A New Spin on Tires
Think back to the last time you bought tires. If you're like me, you went to a discount tire store and sat in the waiting room while they were installed. Hard chair. Bad lighting. Dirty floor. Burned coffee. Irritating channel on the TV. Interior decorating by...
Startups and Brand Creation
A trademark can be a company's most valuable asset. But too often, brand development and trademarking are not at the top of the entrepreneur's to-do list when he or she is ramping up. It's time-consuming, and often entrepreneurs don't understand the value of...
Kudos for the Queen Bee
In 2007, Mary Pokluda was an aspiring entrepreneur with the self-named personal assistant business, "The PA4U." Recognizing the weakness of her brand name, though, Mary asked Pollywog to help. So we created a new brand for her—Bumblebee—a friendly, approachable name...
A Movement for Animals
An estimated 3-4 million animals die in America's shelters every year—the tragic result of pet overpopulation. Our client, Animal Humane Society, launched a bold initiative this year to help change the world for homeless pets by asking people to live by a code of...
A Mac by Any Other Name
I'm always fascinated by the background story behind iconic brand names. Like Apple Computer's re-imagined personal computer, introduced in 1998, which would ultimately be called the "iMac." What would Apple look like today if its agency hadn't talked Steve Jobs out...
It’s Not Just a Machine. It’s Magic.
The first time I saw a 3D printer in action, I was amazed. It takes a CAD drawing and turns it into a physical object made of plastic. Even intricate designs with moving parts--a bicycle chain or adjustable wrench, for example--can be transformed from a digital file...
15 Million More Meals on the Table
In a land of plenty, one in five American families can't regularly afford to eat. Hunger lurks in the most surprising places in Minnesota--not only in depressed urban neighborhoods in the Twin Cities, but also in Duluth, Mankato and even Minnetonka. For the next year,...
Stouts for Snouts
Ever since I adopted my first dog a few years ago, I've been an avid supporter and volunteer for the local Golden Retriever rescue organization, Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota (RAGOM). And whenever RAGOM needs help with branding, I gladly raise my hand. A few years...
Think Ink
Small businesses and nonprofits need all the free PR they can get. Fortunately, any size business can have a powerful brand name, and powerful brand names attract the media. That's because reporters are only human. Their brains work like everyone else's, and they'll...
All about the Small
More than a year ago, Pollywog was approached by a Minnesota nonprofit organization with the generic and unwieldy name, Resources for Child Caring (RCC). Over its forty year history, RCC had grown from an agency that trained child care providers into Minnesota's...
Tweet Your Brand Promise
Back in the olden days, when I was getting my Masters of Advertising at Northwestern University, I had a professor named Don E. Schultz. He was the guy who literally wrote the book on advertising strategy. A tall, balding, round-shouldered man (he reminded me of the...
The Dogs of War
There was a time when publicly attacking the The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) would have been like attacking Mother Teresa. How could anybody be against helping animals? But social movements are like physics. For every action, there is an equal and...
Netflix: The Giant Stumbles
You almost have to feel sorry for Netflix. Once a towering paragon of transformative online business and delivery models, the entertainment giant has done a face plant. Netflix launched in 1997. Using an online ordering system (the “Net” in “Netflix”), customers could...
“FAIL: Why Most Brand Names Suck”
Recently, Pollywog had the privilege of speaking to design and technology students at Rasmussen College in Brooklyn Park, MN. Here is a recording of that 23-minute presentation. [video width="1280" height="720"...
Making Some Headway
In 1970, a small group of parents in Richfield, MN began meeting in a vacant commercial space to discuss the needs of suburban families that were not being met by more urban-centric programs. Their venue became their name: Storefront. Over time, they relocated,...
Trademarks can be Rough Sledding for Nonprofits
The Star Tribune reports on a feud between the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure" and small nonprofit also dedicated to fighting breast cancer. In a formal opposition to a trademark registration, Komen claimed that the Minnesota-based group's name--"Mush for a...
A Small Price to Spay
Animal welfare advocates agree: The best way to reduce the heartbreaking volume of animals euthanized by overcrowded shelters is to prevent unwanted litters. But when times are tough, a lot of pet owners can't afford to neuter their animals, which ultimately results...
Sprockets: A “Hopeful Ray of Sunshine”
From the It's Nice To Be Noticed Department comes this—a thoughtful (and completely unsolicited!) response from someone who really understands what the Sprockets brand can do for the community: Mired in a series of budget cuts, union issues, declining enrollment and a...
St. Paul Kids Find Out What Moves Them
How do you increase high school graduation rates by more than 90%? Get kids to keep learning, even when they're not in school. And how do you do that? By offering them such a wide range of learning opportunities, they can fill their out-of-school time with activities...
What Branders Can Learn From Hollywood (And Vice Versa)
What makes some movie titles work and others fall flat? Read this interesting interview with movie marketing specialist, Matthew Cohen, and you'll discover a lot of common ground with traits that make brand names powerful. Emotional trigger: Cohen cites Black Swan as...
Pollywog on the Peter McClellan Show
Pollywog founders John Stucker and Devon Thomas Treadwell appeared this week on Business Radio AM1570's Peter McClellan Show. Among the topics covered: What makes a brand name powerful? And why does today's competitive market require a new approach to naming and...
Starbucks Strips the Mermaid
Seattle-based Starbucks unveiled a new logo yesterday to divided reviews in the branding community. The new logo eliminates the name completely, relying only on the iconic mermaid image to identify the brand. Some branding experts consider this move a savvy adaptation...
What Not to Name a Baby
A blog post today on a site targeted at new mothers notes a trend toward naming babies after luxury brands. This practice is, and always has been, relatively commonplace. But what's interesting is how "Chanel" has recently appeared on the list, at number 139 for...
Korea Catches Up on Branding
A generation ago, South Korea was an impoverished nation whose economy relied primarily on agriculture. In 1960, Korea's per capita gross national product was less than the Sudan's and not even one-third the size of Mexico's. Today, Korea enjoys the world's 13th...
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