Insight Categories: Brand Strategy

The CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, was proud that his company had hit over 1 billion hours of video watching in one month. He posted a congratulatory note on his personal Facebook account praising his team for his hard work, and that 43 word message resulted in a slap on the hand from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) saying that he broke the Regulation Fair Disclosure act that requires a company to disclose information to all investors at the same time. While he has over 200,000 followers on his personal Facebook page, it is not an official corporate sanctioned page—and the 1 billion hour record could have been deemed insider information. However, if he had followed up his casual praise with a press release on the company page, all would be well.

In light of recent events, SEC has been forced to take another look at their social media policies.

On Tuesday, according to a NY Times article, the SEC reviewed their antiquated policies towards social media giving corporations a bit more leeway to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks to disseminate information. After several months of investigation the SEC has relaxed its stance and said that if a corporation makes it clear which pages or feeds will be used to send out announcements, corporations may use social media outlets to communicate with their employees and investors. Unfortunately, the Netflix investigation may result in less spontaneity. CEOs will be more cautious and seek compliance approval before releasing information, especially on unofficial company pages.

I read this article with a certain amount of amusement. Our newspapers are filled with stories about serious insider trading, from Galleon to SAC Capital. But sanctions for praising employees for a job well done seem a bit crazy to me. And ignoring the importance of social media platforms is not only crazy but insane. The social media horse has already left the gate, and the SEC is wise to re-evaluate antiquated policies—even if those policies are only a few years old.

A CEO should have access to social media to compliment staff, connect with customers, and voice her thoughts and opinions. If smart investors are willing and able to find research and valuable information trolling on these open pages and feeds—is that wrong? Or is it really the democratization of insider trading?

You’ve  probably seen the logomarks—the Good Housekeeping seal of approval, the fleur de lys from Relais & Chateau, or the JD Powers emblem. And you probably have certain emotions—even if subconsciously—attached to them. But, not much thought is given to the heavy lifting that these tiny logos have to do in the marketing space.

Like the famed Michelin stars, these logomarks often indicate that a person or business has met a specified standard, or, may signal that an organization is approved by a larger association (see the American Institute of Architects mark below).  Whether it is the Heart Healthy mark that appears next to menu items that are low in fat or the Better Business Bureau’s blue B’s that give buyers confidence in purchasing a service, all of these logos have several things in common—they all have to co-exist with other brands.

Logomarks for the American Institute of Architects, Better Business Bureau, and Relais & Chateau.

This presents the designers of these marks with a lot of design challenges;  they have to be recognizable, but they can’t pull rank over the major brand. Legibility is also a critical factor, as they often have to appear very small (like a union bug). And there must be an educational campaign to let consumers know what the marks stand for.

Recently the NY Times ran an interesting article on Sanitas Per Escam (SPE), which is a fancy Latin way of saying “health through food.” Founded by the lead chef Emmanuel Verstraeten of Rouge Tomate, he believes that SPE is a “promise for a unique third-party certification and consulting program designed to enhance the nutritional quality of meals, without compromising taste.” This group is trying to certify that the food that is served to you in restaurants is healthy for you as well as the environment. The meal portion is correct, it is low in fat and sodium and it is properly sourced. As the Times article says: “Their stamp will let you know that each dish is dense with nutrients—vitamins, minerals, antioxidants—and low in salt and ‘bad fats.'” In appetizers and main courses, you won’t find any cream or butter. As one promotional document puts it, “SPE dishes contain more of what you need and less of what you don’t.”

(Left) Official seal for Sanitas Per Escam (Health Through Food), a nutritional charter developed by chefs and dieticians. (Right) The Slow Food Vermont Snail of Approval, awarded to establishments that contribute to the quality, authenticity and sustainability of Vermont’s food supply.

This is a challenging endeavor from lots of standpoints—including getting chefs to let other people into their kitchens to monitor the fat count and ingredients of their creations. But it is also hard to try to get the SPE mark to stand for something.  SPE would like it to mean that the food associated with this mark is not only tasty but also good for you. But this is a tall order for sure.

