Branding Update by
Paul S. Cianciolo
Many of you know that we have been talking about branding and a new CAPR 150-2 for several years now. The draft reg itself was in "NHQ purgatory" as PA leadership changed a few times and it got lost in the review process, but it is being resurrected with new life.
With the extension of Maj Gen Smith's term and our new shift to marketing and strategic communications within PA, the brand update was not considered bold enough. Their is a movement from the top to get away from the WWII civil defense triangle and update CAP's vision and mission statements by August.
I know some units have purchased non-expendable marketing items, and I will do what I can to ensure these legacy items can continue to be used unless newer items are provided to the unit from above.
No one knows what the updated logo will look like yet, but it will be integrated into the draft CAPR 150-2, which mostly covers use of our trademarks and emblems along with member responsibilities when using our brand image. There will be further information coming out in the next issue of the PROPS email.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CAPPAO/
"Their [sic] is a movement from the top to get away from the WWII civil defense triangle and update CAP's vision and mission statements by August."
So we get a new brand and a new mission and a new vision, all top down. Odd.
Quote from: undefined"Their [sic] is a movement from the top to get away from the WWII civil defense triangle and update CAP's vision and mission statements by August."
Seems odd to me for CAP to consider throwing away the one branding icon that's been consistent across the decades. Kind of like asking Coca-Cola to drop the script/ribbon elements from their brand identity.
Quote from: baronet68 on March 08, 2020, 08:24:13 PMQuote from: undefined"Their [sic] is a movement from the top to get away from the WWII civil defense triangle and update CAP's vision and mission statements by August."
Seems odd to me for CAP to consider throwing away the one branding icon that's been consistent across the decades. Kind of like asking Coca-Cola to drop the script/ribbon elements from their brand identity.
There are (or maybe their) folks who hate the "triangle thingey" as are those who really cannot stand our traditional mission statement. Why? Dunno, but they exist and some of them are at NHQ.
When you rebrand, you keep an identifiable piece of the previous branding. The resort I work at has rebranded four or five times since I've been here (~30 years). Each time, they kept the basic logo. Size and placement has changed, font has changed, colors have changed, but the basic logo is still there.
Quote from: arajca on March 08, 2020, 08:36:36 PMWhen you rebrand, you keep an identifiable piece of the previous branding. The resort I work at has rebranded four or five times since I've been here (~30 years). Each time, they kept the basic logo. Size and placement has changed, font has changed, colors have changed, but the basic logo is still there.
That does not appear to be the road they are taking, as sensible as that would be.
Quote from: undefinedWith the extension of Maj Gen Smith's term and our new shift to marketing and strategic communications within PA, the brand update was not considered bold enough. Their is a movement from the top to get away from the WWII civil defense triangle and update CAP's vision and mission statements by August.
The branding has never been our problem. I will agree that we need to stop talking about WWII service in just about any PA/marketing context as it has zero applicability to today and makes it seem like we haven't done anything better in 75 years.
Quote from: RiverAux on March 12, 2020, 11:42:31 AMThe branding has never been our problem. I will agree that we need to stop talking about WWII service in just about any PA/marketing context as it has zero applicability to today and makes it seem like we haven't done anything better in 75 years.
Preach
One of the coolest parts of being an overseas unit is that our "wing" patch is about as original, old-school CAP as it gets. I believe in change, renovation, upgrading, etc. But some things don't actually need to be changed. Just my opinion for what that's worth...
Quote from: RiverAux on March 12, 2020, 11:42:31 AMI will agree that we need to stop talking about WWII service in just about any PA/marketing context as it has zero applicability to today and makes it seem like we haven't done anything better in 75 years.
We were born at the very start of WWII - and that fact is relevant. It is part of the WHY we exist, why we are diverse (we were 'woke' before today's SJW crowd was even born) and how we developed into who we are today. We should never, ever lost sight of the fact that 52 American heroes died in WWII and many thousands risked their lives voluntarily and without pay to serve and protect this amazing country.
That said, our missions are morphing right in front of us and we need to stay relevant. Rebranding is a minor thing, we need better tools and a better way to recruit, retain and and train leadership and worker bees.
Quote from: JohhnyD on March 13, 2020, 01:59:40 AMQuote from: RiverAux on March 12, 2020, 11:42:31 AMI will agree that we need to stop talking about WWII service in just about any PA/marketing context as it has zero applicability to today and makes it seem like we haven't done anything better in 75 years.
