Even though September is two months away, I can’t help but start thinking about college football already. For those of you who don’t know, I am a HUGE college football fan. Nothing makes me more excited than the opportunity to spend my Saturdays planted in front of the big-screen watching the games and highlights from the dozens of college matchups going on.

Since I am a Phoenix-area native, and born-and-raised in a pro-Arizona State household, it stands to reason that ASU is my team. Many of you may be aware of the old news that Arizona State University recently unveiled their new uniforms containing a more contemporary look and a newly redesigned logo that replaced “Sparky” who had been the primary logo since 1955.

The overhaul of the Sun Devil uniforms may not make a splash or seem that it matters to most, because after all, it’s just a team logo. However, how many of you noticed and took up an opinion with Starbucks when they recently changed their beloved logo? Or when Pepsi altered their logo a few years ago? Though consistency is great and having a recognizable identity is key, change can be good. Companies and brands can evolve over time and their visual identities may need to as well.

A college football team is run very much like a business, and a corporate identity plays an equally important role. Sure, teams want fans which bring in large ticket sales or ratings, or more merchandise purchases (all of which a new flashier logo and appeal can contribute to). But in order to attain those goals, they must first reach and impress recruits and players as well.  ASU players and staff, have no doubt that the new look will serve as an important and powerful marketing resource when recruiting new talent and building the best team for their fans to watch. The new logo becomes as much a marketing tool as it does as corporate identity; that duality is the mark of a good logo.

Arizona State’s new uniforms and logos may not rocket them to the front of the minds of potential recruits (but it won’t hurt), but building an impressive and attractive identity for yourself is an important factor in building your business. Making sure your brand identity accurately reflects you is an important aspect in the B2B space.

Is it time to refresh your company’s logo? What logos are your favorite? And does a great logo make you more loyal to a brand?

My name is Brad Whitford, I’m 25 years old and I am a Google-holic.  Wow, it feels good to get off my chest!

But seriously, I find that most of my online activity stems from some sort of Google function.  I indulge in many of the Google offerings, including email, calendar, maps, pictures, documents and of course, the original Google function, search.

Google’s description on its own search site claims you can, search the world’s information, including webpages, images, videos and more and that Google has many special features to help you “find exactly what you’re looking for.” I can’t think of a better single source to find any piece of information I need.

And I’m definitely not in the minority.  Many people worldwide have discovered the power of Google, and not just the functionality of its applications, but the power of the brand as well.  In fact, Google has become such a powerful name that it has reached the echelon of elite brands where the name is often times used as a verb (Rollerblade, Xerox, etc.).

Just think – how many times have you asked someone a question and gotten the reply, “Just Google it?”  I’ll bet it’s more times than people say, “I’m going Rollerblading.”

But the real purpose of this blog post is not to gush over the seemingly endless awesomeness that is Google (even though the awesomeness is seemingly endless).  It is more-so to provide an example of an innovative brand that has somewhat of an identity crisis and uses that issue in a creative way to enhance its brand equity.  Just to show you how strong Google’s brand identity is, the company alters its logo on a daily basis and people across the globe still recognize it.

Now that’s brand equity that even Apple can be jealous of.

By continuously changing its logo, Google is committing one of the cardinal sins of marketing that usually makes professionals such as myself cringe – and it’s awesome!  Referred to as “Doodles,” these artistic logos provide a way for the company to celebrate unique events and people worldwide, while also “illustrating the creative and innovative personality of the company itself.”  The history of these little gems is quite fascinating as well.

Google Doodles range from static images to animated pieces to video clips to interactive games (I know there are some of you out there who were much less productive the day of the PAC-MAN game logo).  But this past Thursday’s “Les Paul’s 96^th Birthday” doodle was by far my favorite of the bunch.  I think I recorded enough songs to fill an entire box set of albums.  You can check out all the Google Doodles online.

Google admits to having an identity crisis, and claims that “having a little bit of fun with the corporate logo by redesigning it from time to time is unheard of at many companies but at Google, it is a part of the brand.”  I can’t think of any other company that has successfully implemented this tactic.  After all, it goes against everything we marketing folks were ever taught.

But in a time when the margins of competitive advantage are becoming thinner and change seems to happen at the speed of light,this kind of innovative thinking is what keeps companies like Google ahead of the curve.  And let’s face it, you can’t argue with a brand that gets stronger by continuously changing its identity.

Can you think of any other company that has been successful in continuously changing its brand identity?

