James Wright

A sold-out audience from the AdClub and the Art Directors Club of NJ enjoyed an informative presentation on branding by Lippincott & Margulies partner James Wright at L’Affaire in Mountainside November 13.

A unit of Marsh McLennon Corporation, L&P pioneered the discipline of corporate identity and brand strategy consulting as far back as the 1940s. The company’s image-building procedures have been applied to some of the world’s most prestigious brand names, including American Express, Duracell, Samsung, ExxonMobil, Citibank and Continental Airlines. The Duracell program, Wright explained, called for a defining use of color (copper top). It formed the framework for positioning Duracell as a reliable product heads above cheap batteries on the market.

“Our approach is that a product is something that is made in a factory. A brand is something bought by a customer,” Wright explained. “Major elements in branding include defining the audience and what you want them to know about you, determining objectives to be attained and preparing a positioning statement to provide the underlying platform for communicators.”

According to Wright, the brand image is “the sum of all the information about a product, a service or what a company is doing.” Visual identity consists of the name, a tagline, symbol, distinctive logotype, color and typography. In citing color use, he noted successful color ownership in branding by such companies as Welch’s, UPS and Coca-Cola. Consumers find it disturbing when a color is misplaced such as the use of red in the UPS logo and brown in the Coca-Cola branding.

Some companies have successfully promoted symbols in their branding,
such as Apple, Quaker Oats, Gillette, Mercedes/Chrysler and Sprint. Others, such as Texaco, Volkswagen and 3M, use the letterform favorably in their symbol.

Branding not a static proposition
A brand should be updated every 15 to 20 years, Wright emphasized, as he compared the evolution of three brand images down through the years — Quaker Oats, Prudential and the Bell System. Of the three, Quaker did the best job keeping its symbol abreast with consumer tastes. He indicated the guiding elements in branding use over the next two decades will be expressive, basic, conceptual, naturalistic, colorful, flexible and universal.

Nissan Experience
Wright noted that products sometimes get ahead of a company’s signage, especially at retail outlets. Such was the case with Nissan Motors when it made preparations to launch its new line of
cars for the new millennium. The auto manufacturer wanted a new identity and look for dealership facilities to support the initiative. Moreover, the project was to be consumer-driven, distinctive, improve business operations and be affordable for the dealers to undertake. “It was a tough, three-year journey,” the L&M executive said.

Extensive research was conducted into existing Nissan dealership facilities, competitive sales outlets, customer experience and future trends. As a result, 94% of customers would purchase another Nissan from the dealership if it presented an inviting and friendly environment. The study further revealed that of its competitors, only Saturn distributorships truly were in tune with their customers from appearance, service and convenience standpoints. Each company’s facilities conveyed the underlying character of its autos — such as Land Rover’s use of green to portray the outdoors against the ruggedness of its SUVs.

The task was to adapt the basic elements of the brand symbol, the “Nissan” word mark and primary red color in a bold manner to synchronize the ambiance of dealer facilities to the new car line. Key considerations were to make the interior and exterior inviting to the public and to place equal emphasis on showroom and service areas. A customer would enter the facility and proceed one way to purchase a new car or in another direction to service a vehicle. Hospitality would be the byword.

Essentially, the new identity incorporated the sculpted, bent geometric shapes of the new car line to present customers with a total car experience. Sales and service would face the street and building, and pylon signage would project chrome finishes during the day and red-lighted highlights during evening hours.

To gain Nissan and dealership support, a 3-D photographic computer model provided a virtual visual tour of the exterior and interior of the newly redesigned dealership concept. After extensive meetings on both sides of the Pacific, the design was adopted and is presently being executed at dealerships across the nation.

Adding to the evening’s festivities was a service display by program sponsors during the cocktail hour. Sponsors included WBGO Jazz 88, Pictorial Offset Corporation, Mag Send, New Jersey Broadcasters Association, RPI, Inc., Media First International, RKR Consulting Services, nj.com and AGCD.

The event was chaired by Allan Gorman (left) of AGCD. Gary Denburg (right) of Barton Press is ACNJ’s program chair.