by Jonathan Marshall

Global Brands like Nike often use their enormous reach and influence to educate people about issues like cancer, AIDS, global warming, and many others. Even though the Lance Armstrong Foundation has made huge strides in the fight against cancer, they would be much less recognizable and credible if Lance was not a Nike-sponsored athlete. Smaller organizations, groups and foundations simply cannot convey the sense of urgency for a cause that a mega-brand like Nike can. Nike is very involved in many organizations and causes outside of sports today, and their involvement is crucial for those organizations and causes to gain national and even international recognition, but it also polishes the Nike brand. Not everyone plays or enjoys sports, but everyone knows and recognizes Nike, and it’s been like that for years. Nike knows this, and while supporting foundations like Lance Armstrong’s is truly admirable, the support suddenly makes Nike appealing to us in a whole new and different way. Now I’m definitely not saying that their support is not genuine, but there is no disputing the fact that it evolves the brand outside of sports and allows them to be even more influential on a truly global level. When you achieve the brand recognition that Nike has, you can pretty much do anything you want, but deciding to innovate and raise awareness is definitely a win-win situation. Below, Eugene Kan from Hypebeast goes on to talk about Lance Armstrong and Nike uniting to launch STAGES, a global art show to raise funds and awareness for the fight against cancer. Check out some of the pictures from contributing artists such as Cai Guo-Qiang, Rosson Crow, Jules De Balincourt, Dzine, Shepard Fairey and many others.

Paris, (July 16, 2009) – To heighten global awareness of the cancer burden, Lance has teamed up with Nike to present “STAGES,” an art show that benefits The Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Engaging the creative community in the fight against cancer, “STAGES” exhibits over twenty original works of art in response to the devastating disease with a distinct focus on the subject of survivorship. The show features some of the world’s most accomplished and promising international artists, including Ed Ruscha, Cai-Guo Qiang, Richard Prince, Catherine Opie, KAWS, Eric White, José Parlá, Christopher Wool, Tom Sachs, Dzine, and Rosson Crow.

The show unites the worlds of art, philanthropy and sport in a unique celebration of human potential inspired by Lance and dedicated to the fight against cancer. “It will project hope, strength and commitment to millions and carry the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign all over the world. I am humbled by the effort and energy given by so many to bring STAGES to life.“ said Lance Armstrong.

Nike continues to be a long time supporter of both Lance Armstrong and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, creating the yellow wristband in 2004, which gave global visibility to the foundation. To date there are over 70 million bands that have been worn by supporters throughout the world.

“We’re taking the LIVESTRONG message, which is already in the global lexicon, and giving it a different type of energy and voice. At the same time we’re combining the fight against cancer with sports and art to create a larger community that is aware and engaged in the fight against cancer,” said Mark Parker, CEO & President, Nike Inc.

The show opens to the public on Friday, July 17th following a preview today for invited guests at the world renowned Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Paris. It will also travel to the United States this fall. All work is available for purchase with proceeds directly benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Contributing Artists:
Cai Guo-Qiang, Rosson Crow, Jules De Balincourt, Dzine, Shepard Fairey, Andreas Gursky, KAWS, Geoff McFetridge,Yoshitomo Nara, Catherine Opie, José Parlá, Raymond Pettibon, Lari Pittman, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, Tom Sachs, Kenny Scharf, Eric White, Christopher Wool, Aaron Young

Many of our clients come to us to help build their “brands” by helping with their Web Design, creating a new logo or corporate identity, or by simply helping them to understand their target (primary, secondary, and tertiary markets. The problem is, that they really don’t understand what their brand is and what it means to help them create brand recognition and eventually brand loyalty with their specific product or service. With that in mind, I have aggregated a list of definitions relative to branding. While these definitions are somewhat technical, it will answer the basics of brand terminology and possible help understand the complexity of thought and work that goes into building your business and awareness. Okay, here goes:

Brand
The sum of all the characteristics, tangible and intangible, that make the offer unique.

Branded Environment
The graphic system of identification as applied to three-dimensional physical space.

Brand Equity
The value of the brand in its holistic sense to its owners as a corporate asset.

Brand Essence
The distillation of a brand’s intrinsic characteristics into a succinct core concept.

Brand Extension
A new product or service that is related to an existing brand, but that offers a different benefit and/or appeals to a different target segment.

Brand Harmonization
The synchronization of all elements of brand identity, across a line of products or services and/or across geographic markets.

Brand Identity
The outward manifestation of the essence of a corporate brand, product brand, service brand or branded environment.

Brand Identity Equities
The value of specific elements of identification (e.g., name, symbol or colors) to the brands owners.

Branding
The process by which both a brand and brand identity are developed.

Brand Positioning
The specific niche in which the brand defines itself as occupying in the competitive environment. Positioning addresses differentiating brand attributes, user benefits and target segments, singly or in combination.

Brand Revitalization
A major overhaul of a brand, starting with its positioning and proceeding through creative regeneration of the brand identity.

Co-Brand
Use of two or more strong brands in relation to a common offer. Typically, but not always, the brands are given equal emphasis. Examples: Chevron and McDonalds, Visa and Citibank.

Corporate Brand
The gestalt of the organization, including its philosophy and culture as well as its physical characteristics.

Corporate Image
Application of the term image to specific types of offers.

Descriptor
A term used with a brand name to communicate an informational attribute (e.g., variant, function, occasion or target segment) about a specific offer.

Endorsement
Use of the parent brand identity to support and add credibility to an allied offer. Implies subordinate emphasis of the parent to a sub-brand, though relative emphasis will vary case-by-case.

Enhanced Descriptor
An evocative word that may or may not be trademarked, but which differentiates the offer in a proprietary way.

Generic Descriptor
A simple, descriptive term with clear meaning, and which can be executed in regional languages.

Identity
Two meanings, both valid: 1) The sum of all the characteristics, tangible and intangible, that make the offer unique. 2) The elements of brand identification (e.g., the name, symbol and colors) by which an offer can be identified.

Image
Perceptions of the features, tangible and intangible, that characterize a brand.

Ingredient Brand
A strong brand that is used and promoted as a key part of a host brand.

Interactive Branding
Process of developing Web sites and other interactive products, including strategy development, structural design and graphic design.

Line Extension
A new variation of a product or service sharing the same essential characteristics as the parent, but offering a new benefit, such as flavor, size, package type, etc.

Parent Brand
A strong brand that has the capacity to: 1) stand alone to represent a core product or service; 2) support allied products/services by sharing its brand identity, directly or through endorsement

Positioning Statement
A concise written statement of the positioning concept, conveying the essential features of the brand and its niche.

Product Brand
Two meanings, both valid: 1) The gestalt of the brand, including its emotional and cultural associations as well as its physical features. 2) The graphic system of identification as applied to a single product or service or a family of products/services.

Service Brand
A brand representing a specific service or family of services.

Sub-Brand
A product or service that has a persona and brand values that separate it from the parent brand. A product or service that has its own brand identity, which is proprietary and can be trademarked.