Recently, we had to make the difficult decision to suspend the AIGA Brand Academy we had scheduled for April. We appreciate your support and your efforts on behalf of the program and hope to offer it again sometime in the future.

AIGA Atlanta offers a wide variety of other programs and opportunities to get involved, grow professionally, and network with some of the most creative people in Atlanta. You can keep up with all of your options at our website, http://atlanta.aiga.org/.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at aigabrandacademy@gmail.com. Again, thank you for your support of Brand Academy and the AIGA Atlanta Chapter and we look forward to seeing you at future events.

Best regards,

Lynn Browder, AIGA Atlanta chapter president

Zia Khan, AIGA Brand Academy steering committee chairman

I have been in marketing and communications a very long time (too long to mention). During that time, I have seen the most magical and effective advertising campaigns happen when there is a connection–almost a love affair and a marriage–between the marketers and great design.

One of my mentors – Brad Todd, Partner at the Richards Group in Dallas -  said it best. “First of all,” he said, “branding and good creative are one and the same, and also two very different things. A strong brand is a promise and a good creative campaign for that brand must deliver on that promise. But a great creative campaign also has to capture the imagination of the target. That is where an unexpected ‘big idea’ comes in and why the marketing world still needs guys like us. It can’t be all about analytics, though the best brand strategies and great creative can deliver measurable results. It’s not a formula. And that’s why I’m still doing it!”

So, I hope after reading this, you will have a brand promise. Nothing is more important than putting a stake in the ground on what your brand will deliver.If you don’t define it, someone else will go in and fill the void.

A well-crafted brand promise will do the following for a brand:

• Provide a comprehensive understanding of the use and intention of the brand.
• Ensure that the brand is communicated to employees, stakeholders, consumers, customers.
• Influence and impact customers’ perceptions of the brand.

Building a brand is like building a house. The brand work will help to build the foundation. It documents the unique culture, visual cues and personality of the brand and will serve as a  springboard for the design team.

The best approach to develop a brand promise is to assign a marketing leader. From there, have the leader establish a working group. This working group should be senior level stakeholders who have an interest in the brand or have a special talent to craft a brand.

When I led this effort at HoneyBaked Ham and directed the creative team at the Richards Group, the HoneyBaked Brand promise was translated into new advertising campaigns, a new site and new marketing materials. The marketing team also partnered with the human resources team and store operations to develop an associate brand promise. The associate brand promise became a huge source of pride for the store associates to communicate the idea that “The World’s Best Ham Starts with My Best”. The brand promise permeated through all consumer interactions.

A brand promise should include:

• Brand Vision
• Brand Positioning
• Brand Personality
• Brand Attributes

Also, a few other notes from the trenches:

• Work with professionals. Work with a brand strategist to lead the process
• Create the plan and road map on how the message will be delivered
• Get “buy in” from the internal team. The marketers and design team must be “on board” with the execution of the plan
• Often, Human Resources is on the front-line of a brand or company. I have found that it’s beneficial to include HR in the brand-building process
• Make sure that at the end of the process, you can answer the four W’s. They are:
  • Who are your customers?
  • What do they want from your brand? What will motivate them to buy more from you, more often?
  • Why do they love your brand?
  • When and how often do you communicate with your customers?

I hope you find delivering on the brand promise to be a mind-bending, fun, and ultimately very successful endeavor

Jo Ann Herold is a VP of Brand Communications and PR at Arby’ Restaurant Group. She also serves as the Vice Chairman for the Arby’s Foundation. Prior to Arby’s she spent 16 years at HoneyBaked Ham and was formerly the VP of Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer with them. Before that, she was head of marketing for the Jackson, MS Zoo and has owned her own marketing firm where she worked with the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Buckhead Branding, Intercontinental Hotels Group and The Borgata Casino and Spa, Boyd Gaming. 

Follow Jo Ann on Twitter @joannsherold

There’s an interesting irony about the status of design in the marketplace these days: while design firms are gaining value in the eyes of business interests, design itself is beginning to take a less central role in design firms. Perhaps the two developments are related. It may be that firms who see themselves as professional consultancies (as firms in the UK have been doing for years), earn new credibility.

These consultancies are moving to a new level of professionalism in which they focus on the context of design—the world of communication—rather than on the mechanics of design. This is a wake-up call. It tells us that a) we are in the business of helping business and b) we need to pay attention to our own businesses in order to achieve that goal. The community has been discussing professionalization for many years. But so far, we’re not exactly sure what “professional” means. And though design is clearly moving to a new level, most of us have no idea what form the Next-Level firm will take.

We do have some clues. As any futurologist will tell you, the best predictor of future behavior is past performance. So, let’s start by looking at design firms as we’ve known them, past and present.

