Cleveland+ , Ideastream, and the Corniness of "Branding"
I've been thinking this morning about two "brands" that have been, and will be, bandied about in Cleveland -- namely, the new marketing slogan, and the name of a certain non-profit, public service, multiple media organization based in Cleveland, Ohio[, that] was formed in 2001 to deliver high quality public broadcasting and related services to Northeastern, and North Central Ohio.
I wasn't crazy about the Ideastream thing in the beginning - I was suspicious of it, I thought it was replete with vaguely space-age Kenny G overtones and frankly kinda corny. But geez, who am I to talk about corny? I sit around on weekend afternoons watching Antiques Roadshow, drinking cheap fruit wine, and turning bad 80s hits into odes to my cat (think: "two of cats - two cats that beat as one...").
This morning I came across this quote from Ideastream's 4th Listening Project report, in response to the question "what do people see as the role of local public broadcasting?":
I don't know much about this brandjacking business, but I do know that branding doesn't seem slick or cutting edge to me, it seems corny. So what if attempts to make fun of Cleveland+ sort of, well, worked in its favor? I mean, maybe Cleveland is sort of a corny place that should embrace polka, bowling, and kielbasa.
I wasn't crazy about the Ideastream thing in the beginning - I was suspicious of it, I thought it was replete with vaguely space-age Kenny G overtones and frankly kinda corny. But geez, who am I to talk about corny? I sit around on weekend afternoons watching Antiques Roadshow, drinking cheap fruit wine, and turning bad 80s hits into odes to my cat (think: "two of cats - two cats that beat as one...").
This morning I came across this quote from Ideastream's 4th Listening Project report, in response to the question "what do people see as the role of local public broadcasting?":
PBS is corny, but it's great. We're so geared toward the flash and slick preproduction (on commercial television) - but once you get past that, public TV is phenomenal.
I don't know much about this brandjacking business, but I do know that branding doesn't seem slick or cutting edge to me, it seems corny. So what if attempts to make fun of Cleveland+ sort of, well, worked in its favor? I mean, maybe Cleveland is sort of a corny place that should embrace polka, bowling, and kielbasa.
Labels: Cleveland, Cleveland+
posted by Christine Borne at 11:56 AM
1 Comments:
Branding is sort of tricky. You have to create something that people want while at the same time staying authentic.
For example, a couple of years ago when that Axe shower soap came out, the advertisements got me to buy some to try it out. I knew they were dopey, cliche and sophomoric, yet they created an attractive scene to the customer base they were after (men 18-35, I think). Now, there are tons of competing brands going for the same thing. It's just a soap! It's whole use is as a brand, which is another signifier of the kind of guy you are, the things you want, what you do for fun.
My biggest complaint about Cleveland+ is, it's just a name. There's nothing else to it. In fact, it's even a little misleading because "plus" sort of sounds like there have been improvements. Were there?
In the Axe commercial, the name of the brand is irrelevant. It could be Rock. It doesn't make any difference. The value is in the persona they created around it. To me, Cleveland+ is backwards. It's got a set name but that doesn't evoke anything.
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