Versant Blog Center

Going Full Circle

Twenty years ago I started a graphic design and commercial photography studio in West Bend. After 15 years as owner and creative director, I realized I needed more. I was fortunate to find a great fit with Versant.

I am now in my fifth year at Versant and have recently found myself back in West Bend, but this time as a Versant representative. Some of my past West Bend contacts are reaching out to me with new work and Versant has the talent and depth to get the job done.

Versant recently completed the re-branding of the West Bend Art Museum which is now the Museum of Wisconsin Art. State of Wisconsin Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton unveiled the new name and logo on January 12th. Tom Lidtke, executive director of the museum said that the logo has “a bold and contemporary image that reflects the forward thinking of the museum’s vision for the future. In terms of color, the brilliant orange played off the subtle gray and the unique way the positive font plays off the negative font provided a push- pull dynamic that reflects a multitude of artistic mediums and style.

“In short,” continued Lidtke, “the logo represents the richness of Wisconsin art that has been created over the last two millennia.”

More recently, Versant was hired to assist the West Bend Mutual Insurance Company on their facility branding efforts as they more than double the size of their facility. They saw the important need to create a professional naming and wayfinding system for some of the unique areas inside their facility as well as throughout the 160 acres on which their corporate headquarters is situated.

After the completion of our research and strategic naming process we provided West Bend Mutual with a list of over 30 unique names to be used within the new facility. The team at WBM was thrilled with the results and we are looking forward to the next phase on this exciting project. And I’m looking forward to the continued connection with my old stomping grounds.

Experiencing the Brand

I recently had the opportunity to tour the headquarters of my favorite ice cream producer - Ben and Jerry’s. This visit allowed me to realize my childhood dream of watching the birth and packaging of ice cream. It was beautiful. I took the factory tour, sampled some Cherry Garcia, visited the gift shop and walked through the flavor graveyard. As you can see from this picture, it was a lot of fun (I am Jerry on the right).

But what is it about Ben and Jerry’s that would motivate a grown man to pose for pictures like this? Simply put, their brand. If you know anything beyond their flavors of ice cream, you know about Ben and Jerry’s dedication to corporate, social and environmental responsibility. They’ve made this commitment the foundation of their brand.

This commitment is reinforced to consumers through their employees, signage, packaging, advertising, Web site, etc. And best of all, it is authentic. And that’s why it works. Although this company has a rather traditional product, they’ve been successful in building a truly unique brand. Ben and Jerry’s have turned their brand into something larger than just ice cream, something that makes you feel good with every bite.

- Korre Johnson

A Legend in Broadcasting, if Not Baseball

It's that time of year again. No, not spring. Better. Baseball. It's particularly intriguing this year as one of our clients, Bank Mutual, is a key sponsor of the Milwaukee Brewers Radio Network.

To build brand awareness to the key baby boomer demographic, Versant and Bank Mutual engaged long-time Brewers baseball announcer Bob Uecker for a series of commercials. When it came to production, I lucked out and got to sit in the studio and direct Ueck (OK, Mr. Uecker).

I was particularly impressed with his desire to get the performance down. He spent extra time on making sure the humorous elements had the right punch. He also was attentive to making sure the pace was good to convey the key selling points. We ended up doing a total of 40 takes for eight spots. Most of that was his tweaking the reads to perfection. He would have done 40 more if we asked. And he was gracious and more than happy to read a script for a future company board meeting.

I think "Mr. Baseball" will serve Bank Mutual well. He may not have had a stellar career as a player, but "Mr. Baseball" understands "the game."

Domain Names are Not Just for IT

Early in the lifecycle of the Web, domain names were the responsibility of technology teams because they served primarily a functional role – providing a common-name alternative to IP addresses that non-technology folks would understand.  Domain names were used in marketing, but primarily via word of mouth so IT could tell the rest of the world how to access a company's Web site (back when there was no Google to help).

Today, the role of domain names is so much different, although not all companies realize that times have changed.  Businesses, brands, products and people have their own Web sites, and often those sites are the first point of contact with potential customers, employees, partners and vendors.  The domain name has become an essential part of marketing and corporate identity – it has a place on business cards, letterhead, advertising and virtually all communication going out that represents the business.

So the role of the domain name has been elevated, but along with that must come its protection.  Domain name piracy and hijacking are prevalent, as is the registration of alternative versions and misspellings of domain names by others on the Web to divert traffic to their Web sites rather than yours.  Thus domain names now must be an important consideration for companies because a hijacked or pirated domain name can result in lost business and damage to the company's brand.

