Best of the 2000s: Brand, Product, Commercials & more

With 2009 all but wrapped up, it’s about time to celebrate not just the end of another year, but the end of a decade.

Adweek took the opportunity to celebrate the best work of the 2000s, with categories ranging from Brand of the Decade and Product of the Decade to Campaign of the Decade and Commercial of the Decade (in both Super Bowl and Non-Super Bowl categories), as well as many more.

Countless hours were spent compiling videos and photos all so that you can enjoy the best work of the past decade, here.

Best & Worst Identities of ‘09

The folks of Brand New recently posted their list of the Best & Worst Identities of 2009. They’ve put together a very interesting list of the top-10 most appealing identities, as well as a top-10 list of the most…. well, unappealing large-scale identity projects that wrapped up in 2009.

Have a look for yourself and see how much you agree with the final list. Anyone sorely missing who should’ve been included here?

Whidbey Island Grown: Introducing the new identity & Web presence

Thanks to a recommendation from our good friends at Northwest Agriculture Business Center, a group from Whidbey Island recently contacted us for help with a new movement they were getting off the ground. Whidbey Island has a large number of farmers who are providing some really great products, and this group’s hope was to build a new brand around the products leaving the Island.

It’s a local movement, to be sure, and this group wanted a brand that would spark excitement around what they were up to. One that could be used to help tell their story to people throughout the Northwest. They also wanted shoppers to be able to easily spot products grown on Whidbey Island when picking up bread, fresh fruit and vegetables from the local market.

The New Identity

After meeting with the group to hear more about what they wanted to accomplish, and about what makes the products grown on Whidbey Island so special, we put our pencils to paper and came up with a new identity for the aptly named Whidbey Island Grown movement. Here’s a look at the new logo we delivered…

We also introduced the tagline, “From Our Land – From Our Hands,” to help create a sense of community and connection to the work of the farmer.

The Web Presence

You can check out the Web site we developed for Whidbey Island Grown by clicking on the screenshot below. The new site includes info on how this movement began, what Whidbey Island Grown is currently working on, and how others can get involved.

You can also read more about the community involvement and development of this organization in some of the local print coverage the new brand garnered here. And the next time you’re at a local grocery store, be on the lookout for Whidbey Island Grown products.

What Matters Now: Important people talking about important ideas

Seth Godin’s latest work is an e-book collaboration of more than 70 brilliant minds talking about everything from Vision and Fear to Compassion and Excellence. Lots of great thoughts have been compiled in this work, more than we could list here (but here’s a preview).

The best part is that you can get this ebook for free over at Seth’s blog. Enjoy!

New logo delivery: AOL’s unveil videos

Love or hate it, you have to admit these new unveil videos Wolf Ollins delivered for the new AOL logo are pretty intriguing. You can see all of the videos here.

AOL has a lot of things to work through before they’re considered a threat to anyone, and it’s not likely a new logo is going to fix their problems. But, when it comes to designing a new logo, the delivery is key. The folks at Wolf Ollins hit the mark here.

Web Design vs. Usability: What experience does your site offer?

When setting out to create a new Web site, many companies fall prey to falling too far on the extreme of either: A) creating an amazing design that frustrates those trying to find what they’re looking for, or B) creating an eyesore that gets the job done.

Intriguing design. Frustrating UI. Courtesy of Zima.com.

This interesting article from Smashing Magazine takes a look at Web design fails and wins in the alcoholic beverage industry. Lots of great examples here of companies doing things the wrong way (many times because that’s what others are doing). Also several examples here of companies doing things the right way (tail-end of the article).

The Take-Away

So… what kind of experience does your Web site offer?

Extra Credit: What are you doing in your business only because other companies are doing the same thing?  See example – car dealers, real estate agents, restaurants,…

Value Proposition: How do your customers talk about you?

I had some tortillas at a buddy’s house the other day and they were some of the best tasting tortillas I have ever had. What impressed me about this is that they weren’t homemade; he had picked them up earlier from the local grocery store. (Handmade tortillas from your favorite Mexican restaurant taste this good, most store-bought tortillas do not).

Later that day I saw a package of tortillas at our house and something caught my eye. It was a line across the top of the bag that read, “World’s best-selling tortillas,” and I couldn’t help but think how the taste of these tortillas simply could not compare to the tortillas I had earlier that day. Even so, apparently these were the “world’s best selling tortillas.”

The best or the most?

This is something many, many businesses need to consider. Not how their tortillas taste, but what it is they want to be known for.

Is it that of having the highest quality products/services (i.e. “we sell the best-tasting tortillas”)? Or is it selling the most products/services (i.e. “we sell more tortillas than anyone else in the world”)?

And here’s the thing, companies will rarely do both. The company that chooses to sell the best (of anything) will rarely also sell the most. Why? Because those who can afford the best are rarely in the majority. The majority of buyers are looking for a good deal, and they’re willing to sacrifice quality to get it.

Were Wal-Mart to decide only to sell the best products, they would operate drastically differently than they do now (which is to offer rock-bottom prices for price-conscious buyers).

Harrods goes out of their way to create a memorable experience for shoppers

How do you talk about your company? How about others?

And here’s why it matters. It matters because once you establish what you want to be known for, it will determine the way your company should operate. It will also determine the way you talk about your company. And, perhaps more importantly, it will determine the way your customers talk about your company.

Wal-Mart customers talk about Wal-Mart much differently than Harrods customers talk about Harrods. Both businesses are incredibly successful, and both have devoted customers, but their customers are devoted for very different reasons.

As a business owner, it’s up to you to decide how others will talk about your company. Will they rave about your great deals, or will they tell others about the unbeatable quality/experience/service they found?

Personally, I’ll take the best-tasting tortillas over the best-selling tortillas any day of the week.