As the parent of an 8 year old, I get to go to Friendly’s Ice Cream on a pretty regular basis. This is an establishment I grew up with. I even tried to work there as a teen, but wouldn’t do the haircut! I have observed their troubles for many years. For the longest time, their advertising and offerings were unfocused and unappealing. Lately, they seemed to have picked up a lot of momentum. Just yesterday my family stopped in for a late lunch and there was a wait! I have commented to my wife about their fun new themes, focus on kids and young parents (this chain has always been very popular with seniors). Friendly’s is working with Zimmerman Advertising. Seems this group has done a great job of re-branding the company on television, all the way through point of purchase, web and social networking. I did search on twitter pulled up hundreds of messages about Friendly’s. That’s not a coincidence.  Friendly’s gave away more than half a million scoops of ice cream during a promotion on June 6. (200,000 more than the previous year). Friendly’s attributed the increase to “blog coverage and the company’s social media presence.”

If your marketing is still doing things the old way, maybe you need new people working on it? If your brand is getting stale, why not mix things up? As this old chain has learned, it can be done!

The frustrating thing about the weather is how we can’t change it. That being said, try to pour your energy today into something you can.

If anyone needs proof of how subjective branding is, just browse through this survey on Boston.com: http://www.boston.com/business/gallery/brandlogochanges?s_campaign=8315  Most of the voting for “do you like the new version or the old version?” runs about 50-50. I would like to see the same exact survey run a year from now. I’ll bet a buck that the new logos will win almost every time. When branding is done correctly, people feel an emotional connection to it. I remember when the New England Patriots changed their logo and people in Boston went crazy. It was as if they put a goatee on the Mona Lisa. One year later, guess which team sold the most branded merchandise in the NFL? Branding is not easy. When you’re ready to develop or update your brand, trust a professional!

We even do it for ourselves! We’ve updated our look to be even more open. We’ve dropped the word design because we feel it makes potential customers see as as a “print” only firm. What do you think?

As a “Glass half full” (with a seat near the bar) kind of person, I am always looking for any positive story about the economy. I actually heard on the radio that the world’s top banks are saying that we are starting to come out of the recession. Granted, I was listening to “Beatles Radio” on the web, but I’ll take it! I also checked the stocks of Walmart, Starbucks and FedEx, and while I’ll admit that I could look at an x-ray or a stock report and not know the difference, they all seemed to be moving in the right direction with respect to a recovery. (Walmart flat, the others up a bit). So, the only thing left to do is buy underwear and we’re done! Alan Greenspan himself claims that you can predict which way the economy is heading by how much men spend on underwear. Here is what he told NPR about it a few years ago.

I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I’m willing to do my part by continuing to work hard, blowing all my money at Starbucks, and going out today to re-stock my top drawer! (And not at Walmart).

Times must be tough, all the playfulness in advertising is going away, and being replaced with the Walmart messaging. Even the retailer that does branding better than anyone, Target, has shelved the dancing paper towels for a “we’re cheaper” message. Here in Boston, there are a lot of furniture retailers busy giving things away. I’m not even clear if any of them sell furniture anymore. If I lose my job, I can drive a free Hyundai. About a year ago, I started using the “R” word in our promotional materials and people bit my head off. Now the economy is the front and center of everything. Has anyone else noticed this “trend”? Have any favorites, or least favorites? I personally like the Southwest Airlines campaign that challenges the business customer to step up and make things happen. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be glad when all of this is past us and I can waste money again. I miss Target dog!

I sense a new cultural shift about to happen. I think that we are about to see messaging, PR and ad campaigns targeted toward people who use electronic devices while driving. This is actually a good thing. Like drinking and driving, or smoking, marketing helped change people’s perception about these once accepted behaviors. Unfortunately, it always takes a break-in before someone installs an alarm. The recent MBTA accident in Boston (the driver was texting his girlfriend while operating the subway) has our legislators drafting all kinds of bills to regulate our use of devices in public. I for one have no idea how we have come this far without a simple, common sense “hands free” rule while driving. A cell phone earpiece is just safer that holding a phone while driving. Texting, checking e-mail, etc while driving? I wish I could say I’ve never done it, because it is outright stupid. Operating a vehicle is challenging enough without any more distractions. It’s actually a shame that it will take a fine or public ridicule to get us to change this behavior. I just came back from a meeting and witnessed a man at a red light so engaged in his phone conversation, that he gabbed through an entire green light. 6 cars behind him all blasted the horns. There’s a time and place for everything folks. While we are at it, can we ban cell phone use while in line at Starbucks/bank/post office, etc? Again, we don’t need to multi-task 24/7. 

It occurs to me that this sounds like a Boston Globe columnist “mailing it in”. But I am not about to start “Twittering”, so this is a good way to subject you to the dust that has settled in my ceribellum. - Enough with the term “Home Run” in every radio ad aired during a baseball game. - The GM situation stinks, but at least it is being addressed. Chances are that if they get lean and mean, they could actually end up a better company. (I’ve mentioned that I’m a glass half full person, right?) - I don’t think anyone reads my blog, but I’ll keep writing it anyway. - Do we really have time to follow each other around online? Why not make plans and actually get together? I like the idea of LinkedIn and Facebook for staying in touch, but Twitter seems like it’s for stalkers. Maybe it’s fun to follow famous people. I doubt anyone cares that I just fed the dog. - Times are tough. This climate has not been for the faint of heart. Let’s all try and be a bit more patient and compassionate toward each other. - The new Green Day (recording/album/cd/download/product/whatever we call it now) is great. Tori Amos? Not so much. - I hope people are willing to work a little harder this summer. This is no time to slack off!