First of all, most people will have no idea what SPE means—and referring back to a the Latin phrase Sanitas Per Escam will not achieve the desired results since we are not a nation of Latin speakers. (In fact, there are 237 acronyms listed for SPE, and the Society of Petroleum engineers is at the top of the list. Oddly enough, Sanitas Per Escam is not even on the list.)  So it forces the diner to try to figure out what the mark stands for. Secondly the mark itself is difficult to read and the letters S,P,and E are configured to look more like a brain. It is even more problematic when you reduce the mark down to a very small size. Add to that to the fact that restaurants are reluctant to add logos to their menus, and, while some have embraced the Heart Healthy logo or the Slow Food snail,  how many will be willing to add yet a third mark? Already some famous chefs like Eric Ripert are dismissing the initiative and saying that putting the SPE logo next to some dishes on the menu seems to indicate that the balance of the items are not healthy, and he feels that it demonizes certain ingredients like butter, oil, or salt.

The familiar seals of approval for JD Power & Associates, Heart Healthy, and Good Housekeeping.

It takes a lot of time and effort to imprint a certification logo on consumers’ minds. So creators have to make it as easy as possible for the consumers. While SPE may be healthy for diners, one wonders if the mark might just be too complex to digest.

When I was growing up, in the ‘50s and ‘60s it was a very big deal to stay at a Sheraton. The brand exuded luxury and had the mystique of having outposts in faraway countries, long before globalization made it de rigueur for chains to be outside of the USA. The hotels were big, flashy, and important. Those were the glory days of the Hilton, The Ritz-Carlton, and long before each hotel brand had a multitude of sub brands.

The Park Sheraton in New York, while not the Plaza, was still a desirable address. My how times have changed.

I must admit, that in my mind, the golden age when Sheraton was viewed as a global outstation in distant lands seems light-years away. I rarely consider choosing a Sheraton and generally prefer another hotel in the Starwood portfolio.

In 2009, BrandChannel reported “Sheraton has been a brand in decline, unlike Starwood siblings W and Westin. The most recent Consumer Reports ratings ranked Sheraton as the worst in its category, based on value, service, upkeep, and problems; customers have blogged about the brand’s poor quality and even Hoyt Harper, Starwood’s senior VP of brand management, admits that “some of the hotels were substandard.”

Sheraton decided not to throw in the towel on this hotel brand, but instead embarked on a three-year, $6 billion rebranding effort that involved getting rid of properties that were subpar, redoing interiors, and overhauling all of the properties with a focus on social spaces. In October 2010, they launched an ad campaign focused on the new renovations.

HotelManagement.net reported that, “A key insight that directed the creative vision for the campaign is the growing trend of travelers seamlessly blending business and leisure—also known as “bleisure”—and the demand for socially driven designed spaces and amenities. As part of the brand’s overhaul, every aspect of the new Sheraton guest experience was designed to promote social interaction and bring people together.

As reported in HotelNewsNow.com, “The US $6-billion investment in the upper-upscale brand has already paid off because market share has increased, customer satisfaction is at record levels, and the percentage of Sheraton customers who are Starwood Preferred Guest members has jumped from 39% to 45%.

And, now, yet another $20 million ad campaign is set to launch this month. The new campaign, designed by Kaplan Thaler Group and Razorfish, is called “Meet You There.” According to their press release the new campaign is tapping into the growing demand from travelers for spaces that promote social interaction and bring people together. Every aspect of the new brand is designed to meet this expectation. And, of course, the ads will showcase the new enhancements.

So, will it work? My concern is that Sheraton has upgraded its interiors, provided new spaces for interaction, launched new programs like Link@Sheraton and Sheraton Fitness, but have they really redefined their brand or just fixed infrastructure problems that certainly needed fixing?

Brands are not “fixed” that easily. What will Sheraton have to do to get increased mindshare from a new audience that is probably not familiar with the luxury brand of old, and what will it have to do to reinstate Sheraton into the minds of those who “knew it when”? It will be interesting to wait and see if social interaction as a brand has legs in the hotel space. Let’s face it, if it is successful, I wonder how many spouses will even let their husbands or wives check into the Sheraton for business?

On Tuesday WWD reported that retail giants Target and Neiman Marcus have announced they will partner to create a limited edition of 24 designers for the holiday season. Following Target’s hit last year with the Missoni line, the two retailers, who are at almost opposite ends of the price spectrum, both have much to gain from this unique partnership.

Apart from an interesting retail story, this is a case where an iconic brand in luxury retailing has an opportunity to liven up its brand. While Neiman Marcus is synonymous with expensive merchandise and is famous for its Christmas catalogue where items can range as high as the millions, it also has the moniker “needless markup” and has become somewhat of a fusty brand. Teaming with Target can give this luxury brand a good dose of “hipness” making Neiman more relevant to a younger crowd. Neiman has been trying to shed some of its effeteness and, as WSJ reported, the store reversed a policy in October of only accepting a Neiman credit card, American Express or cash. Clearly the brand has to walk a fine line partnering with Target’s more “cheap-chic” to ensure that it does not erode the luxury and exclusivity that is associated with the Neiman name.

