PST encompasses a TON of exhibits -  I’ve been doing my best over the past several months to check these out. Following are my Top 10 PST “must see’s” so far. You can check the full roster of goodies here Some of these exhibits only have a few weeks left before they come down, so do yourself a favor and call in a sick day, jump in your car and GO SEE SOME ART.

1. The GRAMMY Museum
Los Angeles, CA
Trouble In Paradise: Music and Los Angeles, 1945-1975
February 22, 2012 – April 2, 2012
Trouble in Paradise explores the pop music scenes of Los Angeles, and their related culture, politics, and popular art, during the years of 1945-1975. Trouble in Paradise include surf rock, jazz, R&B, Laurel Canyon folk rock, the Sunset Strip rock scene, and the East L.A. Chicano sound. And lets not forget the Hardest Working Man in Show Biz – James Brown! (Don’t forget to check out the Listening Booth)

2. Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
Naked Hollywood: Weegee in Los Angeles
November 13, 2011 – February 27, 2012
In 1947, the tabloid photographer known as Weegee relocated from New York City to Los Angeles. In doing so, he abandoned the grisly crime scenes for which he was best known and trained his camera instead on Hollywood stars, strippers, costume shops, and naked mannequins, sometimes distorted through trick lenses and multiple exposures. This is the first museum exhibition ever devoted to the body of work Weegee produced in Southern California and includes his 1953 photo-book Naked Hollywood, roughly 200 never-before-seen photographs as well as the photographer‖s related work as an author, filmmaker, and photo-essayist.

3. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Los Angeles, CA
California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way”
October 1, 2011 – March 25, 2012
The first major study of California mid-century modern design features more than 350 objects—furniture, ceramics, metalwork, fashion and textiles, architectural drawings and photographs, and industrial and graphic design.

Edward Kienholz: Five Car Stud 1969 – 1972, Revisited
September 4, 2011 – January 15, 2012
Ed Kienholz‖s Five Car Stud, created for Documenta 5 in 1972, has never been seen publicly in the United States. This life-size tableaux depicts a black man caught drinking at night in his pick-up truck with a white woman; his vehicle has been surrounded and trapped by the parked cars of his six white captors. Easily the most disturbing and powerful piece I’ve seen in a long, long time. Can’t believe its been in storage for 40 years…

4. A + D Architecture and Design Museum
Los Angeles, CA
Eames Designs: The Guest- Host Relationship
October 1, 2011 – January 16, 2012
“The role of the designer,” said Charles Eames, “is that of a very good, thoughtful host, all of whose energy goes into trying to anticipate the needs of his guests.” Features key vintage furniture pieces, Eames films, slide shows and quotes, the exhibition suggests that one reason why the designs have endured is that ideas like the guest-host relationship were, to the Eameses‖, products as essential as their chairs.

5. Fowler Museum at UCLA (with UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center)
Los Angeles, CA
Mapping Another L.A.: The Chicano Art Movement
October 16, 2011 – February 26, 2012
A collective re-imagining of the urban landscape through photography, graphic arts, murals, and large-scale architectural plans, as well as through painting, sculpture, installation, and drawing via the Chicano movement. The work is at once local, identity-based, and global in orientation, exploring the uncharted spaces between Mexican tradition, Chicano vernacular, and American modernism.

6. The Getty Research Institute
The Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA
Greetings from L.A.: Artists and Publics 1945–1980
October 1, 2011–February 5, 2012
A ton of cool personal, promotional and marketing ephemera revealing how key West Coast artists disseminated their works to a broader public.

7. Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
The Geffen Contemporary Los Angeles, CA
Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-1981
October 2, 2011 – February 13, 2012
The most comprehensive survey exhibition to date to examine the exceptional fertility and diversity of art practice in California during the mid- to late 1970s. Features works by approximately 125 artists working in a wide array of mediums and styles. The exhibition demonstrates how collective loss of faith in government and other institutionalized forms of authority yielded a pluralistic spirit of freedom and experimentation that reached its artistic apex in California, already a fertile ground for creativity and non-conformity.

8. Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD)
La Jolla and Downtown San Diego
Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface
September 25, 2011 – January 22, 2012
Presented in MCASD‖s two locations (dTown + LJ), Phenomenal focuses on perceptual investigations by artists that began in Los Angeles and Southern California in the 1960s, fomenting many of the most vanguard practices engaging young artists today. These intrepid artists pioneered distinctive approaches that focus on visual perception rather than discreet objects. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, resin and acrylic sculptures as well as site-responsive installations in which the predominant medium is light.

9. Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)
Long Beach, CA
MEX/LA: “Mexican” Modernism(s) in Los Angeles 1930-1985 14
September 18, 2011 – January 29, 2012
MEX/LA: “Mexican” Modernism(s) in Los Angeles 1930-1985 focuses on Mexican modernist avant-garde art created in Los Angeles between 1945 and 1985 with a prologue on Mexican muralists and painters of the 1930s. Mexican modern art has often been viewed with particular stereotypes that have perpetuated a commonly simplified perception. This exhibition challenges that perception and offers an open-ended revisionist history of Mexican Modernism.

10. Norton Simon Museum
Pasadena, CA
Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California
October 1, 2011 – April 2, 2012
Proof explores the significance of printmaking and its new possibilities as first re-envisioned in post-war Southern California. The exhibition includes works by the local founders of this movement such as well as those who made their way to print specifically in Los Angeles.

Steve Job’s recent passing really got me thinking – for all his fame, fortune and accolades, was he a happy guy?  He created the platform(s) that spawned the creation of apps for pretty much everything in life – communicating with friends, staying in the loop with the latest news and trends, watching live television, avoiding traffic jams, sharing photos with your online followers – the list is endless and growing exponentially. All of these things are supposed to be making our lives better and the things we do easier, allowing us to be happier and enjoy life more.

Was the guy who enabled all this happy himself? Despite all these tools, why are more and more people struggling to stay engaged in their daily lives, complaining about how difficult the times are, how bad the job market is, how things aren’t working out like they had hoped? All the while spending days on end playing Angry Birds on their iPhone?

I’m not sure if Steve Jobs was a happy guy or not, but I’m pretty sure true happiness doesn’t come from continually staying connected, plugged into, and chained (usually figuratively, sometimes literally) to the devices and platforms he created.

I’m a firm believer that no “i” is required for a happy ME – here’s 5 thoughts on getting some happy in your life that doesn’t involve an iPhone, iPod, iPad, iBook or iAnything else:

1. Disconnect.

Pull the plug on your computer and phone. Go for the television while you’re at it.  This one is especially ironic because as a designer my entire career has depended upon connection via my computer. Designing this or that, researching brands, writing proposals, emailing clients. My entire career fits on a 500GB external hard drive…a mildly depressing thought.

So why would I tell anyone to switch off the connection that is our lifeblood, our livelihood, our connection with the world? Because we can only spend so much of our day staring at a screen (no matter the size or shape) before our brains turn to mush, our bodies follow suite, and our souls start aching for something real. Walking away from the screen is the first step.

2. Go Outside.  

But…I’m waiting on this urgent email, and plus I don’t know if my Amazon order has shipped yet, and I ‘m chatting with someone who I haven’t spoke with in…forever. It’s okay. Flee. Leave it all behind and get outside your home or office. Not mentally. I mean physically – increasingly strange concept in these digital days (daze?).

Actually lift your butt off whatever you are sitting on, and walk out the door and keep walking until when you look up, you see sky. Take in the sights and sounds around you, enjoy a few big breaths of fresh air, feel the warm sun (or cold wind, or wet rain). Embrace the fact that, for this moment, you cannot be bothered by that urgent email, celebrity tweet or must have Groupon offer.

3. Do Something Real.

Sorry – browsing the red tag items at Target, picking up groceries for tomorrow’s casserole, or taking your car to Jiffy Lube for that oil change doesn’t count. I’m talking about something that is FREE and something that requires you to MOVE. If you only have a ten minute break, go for a leisurely walk down whatever street you happen to be on right now. Use every minute of free time at your disposal to get real, in real time, in the real world.

Don’t go back inside and iReconnect until you have to. I guarantee your body and mind will thank you for the break, however short.  Do it every day. As a matter of fact, I’m going to practice what I preach…be back in ten.

4. Start Exploring. 

Once you’ve gotten outside and comfortable with being unplugged from your digital life for a bit, it’s time to explore your boundaries. Take a stroll or pedal yourself to somewhere that you haven’t been before and see where it leads. Find a park, hiking trail, lake, river, mountain, beach, or forest near your home or office. Chances are, unless you live on the moon, one of those is close by. Make yourself unavailable for a few hours and go see what these places are all about.

