How Brands Can Stay Relevant in Today's Distracted World

REMAINING
RELEVANT
VCU BRANDCENTER | SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Wednesday, October 3, 12

rel·e·vant [rel-uh-vuhnt] adjective
bearing upon or connected with
the matter in hand; pertinent: a
relevant remark.


WHY IS IT SO
IMPORTANT NOW
FOR A BRAND TO
BE RELEVANT
PART 1


BEFORE
TV Print

Interwebs


NOW
Tablets
TV
Print 1,000 other
devices and
Mobile places to divide
our attention

Facebook


YOUR BRAIN
Trying to pay attention
to everything.

What happened
to sex?


HOW DOES A
BRAND REMAIN
RELEVANT?
PART 2


1. BE HUMAN *

*Stolen from an article by Mitch Baranowski
7 Essential Truths for Ensuring Brand Relevance


2. HAVE A POINT OF VIEW


3. BE THE CAUSE


4. BE A CATALYST FOR
CHANGE


5. SELL AN EXPERIENCE,
NOT A PRODUCT


6. CREATE IT TOGETHER


7. BE TIMELY


WHAT IS
USA TODAY
DOING TO BE
RELEVANT
PART 4


WHO ARE WE:

Windows 8
Print
USA Today: iOS Tablet
a content
delivery iOS
platform Mobile

Browser Android
Mobile


OUR CUSTOMERS:

USA Today

Readers Brands


OUR BRAND:

Colorful Graphic

Concise USA Un-biased
TODAY
Friendly Reliable


LET’S START AT
THE LOGO

Created in 1982


LET’S START AT
THE LOGO


AND BALLS EVERDAY...


AND BALLS EVERYDAY...


AND THEN...NEWSPAPER...


AND THEN...NEWSPAPER...

+ updated fonts
+ new grid
+ more color
+ modern design
+ editorial “balls”

REDESIGNED...
$1.00 THE NATION’S NEWS TUESDAY

No
Doubt, Bad
band coach
is back behavior

09.25.12 After 11 years,
reuniting “felt
NFL says
it will not
tolerate it.
natural,” 1D Prove it, 1C
GETTY IMAGES FOR CLEAR CHANNEL GAIL BURTON, AP
Gwen Stefani

Painkiller
NEWSLINE
COVER STORY
News Most high school

abuse
grads lack skills for
college Findings show
more than half who took
SATs scored below what

declines
is needed to succeed in
college. 3A
News Brawl shuts down

in 2011
China plant that makes
Apple products Foxconn
says 2,000 workers were
involved in riot. 8A, 4B

Young-adult usage
is lowest in a decade
Donna Leinwand Leger Despite
USA TODAY progress,
teens
Prescription-drug abuse in the USA
declined last year year to the lowest “are
MEI XIANG’S CUB DIED SUNDAY. 2011 AP PHOTO rate since 2002 amid federal and state getting
News Panda cub death crackdowns on drug-seeking patients
and over-prescribing doctors.
a bad
shows ‘nature in charge’ Young adults drove the drop. The message”
Exam showed cub had number of people 18 to 25 who regu- on pot.
liver problems and fluid USA TODAY INTERVIEW larlyabuseprescriptiondrugsfell14%
Gil Kerlikowske,
in abdomen. 3A to 1.7 million, the National Survey on director of the
Wednesday, October 3, 12 Drug Use and Health reported Mon- White House

$1.00 THE NATION’S NEWS TUESDAY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 SECTION D
COME ON,
No GET ‘HAPPY!’ Parties
Doubt, Bad Comic series 4D after the
band coach Emmys
is back behavior Get the scoop

09.25.12
behind Zooey
NFL says Deschanel’s
After 11 years, it will not powder-blue
reuniting “felt tolerate it. gown 3D
natural,” 1D Prove it, 1C
GETTY IMAGES FOR CLEAR CHANNEL GAIL BURTON, AP PAUL ARCHULETA, FILMMAGIC
Gwen Stefani

Painkiller
LIFELINE
NEWSLINE
COVER STORY HOW WAS YOUR DAY?
News Most high school GOOD DAY

abuse
MARK MCGRATH
grads lack skills for The Sugar Ray frontman married
college Findings show longtime love Carin Kingsland
more than half who took in California Monday morning,
SATs scored below what reports People.com. The couple

declines
have 2-year-old twins, son Lydon
is needed to succeed in and daughter Hartley. Congrats!
college. 3A
News Brawl shuts down

in 2011
China plant that makes
Apple products Foxconn
says 2,000 workers were
involved in riot. 8A, 4B

Young-adult usage BAD DAY
GETTY IMAGES

is lowest in a decade GREEN DAY
In the wake of frontman Billie Joe
Armstrong’s recent stage tirade and
Donna Leinwand Leger Despite subsequent trip to rehab, the band is
having a rough go. They’ve post-
USA TODAY progress, poned Friday’s show in San Francisco.
teens No makeup date was available.
Prescription-drug abuse in the USA
declined last year year to the lowest “are THEY SAID WHAT?
MEI XIANG’S CUB DIED SUNDAY. 2011 AP PHOTO rate since 2002 amid federal and state getting STARS SPEAK OUT
News Panda cub death crackdowns on drug-seeking patients
and over-prescribing doctors.
a bad “Of course, what an honor! I want to
go. We’re all going. . . . This is a real
shows ‘nature in charge’ Young adults drove the drop. The message” thrill. Boy, oh boy, is it a thrill. I know
Exam showed cub had number of people 18 to 25 who regu- on pot. this is a big deal. . . . I only recently
liver problems and fluid USA TODAY INTERVIEW larlyabuseprescriptiondrugsfell14%
Gil Kerlikowske,
heard about this, but what I did know
in abdomen. 3A to 1.7 million, the National Survey on is that it’s a really big thing, and it’s a

