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Tiffany & Co. Changes Brand Color To Yellow

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This year, Tiffany & Co. surprised their followers on Instagram with a canary yellow gift box for April Fool’s. On Instagram, the caption stated “Introducing our new House color #TiffanyYellow #TiffanyAndCo.” Of course, an announcement with such a drastic change would create a lot of attention. The post created over 14,000 comments regarding the color change. 

Due to the nature of the day, some followers realized it had to be a joke. Tiffany & Co. waited until April 2nd to post the classic Tiffany blue box with a caption stating, “Just kidding, We’d never mess with Tiffany Blue, but we do have some exciting new things in the works.” 

 

The brand has decided to use its genius marketing idea of Tiffany Yellow and turning its entire Beverly Hills location into a pop-up shop. Tiffany and Co. has temporarily remodeled the store with some new fun features. Including yellow furniture, a Yellow Diamond Café, a photo booth, and of course, yellow Tiffany & Co. boxes and shopping bags. This was a genius play for Tiffany & Co. 

This pop-up shop will be perfect for photo ops. What a great way to get strategic with marketing and maximize on the April fools day press Tiffany received. This was a genius play for Tiffany & Co.to reach your audience and get everyone back shopping in person. Tiffany and Co. have a long history of being a classic brand. However, the magnitude of Tiffany Yellow opens doors to new exclusive collectible collections. 

 

Tiffany Blue or Tiffany Yellow? Do you prefer classic brands staying the same, or are you excited and willing to try new collections? 

For more information on all things marketing, PR, and branding, get in touch with us at info@itscreativelabel.com! We look forward to connecting with you! 

Pepsi Gets Called Out for Copycat Branding

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This past year has been a struggle for small businesses. We have seen countless hardships and few triumphs as the COVID situation has progressed. One Filipino-American entrepreneur, Celeste Perez, chose a particularly difficult time to launch her small sparkling beverage business, Droplet, at the beginning of 2020. Unfortunately, Droplet caught the attention of a certain corporate mega-conglomerate soon after its inception. 

PepsiCo targeted Droplet, originally called Dewdrop, with a trademark dispute for their brand name, claiming that it would be confused with the Mountain Dew brand. Droplet wanted to avoid the costly legal battle, so they made the compromise to limit their usage of the word “dew.” After this encounter, all seemed fine.

In February 2021, a PepsiCo employee purchased some Droplet product, an act of good faith and support for the brand. Things seemed to be great. Shortly after, in March, PepsiCo released Soulboost. A near-identical copy of Droplet’s uniquely distinguishable conceptual and physical traits. Soulboost has similar patterns, color schemes, and overall product designs while targeting the same functional sparkling beverage market as Droplet. An alarmingly similar product—and there’s nothing Droplet can do about it.

Big companies have the funds to take inspiration from anyone, do it bigger, better, and faster. While simultaneously pressuring them from taking any action due to the seemingly unlimited amount of money to put toward legal battle. Small businesses get pushed around and can be pushed out of the market by anyone with money. In the end, it’s up to consumers to determine what’s authentic or not.

 

Mega-Corporations versus small businesses. Who’s side are you on? Let us know your opinion in the comments below!

 

For more information on all things marketing, PR, and branding, get in touch with us at info@itscreativelabel.com!

Walmart and Yeezy’s Legal Battle over Lookalike Logo

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Hey Labelers! We’re talking about a recent legal feud between two brands we never thought we’d say in the same sentence. However, as we know, whenever trademarking is involved, never say never. 🤷‍♀️

 

Kanye West’s infamous clothing brand, Yeezy LLC, is finding itself in some legal hot water. We know the clothing brand as innovative and unique, designing pieces never seen before. However, maybe Yeezy LLC isn’t as unique as we think? 🤔

 

This year, Yeezy LLC filed a trademark application for the registration of a stylized sunray graphic. ☀️ The logo consists of “eight dotted lines, each comprising three shaded circles, with a total of 24 circles, arranged at equal angles as rays from a sun.” Sound familiar? Well, it is, and Walmart is not too happy about this trademarking news. The superstore argues it looks too similar to the logo it has been using on similar products for over a decade. 

