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Although Ubuntu's target description suits me well, I think, it did not catch me. Their palette is in colors of my home, but un my top box I need to have somethinng geek, shiny, cool, sci-fi, strong, aggressive...<br>That's why I do prefer an orb as logo, because it is so versatile. The shape, materials, the symbols. Easy to remember. But I guess it is taken... Is it?<br>
Ubuntu failed miserably in my case... In look and stability. I think it is of a good marketing though.<br>Is the name 'Mageia' immutable? Do you suggest to rename it?<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Sep 23, 2010 at 4:00 PM, Graham Lauder <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:yorick_@openoffice.org">yorick_@openoffice.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">The artguide and logo guidelines are seriously incomplete and need a lot of<br>
work. Free software projects have a history of rushing into branding that<br>
they will be stuck with for a very long time, from logo to colour scheme to<br>
pallett. If it's not thought through and given the consideration it needs, it<br>
can turn into a millstone around the projects neck or a chaotic round of ever<br>
changing looks that confuses the market.<br>
<br>
The project needs to get it's branding process it's organised. Until then<br>
everything should be fluid, even the name should be seen as a "Working Title".<br>
<br>
So therefore:<br>
<br>
We need to identify our vision,<br>
Identify the way we want the world to see us.<br>
We need to identify our target market<br>
and then come up with a Brand to suit that market.<br>
<br>
The brand does not have to be out there until the announcement of the first<br>
release.<br>
The brand that is created now, will shackle the Marketing team for all time.<br>
The marketing team will only hang around if the brand is good. Hackers need<br>
the tools to do their job, if the IDE they are forced to use when making code<br>
is a pile of shit then they'll go elsewhere. It's the same with marketers,<br>
give them a good brand and they'll come in droves to be part of it.<br>
<br>
Ubuntu's strength was in that initial marketing, targeted at 18 to 35 age<br>
group with warm a comforting and attractive pallett (Browns Reds and Yellows)<br>
and a slightly zany way of doing things (Warty Warthog and so on) They<br>
identified a market of young people of above average intelligence who were<br>
not satisfied with the cold clinical professional brand of principal market<br>
leader.<br>
<br>
This group had several advantageous facets to them.<br>
1) They were leaders and early adopters of new technology<br>
2) They were rebellious to a degree<br>
3) They had a very positive view of themselves<br>
4) They felt that they deserved to be noticed and that the world should do<br>
stuff for them.<br>
<br>
So Ubuntu's branding is aimed directly at that market and very successfully.<br>
<br>
The problem that many projects suffer from is that they come up with a<br>
branding that feels good to their own community, while ignoring the market.<br>
And make no bones about it, much of the reason that Ubuntu gets lots of<br>
developers is because of it's wide user base. That makes it sexy, the<br>
opportunity to be famous: "I am part of that.."<br>
<br>
Now there is a good argument to be made for going after the same market for<br>
all of the above reasons.<br>
<br>
We can learn some lessons from the way Ubuntu did things.<br>
<br>
They leveraged their location, used a local language and traditions to give<br>
them a name and a story: Ubuntu = Humanity to Humans and a logo that reflects<br>
and enhances that story.<br>
<br>
For me, for this project, I think it's untapped branding strength is in it's<br>
Latin South American Heritage. Connectiva.<br>
<br>
Connection,<br>
Computers are about connecting with others and when the world thinks about<br>
South America and connecting they think Dance, .. Tango. If it was my project<br>
in these circumstances I'd be calling it Tango-Linux. The name even<br>
immediately evokes the branding colours and the pallet, Bold Blacks, Fiery<br>
Reds and silvers, the colours of passion. Tango evokes passion, rebellion<br>
but at the same time precision and teamwork.<br>
<br>
Unfortunately there is already a Tango Linux, not to mention the Tango Icon<br>
project, but you get the idea.<br>
<br>
<br>
To conclude: my point is that there needs to be much more consideration given<br>
to the branding elements at this point before we start voting on logos and the<br>
like and I would like to see everything up for discussion, name included, we<br>
are brand new, the world is watching, this is our unique opportunity we need<br>
to stamp our mark boldly but with serious consideration of our goals.<br>
<br>
Of course the communities desire maybe just to stay as a small minor player in<br>
the desktop universe, but if that's the case this is not the Mandrake I knew<br>
back at 8.0 when It was on every other computer magazine cover CD, and it was<br>
going after the market in a big way, not worrying about the Ubuntus and<br>
Redhats but out to take down the Redmond machine. Personally I think that<br>
spirit is still there.<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
Graham Lauder,<br>
OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ<br>
<a href="http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html" target="_blank">http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html</a><br>
<br>
OpenOffice.org Migration and training Consultant.<br>
<br>
INGOTs Assessor Trainer<br>
(International Grades in Open Technologies)<br>
<a href="http://www.theingots.org" target="_blank">www.theingots.org</a><br>
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</blockquote></div><br>
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