A good designer knows an effective logo conveys the essence of a brand to its audience, without the clutter of too many components attempting to encompass the entire company.

The earlier iterations, especially, of a logo design are often the most literal and complex—take for example Apple’s logo, as shown below—while as the logo evolves it usually transforms to symbolize the philosophy of a company as a whole. In an interview from the blog Creative Bits with Rob Janoff, designer of the Apple logo, he states regarding the logo, “I feel great that it’s still the same basic silhouette even though it went through lots and lots of changes. The apple shape changed slightly from my original design in the early 80’s. The design firm Landor & Associates made the changes. They brightened the colors, they made the shapes much more symmetrical, much more geometric. When I designed it I pretty much did it freehand. I often think to myself why didn’t I do that. It’s because it wasn’t where I was coming from at the time. I think they did a great job and it will be fascinating to see the next iteration and how it works out.”

The most powerful brands often have the simplest logos; those that have changed over time from being overly complicated to a more straightforward design. See, for example, the evolution of Ford’s logo below. Remaining uncomplicated allows the brand’s image to be more likely remembered as well as easier for its audience to associate the logo with that company.

Take a look at Gap’s logo design, as shown below; as the President of Gap, North America Marka Hensen stated in the Huffington Post, “The natural step for us on this journey is to see how our logo—one that we’ve had for more than 20 years—should evolve. Our brand and our clothes are changing and rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that.” The new logo was not eagerly accepted, therefore the Gap decided to revert back to its most recent, time-tested version of their logo.

A recent case study done on the Pepsi brand’s newest logo demonstrates that trying to complicate a design results in a confusing representation of the brand’s identity. For a reported fee of several millions of dollars, the Arnell Group created a painstakingly detailed 27-page document that attempts to connect the simple design of the Pepsi logo to a multitude of epic universal theories—some even biblical—including the Parthenon, the solar system and the Gutenberg Bible.

You can attribute all of the universal explanations to a company’s logo that you want, but the message is clear: make a brand’s logo simple and it will be successful.

Ask Burst Marketing about our vast logo design experience; we can design you a clean logo that portrays your company’s core values—and for a whole lot cheaper than a few million dollars. Guaranteed.

As reported in The Business Review, total advertising spending predicted for next year falls below the pre-recession level back in 2007. But this is a bit misleading: Those poor spending levels are a reflection on traditional advertising media—such as radio and television stations and newspapers—which are not likely to see growth in 2012 beyond two to three percent. But it’s not the same for online marketing.

Businesses are shifting their advertising dollars from traditional to online. As the same article suggests, online and mobile are the bright spots. The meager growth forecasted for traditional media will likely be due to the upcoming national and local elections as well as the Olympic games.

This may leave some businesses in the Capital Region confused about how to spend their marketing dollars: How do they know where to go and how much to spend? How do they know if it’s working?

The tactics that are proving to work for businesses can be found online—encompassing website and search engine optimization, mobile, email, social media, etc. Online tactics are measurable and can be changed “on the fly” in a way that traditional media can’t. Web marketing can be tested and optimized to create higher returns on investment.

Does this mean traditional media has no use? Certainly not; there is still a place for traditional media. Increasingly it’s being used to send traffic online. Remember, over 70% of purchases are researched online first. So advertisers use TV, radio, print, billboards etc. to send visitors to the website and Facebook pages. In short, a company needs a marketing plan with specific, measurable goals with a marketing plan that integrates online, traditional and other tactics. And always paired with a way of tracking and measuring these results.

Here at Burst Marketing we put clients in control of their goals. We’ll find the most cost-efficient ways to reach their audiences. And always track and measure the results.

Somewhere inside this whole mess with Charlie (”winner”) Sheen, producer Chuck (”my way or the highway”) Lorre, Warner Bros and CBS which stand to make/lose tens of millions lies some big business and marketing lesson.  I’m just not sure which one is the most interesting.

Biggest Two and a half Men Marketing Issues:  Vote for your choice

There’s the PR / damage control.  The threat of losing a major cash cow.  The impact of a tarnished key product that makes selling other products much easier.  The customer’s reaction to a drastic change in a popular product.  The disgruntled ex-key employee badmouthing you to anyone who’ll listen.

