The state of Florida is learning the hard way that $380,000 can buy a lot of controversy.
That's how much the state paid to come up with its first branding logo designed to attract new business ? only to be met with accusations that the logo is sexist. The problem? That bright orange men's necktie in place of the letter "i" in "Florida."
"I don't think a man's necktie represents all that Florida's business community has to offer," Katherine Yanes, president of the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers, told The Tampa Tribune.
Similar sentiments lit up Florida news sites and Facebook after the logo was unveiled last week:
"Business needs to be all-inclusive and a 'tie' although it binds and is a bit clever, is now dividing," Emily McHugh, chief executive of Casauri, a women's accessories company in Fort Pierce, wrote on Facebook.
Susan Stackhouse, chief executive of Stellar Partners of Tampa, which runs retail concessions at airports, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal: "Isn't that special? It's clearly a strong visual that business and men go together."
Enterprise Florida, the public-private joint venture that commissioned the logo, didn't directly address the controversy in a statement, saying only:
"The brand reflects the state's existing business foundation, economic power, capabilities and resources, all of which make it a super state for business. More than just a logo or a tagline, the Florida business brand provides a common thread that will allow all of the state's economic development organizations to work together in showcasing Florida as a premier business destination."
Gray Swoope, president of Enterprise Florida, told NBC station WTLV of Jacksonville that the campaign conducted extensive research ? including thousands of interviews, surveys and focus groups ? before approving the logo, which is just a small part of the state's "Perfect Climate for Business" campaign.
Meanwhile, Ed Burghard, chief executive of the Burghard Group, a corporate branding firm based in Loveland, Ohio, and a former global brand designer for Procter & Gamble, had a different objection: It isn't a particularly effective logo.
Burghard agreed that the logo, while memorable, is "potentially off-putting" to women. But it's also too "generic," he wrote in an extensive analysis on the blog Strengthening Brand America.
"A generic brand statement as a tagline is a throw away, particularly when it is a blatant overstatement. In my opinion, 'The Perfect Climate For Business' provides no relevant point of difference for CEOs to associate with Florida," he wrote. "Positioning Florida as the perfect business climate is puffery."
Plus, it's just plain outdated in an age when many business ? particularly in steamy Florida ? are "rejecting ties as required dress code," he wrote.
"I don't know for a fact, but I strongly suspect most companies operating in Florida are business casual," Burghard wrote.
Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/sexist-business-logo-lands-florida-hot-water-1B8255394
Joe Webb Fiesta Bowl Jeanie Buss NFL playoff schedule 2013 biggest loser Bronson Pelletier andy reid
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.