Let's take a look at a bad
attempt at banding, with the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of
Commerce's attempt at a new slogan and logo, as reported by the
Burlington Free Press.
The slogan:
"West Coast of New England"
The
Free Press may have been taking an editorial shot at the chamber – the
announcement itself is not exactly front-page material, but the
absurdity of the story is:
"After nearly two years of consideration, a yearlong branding study and $35,000 of consulting fees, the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce unveiled a slogan"
That price tag is enough to open the eyes of most readers.
But it gets better.
"If the slogan sounds familiar, that's because it is[T]he same slogan was used by the chamber 15 years ago"
So
if the chamber was trying to create a new brand for the city of
Burlington by spending $35,000 and 2 years on a branding effort – they
could have at least come up with something other than a slogan that's a
decade and a half old. More importantly, it's simply not a good slogan. It
fails to make an emotional connection with the reader, most people have
to think a little too hard to make sense of it, and it doesn't exactly
roll off the tongue.
To add to the absurdity of
the situation, this front-page project was a result of the chamber
hiring an out of state consulting firm from Lexington, Mass. Two
years, and thirty five thousand dollars later, our fancy out-of-state
advertising expert comes up with "The West Coast of New England." What
an embarrassment! And we wonder why there's so much waste in
advertising.
There are a few points to take from this blunder:
- A capable Vermont-based firm could have accomplished more for 1/10 the money.
- This
project should have produced better results, taken about 1 month to
complete and cost no more than $1,000 to $3,000. Two years is way too long for this type of project.
- The
massive "black hole" that renders millions of dollars spent in this
market wasted every year exists because of the money chasing mentality
of these so-called branding consultants and their seemingly
overwhelming lack of respect for the mechanics of effective marketing.
Branding is not a coordinated identity or image. It's not about colors, fonts and symbols. It is about creating an association with a name, place or business. A good branding campaign will capture the essence of what you're promoting and anchor it to an emotion. Branding can make you feel differently about something, or strengthen what you already feel. Branding is, in essence, what is being promoted in a nutshell. Effectively, it is your reputation.
The
chamber's efforts should have been focused on anchoring the city of
Burlington with the image of a place too tempting to pass up while
considering your next destination. The "West Coast" does not accomplish this. What associations or emotional responses do Norman Rockwell paintings conjure in your mind? That's branding. The
experts should have pinpointed the associations they wanted attached to
Burlington and then worked the slogan in an effort to convey these
associations to the projected demographic.
In
certain cases, like the chamber's, a great slogan and logo are
perfectly appropriate – except for thirty five grand, and for an out of
state money chaser, erI mean consulting firm that may be expert in
their ability to make big money, but not in understanding the branding
process, and certainly not in understanding the state of Vermont.
Keep climbing,
Jake