Wow…What a bonanza!

Do you mess with what works even if you hate it?

Two and a half Men was projected to earn CBS and Warner Bros. $250 Million in 2012.  Even with bad boy Charlie doing his thing, the money rolled in.  So, is it even a good idea to dump Sheen and bring in Kutcher – thereby messing with a tied and true formula?  Or should they have just canceled and built around something else?

What’s the damage to the show’s (or the network’s) brand?

CBS has been able to leverage the Two and a half Men brand to boost the value of shows it places around it.  Now that their dirty laundry has aired so publicly, will it be so easy to cross-sell other products?

How long will the ex-key employee (Sheen) remain a problem?

This is a nightmare scenario for any business owner.  What happens if your top employee – salesperson, engineer, executive – leaves and says nasty things about you to anyone who’ll listen?

These themes here should be familiar to any business: The loss or devaluation of a top product on the company’s finances, sales and marketing strategy.  The fallout from a poorly handled employee separation.

Good theater is watching something we can relate to – happening to someone else.  In the case of this production, the most interesting storyline is taking place off screen.

According to Joy Liuzzo from Insight Express, based on three years’ worth of research data mobile advertising is twice as effective as online advertising when it comes to ad awareness, and a whopping six times more effective in the “holy grail” category of purchase intent.

In the retail sector specifically, mobile ads were 14 times more powerful than online in the area of aided awareness and 8 times more effective in purchase intent.

Does this mean that mobile advertising is better than online advertising?  No.

This reflects the increasing reliance of consumers and business on devices.  Smartphones and tablets are ubiquitous.  But they are not yet a replacement for the desktop where websites rule.

Rather, it means that mobile deserves a legitimate look as a part of your overall media mix.  And just as all things technology – that growth can come fast.

Food for thought.  Comments?

Did you know that Albany is the #1 test market in the United States.  Correct-a-mundo.

According to Acxiom’s  last published study in 2004, Albany, NY was the market that best represented the United States population as a whole.

In other words – we’re the most average market in America.

That holds some real advantages for you as a marketer – especially if you market to consumers.  Rolling out new mass-market products in Albany is an excellent place to start.  The test results could well translate to the national market, and “amped-up” ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment)

If that’s you – be thankful we’re so average.

Google announced recently that after six months of negotiations by the FTC, they’ve purchased mobile advertising giant AdMob. In the same way that Google’s purchase of YouTube made them the De Facto owner of the huge majority of web video ‘eyeshare’, Their purchase of AdMob makes them the biggest player in the mobile phone marketing world. Their closest follower is Apple, whose recent purchase of Quattro Wireless has enabled them to develop the iAd, their own proprietary advertising platform that will power all the ads for iPhone, iPod and iPad applications.

What’s this mean for Albany? The potential for advertising innovation is right in the hands of savvy, forward thinking marketers.

Division of Attention

At Burst, we’ve noticed a drastic shift in attention share over the last 10 years. Suddenly, people aren’t as easy to catch. They’re not just sitting in front of the TV watching reruns. Now they’re checking facebook on their iPad while they ride the bus to work. If they’re like me, they’re using productivity apps to check their tasks for the day, and see what meetings they have scheduled for the day. Or they’re texting friends in between games of paper toss on their iPod (sounds dumb, but trust me – it’s super fun).

This all translates to less attention spent on each message, and a greater need for marketers to surround the customer with their message.

Mobile Advertising gives us an in. It allows us to get our message to the customer no matter where they go. By selectively targeting the right applications, and carefully crafting messages, marketers can “catch up” to their newly mobile audience. That’s only going to get more powerful as iPhone and Android (Google’s Mobile Phone Brand) sales keep moving up.

According to a recent web article in Britain’s Financial times;

“Sales of Android phones, which include Google’s own Nexus One and Motorola’s Droid, accounted for just under 10 per cent of all smartphones sold globally in the first quarter of 2010, up from just 1.6 per cent last year, according to figures from Gartner, the technology research group.”

