Product and corporate branding through images

STOP

The ubiquitous stop sign.

The real stop sign?

The octagon shaped stop sign is one of the most widely recognized signs in the world. But if you’ve never seen a stop sign before and don’t understand the language written on it, there is nothing about the sign that tells you to stop. Stopping is a very fundamental sign for all people, so why isn't the universal symbol for stopping something that we can relate to, such an opened hand in your way? The communication of ideas, messages and complex concepts has always been a challenge for people, especially when dealing with different languages and different ways of looking at the world. There are some universal symbols and images that convey a lot of information which  connect with people quicker and in a more meaningful way. Therefore in this blog I will briefly cover how we instinctively use signs and pictures to communicate information and how this could help companies better brand themselves.

Back to Basics

People are very visual and since the earliest recorded information (art) on cave walls, on bits of wood and bone, people have tried to convey as much information as possible using the limited media that was available. Some of the earliest writing in the world took the form of pictograms where a drawing of an object was used to represent an idea to convey meaning. One of the earliest forms of writing is from the Sumerian civilization (Early Bronze Age era circa. 3000 Before Common Era (BCE)) located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern day Iraq.

Early Sumerian writing

This form of what we would classify as writing, called Sumerian cuneiform, was made up of a series of symbols that represented items of everyday commerce, developed for book keeping and accounting. Symbols such as grain, cattle, goats, hides and slaves then later on the location of these important commodities were also included into this system, such as rivers, mountains, sea etc… This wasn’t the only vocabulary in the ancient Sumerian language but these were the most important signs for everyday commerce that needed to be recorded and tracked.

Sumerian writing used over 3000 years

For example, the symbol for god or heaven was a star, the symbol for man was the bust of a man, the symbol for food was a bowl and the symbol to eat was the symbol for man and a bowl together. The ancient Sumerian language is a great example of how simple drawings developed into abstract writing symbols. The simplicity of this system over the course of 3000 years eventually spread throughout the Middle East and became a common writing system for many cultures just as Latin did in Europe.

Branding a Message on Wall Art

Another example using images to convey information is in the spatial relationship and size differentiation between images. The ancient town of Çatal Hüyük (pronounced Chatal Houyouk) (Neolithic era circa. 6000 BCE) in modern day Turkey has some very interesting wall paintings that convey clear messages based on the size of images and the relationship between images.

Bull hunt at Çatal Hüyük 

The famous ‘bull hunt’ wall art scene, shows many men surrounding a bull and they are much smaller than the bull which is almost 40% of the entire image. The bull in ancient Middle Eastern cultures was a symbol of power, virility and strength. Therefore the enormous size of the bull represents the overwhelming strength and power the bull has over the much smaller figures. Of the many figures surrounding the bull, none are touching it except for one sole figure on top. Standing right on the back of the bull there is a figure of a man and this conveys the message of dominance and power over the bull, which in turn elevates the power or influence that man has over the other men in the scene. This might look to us as simple and cartoon like but there are may complex messages relating to power, influence and control wrapped up in this one image.

This type of messaging through art has been used all through history until the late middle ages in Europe less than 500 years ago. Here is one example using the Last Supper where Christ is in the centre of the image and all the figures are all looking at him. Christ is almost three times as large as the other figures and covers the scene from edge to edge and top to bottom.  

The message here is the importance of Christ,
figuratively and literally  

Again the artist’s message is to convey the power, dominance and importance of Christ over his apostles. This type of art changed with the invention of perspective drawing in the 16th century CE (Common Era) which changed the way we represent the world through drawings. Moving from an emphasis of size and position to perspective drawing which relies more on the rules of optics and mathematics, changed the way we represent the world from a symbolic to a more literal way.

  

American Dominance?

These concepts in art are not only relegated to the past. Many years ago I was given a lapel pin in the shape of a rectangle with the American and Canadian flags joined one on top the other. One thing that struck me was that the American flag was on above the Canadian flag. I found this odd, thinking of the actual geographical positioning of the two countries where Canada is north of the United States of America.  

Equal Partners?

The message the distributors of this pin were trying to make was to show the superiority and dominance of the USA over Canada. I've included a similar example of the the original lapel pin in the form of a flag and another lapel pin where the countries are positioned side by side. Do both of these two images convey the same meaning?  I think not.