I am a diehard football fan.  No, not that American “throwball” game where the players wear 30 pounds of pads and throw around an odd-shaped ball wrapped in pig skin.  I’m talking about the beautiful game, fútbol, voetbal, footy, or as most Americans know it as, soccer.  As a football fanatic, I can’t help but get wrapped up in the drama, the passion and the obsession that encompasses every single match across the globe.  In the world of football, there is a new story to be told each and every day.  But football is not only captivating from a sporting viewpoint.  The beautiful game is also fascinating from a marketing and global branding perspective. 

The world is shrinking on a minute-by-minute basis these days, especially with the continual advances in technology.  Because of this, companies are placing a much stronger emphasis on establishing global brands that can compete across multiple markets.  But expanding your company into new markets isn’t as easy as it may seem.  Many successful firms, even firms like Wal Mart, have struggled to establish their brands in certain global markets. 

So where do you turn to find the key to expanding your firm’s identity across the globe?  Look no further than to professional football clubs.  Football clubs, large ones especially, embody everything that firms strive to achieve in developing a global brand.  They offer unique, marketable products that are in demand worldwide, they have strong revenue streams and in some cases can be very profitable, and most important of all, they have loyal customer bases that stick with their brand through thick and thin.  Take my favorite club, Liverpool FC, for example.  Liverpool FC is considered one of the world’s strongest football brands.  The city of Liverpool has a population of roughly 430,000 people.  Compare that to the approximate 42 million Liverpool FC fans worldwide and the proof is in the pudding.  

But Liverpool FC didn’t establish itself as a global powerhouse by coincidence.  It has taken many years of hard work to get to where it is today.  Although the success of a football club, like any sports team, is mostly determined by how well the team performs, clubs like Liverpool FC cannot rest on this fact and must continually adopt new marketing techniques to expand and foster growth of the brand.  Liverpool FC is a great example of a brand that has embraced fresh approaches to marketing.  The club’s web site hosts a discussion forum that encourages fans to collaborate and become a part of the club they idolize.  This is approach is being adopted by many companies and helps establish stronger brand loyalty by giving customers a voice in shaping the future of the brand. 

Liverpool FC also leverages social media in a very effective way, reaching out to fans and customers via the club’s Facebook page to its Twitter page.  The club also continues to reach its fans and customers through different mediums, including mobile devices.  In addition to the official LFC mobile apps, which provides fans with wallpapers, match updates, news feeds, etc., the club recently became the first football club in the world to launch a fully transactional mobile store. 

Branding initiatives like these are necessary for Liverpool FC if they want to compete with some of the club’s strongest competitors.  Like with any industry, creating a sustainable competitive advantage and providing more value than your competitors is the key to success, especially in global markets.  So the next time you need a reference for how to expand your brand globally, look no further than the beautiful game.

Images: Liverpool FC

In the midst of launching a new website comes the temptation to start talking about it before it really hits the web.

That’s when a “Coming Soon” or teaser landing page comes into play to tide them over. In B2B marketing, it’s important your “Coming Soon” landing page intrigues and most of all, captures leads.

If you’re in the process of launching a “Coming Soon” landing page before the real deal, consider asking yourself some of these questions to ensure your page is effective:

1. Who is your initial, target audience? Internal stakeholders or actual customers?
2. If customers, why should they care about this new site? Provide a quick synopsis on what they can expect and what’s in for them (remember my WIFFY post?) Use this opportunity to start building some buzz about your site succinctly. Remember, people don’t have time to read novels.
3. Once you hook them, how do you keep them interested? Ask for their email for notifications on the site launch. You can use these emails to start building the community/network for the site or for future announcements and marketing messages.
4. What does “Coming Soon” mean? Summer? Next year? If you know the timeframe, go ahead and give a hint. Remember, “coming soon” means something different to every person so don’t risk losing their attention if possible.
5. What SEO value can you add to this page? Keywords and meta tags are just as important on this page as any other. Start building credibility with the search engines now before your real site launches.
6. Now that you have some strategies in place, how can you make the design as simple as possible? What branding elements can you use that they’ll remember? Simple sells, but so does something extremely clever, design wise.
7. Lastly, can you add a social component? Whether it’s a small Twitter or LinkedIn icon, you can get the conversation started about the new site in other social environments you participate in.

There are some pretty exciting designs out there for “Coming Soon” pages. Below are just a few examples of some that follow best practices fairly well in my opinion. Which do you prefer? Or share one you’d nominate!