The same article also had this to say:

“Android phone sales have also overtaken Apple’s iPhone in the North American market, accounting for 26.6 per cent of units sold, compared with 22.1 per cent for the iPhone.”

You read that right. Almost 50% of new phone sales are iPhones or Android Phones. With all that eyeshare being spent on only 2 phone platforms, expect mobile marketing to land on your doorstep soon. And if you want my advice, I’d say it’s a good idea to be ready.

Tens of millions will tune in.  Most for the game.  Regardless – it’s what they call “appointment TV.”  The Olympics start soon too.  American Idol is in full swing.  Fire up the DVR.

Pulling interest and creating loyalty to a group of stars or a certain concept is what network programming is all about.  They seek the magic formula that will get you coming back for every episode.  What gets you to care.

That’s your job too. What gets your customers to care about you?

The Albany Business Review has an article on Price Chopper’s (Golub Corp.) Fuel Advantage program this week.  That’s the program that gives you a discount on gas for shopping with them.  They’ve meshed two things you deeply care about.

Food and Gas.  Basic.

The equation is even clearer for them because local competition is among just a few major brands.  Although they are tough competitors – shopper in this market basically choose from Price Chopper, Hannaford, and WalMart when it comes to supermarkets.

You win the tug of war, more come to you.  Of course, there’s a new match regularly.  Each seeking that little edge over the other.

It’s more difficult to find the caring when you offer a product or service in an exceptionally crowded field.  Or if you’ve basically become a commodity.

Now what?

In this scenario, finding the caring often comes down to who’s the more relevant to the customer.  What are they looking for besides your offering?  Is it comfort and trust.  Personal relationship.  How green you are?  Convenience?  Who your other customers are?

It’s somewhat different in each market category.  Each geography.  Your job is to find it.  Find what’s most relevant to your targets and ensure that your businesses authentically offers it.

For years, saying something is the “Cadillac” of [insert type product of service] said it was the best of the best.  A “Chevy” or a “Honda” (sorry Toyota) means affordable and/or reliable.

Find the caring.  Be real.  And find your customers.

Everything from dancing babies to the Obama girls made its way across millions of screens across the globe.  And the word viral went from an adjective to a noun.  As in, “it went viral.”

Now everyone tries to figure out that one elusive quality that make their message go viral.  But unless you can “force” viral on people with a big bucks campaign, then for most of us, chasing viral is like catching lightning in a bottle.

In 2010, go back to the original viral.  Infect people.  Viral will still work for you, but it will start with a few small sparks here and there – not the sweeping brushfire everyone wants.

If your message and methods are infectious…then look for patient zero.

Posted by: Steve Banis

One thing I really want to know is what makes people tick after 18+ months of this oppressive economy.

So I spent a couple of hours in Borders and picked up a few books to start with.  The one I started this morning already has my mind reeling.  And I’ve only read the introduction.

Here’s why I’m a little freaked:

Greed (money, offers of discounts or “free” things, etc.) may actually interfere with getting a target to do what you want them to do.

Again.  Paying Money or giving something for Free won’t work.

As I find out more I’ll keep you in the loop.  Stay tuned.

Posted by: Steve Banis

It seems that many were taking advantage of discounts not necessarily to buy fun gifts for those on their lists, but rather were buying more expensive necessities that they couldn’t afford without the discounts.  For example, sales of vacuums are up.  As are towels and sheets.

Sure there are plenty of LCD TVs moving, but entry-level sets can be had for 50% of what they were last year.  So the splurge is relative.

For current marketers, the implication seems to be that consumer (and most business) purchases will remain in the arena of “gotta have” vs “wanna have.”

Spending is slogging back – so long as interest rates and inflation don’t begin to spike.  Your marketing message ought to emphasize the pent-up demand for obtaining the items that keep things running.  Greater efficiency is nice too, but not at exorbitant cost.  Some reasonable upgrades will makes sense too.

We’ll see how things develop.  But start making plans to come out from your hiding places and keep it down to earth.

Posted by: Steve Banis