You guys are making me laugh like firecrackers gone wild
All of you are so entertaining...
TO EACH, EAT A PEACH
Walton TDC Presents New Branding
- Thread starter Bob Hudson
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You guys are making me laugh like firecrackers gone wild
All of you are so entertaining...
TO EACH, EAT A PEACH
I find these very unappealing and unrepresentative of the beauty of SoWal. How very disappointing....MAYBE some of the other pics are better?
I like the discussion - keep it going. Be assured that all the people involved are reading this.
My comments turned out to be too long so I wrote a column:
Re-branding the World's Most Beautiful Beaches | SoWal.com - Guide For The Beaches Of South Walton & Scenic 30A
My comments turned out to be too long so I wrote a column:
Re-branding the World's Most Beautiful Beaches | SoWal.com - Guide For The Beaches Of South Walton & Scenic 30A
Whereas the first picture posted in this thread looked like marketing for funeral services, Ad3 makes me wonder if they're offering chiropractic services on the beach...
Kurt, thanks for more detail. Just as you stated in your column, "to each, his own..." makes my point about the grammar.
Whoever is reading this from the TDC, I hope you will not use incorrect grammar in any slogan.
Why not something like: South Walton: A Beach for Everyone."
We truly do have such a variety that almost everyone can find what they are looking for here and a tagline like that would lend itself to lots of spin-offs.
BTW, Kurt, how does one write a column? I must have missed something on the do-over of the site, or is that just something you are able to do?
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Great column from Kurt, should be a must read for those who care about the branding of our area.
I spent 25 years overseeing research, statistics, programming and marketing for media companies in the United States, including serving as a media consultant. I built brands that achieved #1 market share.
In ad agencies, sometimes the baby gets thrown out with the bath water when trying to freshen a brand. That's what this ad agency just did. We're selling sand here folks, and the TDC understands that. What the TDC is missing is a stronger ad message from their agency.
TDC, go back to the agency and tell them to try again, and don't pay them another dime of that $1.3 million until at least three different concepts are created and tested in research with at least 100 actual SoWal visitors.
Seeing words like "Appalachians" and "strand" in that proposed LKM text posted earlier tells me some ad agency copywriter has a Carolinas slant to their writing, i.e. the "Grand Strand" of Myrtle Beach. If much of the original research was conducted using focus groups in North Carolina, throw it out. Rest assured I recognize the NC lingo because one of our sons lives in Raleigh, our family used to live in Charlotte, and as a youngster I lived in Chapel Hill, NC, just down the road from Dean Smith and up the hill from James Taylor's parents house.
Simply put, TDC, your goal should be a brand evolution...not a revolution.
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The sky is taupish grey in this pic and you may get the idea that they are dancing, but what you said is funnier
They should have asked Kurt for some of his pics or some of you other sowal paparazzi's, you guys have some GREAT pics of our area.
One thing about this area is that no one is afraid to speak their mind- go sowallers!
UGH-
Beaches of South Walton finally developed into a cohesive concept in look and feel. And now they are changing it to something ambiguous because recall and awareness was low? Duh-
They needed to more effectively disseminate the concept. Not change it.
As an example-
If an artist like Allison Wickey wants more people to know about her and her fine work, there are many things she can do from a marketing perspective. Changing her name, her good looks or her art- these are the last things she should do.
Another example-
South Beach. I know where it is. I know what it is. I have been there and love it. But my awareness and recall of that name/branding didn't happen overnight. If they would have changed that name every few years I never would have found out about those changes. And I would have ended up concluding that when I am there I am in Miami because nothing else would have been around long enough to stick.
Sure, evolve a brand. Freshen the umbrella, adjust the font. But abandoning the name/concept sets us back, IMHO.
Beaches of South Walton finally developed into a cohesive concept in look and feel. And now they are changing it to something ambiguous because recall and awareness was low? Duh-
They needed to more effectively disseminate the concept. Not change it.
As an example-
If an artist like Allison Wickey wants more people to know about her and her fine work, there are many things she can do from a marketing perspective. Changing her name, her good looks or her art- these are the last things she should do.
Another example-
South Beach. I know where it is. I know what it is. I have been there and love it. But my awareness and recall of that name/branding didn't happen overnight. If they would have changed that name every few years I never would have found out about those changes. And I would have ended up concluding that when I am there I am in Miami because nothing else would have been around long enough to stick.
Sure, evolve a brand. Freshen the umbrella, adjust the font. But abandoning the name/concept sets us back, IMHO.
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That first picture looks like an erectile dysfunction ad. 
I swear I've seen the second one as an ad for another area advertising lakes.
BEACHES! Sparkling sand beaches! Turquoise water!
Per a book I am reading, someone needs to see an ad 6 times before they remember it - so all of these major changes with completely different names, colors, fonts, and graphics are TOTALLY the wrong way to go.
I swear I've seen the second one as an ad for another area advertising lakes.
BEACHES! Sparkling sand beaches! Turquoise water!
Per a book I am reading, someone needs to see an ad 6 times before they remember it - so all of these major changes with completely different names, colors, fonts, and graphics are TOTALLY the wrong way to go.
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This didn't really register with me the first time through, but I wonder how much he is going to want for it. Maybe he will come on and let us know his thoughts on the branding change since he is likely in line for a nice payout for owning the site. Could be kinda interesting with his perspective on wasteful government spending. I also wonder if any others in the community have any comments on what would be a good selling price.