In this ‘back to the future’ branding approach, Little Caesars is attempting to make their brand more fun by reintroducing “Mr. Pizza Pizza” the cartoon Ceasar mascot that was put to rest in 1998.  Their reasoning for it’s revival is that “Pizza is no longer fun”. Gerry Gaf of BFG 9000, the advertising group handling the account explained:  “It seems like everyone got really serious about pizza all of a sudden, talking about artisanal pizzas and apologizing for the way their pizza was made, but if you take a step back and look at pizza, it’s fun.”

Is this a smart move?  Eco Pulse survey conducted by the Shelton Group, surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. shoppers revealing 25% who said they look for “100% natural” or “all natural” products, while 24% said “USDA certified organic” or “100% organic” affected their purchases. Interestingly, 17% of those survey preferred “grown in the USA.” Could it be that Americans are beginning to understand how food effects their health and livelyhood more than ever before?

Now, Granted there are plenty out there that don’t, and just shrug their shoulders and eat whatever is fast and cheap.  However, in the pizza industry consumers tell a different story.  Papa Johns, who specializes in an artisan pizza, touting “Better Ingredients, Better Pizza” is now the 3rd largest food chain in America. Could their popularity be a result of people wanting resher, healthier, foods as opposed to ‘fun’?

The art of storytelling has been one of the most influential elements to effect the advancement of human civilization. 

I’ve personally never had bad Yelp reviews (ah hem…)  but I have known businesses that have and they all suffer from them. Like with most reviews, good ones are great whereas bad ones can be CRIPPLING.  There are some things you can do, apart from hiring expensive companies to work black magic to make those comments disappear.  This list of Yelp fixits come from Jennifer Rose at Flowtown.com.

1) Regularly Review Your Profile
Don’t just wait for a friend to give you a heads up or stumble upon a nasty Yelp review. Proactively review your profile to get a general idea of what your customers’ experience is. Some disgruntled customers might give an unnecessarily bad review that is hurtful or unhelpful, and those can be addressed. But one oft-overlooked advantage of patrolling your profile is that you can use it as (mostly) unbiased and free market research. If you have consistent compliments or complaints about one aspect of your business, you can identify areas you need improvement in or get an idea of what it is that your customers are really enjoying. Plus, your presence will show that you are genuinely interested in your customers’ feedback, which helps strengthen your relationship.

2) Assess the Nature of the Complaint
When you come upon a negative review, take a moment to consider what is really prompting it — there is often a seed of truth in most complaints. Yelp is certainly plagued by anonymous trolls venting about things out of your control, and you can look at the reviewer’s profile history to determine whether or not you should attempt to remedy their grievance, but do take the time to weigh each complaint equally and look for an opportunity to resolve the issue.

3) Send a Private Message
If you have decided a review is worthy of response, direct message the reviewer first. Apologize and acknowledge their complaint (don’t try to make excuses), let them know you value their feedback and business, and offer a specific way to make it up to them. Also provide a direct contact number and let them know you’d be happy to help them personally, now and in the future. This personal gesture creates accountability that they may have not felt earlier. Even if they don’t respond, you can know you put forth the effort.

4) Leave a Public Response
If the reviewer was unresponsive to your personal message, leave a public response — not a rebuttal — letting them know you appreciate their feedback, are sorry for their experience, and would be happy to resolve the situation. Even if the customer doesn’t change their mind, this lets the community at large know that you value their feedback. Note, however, that you should never request a reviewer change their review (in a public or private message). This can make your gesture seem disingenuous. Pleased customers who are active Yelpers will often amend reviews for you.

5) Try to Get More Reviews
The best way to up your rating (and combat those negative customers) is to get more reviews. Let all your customers know you encourage and welcome their feedback. You can advertise in-store and on your website that you offer special discounts or incentives for customers who can show proof of a review—though, again, do not request positive reviews. This shows you are actively interested in two-way communication with your customers—and that’s customer service gold.

Haven’t gotten as many reviews as you’d like?  Try these ideas:

1.) Post Yelp signage

Obvious and effective.  Post a sign at your location to encourage your customers to find your business on Yelp.  Now that more and more customers have a smartphone, customers can write a review while they’re shopping or dining at your location.

2.) Post your positive Yelp reviews at your business

I saw this used at one of my favorite vegetarian fast-casual restaurants in Irvine, CA.  They printed and framed their best Yelp reviews and posted them inside of the restaurant so you can see them while waiting in line to order.  Furthermore, the frame looked very exquisite and they blew up the reviews to 10x their size so that it’s very easy to read.

