizophrenic brand image."   When you're a growing brand like Caribou, especially when you're trying to carve out success in a category ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/uncategorized/caribou-rebranding-for-a-broader-horizon It's not an area we usually go on about, but this outdoor program from British dog food maker Wagg Foods is pure brilliance.  Out-of-home advertising and promotion offer any business the chance to do something outstanding, and it doesn't have to be as scientifically erudite as ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/uncategorized/if-it-smells-like-a-great-idea Google is known for the "doodles" that appear around their logo -- by season, by event, or even by (it seems) mere whim.  Implementing those keeps a staff of illustrators busy coming up with new ideas.  They've done it long enough, with enough success, that any ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/branding/467 That's the big question asked by this analysis from Slate, pointing out how the incredible increase in information velocity enabled by social media can have devastating consequences for a company that doesn't take immediate -- and well-received -- steps to deal with negative news (or even the mere perception of ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/branding/did-twitter-topple-toyota We're familiar with Salesforce thanks to our clients like EDL,  and the advent of Salesforce Chatter -- now in beta testing -- brings up interesting questions about the intersection of brand design, social media and digital collaboration in the B2B space. First of all, will tools like Chatter affect the traditional ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/branding/how-do-you-brand-collaboration Holiday Inn rolled out a top-to-bottom relaunch effort across all locations over the last couple of years that's intended to help capture a bigger share of the corporate travel market in these leaner times.  And they're going up against the longtime powers in the corporate travel space -- Hilton Sheraton ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/branding/how-holiday-inn-relaunched-right-down-to-the-logo If it's done for the right reasons, we're obviously all in favor of renovating or re-branding logos to make them more impactful, contemporary or relevant.  But there are cases where it may be ill-advised to mess with success. Case in point: Paul Rand is considered one of the true giants of ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/branding/not-every-logo-merits-a-renovation Thanks, TIME Magazine, for this list of 10 real head-shakers in the history of corporate re-namings.  It's noteworthy because it makes us consider the reasoning behind each of these moves, reasoning you should bear in mind if embarked on your own re-branding or logo design initiative. "Comcast" into "Xfinity"?  When you've ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/branding/are-some-firms-rebranding-rationales-dubious Here's a branding debacle that's close to my heart: an uproar took place over the last several weeks among alumni and students of Michigan State University, my alma mater, when a re-branding initiative with NIKE went decidedly sour -- because the proposed new branding got leaked too early. It's a textbook case ... http://www.biersmacreative.com/blog/branding/back-to-school-a-hard-lesson-in-re-branding