Companies today need a domain name strategy rather than simply one domain name to represent the business, products and services they offer.  Developing a domain name strategy includes asking questions like these, many of which come about after not doing things the right way.

• Do we own the .net version of our primary domain name?  How about the .biz version?  If not, who does and what are they doing with it?
• For companies with offices or business outside the United States, have we registered our primary domain name with the local country code extensions, such as .co.uk?
• Are there common misspellings of our company name or domain name, and have they been properly registered?
• What does our domain name sound like when said over the phone, or read from an advertisement?  Does it allow for easy word of mouth marketing (ever tried to pronounce a dash?), or is it easy for people to misspell the domain name in those situations?
• After our company name is protected, what about our product names and other sub-brands?

A company that does a stellar job of applying a domain name strategy is Crate & Barrel (not our client), proving that domain name protection is not just for companies like Google, which does happen to own many domain name variations of its name and products.  Crate & Barrel recognizes that its name allows for many potential domain name variations, and does a great job of both protecting them and also redirecting them to its Web site, allowing customers to fee smart even if they spelled "barrel" wrong.

Check out this list:

• www.cratebarel.com
• www.cratebarell.com
• www.cratebarrel.com
• www.cratebarrell.com
• www.crateandbarel.com
• www.crateandbarell.com
• www.crateandbarrel.com  (primary domain name)
• www.crateandbarrell.com
• www.crate-barrel.com
• And on and on…

Sure, Crate & Barrel only really needs one domain name from a functional, technical perspective, but the list above protects the company from potential brand degradation and lost sales, as well as its customers from ending up on the wrong site or seeing error messages.  The cost of a domain name strategy is worth preventing those things, a wise investment in both marketing and IT.

How Dot-Jobs (.jobs) Could Change the Web

I considered writing about the new dot-jobs (.jobs) domain name extension for our VersantWorks or Technology blog channels, but I realized that its impact goes beyond just recruitment technology - it could actually change how people use the Web. To fill you in on what's going on, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) proposed and has been given permission to create a new domain name extension (like .com, .net and .org) called dot-jobs (.jobs) intended specifically for Web-based recruitment. My clients who heard the news from SHRM have asked me, "So why is this so important?" Dot-jobs is more than just another domain name extension because it has the potential to impact how people - specifically companies and job seekers - will use the Web.

The concept behind dot-jobs is that Web users looking for opportunities at a company will potentially have a direct, efficient and consistent way to find those job openings without scouring the corporate Web site looking for the careers section or digging on an online job board. The real key for dot-jobs is the consistency - as a Web user, if I know the company Web site, I will also know the company careers site - so the jobs site for Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) would be www.microsoft.jobs. Although online job seekers will have to get used to the dot-jobs concept, the payoff in terms of immediate access and ease of use will be huge.

For dot-jobs to work, SHRM will have to be diligent in verifying and monitoring a number of elements:

1. That companies are able to effectively protect their brands and easily register the appropriate dot-jobs domain name
2. That generic dot-jobs domain names (such as www.healthcare.jobs) are not allowed
3. That sites created using dot-jobs domain names are indeed careers Web sites - this is critical for consistency
4. That SHRM work with the search engine and Web browser companies to ensure that dot-jobs is supported
5. That SHRM help Web users understand dot-jobs through tutorials and a directory of companies with valid dot-jobs sites

In Web technology and marketing, new domain names are not uncommon, but few have the potential impact on how the Web works that dot-jobs does. The registration process and rules as determined by SHRM (expected this summer) will be critical to making it work, and the resulting easy access to online opportunities should benefit companies and Web users alike. Stay tuned.

Top of Their Game

Just this week a group of 16 Versant associates and clients attended the Horizon League Men's Championship game between the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (our client) and Detroit. UWM won in an exciting nail-biter of a game. In doing so, they also won the right to go "dancing." I had to explain to my partner, Will Ruch, that this is still basketball.

At any rate, we've had the good fortune of helping market UWM and Bruce Pearl's Panthers (see portfolio) the last two years. And as a UWM alum, it was with great pride that I was able to personally introduce Panther basketball to a few more converts within the sell-out crowd of 10,783 at the US Cellular Arena. Moreover, I was able to introduce the UWM brand.

What the team can do for the school is a perfect example of the experience as the brand. A collection of players, students, faculty, alumni, business and civic leaders all coming together embody what UWM's brand is all about to no less than a national cable audience. Bruce Pearl was quoted as saying the crowd is the story of this game. I would suggest that the crowd is the story of this school. The experience was the brand in action.

It's on to the NCAA tournament. And as one of many brand ambassadors, I'll be cheering for the next victory. Go Panthers!