Walmart has filed a notice of opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and claimed “it will be damaged by the registration of [Yeezy LLC’s] mark” since it has been using a lookalike mark since at least 2007. Walmart continues its argument that Yeezy LLC’s application should be blocked, as there is “no issue of priority.”  The superstore often collaborates with celebrities to promote their goods; however, Walmart wants no affiliation with Yeezy LLC as the approval of this application would allude to a partnership. 🙅‍♀️

If Yeezy is permitted to use the logo, it could confuse the source and origin of the product. Customers that assume a partnership between the two companies could affect both brands’ reputations. Trademarking and the use of similar logos seem to be a consistent issue across marketing and branding. Is this the future of creativity? 🤔

 

What’s your take on this legal battle? What branding and marketing efforts need to change to prevent this from happening? Let us know in the comments below! 👇

For more information on all things marketing, PR, and branding, get in touch with us at info@itscreativelabel.com!

 

Q+A with Alexis Andra of The Shift Creative

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Alexis Andra is the founder of The Shift Creative, a full-service creative studio that mainly focuses on large-scale design installations to make your event stand apart from the rest. We sat down with Alexis to ask her some questions on how she got started, her journey with The Shift Creative during the challenging time of this pandemic, and the experiential element’s importance to her designs.  

Tell us a bit of who you are and how you got started: 

I was accepted to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in California and thought I wanted to be a fashion designer. I changed my mind and decided I wanted to help people, so I went to school for counseling. During that time, I got married, got pregnant, and didn’t want to go back to school for another degree. So, my friend told me to start a blog, and I had never been into blogs, but she told me to start cutting up my house or start putting up events on the blog. I created a page, and as I started doing my first shoot, I got it published. My first one, then my next one, then my next one, and I started building a name for myself in the events industry. So, I kind of had my hands in many different things like style shoots, wardrobe styling, and product styling until I am today. This full-service creative studio mainly focuses on large-scale stage design install, experiential activations. We work with numerous brands, high-end clients to elevate their events and make them stand out above the rest. 

 

How did you adjust to everything being virtual? 

A week into lockdown, we asked ourselves, “Ok, what are we good at?” One thing is design. So, that prompted us into designing a merch line, we designed adorable shirts and sweaters that had to empower slogans on them, and it blew up in the first week of the pandemic. We launched, and we sold out; it was a huge success. Now, is that what we do for a living? No, but what was I able to tap into? I was able to tap into my loyal audience. I was able to tap into our design background, and we were able to create a line that empowered and encouraged people at that time. The second thing I did was I started doing group coaching. I went over everything from the importance of collaboration to marketing to pivoting to growing your social following and tried to help young entrepreneurs when everyone didn’t know what to do. Then thirdly, I started pitching myself to companies that I saw that I could help. 

What should brands be focusing on when opening back up experiential events?

I think there are a few things we still have to be sensitive to. Some individuals still don’t feel safe, and I know that there are things that are happening that are making people feel more comfortable, but I do think that brands still need to be aware that not everyone is there yet. So, still having a virtual component where they can send in an interactive element to their experiential activations if you will. 

Why is it essential to create experiential activations?

I think it goes back to my counseling background because some of the interactive pieces and the experiential elements have way more of a meaning to them. For me, there’s almost an underlying meaning to some of the pieces that I create because I want to prompt action. I want to encourage reflection with some of the pieces. So, of course, there’s going to be the beautiful ones that you stand, and you take a picture with. But, by the end of the day, I love creating pieces that make people pause and think, what is my next step? How am I making this? How am I being challenged? How can I reach out or help somebody else? I want it to make a more significant connection than just a pretty art piece. So that’s why when I meet with clients, I always ask, what’s your goal? How do you want people to feel when they leave your event, and how can I beautifully create that? I like the designs to be aesthetically pleasing, but there’s a more significant takeaway in the end. 