Semiotics

These are examples of how to interpret signs and symbols which falls under the study of Semiotics,which  includes road signs, pub signs, logos, alphabets, drawings, paintings and photographs. There is some debate among professional as to how all these “visual signs” fall under the umbrella of Semiotics. Given such a broad definition, the main point I suggest the reader takes from this definition is how important visual signs are to human communication. A helpful quote from Daniel Chandler’s online resource on Semiotics is as follows: “Semiotics represents a range of studies in art, literature, anthropology and the mass media rather than an independent academic discipline.”. I like this quote since it encompasses not only a wide range of subjects but it is directly applicable to market research and how marketers should apply the theory of semiotics when designing logos and visual advertisement.

Even with our current abstract alphabet system we are hard wired to respond to these ancient messaging systems described above. The reason we still respond to these older forms of conveying and receiving information because they still work. The point of this blog is to inspire some creative ideas for companies in the designing of logos and images to help their branding strategy. When you only have a split second to get your message across I think the best way to do it is not with the same company name styled logos that we see every day, but a logo or image that not only identifies the company but says something about what the company does or their corporate message.

The Rise of Emoticons, or, the Return of the Ancient Messaging System

How are you feeling?

Even though cell phones have become one of the most widely used communication tools in the world, the use of text based communication through phone text and emails is very popular. One would think oral communication would be far simpler and more effective than text based? We are more text based than ever before, yet we send billions of text messages, tweets and emails (each) every day.


I consider the simple design and use of emoticons to be very similar to ancient Sumerian writing. Neither are complete communication systems, yet each use simple yet effective images and this is a powerful addition to text based communications. The increased use of emoticons in daily texts and emails is a throw back to using simple images to convey a lot of information. You can’t say everything you need to with emoticons but you can convey information, ideas, and in this case emotions. 

Which of these logos describe what the company does?

Modern Logos
Take a look at the logos of some of the most popular brands and companies today what do you have? The logos are abstract and most are based on the name of companies rather than what they do. You could easily argue that companies do far too much to be represented by a single image, but the essence of what a company does can be summed up by an image, if the image is designed correctly.

Common logos today such as the one for Apple don’t really convey much meaning when taken out of context. The Apple logo pays homage to the epiphany of Sir Isaac Newton and the story of the apple falling on his head which lead to his theories on gravity. But the context of that story is needed, to understand what the apple represents. In and of itself, a partially eaten piece of fruit does not convey anything about the company Apple.

Take a look at my example of how to make a statement about Apple from the image below, a simple image of the Apple logo representing the Earth demonstrating Apple’s dominance of the Earth.

Apple is king of the world...

This example only conveys the power and importance of Apple and not what it does. Taking my example a little further, here is Google superimposed over and around the ‘Earth-Apple’ logo. Does this take the meaning even further, that Google is ever more powerful and dominating that Apple? The point here is that as people we still see the world in very simple and basic ways and regardless of language or age, we do respond to simple images that convey lots of meaning and by tapping into our natural tendencies, companies can deliver their message more effectively.

...but Google is king of the universe.

Engaging the consumer to better understand them, but beware the impulse buyer!

When people find out I am a wine and spirits agent, I always get asked a ton of questions and quickly learn how little people understand about how new products get on the shelf in Ontario and how they are sold. All liquor in Ontario is regulated by the government agency called the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). This means all liquor is regulated and controlled by this monopoly, so having to deal with this organization has its benefits and its challenges. 

There are 618 LCBO stores in the province of Ontario and 125 stores have over 2500 brands on their shelves (http://www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/media_centre/quick_facts.shtml). How does a new brand compete with such a large number of products, the strict quota system, and the well established brands in every category at the LCBO? This strict quota system at the LCBO stipulates that every new product must meet its minimum annual sales target in the first year to remain on the shelf. How do you develop a brand in 1 year among the myriad of other new brands released daily at the LCBO? More importantly how do you do this within your Advertising and Promotions budget (A&P)? The big agencies have large budgets and staff to accomplish this in the first year, but these large companies are not just interested in attaining the minimum quota, they are set on establishing a new brand and taking away market share from a rival or a competitor brand. What about smaller agencies with limited staff and budgets with suppliers with very little money. The larger agencies would probably pass on brands with limited market appeal and virtually no budget, but they could miss out on a brand like Fuzion which rocketed to selling a million bottles in Ontario in 6 months (For the background read Gord Stimmell’s article published in the Star on Sat Jan 24, 2009: http://www.thestar.com/living/article/574283). But every new brand is not another Fuzion so how does a regular listing work to get notice at the LCBO? When a new brand gets launched there a variety of promotions that can be applied for at the LCBO. Some of these promotions you may have noticed in the past consist of:

·        Air Miles

·        Limited time offer (means $1 off etc…)

·        Neck tags

o   Information about the product, cocktail recipes, recent awards etc…

o   Sample give-aways include:

§  Scented tea lights

§  Sun glasses

§  Hand sanitizer

§  Wine accessories (opener, pouring discs)

§  Small alcohol samples (50 ml)

§  Hand moisturizer

§  Beef jerky

Let’s not even talk about strategic shelf placement in the first year at the LCBO for a new product. In addition to all the promotional signage, there are many other signs listing everything from new products to, recipes, to themed promotions, contest, etc… So the average consumer is assaulted with a great deal of information when they walk through the doors of any local LCBO store.

