Establishment of published guidlines for the coporate logo, etc.

[jimmydeanno]

We often discuss the lack of a marketing plan by our organization with respect to communicating with the members what the plan is and how to impliment it. 

I think a prime example of how to mandate/regulate the use of our corporate logo is provided by Princeton University.  Most corporations also have plans like this - mine does.  Something like this is needed for CAP sooner than later.  Especially with the multitude of logos we have (seal, emblem, shield, etc, etc)

Notice that they prescribe the specific color that things are supposed to be, the font, how to put it on different backgrounds, acceptable use, what to do with existing stuff, etc.

http://www.princeton.edu/identity/intro/

Thoughts?

[Pylon]

This is called a Style Guide.  It's one of the key components of a brand/identity system.  Princeton's is good, but there are many other excellent examples out there.

CAP has at least 8 logos or seals in current use (NHQ just created a new one in the past few months to add to the confusion), not counting differently rendered versions of the same logo.  It's a problem that needs to be solved by stopping production of new materials long enough to evaluate our current situation (SWOT analysis) and to strategically plan an identity and brand for CAP moving forward. 

I will bet money that this won't be done, however -- and NHQ CAP will continue to produce materials with inconsistent appearance, multiple logos and inconsistent message.  This wastes any possible brand capitalization CAP could hope for and dilutes every single effort, national and local, to raise awareness of who we are and what we do.

[A.Member]

^  What he said.  :clap:

[fireplug]

We had a Graphics Standards Guide (IIRC) in the Red Cross. Even gave the correct shade of red in which the cross was to be printed, and where it and the various logos were to be placed in relation to each other, and HOW THEY WERE TO BE USED.
Definitely need something like this for CAP.

[dwb]

We need a lot of things...

- One standard logo to use across all communications
- A guide for how to use logos on locally produced documents
- Master marketing descriptions (for press releases)
- Standard letterhead, memo format, web site, PowerPoint template, etc. with local info on them
- Better recruiting materials
- Stand-up materials for use at fairs, open houses, etc. -- maybe a few per Wing that could float around as needed

Honestly, I'm not sure why CAP doesn't have some of these things yet.  I know people have been working on some of it; competent people too, like Col Greenhut.

Yet for some reason, it's left to the local units to figure out how to present CAP to the community.

FWIW, here is the marketing description I used when I was a squadron commander.  It was always the last paragraph in any press release.  Note that the membership figure is a few years old.

Civil Air Patrol, the auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with almost 60,000 members nationwide.  It is congressionally chartered with three missions: emergency services, aerospace education and cadet programs.  The local squadron meets at the U.S. Army Reserve Center on Electronics Parkway in Liverpool, every Wednesday from 7:00-9:00pm, and offers a cadet program for youth 12-18 years old and an adult program for pilots, aviation enthusiasts, and cadet mentors.

I was always fond of my little blurb.

Edited to add: my company is actually going through a re-branding right now.  New logo, new marketing materials, new slogan, changing the company's name, etc.  I'm sure they're paying big bucks, but the materials I've seen so far are wicked sharp.  I would recommend this firm to CAP, they know their stuff.

[CAP Producer]

Let me see if I can get a draft of a CAP Style Guide together over Thanksgiving Weekend.

If you have any ideas for this guide please feel free to share in this discussion thread or directly to me at pao@ncr.cap.gov

Keep the good ideas coming.

[EMT-83]

I did a lot of work with the American Cancer Society. They had a very well defined style guide that spelled out the proper use of colors, fonts, acronyms (!), when to use bold and underline, etc. Volunteers and paid staffers were expected to follow the guidelines in all communications.

If I can find a copy, I'll send it your way.

[Pumbaa]

Locheed has a great style guide as does Corning Inc.  Every national corporation should have one.

[RiverAux]

I suppose I'm not terribly worried about how the logos are used in the printed materials/web sites so much as I am by their inconsistent use on vehicles and uniforms.  

For some things we use the corporate seal (sometimes in color, sometimes in black and white-golf shirt uniforms) and for others we use the command patch-flight suits, VSAF uniform, airplanes, vans), in others we use a variation on one of the traditional CAP prop/triangle symbols (the symbol on the new CAP baseball cap), while on other uniforms we have no version of the logo at all (BDUs, BBDUs, service uniforms, aviatior shirts).

 

[A.Member]

I'm going to state the rather obvious and suggest that, to the greatest extent possible, we try to remain consistent with USAF standards, at least at a high level, when such guidance is available.   Some info (see nav menu on right side of the page):

http://www.af.mil/library/symbol/index.asp