Where does social media come into play with experiential activations?

Social media is the main thing I think about. I’m thinking about the event first and foremost, but I have to think about how that translates into social media. We want everything that we do to be able to be Instagrammable. Why? Because that makes people desire to be at that event.

Be sure to check out Alexis and The Shift Creative on Instagram, @theshiftcreative, and online, www.theshiftcreative.com.

Ten Graphic Design Rules to NEVER Break

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Graphic Design Rules

2020’s got us all down, so it’s no surprise that you might feel a lack of drive or inspiration in your creativity! And that’s okay, girl! 💁‍♀️ These ten tips for all things graphic design are the best of the best and guide you in the right direction to get started! 💫

Consistency is Key

Be consistent with the typography you are using. If you can stick to three fonts max, you are doing good! 👏 Even better if you can stick with one font family for the whole graphic! When thinking of the color palette, you want to be sure to stick to about two to three. When you get into more than five colors, it throws the balance off.

Avoid poor legibility

Nobody wants text that is hard to read; try a font like Sans Serif and bolder fonts that are more legible! If you’re looking for a decorative font, try Cooper Black, Juniper STD, and Quiche Sans! If your writing isn’t legible, your message will not get across to the reader! 🤓

Steer Clear of Color Discord

When choosing colors, be sure to think of how they complement each other. When thinking of this, you might want to reference the color wheel and select complementary colors. And stay away from analogous colors which are any three colors next to each other on the color wheel. And also monochrome colors, which are colors that are similar in shade, like red, burgundy, and maroon.

Prevent Non-proportional Graphics and Text

Proportions are everything, be sure to keep all your images to scale when creating your graphic. Be careful not to distort your images too much, or your graphic won’t look professional!

Stay Away From Raster-Based Images

Raster-based images are not your friend!🙅 These images are created with individual pixels that put together an image. To stay away from these, make sure you choose higher resolution images that will be clearer when you resize.

Maintain Alignment

Adjusting your text and graphic elements to align in an organized way is very important. Think of your graphic like a grid; lines are going vertical and horizontal. You want to keep your text and graphics aligned with these lines. Randomly putting text and graphics together can confuse the eye and reflect poorly.

Find a font you like but can’t quite figure out the name to use it for yourself?

If you have an adobe subscription (if not, you can start a free trial), you can find any font you love on the internet and download it. Then upload it to Adobe Creative Cloud reader to find a similar font or the exact font if it’s available!

Adobe Creative Cloud Graphic Design

Initiate a visual hierarchy

Use size and color to show which item or information is most important over another. You want to draw attention to your graphic’s main point, then bring the eye down the graphic based on importance. For example, if your title is small and on the bottom of the page, nobody will know what your graphic is about till they get to the end, which will end up being very confusing for the reader! 🤔

Watch your grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Having errors can hurt your credibility and professionalism. A great tool to help you check all of your writing is Grammarly. It’s a free online writing assistant that checks all spelling and grammar!  Be sure to triple check everything before finalizing your graphic!

Grammarly

Embrace whitespace

Whitespace is your best friend! Whitespace is also known as negative space in whatever you are designing. The more whitespace, the more your graphic can look professional and sophisticated!

Graphic design is important now more than ever before, with the current graphic design market in the US being $15 billion. And logo and branding at $3 billion, it’s safe to say this is the future of design.

Now take these ten great tips and get creative with it! If you’re not taking advantage of these helpful tips, your competition will!

Curious about what’s next in the marketing, public relations, or branding world? Come back next week and check out our blog, The Buzz, for our weekly updates! For more information on how we can help with your graphic design needs, contact us at info@itscreativelabel.com.

Google Me, But Wait! Delete Unwanted Information Before Launching

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Hey Labelers, we know you’re excited to launch your new brand, so are we! But we must ask when was the last time you googled yourself? What do people see when they search for you and your business? Is it good or is it bad? Either way, we are going to give you all the tools you need to do a personal and professional google scrub! Let’s get you polished and ready to launch!

