Corporate Eye

...compare, compete, excel

Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius

Repackaging Campbell’s from the Top Down

Have you ever stood in the soup aisle at the grocery store and been faced with a sea of red Campbell’s soup cans, but you simply cannot find the flavor you’re looking for?  We’ve all been there, cursing to no one in particular but desperately wanting to find that can of tomato soup so you can get out of there as fast as possible.  Fortunately, Campbell’s heard our cries.

Using neuromarketing research results, Campbell’s has redesigned its soup can packaging from the top down.  No longer is the red Campbell’s logo emblazoned across the top of Campbell’s soup cans.  The neuromarketing research determined that having the red band of color along the top of all Campbell’s soup cans made it more difficult for consumers to find the specific flavors they wanted.  Consumers became frustrated with the too consistent packaging of Campbell’s soups, so the logo has been relegated to the bottom of the can.

Based on the company’s research, the iconic Campbell’s soup can that’s been the subject of everything from Andy Warhol’s artistic eye to comedic skits has been replaced.  Not only has the Campbell’s logo been moved, but the soups in the Campbell’s product line have been categorized and color-coded to save you a few minutes (or more) on your next trip down the grocery store soup aisle.

Check out some of the additional changes to the Campbell’s soup packaging shown in the image below:

campbells_soup_package_redesign

What do you think of the new Campbell’s soup packaging? I don’t think repositioning the logo will affect the brand identity negatively, and I think the new packaging does look more modern. I also think the color-coding is a big improvement and will surely save me some time in the supermarket, but I don’t think I would have ever noticed the additional steam or lack of a spoon in the picture. How about you?

Image: Campbell’s via LogoLounge

Fonts Really Do Matter

fontsResearch by Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz (via Neuromarketing Blog) proves that the fonts used in ads, marketing materials, and documents really do affect consumer behavior.  The title of the research report says it all — If It’s Hard to Read, It’s Hard to Do: Processing Fluency Affects Effort Prediction and Motivation.

In multiple experiments, consumers were provided a set of written instructions related to the use of a product and asked to estimate how long it would take to perform those instructions.  The results were always the same.  Consumers who were provided instructions in simple fonts (such as Arial) estimated that the instructions they read would take half the time to complete than consumers who were provided the exact same instructions in a more creative font (such as Mistral) estimated.

Clearly, the takeaway from this study is obvious.  If you want consumers to perceive your brand, your message, and any instructions you need to deliver as quick and simple, you should present that information using a simple, easy-to-read font.  However, a similar takeaway could relate to overall brand perception.  Certainly, a light and fancy script font delivers a different brand message than a sans serif, bold font.  However, when you add on the effects that your font choice can have on the readability and response to your brand messages, font choice jumps up in the list of importance.

Furthermore, the font you use in your brand messages and so on can affect consumers’ motivation to respond the way you want them to.  The last thing you want is for the font you choose to deter people from the actions you suggest in your ads and marketing materials.  In other words, don’t let a font stand in the way of your brand and your business.

What do you think?  Is your brand easy or hard?  Does your font match?

 

eBay Launches New Green Brand Message

 

eBay_Green_Team

 

“The greenest product is the one that already exists. Choose to reuse with the eBay Green Team.” That’s the new slogan for eBay’s new environmentally friendly brand message, and the debate is going strong — is eBay greenwashing or is the new eBay green message appropriate?

According to Greenpeace (via the New York Times), reusing items can benefit the environment, so the new brand message is valid.  Items listed for sale on the new Green eBay site are either pre-owned or sustainable as determined by eBay’s green team who qualifies all listed items.

Greening eBay is just one step the company is taking to try to recoup the profits they’ve been losing in recent years.  Other niche eBay sites have launched with more coming in the pipeline.

I think the question now is whether or not the new Green eBay will attract new customers to shop with eBay or if it will just shift existing eBay users to the new niche site.  In other words, will a green brand message drive significant amounts of business to eBay?

Green marketing has lost a bit of its fanaticism over the course of the last two years as economic problems took precedence in consumers’ minds over environmental problems, so it could be argued that a Green eBay message is a bit late.  On the other hand, there is that old saying, “better late than never.”

I should mention that the eBay Green Team blog ties in very nicely to the new Green eBay site, complete with green news and information about how eBay and its employees are pitching in to help the environment.  Adding that human element and trying to demonstrate that eBay ‘walks the walk’ is an important part of the believability of the new eBay green brand message.

Perhaps in time, consumers really will make a conscious effort to purchase a used item to help the environment rather than doing so simply to save money.  Now that would be a huge accomplishment for eBay which would transcend simply boosting the bottom-line (although I have to assume that stockholders would disagree, unfortunately).

What do you think of the new green eBay brand message?

Kululua Airlines Creative Rebranding Generates Global Online Buzz

South African airline Kululua Airlines recently turned to its internal creative team for a rebranding initiative that has drawn global attention and spread across the social Web thanks to bloggers and Twitter users.  Not only did Kululua Airlines’ creative team decide to change the color of the company’s planes to fluorescent green, but they also decided to turn the planes into flying blueprints.

