Business 101: Happy Festivus…Holiday Branding for the Rest of Us! Branding Etiquette for Sharing the Spirit of the Holidays
Wondering how to handle sharing the holiday spirit from a brand perspective without going too far overboard on political correctness? Is it Christmas for everyone or just those who celebrate? Will Happy Holidays do or should you go with the humorous version and call it Festivus?
There are two main things to consider when you attach your company name and or logo to a holiday greeting. Does the subject matter of the copy and image go with what your business stands for? And in this small but varied world, are you being as inclusive as possible when you wish your customers the ‘Best of the Season’?
How to Share the Spirit of the Holidays without Offending
#1: Neutral Festive (Happy Holidays)
Happy Holidays, just as it sounds, can apply to any holiday or seasonal activity. Match with a seasonal photograph or illustration that focuses on symbols of winter, such as snowflakes, winter landscapes, a cozy house on a winter evening or pine bows. If you are a nature-lover, birds on icy branches and deer in a snow-covered forest clearing are always good. Everyone loves a beautiful nature picture!
#2: Festive Fun
Think Santa Claus, Elves and Snowmen. Oh, my – if you are into the classics, Christmas imagery as seen through the sentimental, but somewhat commercialized eyes of late 19th and early 20th century branding. It’s both cheerful and familiar and always makes us smile!
If you want an even more humorous ‘Festivus for the Rest of Us’, go for images that rely on the humorous and more earthly aspects of the holidays. If you go this route, you should be sure of your audience. Don’t send a greeting with a picture of Grandma dancing on the table if your business relies on a sedate and conservative customer base.
#3: Family Focused
If your business is family focused, then the traditional versions of Neutral Festive or Festive Fun are an excellent choice. Think more sweet and less sass.
Families skating, children tucked in bed, a plateful of cookies or a traditional old-timey image of a family around the tree are all great choices. And remember anything with children or kittens or puppies wearing Santa hats is always good!
#4: Religious Respectful
There are many lovely options available for the multi-cultural, multi-religious seasonal greeting, where all the major religions and their symbols are included in one image.
If a less secular take on the holidays is important to you (and more importantly, to your customers) try to make sure you are not inadvertently leaving anyone out.
#5: Seasonal Spirit
Christmas brings out the spirit of giving and there are hundreds of worldwide, national and local charities and volunteer organizations that would appreciate your help at this time of year.
Many of them supply Christmas cards with their organization’s name and contact information that you can send out with a hand written note inside. Because nothing truly embraces the spirit of the holidays like giving.
Remember when it’s about your business and your customers this time of year is a great opportunity to show a little more personal warmth–without getting too personal! Hugs and eggnog all around!
Business 101: Logo Doesn’t Equal Branding – 6 Sensational Secrets to Successful Brand Design
Your brand is more than your logo, more than your color palette or tag line, and more than your mission statement. It is, like a person, the sum of its parts. And like a person it needs some careful TLC as it grows!
6 Sensational Secrets to Successful Brand Design
#1: Your logo is not your brand – Let me repeat that: your logo is NOT your brand! A logo is just one part of branding. Imagine your company is a person. How they talk, how they dress, how they interact, what they do, the impression they make when they walk in the room – that’s brand.
#2: Color palette – To borrow a common euphemism, the curtains need to match the carpet. Your color palette needs to be consistent with your brand style and personality. For example, you can’t pair a pink and purple polk-a-dot design with a disaster recovery service or a party balloon shop with somber grays and browns.
#3: Simplicity – Less is more. If your brand was an outfit, adding too many accessories, hair clips, belts, bows, bobbles and jewelry takes what was an attractive outfit and turns it into a circus of competing elements. The same goes for your brand: keep it simple and clean.
Follow that tried and true fashion rule of thumb when you’re putting together your branding. When you’re done dressing–before you go out, take off at least one accessory. Two is even better. Then you’re done. In other words, take those third and fourth fonts off your logo and those fifth, sixth and seventh colors off your brand palette!
#4: Consistency – Your brand should look and feel the same regardless of the medium. Think Starbucks – the look and feel is consistent across their stores, even though each store is somewhat unique. Everything that represents your brand should feel like a natural extension without being too matchy matchy.
It’s like when you have a friend with a unique personality and you see something during your day and think “Oh, that reminds me of so-and-so…” Your brand (like Starbucks) should be able to strike that kind of familiar chord.
#5: Messaging – If the logo and color palette, are your brand’s external representation, your messaging is its internal value system. Just as the visual elements need to be consistent, your brand messaging should accurately reflect those core values. Always be sure to express those values in a way that supports your branding.
#6: Flexibility – Give your brand room to grow. Don’t make your branding so specific and narrow that your company can’t evolve or add other related product lines.
For example, When Nike started out they couldn’t have been more about shoes if they’d invented feet! But is their logo a shoe? No. It’s a simple dynamic, easily identifiable swoosh that could mean pretty much anything. Their tag line “Just Do It” urges athleticism, character and glory–nothing about shoes. Today, Nike makes and sells everything from running shoes, to full lines of sports apparel and urban fashion clothing.
Building a brand takes time. Take a deep breath and take it slow. Be thoughtful. What seemed like a good idea around the kitchen table may not translate directly to the boardroom.
Only time can give your brand the recognition that Coca-Cola and IBM enjoy. But avoiding some of the obvious pitfalls can give your brand the staying power to become a classic!
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