 

 

Google Me, Baby
The first step is to do a basic google search of your full name and also your business name. Click on every link that mentions you and/or your business and thoroughly review what has been published. If you are launching a brand new business, this may ONLY apply to your personal name. Did MySpace pop up? Spokeo? PeopleFinder?

Delete Me
Myspace, Sis? Why is there still a MySpace account for you? Delete that account! Spokeo and PeopleFinder are common websites that you may find your personal information readily available to all who want it! We’re talking email addresses, mailing addresses, family members, phone numbers, sometimes your employers and the list goes on. Scary, right? Here’s how to remove it!

Here you will find a detailed link on how to get your personal information deleted from Spokeo. If you’re willing to pay a little coin, here are a few resources that will help you! Every website will be different. Be sure to search for their FAQ’s! Please always do your research before signing up or paying for services!

Lastly, be patient. Having personal information removed from specific websites won’t happen overnight, so it’s important to start NOW. It could take up to 30 days for your request to be completed. More importantly, keep any sent email requests and logged calls all in writing. We don’t think it will get to a place where you need it, but it never hurts to keep a record of your requests to have personal information removed.

 

 

Polished
Yes! Now you’re squeaky clean and ready to launch! When Creative Label is pitching 3you and/or your business, we want to make sure you are being represented in the best possible light. Are you ready to get you and/or your business seen by the masses? Click the link in our bio!

 

 

 

Speaking Up on Controversial Topics

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Hey labelers, we think it’s time for you all to SPEAK up. This week, we’re bringing light to the importance of brand safety in terms of how to communicate content and responses correctly during these controversial times. 

 

This concept is becoming very important in not only the Public Relations face of your company but also influences how your company pursues Marketing, Branding and Digital Strategies. Creative direction, campaigns and product launches have a lot of different creative elements that go into communicating the overall public perspective of the brand.

 

What is Brand Safety? 

 

The importance of correct brand responsiveness and the call to action in relevant situations we are being faced with during these times. Brand Safety includes everyday responses to controversial comments and mentions regarding COVID-19 and the BLM Movement, making it an urgent time for companies to act upon this concept. Informing your consumer on brand safety (more here) is important because it allows the consumer to feel comfortable with their purchase making decision when interacting with your product.

Silence vs. Outspoken Action

 

 

 

 

If your brand is silent, you are allowing your customers to assume the natural position of the brand–  and that’s never good! People are wanting to see the brand’s core values and are often associating their purchase making decisions with that. 

 

When you stand for what you believe is predominantly right, regardless of the controversial topic, you are standing behind the values of your brand. The term, “All press is good press” directly applies here because as long as you stand true to your values, the reaction is going to benefit you through:

 

  • Increase in sales
  • Increase in activity and engagement 
  • Opportunity for more social impact.

 

When you control the narrative and speak out on controversial topics, more people are likely to engage with comments and stand in support, therefore allowing for greater social impact and resulting in higher sales.

 

Speaking Up Correctly

 

 

While you are encouraged to speak out, it is MOST important to make sure your messaging is clear, compassionate and considerate. 

 

Some of the most out-of-the-box brands have messages that are safely communicated and slightly monetized upon. It’s possible to speak out against something in a tasteful way. Goop does an amazing job of directing their communication and content for very controversial topics with other collaborators/speakers on the subject. When doing so, they are controlling their narrative, educating and monetizing while keeping it tasteful and respectable. Some other great examples of companies that do this well are featured here.

 

 

However, we have seen this get out of hand when the message ignores major methods of communication, sensitivity and understanding. 

 

A local example of this would be Arizona Foothills Magazine and how one person’s early spoken opinion affected the perception of their entire company. After the incident had been brought some serious attention online, AZ Foothills released an apology a few days later explaining the situation.

