We often move so quickly from one project to the next that we don’t get the opportunity to review the results of our branding efforts. That’s why a note this week from our client at Carl Zeiss Vision was so welcome.
We had helped develop a solid brand campaign for their newest progressive lens. In her post-launch synopsis, Bernadette Hiskey said the Zeiss Individual campaign was a huge success, and shared these highlights:
It was a strong year for customized lenses, despite the poor economy. We ended the year approx 15% above an aggressive plan.
In December we were awarded the OLA “Best in Lens Design” 2009 Award of Excellence voted on by the independent laboratories across the US. The marketing campaign played no small part in the win.
We just finished clinical trials with UC Berkeley are pleased to say we have strong results demonstrating patient preference, so are moving on to peer clinical publications now.
Our first ZEISS TV spots for Zeiss Individual are now on air in 4 regional markets.
It’s great, of course, for a client to take the time to keep us informed and share this great news. It’s also a reminder for all of us that while our work may wrap up with the launch of a brand campaign, for our clients much of the heavy lifting is just beginning. We need to keep in mind that our designs and our messaging are meant to connect powerfully with an audience and achieve very real marketing and sales objectives.
As Bernadette shared her praise and appreciation not only for us but also for the lab operations teams and sales people — “You’ve all scored a knockout!” — we were reminded that our efforts truly are part of a team effort whose success depends on the collaboration of many many people.
Following up with our clients and measuring campaign results give us the opportunity to really recognize the value of our branding efforts.
Part of our strategy was to convey that the true heroes are not the frames -- but the Zeiss lenses. Our solution was to photograph our talent both with and without the frames, and then accurately create the lens shape for each individual face. Architectural measurement lines were added to the graphics to emphasize the Zeiss brand attributes of precision, accuracy and performance.
Gold medalist Clara Hughes, right, and fellow Canadian Cindy Klassen, who won the bronze, after the Ladies' 5,000-meter speed-skating event in Turin, Italy, in 2006.
We typically see the branding of products and services – or at least that’s what we’re most familiar with. Of course, there’s the branding of events – such as the Olympic Games, as well as the branding of place – such as cities and countries.
Today’s Wall Street Journal had an interesting article regarding the Canadian athletes going to the 2010 Winter Games. Essentially stating that the Canadians are changing their host-like attitude to one of Olympic domination. “Own The Podium,” is their new attitude – or the one that they’ve recently created an entire campaign around.
The Own The Podium campaign’s focus is to draw in funds to hire top-notch coaches and psychologists to assist the athletes in full-time training. As well, the monies are going toward helping the athletes not have to work part-time jobs while training for their upcoming Winter Olympic Games.
Dana Point Police Services appointed Real Life Brand Architecture to collaborate on the development of it’s new campaign: Hide it. Lock it. Or Lose it.Lt. Mark Levy said that they needed a message that would be friendly to the citizens of Dana Point, and was delighted by the fresh ideas that surfaced during this journey.
Real Life designed a symbol that was easily identifiable from a distance – and has the ability to quickly remind people to simply, “hide their stuff and lock their cars.” Students from Dana Hills High School were enlisted to set up scenarios that would truly convey a visual message which are now running in print ads around town.
CHALLENGE: Thefts from unlocked cars represent the most frequently committed crimes in Dana Point, yet are easy to prevent. Dana Point Police wanted an awareness campaign around the message: “Hide it. Lock it. Or lose it.”
STRATEGY: Development of a comprehensive website that carried the message, along with related advertising efforts to raise awareness.
CREATIVE: Brand identity included an iconic symbol that is easily recognized to serve as a reminder to protect valuables from theft.
RESULTS: While currently being launched, Dana Point Police are optimistic that these crimes can be dramatically reduced.
This past week Real Life Brand Architecture launched the sister campaign to Dana Point’s Hide it. Lock it. Or Lose it. campaign. Uniquely named SHWAZOOKI.