We were born at the very start of WWII - and that fact is relevant. It is part of the WHY we exist, why we are diverse (we were 'woke' before today's SJW crowd was even born) and how we developed into who we are today. We should never, ever lost sight of the fact that 52 American heroes died in WWII and many thousands risked their lives voluntarily and without pay to serve and protect this amazing country.
That said, our missions are morphing right in front of us and we need to stay relevant. Rebranding is a minor thing, we need better tools and a better way to recruit, retain and and train leadership and worker bees.
The relevance of why we started has nothing to do with today's mission(s).
The emphasis needs to be on what we do today and what we're going to do tomorrow when we "show up to work."
Nostalgia is great and all, but it serves no operational purpose.
Quote from: TheSkyHornet on March 13, 2020, 03:33:24 PMThe relevance of why we started has nothing to do with today's mission(s).
The emphasis needs to be on what we do today and what we're going to do tomorrow when we "show up to work."
Nostalgia is great and all, but it serves no operational purpose.
True, but the WWII CD logo is the only thing on the current uniform that links us to our heritage, it's the one logo that every CAP member for almost 80 years has worn and is the one logo that comes to mind anytime anyone thinks of CAP. It would be a shame to see it go away.
I wonder what Col Blazich and the folks in the history program think of us saying goodbye to the logo?
I've never worn that insignia, nor has anyone in the last 20 years (other then overseas).
NHQ isn't trying to recruit Col Blazich.
Heritage has it's place, at the top of every poster and the bottom of every press release
is not one of those places, any more then the USAF uses T-6's to recruit kids today.
Quote from: Eclipse on March 13, 2020, 04:14:47 PMI've never worn that insignia, nor has anyone in the last 20 years (other then overseas).
NHQ isn't trying to recruit Col Blazich.
Heritage has it's place, at the top of every poster and the bottom of every press release
is not one of those places, any more then the USAF uses T-6's to recruit kids today.
Funny, it's on the Command Patch on my FDU, the bullion crest on my blazer, used to be on my service coat buttons etc. Almost every CAP logo has the CD prop logo embedded in it, if you get rid of the tri-prop almost every other logo would need to change too, unless we are keeping it in official emblems and logos and just not using it for marketing.
Yes, the prop is everywhere.
I thought you were talking about the roundel.
There's no reason to get rid of it, however it means nothing to a 12 year old, per se.
And in many cases, discussions of WWII actually dissuade kids from being interested,
especially in the way CAP prattles on about it.
It was my understanding it was the tri-prop itself, not just the roundel. Agreed, most kids aren't interested much in the WWII history, just what the program is about and can offer them today. None of them will ever have the chance to fly an armed CAP plane in search of enemy subs, so they don't much care that we used to do it.
Quote from: 1st Lt Thompson on March 13, 2020, 04:44:08 PMmost kids aren't interested much in the WWII history, just what the program is about and can offer them today. None of them will ever have the chance to fly an armed CAP plane in search of enemy subs, so they don't much care that we used to do it.
It's not that they're not interested in WWII...
It's that:
a.) Most people who continuously talk about CAP's involvement in WWII draw the "back in my day" like a sword; and,
b.) As you said, most of the discussions surrounding WWII are cut-and-dry that this is something they will never be a part of.
You can't recruit and retain on "back when I was a cadet..."
But you can bring the cadet story around full circle - the cadet program started by teaching cadets how to fly, not merely orientation type flights, but actual flight instruction. We're coming back to that point, albeit not in the mass numbers of the past.
"You know, we started by teaching cadets to fly!"
"Awesome, can I learn?!"
"Um, well...maybe...after about 4 years, and if you qualify, and there's money in the
budget...um...oh, yeah, you'd have to have a plane nearby and a CFI willing to train
you for free...but yeah, like 50 cadets a year get training...sometimes..."
"Hey, where are you going? WWII! WWII! Drones! Come back!"
Yes, will be interesting to see what civil air patrol is like 15 or 20 years from now. When most of the old guard has passed on, and the millennial's and generation Z folks are running the whole show.
Quote from: etodd on March 13, 2020, 08:37:02 PMYes, will be interesting to see what civil air patrol is like 15 or 20 years from now. When most of the old guard has passed on, and the millennial's and generation Z folks are running the whole show.
Once again, people forget Gen X exists. :P
Seeing my name tossed out into the ring I might as well share the few thoughts rattling around in my head.
First is that the much repeated CAP WWII history is so riddled with inaccuracies and graphene-level of context and analysis that I am not surprised how the past seems irrelevant today. The history was written by journalists for the then and now with a focus on promotion of CAP to non-members rather than as a resource to teach new members and/or leadership as to the evolving action/reaction of organizational policies and efforts.
