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May 5th, 2008 by Siegel Gale

Fortune Magazine’s First Ever F-500 Corporate Identity Competition

May 5th- Fortune Magazine’s Annual Fortune 500 Issue Presents First Ever Company Logo Smackdown

For the first time ever, Fortune Magazine decided to conduct a logo competition among the most powerful Fortune 500 brands. Siegel+Gale identity experts Howard Belk and Sven Seger were called upon by Fortune to judge which of the many logos were deemed worthy of the #1 spot! The following S+G decision criteria were used to carefully screen from the many logo candidates:

$fortune magazine\'s F-500$

1. Name: A logo’s name is very important. You should be able to name a logo in two to three words. If you can’t do that, it is not a good logo. If it has a name, it has an idea. If you can’t name it, it most likely doesn’t have an idea because ideas don’t exist without a name. BP’s logo is called The Helios Mark. Great name, great idea, great logo.

2. Personality: Companies have personalities, and depending on how you render an image, ranging from serious, to friendly, the image’s style can represent the personality of the company. Depending on how it is drawn, a flower can be elegant, exclusive, and sophisticated, or approachable, warm and genuine. When we know the personality of a brand, we can express it through color and shape.
Good examples are Yahoo (enthusiastic) and Deutsche Bank (rational).

3. Metaphor: Linking an already understood association of an object to a brand in the form of a relevant metaphor can be very powerful.
Good examples are Unilever (Garden of Eden), Merrill Lynch (Bull) and BP (Flower)

4. New Combinations: Merging different forms into a singular image such that they can be read from multiple perspectives allows for the creation of a very proprietary logo. The Time Warner Cable logo is a wonderful example of this. The ear and an eye are combined to form a singular image that represents the multi-sensory aspect of the brand’s products. Bank of America is another great example. The combination of the American flag and a landscape makes it a “flagscape,” the people’s bank from coast to coast in America.

5. Strategic Purpose: A logo’s design is stronger when it can be connected to the strategic intent of the brand. This connection may be direct or indirect, explicit or learned, but nonetheless, present in the design of the mark. By utilizing an image of the flower, the BP logo represents the company’s concern for environmental sustainability.

6. Touchpoint: A logo’s design should take advantage of the touchpoint on which it is most often found. “Touchpoint relevant” design means forming a triangular relationship between the brand, it’s primary touchpoints, and the logo.
UPS does this well. Taking advantage of the 750,000 package trucks operating in the US alone, the design of its logo, a beveled shield, looks like it belongs on the truck. Apple does this well too. The current design of the apple reflects the “liquid” User Interface, the most proprietary aspect of the brand.

7. Reduction: Purity. Simplicity. Essence. All words used to describe the beauty of reduced form. It is no different with logo design. If we reduce something to its most simple level, it will represent an idea, rather than depict something literal. A well crafted logo has a certain level of reduction so that it’s form may communicate the idea.

Of the top F-500 logo contenders, Target took the prize! Simple, distinct, and clear, this “to-the-point” logo turns the brand into an event. From advertising to co-branding to alliance marketing effectiveness, the “Design for all” tag-line, is engaging, demonstrative and effective.

Bullseye!

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tags: brand, design

Apr 6th, 2007 by Siegel Gale

Down with individuals (Not!)

A recent, front page article in The New York Times about French identity reported that the French Conservative candidate for president, Nicolas Sarkozy, wants to establish a new arm of the government – a ministry of "immigration and national identity." At the same time, the Socialist candidate, Segolene Royal, wants every French citizen to memorize "La Marseillaise" and keep a French flag in their cupboard, which they must display on Bastille Day. Seems that French politicians are concerned with preserving what it means to be French, no matter what, no matter how.

It doesn’t matter that French citizens don’t entirely agree: many feel their rights as individuals are being ignored and that who they are goes beyond memorizing the nation’s anthem; even beyond their Frenchness. Forcing people to "be French" is what seems to matter – which brings me to my point as it pertains to companies.

The Identity Code, Cable CN8 Boston, April 2006 (cable TV)

Since the book, Corporate Cultures, was written in the mid-80’s, companies have bent over backwards to formalize a distinct culture. Based on a set of shared values, employees have been asked, if not cajoled, to join the organizational team by behaving in ways that reflect those values. If you fit, you’re in; if not, you’re out. Figuratively speaking, if you sing the company song and carry its flag, you’re OK.

Corporate culture is helpful, up to a point. It establishes typically "good" values, which set important standards for how people should act. But sometimes, those standards are met at the expense of one’s individuality, which is where one’s defining talents, drive and passions – your identity – lies. As I write in The Identity Code, identity is the most powerful human force on earth. It isn’t something to be squashed; it is something to celebrate.

Taken too far, then, culture becomes insidious. It undermines the humanity that defines the person. (Quite a contradiction for organizations that assert that ‘people are our most important asset!’) I’m not suggesting a movement to kill corporate cultures. I am proposing that it is time – beyond time – for companies to make a conscious effort to understand and invest in the individual inside the employee. Managers need to develop and deploy concrete ways to celebrate the identity of the Joe’s, Sarah’s, Sally’s and Bill’s, while still maintaining a shared culture.

The benefits are many: For employees, hard evidence that they really are valued for who they are, not just what they do. For the company, recruitment, retention and reputation advantages that translate into enormous cost savings and, overall, a more powerful brand.

Bottom line: Making someone sing the company song is only productive, if the company is prepared to sing theirs in return.

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tags: brand, corporate culture, identity

Nov 2nd, 2005 by Alan Siegel

Alan Siegel Comments on Creating a State Slogan for New Jersey in The New York Times

… FOR what it’s worth, a scientific study of three experts found two, Alan Siegel, chairman and chief executive of Siegel & Gale, a strategic
branding firm, and Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., who thought it was a mistake for the state to concede that its image is
glamour-challenged. “You don’t want to begin by acknowledging the bad part; that’s a lose-lose situation,” said Mr. Passikoff. “You want
to migrate from the joke to the more positive brand image.” …

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tags: brand

Oct 28th, 2005 by Alan Siegel