The Chicken and The Egg: A Fresh Look At Branding and A Branding Refresh

Most people new to “what branding really is” don’t actually think it begins with long
horned steer and cattle ranching. However, a lot of people who are totally new to the
concept, think their branding begins and ends with their logo.
In that case, it’s any branding professional to steer them in the right direction. A logo is
only one visual component to a brand and that branding takes place over time, though
interaction with target audiences, messaging, being consistent and relevant, as well as
delivering on promises.
Grand Ciel Branding & Design I MWMC 20X20 Showcase 2014 I Kristin Maija Peterson I www.grandciel.com

Branding has been around much longer than “cattle ranching.” 30-40,000 years to
be exact.
The evidence being anthropologists have discovered human hand prints in caves all
over the world. It’s universal.

So why the hand print? The human hand is so distinct. It sets apart us from the animal
kingdom and other life on earth. The hand print says “we were here” and “this was
important to us” as well as way to help unite us as we begin to form society and culture.
It’s human nature to want to create order in a chaotic world, identify, naming, classifying
everything around us and branding becomes a big part of that order.
The hand print could be considered our very ﬁrst brand, one in which we continue to use
to identify the human condition. Examples: Black Panthers, Solidarity, The Peace Movement
and Facebook.
A side note: Anthropologists have determined that 75% of the hand prints, at least those studied
in the caves across Spain and France, were made by women. It puts our idea of what we think
our early women status’ might have been like on its head.
See online articles in Christian Science Monitor and National Geographic: “Where Most Cave Painters Women?
Their Hand Prints Say Yes.”

Leaping centuries ahead, as society forms tribes, clans and kingdoms,
branding becomes increasingly important as way to identify who is friend
and who is foe. A Coat of Arms proved a time-honored useful form of
branding, telling a lot about the ruler, his supporters, conquests, etc.
It was imperative that a knight carry a coat of arms, because there is no
why anyone can tell one knight in a full suit of armor from the next knight
in a full set of armor.
Equal time for women: Because women didn’t participate in war,
they didn’t have a Coat of Arms, rather a counterpart “Lozenge” which
tells her family heraldry and marital status.
We can see that the Coat of Arms was and still a strategy in branding rule
and leadership. We see it universally used to represent our universities,
our military and ofﬁces of government.

The use of pictures becomes a profitable way of branding during Colonial times in America and
a precursor to our modern logo and advertising. Historically, it first was thought the use of
pictures in store fronts was because early settlers were by and large illiterate — a total myth.
Colonists placed a high value on education, so a good percentage of residents at the time could
read and write.
Still, merchants found value in hanging a picture shop sign as their brand so people
could easily find and identify what goods and services they offered. A picture could stick
In people’s mind and over time associate that picture with the merchant’s name and
reputation. We continue to leverage imagery today to make a brand memorable.

Humans have been branding has been around pretty since the beginning of time and
formation of societies and culture. What then makes a brand iconic?
It starts with our stories, our legends, our myths that have forged a cast of characters
so engrained into our intellectual and emotional psyche. This give us the archetype.
See supplementary article on Archetypes included with this presentation.

Iconic brands that have found their story, embraced their inner archetype have
created a perfect formula for becoming instantly recognizable and identiﬁable.
We love our stories. We love our characters. Being able to identify what is in front
of us is hugely comforting.
Examples of brands embracing their inner archetype through messaging and
story telling:
Apple, the Hero.
IBM, the Innovator.
Celestial Seasonings, the Alchemist,
Volkswagen, the Child.
See supplementary article on these Iconic Brands and their Archetypes included with this
presentation.

But there is more to an iconic brand than its story and embracing an inner archetype. There
are some key necessary elements at play as well. An iconic brand needs to be reliable,
reliable, compatible, competitive: always striving to do better, be better, authentic, honest,
walk their talk. You can trust them.
In short, an iconic brand wants you to feel like they are your very best friend.

Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv make it look easy. My heroes for making really, really simple
logos that are now iconic brands.
Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv— is a prominent New York-based branding and graphic
design firm. It was founded in 1957 by Yale graduates Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar.
The firm is famous for designing logos for such companies as Pan Am, Mobil Oil, PBS,
Chase Bank, Barneys New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Xerox, Smithsonian
Institution, NBC, Cornell University, National Geographic, State Farm Insurance, and
many others.
I’m introducing this creative team, because I learn from all kinds of different sources and
the first thing they thought me is getting to simple is really, really hard and it is really, really
hard selling your client on simple.
The following page shows examples of Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv work and the iconic
brands they helped create.

The second thing Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv taught me (and this goes to my
presentation title analogy), is this is the iconic brand. The Little Red Hen.
It’s very easy to buy into what she is selling because we know her and what she is about:
She’s wholesome, she has a strong work ethic, and makes a darn good loaf of bread, all
the while teaching us the merits of not acting like a lazy, entitled teenager.
* Little Red Hen by Florence White Williams (1918)

In contrast to the iconic brand, this is the new brand or brand refresh.
It’s so new it’s hard to sell our clients on it. We can’t relate, simply because
It is so new. The new brand is an unknown.
What will it be when it hatches? A cutie fussy yellow chick, a poisonous snake,
a dinosaur, Big Bird? We don’t know and that’s the big hurtle any new brand
or a brand that embarks on a re-fresh faces.

To illustrate this hurtle brand refreshes face, let’s not forget
the recent misadventures, disasters in re-branding.
GAP received so much outrage they had to switch back to their original logo.
Tropicana watered down their packaging, their cartons looked so generic
that consumers could not ﬁnd their favorite brand of orange juice.
JCPenny’s, they can’t decide what square they like best.

So all this background on branding is swirling in my head when it comes to refreshing
the MWMC brand. It has served us well, but the call for change was needed to be more
consistent, relevant and truthfully represent this organization.

So where to begin? It starts by ﬁnding our story.
If I was to give us an archetype, it would be “The Networker.”
A talent for creating communities and connections. Outgoing. Empathic. An Advocate.

It’s clear we are a diverse group…members just starting their careers,
to seasoned pros. Member careers range from marketing, print media,
web marketing, public relations, social media to design. We provide
value and knowledge through our diverse programming.

connecting
communicating
collaborating
challenging
celebrating

But with all that diversity, our organization shares core characteristics.
Connecting: We’re really good at connecting with one another in ways
that enrich our lives professionally and personally.
Communicating: We are in the MAR/Comm industry, so we shine at communicating.
Collaboration: Our organization thrives on member volunteer collaboration.
Challenging: Through volunteer opportunities, MMWC give member a chance
to challenge and build their skill sets, sharpen their know-how and step out of their
comfort zones.
Celebrating: We support members throughout their careers and
love to celebrate their successes.
So what does this look like? Putting it all together:

…we are a mosaic blend of careers, with a passion for our industry
and the desire to see members succeed in their careers.
We are Minnesota Women In Marketing and Communications.
Energizing business. Transforming careers.
Thank you.

The Chicken and The Egg: A Fresh Look At Branding and A Branding Refresh

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The Chicken and The Egg: A Fresh Look At Branding and A Branding Refresh