When you’re exploring someplace new that doesn’t involve a high score, you’ll find that your mind and body are alert and your soul is invigorated. Stresses of the day will fade.  Push your boundaries and see how much you can do with the “me” time you’ve made for yourself. Hike up a small hill, or big mountain. Get yourself to the beach and put your feet in the sand. Take a weekend road trip to someplace new. It doesn’t matter what, or where, or for how long, it just matters that you do some real world exploring, and that you get in the habit of doing it often.

5. Work on Yourself, not Your LinkedIn Profile.

You are, after all, the center of your reality. The more good you can do for yourself and your body, the more you’ll get back (and the longer you’ll be around to pad that online profile). I’m no personal trainer, and I’m certainly not a nutritionalist, but I have learned that there is a very real, very direct correlation between treating my body well and being happy.

That feeling we’ve all had after spending all weekend on the couch gorging on crap food and candy? It’s the exact opposite of the one you get leaving the gym, getting home after a long run, pulling up after a great bike ride, or standing at the summit after a challenging hike. That feeling – that’s what I’m talking about.

The more we can do to leave our bodies and minds feeling healthy and invigorated, the happier we’re going to be. I think it’s really that simple…and no, its NOT coming soon to the App Store.

QR codes are starting to saturate my daily existence – I’ve started noticing these things EVERYWHERE…

• The back of my ticket stubs have been colonized
• Billboards are blasting them out from the side of Interstate 5
• The cafe down the street proudly displays one
• Business card backs are stamped with them like a Mission Beach coed

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I hate to say it buuuut… you might be living under a rock.

And for those of you who are in fact living in that luddite xerox colony under that rock next to the fax machine, Quick Response Codes – commonly know as QR Codes – are 2D black and white square matrixes that can be scanned on your smartphone (iPhone or Android) by using an app (such as RedLaser).

When decoded, these UPC-like barcodes can prompt your smartphone to do nifty things like:

• Call a phone number
• Show you a plain text message
• Watch a video
• Send a text message
• Bring up a web page (homepage, facebook profile, twitter post, etc.)

The list of possible consequences goes on and on. You get the point…

Think of it like this: anything you can do on your smartphone can be prompted by the scanning of a QR Code. Can you say, “Advertiser’s Dream?” Large and small businesses alike have been starting to use these codes as the backbone of their marketing campaigns to engage with customers on a whole new level.

Some of the most creative ones I’ve seen to date are:

1) Victoria Secret’s “Sexier than Skin” Campaign

Scanning these QR codes entice users to unlock “Victoria’s Secret” and see what’s underneath the sexy pin-up girl images. Although unconfirmed, the billboards have been rumored to have caused a few fender benders…

2) “Get It Uncensored” Calvin Klein Jeans X Campaign

Calvin Klein really took the “less is more” approach to heart when launching their Fall 2010 Jeans campaign. No images, just scan their code. Passersby without smartphones had no way of knowing what these ads were all about. Suddenly, VIP status was given to smartphone users who could scan and watch CK’s racy, 40-second video instantly on their mobile devices.

3) New York City’s “The World Park” Campaign

This campaign is an amazing mobile interactive experience that creates engagement and raises awareness for city parks; basically turning New York City’s Central Park into a real-life board game. You could nerd out to facts about the park, discover scenes from movies shot there or unlock park history – all by scanning various “parkodes.” Balboa Park, take note!

4) Starbucks/Lady Gaga Scavenger Hunt Campaign

Earlier this year, the world’s biggest coffee shop teamed up with the world’s biggest pop star to launch “SRCH;” a digital scavenger hunt which involved scanning QR codes at participating Starbucks stores and searching out clues for a chance to win cool prizes (which coincidentally promoted Gaga’s new album and Starbucks’ new lattes) Check out this recap of Round 1 to get an idea of how the game was played: http://www.starbucks.com/blog/1020

5) Punchd! by Google

Punchd! is a mobile replacement for buy-10-get-1-free punch cards. Its an app that runs on your phone and keeps track of all your punches to ensure you get that free coffee/ sandwich / oil change you’ve been splurging for. No more toting around dozens of cards in your wallet or forgetting them at home. Simply scan the punchcode next to the register at participating shops to record your “punch.” I just scanned my first punch last week at Moto Fuco Cafe, what what!

