Broadway, Rebranded
What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word "Broadway"? New York City, musicals, The Phantom of the Opera, theater, and Fred Astaire might come to mind. These associations most likely exist because of the way in which Broadway has traditionally been branded for years – as expensive, prestigious entertainment.
Lately, as seen at the Tony Awards last night, Broadway has been undergoing a branding transformation. Dramas and white-bread musical comedies make way for new shows that target children, minorities, and even those who enjoy raunchy religious mockery (look up The Book of Mormon, winner of Best Musical from the creators of South Park).
Even so, Broadway walks a thin line between experimental target audiences and the musical purists of days gone. Many newer consumers are often reluctant to see shows because of the limited availability and expense of tickets. That's why revivals of classics, like South Pacific and Gypsy, do well the second time around as older audiences remain steadfast in their support.
This puts Broadway at a complicated branding juncture. How can shows attract younger audiences with smaller wallets while still maintaining a reputation that's made them star attractions for years?
For one thing, the quality of shows remains relatively unchanged. Performers are still top-notch, often putting commercial pop-stars to shame (sorry, Justin Bieber). These actors, plus costume designers, technician crews, and so many others, go into the making of one high-quality product — much in the way that a designer handbag à la Gucci is created — instead of cheaply manufacturing several low-quality items at a time.
Instead, what seems to matter most in Broadway's rebranding is making shows accessible to everyone. Productions want the college undergraduate student or working suburban mom to see the latest show on tour in their hometown, not be intimidated by it. Maybe that's why newer shows are increasingly turning to audience interaction; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee used audience members as spelling bee participants alongside cast members, and the revival of Hair invited audience members to dance onstage in a psychedelic encore of "Let the Sun Shine In." These experiences catapult audience members into the grandeur of the theater world, but in a way that is both comfortable and accepting for the participants.
Broadway is making progress on the road to rebranding; shows in the vein of Shrek the Musical and Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles are becoming more common, and overall show grosses have increased in recent years. In fact, Broadway theaters earned a cumulative $943 million between 2008 and 2009, the most ever in a single season. However, there's still a long way to go before seeing a show is as common as going to the movies.
Which leaves the question: could a rebranding of Broadway ever really make it accessible to broader audiences? And, more importantly, is that what's best for Broadway?
Contributed by Allison Meeks
Oprah's Last Show
As Tom Hanks said on an Oprah show earlier this season, the phrase “Did you see Oprah today?” is going to be removed from our vocabulary after today. Today marks the end of the 25 year run of The Oprah Show.
Let’s take a moment to relive some of our favorite moments. You get a car and you get a car. Tom Cruise jumping on the sofa. Johnnnnn Traaaaavollltaaaa. Oprah’s Book Club (who read A Million Little Pieces and loved it as much as I did?). Mattie and his poems. Oprah in Texas. Oprah and Tina. Dieting Oprah who made us all feel better about our struggles. The a-ha moments. Oprah’s hair through the years. The ugly cries, especially when Mary Tyler Moore surprised her.
In 25 years, it is not just the show that evolved but also her brand. The Oprah show initially was a little risqué and reminiscent of what became the Ricki Lake show. Slowly over the years, it evolved into a self-help, mentally stimulating, celebratory show. The Oprah brand launched the careers of personalities like Dr. Phil, Nate Berkus, Bob Greene and Dr. Oz. Her endorsement is the golden touch. Marketers strove for just one mention of their brand on the air to have sales explode.
Love her or hate her, you must recognize the impact she’s had on the world. Oprah is a big part of everyday culture (Did you see that on Oprah? Did you read that in her magazine? Did you watch OWN last night?). She used her brand to successfully launch both a magazine and a network at a time when many were struggling to stay afloat. She made topics once considered taboo easy to talk about with friends and family. She told great stories by asking provocative questions. She had the knack of presenting topics or guests in a way that helped people think about them a little differently.
As someone who has grown up watching Oprah, my life has been impacted in a few small ways. I didn’t sleep for a year after watching a show about ghosts when I was younger. I DVRed the Favorite Things episodes so that when I have a bad day I can see the crazy excitement in other people’s faces. I realized (at a young age) that my actions impact the world around me. I can choose for that impact to be positive or negative. And my favorite lesson, “No is a complete sentence.”
No one but Ms. Winfrey knows what her next move will be, but there are millions of people out there eagerly waiting for it. How do you think Brand Oprah will evolve?
Use the comments section to tell us your favorite memories from The Oprah Show.
