Ant Hill Marketing

Planar Systems took an important step this week and sat down with Portland Business Journal technology reporter Erik Siemers to talk about their strategy for growth. Planar outlined steps the company took to safeguard the viability of the business though the economic downturn and how Planar is intelligently positioning itself to be in front of an explosive technology trend that is the growing demand for digital signage.  

I applaud companies who take an honest, forthright approach to communicating their story and even going so far as to share lessons learned particularly through something as difficult as the global economic reset that has occurred over the last several years. In this day and age of audience centric communications if you can’t come across as a real person who is being transparent and sensitive to the needs of your customers, partners and community – you will run into trouble.
 
What I would challenge companies to think about moving forward is how we communicate to our stakeholders, customers, partners, investors and neighbors when the going gets tough and we’d rather not say anything.  There is an opportunity there and you shouldn’t miss it.

When things are bad economically or if your company is going through a crisis – this is exactly the time you should step up and speak authentically about what you are doing to address the problem. Speak about what you’ve learned through the process as new information comes to light, and frankly, take a humble approach to whatever challenge your company has faced. The ability to demonstrate courage and transparency even in the face of adversity to me is what thought leadership is really all about. Don’t do it alone, prepare, find a smart PR person that will tell you the truth, not just feed you your own company Kool-Aid®, and then go within yourself and find that voice deep inside that believes in the mission of your company, your employees and the product or services you provide your customers.  And, to coin an oft used phrase, just do it.

Planar's new Clarity Matrix Touch LCD Video Wall

The annual InnoTech conference was held yesterday at the Oregon Convention Center and it appeared to be a very successful year. The overall attendance looked strong, the speaking session line-up was interesting, and the energy was positive. A few members of the Ant Hill team went to take in the speaking sessions, including some from the eMarketing Summit, and we all walked out with a list of things to do, so we must have learned something.

As I took in the experience, I tried to note a few things that jumped out at me about the conference.  Here is my top 10 list:

1. Best Speaker: Eric Dishman, Intel Architecture Group. Eric is clearly a smart guy and he has a knack for taking his vast knowledge about health innovation, synthesizing it down to a few key points, and expressing it in a way the audience can understand. I could listen to the guy all day.
2. B2B Anyone? It struck me that InnoTech is a business-to-business conference, but that most of the eMarketing Summit speakers talked only about consumer mobile and social marketing strategies. B2B companies have a lot to learn from consumer examples, for sure, but it would be nice to hear more of a B2B perspective at a B2B conference.
3. Separate Lives. Thanks to Kelly Feller, Intel’s social media guru, I now feel comfortable with my decision to keep my business and personal life separate when it comes to Facebook.  If it’s good enough for her…
4. Virtual Insanity. I felt sorry for all the exhibitors located next to the ASG Game Truck. I would have had one of those virtual guns pointed at my virtual head if I had to listen to that racket all day. I suspect most of the post-show beer was drunk in that part of the hall.
5. PowerPoint Skills. PowerPoint was introduced in the 1980s, so you’d think users would have it mastered.  Nope. Type-heavy slides, small fonts, and bad artwork are still the norm.
6. Portland Foodies Unite! Cooking Light magazine has a huge spread about the Portland food scene this month, yet our convention center serves up a paltry set of options to our visitors. What do you say work a deal with the food cart vendors to give attendees some quick, easy and tasty options right outside the front doors. Fuego burrito anyone?
7. Buzzword Bingo. Most speakers were pretty good at explaining their ideas in a way the audience could understand and without a heavy dose of selling, but a few just couldn’t help themselves.
8. Good Vibe. It has been a couple years since I’ve been to InnoTech, but the attendance and energy was good. There is clearly some optimism about the future.
9. Parking Deal. Did you know it only costs $9 to park all day in the convention center lot? I didn’t.  I paid $12 to plug my meter. Lesson learned.
10. I’ll Be Back. Sign me up for next year.

Ant Hill is thrilled for our pro-bono client, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center who recently received a $12 million federal grant to fund construction of a new Cornelius Wellness Center. The center will replace the aging Cornelius clinic and will allow Virginia Garcia to provide greater healthcare access to uninsured community members is Washington and Yamhill counties.