This technique has two very positive results:

1. Other Yelpers realize that this place is highly reviewed and worth reviewing, so they’ll take the time to review it as well.
2. People in line will feel very positive while waiting in line and the taste of the food will be that much better because they expect it to be great, leading to positive reviews.

3.) Offer a special reward to the Foursquare mayor

Yelpers are highly likely to use other social media service such as Foursquare.  Therefore, the more Foursquare users that you attract, the higher the chance that you’re attracting people that leave reviews on Yelp.

Fourquare users must also take out their phone in order to check-in.  If they’re taking out their phone to check-in, they may also take out their phone to review your business on Yelp.  Increase your chance of Yelp reviews by getting more Foursquare users.

4.) Host a Yelp event

Another obvious and VERY effective way to boost your Yelp ratings.  Take the following steps to hold a fun Yelp event with many Yelpers:

1. Interact with your current Yelpers (the users that have already reviewed your business on Yelp).
2. Interact with Yelpers that have reviewed a similar business to yours.
3. Contact your local Yelp Elite member to let him know that you’re looking to host a Yelp event and that you’re looking to work with him to host it.
4. Create a a web-form with Wufoo and invite Yelpers to RSVP for your event.

5.) Collect emails and request reviews in the footer

It’s always a good idea to collect emails. Do NOT send an email just to ask for Yelp reviews – this can have negative consequences and makes you look like a needy business owner.  Instead, make the ask passive.

In the footer of your emails, create a link to your Yelp page:  Let us know your feedback on Yelp! Over 100 others have already!!!

6.) Learn the language of Yelp!

When a customer comes to you through Yelp, make sure you illustrate in some way the importance of that service. You could say something like, “I’m so happy to hear that”, “Yelp is my favorite way to attract new clients and reviews are what put us on the map”. Expressing how powerful an impact positive reviews are to your business is really stating the obvious! Its a direct yet subtle way to influence a positive response. Another more direct way to generate a review is to simply say “your feedback is so valuable to us and would be much appreciated, its what keeps us on top of our game”. You’re not really saying “review me”, but anyone would get the point.

One of the biggest problems that I run into on a day to day basis are businesses that neglect their own branding integrity.  Attitudes like “I’ve never spent money on branding before and I’m doing fine now” and “I’m in an industry where branding doesn’t matter” have always puzzled me because I’ve always thought to myself “Well….wouldn’t you want to do everything you can to get MORE business?!”

It’s a very challenging process, trying to convince a nonbeliever that good branding is ESSENCIAL. I often liken it to wearing an article of clothing like a great dress. That dress isn’t merely a bunch of pieces of fabric sewn together, that dress is a statement, an attitude often times, a desire.  The particular dress you choose to wear connects with a particular group of people.  If it were a vintage dress, it would most likely connect with those who enjoy older fashion or ways of life.  If it were a business dress it might communicate sophistication and order. And just like clothing, a brand is your companies mode of communication.

Your brand does four very important things:

1. Identification: Simple, sophisticated, crafted visual symbol (like your logo) act to penetrate the psyche faster and with more depth than mere cognitive recognition.

2. Security: Brand integrity and cohesion creates confidence. Imagine being color blind and not knowing if the colors in your outfit match. Having a design scheme that is cohesive means you’ll always be. Like the design theme of a room – every item in that room matches and you get the sense, ‘That fits!’.

3. Impression: Having a consistent brand scheme alerts people consciously and unconsciously to the professional quality of your business.

4. Culture: Branding creates a mood or attitude that connects to your constituencies lifestyles. Say you’re in the green energy business, you need a brand that would fit on someones t-shirt, because people in that industry often like to show their support.

What I reccomend for most business that don’t have a hold on their branding is something called a ‘style guide’.

What is a Style Guide?

A style guide is a booklet that outlines the preferred standards for a companies visual identity system. The items addressed in a manual like this generally include:

• The Logo Design and Layout Options
• Business Card
• Letterhead/Envelope
• Menu Layout
• Color/Texture/Pattern Pallet
• Packaging / Environment Design Options
• Banner Design

What is the purpose of a Style Guide?

The major thing a style guide can accomplish, is that it can create a balance of prudence, control and consistency throughout everything your business does. It creates a stronger, more defined voice and communicates the elements of your unique story, clearer.