As we were developing the Hide it campaign we knew that we needed to speak a different language to get the attention of the younger audience of Dana Point. To the point, the high school students at Dana Hills High School have had their own challenges of petty thefts. Many of which are unattended backpacks, which have things such as cell phones, iPods, credit cards and cash.
We discovered the word Shwazooki frrom the urban dictionary, meaning “to hide or stash your stuff.” Please, take a look at the new site: Shwazooki.com. As part of the campaign launch we’ve printed up stickers for the students to put on notebooks and lockers, as well as surfboard hang-tags to place on their backpacks as a friendly reminder to “Hide it. Lock it. Or Lose it.”
CHALLENGE: As a complementary campaign to “Hide it. Lock it. Or lose it.,” a specific awareness effort was required to target younger audiences in Dana Point with a similar message.
STRATEGY: Enlist high school students to participate in the development of the campaign, which features imagery and messaging relevant to this audience.
CREATIVE: Development and promotion of “Shwazooki” as a slang term meaning “to hide or protect” your belongings.
RESULTS: Campaign is currently being launched, but “Shwazooki” is already gaining attention and use among teenagers.
Well a congratulations is in order for the City of Rio. Now the real work begins.
Since returning from London, and reading continued news on the upcoming London Games – as well as close-minded blogs on their dislike of the 2012 logo. I’ve been very interested to see what will be the next evolution of the 2016 Olympic logo will look like.
Real Life Branding has pulled together some of the more recent Olympic logos – showing you what they originally looked like when the featured city was vying to be selected as the host city. Adjacent to each is the final brandmark used for each city’s Olympic Games.
Since all but the most recent 2012 logo was designed as part of a general design competition – there were really no rules or design objectives that were put in place – other than represent the country in some manner. When I say rules, I’m speaking of branding guidelines. Something that would have a more concrete purpose to fulfill rather than to just look pretty.
Since I have an architectural background – I would liken this to having a client give me a piece of property and tell me to “design something.” What does that mean? Whereas if that client had given me a 40-acre parcel in Napa Valley and told me that they loved to entertain, typically 8 to 18 guests – that would tend to set up some boundaries. Imagine this same property and the client said that he and his wife liked the quiet views of the valley and reading books. Would those not be two very different homes?
It’s been quite humorous to have read blog postings of various designers who criticized the 2012 logo – knowing that they’ve never read the brand brief. As well as having never traveled to London to understand what the culture of the city is like. For this aspect, I’m truly looking forward to the London Games – giving London the opportunity to show off their new brandmark in its best light.
So my biggest curiosity for the moment is to see how the city of Rio will treat this new task at hand? Will they return to the mediocrity of the past Olympic brandmarks? Or will they forge ahead, continuing the new vocabulary that people like Frank Gehry have given to architecture, and Wolff Olins has given to branding of the 2012 Games?
We’re always please to hear good news about our clients. Most recently Cabot Vineyards earned a 90-point score from Robert Parker on their Kimberly’s Syrah.
Here’s the full article:
ORLEANS — Cabot Vineyards has caught the attention of Robert Parker, world-renowned wine critic and editor of The Wine Advocate. Parker awarded a score of 90, for an “outstanding or special effort,” to Cabot’s 2006 Kimberly’s Syrah.
Winemaker John Cabot said he was surprised and pleased by the favorable review.
“Our wines are the first wines grown and produced in Humboldt County to be reviewed by Parker,” Cabot said. “The county’s potential to produce great wines is finally getting discovered on a larger scale.”
TIME Magazine calls Parker the most influential voice in the wine industry worldwide. Parker samples 10,000 wines a year for The Wine Advocate, an international magazine in circulation for more than 30 years. In his tasting notes, Parker wrote: “ The Kimberly’s Syrah exhibits plenty of earth, cassis, roasted herb, and crushed berry characteristics in an elegant, layered, medium to full-bodied, attractive, soft style.”
