Thoughts from Mike Templeton

And I like it. KCCI has the story and the resulting graphic, apparently worked on by a team of various City of Des Moines departments

The new logo uses the same colors as the previous version, blue and deep red, but the new imagery is much more powerful, in my opinion. The most significant feature is the solid blue bridge, as seen on 235 and south of downtown on MLK. Included within the arch is a simplistic silhoette of the downtown skyline, all tucked neatly above the bold red ‘Des Moines’ text.

The older logo plays into the bridges downtown spanning the Des Moines River and mimics their shape for the large DM initials, chalking up one point for people organizing events and groups with DM (like #dmtweetup) instead of DSM (as the official designation used by the Des Moines International Airport).

Some on Twitter are up in arms over the logo while others suggest the logo has questionable taste, but I see nothing to complain about. As a marketer, it’s often part of my place to pick things apart and always be looking for improvements, but I’m actually very satisfied with the way things turned out.

I agree with Mark Bockenstedt’s comment that “the old one was kinda lame“, and for me it didn’t truly represent the greatness and potential this city has. The old version had more likeness to a website built in 1995 with Microsoft Word, while the new logo speaks to an enriched and vibrant community through its bold use of color and illustration.

Hopefully some of the locals will chime in here with their thoughts, as I feel like this logo release has a bigger impact on marketers and techies like myself than it will on the general public. It would be great to hear some other arguments and viewpoints.

The wife and I made a trip to NYC recently and amongst all the flashing lights and giant signage, one billboard stood out from the rest. The billboard I’m talking about, seen below, is from the CW‘s show Gossip Girl. The ad depicts two of the main characters in a provocative setting with four bold letters, OMFG.

If you’re not familiar with Internet slang, here’s a definition of OMFG from the Wiktionary. The campaign was designed to promote the return of original episodes on April 21 after the show went dry due to the writers strike.

Religious groups in the US, along with the Parents Television Council, are taking offense at the campaign and speaking out against it. News stations like CNN are reporting on it like mad trying to make something out of nothing.

In my opinion, it was a bold move for CW to use something so over the top, but at the same time it ties in perfectly with the demographic they are trying to reach (its core audience of 12-24-year-olds, which is down an alarming 38%). When they are dealing with a show that barely averages 2 million viewers a week in a country of 300 million, something has to be done to spark the fire.

Bill Brioux from TV Feeds My Family mentions that in repeat shows of GG during the week of April 7-13, GG ranked 12th among CW shows. No statistics yet (that I’ve seen) on how those numbers may have changed as a result of this campaign, but I’ll update if I do find something.

In the end, the campaign doesn’t bother me at all, but it did grab my attention and that of many others. Props to CW for garnering that attention. And as for those upset by the ads, please just let it pass or work harder with your own children. CW doesn’t need to pull their ads or be punished for what they’ve done. That’s what this country is all about and I hate to see people making choices and decisions without input from everyone else.

[Picture from TV Feeds My Family]