In the 1950s, which I refer to as the External Icon Era, a Fortune 100 company could score points with the marketplace just by hiring any one of a dozen white, middle-aged, male designer/businessmen. Since people on the street recognized and respected designers in those days, clients could think of themselves as magnanimously “funding the arts” through these high-profile commissions.

That era was short-lived. We then moved to the Internal Icon Era, in which design disciples followed the Designergod of their choice from job to job—until excess familiarity with the person behind the persona burst the bubble.

The age of the Icons is past. Ask new designers about their Designergods, and the list is not only short, it’s more trendy than substantial. And most people on the street can’t name a single living artist, let alone a designer.

Design now exists in a state I’ll call Russia. The nobility has been discredited. The Soviets have disbanded. The economy is uncertain. We are struggling to accept responsibility for our situation. But with all the changes that have taken place since the Icon Eras—in business practices, management science, technology, and the culture at large—most design businesses still operate the way similar businesses have operated for hundreds of years: as small, master/apprentice studios. Solutions are based on the master’s aesthetic vision; the business is allowed to grow topsy-turvey, without planning or focus; marketing is haphazard; employees come and go on short cycles; and profits are, to say the least, variable. We need more effective—and more businesslike—models.

The design community has been resisting the idea of design-as-commerce, and it’s easy to understand why: design and commerce are radically different cultures. Commerce doesn’t exactly understand design, or see its potential. But it does respect design—from a distance—because we have a power that’s just out of their reach. In a way, the Tribe of Commerce has kidnapped the raindancer from the Tribe of Design and made him dance, knowing he commands a magic they can’t replicate.

While lamenting any development that puts design in its place, designers are beginning to discover that the accountability the Tribe of Commerce demands can be freeing. And it’s forcing us to develop the new models we need.

The timing couldn’t be better. Designers are burning out faster than old satellites. One reason for this could be that the traditional design process is too personal: the designer walks that narrow line between differentiation and convention, giving a little bit of herself to each project, until so much of the self has gone into the work that she either has to stop, or give out. Another reason is that, though commerce has invited us to the party, we’re only there as wait staff. And finally, we’re finding that there are cheaper ways to make friends than running a studio.

It’s time to get serious—or at least to get different. And some design firms are working on it. As a consultant to the industry, I’ve observed nine new strategies, or business models, that are helping to bring the design business in general to the next level. Sure, some of these ideas are trendy—but some are very good. And each model has something to teach us about the future of design. In a following blog, I’ll show you what’s happening right now. Then I’ll tell you what I think the Next-Level design firm is going to look like.

It’s a big job bringing an iconic brand’s newest spokesperson, or in this case, spokescandy, to life. It takes an integrated team to create the perfect storm of advertising, public relations and digital support.

When we embarked on introducing Ms. Brown, the newest M&M’S® spokescandy in more than 15 years, we knew we had to go big.  The BBDO New York team created the image, the voice, the tone and the essence of Ms. Brown, the M&M’S® Chief Chocolate Officer who had been so busy at work that she didn’t have time until now to emerge into the public eye.  Then, they created a fantastic advertisement to air in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLVI.

Those two pieces were the foundation of our campaign. Then, the Mars Chocolate North America Public Relations team and Weber Shandwick Chicago focused on the public relations and word of mouth activities to give depth to Ms. Brown among key media and consumers. Their goal: drive interest in the ad and continue the buzz about Ms. Brown and her brand, M&M’S® Milk Chocolate Candies.

It kicked off with a teaser campaign two weeks before the Super Bowl, including an exclusive with the New York Times, as well as distributing press release and teaser images through traditional and social media following the exclusive.  Then, we hosted simultaneous “Sweet Reveal” countdowns in NY, LA and on Facebook.  The Reveal involved installing a 28 foot “Sweet Reveal” structure at The Grove in LA and a 10 foot structure at M&M’S® World in NYC.  From there, we distributed M&M’S® fun-size samples and flyers driving traffic to the Reveal and distributed one-of-a-kind mailers to top-tier media outlets nationwide in anticipation of the event. (The mailers literally counted down and unlocked on the day of the Reveal!) The team also engaged fans with a Facebook mosaic –fans could add “tiles” to help unlock an image of Ms. Brown and, then, share the link.

At the Reveal event, we solicited the help of celebrity spokesperson, Neil Patrick Harris. He conducted a media tour followed by hosting the live countdown at The Grove in LA and on Facebook. During the event, the Ms. Brown image was revealed simultaneously in NYC and LA for the first time publicly. Guests checked in at the event via FourSquare and it was streamed live via the M&M’S® Facebook page.