So What’s the Payoff? Why QR Codes? 

Traceability: the best part about running a QR Code-based campaign is that they’re 100% traceable. By creating unique URLs you can easily track all of your QR code campaigns in Google Analytics. For more info on how to track your QR campaigns check out this post by Red Clay Interactive.

Bottom Line: Love ‘em or hate ‘em, QR Codes aren’t going away – especially with the iPhone 5 WAIT! I mean iPhone 4GS just out of the gates. I challenge all you Luddite laggards out there to stop judging the aesthetics of those funky digital labyrinths popping up everywhere…and start decoding!

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And here’s a couple related links to get you talking QR Codes like a pro at that next nerd convention after party:

Wiki Definition

QR Code Generator

Getting Unique with QR Codes

DNA QR Code Art

31 Brands with Some of the Best QR Code Campaigns

Fingers tightly crossed, it seems like we might, just might, be coming out of a marketing slump. Over the past two months we’ve been having more conversations with small to mid-size business owners business owners (and even a few adventurous start-ups) about their branding and marketing efforts than we have over the past two years.

Before I get ahead of myself, a few quick reminders about what a brand is at the end of the day:

A person’s perception and emotional connection to your product, service, experience or organization

And what it is not:

Your logo!!!

Okay, with that out of the way and everyone up to speed, lets talk branding and marketing in this roller coaster we call an economy…

New Normal or Good Times Ahead? Either Way, It’s Time to Get (Re)Started

As a business owner, I understand personally how the economy has affected business buying decisions. Keep the doors open or revamp a stale brand? Hmmmmm…not a tough choice. But now that we’re either stabilizing toward a “new normal” or starting to see positive shift in the economy, businesses are starting to realize it’s time to strengthen their brand, redo their website, jump into social media – or their competitors will.

The big questions now that its time to get back on the horse and start riding again:

• How to get started?

• Who to engage with to make it happen?

• How much to budget?

Finding The Right Fit

It’s absolutely critical to choose the right marketing partner to achieve maximum impact and return on investment (ROI) from from your branding and marketing efforts. I don’t know a CFO alive who would pass on spending money toward marketing if they could be given reliable data showing exactly how marketing has helped achieve business objectives and delivered on the investment. Is your goal to increase revenue? You should know how your marketing efforts have done that, or not? If your current marketing partner isn’t providing quantitative “dashboard” performance measurements and indicators throughout your engagement, then it’s time to think about finding a new partner. We have too many tools and resources in this digital age to not track marketing success.

The Perfect Partner? Us, of Course

At Project X Media our philosophy for helping companies realize success is quite simple, really. We align branding, marketing and sales to achieve their critical business objectives. Simple in theory, but it takes work. We’ve got a boatload of case studies that include actual numbers showing how we’ve helped companies over the last 15+ years achieve success. The secret?  Aligning all the “moving parts” of their communications (branding, marketing, sales) and developing strategic (and highly creative!) marketing plans that deliver serious business results.

Show Me the Money

We know it all costs money – nothing in life is free, including branding. If you’re wondering how much to budget, here’s a quick benchmark: industry standards typically recommend 10-12% of gross revenue should be allocated to marketing efforts (including branding and sales optimization). In these tough times this can be unrealistic for many companies struggling to cover basic costs like rent and payroll. Given the current economic reality, we’re recommending a minimum of 5-7% of gross revenue, with additional allocations as positive results point the way toward what is working and what isn’t. As President Reagan said back in the go-go 80′s, “trust, but verify”. He was talking about the Soviet nuclear arsenal, but the words ring just as true for smart marketing efforts in 2011.

Cheers.

Given that brands have real value, its probably not a bad idea to take a look at the fitness of your brand in order to start thinking strategically about how to maximize the value of this very important, and very real asset. You don’t have to be a global leader or a deep-pocketed behemoth to do this – small and medium sized businesses need to assess their brands every bit much as the big boys, and probably more so given the state of the economy and the cutthroat competition that defines modern markets. And you don’t need a legion of starch-shirted MBA’s with large algorithims in their pockets to make a meaningful assessment of where your brand stands. Ask the following questions with your brand in mind. If you come up with a lot of “no’s”, “I don’t know’s” and “uhhhh’s”, its time to give us a call and get this whole brand thing adding value to your company.

