Welcome, Redington

It’s time we officially blog-welcomed our new client, Redington. Redington makes wonderful fly fishing rods, reels, waders, clothing, and other equipment. As a long-term fly fisherman, I am doing a happy dance that mimics the egg-laying Pale Morning Dun. As an agency, everyone’s itching to get out on the water.

Redington pioneered the truly high-quality rod at an extraordinarily good price, and was immediately met with great accolades from the entire industry. They have since extended their offerings to include a wide range of fly fishing essentials. And because they’re owned by Sage, they are privy to the highest technical advancements and deepest market insights in the industry. Which means their quality is excellent.

Welcome, Redington. Our flies float higher and longer just having you as a client.

– Doug

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Emily, you came back!

Emily Reed interviewing a bouquet.

How overjoyed I am that my old colleague and friend Emily Reed has moved back to the US of A from ‘Stralia. Emily is one of those finely tuned instruments known as a Strategist.

She has worked as both an account planner and as a copywriter over her already-long career, and has continued to grow her bryozoan-like antennae that sweep the world for input which she then runs through a most exquisite digestive system to process that input into emotional and intelligent insights. I am so happy to once again be working with her.

She also brings from that place of marsupials and didgeridoos a new event for Portland. It’s called Interesting Portland, and it kicks off Thursday April 9th at
Norse Hall (wherever that is) at 6pm. She has also created an Interesting PDX Facebook group. Please give her a warm welcome and your support.

– Doug

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Agency blogs

It's his blog so maybe he knows.

Here’s something Advertising Age won’t do: a place to vote for your favorite agency blog. Problem is, I don’t recognize the names of any of the agencies, including ours.

– Doug

Just to clarify: because the big or the well-known agencies usually don’t have blogs (W+K and TBWA Portugal, for instance, being two exceptions), it’s natural to look at the agency blogs on Michael’s web site and not recognize the names. Including ours. Thank goodness us mice like to roar.

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Welcome, Sisters of Mercy Health System

It’s a great honor to welcome our new client, the Sisters of Mercy Health System, to the ID Branding fold. Sisters of Mercy Health System is a venerable institution that was founded by an amazing woman, Sister Catherine McAuley (born in 1778), who turned her inheritance into a ministry to care for the sick and poor in Dublin and formed an order of nuns dedicated to healing.

Her ethos, together with her strong entrepreneurial drive, grew a highly successful system of hospitals and clinics as following generations carried forth her vision. We couldn’t be more proud of the history of health care reform which our new client represents, dating back to the original reforms of Sister McAuley.

– Doug

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He comes in peace

I have been fortunate to work with some incredibly gifted people in my career. But Jeff Faulkner is from another planet of giftedness.

He leaped from a serious pursuit of a music career in Seattle to design by way of creating concert posters. He taught himself html and Flash. He became one of the founding partners of interactive design shop Paris France and under his design guidance we immediately starting winning awards from D&AD, The One Show, CA, Flash Forward, Cannes Cyber Lions, etc.

I’ve never seen anything like Jeff. He would watch a Disney movie with his daughter on the couch while designing web sites on his laptop. His love (and appetite) for interactive design appears boundless.

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Hacks at the inauguration

Was lunch Big Macs served by Jar-Jar Binks?

I was as excited as anyone over Obama’s inauguration yesterday – I’m ecstatic – but why is is that the music and poetry at these events is always so lame?

Here’s a chance to commission a true work of art from true artists (our country has plenty of them), and we get John Williams? Really, come on. A movie soundtrack

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How different is Anomaly?

Blue Hill at Stone Farms, where Mike and his partners had their retreat.

Well, let’s just say that Mike Bryne, on Thursday, was in an owner’s retreat

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See you tomorrow

Hey Portlanders. Don’t forget to get your tickets for tomorrow’s PAF talk by Mike Byrne of Anomaly. If you want to hear from one of the people who’s reinventing this whole branding business, you cannot miss this talk. And it’s cheaper than flying to New York to chat with him.

It’s at 11:30 at Bridgeport Brew Pub tomorrow (Thursday January 15th) and lunch is included. We all must eat lunch, right?

Coming up next: January 30th Jeff Faulkner, creative director of Microsoft X-box Live, will talk about re-inventing the online gamer’s experience and how to create a richer, better brand experience. Same place, same time.

– Doug

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Gap and Pantone – an interesting cobranding attempt

Gap Pantone concept store NYC

A popup store recently opened on 5th avenue in NYC as a cobranding attempt between Pantone and Gap, launching limited edition tshirts in various Pantone colors. In particular, they featured Pantone’s 2009 color of the year – Mimosa which is described as:

Mimosa: Optimistic, hopeful, reassuring, warm, cheerful, radiant, versatile.

An interesting attempt for the brand…after many failed attempts (lest we remember the Sarah Jessica Parker endorsement, or the 70s skinny jeans campaign…yikes). This one actually complements the sign of the times and

seems to be a smart, short term move to boost optimism and inspire cheerfulness among dreary consumers. Simple, timely, and smartly executed. While it won’t take their brand to new places or move the mark very far, it’s a nice thought.

-Melissa

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The tired old big idea

I was reading the philosophy section of the Cole and Weber United web site and it reminded me of this quote I’d written down in my notebook from a talk Brian Collins gave at the One Show for Design last year:

“Anyone who talks about the big idea is over 50 and male.”

He went on to say that if you’re interviewing for a job and they start talking about the big idea, run. The corollary quote I’d written down is:

“It’s not about the big idea. It’s about a lot of little ideas.”

That made instant and total sense to me, and to everyone else here when I related that quote to them.

It’s pretty much a significant aspect of building a brand culture.

It’s pretty much the difference between the old and the new.

– Doug

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