Pantone, Inc. is best known as the source of industry-standard references for color. The brand primarily targets design professionals. It is fair to say that Pantone revolutionized the graphic arts industry by allowing designers and printers to categorize and replicate color, accurately, anywhere in the world, by referring to uniform color palettes.

Recently, though, Pantone has begun to branch out, addressing a new audience: consumers. Pantone Universe is a new, multifaceted sub-brand that makes Pantone color the centerpiece of everything it does, from the Pantone Universe magazine to a line of themed products ranging from eyewear and jewelry to kitchen gadgets and more.

In recent years, corporate brands in financial services businesses, both retail-facing and B2B, have become a major factor in the attraction and retention of clients, talent, partners and capital. In this industry it has not always been so, but in today’s crowded, highly competitive global marketplace, a strong brand can be a major source of advantage. Corporate brand salience has become particularly important in service industries, where economic value is delivered through intangibles and offerings are often seen as interchangeable.

Why have corporate brands come to matter so much in financial services? Much of the answer to this question lies in the growing understanding among corporate executives of what brands actually are and how they add value.

The days when the biggest rivalries among colleges and universities were fought on the gridiron and in the gymnasium are gone. Today, the main clashes take place within the admissions arena, where schools are locked in intense competition for the best and brightest students.

Schools employ many strategies to win these battles, but none are more effective, especially over the long term, than projecting the right image, or brand identity, to prospective students and their families, as well as faculty, academic journals, high school counselors, donors, alumni, government officials and other important audiences. Properly conceived and communicated, an identity can be self-perpetuating by bringing to the school the students, faculty, grants, corporate sponsors, and alumni giving needed for the institution to achieve and expand upon its most ambitious goals.

A March 8 article in Advertising Age featured a quote from Denis Riney, EVP Marketing at BrandLogic, on Toyota’s tarnished brand following the automaker’s recent product recall due to faulty braking mechanisms.

In our 3^rd episode of BAMcast, we discuss tone of voice, how to best manage it and its importance to a seamless brand identity. You can listen here or subscribe via iTunes. If you have questions, comments or ideas for an upcoming show, leave a comment here or send us feedback to bamcast@brandlogic.com

Podcast: Download (31.9MB)

With the holiday season upon us, we’re taking a look at one of the big hit gifts of the last few years and how a leading industry company leveraged it to create a brand-building opportunity.

In our 2^nd episode of BAMcast we discuss building a community around your brand asset management site. You can listen here or subscribe via iTunes. If you have questions, comments, or ideas for an upcoming show, leave a comment here or send us feedback to bamcast@brandlogic.com

Podcast: Download (44.3MB)

The partial unveiling of the new AOL identity earlier this week produced quite a few smiles, snickers, moments of reflection in the brand community. How do we explain our rush to judgment for the new AOL logo, compliments of Wolff Olins?

This is the inaugural episode of BAMcast where we discuss the basics of brand asset management and how it can benefit your organization. You can listen here or subscribe via iTunes. If you have questions, comments, or ideas for an upcoming show, leave a comment here or send us feedback to bamcast@brandlogic.com

Podcast: Download (22.8MB)

In my last blog entry I noted that some brands have taken on a certain leadership role in society. They have become today’s heroes – supplanting individual luminaries in that role – and as a society we’ve become very comfortable with the idea of turning to them for invention and innovation.

What does this mean for businesses today? It’s both an opportunity and a potential trap. Reaching the brand status of an Apple or a Google is certainly a worthy goal, but first we must ask what makes one brand a “hero” and another a “zero.”