Target, on the other hand, will continue to demonstrate that it has the buying and manufacturing power to combine good design with value pricing. By using its production lines and less expensive fabrics, it can introduce new high fashion designers to its mass-market clientele. This alliance also bolsters the Target brand as a maverick in the retail space, willing to embark on alliances that seem unlikely. Target continues to entice its clientele by finding innovative ways to bring luxury goods to a broader market at a lower price point.

An unlikely partnership, perhaps. But hats off to the two brands for being daring enough and confident in their own brand position to attempt this.

With Grafik’s help, DC Prep’s mission of bridging the educational divide in Washington, DC was put to the forefront with the launch of their new website, www.dcprep.org. Since its inception, Grafik’s work with DC Prep has been comprehensive, spanning all aspects of the school’s communication channels from strategic positioning to brand identity development to two versions of the DC Prep website. In the website’s most recent evolution, our goal was to better serve current parents, support teacher recruiting efforts, and provide potential parents with the information they need to enroll their children. To properly motivate their targets, we felt it important to highlight their awards and academic achievements, provide a rational, streamlined information architecture, surface prominent calls-to-action, showcase vibrant photography that visually demonstrate life at DC Prep, and fully integrate social media to personally connect with the audience.

Founded in 2003, DC Prep was established as a public charter school in order to bring exemplary academics and character development education to more than 3,000 preschool, elementary, and middle school students. DC Prep has a firm commitment to not only improve performance of low-income, minority students, but to also equip them with the skills needed for the rigors of higher education.

March 20, 2012—Grafik is pleased to announce that its branding work for client JK Moving Services has placed it among one of the world’s most effective rebrands in the eighth annual REBRAND 100 ^® Global Awards. This recognition is the highest recognition for excellence in brand repositioning, and is the first and most respected global program of its kind. Grafik’s rebrand of JK Moving Services encompasses an effort that touches every facet of the brand from corporate mantra, to logo and visual identity, and every execution where the brand lives (e.g., moving trucks to uniforms to corporate website and brochures).

“Many projects had big ideas expressed elegantly through all methods of engagement—language, visuals, sound, etc.” said Shashi Caan, Founding Principal, The Collective US and UK and 2012 juror. Each year, an international and multidisciplinary mix of industry experts convenes to jury this annual competition. They consider “before” and “after” representations of brand transformations with written summaries and supporting elements that showcase integration of social media and mobile engagement.

“It is gratifying to be among the nation’s most recognized branding establishments,” said Judy Kirpich, founder and CEO of Grafik, and the strategic lead of the JK Moving Services account. “We’ve spent a decade focusing on strategic branding. It informs everything we do.”

According to the team at REBRAND^TM, a small consulting firm or brand had as much opportunity to be selected as did global organizations with exponentially greater budgets since the name and size of the brand strategists are hidden from jurors during their review process. Emphasis was on executed strategy that made an emotional connection and met the stated objectives and needs of the identified target audience and prospects.

“Grafik Marketing Communications armed themselves with solid research and customer testimonials before embarking on a one-year rebranding program for JK Moving,” said Charles Kuhn, Founder, President and CEO, JK Moving Services. “They completely reorganized our brand architecture and rolled out a powerful new corporate mantra that resonated with every division and facet of the company.”

The 2012 winners represented over 28 countries and 34 industries. They ranged from One Foundation (Global Ethics Ltd), Pfizer, National Music Centre (Canada), Merck Millipore, and Cisco. In addition to in-house teams, small agencies, and representatives of multinational corporations and nonprofits, competing firms included Interbrand, SNK, Lippincott, Siegel+Gale, and Brandient.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

About Grafik: Founded in 1978, Grafik is an award-winning strategic marketing communications firm located in Alexandria, VA, specializing in brand and creative development across traditional and digital media. Current clients include: U.S. Census, Honda North America, EYA, Convergent Wealth Advisors, Global Automakers, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and DC Prep.

About JK Moving Services: For over 30 years, JK Moving Services (JKmoving.com) has provided local, long distance, and international relocation services to a variety of commercial, residential, and government clients. Headquartered in Sterling, Virginia, the company maintains a full-time, professionally trained staff of relocation and move management experts committed to providing the highest level of customer care.

