70 thoughts on “A Branding Opportunity Right Under Your Eyes. Dare To Be Different.”

  3. Interesting post, Arleen! I have never even noticed the eye blacks before… they were just black stripes for me, until now. I like the CA “Dare to be different” – but a question comes to mind – how effective is this, really? Yes, your logo is there, yes, people most probably see it (because it’s different) but what’s the message you send out when placing your logo under someone eye?

    I can see how it is very good promotional tactic for fund raising events or as Debra said – community events where children play role in the whole fun. But using it as part of a business marketing campaign and/or strategy? It IS different and interesting indeed – just would love t hear more about hands-on experiments and insights about its effectiveness 😀

    thanks for the great post, Arleen, good food for thought 😉
    Diana recently posted…Freelance Pricing Guide for Fixed Price JobsMy Profile

    • Diana,
      We are not pushing the eye black, but felt it was a unique and different concept for advertising your brand. The message that you would be sending out would be your logo. People would wear them because they are cool and you have a walking billboard. The one thing we hear all the time from our customers, we want something that is different to hand out at our trade show. This is a new product so I am not sure how effective it will be under more people buy this item.
      Arleen recently posted…A Branding Opportunity Right Under Your Eyes. Dare To Be Different.My Profile

  4. Great article, and great notice! I really like the idea of object ‘bombing’ at the moment as an eye-catching visual promotion. I really like finding out these alternative routes to advertising.

    • Hey, Arleen! thanks for your follow up reply. I think i wasn’t clear – sorry about that!

      You place the logo under someone’s eye but the message you want to convey cannot be the logo itself, it’s just means to something else. Or do you mean it is a brand awareness tactic in your opinion?

      You know, the logo is just part of the brand, it’s not the brand promise… so i was thinking in that direction when i asked “what’s the message you want to send out” – do you support sports, or certain event, or fund raising, or just show the general public the wearer of your logo is your favorite, or else… how does this work 😀 as i certainly just see a logo under an eye and am more confused than impressed by the brand… just thinking out loud.

      as for the effectiveness – yes, i didn’t expect you to tell me something about the effectiveness of this tactic since you said you just found out about it. What i was saying is that i would love to hear a follow up post from you about it – if you decide to test it hands-on 😉
      Diana recently posted…Freelance Pricing Guide for Fixed Price JobsMy Profile

      • Diana,
        I feel it is a just another way to promote your company through brand awareness. I see the eye black just like any other promotional product where you are trying to advertise your company. You could put your logo on one strip and a message on the other. Example if you get a tote bag as a giveaway, all you put on the bag is your logo. You are not making any promises, but are advertising your name. It will be interesting to see if these take off. I will let you know how it goes. It usually takes a while for anything new to catch on.
        Arleen recently posted…A Branding Opportunity Right Under Your Eyes. Dare To Be Different.My Profile

  5. I remember when I was younger I felt so tough with eye blacks during softball games. In fact, they have become so common I have forgotten about how unusual it most have been for people to see them for the first time. Instead, they are so widely used, that nobody really stops to think about the fact somebody has covered their face in black smear. Adding your logo or team name to the eye blacks is definitely an awesome way to advertise.
    Mary Slagel recently posted…The Liebster AwardMy Profile

  6. Personally hate football (European style) and never watch it despite the fact that my nephew is a goalkeeper in a team that last weekend won the gold medal in a tournament for boys.

    Arleen, I would love to see you walk around with Garrett’s logo under your eyes. Please take a picture of it and send to me:-)

  9. As a father of an NCAA Lacrosse player who uses the eye black stickers and silver sharpie to taunt his opponents with statements like “ALL” “DAY”, “YOU” “FUNNY”, and “MY” “WORLD” the adaptation to team and brand logos seems a natural fit.
    Kire Sdyor recently posted…Born to StubMy Profile

  10. I can see how using eye blacks to display a logo is comparable to local businesses having their logos on the jerseys of the Little League teams they advertise, but I think brands would want to be very careful about where they want their logo showing up. I’m probably being an Old Fogey (no, I’m definitely being an OLD fogey), but at a professional conference, I would be turned off if a law firm at a legal conference, for example, had its lawyers walking around with eye blacks with their firm’s name. But, would Nike benefit from having it’s logo on eye blacks worn by NFL stars — probably. BTW, I do watch American football, but I’m usually only especially interested if my hometown team is playing (the Philadelphia Eagles) — lately, a less than pleasant experience. My husband and I have a mantra, “Never change your plans for a football game!”
    Suzanne Fluhr (Just One Boomer) recently posted…Active, Adventurous and AbleMy Profile

    • Hi Suzanne,
      I guess we live in the same area as I watch the Philadelphia Eagles as well. I am not saying that the eye black is for every business. In fact I am not pushing eye black at all. I was showing how this company came up with a different idea to promote their brand. There are many great items that we sell to lawyers. One of the more popular ones are the stress ball gavel.
      Arleen recently posted…A Branding Opportunity Right Under Your Eyes. Dare To Be Different.My Profile

  11. Hi Arleen. Very interesting reading as usual. I really like how you put a branding method literally under the eyes. Although I’m familiar with the eye black used by athletes in different sports I never really noticed the ad value. It’s a great talent to be observant enough to be able to notice even the smallest of things around us. Then apply them to promote or brand a business. You sure have opened my eyes and I will sure be looking for more fun, unusual and innovative methods of getting folk to notice mine. 😉

    • Many items can apply to any business to promote your brand, just by putting your logo on the product. An example, when someone is looking for a construction gift, they primarily think it needs to have a construction theme. You could put your logo on a sports bottle with your construction company logo and you have just advertised who you are. Just need to keep an open mind. Thanks for your comment.
      Arleen recently posted…A Branding Opportunity Right Under Your Eyes. Dare To Be Different.My Profile

  12. It’s interesting that you had mentioned the black strip under Babe Ruth’s eye. I used to play baseball in little league and finished off in high school. I’ve never used the black strip before under the eyes and I’ve always heard that it does reduce the glare but didn’t know who started it. I had no idea that Babe Ruth was the one that started it.

