Not very inspiring, huh?

This week, USA Today published three other logo options provided by (and including commentary by), two corporate identity experts, Alan Siegel of Siegel & Gale (if you read KeySplash Creative Conversations on a regular basis, then you know I’m a big fan, read my interview with Alan here) and designer DJ Stout from Pentagram.  Here are the options provided by the experts:

Alan Siegel: Wings of a nation
“The wing implies freedom and energy, the ability to rise above.  It is derived from our powerful unifying national symbols, the flag and the bald eagle. The wing is intertwined with the flag, reinforcing both a sense of home and a national vision. The result is an extremely dynamic symbol that speaks to the power of a positive outlook and the ability to see the road ahead.”

Alan Siegel: Shining city on a hill
According to USA Today, “The symbol is inspired, says Siegel, by a 1630 discourse by Gov. John Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay colony. It was a favorite of President Reagan, who quoted it often in his career. He used it last in his 1989 farewell address to the nation: ‘For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.’”

DJ Stout: Just the Web address
“The most important part of the identity that they have now is the Web address. In (the logo’s) current form, it is getting lost and actually looks like an afterthought.  Our solution gets rid of the old-fashioned and overused icons of leafy plants and outdated machinery cogs and gets to the modern heart of the message. The Obama administration wants you to go to the website to find out about the recovery effort. That is, if you even give a hoot.”

What do you think?  Will an official seal/logo help?  What would you include in the logo?

The web page adds a fun, interactive element to the annual person of the year announcement, and I have to give Time props for putting it together.  You can follow the link to view the interactive 6 degrees to Barack Obama page.  Once you get to the page, hit the Enter button to enter the site, and then select the Skip Intro link if you want to skip the introduction and go directly to the interactive 6 degrees to Barack Obama page.

What do you think?  Clever and cool, huh?

Image: Time

Did the November 15th Obama YouTube video launch contain any amazing messages or concepts?  No.  It’s nothing we haven’t already heard, but the point is that the social web is where it’s at.  Companies and brands that don’t get on board soon, will feel the negative results sooner rather than later.

Your thoughts?

And in case you want to take a look at Barak Obama’s first weekly YouTube address as President-elect, you can watch it below.

In other words, President-elect Barack Obama ran a campaign based on an inclusive brand promise, while Senator John McCain’s campaign focused primarily on his core supporters, conservative Americans, with many people outside of that demographic feeling excluded.  While Barack Obama spoke of wanting to meet with world leaders regardless of the United States’ current relationship with them in order to start a dialogue and move forward, John McCain repeatedly stated that he would not sit down and converse with these same leaders.  At the end of the day, the majority of Americans supported the brand promise of inclusion and cast their votes for Barack Obama.

The results of the election demonstrate a shift in thinking that can be directly applied to consumerism as well.  Earlier this week, I was corresponding with a potential client that has a reputation of being exclusive – you’re with us or against us, not unlike the George Bush doctrine that Senator John McCain continued in his own campaign.  I mentioned to this client that the social web has dictated a change in brand strategy away from being exclusionary to being inclusionary.  In short, I’d rather have the online buzz about a brand be supportive and positive than negative, simply because some consumers don’t feel welcome to the party, so to speak. 

Naturally, every brand has its core demographic customer, or its “best” customer, but that doesn’t mean consumers who don’t fit the mold should be made to feel any less valuable.  It’s a fine line between boosting ROI from your marketing initiatives and maintaining an inclusive brand image.

The lesson to learn is to embrace all consumers using a brand promise of inclusion – everyone is welcome to the brand party.  While every consumer might not be 100% happy with your brand or might not support every aspect of your brand promise, it’s better to agree to disagree and move forward in unity than it is to turn your backs on consumers. 

This could be considered a protectionist strategy, but the power of the social web has dictated a shift.  Brands must get on board and leverage the power of the online buzz and citizen journalism or they risk consumers feeling excluded and driving a negative buzz that can damage a brand in the short and long-term.

What do you think?

Image: Flickr