Introducing Insperity
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For those of you who have been following our recent tweases (Twitter teases) noted by our hashtag #AW3095, you already know the news. For everyone else, it’s our pleasure to introduce Insperity, formerly Administaff.
Addison Whitney has been working with the Insperity team since February 2009 and is so proud of its team’s hard work throughout the process, and especially at the launch some members of our team were lucky enough to attend.
We are excited to begin our Insperity series to highlight the key steps from throughout our more than two year relationship with the Insperity team. Throughout each post we will give you some insight into things we learned or just fun facts from each phase.
Here are some headlines to get you excited and coming back for a double dip of Brand Salsa.
- Market Research – gathering key insights from current and future customers
- Brand Strategy – who are we and what to do with all of these offerings and brands
- Verbal Branding – farewell Administaff, hello Insperity
- Visual Branding – Insperity’s new look and feel
- Brand Rollout – dancing in the streets of Houston
- What Makes a Great Project Team – we’ll tell you because we worked with a fantastic one at Insperity
Stay tuned!
Follow #AW3095
We have some very exciting news here at Addison Whitney. But, we can't tell you yet. And we're having a great time tweasing (Twitter teasing) you.
If you don't already follow @brandsalsa or @addisonwhitney, we would love for you to follow us now.
Each day, we're giving you written or picture clues to where we are headed to celebrate with one of our favorite clients.
Stay tuned to brand salsa to learn more.
It's Back
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Did you hear that noise earlier last week? It was the sound of millions of Americans rejoicing. Why? The McRib is back, of course.
Considering there’s a McDonald’s on every corner, it’s interesting how McDonald’s has been able to make a pork sandwich so exclusive. Thousands wait for sightings each year on the McRib locator website. Facebook groups beg for its return. Well folks, prayers have been answered because 2010 is the magical year when all U.S. McDonald’s are carrying the sandwich (for a limited time of course).
I think the last McRib I had was in 1996, but something about the McRib is exciting each year. And not just for me, remember Jack Osbourne’s excitement (video is bleeped but probably NSFW)?
This year, McDonald’s McRib ad campaign highlights the love and passion people have for the sandwich as opposed to focusing on the exclusivity alone. Yep, love and passion for a pork sandwich.
Have you had a McRib sandwich yet?
Paint Scheming
My latest obsession: virtually painting my fingernails on OPI using their vast palette of audacious hues.
Why don plain old red when you could rock Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It? You could scrap a shade of red altogether and try Who the Shrek are you? Or, you could really splurge with Extravagance. Hard Candy makes seductive shades like Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong, Hypnotic and Frenzy.
On my own personal fascination scale, that activity is followed closely by this game.
Why paint your walls a basic blue when you could coat them with a Fragrant Cloud or take an Aegean Cruise or dip into an Inky Pool? Why brown when Labrador Sands is an option? Or, how about Enigma from Sherwin-Williams? Valspar’s Ancestral Haze?
The verbal branding of these types of products is challenging (seriously, how does one delineate between I Think Pink and Pink-a-Doodle?), but it is clearly a powerful tool. Color naming takes advantage of the subjectivity and emotional responses of customers. These names help to paint a picture (no pun intended, I promise) for the consumer; they are buying not just a can of paint, not just a bottle of nail polish, but an entire experience created from a single shade. These special names make the customer part of a secret, a little wink-wink in an up close and personal world.
Perhaps you would like more than just warmth for your family room; try Buttered Toffee. If you wanted, you could turn your cabin den into a rustic getaway with help from Wild Frontier. Maybe your sunroom could be accented by Pool Party.
Did I recently have Mrs. O’Leary’s BBQ brushed on my toes? Why, yes. Yes, I did. Because for me, summertime isn’t just about the vibrancy and heat, it’s about family gatherings and pulled pork sandwiches. And, I had thought about moonlighting at a nearby diner for the summer, but I’m Not Really a Waitress.
The Rebranding of the Y
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Any given day, you’re sure to find an Addison Whitney employee at the Y running on a tredmill or perfecting Zumba moves. As a member of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, I received an email last week from the President & CEO and Metropolitan Board Chair that blew my mind – in a good way.
By the time I’d received the email, I’d heard the news of the YMCA’s rebranding to the Y. I had seen the new logo and color palette. And I had read quite a few articles and blog entries cheering and jeering the change.
But this email was different because it was from my Y. The email, entitled “Still Your YMCA,” communicated the changes members can expect including a new brand strategy defining its cause of strengthening the foundations of community and a refreshed logo. But it also told members what would not change: the mission, core values and services members enjoy.