1. VISION, VALUES + CULTURE

THE HEART OF YOUR BRAND

• Do you have a mission statement?
• Do you have a vision statement?
• Do you have a brand positioning statement that describes what you offer, for whom and how you are different?
• Can you state your five most relevant and compelling brand attributes (adjectives that describe you)?
• Can you clearly describe what differentiates you from your competitors?
• Do you know your Unique Selling Position?
• Are you clear about your greatest weakness – what could be holding you back from achieving key goals and objectives?
• Can you clearly describe your target audience?
• Can you clearly describe the value you offer that audience?

2. THEMES, STYLE + RULES

TURNING THEORY INTO REALITY

• Do you have a company tagline or slogan?
• Do you have Corporate Stories (“campfire tales” that communicate the authentic soul of the company?)
• Do you have key Company Themes (core messaging that underlies all of your efforts)?
• Do you have defined company color palette(s)?
• Do you have defined product/service color palette(s)?
• Do you have defined corporate fonts?
• Do you have defined product/service fonts?
• Do you have defined Corporate Imagery (photos, illustrations, graphics)?
• Do you have a defined Overall Design Aesthetic (systematized “look and feel”)?

3. MARKETING MATERIALS + COLLATERAL

THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

• Do you have a Brand Implementation Guide (documentation explaining how to implement your brand across relevant customer touchpoints)?
• Do you have a company logo(s)?
• Do you have product/service logo(s)?
• Do you have an Identity package (business cards, stationary, envelopes,
• mailing labels, standard e-mail signature, on-brand voice-mail message, etc.)
• Do you have company profile materials to communicate core brand messaging?
• Do you have a company web site to showcase your success?
• Do you have lead generation support materials?
• Do you have sales/lead conversion support materials?
• Do you have employee communication materials that define and explain your brand?
• Do you have a company newsletter or way of keeping in touch with your target audience?
• Does your office/work environment communicate your brand to visitors and employees?
• Do you publish or e-publish articles in relevant industry publications?
• Do you take a leadership role in a professional organization?
• Do you take an active role in a philanthropic organization?

4. MANAGEMENT + EVOLUTION

PLANNING FOR SUCCESS

• Have you identified and documented the short- and long-term goals for your brand?
• Do you regularly track the progress of your brand related objectives?
• Do you have a Brand Committee or Brand Guardian?
• Do you regularly ask for feedback from customers?
• Do you have a standard feedback form that you use?
• Do you have a brand evolution plan in place that will take you from
• where you are to where you aspire to be?
• Do you know the next step in the evolution of your brand?

Review: I like this better than Shazam. Yes, I’m a design snob but honestly, the interface and features are more appealing to me. This app is great for those times where you’re listening to a song and wonder, “who sings that?”. Upon opening the app, you tap on a large button that reads, “What’s that song?” and within seconds it tells you not only who sings it, but what album, where you can download it to buy, look up the lyrics, watch the video of it, share it via email, Facebook, Twitter or text message, launch a Pandora Station with that artist, and even find similar artists to that one. Best part? Free.

Social Media
App: HootSuite
Cost: Free 

Review: This powerful little app manages all of your social media accounts under one roof. I have Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and FourSquare all linked up. So what? It allows me to create a message and with a simple check/uncheck decide which channels to share my message. If I want to schedule a message to go out at a later time, I can do that, too. One of the great things about HootSuite is that it shows your statistics – an instant dashboard analysis of your campaigns and whether or not they are being read, if you’re getting new followers, etc. Visible ROI on your marketing efforts. Hooray!

Entertainment
App: Plants vs Zombies
Cost: $2.99

Review: I can’t help it, I’m absolutely and completely addicted to this game. So are my peers as well as my 5 year old. The goal is to build an army of plants that kill the zombies (peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs, etc.) before they break down your door and eat your brains. The game has strategy, humor and wit – the almanac of the types of plants and zombies are hilarious (see screen grab below). There are lots of other quick play games and little mini games besides the 50 levels of the main game. Collect coins and upgrade your arsenal of zombie-fighting plants or start a zen garden where you can earn even more coins. Warning: productivity zapper.

