Brand Roundup: We had to destroy the brand in order to save it
- Fri, January 28 2011
- Filed under: Branding
Since I’ve been talking branding this week, here’s a roundup of what’s hot (and a hot mess) in branding.
1. HOT MESS: Susan G. Komen’s absurd ongoing lawsuits against any good causes daring to use the phrase “for the cure.” Any cure. That’s right. Komen says they need to protect their brand. Their lawyers are doing a great job destroying it in the process. Stephen Colbert says it best:
Anybody who knows me knows I am a huge supporter of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, which raises millions of dollars a year in the fight against breast cancer . . . So I’m giving a big Tip of my Hat to the Komen foundation for spending almost a million dollars a year in donor funds to sue these other groups. If they don’t own the phrase “for the Cure,” then people might donate money thinking it’s going to an organization dedicated to curing cancer, when instead it’s wasted on organizations dedicated to curing cancer.
What’s next, Susan G. Komen? Suing Robert Smith and The Cure? Friday, I’m in court?
2. HOT: Jeff Brooks alerting me to the blog, Things Real People Don’t Say about Advertising, which does a fantastic job reminding us of what ads and branding can - and can’t - do.
3. HOT: Nancy Schwartz and Sarah Durham explaining what branding is - and is not. And Laura Ries’s blog. And Brand Savant. And BrandOutLoud.
Comments
Katya, you have stirred up a discussion when reading about what’s hot in branding, and what not. Thanks for sharing this knowledge!
I agree with you - when an organisation is not sincere and authentic towards its message, it will certainly conflict with its brand identity. At BrandOutLoud we are very much aware of that.
Unfortunately, between doing and saying (communicating) there is often a big difference within the NGO sector - something we are striving for to change…
Best,
Judith