Mind The Gap

In what seems to be one of the most bizarre brand interactions with the internet community at large, the Gap experienced a backlash so immense in regard to the introduction of its new logo, it had to tuck its tail and run back to square one.

Here's highlights of the game:
Gap unveils its new logo.
Nobody knew that they were planning to unveil a new logo.
Everybody and their dog loathes the logo. And makes their opinion known.
Gap tries embrace the chatter and create a dialogue with web mob.
Web mob doesn't know how to fix their logo. Only to reiterate that they hate it.
Gap goes back to old logo and retreats. Waits for the mob to disperse.

Lessons to be learned? It's doubtful that anyone foresaw this amount of unpleasantness and upheaval because of a logo design. Granted, the Gap did not "announce" its intentions of changing the logo, but brands don't need to ask permission. Or do they? It seems the fans of the Gap feel just as much ownership of the brand as the people that are on the Gap payroll. And that's not a bad thing. Such passion is reminiscent of when Coke changed their formula and there was a huge public outcry, with the outcome giving birth to New Coke and Coke Classic. (And some say that it was a conspiracy to draw even more marketshare and attention away from Pepsi, but we digress).





So having a dialogue with your patrons can feel like a bite on the hand sometimes, but it's got to be nice to know that your customers are there and they're paying attention. And in the end, it forces the brand to be better, even if it is something as benign as a logo design.



What's amazing is that in the course of a week, the Gap releases a new logo heading into the holiday shopping season, get thousands of negative comments on its Facebook page, becomes the butt of several spoof site jokes and turns a full 180 degrees. For anyone that's keeping score, that's months of corporate planning dismantled by the public in a matter of DAYS.

The power of the internet, indeed.

Some sites of note:

Make Your Own Crap Gap Logo
Biggest Marketing Blunder List
New logo has its own Twitter account

CNN's John D. Sutter
The Internet Kills Gap's New Logo

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Award - Best Poster Designer

The Riverfront Times (RFT) released their "Best Of" Awards for Arts and Entertainment and Boxing Clever is happy to learn that we were selected as Best Poster Designer of 2010. This award specifically speaks to the Rock Posters that have been designed for our client Vintage Vinyl. So far, Boxing Clever has designed more than 70 posters over the last couple of years for amazing artists that come through St. Louis and stop by the record store for a short performance, record signing or both. Vintage Vinyl, a cultural icon of St. Louis continues to be one of the brightest spots in the hippest part of town and Boxing Clever is proud to be a part of that continued heritage.

Boxing Clever has designed for artists such as Anvil, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dr. Dog, The Black Crowes, Local H, Peter Bjorn & John, Valient Thorr, Dead Confederates, Old 97s, Brand New, Blind Melon and George Clinton (just to name a few).

Welcome to the World of Web 3.0

The internet’s come a long way since it’s origination. To those who follow even the slightest of changes closely (like digital marketing enthusiasts), the web’s been broken into 3 different stages of evolution: Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.

• Web 1.0 was an information portal - the “read-only” web. People accessed the internet simply for information, but the web at this time was lacking interaction. It needed a way to become more integrated into our daily social lives.
• Web 2.0 was more organized and finally “read-write”. Power to the people! This was the era of tagging, and social networking boomed as the internet became more community-focused and blog-centric.
• Web 3.0 is more personalized, as the web has become more savvy to the way each person is using it – from their likes, dislikes, past searches, tags, and online purchases. It is infinitely mobile and accessible, and increasingly more engaged with the individual user. Web 3.0 is portable. Pack it up, take it with you. Distribute. Store. Share. Send. Slice. Dice. Slap. Chop.

Why is this important to advertising communities worldwide? Communication with consumers has to reach a personal level that speaks to each individual’s specific behavior online. People are screening the information that’s most important to them on the web, and the only constructive way to reach them is by monitoring their online behavior, and releasing information that’s applicable to them. Otherwise, you’ll get filtered out with the rest of the irrelevant info out there.

To find out more info on Web 3.0, check out these wonderful presentations.

