More brand confusion

[RickRutledge]

Well...there is branding and then there is branding.

Chevy VS Chevrolet is interesting because he mentions Coke.....does he mean Coca Cola?

Doing the PC thing for a name may make sense if there is some confusion  Chevrolet has been Chevy for a long long long time.

To put this in a CAP context...is it CAP (as in a hat you wear on your head) or CAP (as in SEE AYEE PEE)?

I don't really think the Chevy vs Chevrolet has as much to do with consistency as it may have to do with image.  Chevy (to me) implies muscle cars and big trucks.....where Chevrolet implies luxury cars.  So if the company is trying to make an image change.....then yes consistency in branding is a good thing.

In CAP....the issue is not some much an image change but BRAND RECOGNITION.  When they see the red prop in a triangle they need to say "Oh CAP, the USAF Axillary".....and not "why is there a prop in a triangle".  To follow up on that our potential customers need to know that CAP=our missions and services.

These are issues are not so much "branding" as it is simple advertising and training.

Patrick--

Some of what you are saying is exactly true, some is not.

Branding is branding, no matter what spin you might put on it.

Even if we attempt to "fix" our branding strategy, it won't do us much of any good without a squared away Public Affairs/Strategic Marketing plan.

In reality, the best plan is to hire a lobbyist for inside governmental communications showing our operational benefits to those who are in DC trusted with tax payers funding, plus on the recruiting/public image side we need to have a partnership with a major television network and radio broadcast group WITH a high-profile aviator (John Travolta or Harrison Ford for example) and do our best to bombard the nation with our missions and message. For the amount of money we supposedly spent on a NASCAR sponsorship we could accomplish all 3 of these goals pretty well. I don't have all the answers, but I have a pretty good idea where the organization should start.

While we're at it we should tear out a few pages of the Army's Public Affairs strategy. They do most everything in this arena, correctly. Learn from their lessons.

SM Rick Rutledge
PAO
Edmond Composite Squadron
www.EdmondCAP.org

PS -- Grab the book "Blue Ocean Strategy," it's worth the read but it will change the way you think about marketing, advertising and branding. Companies like Starbucks, Papa John's and McDonald's have been using it for years.

[DakRadz]

Good plan, just wanted to point out that Harrison Ford already does EAA/Young Eagles. I do believe he's the president, actually.

We need to talk to the Marines, as well.

They have these, after all.

[RickRutledge]

True, but he was used purely as an example.

[Nick P.]

I dont like the triangle version. I like the other one where it says Civil Air Patrol "USAF AUX" in a circle.

[JC004]

Good plan, just wanted to point out that Harrison Ford already does EAA/Young Eagles. I do believe he's the president, actually.

We need to talk to the Marines, as well.

They have these, after all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwY67LYzH7Q

We should also talk to them about the fact that they don't change their freaking uniform all the time. Or like...ever.

[DakRadz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwY67LYzH7Q

We should also talk to them about the fact that they don't change their freaking uniform all the time. Or like...ever.

To the first- Oh. My. WOW THAT WAS AWESOME EVEN FOR A NAVY HOPEFUL!!! Heh-em, that was rather amazing.

Well, they have good tradition. But when the Marines do change their uniforms, everyone follows suit- you know what MARPAT is, right? Then ACU, ABU, NWU... In that order.

[JC004]

It was quite a big deal when they came here (and elsewhere) for the filming.  You can watch some the the behind the scenes-type videos on there too.

http://our.marines.com/cms_content/showblogvideo/rel_id/44/id/440

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S25Hb8Cik5Q

[Smithsonia]

We had a discussion late last year about Uniforms as Branding Elements. SEE HERE: http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=9528.0

[JC004]

I remember that.  I still think the ACU was chosen with form over function in that area.  Otherwise, they would have chosen something that blends into things, like MultiCam.

Certainly the AF and Navy chose theirs as branding-types.  Especially the FIRST draft of the ABU - YUCK.

[FlyTiger77]

I remember that.  I still think the ACU was chosen with form over function in that area.  Otherwise, they would have chosen something that blends into things, like MultiCam.

Certainly the AF and Navy chose theirs as branding-types.  Especially the FIRST draft of the ABU - YUCK.

I'll have you know that the ACU DOES blend in. If we ever go to war in a gravel pit, NO ONE will see us!!

[Smithsonia]

While the Navy, Marines, and Air Force have great uniform traditions - the US Army has 200 years of dithering over and over with various ideas, combinations, and colors.
There is an extensive review of the issues here:
http://www.qmfound.com/Army_Green_Uniform.htm#Lack%20of%20Army%20Uniform%20Tradition

[DakRadz]

The Navy one is rather ripped off of the Marine's MARPAT... It's sad for me..

But the services (except perhaps the Army, and they're half of the AD guys and gals anyway, so I say they get leeway) generally understand they can't change extremely often.

Look at the most recent Service Uniform changes:
Marines: Sometime in the 18th-19th century... moving on. 
Air Force: Modernizing the service coat, really. Not a huge deal, logical even.
Army: Overhaul which actually reverted to an old style, ie greens to blues. The same blues I've seen in Civil War movies/shows
Navy: ....... Total overhaul. At least they simplified the number of unis (at the cost of making Chiefs and officers mad/looking like Marines..); also added a reversion to the past with the Service Dress Khakis. Ask SarDragon to tell you about the rank specific multitude that STILL exists, but I'll keep it simple.
While I was typing: Smithsonia, I disagree- the Navy has started the dithering now... And the Marines have the best track record, bar none. USAF next (not a lot of time to screw up.. but then again look at CAP, so USAF isn't halfbad) Then Army, but they've done Blues, Browns, Greens, Blues, that I know of, so not to shabby.


