BRANDING

Google Suite Not So Sweet

The branding community has spoken, and majority rules: Google Suite’s new logos look like they got dressed in the dark. 

• In early October, Google rebranded G Suite to Google Workspace, because even Google is aware that there’s no line between work and home life right now. 
• ICYMI, Gmail, Docs, Meet, etc., are now nearly indistinguishable.

I gave it over a month, but I’m still confused about why Google, a trillion dollar company as of January, with access to the best branding agencies in the world, botched this thing. So I asked the experts.

Pros

Theoretically, Google got at least a few things right with the rebrand. 

“They're [Google] not worried about short term reactions to the logo,” brand and creative strategy consultant Aja Singer told Marketing Brew. “Remember the reaction to Airbnb's logo change in 2014? Does anyone think of female genitalia when they click on that logo to book a trip? No, our eyes adjusted.” 

“Google’s intent to unify their products through this logo redesign makes sense; they were trying to apply a cohesive visual identity across all of the products within their newly launched Google Workspace,” Marissa Perr, account strategy lead at content agency Mustache, told Marketing Brew.

That Gmail rebrand: Some users could accept the rebrand as a whole, until simply losing it over the new Gmail logo. 

• “Twenty years from now, the envelope icon will look just as irrelevant to email users as the floppy disk icon does to Gen Z, who never used one. It was going to have to go at some point,” explained Singer. 

Cons

Ok, so experts in the space might not hate Google Workplace as much as the masses. But that doesn't mean they think the rebrand is perfect—both experts agreed that Google is trading off some user-friendliness in favor of branding. 

• “These new logos are making it harder for users, who are likely (and hopefully) using multiple Google Workspace products at once, to distinguish between the different product logos in their Chrome tabs,” said Perr.

Zoom out: If Google’s goal was for users to think of Google Workplace as a true fleet of Google tools, that was probably accomplished. Only time will tell if Google bet correctly on our eyes’ adjusting to the icons’ nuances. 

AGENCIES

Are D&I Execs Essential Workers?

Last week, Omnicom hired Aliah Berman of global experiential agency GMR Marketing as its new TBWA North America Chief Diversity Officer. Notice anything weird about that sentence?

The weird part: Omnicom made the hire only a few months after mass layoffs at TBWA and other Omnicom agencies. And the typical salary range for diversity and inclusion (D&I) exec hires is “between $250,000 and $350,000,” Jay Haines, founder of executive search firm Grace Blue, told Ad Age.

Omnicom isn’t the only agency making D&I exec hires amid job cuts. 

• Dentsu’s Merkle last week tapped Kirt Morris as its first global chief equity officer after a slew of April layoffs.
• And Droga5 made Tiffany Edwards its first global head of D&I in September…the same month it laid off 7% of U.S. staff. 

Zoom out: Back in March, some worried the pandemic’s economic impact would stunt already sub-par Madison Avenue D&I efforts. But after the recent national reckoning with Black Lives Matter, perhaps D&I execs are as essential to keeping an agency alive as layoffs.

My takeaway: D&I execs are only as effective as the resources they’re given. If agencies truly believe diversity is essential to success, they’ll continue to funnel resources toward D&I initiatives.

SPONSORED BY ITERABLE

Are Your Workflows...Workin’?

So picture this, you’ve been heads down creating a lifecycle map so beautiful it should be in a museum. And you’ve crafted personalized messaging that reads like poetry.

But now it’s time to get all that work out there into the world, a strange place where nothing ever goes as planned. 

So Iterable has put together their Workflow Building Guide to give you a mental workout on workflows. 

You’ll learn:

• Why lifecycle maps don’t always translate into your ESP
• The four building blocks of workflow building
• How to execute campaigns like some of the best companies in the world

If your workflows have only been causing you more work, Iterable’s guide is a must-read. And trust us when we say this guide is such a breath of fresh air that it hardly feels like, you guessed it, work.

Download Iterable’s workflow guide here.

CAMPAIGNS

What’s ESG Got to Do with It?

Nasdaq—a place which I recently tricked into letting me speak at its marketing team meeting—recently spoke with me about a pretty intricate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) campaign that got me thinking about ESG. 

Partnering with CNN’s branded content studio, Nasdaq produced a three-episode video series around its technology, expertise, and insights in the ESG field that contribute to economic development and well-being. 

• “We want to tell stories of real people who are able to reach their full potential,” Nasdaq's director of corporate comms told Marketing Brew.
• The series will air on CNN global platforms including social, digital, CNNGo and CNNi—as well as CNBC and all Nasdaq digital channels.

Example: The first film highlights how Nasdaq’s NextGen Data provides access to opportunity in underserved communities. 

After digging deeper, I couldn’t help but wonder—do marketers need a mega content studio like CNN’s—or, at the very least, longform content—to pull off a successful ESG play?

More importantly: "From Patagonia to PayPal companies that do the right thing have the right results. By focussing on the story of people, society and culture they deliver the results they need for the spreadsheets," wrote former Publicis CGO Rishad Tobaccowala on the new ESG. 

TL;DR: Longform vs. shortform content is less important than quality content when it comes to ESG campaigns. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• General Motors will bring its Hummer EV to the 2021 Super Bowl for the second time.
• TikTok’s deadline to complete its deal was extended to November 27 by the federal government. 
• Ally & Gargano art director Mike Tesch, of FedEx and Dunkin ad fame, died last week.
• Facebook updated its report moderation system to prioritize addressing the worst cases first.

SPONSORED BY #PAID

Creators are the new creative agency. And #paid makes it easy for you to connect with creators who make content that captures (and keeps) your audience’s attention. With creators, briefs are easy, turnaround times are fast, and content is so good people ask for more. Just like your stock or agency creative, you can use creator content anywhere. Plus, #paid is giving you $500 worth of creative assets on your first campaign. Get $500 worth of awesome content here.

FRENCH PRESS

Marketing tips to make you fancy

Blogs: Are you blogging? A lot of marketers still are—but now, with influencers. This infographic spells out how to work influencer marketing into your next blog post without seeming salesy.  

Sosh meeds: The wait is over—the best Instagram caption length for 2021 has been decided. 

Lytics: Here’s an in-depth look at Google Analytics 4, in case you’re still a little confused. 

Bounces: If your website has a high bounce rate, here are 13 potential explanations why. 

CMO SENTIMENTS

Sign up here for Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman’s CMO Series on LinkedIn, in which he chats with the most important marketing leaders in the industry. Then read on for three questions that’ll help you get to know these marketing leaders a little better.

Last week, Alex sat down with former VP Marketing at The Knot Amanda Goetz. She’s since gone on to become a part-time CMO and founder—don’t worry, Alex gets to that in the episode. But for now, the important questions:

Alex Lieberman: Favorite book you’ve read since January?

Amanda Goetz: The Road Less Traveled—highly recommend it. 

AL: What scares you most right now?

AG: The unknown of what the next year will be—especially as a parent with three kids. It’s like, I have no clue where I’ll be living a year from now. It’s just the unknown. 

AL: What is the thing you do in the morning to have the most productive day?

AG: I block my morning. That’s my creative time, no one can meet with me until 11am, usually. 

There, I got through this section of the newsletter without making an Amanda Show joke. Watch all the CMO Series episodes here, and get excited for BlackRock CMO Frank Cooper to come hang tomorrow. 

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Marketing Brew stories from the last few editions.

• Why Citi’s true name campaign works
• WPP merges Grey with AKQA
• ‘Humaning’ is about to be everyone’s least favorite marketing word