Marketing

Big Ideas And Big Results Don’t Need Big Budgets

~ K. Quesenberry ~ 3 Comments

After a decade of declining enrollment and school closings Detroit Public Schools (DPS) was losing millions in funding. DPS was advancing their curriculum and wanted to evolve every school into a “Center of Excellence” despite its dire finances. But the Governor declared DPS to be in a fiscal emergency, a result of enrollment declining by nearly 80,000 students in the last decade.

The campaign to save the schools was built in a simple metaphor. A blue door represented the opportunities that lie behind the front entrance of every DPS school. They partnered with Home Depot and created an event to make the doors. More than 500 parents, students and DPS supporters painted 172 blue doors – one for every school in the district with the rallying cry “I’m in!”

Instead of yet another “ad campaign” they tried to truly inspire people to act and become vocal advocates for DPS. DPS needed a movement. Key insights that drove tactics included the fact that: inner-city families don’t have access to TV, only 20% of Detroit residents have access to the Internet; city residents are active, social and move throughout the city; city residents distrusted DPS; word on the street would hold more credibility.

The 172 doors made their way around Detroit; at Hart Plaza downtown, at Belle Isle, the state fair and a back-to-school rally and parade complete with floats, bands and thousands of DPS supporters. Some TV, radio and newspaper ads were produced, but what really got people motivated was the ability to get involved with rallies, yard signs, lapel pins, T-shirts, window signs, door hangers and word of mouth. “I’m in!” was put in the hands of the people and they took ownership.

What were the results? DPS exceeded their enrollment goal, capturing 6,500 above their goal and an incremental $49 million of funding. This kept DPS financially viable – all for less than $500,000 in total media expenditures. DPS also exceeded their press coverage goal by 500%, generating $1.5 million in pres.

How can you apply the lessons in this case to your product or service and its marketing? Or with so many schools in budget trouble these days, perhaps we take a step back and look at successes like these.

Visual Continuity: Is It Always A Good Strategy?

~ K. Quesenberry ~ 1 Comment

Awhile ago I wrote a blog post about the importance of visual continuity. In “Visual Continuity in Print & Digital” I said “When designing creative executions, visual continuity is key – especially in today’s media cluttered world.” I still believe that is true, but sometimes change is good for a company as well.

In the post I talked about the Pepsi Refresh Project. Another example is Target. They have been very successful and they have kept the same red logo and target symbol on white backdrops for a long time. This is an equation for success and a great example of visual continuity. But this made me think of a question. Can a brand be successful without visual continuity?

The one brand that immediately came to mind is Burton Snowboards. The only consistency about Burton’s visual design has been its inconsistency. Since 1977 the company has had a lot of different logos. How many? They basically have totally redesigned their logos – yes multiple logos – every year. See the picture for a retrospective. In the early 1990s Burton Snowboard rarely used the same logo twice in their print ads.

Is this a smart move? A SAP case study on Burton describes the company’s success coming from how they are able to remain as nimble as their riders. The business is unique because they have professional athletes who drive the product development process and have a tremendous amount of input into the look, feel, and functionality of the product lines. They also take rider feedback to heart — whether the comments come from a pro rider, a customer email, or a random snowboarder the company president runs into on the mountain. Being a rider-driven company, the business has to be dynamic and adaptable.

Burton is playing in an ever changing snowboarding, surfing and skate culture that thrives on fads and trends. So I would say it is okay for their visually identity to change rapidly with the times. The other example is Jones Soda.

For years Jones Soda has had fans upload their photos to be voted on and possibly featured on the company’s ever changing soda labels. I uploaded a photo once, but never made it to the label. Have you ever send in a photo to a brand to be featured in their marketing? Can you think of another example of a successful brand that has thrived by consistently changing their visual identity?