According to Parker’s scoring system for The Wine Advocate, “90-100 is equivalent to an ‘A’ grade and is given only for an outstanding or special effort. Wines in this category are the very best produced of their type.” Located in Orleans along the Klamath River valley, Cabot Vineyards is the northernmost vineyard and winery in California. It is owned by John and Kimberly Cabot, Humboldt State graduates who started as organic farmers selling their produce at farmers’ markets. They started making wine in 2001 and won their first gold medal by 2002.
“The 2006 Kimberly’s Syrah is made from organic Syrah grapes grown in Orleans that we planted in 2003,” Cabot said. “ The vineyard is very rocky and the grapes are small and concentrated. We also coferment organic Viognier with the Syrah, which aids in stabilizing the abundant color in Syrah. It’s amazing that a white grape can help make Syrah more colorful. The Viognier also boosts the aromatics in the wine with its tropical and floral nose.”
The 2006 Kimberly’s Syrah and other award-winning varietals are available in area markets, wine sho ps, restaurants and online at http:// www.cabotvineyards. com. Seven new wines are set for release next spring.
Cabot Vineyards can be reached at 530-469-3397.
This is the first time a Humboldt County wine has been reviewed by Robert Parker.
I’m down to my last few hours in London, and wanted to unload some additional information that was very enlightening for myself - and I hope for the students of Chapman University.
When I initially watched the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games, and London’s presentation of their Olympic logo was revealed to the people of the world, I held my judgement - yet was a little underwhelmed when I saw the double decker bus performance.
Now that I’ve spent three weeks riding the crowded buses and Underground trains, walking thru the markets and seeing the diversity in the city’s people, food and architecture - that London performance makes perfect sense. In fact, in watching it again, I liked it even better.
I had a conversation with Allard Marx, principal brand strategist for INCIDE. We both agreed that in developing brand marks for clients - some solutions feel immediately comfortable, while others sometimes take a bit of ’sleeping on it’ to sink in and grow on you. The latter of these situations is quite often the outcome of a creative solution that is pushing boundaries. Taking people to places that might even be uncomfortable, particularly when it’s their own company’s brand mark. They tell us to take them to the “next level,” yet when it comes down to it they are quite often afraid to push those boundaries and truly take a stand to stand out.
When Wolff Olins was charged with creating a brand mark that would “shift” how we had previously been presenting the Olympic Games, they were already challenged by the issues that face a brand agency that’s to present a mark to the world. What cultures would see this logo? What languages? What religions?
No pressure, right?
Once the brand mark had been concepted, and potentially approved by the client - Wolff Olins had to present this logo to selected groups of people from various religious backgrounds, languages, age groups, etc., so that they could show them this brand mark from the front view, backwards and upside down. They would ask these groups if these shapes, or rings, or colors offended them in any way, or if they saw images in these shapes that were against their religious beliefs.
In the brand world we’re always asking clients about audience. But in THIS brand world, this one of international exposure, the Olympic logo being the most recognized brand mark, as well as the most protected brand mark in all the world. This puts a very different set of questions and rules on an agency to uncover as they develop their design solutions.
As I walked through this diverse city, and observed the people, clothing styles, languages, and those things that give London its unique flavor as a city - I grew to really embrace what this new brand mark embodies. It’s jagged edges, its wild color scheme and the ability to contain “infills” that truly represent London, sport and the Olympic Games.
I spent my last day, yesterday walking through my favorite neighborhoods. Eating at my favorite cafe and having that last pint of English ale. As I looked back on that first night in town, trying to get on to the new time zone, sirens and the noise of the city keeping me awake - and now, having made new friends and zipping around town like a local, I realized how quickly London became an easy place to fit in to. The intensity of an urban city that has its pockets of gardens to escape noises and people. Even the short train rides to the country for a real breath of fresh air. Yet this city is in an intense undertaking to build a grand park for the world to come and see - and judge - and I hope, embrace what London and it’s design community have put together.