 

In addition, Anthropology had some initial challenges with their responsiveness during the BLM movement but cleared the air with this post. While it focused on the perspective of standing as an ally, they didn’t outright say “Black Lives Matter” or use the suggested hashtag to enhance the channel for education on the matter. 

 

The above examples are great insights on what can go wrong even when you do speak out, but incorrectly and how this can affect your business.

How to Use TikTok for Your Brand

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Okay Labelers, we know this is the article you have all been waiting for. Let’s talk about TikTok; the app that has taken the social media world by storm.  

 

Many influencers are on the TikTok bandwagon. Rehearsing, memorizing, and performing dances have become a new wave. Especially in the time of quarantine and social distancing!

 

So what’s all the talk about? How can your brand benefit from a TtikTtok account? Is it worth the hype? Or is it just another fad that will fade out over time? Don’t worry, we are here with all the answers for you! 

 

First, let’s talk about the pros of joining TikTok. 

 

It’s the Hot New Thing for Brand Presence

We talked a bit about increasing brand presence on this app before, and it’s clear why. TikTok is currently the most downloaded iPhone app and is still growing fast, surpassing 500 million monthly users. Although the TikTok demographic leans more towards Gen Z, there’s no doubt that the app is racking up viewers. 

 

It’s Easy and Affordable

With today’s restrictions, businesses have limited resources when it comes to creating branded content. Another benefit of this app is that it offers accessibility, efficiency, and simplicity. Hootsuite notes in some ways, the platform mimics a bite-sized version of YouTube, because videos range between five and sixty seconds. This type of snack-sized content allows you and your brand to put out quick and easy content, making it an ideal app for simple advertising and promotion. TikTok also requires minimal, if any, editing. When budget is concerned, we can’t highlight how valuable it is to set up your phone and produce a video within minutes. 

 

It’s All About that Money 

Imagine making money just by live-streaming. TikTok allows you to do just that! The app offers its users the option of live streaming for tips from their viewers. Yes, we said TIPS! This live stream option not only enables you to promote your brand, sponsors, or partnerships but is also a great way for you to engage with your followers. 

 

Selling on TikTok is another monetary benefit. Through this app, you can easily see your merchandise and promote it however you want to. TikTok gives you full control over what you’re selling, whether it be a physical product or your brand itself. 

 

The app also allows you to use their links from other platforms to cross-promote, similar to the way that you can promote a website link in your Instagram bio. Pretty simple, right?

 

So, with all this in mind, we think using the TikTok app is a bit of a no-brainer. If you’re looking for a new platform to promote your brand, TikTok is free and easy to do so. We know new apps can be intimidating, but we promise it’s easy to use. It looks to us like TikTok has a promising future. What are your thoughts? 

Still not sure if TikTok is the right platform for your brand? Send us an email at info@itscreativelabel.com, to have a consultation with us today!

Half Way Through The Year, Top Brand Mistakes and Lessons Learned 

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It’s halfway through the year, and we’ve already seen so many brands F up. We learn from the actions we take but we also learn from other brand’s mistakes. Today, we’re going to share with you some of the top mistakes so far in 2019, and how to prevent the same from happening to you. Take note people, we’ve compiled a quick list of four main areas we’ve found are so important and sometimes overlooked. 

Have a sounding board 

It’d be so awesome if every idea you have is ready to go. Truth is, while you may have some great ideas, they’re often a diamond in the rough. Having a team of people who can help refine a concept is a gamechanger. It’s also a major plus in the event that maybe you’re unintentionally presenting things in a way that could be offensive to people. Having extra sets of eyes and expertise, helps you avoid that.


Crazy example here. Dominos Russia launched a campaign offering 100 free pizzas for 100 years to customers who got their logo tattooed on their skin. After they started getting thousands of submissions, they started putting up restrictions and a cap to how many winners there would be. Ouch! Maybe if they had run the idea through more people with expertise in this area they could’ve avoided this embarrassing move.

