I agree with Al Ries that JC Penney failed to change…I just don’t agree with his reason why.

Al Ries, who famously coined the term “positioning”, wrote in Ad Age this week, “What’s the most difficult job in marketing? Change. And J.C. Penney is the latest example of how hard that is. In the year since now-departed Ron Johnson introduced his new strategy for the brand, sales were down 25%, the stock was down 66% and the company has lost $985 million.” (Read the full article here: adage.com)

In a nutshell Ries makes the case that JCP couldn’t change its image as a downscale brand focused on inexpensive clothing because that is the position it holds in consumers’ minds, a position he maintains is extremely difficult to change.

But brands evolve all the time, and many do a great job: Coach, Gucci, Harley-Davidson, Apple (yes, folks…Apple wasn’t always all THAT.)

My take is that ex-CEO Ron Johnson was so focused on his own mission that he was tone deaf to the American consumer. And the American consumer wants sales. Lots of them. All the time. We have been trained to look for bargains and discounts. It’s in our DNA. Ever been to a sample sale in NYC? It takes less guts to climb Anapurna. When it comes to bargains, we can’t get enough…or as the kid in the AT&T commercial says, “we want more. When we like it, we want more. ”

Trying to polish JCP’s image and make it more relevant wasn’t Johnson’s great failure. It was simply doing it the wrong way, and then persisting in his wrong-headedness…always the biggest mistake of all. As a realtor once told me while I was throwing good money after bad on my first New York apartment renovation…when you’re digging yourself into a hole, stop digging.

UC San Diego’s Organization of Teratology Information Specialists Launches New Brand.

The Organization of Teratology Specialists is a University of California, San Diego physician research group. The organization also has a consumer-facing service providing pregnant women with information about toxic exposures during pregnancy. It’s easy to imagine that the name Organization of Teratology Specialists was not very welcoming for expectant mothers. OTIS retained Wilesmith to rebrand the organization. We conducted extensive exploration and discovery, analyzed the competitive set on an international basis, and conducted focus groups with our key audience segments. The agency then developed 15 names. MotherToBaby was selected by the client. The agency then went into extensive design, developing numerous logos. The design goal was to support the name by illustrating the harmonious connection between mother and child.

County of Peoria Unanimously Approves New Name and Logo For Elder Care Facility.

Just back from Peoria where I presented our final brand recommendation for the County’s new $46m elder care facility. The agency presented 50 names and 20 logos; the County’s branding committee made the final selection, which was ‘Heddington Oaks.’ After spending considerable time in Peoria in December learning about the residents and the new facility, we discovered that the beautiful park-like setting was a key asset, one that residents and staff alike were happily anticipating. (The current facility faces a prison, not offering much in the way of pastoral pleasures.) Heddington is a geographic reference while Oaks refers not only to the lovely, leafy setting but also to the strength and wisdom of the elderly who are, shamefully, often invisible in American culture. The presentation was made to the entire Board of Commissioners which unanimously voted to approve our recommendation. While we have more work to do on the project, so far, we’ve had a ball working with the warm and welcoming people of Peoria…and a steak dinner at Jim’s in downtown Peoria isn’t too hard to take, either!

Wilesmith Advertising Retained By City of Miami Lakes, Florida

The City of Miami Lakes has selected our agency to brand and market the City.

The project encompasses a destination brand study and the development of a brand promise, brand identity and design across the brand architecture. The first phase of the project will be a six-month undertaking. The second phase will include a comprehensive strategic communications plan that will be implemented by the City.

Wilesmith Advertising/Design has developed and implemented successful brand initiatives for other cities across the State of Florida, including Dania Beach, Dunedin, Pompano Beach and Tavares, which the firm successfully rebranded as “America’s Seaplane City,” resulting in a dramatic impact on the City’s economic development.

In these challenging economic times, more and more smaller cities are coming to understand the power of municipal branding to impact dynamic economic growth. They recognize that building positive brand value can attract new business, create new jobs, retain residents and enhance tourism.

Wilesmith Retained to Brand & Market New $48M Elder Care Facility In Peoria County, Illinois

We are thrilled to announce that our award-winning firm has been retained to brand and market a new, state-of-the-art elder care facility now under construction in Peoria, Illinois.

Wilesmith’s assignment is to develop and execute a comprehensive branding strategy, including name development, logo, tagline and overall marketing and elder care strategies primarily aimed at reaching senior citizens and their families.

Estimated to cost up to $48 million, the new county-214 operated nursing home will house residents, including 80 Alzheimer’s patients, in 151,000-square-foot building on 13 acres.

