Either the lawyers at Apple are:
a) bored;
b) now getting commission per lawsuit; or
c) losing sight of the big commercial picture.
As you have probably heard, they have attempted legal action to restrain the use of both the Woolworths logo (disputably fruit-like) and a product called DOPi (iPod backwards).
(They have also sued Samsung over the use of certain technologies without permission, which is fair – although I note that Nokia’s suit against Apple for similar reasons didn’t seem to get as much press.)
Opposing someone elses use of a trademark requires an analysis of whether it is ‘deceptively similar’, taking into account the types of products as well as the people who would be exposed to both marks.
I would not be the first blogger to point out that to your average consumer this just looks like rubbish. And thus far, the Australian Trade Marks Office has agreed…
If you cannot tell that these are two completely different brands, get your eyes checked. The gradient work is completely different.
So remember kids, 'i' comes before 'p', except after a lawsuit
Beware, therefore, if you ever want to launch this:
The news of this lawsuit is building and may only serve to draw attention to ‘Wholesale Central’, the otherwise forgettably-named owner of the DOPi logo. Potentially disastrous if they were intending on bringing out similar products! (Unless this is the intent as it goes back to promoting the use of their own products in a twisted kind of way…)
Just because you might be able to launch a lawsuit…doesn’t mean you should. Microsoft comparisons have already been made.
This just makes Apple look like a dictator – we can excuse them for making their products exclusively work with each other, but petty lawsuits can become nasty PR very easily. It’s just as simple as me clicking ‘publish’…
Filed under: 1 | Tags: branding, business, Coles, corporate identity, Design, Hulsbosch, strategy, Woolworths
It’s becoming a game of ‘spot the difference’.
There’s some mentality that the moment your main competitor does something, you’ve got to do what they did.
When that something is ‘make lots of money and use it to completely change the layout of their stores’, it’s a bit more difficult.
One, it’s expensive. Two, they’re going to have a massive headstart on you.
So sometime when Woolworths was having their consultation with Hans Hulsbosch and started rolling out their new corporate identity, Coles was having a chat (with McKinsey, if the rumours are true) about its own identity crisis.
Lo and behold, a new store layout!
This humble observer would like to present to you what’s new, what looks suspiciously similar and where Coles might be breaking from the mould.
Filed under: 1 | Tags: advertising, co-branding, Coles, Continental, Masterchef, supermarkets, Unilever, Woolworths
The Australian supermarket playground is notoriously small. Woolies and Coles are the big bullies, currently at a stalemate for who can build the biggest sandcastle.
So if you can’t win on your own…get a partner.
I don’t mean another shopping chain – the ACCC is already turning some of its attention to some of the tactics used to keep smaller players like Aldi out.
No, I’m referring to the recent ads which seem to be co-financed by Woolworths and Continental (Unilever).
Aww.
The ads themselves are largely unremarkable; I couldn’t find them online. Essentially, there’s a product demo for Continental, followed by a message that you can find the products at Woolworths.
++ In a recession, particularly when you’ve just undergone high capital investment, partnering up might help stretch that ad budget further.
-+ Sharing ad time might confuse viewers, or lose the message completely. On the other hand, it’s more subtle and modest.
— As a retailer, promoting a household brand could encourage consumers to buy it…elsewhere.
Neither *seem* to be short on ad spend, with Continental’s ‘three-thirtyitis’ campaign** (DDB work I believe) and the re-done Woolworths ‘fresh food people’.
Perhaps Woolies feels that it needs to raise its publicity, since rival Coles backed winning horse ‘Masterchef’. This campaign certainly takes a similarly indirect approach, though whether it has helped flailing Coles remains to be seen.
How's that for co-branding...I didn't even have to edit the colours
++ Coles should benefit from the greater opportunities that arise from TV shows, such as recruiting judge George for product development.
— Two’s company, three’s a crowd. Just from viewing the show, you can tell that Coles isn’t the only organisation that put money behind Masterchef.
[I realise that I always seem to be commenting on Woolworths and what they’re doing, not Coles. Perhaps that tells you something…]
**I suspect that some of the ad budget has come from lowering production costs, if the Pasta Flakes Pasta & Sauce is anything to go by.
I must be hungry, because I’m buying into a lot of this supermarket stuff…
Overall I’ve decided the new store layouts and logo are doing well. The more recent update of the catalog has moved along similar lines. But here’s a problem for the new branding…
…how does it translate to the humble petrol station?
Here the old logo outdoes the new. It’s bold, it’s red and will be easily visible to motorists during the day or backlit at night.
Imagine, if you will, driving along the freeway wearily at night, and seeing this backlit and eerily suspended in the sky:
- The words will disappear.
- Is it even possible to keep the gradient?
- Is your average traveller going to know what the logo is and what it stands for?
Plus, Woolies is going to be spending a hell of a lot if they’re going to revamp every single petrol station in the country. Try keeping them clean and fresh.
Filed under: 1 | Tags: branding, Coles, Design, Hulsbosch, marketing, rebranding, Woolworths
According to the Weekend Australian, Woolies has been recording excellent revenues these last couple of months, due in part to the $1 billion which has been spent on new store layouts over the last 6 months.