About REBRAND™ and the REBRAND 100® Global Awards: REBRAND is the world’s leading resource for effective brand transformations. The REBRAND 100 Global Awards is the first and most respected recognition for repositioned brands. Featured in such media as The Wall Street Journal, CNNMoney, Bloomberg Businessweek, various magazines and books, the annual competition has entry deadlines in late September. The full 2012 winners showcase is at www.rebrand.com.

One of the questions that we often have to address with new clients is how they are organized…brand architecture is the fancy word. Some clients are comfortable spinning off new companies when they develop a new product or look to expand horizontally to a new business sector—a House of Brands. Others create business units that operate independently but must conform to a corporate set of brand guidelines—a Master Brand. Understanding which branding model a company  should choose is based on many factors. There may be good reasons to launch different companies if they are making competing products. A House of Brands is an expensive proposition since each new company has to be marketed independently. With a House of Brands if one company fails, or has a bad reputation, it only takes down that entity and does not tarnish the parent company. With a House of Brands, if something untoward happens to one business sector, it may have an adverse effect on the whole company.

Pepsico’s House of Brands

Glancing at the New York Times last week I saw a wonderful example illustrating Pepsico‘s House of Brands. I, for one, had no idea that Pepsico owned Gatorade or Starbucks—two signature brands that have very different brand personalities. And certainly the wholesomeness that is part of Quaker’s brand might conflict with the junk food identity that is Cheetos. There are many good reasons to keep them separate.

A different perspective is told in an article that ran in the New York Times on January 6 on the new BMW slogan. BMW is the classic example used to illustrate a Master Brand. Rather than promote many different car models, BMW promotes one. Recently they launched new brand advertising. The article notes, “The new advertising depicts the BMW as the “ultimate driving machine,” whatever the model. The tagline has been used continuously by BMW since it was created in 1975. This of course is significantly cheaper than having to support all of the different brands that Pepsico supports. But Master Brands do have challenges. As Renée Richardson Gosline, an assistant professor of marketing at MIT Sloan School of Management, notes, “a campaign that emphasizes a consistent brand essence is powerful, but BMW has to keep in mind that luxury consumers seek distinction, even within the brand. So, along with the egalitarian message that all BMWs are ‘ultimate driving machines,’ BMW has to make owners of different models each feel special as well, by building relationships with the owners of each model.”

Choosing whether to adopt a House of Brands versus a Master Brand should not be made by default. While brand architecture is not always looked at, it is critical and will effect everything a corporation decides from mergers and acquisitions to naming conventions. At the very least, determining a company’s organizational structure should be a mandatory part of any brand exercise.

We are very proud of our new work for retail training giant, MOHR Retail, the company that has trained the staff of household brands including T.J. Maxx, New Balance, and Verizon Wireless, in its 30 years in business. Through a discovery process that included a brand audit, interviews, and a competitive review, we were able to define four brand pillars that helped  establish a clear strategy for the web redesign. The site focuses on the importance of MOHR Retail’s trainings by using the main messaging area to promote the core attributes that set them apart from other training programs. Our brand study also made it evident that a name change would reinforce their expertise in the retail space and MOHR Access—became MOHR Retail.  Brand strategy always guides design at Grafik—and that is why clients like Michael Patrick of MOHR Retail have this to say about working with Grafik.

“We are all so proud of what you have created. Thank you for listening, bringing your expertise, and translating our vision into reality. The site shows us in the best possible light. It communicates that we are a leader in retail training, offer fresh and important insights, and are a substantial organization that is ready to handle the full range of needs retailers may have. If this doesn’t grow our brand and drive business, I’m not sure what would. We made the right decision when we chose Grafik!” —Michael Patrick, Founder & President, MOHR Retail.

The Smithsonian announced this weekend that they are launching a new brand line, “Seriously Amazing.” Before you read any further, in the interest of complete disclosure, you should know that Grafik has worked with the Smithsonian on many of their initiatives including the branding of the National Museum of the American Indian, and a brand exercise for the Smithsonian Institution’s Latino Center. And we have had a beef over the years, on behalf of all of the excellent branding firms in Washington, D.C., that we are never invited to the dance. So in the context of having a large chip on my shoulder, I have to say that the new tagline for the Smithsonian is really pretty good—excellent in fact. The firm called in for the assignment is a well-known branding agency in NYC, London, and Dubai Wolff Olins and branding museums and international institutions is their specialty.

