A Business Lost in Translation

Recently, Canadian retail giant Sears introduced their new logo as part of their strategic plan to re-invent themselves. Over the last decade, sales have been on a steady decline causing the company to cut costs and close some of its stores. This new plan includes changing the format of its stores and improving their online customer experience.

Here's their new logo...

"Sears is in a free fall without a parachute. In its first quarter results in June, the company continued its decade-long downward trajectory, and at a frightening pace. It reported a 7.4% decline in same-store sales and a 14.5% year-over-year decline in revenues to $595.9 million. A new logo, when I can’t remember its old logo, isn’t a parachute." - Sears Founder, Tony Chapman.

It feels as though Sears just woke up and realized it wasn't at the top of people's minds anymore. I don't remember the last time I've heard or seen a Sears ad... and if I have, I don't remember it.

All that aside, let's take a look at this from another perspective. When you Google "Sears", this is what you get:

The first few items they highlight are: mattresses, furniture and appliances. But if you don't think of Sears when you need these things, you won't Google "Sears". However, you might search for those keywords instead.

When I searched "mattress store", Sears appeared 5th after The Brick, Dormez-vous, Sleep Country and Leon's. The same thing happened when I searched for "appliance store", appearing 4th after Leon's, Best Buy and Home Depot. Even worse, searching for "furniture store" put them on page 2. My point? Unless you directly search for Sears, odds are you won't find them early enough in your search results to click on their link. Somewhere along the way, people forgot about Sears because the company stopped planting the seed in their customer's minds and now consumers don't think of them first. When I'm shopping for a mattress, furniture or appliances, I think of a few different stores, but I don't think about Sears.

So what is Sears about? Do you remember their tagline? At one time it was "This is Sears". But what exactly is "This" referring to? It's obscure and unfocused. There is nothing that differentiates them from the rest and there lies the problem. Take a look at this Sears ad and see for yourself.

So my message to you is...

Your first priority as a business owner should be to remain at the top of people's minds so that when people need that  "thing" that you do so well, they will think of you instead of leaving it up to Google to tell them where they should go. 

What are you doing to continuously water that seed you've planted in people's minds?

Morty Silber, CEO

Mad Strategies Inc.
a Wizard of Ads Partner

A logo is only as good as the messaging behind it.

Since the 1980s, Nike has been building their brand, always including the Nike "swoosh" as their "face", and now both their name and the symbol are associated with athletic achievement. Nike only paid $35 for this logo. As a matter of fact, no one on the marketing team was particularly happy with the logo. So why'd they use it? They understood the symbol is not the important part of the brand. It was the constant motivational messaging over time, "Just do it" that made the symbol mean something.

Another of the world's biggest and most recognized brands is Coca-Cola. They are King when it comes to positive brand association. What's interesting is that their ads don't really focus on the drink itself. Instead, they depict people drinking or reaching for a Coke during life's happiest moments. This builds a positive association between the brand (the logo is just the reminder) and consumers. It links Coca-Cola with positive feelings and persuades people to enjoy the drink.

So to recap...
A logo without branding means very little. It needs to be tied to an emotional mental image that helps you make a human connection. A logo is merely the identifier that triggers the memory of what the brand is really about and encompasses the promise, experience and feelings you have about that company.

Is your logo reminding customers of something?

Morty Silber, CEO

Mad Strategies Inc.
a Wizard of Ads Partner

The campaign that should have lasted a century.

Chick-fil-A is one of the most successful restaurant chains in the world. Their ads feature rebellious cows who tell you to chicken, not beef. This humorous campaign propelled them to outsell KFC by 50% on a location to location basis. After 22 years of successful advertising with The Richards Group, executive (newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer) Jon Bridges ended their relationship. He stated that although the cows are the company's mascots, they are not "the brand".

The Richards Group propelled Chick-fil-A into a $6 billion company when it created their famous "Eat More Chikin" campaign.

It's difficult to understand how a successful 22-year relationship can result in the agency being fired but Bridges insists that he wants the company's ads to be a little less cow-centric. Over the last few months, Chick-fil-A began a video campaign for their Egg White Grill Breakfast Sandwich featuring historical figures.

These ads aren't nearly as persuasive as the original cow ads. It makes sense that cows would recommend eating chicken over beef to save their own hide but there is no logical link between chicken and historical figures, even with their "that's crazy" angle. It's too far a leap for the mind to allow persuasion to set in.

In addition, and unbeknownst to its customers, the new Egg White Grill Breakfast Sandwich replaced the beloved Spicy Chicken Biscuit on the menu. This change was met with complete and "udder" disappointment. Sorry, I just had to.

The original cow ads had a clear message with quick-witted cow-titude and didn't bore. The cows had personality and were on a mission to save the bovine community, a humorous, acceptable and worthy cause. These new ads just aren't persuasive. They don't trigger that clever spark we've come to expect from Chick-fil-A ads. Couple that with a bad menu decision and we will see a decline over the next few years.

A campaign that can last for decades is the kind of campaign that shouldn't change easily. 

Let this be a lesson. Don't change a great idea that's working just because you are bored of it. If sales are continuing to increase, stick to it as long as possible.

Morty Silber, CEO

Mad Strategies Inc.
a Wizard of Ads Partner