“If The Client Moans And Sighs….”

“…Make His Logo Twice The Size” was good advice from David Ogilvy.* But some marketers act as if it’s the only advice he ever gave.

Imagine your organization is facing declining volume and revenues in tough economic times. (You may not have to imagine too hard these days.) As head of marketing, you could:
•    Take the easy way out – slash marketing spending across the board.
•    Reposition your products to address customers’ changing needs.
•    Insulate your current customer form competition.
•    Focus on innovation and product development.
•    Allocate more marketing dollars to activities that generate measurable ROI.

When in doubt, design a way out
These are all strategic directions worth considering. Did AOL, Chrysler and the City of Flint, Michigan consider them? “But nooooooooo!” as John Belushi used to moan in the old Saturday Night Live Weekend Update.
•    With its subscriber base, advertising revenue and work force all declining, former Internet giant AOL has decided to replace its familiar triangle with the letters “A o l.” superimposed on a goldfish, as well as other images.

•    Having declared bankruptcy, shrunk its dealer network and sold itself to an Italian company, the new Chrysler’s next marketing step is to replace its pentagram logo with a pair of stylized wings.

•    And in Flint, Michigan, struggling for the past 20+ years and ranked in the bottom 20 of 200 U.S. cities in general “prosperity,” the mayor’s office is inviting citizens to design a new city logo “reflecting its diversity, pride, strength, and resilience.”

I admit to a bit of exaggeration here; I’m sure that logo redesign is not the only marketing direction that AOL, Chrysler and the City of Flint are pursuing right now. But wouldn’t it make more sense to solve the real business problems first?

On the other hand, logos that become icons can be priceless

Playboy Enterprises is another company that’s fallen on hard times. One direction they’re considering is to sell themselves to Iconix Brands, owner of clothing brands like Joe Boxer. But according to more than one source, what Iconix really wants isn’t the magazine, or the content, or the subscriber base or whatever. What they really want is the bunny ears logo.

*The Ogilvy advice in entirety:
“If the client moans and sighs, make his logo twice the size.
If he still should prove refractory, show a picture of the factory.
Only in the direst cases should you show the clients’ faces.”

Tags: AOL, Chrysler, Iconix, Logo design, Ogilvy, Playboy, recession marketing

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 13th, 2009 at 6:51 pm and is filed under Alan Maites, Robinson & Maites, brand development. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.