For at least the second year that I have promoted it, Google again presents its “Doodle 4 Google” contest.

I know.

It’s a corporate “feel good” event that makes a billion dollar company seem more human and I should scoff.

But I love the idea and I love the art and I love that school aged kids show their enormous talents.

It’s nice to get the winning doodle be used as the main Google doodle for an entire day. Its nice that the winner gets a college scholarship and that his/her school gets a technology grant.

But it’s the creativity from young people that makes me happy. I think you’ll enjoy it too.

Voting ends on May 18, 2009. Join the happiness by voting by grade here.

Tags: branding, community, google, logo design, marketing, public relations by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I’m not sure if anyone else will care about this post but me and yet there’s a bit of excitement I want to get off my chest on behalf of Mrs. audio’connell who has no idea I’m writing this as she has more pressing daily responsibilities I’ll mention later.

You see, this season was the final one involving the Triple A baseball affiliation between the Cleveland Indians and the Buffalo Bisons (I’ll let you figure out which of those two is the MLB team). Cleveland was a fine team to be associated with but things change.

So the question in the Nickel City this Fall was who would be the Bisons’ new parent club? Two teams were in the running: the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets.

A brief point of historical value here in that Mrs. audio’connell grew up first on Long Island and then in Manhattan. In her house, they were a Mets’ family. In the O’Connell house, the fascination with professional baseball was probably on par with your current interest in professional shot-putting. So when the two houses “merged” 10 years ago, we became a Mets family.

It’s not that I had no interest in baseball or more specifically the Bisons….for many years when they moved into their new home (today rechristened Coca-Cola Field…I would have preferred Pepsi Park myself but no one asked me) I had season tickets. I’ve even voiced a Buffalo Bison commercial.

But when the oft-touted opportunity to secure a MLB team for Buffalo vanished, Bison tickets became a bit less valued. Nice to go to a couple of games but no thanks to a seasons’ worth.

So when the New York Mets and Bisons agreed to an affiliation agreement, my wife was actually giddy. When you manage two children all day long, getting giddy is actually something noteworthy. I think the Mets affiliation will now make it even more fun for us to take the kids to the ball park this season.

From a marketing perspective, in addition to the Coca-Cola Field announcement (which in truth is a great piece of news for the team ownership, fans and the city) the Bisons unveiled their new logo. The new branding ties nicely with the Mets colors and feel but absolutely has great identity all its own. Since I am guessing we’ll be getting some swag in the coming months, I’m glad its stuff I won’t mind wearing. Nice design by Phoenix Design Works.

So New York Mets and Coca-Cola – welcome to Buffalo! We’re glad you’re here.

Tags: branding, commentary, logo design, marketing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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EDITORS NOTE: To be clear – this is a post about marketing, not about politics. Marketing sometimes disappoints. Politics always disappoints.

Whether or not you voted for Barack Obama for President, if you have any vested interest in marketing (and every business person does) you have to respect what the branding design, plan and execution meant to the success of his candidacy (even if he hadn’t won the election).

The branding of the Obama campaign was a political game changer. In the next election, everyone will try and use this playbook but this branding plan was the inauguration that really matters to marketers.

In my opinion, some people voted more for the concept of Obama and his possibilities than the actual man himself (people at a crossroads or caught up in a euphoric state – as politics can often initiate- often make many decisions that way). Branding had to play a key role in shaping that mind set.

Enjoy watching designer Sol Sender, part of the trio that initially developed the now infamous mark, talk about its birth and evolution. There is not a business in existence that cannot learn a lot from this process.

Part 1

Part 2

Tags: advertising, branding, commentary, logo design, marketing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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LOGO CHOICE A

LOGO CHOICE B

Many folks remember the Good Housekeeping seal of approval on products. What you might not know is that it still exists.

To combat that “little” marketing problem, they’ve redesigned their logo. They’ve freshened the brand.

Please vote for the logo you think is the new logo. (Now of course if you know the answer, don’t ruin it for everyone else, by spilling the beans…just vote).

Is it obvious? Am I playing a trick on you? Cast your vote for fun and in a few days we’ll review.

Tags: advertising, branding, commentary, logo design, marketing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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If you hadn’t heard, Pepsi (my primary drink of choice) is going through a rebranding process.

The change, across all the soda’s brands, was leaked last week. If you caught my post on Twitter, I forewarned you.

There’s been a boatload of money thrown at this change, believe it.

It’s um, not good.

Now while I don’t care for the re-design, I do heart how they are tying in the digital world to promote it. This is a good use of public relations and social media. And no I am no offended that as a life long dedicated Pepsi drinker I didn’t get this Pepsi Care package. I know my place in the social media world (2nd from the bottom) and I’m cool with it.

Oh and Pepsi, who also owns Tropicana Orange Juice, is completely re-branding that line as well (this I like a bit better). Look for the new designs on a store shelf near you soon.

Full details from Brand New on Pepsi and Tropicana.

UPDATE:
Here is a video highlighting the old looks and the new looks. The side by side comparisons make the new design look even worse to me.

Tags: advertising, branding, commentary, logo design, social media by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I’ve never been to London but I know the logo for London’s Underground. With a tip of the popular audio’connell baseball cap to designboom for the head’s up, the logo (whose shape turns out to have a proper name: roundel) was the work of the late arts and crafts calligrapher Edward Johnston in 1917. Architect Charles Holden began incorporating Johnson’s sign design within the distinctive underground stations Holden designed from the 1920s.

This is a great example of why I love the internet, blogs and RSS. I wasn’t thinking about any of this before I read it this morning but now I am so pleased that I know it.

Yes, I am a geek but you don’t have to point it out to me 😉

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