Entertainment
App: iButterfly
Cost: $2.99

Review: iButterfly puts a beautifully rendered 3D Butterfly Garden in the palm of your hand!
You can even get the Butterflies to land on your finger! where you will be amazed at the stunning detail, lifelike movements, and dazzling color of these virtual beauties.

Entertainment
App: Food Network Nighttime
Cost: Free

Review: For all of you foodies out there addicted to shows like, “The Great Food Truck Race”, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”, this is an app must-have. This app works best over wi-fi, as the shows are crystal clear. Minor annoyance is you have to watch a 15-second ad before the episode starts, but overall great.

Utilitarian
App: PadMapper Apartment Search
Cost: Free

Review: Anyone looking for a new apartment to rent, this handy app will make your life a lot simpler. Know the area you would love to live? Simply type in the zipcode or find the area, specify your filters (2 bedroom? pets?) and ¡voila! All the listings in that area show up on a map. Each listing appears with photos and shows the original posting (for example the original post on Craigslist will be displayed). You can save your favorites and email them to your friend to check out. 

As I was writing this, one of our good friends Rebecca from Journey Mexico posted this app as one of her fave’s, and we have to agree!

Technology
App: freespeech (Robin’s friend Neil developed this app! She says it’s awesome and was featured in an Apple commercial)
Cost:Free

Review: Mass emailing is so 2010. With freespeech you can set up group text messaging right through your iphone. All texts are FREE and can be used internationally too. (You can even see if your texts has been read yet or not.) You can use it to: make group dinner plans, talk fantasy sports smack, keep track of your crew at concerts and events, rally friends at bar time.

Father’s Day is fast approaching – it’s this Sunday, June 19th. If you’re like me, you’re wondering what the heck to buy the ‘ol guy this year. Here’s where the power of the brand comes into play. When we (as consumers) go to shop, we tend to shop name brands: Apple, Weber, Fruit of the Loom, Taylor-Made,
Patagonia, Best Buy, Old Spice, Norelco… the list goes on and on. What we buy becomes a reflection of who we buy it for – dad’s included. So take a minute to think before you drop the plastic on that package of socks for pops – this year is a great time to reward companies that are doing it right.

Companies seek to evoke emotion and loyalty from us shoppers, and they do this through the use of powerful branding: actively creating a total experience in order to forge a positive emotional connection with people.

A perfect (and obvious these days) example of a great brand is Apple. Wherever we as consumers (and potential customers) run into their brand, the messaging, the overall aesthetic, the positioning within the marketplace, are all consistent – from brick and mortar store, to online store, to email marketing campaigns, to packaging, et al.

So what do you say? Here’s why branding plays a vital role in business success, and what that purchase for dad is doing for the brand(s) you choose to reward with your hard-earned cash :

• Increases Company Value
  A powerful brand impacts the bottom line by increasing the value of the organization and its products.
• Drives Sales
  Authentic brand experiences resonate with customers, generating repeat purchases and powerful word-of-mouth.
• Builds Loyalty
  Customers forge emotional connections with authentic brands, transforming them into long-term users and loyal brand advocates.
• Creates Awareness
  Compelling brands cut through info-cluttered overload, using every medium to its fullest potential to clearly identify the company and tell its unique story.
• Allows for Premium Pricing
  Powerful brands price at a premium above the competition. When your organization provides specific experiences that customers can see, hear, touch, and feel, you are adding value and can price that value.
• Saves Costs
  Clearly articulated brand strategy allows for fast efficient production of brand materials and activities, eliminating the need to “reinvent the wheel” with every new project or initiative.
• Increases Productivity
  Clearly articulated brand strategy also allows employees and outside business partners to efficiently utilize a highly structured identity system for creation of all brand collateral and materials.
• Creates Protection From Competition
  Trade dress (the whole brand’s distinctive stimuli) is protected by state and federal laws. The more distinctive your brand presentation is, the easier it is to protect from misuse or duplication by competitors.

So while you’re frantically last-minute shopping for that special dad in your life with the questionable taste in golf shirts, take a minute to examine why you’re compelled to go into a certain store or visit an online retailer – and realize that they want you to be emotionally engaged with them, be loyal and shop often, return and tell others how great they are. Are they holding up their end of the bargain and delivering the goods? If not, move on. If so, reward them with what they cherish the most – your loyalty.