Monday was our office visit to Buro Happold, the engineering firm who worked side-by-side with EDAW on the master plan, and legacy plan of the Olympic site. Our purpose for this visit was to expose the students to the finer aspects of professional collaborations and to gain a stronger sense of thinking, planning and designing for sustainability.
The presentation by the Buro Happold team was fantastic - along with the Q&A session that followed.
We wrapped our day with a spin around the London Eye - appropriately timed for sunset.
Yes, I went mountain biking again. But if you know me, this no surprise. This time however, when catching the train out of Victoria station, we stepped onto the wrong train. So unfortunately we ended up in some town South of London - where we realized that we’d have to catch a train back North to Clapham Junction and catch a train heading to Dorking. Our mistake put us about an hour behind schedule.
When I arrived in Dorking, I caught a black cab to Westcott - dropping me at Nirvana Cycles.
Jackie and Simon had set me up with a very nice Turner 5-spot.
Today I was riding with Chris Moore once again, and a friend of his Russ (also an architect). Today however, we were an hour behind so the pace would be a bit quicker in order to hit all the good trails.
Tucking in out of the rain...
It began to rain as we climbed our first hill, but the canopy of the trees kept us fairly dry. Within 30-minutes or so the rain had stopped and the balance of the day was perfect weather conditions.
Trail markers....well, maybe.
A nice little drop for Chris, followed by some airtime...
This was one of my favorite sections - as I'd only seen terrain like this in videos. Tight tree groupings. Winding, roller coaster single track + jumps that went between the trees. The end of this trail finishes off with a section of what we like to call "bike surfing" - controlled skidding...at it's best. Absolutely a blast!
My Turner 5-Spot - in Peaslake for a quick bite to eat.
Wending our way back to Westcott along some of the prettiest bit of track.
Our final decent into Westcott. if you look real close (left of photo) you can see that "single track" here means about 6" wide. Nice.
A shout out to my boys at Revo Cycle…you gotta get here.
Chapman Graphic Design Students at Wolff Olins London
This past week the graphic design students were given a design problem to solve; create an “infill campaign” using the 2012 London Olympics logo. They were to create a theme with this project and show how it might be used in various media throughout London. During the months of July and August, 2012, London will primarily be displaying adverts and graphics relating to the London Games. The students’ work is to represent those two months when London’s would be filled with visitors interested in exploring the Olympic site or seeing the athletic events.
Theme: artist drawn infill focusing on places of interest for visitors of London to explore during their visit.
Theme: the boroughs of London. This team focused on visitor and even locals going out to visit some of the 32 boroughs that make up the greater London area. Each borough has a unique feature that would be highlighted within the infill, and copy would support the the campaign.
Theme: I am 2012. This campaign was to encourage both young and old to embrace sport in their lives. B/W portraiture was used to illustrate everyday people in London + the sport they participated in.
Theme: This campaign utilized the abstract grid pattern that made up the 2012 logo - and created shapes of sport figures and confetti to celebrate the Games.
Theme: GO BOLD! ((Gaterade as client)). This team created a campaign for a corporate sponsor, using varied quotes that would be specific to the media it was placed on. It was to encourage you to break out of your everyday and be bold.
Theme: Banksy graffiti art and the edgy aspects of London. Using the stencil art of Bansy, this campaign speaks to a younger audience to encourage them to get outdoors and do sport.
Theme: alternative ways to watch the games. This group went out and asked local people to pose for their shots used in this campaign. The images were of people watching the games on their iPhones - which is part of the IOCs plans for the 2012 Games.
When the presentations were complete the students were critiqued by Wolff Olins - and once again the accolades were very high marks. Neil Cummings, art director, had told the students that he had never seen such polished presentations from a group of students - and Amy Horsburgh had commented equally on their verbal presentations. The suggestions from both were to have the presentations give more information about the inspirations that created these campaigns - and to be careful that the infill not be so complicated.
I was very pleased with both the students design solutions and the feedback from Wolff Olins. Next week we visit Buro Happold.
