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Let’s be honest, the announced logo and overall brand reimagining for Cracker Barrel restaurants announced recently could NOT have gone much worse.

This kerfuffle takes the logo debacle that the Gap Stores instigated when they TRIED to introduce a completely new logo in 2010 (which was an IMMEDIATE disaster) and raises it beyond retail and into the muck and mire of the political world. Whoa…that’s bad.

The new restaurant logo (when compared to one another – old v. new) makes it seem like the logo designer never stepped into a Cracker Barrel. It does not fit with the store image (personality) that most consumers have or seem to want for Cracker Barrel.

But the logo is just one part of a reported $700 million rebrand…and it sounds very much like the Cracker Barrels of tomorrow will not resemble much of what customers see today.

At present, it has been said that Cracker Barrel is executing “pilot remodel tests” in about 25-30 stores as a part of a multi-year strategic transformation plan (see $700 million). The changes planned for the Cracker Barrel chain include lighter paint options, new fixtures and lighting, and repositioning décor – all changes designed to enhance the guest experience by providing an environment that feels lighter, brighter, fresher, and cleaner.

Well, that WAS the plan.

Customers are upset, the general public is upset (even people who don’t regularly go to Cracker Barrel, it seems) and for reasons still unclear to me, some politicians have decided to be upset about this logo change – where do THEY find the time??

If you think about it, a chain only makes plans to fix all this stuff ($700 million worth of stuff) if either sales are down, research says customers specifically want change or some combination therein.

But the completely negative reaction to the Cracker Barrel logo change (and maybe also the interior changes, although that feedback is spotty this far) seems to effectively shoot in the foot whatever drastic (or even less drastic) plans the restaurant had for the interior.

What can Cracker Barrel do? Stop. Drop. And roll.

Reconvene the designers for both logo and interior and say, we may need to make these changes but we are going to have to redefine the timeline and degree to which we implement these changes. Then implement a plan to calm consumers.

Regarding the logo…I’d implement some version of the ”just kidding” plan to the public, squash talk of that new logo immediately and then test a middle ground logo between the original and the new. It would then be presented in a much softer roll out.

They could have done this initially, btw. How about we just change the font style to the new look and keep the icon. Then in phase two, revise the sign/logo to just the word mark and no icon? Too expensive you say? Cracker Barrel’s plan A for logo roll out cost the company $94 million in market value in 1 day (worst ever for the company). Makes the tiered sign change costs seem like a bargain in comparison, doesn’t it?

Next, time for some spin.

Turn the logo negative into a positive…”clearly the public has spoken and shared how much the Cracker Barrel brand and logo mean to them. We love it just as much and are only working to enhance the experience of our valued customers based on their feedback.”

In essence, we hear you and we are responding to what you want, even (Cracker Barrel might say under their breath) if you all said something very different in our consumer research).

“We love all the at home designers adding their spin to our design process online and see it a nice compliment.”

“We’re not perfect but Cracker Barrel means as much to us as it does to you. As we evolve to meet the needs and tastes of our deeply respected customers, know that we will never forget that it IS the customer that comes first at Cracker Barrel.”

No doubt someone on their marketing team can make those words sing much prettier than I have done here but presenting that kind of message to the direct and indirect Cracker Barrel consumers should help calm the storm.

I have other ideas but no one is paying me so they’ll have to figure the rest out on their own.

Tags: advertising, logo design, marketing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I’m not much of a cable news watcher but I loves me some new logos.

So Comcast is selling off MSNBC (which was a cable news venture NBC News kicked off decades ago with Microsoft – hence the MS) that has always pretty much been an also ran news network to CNN and certainly Fox News — which has been / is a ratings juggernaut in that particular space.

With the new owners must come a new name because the cable news network does not get to keep the Peacock after the sale.

So let’s see what they’ve done.

From a name perspective, they are changing it to MS NOW (with a space, as opposed to MSNBC, no space).

The MS is now supposed to stand for “My Source”. The NOW is supposed to stand for “News, Opinion, World”.

In other words “My Source (for) News, Opinion (and the) World”. Um…ok.

They can try as hard as they want to promote the brand meaning with all those words – I don’t think it will go especially well, no one will care.

But overall, the NAME change from MSNBC to MS NOW I think is pretty good. The new name plays well off the old, established name…news consumers and I think a good chunk of the American public have some understanding of what MSNBC is…so calling the new channel MS NOW could actually transition well.

I grade A- on the name change (regardless of the supposed meaning), with a lesser grade due to the loss of the iconic peacock.

On to the MS NOW icon. What the hell is it?

A flag? A quasi-American flag? Did somebody in the graphics department start playing with the shape tool in PowerPoint??

You had all this time and THIS was your best effort?

It’s bad. It lacks creativity. It lacks…everything.

I grade it an F as in what the F.

As I recall, the MSNBC people used to change their logo once every other year or so. I’m guessing in another 12 months, someone will get around to hiring a professional designer to give that logo some polish…or actually, to give that network an actual darn logo.