Another form of promotion is the "In Store Public Tastings" (IST). In the 2010-11 fiscal year the LCBO conducted 27,379 in store public tastings (http://www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/media_centre/quick_facts.shtml). Out of that number I personally conducted over 50 LCBO store tastings for our products, from London to Barrie to Oshawa. This method of interacting with the public regularly has given me some insight into the buying patterns of people who shop at the LCBO. In addition I routinely monitor all the sales data from our brands including the promotions we run, so I can quickly assess the health our products and effectiveness of our promotions.

First of all let me describe the average person who walks into an LCBO store compared with people who visit other tasting venues such as a drinks trade show. The trade show consumer is mostly made up of that segment of the population that is interested in wine, beer and spirits as a cultural experience and continuing their education. They walk up to you with glass in hand and are there for the sole purpose of sampling something new, something unique, or expensive, or just sampling their favourite product. At an LCBO tasting booth you get the entire cross section of the alcohol buying consumer; everyone from the beer drinker, the spirits drinker, the cooler drinker, wine connoisseur and occasional wine drinker. This is the best random sample to select from.

The first challenge is to get them to stop, and most of the time people are rushing in and out of an LCBO store as fast as they can and don’t have time to waste. Most people who enter an LCBO know exactly what they want and this group of people are very difficult to stop to sample anything. Those people who do stop do it out of a sense of curiosity, interest and also if they have the time.

The appearance of a group around the tasting booth has a very powerful effect on others. People can almost be described as herding animals. This is not meant as an insult, but this best describes the effect of a crowd on people’s curiosity. When more than 3 people are at my booth, this definitely attracts a lot more attention and other people who cannot even see my booth (due to the crowd) or what I am sampling, come over out of curiosity. People are attracted to what others are doing and want to participate and join the group.

The first question people ask is “where is the wine from?” the other common question I get asked is if I like it. Too often tasting booths at the LCBO are operated by people from tasting companies and are not very experienced with the product and in some cases don’t like it themselves. I on the other hand as the agent (and Brand Manager) clearly believe in the brand and speak of it confidently and glowingly, this personal connection with the brand really impresses people.

While offering the sample I describe the product and then wait to hear the reaction if people like it or not. When there are more than 3 people at the booth and one person likes the wine, the effect of a stranger telling another stranger a wine tastes good is the best endorsement and a much stronger recommendation than coming from me. When this happens, I always sell 2-3 bottles just from people’s endorsements. 

I have always wanted to “plant” a crowd at my booth with people who work with me and see if this drives more sales. I am not that devious to manipulate consumers in that way and in truth I don’t think it would work. The reason why I don’t think it would work is that people can also sense sincerity. A sincere and honest endorsement is far more powerful than a staged one. Even if the planted person truly likes the wine, I think people can sense the difference and it is this sincerity that what motivates people.

The survey I conduct of people who participate in the tasting is very rudimentary, and it is from this regular survey data I use to formulate upcoming promotions. Over the course of 50 tastings I have sampled approximately 3500-4000 people so I get a lot of feedback from people on all aspects of our products from the labels, to the name, grape varieties and many more aspects.

One thing that I am always fascinated by with these tasting is the power of the impulse buy. I am not an impulsive person and as a market researcher, the one thing I hate the most is the impulse buy! I have had people walk up to me and say “I came in for wine, so I’ll try this one”. Many times they don’t even taste the wine but they simply pick it up and take it to the cash. The reason I dislike the impulse buy is because I can't get any feedback from the consumer. I don’t know if my sales pitched swayed them, was the price point spot on, did the well-crafted label and display motivate the sale or if they even liked the taste? Through the course of these tastings I’m not only trying to sell a product, I’m doing research on what people are looking for in a product and the impulse purchase, tells me nothing. These tastings account for less than 4% of monthly sales and are not designed to move product, therefore every bottle sold this way is almost a waste.