A news item in the Washington Post on Sunday shows that Wolff Olins spent the time to research, and get input from many of the museum directors and board members. As a pre-eminently political beast it must have been a huge endeavor to interview all of the people necessary to build consensus for the new line—one that costs $1 million dollars. It seems they hit the nail right on the head, getting a huge round of applause when they launched the brand last week.

I personally like “Seriously Amazing” as it taps into the research as well as the vast store of treasures that are held by all of the museums making up the Institution. Known for years as the “Nation’s Attic,” the new tagline has a more forward direction. It remains to be seen how the mark will play out in future fundraising and the awareness building campaign.

Job well done, Wolff Olins! Oh, and a note to self: Every time the Smithsonian cries poor to our local D.C. agencies, we should think of the tagline’s million dollar price tag and refuse to do their work on a pro bono basis.

Driving home from work the other day I was listening to NPR and heard a story about a battle between Chick-fil-A and a small Vermont T-shirt manufacturer who is producing T-shirts saying “Eat More Kale.” Chick-fil-A owns the tagline “Eat Mor Chikin” and, indeed, the corporation has done a splendid job advertising their fast food chicken restaurants through the Eat Mor Chikin campaign. It seems that the T-shirt manufacturer, Bo Muller-Moore, has been doing a booming business producing “Eat More Kale” shirts out of a studio above his garage and has enough orders to support himself. He decided it would be wise to apply for a trademark for “Eat More Kale” and was confronted by a cease and desist letter from the chicken guys. In a statement, Chick-fil-A  said, “We must legally protect and defend our “Eat mor chikin” trademark in order to maintain rights to the slogan.”

Laws regarding trademark and patent infringement are complex, which is why we always tell our clients to consult with their own trademark lawyers or use one of ours. But one test of trademark infringement is whether there would be confusion in the marketplace or whether the existing brand equity would be diluted. Muller-Moore’s lawyer commented in a New York Times article, “There’s no one out there that’s going to come forward and say, ‘I thought I was buying a Chick-fil-A product but I got this T-shirt.” Add to that the fact that the food chain does not have a franchise operating in Vermont so there is even less chance for confusion.

Can a company or brand own words exclusively? Clearly many wonderful campaigns have been copied such as the Got Milk? campaign that I wrote about several weeks ago. Harley Davidson has copyrighted the sound of their motorcycle—and no other motorcycle or bike can use the same sound. But can you hold a copyright to the words “Eat More”? I did a quick search on Google to see how many “Eat More” campaigns and ads there have been. Witness just a few.

Clearly there have been many campaigns that have used the the words “Eat More.” And it is equally clear that Chick-fil-A has done a superb job of imprinting their brand through their deft ad campaign. So what has been accomplished and what are the effects of this lawsuit? Well, Eat More Kale has gotten way more publicity than they ever thought possible, getting national coverage in the NY Times and an NPR spot. Muller-Moore has tapped social media and drew incredible support from Facebook followers, both a former and the present governors of Vermont, and a groundswell of kale lovers nationally.

At a recent press conference, Governor Peter Shulmin of Vermont noted, “If you think that Vermonters don’t understand the difference between kale and a chicken sandwich, we invite you to Vermont, and we’ll give you a lesson about the difference between a kale and a chicken,” Shumlin said. “There are some very distinct features that should be noticed in that difference. Kale is a vegetable; chickens are birds. Birds create manure; kale eats manure.”

What has the Chick-Fil-A brand gained—a tarnished reputation as a corporate bully that flies in the face of its humorous campaigns. How many people will look at the cows and think of the “Eat More Kale” controversy and leave with a bad taste in their mouths? With little possibility of confusion and not even one Chick-fil-A restaurant in Vermont, one has to wonder if this was a giant mistake by the Chick legal department with little thought how it might effect their brand. In this case their cease and desist order may have a real correlation to less counter orders. Governor Shumlin sent this message to Chick-fil-A, “Don’t mess with Vermont. Don’t mess with kale. And, Chick-fil-A, get out of the way because we are going to win this one.” (Source: NPR.org—Chicken Vs. Kale, Kirk Carapezza)

Vintage Ivory soap

Okay. I freely admit that I love old packaging. My house is filled with thousands of antique tins, old boxes, and discarded packaging from days gone by. I notice packaging, so when Procter & Gamble decided to pump up the packaging and advertising for one of its oldest brands, Ivory soap, I was eager to see what change was in store.