So when I had my first opportunity to visit the new Woolies store that opened up here a month ago, I decided to have a little game of ‘spot the difference’ to see what the big deal was.
These are just my impressions – if you’ve spotted something extra, give me a yell.
So what’s new?
As some of you know I was a little skeptical with the new designs, but I’d have to say congratulations to Hulsbosch for the new store layouts.
In short:
- ‘Fresher’ – less clutter
- Strategic presentation
- Products placed by thought process
Surely brand isn’t just about customers, but about ALL of your stakeholders?
Just watched the ‘4 Corners’ special report on the power wielded by supermarket giants and the ramifications it can have for suppliers, deliverers, and other businesses in the community. It really made me want to get out there and support small business. But emotions aside, there’s plenty of branding issues…
The supermarket giants, Woolworths and Coles, are definitely here to stay. They have buying power. They have economies of scale. They have the kind of brand equity which makes them very important to everybody they contract with.
But if the report is correct, they’re forming contracts and not relationships. If the Fresh Food People are starting to having negative relations with the Fresher Food People supplying them the Fresh Food in the first place, will it mean we lose out on quality? And how Fresh can the Food be if it’s been trucked across the country and then not unloaded for another day?
Slightly off the topic, I’m surprised that legislation allows profit losses caused by loss-leader pricing strategies to be borne entirely by the suppliers…is that fair? Especially when most of the benefits from extra custom will go to the retailer?
Anyway, the report definitely has some eye-opening points and raises a lot of issues…don’t know if anything will come of it, but at the very least there should be some PR fallout. (No doubt Coles is thinking, “Thank God we just reshuffled and rebranded.”) You can check it out online here.
Filed under: 1 | Tags: advertising, brand image, branding, Design, logo, Mastercard, PR, rebrand, Safeway, Woolworths
As of a couple of days ago, Australian supermarket giant Woolworths announced the relaunch of their brand. What’s the deal? Well, here’s the new logo…
Let’s compare with the original logo::
It definitely has that so-very-swish uber-modern feel, doesn’t it? Clean fonts, very green and fresh, and gradients. It’s easy to see the rationale; the new logo screams fresh, young, modern and enviro-friendly.
However, I’m not sure it’s all good news. Yes, it’s clean and simple, but then so was the old logo. This is the logo which so clearly tied together the old Safeway and Woolworths brands when crossing state borders. There’s no longer any red (a traditional colour for food retail logos) and far less emphasis on the key selling point; ‘The Fresh Food People’. The font is less distinctive and it feels like they’re not as proud to state this anymore, which given their latest ad campaign doesn’t seem to be true.
There’s also a lot of debate as to what the huge swirly thing at the top is. It will probably make a very good logo for the Woolworths brand products which seem to be gaining ground, but what IS it? A missing ribbon from the rhythmic gymnastics team? A ‘W’ for Woolies? An oddly styled apple? (Could Apple sue, perhaps?) Why is it so…well, green? And why does it remind me slightly of the new Mastercard logo, which also made interesting use of gradients and caused some confusion::
The idea was good, but the gradients rendered some design bloggers confused, if you'll excuse the pun. And just what was wrong with the old logo?
This aside, there’s the money question; does a logo really change where you buy your food when there’s so many other factors?
Of course, there’s far more to a rebrand than a new logo, and there’s a wide and detailed bank of research on what consumers want in a supermarket. Rumours abound of new store layouts and a revived shopping experience. But we’ll have to wait and see what eventuates from the new stores and whether it will affect performance.
What has prompted this rebranding? Perhaps it was the resurgence of competition from Coles, another Australian supermarket giant which was forced to contract a top management consulting firm after performance issues over the last couple of years. Or maybe it’s just time for a change to ‘keep up with the times’ after 21 years.
A new ad campaign has also been launched. Airing in prime Olympics spots, they emphasise the FreshFoodPeople message, with claims that when people who love fresh food can’t make it themselves, they go to Woolworths. (Again, Mastercard comparison, anyone?) This has been at the expense of the ‘Woolworths, the Fresh Food People’ jingle with lots of happy Woolies workers talking about the food they have in store. I think it could work; a shift from tell to show is probably a better approach for food. It will also differentiate effectively from competitor Coles’ ‘proudly supporting Mums’ angle. But is the campaign going to be backed up with more emphasis on fresh goods and organic food?
The latest PR for the company might support this, with the Woolworths market update being aired in prime time news slots. Reporting on what’s ‘fresh’ in the markets and giving some preparation tips in a short segment definitely reinforces the freshness image and gives some context to consumers. But it could work either way… It wouldn’t be difficult for some consumers to confuse the brands or just use the information provided to shop elsewhere. It also runs the danger, in close comparison to the news, of being dismissed as ‘just an infomercial’ (which it is, if we’re going to be honest).
Anyway, thank you Woolworths, FINALLY, for standardising your name across Australia. For years there has been a Woolworths/Safeway divide…and even though everyone knows it’s exactly the same thing, it really does not do you any favours to be operating under different names in different states! Sorry Victoria, but it’s time to join the family.
[For more info on the rebrand, head over to the Woolworths release.]
the grass is greener on the internet 