I’ve only been living in San Diego for five years, but I can’t help notice the serious number of new breweries popping up throughout the county. Whether its Mission Brewery in East Village, the latest Pizza Port recently unveiled in Ocean Beach, or Stone Brewing Co. soon to tap into Pt Loma’s Liberty Station, I’ve come to realize San Diego is all about craft brewing. And we’re damn good at it! Beer lovers around the world are taking notice and giving us the ol’ toast and nod of approval.

I recently attended an AIGA “Idea Series” about beer and design, and got to hang with the Creative Director of Stone, the VP of Beer at Karl Strauss, the Art Director of Ballast Point and one of the owners at Green Flash Brewery. Each explained how they got into the craft brewing industry and the different roles they fill at their respective companies. I found it interesting that Karl Strauss & Stone use in-house marketing teams, Green Flash outsources all its marketing to an agency, and Ballast Point does a combo of outsourced illustration with in-house designing.
As a whole, all four breweries shout NO! to conventional advertising techniques: Budweiser, you can keep your “corpo” commercials and radio spots; it just doesn’t fit with the whole “stick-it-to-the-man” mentality of craft brewing. Instead, each brewery works hard to promote their beers using more indirect, grassroots methods. Karl Strauss hosts an annual “Beach to Brewery” event with beer tastings, local musicians, and free swag. Stone does a “Total Tap Tower Takeover Tour” sending their beers on a 7 day, 7 city tour of 7 bars across the US. Ballast Point was recently featured on Sam The Cooking Guy’s “Craft Beer Day” episode and the Green Flash Team travels nationwide to beer fests like “Seattle Beer Week” to meet face to face with new customers.

All four companies agree that social media plays a vital role in promoting their unconventional marketing campaigns while helping educate the consumer about the art of beer making. As a result, San Diego is receiving worldwide recognition as a fierce competitor in the craft brewing industry. Last year at the World Beer Cup, San Diego took home 5 gold medals in various categories – more medals than several European countries combined.

As I lift my pint to San Diego’s craft brewers, all I have to say is… watch out Germany! SD is in the brew house, and we’re making delicious barrels of unique beer that will knock your yodeling socks off.

Cheers San Diego – drink up, and drink it in!

Related links to check out:

• Karl Strauss Facbook Page
• Ballast Point Facebook Page
• Stone Facebook Page
• Green Flash Facebook Page
• TapHunter

As I was watching my favorite morning news today, a story caught my attention – there’s an advocate group trying to ban Ronald McDonald from being used as a “mascot”. Ronald McDonald, that strange, semi-lovable androgynous mime/clown who personifies good ol’ Mickey D’s. What’s so bad about Ronald (aside from that creepy red afro)? According to the anti-Ronald coalition, Ronald is no better than a pusher-man of junk food, tricking poor innocent minds and leading them down the golden arched path to childhood obesity.

Really?

It couldn’t be the result of parents actually taking their kids to EAT fast food several times a week rather than making them home-cooked meals?

According to CNN Money, “The push to retire Ronald is being led by a group called Corporate Accountability International, which plans to introduce a resolution calling for the clown’s ouster at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.”

Ronald McDonald has been a major brand asset to McDonald’s for decades, acting as the company’s mascot since 1971. He has become synonymous with good times and good, greasy burgers. To get rid of Ronald would be a major blow for the Golden Arches, and I for one am vehemently opposed. Granted, he scares the s**t out of me with those floppy red shoes and little beady eyes, but there would be something missing if he wasn’t around. McDonald’s sans Ronnie just wouldn’t be the same brand experience, floppy shoes and all.

“McDonald’s (MCD, Fortune 500) also stressed that Ronald is the symbol of its flag-ship charity, Ronald McDonald house, which is dedicated to the health and well being of children. Ronald is an ambassador for good and delivers important messages to kids on safety, literacy and balanced, active lifestyles.”

As I polish off the last of my unbelievably tasty, Ronald endorsed, beef-infused, salt-lick fries, my point is this: McDonald’s shouldn’t have to get rid of their beloved mascot just because a group asks them to. Ronald is imbued with huge brand value for the company, and is part of a classic American brand experience that creates a powerful emotional connection to it’s 1 billion-plus customers.

Let the Clown Stay!