We started working with Virginia Garcia about 3 years ago to articulate their brand in order to further their mission in the community. If you aren’t quite familiar with the organization, Virginia Garcia provides high-quality, integrated healthcare for thousands of Oregonians who don’t otherwise have access to care. And in this economy non- profit healthcare centers like Virginia Garcia are feeling the strains of an increased number of patients coupled with a reduction in federal and state funding.

This is a huge success for the organization and we send a big congrats to the Virginia Garcia and the VG Foundation team who have worked so hard to make this new facility a reality for thousands of low income families in Oregon.

So, the Portland Timbers have apparently designed a new logo to be unveiled this Saturday as a step to help them move toward Major League Soccer. I’m interested to see what they’ve come up with. An article in today’s Oregonian about the logo mentions, “What if they unveil the new logo…and nobody cheers?” Well, if that happens, perhaps it’s because a logo doesn’t make the brand.

Below is a visual timeline that showcases the the various logos used by the Timbers, as it appeared in The Oregonian article.

What’s interesting, from a brand perspective is all the hoopla around the unveiling of a logo. If the identity used during the 2001-2004 timeframe didn’t “catch on with fans” perhaps it was less about the design and more to do with the Timbers‘ brand itself. Are the Timbers positioned well? What’s their distinction in the Portland sports market that sets them a part from other sporting options? It helps they are the only soccer team, but other than that, what’s the promise? And what does the brand stand for? I’m not sure I know and I’m a soccer fan. I do know that the Timbers along with owner and business phenom Merritt Paulson are hanging their hats on this as their step to the majors. And the development process took more than a year including research. All well and good, but that’s a lot riding on a mark. And, the questions I have for Paulson and the team? Tell me what the Timbers stand for. Tell me the experience I’ll have attending matches. Tell me what you are promising and how you’ll deliver. Then with the answers hold the new logo up in the mirror and tell me what you see.

[Added 6/12 post logo unveiling]

So the new Portland Timbers’ logo has been unveiled. See it for yourself here. Was there cheering? Don’t know. But the outcome is…just okay. Slightly uninspiring. At least the Oregon Ducks will surely enjoy the color combo.

Seattle's Best - new logo

Whatever happened to the distinct, strong brands? Will someone please tell me? It’s feeling more and more like a game of how low can you go to appeal to the masses. Granted Seattle’s Best is owned by Starbucks and the brand will be coming to a Burger King, Subway and movie theaters near you but did that mean to translate the brand’s identity in this way - oversimplified to the point of barely being recognizable? You dipped my Target into your blood bank.

So, I admit, the original Seattle’s Best logo was dated, as was the brand overall. But, at least the old logo had some history and recognition. It wasn’t in a circle. It didn’t have a tear drop. And, since when is coffee red?

What’s the consumer supposed to take away from this new and improved logo? Simple. Generic. Regular. Bland. Red coffee? And how does this reflect on the Seattle’s Best brand in general? With the shift to a broader scope of consumers and to potentially compete with the likes of Dunkin’ Donuts, positioning Seattle’s Best as the brand to go that mile versus Starbucks makes complete sense, but the way the Seattle’s Best brand is perceived is what will make or break this business decision. You might not like the coffee, but at least Dunkin’ Donuts has a huge, loyal following. Does anyone drink Seattle’s Best? Would you now?

If mediocrity was the goal then ding ding ding, we may have a winner. But brands that settle for mediocre tend to get that mediocrity reflected upon their products and consumers wind up walking on by. Hey you, Ms. Consumer. We know you want that cup right about now. How about a tall, steaming hot cup of average. Doesn’t that hit the spot? Mediocre doesn’t even get you to second best. It’s not even challenger status. It’s barely…there.

Starbucks has their own brand to maintain so I’ll cut some slack that adding a new brand to the mix makes their job slightly more work, but if they plan to be successful they need to look at a different brand architecture that allows the growth of the brands independently. Give Seattle’s Best the distinction that at least position’s it against the competition. Heck, make Dunkin’ Donuts run for their money.

It’s just a sad day when commonplace rules the roost. When you don’t stand for something, it makes it very difficult to compete on anything other than price. And competing on price turns the brand into a commodity. No business wants to be there. So, will all the distinct, strong brands out there please stand up? I’d like to buy you a cup of joe.