Now, it was time to lead them directly to our new ad where they could get to know Ms. Brown personally. We didn’t want to ruin the surprise on Super Bowl Sunday though, so BBDO New York created an ad trailer that we sent to national media. And, then, we waited.  We, like everyone else, watched the game waiting for the ad to air during that third commercial break, hoping people loved it as much as we did.

It was a hit! M&M’S® ranked #3 in social media comments surrounding the Super Bowl and the M&M’S® “Just My Shell” ad won the YouTube Ad Blitz contest.

It would have been easy to leave it at that.  Yet, Ms. Brown had worked hard behind the scenes for years and she didn’t deserve to fade into the background now. We needed to keep her out there reminding her fans and our consumers about our delicious M&M’S® Chocolate Candies.

Following the Super Bowl, we revealed that Ms. Brown is voiced by celebrity Vanessa Williams. We posted a national press release on the wire in conjunction with the ad launch, distributed an Internet Press Kit, and top-tier media and influencers received sound-activated greeting cards and e-cards from Ms. Brown the morning after the game. We followed that with an animated Satellite Media Tour with Ms. Brown and a Ms. Brown “Live Chat” on Facebook.

In case it was lost on anyone that this campaign was all about the chocolate, we opened a pop up Museum of Chocolate Art (MOCA) in New York City the week after the Super Bowl.  We held a grand opening of the exhibit for special guests co-hosted by Vanessa Williams. In advance of it, we executed a national media tour with Ms. Williams. It opened to the public the following week. Guests could check-in at the museum via FourSquare. We engaged fans via local market promotions by securing calendar listings in NY, posting geo-targeted event pages, enlisting Ms. Brown’s Twitter handle, and using sampling teams to distribute M&M’S® and flyers about MOCA.

Overall, the entire campaign has generated more than 622 million media impressions across traditional and social media And, thousands of individuals got to interact with Ms. Brown and M&M’S® Chocolate Candies directly.  Add to that the millions upon millions of impressions received by running the ad on the Super Bowl and immediately thereafter through a national media buy, and you have true integrated campaign success.

It would have been simple to rest success on the top viewed ad on YouTube. That’s a wonderful accomplishment and the sign of brilliant advertising work, but, in today’s fast-paced marketplace of consumers who take in their messages across all mediums, we find it imperative to hit your target everywhere. I have it on good authority that Ms. Brown agrees.  That’s a pretty strong vote of confidence. After all, she is our resident Chocolate expert and happens to have pretty high business acumen!

Renee Kopkowski is the Vice President – Corporate Affairs Mars Chocolate North America & Interim Vice President – Corporate Affairs Mars Global Chocolate 

Great brands were distinctive on the day they were invented…and it’s up to us to routinely go back to that brand DNA to determine how to keep the brand contemporary and relevant. Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen depends heavily on staying true to its roots –roots that trace back 40 years to New Orleans.

Named after Popeye Doyle, the lead character in the Oscar-winning film, “The French Connection,” we were founded by Al Copeland in Arabi, La. in 1972. In 1992 AFC Enterprises became the parent company of Popeyes and moved the headquarters to Atlanta where we remain today. But our heart and soul is solidly grounded in the culinary and cultural heritage of New Orleans.

Popeyes DNA takes us to a very special birthplace … the Cajun and Creole regions of Louisiana. This is America’s culinary melting pot where food cultures came together from Spain, the Caribbean, Africa, American-Indian, Germany and France to form the most distinctive recipes of our nation. This rich heritage drives everything we do. 

From an innovation perspective, our Louisiana roots give us a limitless field to play in. From our seafood offerings like Crawfish and Butterfly Shrimp to our boneless innovation of Wicked Chick’n, Dip’n Chick’n, and Rip’n Chick’n, this fabulous regional cuisine gives us the credibility to develop products unlike anything else in the marketplace.

From an environment perspective, our heritage is vibrantly brought to life in both our restaurants and our Global Service Center (headquarters). Both designs feature the warm, inviting colors that reference Popeyes spice profile and artwork and graphics that reflect Louisiana culture. The Service Center also features meticulous woodwork sourced from Louisiana.As Popeyes CEO Cheryl Bachelder stated, “This state-of-the-art workspace creates an environment that inspires creativity while connecting employees with Popeyes rich, Louisiana heritage, with a nod to a bright future.”

From a connection perspective, our efforts in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area are probably the most poignant. We pulled together as any family would to assist our employees and the city. Our first priority was to locate and ensure the safety of our 1000 employees, as well as our franchisees and vendor partners in the impacted areas.