Facebook Isn’t the Place for Collector’s Items

There’s a great article on AdAge.com by Chris Perry called “Are You Investing In Facebook Fans or Just Collecting Them?”, that offers some invaluable tips to brands wanting to either utilize or improve upon their social media exposure. The greatest advocates that brands have in the digital world are their online supporters – those people that consume and enjoy your goods and services in real life so much that online, they click “Like” when they see your brand on Facebook. So how do you get a Facebook user to become your very own Fan, and afterwards, what’s the next step?

Perry offers not one, but ten. Right off the bat, treat Facebook the way you would treat any other advertising or PR campaign. Clearly state your communication goals, and understand your target audience. You can utilize Facebook’s targeting mechanisms to better direct your message. The capabilities are there – use them! Do research too – it’s important to know what your competition is doing on Facebook. How can you improve upon their current tactics? What are they doing that you’re not? What’s working for them, and what isn’t?

After you’ve gathered a core base of fans, understand what it meant when they clicked “Like” by your brand. Check out a few profiles, and see if you can’t make some correlations among them. Realize that there is a small group among these numbers that are your true advocates – check out who is commenting the most on your brand. These are the fans that are spreading the word, dropping your brand-name in conversations, and ultimately garnering you more support and more online and real-time fans. But don’t simply admire your numbers as they grow, recognize their full potential. Perry explains, “Put those who like you to work by giving them reasons to interact with the brand and provide a platform where their enthusiastic support is amplified to their networks.” This means, make status updates that appeal to your core fans. Make relevant comments that start a conversation. Ask questions that gain enthusiastic responses.

Perhaps most importantly, add value to your fan’s digital experiences. Give them a reason to visit your page every now and then, but stay realistic. Almost every brand has a Facebook page these days, so consumers are constantly facing opportunities to “Like” a brand with every click they make. Realize that your social media exposure is an investment on your part, and like any investment, it takes time to reach it’s full potential.

And finally, LISTEN. Your fans are saying something about themselves every day – that’s the best part about Facebook – people utilize it for the sheer purpose of sharing information about their daily lives.

For more information on this article, visit http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=144980, and keep your fan-base close!

We would like to thank...

Our clients, first and foremost! Boxing Clever just got a shipment of awards this week and the air smells of silver polisher and pride. Our agency is still just 2 years old but it's nice to see our trophy collection getting to the size where we are going to need a case.

While we feel that these awards reflect the hard work, enthusiasm and dedication of the great team we have at Boxing Clever - it also is a testament to our clients who equally share the passion for doing something that not only gets results but stirs the soul. And having some fun while doing so.

So for this latest round of shiny figurines, we'd like to thank
• Tuaca Liqueur who won a couple of Communicator awards for tuacabodyartball.com
• Vintage Vinyl, who commissioned the award winning rock posters for Anvil and Peter Bjorn and John
• Advent Conspiracy, who won a Telly for the 2009 animated video

We'll be sure to keep them dusted and on display for everyone to see.

Now we'll end our speech before the orchestra pit starts in!

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Ambush Marketing at the World Cup

Yup, it's happened again. One brand tries to gain attention at a major sporting event without spending money in any official capacity and gets in hot water for it. This time it involves a troupe of young women in bright orange mini dresses supposedly drawing attention on the behalf of Bavaria Beer - a Dutch brewing company.

The problem is, Budweiser is the official beer sponsor of the World Cup and they aren't too keen on competing brands encroaching on their ad space. FIFA is known for putting the kibosh on any unsanctioned guerrilla marketing and had police arrest at least two of the women. But to keep the situation from getting out of hand, FIFA says they have not pressed charges against the women.

The man responsible for the organized stunt, Robbie Earle, has said he's done nothing wrong.

More here at Yahoo! Sports

Adobe reponds to Apple

Adobe says "We [heart] Apple". But what they don't love is "...anybody taking away your freedom to choose what you create, how you create it, and what you experience on the web."

A succinct and to-the-point campaign. Boxing Clever applauds.

see more here on TUAW.