“…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.”

“Sex sells.” It’s a well-known marketing maxim that seems to have worked against Chicago, when the IOC chose Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympics.

Why wouldn’t they? After all, everyone knows that:
•    Rio is sexy, with all those girls in nearly nonexistent bikinis, hot days and nights on the beach, and so forth.
•    Here in Chicago all we’ve got is freezing winds off the lake, lumpy woolen overcoats down to our knees and a preponderance of potato-shaped people. Right?

Wrong! Without any inherent bias (even though I live, work here and love it here), I can say that Chicago is the world’s sexiest city. And knowing that one of the strategic roles of marketing is to overcome misperceptions about companies or products, I propose a Sexy Chicago campaign based on these three indisputable facts:

1. Sex was invented in Chicago.
It all started when Hugh Hefner founded Playboy magazine here in 1953. Before that, human beings reproduced by splitting in half like amoebas. And now one of the best-known women in the world, married to a man whose voice is from Chicago, is appearing on the cover of Playboy. (Full disclosure: I once worked for Playboy.)

2. Other cities talk about sex; Chicago does it.
In a recent survey, cell phone manufacturer Samsung asked 300 residents each from Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C. if they’d rather live without cell phones or sex for a year. The result: 39% of Boston and DC women would give up sex in favor of their phones, but only 36% of Chicago women.

3. We just hosted the Sexy Chicago marketing event of the century (so far).
Just the other day “The Wings Landed On Michigan Avenue” with a VIP grand opening ceremony heralding the new 13,000 square foot Victoria’s Secret Flagship store, selling sex with:
•    A body scanner that captures digital images of the shopper’s body and suggests bras best for her shape.
•    A special VIP fitting room with a Bra Wardrobe Center to quickly deliver different bra styles and sizes.
•    Displays of Victoria’s Secret Angel wings from past fashion shows, worn by Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio.
•    Online voting asking “What Makes Chicago Sexy?” supported by online video commentary by Chicagoans like the Chicago Bears’ Lance Briggs, the White Sox’ Gordon Beckham, Kid Sister and others.
•    Secret Rewards handouts on Michigan Avenue with the chance to win $10, $50, $100 or $500 off any purchase or two tickets to the 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
•    A traffic-building mobile campaign: Text CHICAGO to ANGEL (26435) to receive product alerts and special offers and coupons.
•    And an invitation at the Victoria’s Secret Chicago home page: Upload your photo, then see yourself wearing the iconic Victoria’s Secret wings.

Be part of Sex And The Second City, Part 2

All this was just to sell sexy underwear to Chicago. But this kind of energy can be used to achieve a greater goal. Here at R&M we’re working on part 2 of this post, answering the question “How can we sell Chicago to the world, by helping it regain its well-deserved role as the Sexy City?”

Should we hold a Sex Olympics, a sort of Kama Sutra competition, to make up for losing the real Olympics? What do you think? Send us a comment telling us how you’d market the Sexy Second City.