Tags: commentary, logo design, marketing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Unless I told you, you’d never notice.

But I’m telling you anyway because (a) it’s funny, and (b) it involves me making fun of myself—which is always a crowd-pleaser around here.

So, here’s the scoop: Source-Connect (a must-have software in pro voiceover and audio recording studios like mine) updated their logo design.

Why care?

Because Source-Connect is the industry standard for real-time, high-fidelity remote audio recording. It’s how voiceover studios like mine connect with producers worldwide. The “Standard” version—yes, that’s literally the name—is what most serious voice talent use.

Now, the Source-Connect team? Brilliant at software. Less so at logo design — but who cares because the software rocks.

But the branding does make a difference to me because I use a co-branded Source-Connect-audioconnell icon across my website to:

• Show I have the software (which makes audio producers happy)

• Show I have the Standard version (again, happy audio producers)

• Show my Source-Connect username so clients can find me easily (happy, happy, happy)

The old S-C logo not awful, it was just “meh,” and the new one? A green dot and san serif font. Not awful. Just… bland again. More minimalistic I guess.

But, if S-C changed their look, I had to update mine for my website.

A small request to Source-Connect HQ: Could you PLEASE offer downloadable logo buttons in various formats? Save graphic designers (and fake ones like me) from reinventing your branding. There are a variety of us who have created these icons for our website…wouldn’t it be better if it was all at least a little bit unified?

Well time for me to go full graphic design DIY lunatic on a different voiceover logo.

My original redesign attempt on Day 1? Looked like digital compost. A black bar with words. Yikes. No I’m not showing you.

I was stubborn. I kept tweaking…

By Day 2, here’s what I realized:

• My brand uses a lot of blue

• Source-Connect’s look is black + white + green dot

• My first icon had zero connection to my branding (#fail)

So I tried again:

• Added a blue frame to match or at least tie -in my branding with Source-Connect’s look in a complimentary way

• I inserted a subtle green line to nod to SC’s new dot (mine’s a bit brighter in color—shhh)

• The new Source-Connect logo is one long line and I couldn’t find any variations on it so I improvised a variation of my own, keeping the “Source” with the dot at the top to be eye catching and the “Connect” shifted 90 degrees on the right hand side but still very readable

• I popped in my audio’connell mark with a white glow – that turned out better than I expected

• I included “Source-Connect Standard” and my username in a close-enough font (font matching AI let me down)

Any professional graphic designer would roast my latest co-branded icon like a marshmallow at summer camp.

And they’d be right. But hey—nobody got paid, and I got a customized, semi-functional logo design update for my voiceover website that works just fine.

Who’s laughing now, graphics nerd?

(Still you? Yeah, fair.)

Tags: branding, logo design, marketing, source-connect, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover logo by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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A voiceover business like mine, audio’connell Voiceover Talent, is like every other small business out there.

In addition to paying ourselves, we have to pay for operational stuff like web hosting, marketing as well as audio, computer and internet technology. In essence, we too have to reinvest in our companies to stay competitive.

Some of those more expensive items are often referred to as a capital expenditure, or CapEx.

One quick example might be when a voiceover talent buys a new sound booth, like my Studiobricks or a WhisperRoom. Those can be a lot more expensive than just buying a new microphone (unless you’re buying 2 or 3 Neumann U-87s – that’s an inside joke for the voice actors out there).

Well, up until this point of 2025, I did NOT have a major CapEx purchase on the books.

But as you are about to see…that all changed this past weekend.

Tags: logo design, marketing, voice talent, voiceover by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I love me a good headline but no, I didn’t get a facelift.

My voiceover logo got a facelift.

So I designed my new logo back in December on my Mac using Powerpoint.

I will now allow all the logo designers reading this to scream and throw their computers.

I get it.

What’s important to remember is that I wasn’t originally trying to design a new logo in December….I was only playing around and it just sorta happened. Kinda like how babies are made (or so I’m told).

Anyway, everybody seems to either like the new logo or not hate the new logo and life goes on.

Being technologically inept in the graphics part of my life (PowerPoint, for goodness sake, even I’m a little ashamed), I needed some adjustments made to the logo and I had to call in the calvary (i.e. Ann Hackett from aHa Designs).

I am her least favorite client because I am very specific about how I want things done AND I change my mind alot. She charges me triple her going rate but I still come back for more! Might be like 3 decades working together…I’ve lost count.

I sent her all and I mean ALL the darn specs/files I had on my logo (including the fonts) so she could recreate it with the changes I needed.

But her Mac and my Mac or my PowerPoint and her WhizBang graphics software don’t always play nice.

The outcome was she came up with my logo design kinda close but then made some minor changes and created a tweaked 2nd version that I really liked. So that was the facelift of Peter K. O’Connell, Your Friendly, Neighborhood Voiceover Talent.

I’m sure I’ll tweak it more as time goes on but I am very happy with this outcome on the revised logo.

Hope you like it too.

