Chevrolet has just released a video extolling the most recognizable name in baseball’s craftsmanship: Louisville Slugger, which refreshed its branding in time for Major League Baseball's opening day this season. 

Interbrand Cincinnati, based in the same city the first professional baseball team called home, was honored to be selected to celebrate that craftsmanship by redesigning the iconic logo, marking its first update in 33 years. Find out more here.

As Kermit the Frog taught an entire generation, “It's not easy being green.”

Clorox’s Green Works is a case study in the steep learning curve of green branding. The line of environmentally friendly housecleaning products launched in 2008 with an endorsement from the Sierra Club, which helped boost its market penetration and credibility. 

That $1.3 million contract ends in December and the brand chose Earth Day to announce a strategic marketing revamp, including a new tone of voice (embodied by its new manifesto, posted on Facebook and its website) and the removal of the Sierra Club logo from all Green Works packaging, a clear sign of the times as green cleaning products have been forced to reduce their premium prices and re-position the sell to deflect declining sales.Continue reading...

In a bid to redefine the financial journey, ING U.S. has announced that it will be rebranding as Voya Financial. 

While the announcement was made Thursday, ING U.S. does not plan on incorporating the new name or logo until 2014, as it awaits the completion of its IPO. 

ING Group, the company's Dutch parent, announced last year that it was planning to spin off its US arm through an initial public offering—where Voya will register as the company's stock ticker. The divestiture of the US part of the business along with a ING Direct and a Dutch mortgage lender had to take place in order to get approval for a 2008 bailout.Continue reading...

The Major League Baseball season kicked off Sunday night with a surprising win for the American League’s newest team, the Houston Astros. For the past few years, the Astros have been the National League’s worst team, but they moved into the American in the offseason and, for one night at least, the team is tops in the sport. That is likely to change soon, of course, but, for now, those players that are so used to losing are making their dreams of childhood into reality.

Kids who dream of playing in the Major Leagues someday (or the parents who dream of their kids making it someday) now have access to one of the tools that pro ballplayers have been using for eons: the Louisville Slugger.

Sure, the Slugger can be found on the retail market for any old consumer, but, until now, everyday schmoes weren’t sold Sluggers made from the same wood that the bats made for the pros were made from. Now Louisville Slugger has introduced a new bat, the Louisville Slugger Prime, that is made of the same material whether you’re a 6-year-old in Little League, a minor-league ballplayer, a Major Leaguer or an aging retiree grasping at your youth.Continue reading...

The Major League Baseball season kicked off Sunday night with a surprising win for the American League’s newest team, the Houston Astros. For the past few years, the Astros have been the National League’s worst team, but they moved into the American in the offseason and, for one night at least, the team is tops in the sport. That is likely to change soon, of course, but, for now, those players that are so used to losing are making their dreams of childhood into reality.

Kids who dream of playing in the Major Leagues someday (or the parents who dream of their kids making it someday) now have access to one of the tools that pro ballplayers have been using for eons: the Louisville Slugger.

Sure, the Slugger can be found on the retail market for any old consumer, but, until now, everyday schmoes weren’t sold Sluggers made from the same wood that the bats made for the pros were made from. Now Louisville Slugger has introduced a new bat, the Louisville Slugger Prime, that is made of the same material whether you’re a 6-year-old in Little League, a minor-league ballplayer, a Major Leaguer or an aging retiree grasping at your youth.Continue reading...

PPR, the multinational holding company that is home to brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Brioni and Sergio Rossi, is rebranding as Kering, indicative of a transformation from French conglomerate to internationally focused sportswear (encompassing its brands including Puma, Tretorn and Volcom) and luxury-goods group. 

The new name, accompanied by an owl logo and tagline, "Empowering Imagination," is pronounced "caring." CEO Francois-Henri Pinault explains, "We are there to care for the brand and take care of the brand," the Wall Street Journal reports.

Pinault carries on his father’s legacy as founder with the new name, which a press release explains was inspired by family roots in France's Brittany region as "Ker" meaning home in Breton, with the action-associated "ing" implying "doing" and "going."

Manfredi Ricca, the managing director at Interbrand in Milan, commented to the International Herald Tribune that the new identity reflects an awareness that companies need “a strong angle on what they stand for,” both for consumers and for employees, to demonstrate their “overarching vision” and values.Continue reading...

"I wish I could say this was a strategically thought out name choice supported by consumer research but it’s really a story of crisis management."

So begins the tale, as John Talbot, Vice President of Global Market Development for the Almond Board of California told brandchannel, about how California Almonds recently rushed to rename its product in its largest export market and how it spun the branding crisis to its advantage.

It all starts 40 years ago and ends with the Farsi word for almond.Continue reading...

Canada’s oldest retailer launched a major rebranding effort the same week that Target christened its first stores north of the 49th parallel. Coincidence? Maybe, but probably not.

The Bay, which has its roots in Canada’s fur trade, will now be known as Hudson’s Bay. It won’t be that much of a stretch for consumers, considering the new name is a nod to its parent company, Hudson’s Bay Co., but it will mean its unique stylized-ribbon “B” in The Bay will be retired.

A return to the iconic retailer’s classic full name with a word mark—which will be used on all marketing and media materials, as well as online and on in-store displays—is its first major logo rebrand since 1965.Continue reading...