Now, ignore the Navy, and you see that the services have established their brands.
CAP needs to take a leaf out of this book. Even if members are thought to be AF, that's a step in the right direction. If people see a symbol and think "CAP!", somebody learned. Making Corporate unis isn't a bad idea whatsoever, but they need to stay steady.

That being said, Kill The Triangle-Thingy! Stick with our 4 symbols and try to build from there.


Written with mods in mind - I hope this is CAP related enough ^_^

Also, I would like to apologize for leaving out the USCG, but I'm not informed on their uniform history- pretty sure they've got it mostly figured out though- other than looking like USAF

[O-Rex]

The branding issue is a symptom of our own organizational schizophrenia:  We ARE are the Air Force's Aux, well, not really, well yeah, but only when we stand on one leg while rubbing our tummies and patting our heads at the same time....

[SarDragon]

The Canoe Club has been messing with things for at least the last 40 years. It's nothing I would consider just recent. If I'd kept them all, I'd have as many failed USN uni combos as there are failed CAP uni combos.

Sadly, the "white hats" have borne the brunt of the changes, while "the khakis" have gotten away mostly unscathed. As a SWAG, there's probably a 3:1 ratio between "white hat" changes and "khaki" changes.

[DakRadz]

Did they not literally change the "white hat"? It seems a different shape now than I see in old contexts. Anyway, the Navy is doing the same as CAP, and then some... Stealing ideas from the Marines, and then there's the dilemna of "Cross Into The Blue"- now, I think that's Navy, but YYMV and I'd have to look on the web to confirm.

We need to set a firm foundation- heck, why don't we lock everything except for BDUs down, for the next ten years? 

[JC004]

I remember that.  I still think the ACU was chosen with form over function in that area.  Otherwise, they would have chosen something that blends into things, like MultiCam.

Certainly the AF and Navy chose theirs as branding-types.  Especially the FIRST draft of the ABU - YUCK.

I'll have you know that the ACU DOES blend in. If we ever go to war in a gravel pit, NO ONE will see us!!

At the USO at Philadelphia International, I hear Army folk talk about the uniform quite often.  That's how I first found out about the MultiCam in Afghanistan thing.  Once, some soldiers decided that the uniform blended well with the floors at the airport.  So, if we ever go to war at PHL, it'll be great.

[SarDragon]

Did they not literally change the "white hat"? It seems a different shape now than I see in old contexts. Anyway, the Navy is doing the same as CAP, and then some... Stealing ideas from the Marines, and then there's the dilemna of "Cross Into The Blue"- now, I think that's Navy, but YYMV and I'd have to look on the web to confirm.

We need to set a firm foundation- heck, why don't we lock everything except for BDUs down, for the next ten years? 

There's probably closer adherence to the rules about rolling one's white hat. I see pix all the time now with totally straight-sided hats, something no self respecting sailor of my era would think about wearing.

[DakRadz]

I thought as much, though not in an insulting way to your generation. The straight sided supersmooth looks like something I would reserve to an Honor/Color Guard.

Talk about branding, though- eliminate the Triangle-Thingy and declare everything unchangeable when it comes to uniforms and logos, except for one (1) possible replacement for BDUs. People would know CAP then, moreso; I'd wager to it, anyway.

[BGNightfall]

Some notes on the Navy, since it's often being used as a point of comparison here, especially as it relates to brand confusion.

Yes, the Navy has undergone a large shift in uniform wear over the past three years, following on the heels of several uniform shifts in the other services.  Where this differs from our sibling services is that the Navy uniform change comes as a direct result of a large-scale survey of the actual service members in the early 2000's.  The results of that survey were that the "white hats" (or "blue shirts", if you prefer) were dissatisfied with the number of uniforms that they were required to maintain, and they were dissatisfied with the quality of the uniforms issued.  Both complaints made often and loudly in various topics on this board.  Following wear-testing of several uniform alternatives, three new uniforms have been fielded to the fleet which replaced no less than six uniform ensembles (and many more uniform combinations). 

As these uniforms began to arrive, Big Navy made a second survey of its members, this time assessing their opinion of the service's recruiting campaign.  The survey ultimately showed that sailors wanted the advertisements to be an accurate reflection of what the Navy's real-world missions, instead of a few "hotshot" professions.  The newest ads reflect this, with the new slogan "A Global Force for Good".  ("Cross into the Blue" is the current Air Force slogan).  The new ad campaign shows sailors in various global peace-keeping and humanitarian roles, proudly displaying the new uniforms.

The Navy has, on the advice of its own service members, consolidated its uniform array and is in the process of creating a single, far-reaching, all-inclusive brand highlighting both this change and the change in world climate.  Interestingly enough, these are the same changes that members of this board cry for repeatedly and often.

P.S.- SarD, while most sailors that I work with do not choose to roll the white hat, that particular feature is usually associated with the surface force (i.e. ESWS qualified sailors).  The Ceremonial Guard at the Navy Yard also wear their white hats rolled.

/righteously indignant rant

[Smithsonia]

When I spoke of the consistency of uniforms - I meant to say "Dress Uniforms." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Navy_Uniforms.png
Here's the current Navy Dress Uniforms. And these haven't changed much since WW2.

By the way that new Blue Camo Navy BDU is a goofy piece of work. I was at North Island, CA. last week and saw those everywhere. These are easy to spot on land. So unless you fall in the water  - right when you'd prefer to be seen - the camo seems useless. Goofy and will go the way of the "Johnny Cash" within 5 years, I predict. SEE THAT PIECE OF WORK HERE:
http://media.photobucket.com/image/navy%20camouflage%20uniform/SVTbird/new_usn_uniform.jpg