A key to successfully introducing a rebranding effort to your target audience is communication. As a member of the brand strategy team, we tell our clients going through rebranding efforts to do just what the Y did so well. Tell your target audience why you did it, how you did it and what they can expect. Change can be scary, so calm any fears by clearly stating what will not change.
The email from the YMCA of Greater Charlotte says it best: “As you can see, the Y isn't changing any of the great programs and services that we've always provided; we're just trying to do a better job of explaining why they matter.”
And you’re off to a great start.
Happy 50th Anniversary!!
The pill. No, not a pill, but THE pill. The pill that sexually revolutionized women and the control over their bodies. The pill that wrapped itself in religious dilemma and political controversy. The pill that to this day still raises concerns over morality and safety.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of this medicinal wonder. Often misunderstood, this hormonal remedy has walked a littered road of controversial backtalk and revolutionary movements. Therefore, like most things taboo, interesting, or just pretty, it has earned itself a Time magazine cover, adequately accessorized with a very detailed and fascinating article. I mean, I read the entire thing.
Whether you’re for it, against it, on it, or a boy, this article gives an intriguing outlook about the history of birth control as a concept, how it transformed into a drug, and ultimately how it became a way of life for many women...and, of course, the chaos that shadowed it.
Check out the Time article here, and leave your thoughts/feelings below.
FYI, today roughly 100 million women around the world use the pill.
Contributed by: Keri Lynch
Twitter is watching you.
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Although Animal Farm is one of my favorite novels, George Orwell really annoyed me with 1984. Well, just kidding, I really liked that book too. I was just bitter that he picked my birth year to predict a totalitarian world where privacy and civil rights didn’t exist anywhere. I mean, I thought 1984 was great year for a baby. Anyway, he might have been onto something, just a decade or two too early.
Though mainly non-partisan when it comes to politics, it was hard not to see the door to our liberties close slightly with the Patriot Act of 2001. A statue that allowed the government to selectively access telephone, email, medical and financial records to protect our “freedom”, it made everyone wonder … is anything private anymore? Well, not really. And with the crazy technological boom of the past decade, it’s made the line between what is private and what is public not only blurry, but pretty much invisible.
Insert the social media craze. Whether searching for a job, investigating a crime, or just trying to spread a plethora of fast knowledge, outlets such as Facebook and Twitter have become catalysts for studying human behavior and examining an individual’s thoughts. Now some of these thoughts are being filed into public record ... and studied.
Read more
Administrative Professionals Week
Working in an office environment is great. There is fresh brewed coffee in the break room, your calls get transferred directly to your desk, your mail gets sent out promptly by simply dropping it in the Outgoing box, and you always have fresh pens and notepads at your disposal. It’s like magic. These little cohesive consistencies are what can keep each day from completely going up in flames, when chaos has engulfed everything else.
But it’s not magic. Well, it’s not wand-waving, spell enchanting magic, but it’s definitely something special. And it doesn’t just materialize on it’s own. There are a lot of hardworking individuals who are behind these seemingly simple tasks. But there is nothing simple, or easy, about being an administrative assistant. They, for lack of a better expression, are the glue, well for fun, let’s call them the super glue, that keeps an office and an office environment efficient.
This year, Aprils 18th to April 24th marks the National Administrative Professionals Appreciation Week, with Administrative Professionals Day landing on April 21st. Though you should always appreciate the hard work of your colleagues, especially your admins, this week is especially set aside for you to outwardly express your admiration and gratitude towards them for what they do.
Formally known as Professional Secretaries Week, before America got all politically correct in 2000 and updated the name/title, this evolving holiday was first created back in 1952 through the work of Harry F. Klemfuss, a New York publicist. He wanted to encourage more people, especially women, to consider careers in the secretarial field.
Fast-forward half a century, through civil rights and the bra burning years, the role of secretary as well as the gender has changed drastically. Administrative professionals are no longer Aquanet wearing, note-taking women, but serious business professionals. In fact, some prominent executive administrators are some of the highest paid people in corporate America. And they aren’t all women. Can we say Mark from Ugly Betty?
But whatever role they play in your particular office environment, they are the smile that greets you at the door and the ‘Have a nice day!’, as you leave. They are your organizational outlook and your personal reminder. They make your job easier.
So show your appreciation this week for one of largest workplace observances in any way you can. Flowers, candies, gift cards, etc. … and who doesn’t like to be taken out to lunch?? I’m just saying …
How do you plan to thank your administrative professionals? Leave your thoughts below.
Contributed by: Keri Lynch