    I remember a hip hop group called TLC and Left Eye who is one of the rappers wore a strip under her eye and it was a bandaid. Pretty cool and stylish back then.

    I really enjoyed the article, now when I watch sports, I’m going to look at the black strip in a different light, having read this article. Thanks Arleen!
    Nate Leung recently posted…MLM Blog: Elite Marketing Pro Review – Should You Dive In and Why?My Profile

  14. Hi Arleen

    In Australia our football is different from yours. We actually have 3 different types played here which is sort of weird given our small popularization.

    I have never heard of or seen the eye strips here either, although I never go to football so maybe that is why I have not seen it 🙂

    It makes sense though and I see the marketing logic.

    A great post and I learned something I did not know.

    Thanks Arleen

    Sue
    Sue Price recently posted…The Law of Attraction – Fact or Fiction?My Profile

  16. Hi Arleen,

    Well, this is a new one on me – I don’t think these have made it across the Atlantic yet, but I’m sure they will in time (or maybe I just haven’t spotted them yet – I’m often behind the curve).

    Personally, I think they look awful – but that’s the view of a dinosaur for you. They’re certainly very ‘visible’, so I can appreciate they may be an effective way of getting your product seen. I wouldn’t want my own face to be used as a bill-board, though 😉

    Sue
    Sue Neal recently posted…A Google Chrome Irritation Resolved!My Profile

  17. It’s so true that we are only limited by our imaginations when it comes to dreaming up ways to promote ourselves and to reach audiences. At the PNWA conference, one of the presenters told a story about a guy who wrote a book titled something along the lines of how to fail at life or business. Typical avenues of reaching audiences didn’t work, so the author started to give readings of his books at bars. Sales skyrocketed from their. He had found his audience by promoting his work in the least likely of places. Go figure. The bar crowd felt drawn to the advice in his book.
    Jeri recently posted…Author Interview: Diantha JonesMy Profile

  18. We haven’t had normal television for a few years now, so no major sports to watch. I never would have thought to put a promo in eye black like this. Now it gives me ideas for promos for face camo. Or branding for face masks for paintball and the like.
    Jon Jefferson recently posted…Toucan RescueMy Profile

  19. Hi Arleen,

    What an interesting read on this Saturday morning! This is a great branding idea. Very creative!

    Rather than focusing on the branding side, I’d like to talk about DARE TO BE DIFFERENT. For any innovation or outrageous dream, it takes courage for someone to stand firm and continue the success journey. The tracking and tweaking are important in marketing. Dare to be creative and different. Repeat something that works!

    With appreciation, Arleen. Thanks!

    Viola Tam – The Business Mum
    Viola Tam recently posted…Stay-at-Home Mums – T for Team BuildingMy Profile

  20. Hi Arleen,

    Interesting! I’ve never been to or watch American football matches. But here we have a craze for Cricket. Only once I’ve seen a West Indian cricketer wearing eye blacks and I had no idea what for.

    Initially, I thought it’s some kind of a style. Never knew it’s purpose until now and I could hardly read what’s written in there unless I zoom the screen though.

    Actually there are many different ways to be creative and be different from the competition. I don’t think eye black can be very effective everywhere, but again we can be creative about where to use as it draws attention at first sight.

    Cheers…
    Mayura recently posted…How to Add a Custom Navigation Menu in BloggerMy Profile

  21. Arleen,

    What a great idea! I think it would be such a fun way to brand yourself or business. What really resonates with me is that from sitting in a restaurant and noticing a football game, a marketing technique came up in your mind.

    That stuff happens to me all the time. That marketing mindset just becomes so much a part of us that we can see something like this and turn it into a “brand” Awesome!

    I wonder what I would look like if I did that he he! When it gets down to it, the more unique we can get, the better branding!

    Thanks, I really enjoyed this post.

    -Donna
    donna merrill recently posted…Making Your Business BloomMy Profile

  22. Well, I think just being a 72-year-old blogger brands me as being someone different. i think being honest about my life brings a different perspective to blogville. I don’t think I will don the black eye strips. Maybe that’s going too far. But announcing to the world that I’m 72 is probably enough getting out there.
    Sandra Sallin recently posted…MIRROR, MIRRORMy Profile

  25. I’ve seen a few co-workers wearing eye blacks at baseball tailgating parties. When they have the logo added, it gets them more in the spirit of the game and shows everyone who they’re rooting for!

  28. The Dolphin players caught my attention immediately! I’ve always been a football fan. I have noticed the attention that players receive when they wear unusual eye black. It definitely gets attention of viewers, commentators, and media-in-general. Your point in the post was well-made!

  31. Ingenious people- not missing out any opportunity to brand themselves!
    But I’ll also appreciate your keen sense of observation- something as subtle as that might have been completely lost on a dud like me! 😛
    Not only did you actually SEE the logos..you were smart enough to LEARN from that and create a wonderful post with attractive images out of it. By doing so, you are sharing your message with all not-so-good-learners like me. 😀
    Not that I am proud of being stupid- I’m just absent minded, which is why I miss so much of what is going on around me.
    Hats off for a wonderful article.
    Ambika Choudhary Mahajan recently posted…Importance of Social Media Today- Best Social Media Sites for Promoting Business (INFOGRAPHIC)My Profile

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