The new campaign devised by Wieden+Kennedy is nothing short of brilliant. But the new packaging by Sterling Brands is uninspired. One has to wonder why their advertising agency did not show the new look on any of their ads, TV spots, or online placements. If you want to look at 125 years of Ivory soap packaging, Procter & Gamble has set up a Facebook page that shows all the different ways they have wrapped their pure white soap.

The most controversial aspect to their simple blue and white packaging was the Procter & Gamble logo which was thought to have ties to Satan.

Old Ivory soap packaging the showcased a P&G logo that was thought to have Satanic themes

For years urban legend maintained that the man in the logo was proof of the company’s ties to Satan. Supposedly the curlicues of the moon man’s beard was an array of 6’s and if you connect the dots with the 13 stars, three 6’s appear. The curlicues at the top of his head resembled the horns of a ram representing the false prophet. Eventually in 1985 the Procter and Gamble logo was taken off of Ivory soap. Over the years the Ivory logo has been modified and most recently Wieden+Kennedy modernized the wordmark. Tag lines have also changed and those in use over the years have included:

• Pure Clean. Pure Ivory.
• 99.44% Pure.
• So Pure it floats.
• Keep it pure, clean and simple

“Ivory is P&G’s oldest and most beloved brand, and while consumers relish in the nostalgia and heritage of the product, it’s time for a holistic reinvention of the brand as we work to touch and improve more consumers’ lives in more parts of the world more completely,” says Jay Sethi, Ivory brand manager. “We’ve answered the call for consumers wanting a ‘simple and clean’ solution and the most powerful aspect of Ivory still remains the simplicity of the product.” Lisa McTigue Pierce—Packaging Digest Oct. 4, 2011.

Karl Lieberman, creative director, Wieden+Kennedy, spoke about the new advertising. “Unlike a lot of other brands, Ivory has stayed true to its equity. It has remained the antithesis of the overly complicated—from its ingredients, packaging and advertising—it’s a throwback to an era where there wasn’t time for such things. And that’s what makes its new voice so refreshing.”

Ivory has changed its look over the years, but has always kept it simple.

But while Ivory has remained a strong brand since 1879, competition in the soap category has changed. The Ivory brand has been running third to Dove and Dial. (Source: NY Times, Nov. 7, 2011). Product managers felt that with the increased consumer focus on cost savings during the recession years, it was a good time to promote the Ivory brand promise of “value and simplicity.” “Renée Richardson Gosline, an assistant professor of marketing at the MIT Sloan School of Management, also predicted the simplicity of Ivory and its campaign could appeal to consumers. However, she also questioned the absence of the new Ivory packaging in advertising. ‘If you’re proud of the packaging, show it off,’ she said.”

Display of Ivory soap products

I am a sucker for beautiful packaging. So it is no surprise that while drifting through the aisles at my local Safeway three years ago, I spied some hand soap and moisturizer that was absolutely beautiful and also at closeout prices. Needless to say, as the bargain shopper that I am, I scarfed up 10 bars of soap and several bottles of body wash. And that is how I was introduced to the Method brand, one of the most progressive brands in the market today.

When customers expressed their thoughts on the blog to changes to the packaging, a Method employee gave an informed and thoughtful response

I recommend spending some time on their website and to pay close attention to their social media (Twitter and Facebook) since they seem to be doing everything right. They use their site and their blog to tap into the desires of their loyal fan base—and most importantly they actually listen and act on what users say. Take the pink grapefruit dish soap. Now this is a dish soap that I can really get behind—it has a lovely smell, has great packaging and is priced right. About a year ago they decided to change not only the packaging, but to rotate in a new fragrance. BTW—they are unique in that they are constantly changing fragrances and producing limited editions. If a limited edition proves to be very popular, it is elevated to permanent status. Well, pink grapefruit was rotated out. Pink grapefruit lovers were irked, voiced their complaints, and the company has brought back the fragrance and will most likely give it permanent status.

Not only is Method customer friendly, but environmentally friendly as well. Method uses the minimum amount of materials when creating their package design, and the few materials that are used, are  biodegradable. Even the product (inside their package) has been designed to be eco friendly as well. Their site has a section devoted to the environment, their products and many of the their mantras have to do with being more eco-friendly.

Perhaps what I like most about this brand is that they are aggressive about engaging their audience. Their blog is up-to-date and interesting. They listen to and respond to comments in a thoughtful way, and their web presence fosters a friendly, engaged, progressive brand, and most importantly, they have brought back pink grapefruit!