But then again…maybe there are times when the colors and logos are the real essence of the brand. Such was the case with Coke’s most recent polar bear Christmas campaign. Every holiday season, Coke rolls out can designs featuring Santa and polar bears. That combination has been brand association gold in past years. This year, Coke engaged in a noble cause marketing effort by placing attention squarely on the plight of the polar bear in its native snowy white habitat. The Coke can design, called “Arctic Home,” followed this creative direction by designing an essentially all-white can.

 The problem is that the all-white can created brand confusion among many customers. Among those customers looking for their Coke Classic, Coke’s ubiquitous red was largely missing from the design. Worse yet, for those drinkers of Diet Coke, the white polar bear can yielded an unpleasant sugary surprise.

 There were even reports among Classic Coke drinkers that the product tasted “different” from their regular product. Talk about a psychosomatic response. Even drinking from a can whose color signifies a diet product can impact the brand experience.

Only weeks into the campaign, Coke recognized their mistake and pulled the polar bear cans from retail outlets, replacing it a newly redesigned red can with white polar bears. But the damage is done. Like we stated in the beginning, your brand is the culmination of experiences and the satisfaction your customers have with your products and services. While a simple design misstep like this won’t be felt long, it has left a bad taste in the mouth of the consumer. There’s little question that Coke’s branding is second to none and equaled by few. But this episode points out that even brand giants like Coke can make mistakes.

 Now, if you have one of the all-white polar bear Coke cans, you have a real piece of brand history. Hang on to it as a friendly reminder of the importance of staying true to your brand visuals as you engage in new and different marketing efforts. At C2 Creative, we never lose sight of how your brand is perceived by customers, and we’re always evaluating its health and ways we can help you improve your customers’ experience of it. If you have questions about your brand’s current health, call C2 today for a brand evaluation.

We had grand plans for a rich interactive experience to “engage and build buzz” but we’ve fallen victim to the Cobblers Shoes Syndrome. Put simply, we’ve been busy. That leads me to another topic we’re thankful for. We’ve been working on great creative projects across a variety of vertical all year. I’d have to say this is the most rewarding time in my career as we partner with brand managers, agency creative departments and marketing teams to produce solid creative ideas.

We’re looking forward to 2012 and we’re already drawing up plans to ditch this website so enjoy it while you can. Have a great Thanksgiving.

If you’re still stuck on the reference you should watch this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll7rWiY5obI

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” Vincent van Gogh

At C2, we think this is a great formula to connect brands with people. We could make it more complicated, but then we’d be just like all the other big agencies. Because all your next campaign really needs to be is awesome.

We admit it sounds frightfully compelling; all of these fine institutions populated with fine people thinking terribly smart things. That’s one theory. The other is that it’s a bunch of b.s. After all, if you’re looking for marketing expertise in this day and age, isn’t finding a partner with unique digital capabilities and innovative, attention-getting ideas the least of your expectations?

None of this is as simple as it seems, but it is simple to describe. We’d be happy to do so at your convenience. If that piques your interest, give us a call or send us an e-mail. Here’s to the future.

Your pals,

Patrick and Brian

We look at it like this. When you give us an assignment, you are in essence handing over your baby and asking us to help raise it. We damn well better know how to change the diapers, because we don’t want to return your pride and joy to you smelling like crap.