—Louanne Welgoss
I began my career in the marketing department of Coach Leatherware at their headquarters in New York City. When I started, I wasn’t even aware of who or what Coach was. (My mom told me they made handbags.) However, I quickly became an expert on these well-known handbags and gained an appreciation of just how much time and care went into creating each bag—from the leather selection to the final touches on the binding to the metal-stamped logo tag that is always stamped inside each bag. “It isn’t a Coach bag without a Coach tag,” they say.
It was the most expensive job I’ve ever had. I started buying the famed Coach purses back then, and now I only buy Coach purses. Coach gave me my first start after all, so I feel like I’m buying from family. My most recent Coach purchase has the letter “C” printed on it, and it’s purple and grey. However, one of our young hip designers at LTD pointed out that the letter “C” on my new bag is not the traditional Serif letter type. It’s now a San Serif letter type. This made me think about how the Coach brand has evolved over the years, and how this relates to associations and their marketing and design provided by LTD.
Like many associations, Coach was conservative and traditional for many years. Over time, their organization wasn’t growing, the older generations weren’t buying new handbags, and the younger customers were going elsewhere for their bags. Faced with declining sales, Coach decided to reach out to a new audience and to update their look. With the introduction of a more eclectic blend of fabric and mixed materials and a signature line of bags with the repeated letter “C" print, sales increased by almost 10% in 2002 and sales continue to soar today.
Has your association experienced significant growth in the last year? Are you adding members of the younger generation? When Coach embraced changing trends, they realized that they were missing out on a younger market that could keep them in business for years.
Ask yourself these questions: Has your association embraced changing trends? Is your logo the same logo that was created when your association was formed? Do you have an interesting tagline or a fresh campaign theme? Are you using the same ad agency or design firm you were 10 years ago? Are you encouraging new creative ideas to help your association grow?
If you answered “no” to any of these, then it may be time to think about a change. Don’t worry about the costs. I realize you're not a handbag company. Just brainstorm what you could do with an unlimited budget.
Recently, Coach introduced Coach Poppy, another extension of their brand that uses a fun scribble etched script with the logo and appeals to young women. The possibilities are endless. When it comes to your association’s marketing, stop for a moment, and think like the Coach corporation. How can you market your product to a broader audience? How can you extend your brand in a new way? How can you increase your association’s membership for years to come?
LTD Creative Partners With “Shop Frederick: Get It Downtown” Campaign To Promote Local Commerce in Frederick, Maryland
LTD Creative and the Downtown Frederick Partnership have partnered together on a new campaign to promote local commerce in Frederick, Maryland. The “Shop Frederick: Get It Downtown” campaign will launch in November 2009 to promote downtown shopping and dining and boost interest in local merchants. In support of their fellow Frederick merchants, LTD Creative volunteered to design the new “Shop Frederick: Get It Downtown” logo that will be placed in and around downtown shops and restaurants in hopes to visually spread awareness of this effort.
“The theme of this effort is fun and vibrant with a bit of humor,” said Louanne Welgoss, Principal of LTD Creative. “Downtown is a hip place to be, and the logo has been designed to portray this same energy.”
The new logo can be seen on window stickers and clings and gift bags in downtown Frederick stores and restaurants. The Downtown Frederick Partnership anticipates the campaign will grow to include T-shirts and apparel with the phrase “I Got Mine Downtown”, an additional play on words developed by the Partnership to promote downtown shopping.
“There is a special quality found in Frederick’s downtown shops that LTD Creative has conveyed through the look and feel of our new logo,” says Kara Norman from Downtown Frederick Partnership. “Soon, every store will be participating in this effort, and come together to bring a new excitement and demand to downtown Frederick shopping.”
For more information about “Shop Frederick: Get It Downtown, visit the Downtown Frederick Partnership website www.downtownfrederick.org.
About Downtown Frederick Partnership
In 2001, the Partnership was designated the managing organization for Frederick’s Main Street Program. The Main Street Program is a preservation-based, downtown revitalization approach sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The goal of the Main Street Program is to strengthen the vitality of Maryland’s traditional main streets and neighborhoods. Downtown Frederick received the prestigious Great American Main Street Award in May of 2005 from the National Main Street Center for the community’s exceptional accomplishments in revitalization. (www.downtownfrederick.org)
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