On more than a few occasions I've shown my book to potential employers and heard, "You have a lot of beer in your book. We don't have any beer accounts.
I then explain that marketing beer is not about beer, really. Beer advertising and promotion is not necessarily about the beer itself. (Except when you’re talking Sam Adams.) Marketing beer is about image, conveying excitement, drama. It’s
about expressing a lifestyle. Camaraderie and the idea that drinking a
certain brand will be a major part of fun and excitement with your
friends.
Promotions for Miller Brewing Company brands involved skiing, football, hockey,
soccer, softball championships, auto racing, Spring Break, holiday
festivities and a host of other subjects. Marketing Miller brands was about selling lifestyle, image and speaking to the target demographic. Not just about hops and water in a handy can or bottle.
When people look at my book and say, “You have a lot
of beer in your work. We don’t do beer.” I have to explain. It’s not
about beer. It’s about advertising.
Sales Promotion
Advertising is created to get the product in front of the consumers
and, hopefully, get them to buy it, promotional marketing is getting
the consumers to buy it right now.
Promotional
marketing combines print advertising, point-of-sale design, public
relations, promotional events and cross-promotion overlays to make the
target demographic sit up and take notice. It includes such diverse
elements as bar games created for beer brands to extend the product and
promotional message, contests or events for both retail and on-premise
accounts, special events to involve consumers and relate to relevant
issues or products... the list goes on and on.
More than print
advertising, promotional marketing requires conceptual thinking outside
the box (or envelope or whatever your container of choice) to cross
over various advertising media and involve the consumer immediately. It's certainly much, much more than point-of-sale signs (aka "art on a stick".) The words and pictures are only the beginning when it comes to sales promotion.
Gestalt
My favorite Word Of The Day (use it three times, it’s yours
forever.) Not only for the cool hidden “h” sound that pops up out of
nowhere, giving it that Sigmund Freud German accent that brings up
visions of Weimar Republic beer gardens and Blue Angels, but for the
meaning of the word itself.
The definition of gestalt
is: “A collection of physical, biological, psychological or symbolic
entities that creates a unified concept, configuration or pattern which
is greater than the sum of its parts.”
If you visit wikipedia, you will find further discussion under the
heading “gestalt psychology.” The idea that elements are gathered
together by the mind to create a concept or idea that would not be
immediately (logically?) connected by examination of the individual
parts.
So what does this mean, other than a verbose attempt at term paper
writing? It’s the theory that creativity comes not as much from someone
sitting isolated in a cube staring at a screen and shredding a creative
brief, but from discussion, research, show-and-tell, debate and drawing
ideas from all over.
It means that great creative product is an assembly
of elements from all over – including input from the account team, the
production team, print buyers, janitorial services, family members… you
name it.
That’s why it’s my favorite Word Of The Day. That and the nifty invisible “sccchhhh” sound.
Cool Papa Beast
I once worked with Tim Christian, then copywriter, on the Milwaukee Best
account. The product, for those of you who have somehow avoided it in
your college days, is the trailer park of beers for Miller Brewing
Company. It's nickname is “the Beast.”
Our client wanted to do POS for the urban (read: black) market. At this
time, there were legitimate complaints about liquor and cigarette
companies targeting the African-American market. People felt they were
being taken advantage of by large companies that didn’t give anything
back to the communities. We wanted to do something other than the
usual, but were having a problem identifying a solution.
Somehow, Timothy and I both happened to be listening to the same NPR
radio story on the way into work one day. One of us brought it up, and
suddenly the inspiration was there.
The story was about surviving members of the old Negro Baseball League from days of segregated professional sports. While members of
Major League Baseball have retirement programs set up for them, going back before the Major League was set up, the
Negro Baseball League players were left out. Many died in poverty after
years of playing professional baseball. There were lawsuits and a
campaign to get the same benefits for these players as the white
players from that era. Unfortunately, the corporation was dragging it’s
feet on the issue and drawing out the lawsuit knowing that the last
remaining members would be dying soon.
We decided to create a promotion for Milwaukee's Best to promote the brand, raise awareness of the Negro Baseball
League history and to raise funds for the retirement program.
Tim was furiously scanning the internet for any and all information
when he came up with the legend of Negro League pitcher Cool Papa Bell.
The man was said to be so fast, than when he turned out the light in
his hotel room, he could be in bed and under the sheets before the
light went out. Tim looked over with that familiar gleam in his eye:
“Four words. Cool. Pop. A. Beast. Ohmagawd.”
He’s good.