Under the rebranding, the new planes carry the name Flying 101 on their sides along with labels depicting where the various parts of the plane are and what they’re called. Check out the pictures below.  I’d like the seat by the black box please.

Kulula_airlines_flying_101_1
Kulula_Airlines_Flying_101_2
Kulula_Airlines_Flying_101_3
Kulula_Airlines_Flying_101_4

The online buzz for the new Flying 101 planes started before the actual planes began flying, and now people are spotting them in the sky and talking about the fueling both online and offline buzz.  The rebranding is fun but it also doesn’t take itself too seriously (e.g., the labels on the plane include the “mile high club initiation chamber”), making it perfect fodder for a viral conversation.

There is no doubt that the redesigned planes are attention-getting and memorable.  What remains to be seen is if the onboard experience matches the expectations for the brand that the new planes create.  In other words, the planes are different, will the Kululua Airlines experience be different, too, or will it be the same as any other airline?  Afterall, one of the labels on the plane does show where “Kululua Fans” can be found within the planes.  It’s up to Kululua Airlines to make sure they can keep those fans and add new ones.

So what do you think?  Is the new Kululua Airlines rebranding initiative a good long term strategy or a short term tactic that will fizzle out sooner rather than later?  Take the poll below and share your opinion. If you can’t see the poll, follow this link to take it.

 

1 in 3 Fortune 500 Companies Have Branded Twitter Profiles

twitter_what_are_you_doingThey might not know how to use it, but big companies are creating Twitter profiles anyway.

According to new research (via BrandWeek), 35% of Fortune 500 companies had active Twitter accounts in 2009 with at least one post in the last 30 days), and 47% of Fortune 100 companies had active Twitter accounts.

Let’s take a closer look at the 2009 statistics:

  • 35% of Fortune 500 companies had active Twitter accounts
  • 22% of Fortune 500 companies had corporate blogs for the public
  • 19% of Fortune 500 companies used podcasting (up from 16% the prior year).
  • 31% of Fortune 500 companies used video blogging (up from 21% the prior year).

Now that you’ve seen the statistics, are you satisfied?  If you’re like me, then you’re probably not.  The reason is simple.  Very few big companies understand how to use social media to effectively market their businesses.  They’ve joined Twitter as a reactionary strategy under the assumption that everyone else is doing it, so I better do it, too.  However, they don’t have realistic goals in mind for their social media efforts.  Instead, many big companies can’t give up control of the online conversation and let consumers run the show.

Let’s face it.  Social media marketing isn’t as simple as applying traditional marketing strategies to new media.  If that’s the direction you take with your social media marketing efforts, you’re destined for failure.  It’s a new mindset, and I’m not sure if big companies can get out of their own way enough to reap the potential rewards that the global online conversation can deliver.

That’s not to say there aren’t some large companies that are experimenting, thinking out of the box, and having success in their social Web efforts.  The problem is that it’s hard for the marketing teams at publicly owned companies to justify spending on social media marketing when hard metrics are beyond their grasp.  But that’s not going to change anytime soon.  Social media marketing is, after all, inherently about brand building, which is another intangible yet essential thing that marketers have to fight for budget dollars over.

Will 2010 be the year that big companies jump on board the Twitter and social media bandwagon in even bigger numbers than ever?  Most likely.  Does that mean they’re doing it right?  Most likely not.  But at least they’re trying, which is better than continuing to say social media marketing is a fad or unimportant.  Right?

Image: Flickr

Top 10 Branded Sounds

An important part of marketing and branding is appealing to consumers’ senses, and sound is just as important as smell, touch, taste and sight.  I was particularly interested in an article I read on the Fast Company Web site today that revealed the most well-known sounds, including the top 10 branded sounds.  Believe it or not, the Intel sound that’s become so recognized that it’s now part of the company’s advertising campaign (check out the ad below), is second in terms of popularity only behind the sound of a baby crying.

The list is based on a small study done by Buyology Inc. and Elias Arts with 50 people and used neuroscience research methods to evaluate participants’ reactions to a wide variety of sounds.

According to the Fast Company article, the top 10 non-branded and branded sounds are:

1. Baby giggle
2. Intel
3. Vibrating phone
4. ATM / cash register
5. National Geographic
6. MTV
7. T-Mobile Ringtone
8. McDonald’s
9. ‘Star Spangled Banner’
10. State Farm

And the top 10 branded sounds are:

1. Intel
2. National Geographic
3. MTV
4. T-Mobile
5. McDonald’s
7. State Farm
8. AT&T Ringtone
9. Home Depot
10 Palm Treo Ringtone

You can listen to all of the sounds by following this link to the Fast Company Web site.

Have you considered the importance of sound in building your brand?  Sounds like now is the time to do so.