Tags: logo design, marketing, voice talent, voiceover by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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From a logo design perspective (and you know I love me some logos), few things make me as generally happy and excited a Minor League Baseball logos.

Which is why I was so excited to hear about the Greenville Yard Gnomes.

Yes…that is a baseball team, a very new baseball team and I am here for all of it (even though Greenville is 90 minutes away and I may never get to a game). I’m all in on the Yard Gnomes.

I’ll tell you why in a minute but first a not-brief-enough explanation on baseball leagues for non-“sportsball” people, (and look, I like baseball but I don’t follow/live/die baseball – an MiLB game is a great night out for me #goBuffaloBisons #goDurhamBulls #goCarolinaMudcats).

For those who don’t really follow baseball, they may only know the Major League Baseball teams (MLB) – like the New York Mets or the Los Angeles Dodgers…the teams that play for the World Series and get most of the attention. Even non-sportsball people will recognize these and other MLB names.

These MLB teams ALL have farm clubs…a kind of feeder system of players and coaches for the MLB make up teams in the Minor League Baseball system (MiLB). In this system, there are ranked MiLB leagues of teams from lowest (Single A) to highest and closest to the MLB (which is Triple A). Below that that are a series of much smaller leagues that I refer to as Development Leagues (I’m sure there’s a better name but I’m trying to get to logos here, people!!) 🙂

So, as to why I’m all in on these non-MLB teams?

These MiLB farm clubs and smaller teams, in my opinion, have to work especially hard to gain attention in their communities to get people to come to the games and for advertisers to spend money.

There is sooo much creativity that goes into MiLB and Developmental League gameday events, preparation, sponsorship (maybe broadcasts if they are fortunate). But to me it all starts with two things for an MiLB or Developmental League team to get a good start and be able to build a franchise: team name and logo.

The team name and logo set the stage for everything that comes after it.

The name has to resonate with the community (historically, geographically, comically – take your pick or mix & match). The name or a nickname has to be something the fans will be able to proudly scream and cheer for. The icon colors need to tie in with the community or be really smart looking. Of course the logo itself needs to grab the community for so many reasons, not the least of which is merchandise sales.

Not sure?

Go ahead and TRY and tell me you’re not the least bit curious about a baseball team called the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Biloxi Shuckers, the Lansing Lugnuts or the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.

You’d be lying. Don’t lie to me!! 😉

So when I hear about a new, non-MLB baseball team, I know all the work, blood, sweat and tears (and often not great salaries) that went into the work (and will go into future work) to get the team’s branding right.

Which leads to this morning’s revelation (at least it was a revelation to me) that North Carolina is getting a new baseball team as part of one of those Developmental Leagues I spoke of…this team is the Greenville (NC) Yard Gnomes.

#GoGnomes (I made up that hashtag…not sure if it will stick).

The Yard Gnomes (which I imagine may start to be referred to by fans as the YG’s (pronounced “whygeez”, one word)) are now part of the Coastal Plain League (CPL), which is a collegiate summer league, featuring top-notched college players from across the nation. The CPL features 15 teams across Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Many of the CPL teams play in former minor league stadiums and cities, as well as in newly constructed stadiums that meet Class A standards. Capitol Broadcasting Company, a Raleigh-based broadcasting, sports marketing and real estate company bought the CPL in 2022.

It’s such a small league that, as of this writing, the CPL web site hasn’t even posted the YG’s new name & logo (Capitol Broadcasting has). No blame here, these minor-minor league leagues are often severely understaffed.

These are a collection of college players traveling across the South in summer, with players often living in the homes of local team fans who sponsor them with living quarters (players paying maybe a small fee) for the season. These players also have other jobs. The players need to really LOVE baseball because out of about 1,700 players, on average only 10% of them make it to the majors.

These facts I learned some years ago at a game of a sister CPL team to the YG’s, the Holly Spring Salamanders (and yes I have a Salamanders hat – of course it’s a ’47 Brand Cleanup — my favorite!!).

So all of that – the branding, the small staffs, the low budgets, the house rentals, the blood sweat and tears all went into kicking off this new baseball team in Greenville.

And the team name and logo are awesome. Fantastic! I love it. Why?

The Yard Gnome name, just as a guy on the outisde looking in to a market/community I do not know much about, is unique, quirky and fun. The name brings a smile. This to me is a VERY good start and memorable for a league whose average game attendance seems to hover around 1,000 on its best nights.

The Yard Gnome logo is cute, charming and whimsical…like yard gnomes (unless your neighbor has, like, a thousand of them in the front yard).

The CPL has created a brand story to tie in the legend of gnomes with Greenville’s East Carolina University’s Pirates and some of the history of baseball in Greenville to make it all flow.

The Yard Gnomes logo was designed by Brian Begley, a New Jersey-based artist, who is know for his ability to blend historical and contextual elements with a clean, simple style.

The YG’s will enjoy their inaugural Opening Day on Friday, May 24 against the Tri-City Chili Peppers at Guy Smith Stadium, their new home.

Tags: logo design, marketing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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