Have a diverse group of people in the creative room 

 

It’s 2019 and, thankfully, diversity is taking over conversations on and offline. After all, you don’t want to make careless mistakes like H&M did when they released their controversial “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” children’s hoodie that they ended up having to take down. It’s things like these that having a team that’s diverse can help you avoid overlooking due to simply being unaware of issues that affect other groups of people.

Make an effort to be in tune, be empathetic to issues that may not impact you but impact other people

 

Emotional intelligence is key to being a great leader and a great brand. Truth is, it’s never about you. It’s about what you can do for others. In January 2018, Estee Lauder launched a new foundation line called Double Wear Nude Water Fresh Makeup SPF25. Although over 30 shades of product were released, over 80% of the shades were geared toward lighter-skinned women. It’s usually a challenge for women of color to find a brand that even offers options for darker skin, even harder to have enough options.

Because of this, it’s so crucial that you’re genuinely making an effort to be empathetic to other people’s issues even if they don’t directly impact you. You may only be aware of a few challenges but if you open up to more groups of people, you’ll discover there are far more opportunities to step in and help people through better products and services.

Learn How To Respond Quick Quick Quick 

 

Earlier this year, we watched Kim K start a Twitter rampage between all of the top fast-food chains. If you are unfamiliar with the showdown below is how it went down. But if you’re a more visual person, check this out. 

So what did Jack In The Box do to annoy Kim K? Funnily enough, nothing related to an actual order being wrong or poor customer service. This prompted a ton of people to get, understandably, curious about what in the world happened. 

Kim said the issue was “not about me or a wrong order. Nobody recognized me and it’s something that I observed that affected other customers at this particular location that was concerning.”

Shortly after, Jack In The Box responded and resolved the serious situation

The company tweeted. “Hi Kim, we are unable to DM you, please send us a DM with how we can get in touch with your team & someone will reach out immediately.” After this, it looks like things were taken care of since Kardashian tweeted “Thank you @JackBox for the quick response and handling the situation!” 

We’re curious now. We really hope you found this article helpful. In the comments below, let us know which tip here you connected the most with!

 

Girlboss Professional Network: LinkedIn-Like Platform for Ambitious Women

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If you listen to our podcast, you’ve heard us talking about the new LinkedIn-Like platform created for women by women. Girlboss is a popular community created by Nasty Gal founder, Sophia Amoruso.

Throughout the last couple of years, the brand has been on a constant mission to bring new things to the community. With the creation of the professional network, their team hopes it will help connect female entrepreneurs, creatives, and freelancers with other like-minded women. Here are some ways that the Girlboss professional network works and is revolutionizing social media for ambitious women.

Prominent Female Leaders Will Host “Ask Me Anything” Sessions

Notable women such as Arianna Huffington, Beth Comstock, and Bozoma St. John are just a few examples of big names that will lead Q&A sessions. All members on the Girlboss platform will be able to interact and leave questions for the session host.

Professionalism & Sense of Self Are Elegantly Combined

Don’t you just hate those stuffy uptight vibes you get from other networking platforms? Girlbossmembers will be able to customize their profiles to not just share what they do but also capture who they are in order to bring in the important element of personality. There’s also a fun fill-in-the-blank bio and horoscope reading to create a more casual feel.

There’s a Heavy Emphasis on Meaningful Connections

In order to ensure every connection request is meaningful, members can only send one connection request daily. This encourages people to clearly state their intentions as well as truly reflect on who they want to surround themselves with as they nurture new relationships.

Membership Is Free To Ensure Accessibility

Usually, it’s women who can’t afford to join members-only clubs. So in order to make sure that career-minded women everywhere can access opportunities, the platform is free to join in an effort to truly carve out community.

Having the opportunity to show up on another platform is amazing and the fact that it’s all women makes it even better to fully embrace #WomenSupportingWomen and #CommunityOverCompetition. We love seeing like-minded women come together and help one another step into their power! 

Are you going to be joining the community? If so, just click here to join and let us know what you think in the comments below!

 

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