Two of the wines I taste regularly are well priced at $11.95 and according to the LCBO (CATMAN Period 13-2010) is in the range of the highest increase in wine sales (11.2%) over the previous year. Another interesting pattern that’s emerged from tasting these two wines is the difference in red to white sales compared with regular sales. More people prefer red wine and taste the red more often which leads to greater sales, while the white wine outsells the red consistently. The overall wine sales breakdown is 54% white and 46% red consistently over the course of 1 year. While the tasting sales breakdown over the same period and 84 tasting events is 51% red and 49% white, this is a reversal of the regular sales breakdown with a difference of 3%. Possible reasons for this are; even though the white wine is very popular, the taste of the red is appreciated. Also the red is medium bodied and similar to merlot which could also suggest a tasting preference of the average red wine drinker.

The in store public tasting program is an interesting and informative promotional method to engage the consumer and see how they respond to different products. I treat this regular interaction with the consumer as an informal focus group, and an ongoing qualitative research project where I constantly gather data on our brands performance in the marketplace. It’s also a great way to observe people’s everyday buying habits at the LCBO.

What do the IPhone and stone tools have in common?

Why is Apple so successful?  I’m sure this is a question that many companies lose sleep over at night wondering about.  Looking at this question from a strictly anthropological perspective I have the answer.  Apple did two very important things right with their business strategy that clearly resonates with people all over the world.

The first thing Apple did was to make their brand something people not only wanted to buy, but also wanted to associate themselves with.  Even when early on they were beaten at dominating the home computer market by Microsoft their computers still had a mystique around them.  Even in the early years, a clear distinction developed between a Mac user and a PC user.

Their computers were technically easier to use, they had a more intuitive user interface, which Microsoft later modeled their Windows operating system after.  Even though they were more expensive than an IBM-clone-Microsoft computer they were still sought after by graphic artists and other visual-arts based professionals.  Calling one's self a "Mac User" was clearly a badge of honour and did signify as being someone different from the average computer user.  Identifying with the other has always had a certain appeal for people, we like to associate with specific groups and feel a connection with others who share our interests and especially share the way we think.  For well over two decades Apple has cultivated this image with its products and the obsessive way in which people follow its brand is clearly visible.  With the introduction of the portable IPod, the IPhone and the IPad, we come to the next piece of their success.

The second thing Apple did was create a hand held device that not only delivered on its promises but also gives a tactile interface that other hand held devices could not equal.  What the significance is of this type of finger interface (and not thumb interface) relates to, is with the stone tools our ancient ancestors used to use on a daily basis and rely on for their survival.

For approximately 1 million years during the Stone Age, the Acheulean hand axe was the most popular and widespread tool technology on the planet.  This technology has been found everywhere in the old world from South Africa to Europe and in parts of Asia where this tool represented the most advanced technology to date the world had ever seen.  According to archaeologists the reason for the widespread popularity of the Acheulean hand axe was its versatility (nicknamed the Swiss Army knife of the Stone Age).  It had a point for digging or piercing, two long edges for cutting, it was slightly larger than a person’s hand, and this gave it additional weight for crushing nuts and other vegetable matter.  

When the edges got dull, it could be retouched (sharpened) and be ready to use again.  The IPhone (and IPod touch) fits perfectly in the hand, and by using the touch screen people interact with the device on a more intuitive level, by spreading, sliding and tapping.  This creates a more natural interface that people clearly respond to.

By combining the behavioural tendency people have for wanting to be part of a group and a device that people interact with on a more natural level, Apple has developed the perfect brand.  In my opinion, this is how Apple made people want something they didn’t even realise they needed, because it resonates with them in this profound and meaningful way.

The IPhone, IPod touch and IPad are more than just communication devices, they are used for entertainment, artistic expression, photography and that’s just for starters.  Add the vast number of software applications (Apps) available and these devices are more versatile than any one person’s needs.  I realise it is a little insulting to compare the wondrous IPhone to an Acheulean hand axe stone tool.  The point here is that if the success of a stone tool is based on its usefulness to people all over the world, then this is the key to why the IPhone is also just as popular.  I’m sure Steve Jobs wouldn’t mind having the IPhone compared to a tool that lasted a million years, I’ll bet he would love to see the IPhone last that long.

What this means for market research and consumer trend specialists is that people are willing to spend money and time on something that they can use instinctively and easily.  Also by cultivating a mystique and trendiness around a product really attracts people to it.  But the caution here for marketers is a movement or trend must be real and sincere, for any long term benefit of a brand to accumulate and develop, people need to believe in a brand.  Now with the success of the touch smart phone and tablet computers, the cat is out of the bag and people will now expect and demand all their devices be as intuitive and natural to use as Apple devices.