So sure, you can be successful without a good branding system in place, but why would you want to miss out on all the other business out there? Moreso, for successful business, if you have something down that works – people need to hear about it and you don’t want to get caught at the ball with a suit you got from Walmart.

Wishing you success with branding!

Timothy Bray
Ch1′s Blog Editor

Chapter 1 is a creative advertising group based in Austin, Texas.

‘Memoirs’ is a blog maintained by the Chapter 1 group where our deepest thoughts are spilled and our sacred inspiration is exposed for the world to see.

This is for my great friend Vincent Paul Martinez Jr. who is an amazing artist. We decided to take a strong storytelling approach to presenting his work.  Each painting has a very dramatic narrative telling the circumstances that it was created. Here are some examples:

The Hawkman And His Daughters

Growing up in Madeira, Portugal we had a very strict sheriff that would patrol our streets. The children nicknamed him “homem falcão” (hawkman in English) for the way he saw everything and would swoop down upon his prey. Hawkman had 6 daughters who were the most beautiful in our town. Every boy had dreams about them yet no boy dared pursuit as they knew Hawkman would make their fate. The girls were left very lonely in the end. One sister, Emiliana, who was also a painter, ran off with a gypsy who seduced her from her bedroom window. The gypsy treated her cruelly and she eventually ran away from him.  Before leaving town she painted a beautiful mural on the side of the town general store. The mural was of a rose, with a stem snapped in the middle. When I saw the mural tears came to my eyes. I was commissioned to paint this portrait of the sisters five years ago. I added her father and his looming gaze one month after this incident. ~VM

Johanns Escape

While stationed in Salzburg, Austria I met an old man there who deeply intrigued me. His name was Johann and his story has since been ingrained in my memory. Johann’s father evidently had a long-lived rivalry with a German officer when World War II was happening. When the section of Czechoslovakia that Johann’s family lived in came under control of the Germans, this officer came to Johann’s house in the middle of the night and killed his father. Johann and his mother and sister were able to escape. Johann remembered the night so vividly. He could describe every minute detail. With no supplies the three made their way through the Šumava forest. For five long days and night the three trekked through dense wood and bog water.  On the forth night Johann told me what is only to be the most intriguing part of the story. In the thick of night as the three were camped by a bog, Johann recalls waking up to a mist apparition. According to Johann this mist-entity gave him directions to an outlying Austrian town. Sure enough, these directions proved to be true. Johann, his mother and sister were saved. This painting, I made to pay tribute to Johann’s extraordinary experience. ~VM

Check it out his site here www.theartistmartinez.com

The following topics are some of the items discussed at the Cannes Lions festival by Chris Schreiber (director of marketing at social video advertising company Sharethrough).

These ideas have a deep resonance with me as more and more I see the future of advertising and marketing as entertainment providers rather than entertainment interrupters. Hope you enjoy these incredible inspiring directions in advertising!

A New Wave of Experiential Marketing In one of the opening sessions, brand futurist Martin Lindstrom noted,“It’s more effective to feel the brand, not to see it.” Experiential marketing was prominent at the conference. A number of brands discussed the ways we will use technologies, such as augmented reality apps and near-field communication (data exchanges with touch), to connect with consumers. Few brands have committed to experiential marketing more than Nike, which has had a 55% drop in television advertising spending over the past 10 years. They filled the void by sponsoring over 200 club teams, offering revolutionary mobile technology for runners and creating over 10,000 pieces of original content.

Content, Not Ads We are about to see an absolute explosion of new types of content from brands. While this process has already begun (especially with online video), we may just be scratching the surface. Coca Cola, is a perfect example with its “Liquid and Linked” content creation strategy. It emphasizes dynamic storytelling to establish multiple connections with people. Coke is vastly increasing its investment in many varieties of content production to help drive conversation and increase its popular culture relevance.

The Shift from Communities to “Collectives” The “collective” has now begun to replace the “community.” The term refers to the new generation of passionate online groups initiated by brands. This year’s most buzzworthy collective was Sneakerpedia, a Wikipedia-style site powered by Foot Locker, intended to galvanize “sneakerheads” worldwide to document the history of sneakers. The site has built a ton of buzz, a great example of how a brand can create new collectives around topics people are truly passionate about. Additional collectives included Nokia Push Snowboarding and Lady Gaga’s fan group “Little Monsters,” created by Interscope Records.

http://www.canneslions.com/

Cannes Lion Festival 17-27 June 2012 Trailer: