You’ll never be fed up with FedEx

Just found this one recently when someone pointed it to me. This is about FedEx – more precisely about its logo. Take a look at the logo first.



Have you ever spotted the 'arrow' between the letters ‘E’ and ‘x’ in this logo? The arrow was apparently introduced to underscore speed and precision, which are part of the positioning of the company. However, they chose to keep it subtle, or in other words, a subliminal symbol.

The creator of the logo, Lindon Leader, explains why this was done: “The power of the hidden arrow is simply that it is a hidden bonus. It is a positive-reverse optical kind of thing: either you see it or you don't. Importantly, not getting the punch line by not seeing the arrow does not reduce the impact of the logo's essential communication. The power of the logo and the FedEx marketing supporting the logo is strong enough to convey clearly FedEx brand positioning.”

On the other hand, if you do see the arrow, or someone points it out to you, you won't forget it. I can't tell you how many people have told me how much fun they have asking others "if they can spot 'something' in the logo.”

Besides, FedEx is also an interesting case where the brand consultants convinced the company to shorten their corporate name and logo from Federal Express to the popular abbreviation FedEx. Besides creating a shorter brand name, they reduced the amount of colour used on vehicles (planes, trucks, boxes, POP materials) and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs.

Now that is some true 'value for money' consulting!

Also, FedEx is one of the very few brands in the world whose name is now used as a verb, officially endorsed by the top dictionaries of the world. I can only think of Xerox being the other one. Any other brand name that you can think of?

If this is not the pinnacle of branding, I would like to know what else is!

McElroy’s P&G Brand Management Memo

This memo, written by a guy named Neil McElroy, a P&G manager, is part to defend the hiring of two new people, describes a brand management team consisting of a ‘brand man’, an ‘assistant brand man’, and several ‘field check-up’ men. The following excerpt describes the duties and responsibilities of the ‘brand man’.

What’s the big deal you ask? Nothing much except that it was the first instance of an organized attempt at designing a Brand Management Team in an organization. So what, you scoff.

This happened in the year 1931. Yes, much before even your dad was born. That’s P&G - the Cincinnati colossus that has monopolized innovation and best practices over many many years!

Here is the story.

Neil McElroy, working on P&G’s Camay was frustrated by being in the shadow of Ivory, put forth the idea of developing a brand management team. He argued that there were not enough people caring about Camay. The marketing effort was diffused and uncoordinated and lacked a budget commitment. The solution, creating a brand management team responsible for the marketing programme and its coordination with sales and manufacturing, is considered a key event in the history of branding!

And here is the memo he wrote.

Brand Man

1. Study carefully shipments of his brands by units.

2. Where brand development is heavy and where it is progressive, examine carefully the combination of effort that seems to be clicking and try to appeal this same treatment to other territories that are comparable.

3. Where brand development is light:
a. Study past advertising and promotional history of the brand: study the territory personality at first hand–both dealers and consumers–in order to find out the trouble.
b. After uncovering our weakness, develop a plan that can be applied to this local sore spot. It is necessary, of course not simply to work out the plan but also to be sure that the amount of money proposed can be expected to produce results at a reasonable cost per case.
c. Outline this plan in detail to the Division Manager under whose jurisdiction the weak territory is, obtain his authority and support for the corrective action.
d. Prepare sales helps and all other necessary material for carrying out the plan. Pass is on the districts. Work with salesmen while they are getting started. Follow through to the very finish to be sure that there is no letdown in sales operation of the plan.
e. Keep whatever records are necessary, and make whatever field studies are necessary to determine whether the plan has produced the expected results.

4. Take full responsibility, not simply for criticizing individual pieces of printed word copy, but also for the general printed word plans for his brands.

5. Take full responsibility for all other advertising expenditures on his brands (author’s note – in-store displays and promotions).

6. Experiment with and recommend wrapper (author’s note – packaging) revisions.

7. See each District Manager a number of times a year to discuss with him any possible faults in our promotion plans for that territory.

How to ask your boss for a salary increase?

Here is for all those blokes who don't know how to ask their boss for a salary increase. And also what to expect from smart alec bosses! Courtesy: One of my enterprising students!

One day an employee sends a letter to his boss asking for an increase in his salary.

Dear Bo$$,

In thi$ life, we all need $ome thing mo$t de$perately. I think you $hould be under$tanding of the need$ of U.$ worker$ who have given $o much $upport including $weat and $ervice to your company. I am $ure you will gue$$ what I mean and re$pond $oon.

Your’$ $incerely,
Norman $handy


The next day, the employee received this letter of reply.

Dear NOrman,

I kNOw you have been working very hard. NOwadays, NOthing much has changed. You must have NOticed that our company is NOt doing NOticeably well as yet.

NOw the newspapers are saying the world's leading ecoNOmists are NOt sure if U.S may go into aNOther recession. After the NOvember presidential elections things may turn bad.

I have NOthing more to add NOw. You kNOw what I mean.

Yours,
Boss