I have a book coming out later this year/early 2021 that unpacks the coastal patrol effort in relation to CAP's wartime evolution, postwar survival, and future operational uses in/for the Total Force. I opted almost entirely for archival sources to write the work, citing all sources for those wishing to further investigate the material. The research into this manuscript brought out a wide array of documentation I never knew about. The archival sources produced new insight into how close CAP almost failed in early 1942 and lost Army backing.
Perhaps most illuminating of all was discovering a lawsuit brought against Robert Neprud for plagiarizing the coastal patrol chapter of the 1944 book, Sank Same. CAP and Neprud agreed to settle and paid damages out of court. Yes, Flying Minute Men is a work of plagiarism and I have shared the archival files on facebook in the CAP National History Program group (if curious to see them). Lamentably, as Neprud's work remains the orthodoxy on CAP history, almost everything published after 1948 is based on his interpretation, including what the public and other academics know about us - and all cadet and senior member training.
Make the history something relevant to leadership and the membership rather than pure nostalgia and retention of heritage is value added rather than a luxury during times of plenty. The book is under contract with Air University Press and will be freely available as a PDF or as a paperback when published. This is also the first original work about CAP published by AU Press in its 67-year existence.
As to the logo and rebranding, there are three core elements to CAP's public-facing logo/insignia: a red three-bladed propeller, a white triangle, and a blue background. If we consider all the permutations of the design from December 1941 to the present, these have remained consistent even if words came and went, the shape around the logo changed, etc. The short-lived and much maligned "Triangle thingy" logo in essence broke away from retaining the color element while opting for the triangle and propeller.
As Lt Thompson also rightly noted, practically every single CAP member has worn the WWII insignia in some minor variation or another. This design is the key element of almost every CAP wing/region shoulder sleeve insignia or squadron insignia, not counting the center element of CAP aeronautical rating insignia, speciality track badges, etc. I know some members have made rebranding the hill they intend to fight and die upon. While I am not privy to the designs being floated about, I am inclined to believe, based on the information requests I have received in the past, that they will incorporate the colors and basic elements of the previous logo/insignia in the new creation. Success for this effort ultimately will rest on the shoulders of the membership ensuring the design is swiftly and efficiently employed on our aircraft, vehicles, web presence, and uniforms. As it stands, we can still find every insignia/logo of our entire existence in use in some form or another in contemporary CAP operations.
Quote from: Eclipse on March 13, 2020, 08:09:40 PM"You know, we started by teaching cadets to fly!"
"Awesome, can I learn?!"
"Um, well...maybe...after about 4 years, and if you qualify, and there's money in the
budget...um...oh, yeah, you'd have to have a plane nearby and a CFI willing to train
you for free...but yeah, like 50 cadets a year get training...sometimes..."
"Hey, where are you going? WWII! WWII! Drones! Come back!"
https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/programs/cadets/cadetinvest/youth-aviation-initiative/cadet-wings-graduates
And we, in fact still do.
That's literally what I said in the quote.
And also makes my point.
Wings is no more relevent to the average 12 year old prospect considering
Flyover Composite then ARCHER, Green Flag, Escorts or the Olympics is / was to
the vast majority of senior members.
Yet these things are out front as if they are available for everyone interested,
with the reality being one of the reasons for the retention and churn issues.
Quote from: Eclipse on March 14, 2020, 06:01:27 PMThat's literally what I said in the quote.
And also makes my point.
Wings is no more relevent to the average 12 year old prospect considering
Flyover Composite then ARCHER, Green Flag, Escorts or the Olympics is / was to
the vast majority of senior members.
Yet these things are out front as if they are available for everyone interested,
with the reality being one of the reasons for the retention and churn issues.
Wings is spinning up FAST.
Quote from: dwb on March 13, 2020, 10:05:53 PMQuote from: etodd on March 13, 2020, 08:37:02 PMYes, will be interesting to see what civil air patrol is like 15 or 20 years from now. When most of the old guard has passed on, and the millennial's and generation Z folks are running the whole show.
Once again, people forget Gen X exists. :P
sshhhhh... they're top secret. that's why they're called Gen-"X"
Quote from: supertigerCH on August 17, 2020, 12:28:22 AMsshhhhh... they're top secret. that's why they're called Gen-"X"
You waited five months to reply? LOL
Quote from: etodd on August 17, 2020, 12:56:31 AMQuote from: supertigerCH on August 17, 2020, 12:28:22 AMsshhhhh... they're top secret. that's why they're called Gen-"X"
You waited five months to reply? LOL
That's on-brand for us Gen-Xers.