To engage in branding and marketing for such a valuable community project in Peoria County, Illinois will be another exciting endeavor for our South Florida team. Our branding work with non-profits, particularly with MorseLife positioned us perfectly for this project.

Wilesmith has been the agency-of-record for MorseLife, Florida’s second largest provider of senior services since 2006. In 2010, the agency won the prestigious Bernays Award for our work for them.

“The branding and re-branding process for cities, community agencies and nonprofit organizations is a primary focus for the agency,” added Wilesmith, the author of The Importance of Branding for Non-Profits, which was featured in the PR News Guide.

Dania Beach CRA Board Unanimously Approves New Brand Design

The agency presented our brand recommendations to the CRA Board at City Hall last night.The purpose of the brand assignment was to support the City’s re-development and revitalization. It was essential that the new brand resonate with businesses investing in the City and residents who need to trust the City will follow through on its redevelopment promises. Our community meetings and insight generation sessions, as well as city-wide intercept interviews, showed that the City’s history was a perceived value asset and source of pride for many stakeholders. However, the previous positioning slogan “Broward’s First City” was weak on two important levels:

1) it did not express a brand promise and

2) because Dania had been in decline, the slogan carried a negative connotation: “just plain old.”

Based on findings, Wilesmith developed a brand promise, identity and design that supported the City’s “comeback” while reflecting its unique historic position in the County. The tagline First in Broward • Second to None honors the City’s significant history. At the same time, it moves the City forward with a promise that it will be nothing but the best. Not only is the brand statement a pride-builder, it’s also a strong geographic marker in the state of Florida, where the City’s primary marketing efforts will be focused. The logo is contemporary, structural and graphic, reflecting the City’s modern attitude. The use of the stylized nautilus as a frame of reference was inspired by the primary architectural design element used in the City’s new downtown center. The form is a perfect metaphor for the City, as the Nautilus grows in increasingly larger chambers throughout its life making it a symbol for expansion and renewal. It reinforces the City’s new image and creates consistency between environmental graphics of the new plaza and the new brand design. The wave formation at the top references the City’s substantial maritime assets, while the vertical form on the right references its new ascendancy. The logo utilizes the negative space to form the letter D (the City is commonly referred to as ‘Dania’), which serves as the locus for the other graphic elements of the logo. The master logo extends perfectly through the use of color to sub-brand various City districts, again creating harmony, uniformity, consistency and image reinforcement.

Wilesmith Retained by PATH Achieve Glendale, Los Angeles County

Margaret Wilesmith has announced that the agency has been retained to brand Path Achieve Glendale, an agency serving the homeless community in the third largest city in Los Angeles County, California.

Founded in 1996, the mission of Path Achieve Glendale is to end homelessness in the Greater Glendale Area, one person, one family at a time by providing housing and support services that lead to greater self-sufficiency.

The agency’s assignment is to develop and execute a comprehensive branding strategy, including a complete re-brand of the community service agency, name development and brand design.

The agency firm has developed successful branding and marketing campaigns for over 40 non-profits including the American Orchid Society, Palm Beach County Cultural Council, and MorseLife, a major provider of senior services in Florida.

The branding and re-branding process for nonprofit organizations has been a primary focus for the agency, said Wilesmith, the author of The Importance of Branding for Non-Profits, featured in the PR News Guide.

Unveiling the new Pompano Beach brand

Pompano Beach Adopts The Brand

On Tuesday, we presented our recommendations for a brand promise and new brand identity to the City of Pompano Beach . The presentation was enthusiastically received with applause and City approval. The goal was to articulate a brand promise that the City could make and consistently deliver to residents, visitors and businesses. The City’s unique point of difference are clearly its people, their passion for the City and their warmth. They embraced the brand promise: “For people who value genuine hometown qualities but also want the lifestyle a progressive, modern city offers, we will provide an environment where your comfort, enjoyment and success are our top priority. We will do everything possible to make it easy and pleasant for you to enjoy our beaches and parks, or to do business here. In every interaction we will affirm your choice of Pompano Beach by welcoming you warmly and making you feel like a valued part of our community.” The agency translated that promise into the tagline, Florida’s Warmest Welcome and created a contemporary stylized logo mark integrated with the Pompano Beach moniker. The bright organic colors were selected to reflect the many natural assets of the City, which has one of Florida’s most beautiful beaches, 42 parks and of course warm and welcoming people. Throughout the process, we worked with a great brand committee. It was thrilling to see our recommendation so enthusiastically endorsed and accepted. Next steps: extension into the public realm through wayfinding and environmental graphics.

Tag: brand identity