The
concept had it all: a legitimate link to an overlooked part of the
nation’s history, a way to give back to the black community and appeal
to the target demographic – male drinking aged consumers. Our pitch to the client included a chance to get Negro League Baseball theme items, money going to the fund, info on where and who to contact about the retirement fund issue, matching donations, etc. Also graphics keyed to classic old-style baseball card imagery. Is that cool or what?
I relate this story not just to applaud our idea (that’s just half
the appeal), but to point out that inspiration can come from anywhere.
That’s why it’s important to read everything you get your hands on and
listen to news and features when you get the chance. You never know
when a connection will be made and the ideas click together.
Corporate Identity
Much of my work involves corporate identity. Whether it's creating a new identity package for a product or company, adapting or updating an existing look or working on a project for an existing product and making sure what I do is in sync with the brand image. The look and feel of a company's identity is how they are perceived in the marketplace. Screw that up, you're in trouble.
Millions of years ago I did work for a budget brand department store chain. Their company look was so locked in, everyone joked that they bled Pantone 485 red and couldn't read anything that wasn't in Arial Bold.
Flash forward to a musical instrument wholesaler. During a photo shoot for their amplifier brand I peered at a test shot and suddenly noticed the chrome logo on the amp was wrong. I made a call to the advertising director, who in turn called the manufacturing plant. Turns out for over a year the engineers designing the amps decided to "play with the logo." A search through the boxes of product revealed five variations of the brand logo, none of which was known to the advertising director or the brand manager. Surprise, surprise.
I was once called to do a small job for a local sign company that had been in existence for over sixty years. The company had a roster of steady customers all over the midwest region. The new owners had only been in charge for a matter of months. In addition to some sales material pieces, they asked if I could redesign the logo. I gave it some thought, asked questions, and finally advised them to hold off on a new logo for at least another year. While I enjoy designing logos, I felt it more important to the brand to maintain continuity for a while so their clients wouldn't be spooked by the new management.
While working on the Miller Brewing Company accounts we ran into very tight product and corporate identity guidelines, as you would expect from national brands. But breweries don't sell to the public - the product is channeled through beer distributorships around the country. And we discovered that some distributorships were taking company promotional and sales materials and "fixing them up a bit." Logos and limited usage photography were being changed on office computers and produced on large-format printers in the back rooms. Immediately discussions on logo uses, product images and copyright laws were held with the corporate offices and memos were immediately sent out to all distributorships.
See enough of these situations over the years and you realize quickly how fragile a brand identity can be. While a take-no-prisoners, no exceptions approach to the brand i.d. bible can sometimes strangle creativity, you must protect the company image. But on the other hand (and there's always another hand) if your company identity requires everything to be bright glow-in-the-dark orange, keep in mind the beautiful food shot may look like crap less than desirable on such a background.
Versatility In A Logo
This is a corporate identity project for an upscale patio furnishings
and accessories store in South Florida. Created at josebatalla web
& graphic design in Fort Lauderdale. Jose Batalla, creative
director.
The business is quality, upscale Florida casual furnishings and
accessories. We created a look that would stand out from all the other
home decor stores popping up across Broward County, Palm Beach and
Boca. The logo includes three graphic elements – a sun, star and moon.
These elements represent outdoor living in the South Florida area.
Unlike the north, Floridians can enjoy living outdoors in the daytime,
the night and any time of the year. The elements are inspired by South
American native art and symbols, but with a decidedly contemporary
graphic look. The colors are vivid and tropical.
The concept allows for versatility; you can use each of the elements
together or separately. They can be used independently of the name as
graphic elements in the store decor and window designs. One
idea was running a row of suns four inches high midway down one of
the large store windows as a border treatment, with a row of moons on
the other window. Using single elements on in-store signage and
banners was proposed as well. Business cards for the company also use
individual elements for each of the store owners and employees. Each
person can decide which of the elements best represents their personality.
One of the reasons we were able to accomplish so much in this project
was the client. They were a genuine pleasure to work with and were open
to all ideas. That can really make the difference in a successful
design.
This logo was inspired by the work of Jose Batalla's, principle and owner of josebatalla design & web agency. Like many talented designers creating a logo for themselves, he was having problems deciding on an image for his company. I emailed this design and his immediate response was "I LOVE IT! THAT'S IT!"
We worked together to refine color and typography. The logo is designed to change with every use. On letterhead, envelope, e-mail and invoices the logo color varies. In this case, the versatility reflects the work of the company; always changing, always adapting to the needs of the clients.
Shown on the right are some of the variations on the logo used for on promotional pieces and new business pitches. We also (in our spare time) created variations of the logo that were enlarged and framed for office lobby decor.