Within days of the storm, we established a call center, set up alternative payroll processes to get desperately needed funds into the hands of our displaced employees, created a message board on our website, ran PSAs on media in the surrounding markets and posted signage in all of our restaurants in other markets…all in an effort to make contact. We also worked with the American Red Cross, both locally and nationally, to donate funds and volunteer time to support the relief efforts.

It is absolutely critical to have a brand that is truly distinctive and resonates with its core customers. By focusing on its unique Louisiana heritage, the Popeyes brand is ensuring its distinctiveness and relevancy for years to come. Today Popeyes has more than 2,000 restaurants in some 45 states and 25 countries; but with our rich Louisiana heritage, the future looks very bright.

 Alicia Thompson, APR is Vice President of Communication and PR for Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen.

This commitment comes from the AIGA-Atlanta board, providing seed capital, and from our marketing partners-the Atlanta chapters of:
The American Marketing Association
The International Association of Business Communicators
The Public Relations Society of America
The Atlanta Web Design Group.

Our first six sponsors–whose names & logos appear below– are contributing not only sustaining funds and their expertise, but the weight of their own brands to lend strength and credibility to the Program. The support of these stakeholders is vital in several ways.

Brand Academy’s instruction and curriculum come from the world class Goizueta Business School and Emory Executive Education. Many hours of planning and thought have gone into making a concentrated program of solid case studies and actionable ideas. Brand Academy is a costly program to mount, and support from our stakeholders allows us to keep Brand Academy tuition low relative to the excellence of the program.

Branding is a highly effective way to communicate with the marketplace, and successful brands command a premium in pricing, cost of capital and ROI. For those reasons alone, Brand Academy represents a valuable educational experience. But branding has taken on an even more important role– that of establishing the beliefs of the people who make products available. Brands driven by well articulated values help make work more meaningful for the people who bring those brands to market. In the marketplace, citizens then ‘vote’ for those brands and value systems that they like and want to support. Democratic capitalism is undergoing profound structural changes. Improving the Art and Science of branding has the potential to accelerate entrepreneurship, and to support the orderly evolution of products, markets and their governance.

So, on behalf of the Brand Academy team, I’d like to thank our sponsors and marketing partners for their support of Brand Academy, the Branding community, and big idea that branding can have profound and far reaching benefits.

David Laufer
Chair of Finance, Brand Academy & Sponsorship chair, AIGA-Atlanta
Owner, BrandBook LLC

AIGA Atlanta is pleased to offer Brand Academy for the second time to creative professionals in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. The Brand Academy program will frame business and marketing principles for creative professionals in the context some of the most successful brand campaigns today. After attending the Brand Academy program, you’ll see how creative fits into the overall branding strategy and you will better understand your client or company’s needs from a business perspective.

AIGA Atlanta created Brand Academy with Emory Executive Education and the faculty of Emory’s Goizueta School of Business to bring the very best in business practices and marketing strategy to you in a way that is relevant to the creative industry. AIGA Atlanta is proud of its local and regional talent, and we are providing unique tools for creative professionals to become leaders in the branding community. Over the course of two and a half days, AIGA Atlanta has packed the schedule with informative sessions from top-notch faculty and branding pros to give attendees a comprehensive overview of branding.

The Brand Academy curriculum is designed to combine the essential elements of business school along with the framework to apply your newfound knowledge in your practice. Sure, you can read books or blogs about branding, but those sources can’t compete with the vital experience of engaging directly with branding experts. The lively discussions of best practices and the diversity of perspectives shared with your peers are invaluable. Attendees from the last program described their experience as stimulating, informative, and very relevant. It truly is a way to transform your meetings with company or client executives from discussions on tactics alone to strategy.

As an active member of AIGA for many years, I want to encourage you to attend Brand Academy. As a graduate of the first program in 2008, I know my business and my clients have benefited from the investment I made. Now my engagements with clients are more consultative and advisory in nature, which is far more rewarding and valuable to both parties. Our chapter is fortunate to have the talents of Emory’s Goizueta Business School available to us, and AIGA Atlanta augments the program schedule with distinguished speakers that work with Fortune 500 companies.

Both in my leadership position with AIGA Atlanta and as a former member of the national AIGA board, I talk to colleagues every day that express their concerns about the continuous and rapid changes the creative community experiences from both technology developments and the shifting economy. These challenges also present new opportunity that can only be realized with a change in perspective. Brand Academy will help you speak the same language your clients do – the language of business.

Please consider investing in yourself or your team and join me and your fellow creative leaders March 25-27, 2013 for Brand Academy. AIGA Atlanta promises it will be a transformational event for all that attend. Registration is now open at www.aigaatl.org.

Zia Khan, 2013 Brand Academy Chairperson
President & Creative Director
Lucid Partners, Inc.