DOES ROWLING
director of the

O
Drug Use and Health reported Mon- White House great honor.” — Jimmy Page on at-

NOUBT
day. In 2011, 3.6% of young adults Office of Drug tending the Kennedy Center Honors
News Today’s kids too abused pain relievers, the lowest rate Control Policy
Gala in December,
fat to serve in military in a decade. where he will be

STILL HAVE THE
Retired military leaders The survey, sponsored by the Sub- awarded a medal
stance Abuse and Mental Health along with fellow

COVER STORY
warn about childhood Services Administration, collects da- ALCOHOL Led Zeppelin mem- BILLY KIDD

obesity, want junk food out ta from interviews with 67,500 people AND DRUG bers Robert Plant Tom Dumont, left, Adrian Young, Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal, the kids from

MAGIC TOUCH?
of schools. 5A age 12 and older. Southern California, have been rocking together since 1986.
USE and John Paul
Administrator Pamela Hyde said Jones (all three

D
the decrease in abuse indicates that Interviews with plan to attend).
Business public health and law enforcement ef- 67,500 people 12 “We didn’t know that Tragic King-
travel Road Edna Gundersen
forts to curb abuse of prescription and older found: GETTY dom was going to fit in anywhere,” says
@EdnaGundersen
Warriors drugs, such as the painkillers oxyco- IMAGES
USA TODAY drummer Adrian Young, 43, of the
recall run- DEBRA HURFORD BROWN
done and hydrocodone, work. CAUGHT IN THE ACT breakthrough that sold 8.2 million
In 2011, 6.1 million people abused Katie Couric wanted a ‘The Way copies. “We’re not that objective
ins with HOLLYWOOD — With to- about this record, but to us, it sounds

GETS A BIG ‘PUSH’
Carol Memmott (Little, Brown, $35), Rowling shares narcotic pain pills, tranquilizers, We Were’ moment, and Barbra
celebs From @CarolMemmott with USA TODAY why she wrote the stimulants and sedatives, down from Streisand delivered. “Is it wrong that day’s release of sixth studio like No Doubt in 2012. Stylistically, we
presidents USA TODAY novel that takes her career in a new di- 7 million in 2010, the survey found. I kind of want you to do that to my album Push and Shove, No never have a clear idea where we’re
to musicians rection, and the excitement she feels Pain pill abuse dropped from 2.1% of hair?” Katie asks Streisand of the Doubt resurfaces on a radical- going. We cover a lot of territory. Does
EDINBURGH , SCOTLAND in the run-up to its release, five years thepopulationin2009to1.7%in2011. classic film’s scene in which her ly altered landscape. The it fit in? We don’t know.”
to athletes,

S
AP
Ray Charles after the final Potter book was Still, the number of people addict- character pushes back Robert Southern California quartet Guitarist Tom Dumont, 44, adds:

their last
some Redford’s hair and says, “Your girl that ruled the airwaves with 1995’s “Our goal was to be true to our past

It’s been 11 years since
urely, somewhere at the published. ed to pain relievers grew from
brushes were brief, others Hogwarts School of Witch- “Of course this might change to- 936,000 in 2002 to 1.4 million in 2011. is lovely, Hubble.” Watch the fun Tragic Kingdom released its last stu- and our influences but to be contem-

not much has changed
craft and Wizardry lies morrow, but I thought I would feel About a third of the addicts are 18 to play out today on ‘Katie.’ dio album 11 years ago, before the porary. That’s a fine line. We can’t
affected their lives. 4B GETTY IMAGES

album, but
a dusty, never-before- more nervous because it’s been five 25, the survey found. arrival of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook control how it’s accepted in the mar-
noticed spell book. In that years and this is a very dierent kind Most states operate prescription- and the iTunes Store. The iPod had ketplace. We can only be ourselves.
Sports Te’o book, J.K. Rowling, the celebrated of book, but actually, I feel quite excit- J.K. Rowling drug monitoring programs, which can 51.8% been out one month. We wanted to make a record that we
a worthy creator of Harry Potter, could find the ed,” Rowling says in a sit-down says she identify doctors who prescribe exces- Percentage of First Push single Settle Down, a sig- felt great about.”
Album review
Heisman formula that would transform her interview in the Scottish capital, “needed sive doses of the drugs and patients Americans use nature blend of pop-rock, ska and Spirits are high in the cavernous,
into a critically acclaimed writer of where she lives. to write” who seek multiple prescriptions from ve’ 7D dance hall, impressed critics, found a multistory photo studio where the
HHg for ‘Push and Sho
alcohol
candidate adult fiction. She appears relaxed and self- The Casual dierent doctors, said Gil Kerli- toeholdatradioandsuggeststhefour-
Linebacker Rowling isn’t relying on magic as assured during the chat this month in Vacancy, a kowske, director of the White House some still holds sway with the masses.
21.4%
v COVER STORY CONTINUES ON 2D
led Notre the release date for her adult novel, unmarked business oces she keeps novel about Oce of Drug Control Policy.
Dame to The Casual Vacancy, draws near. She in one of this city’s ubiquitous Geor- a small town In 2011, 22.5 million Americans 12 of young adults
believes her reputation for creating gian-era townhouses. in rural Eng- or older, nearly 9% of the population, 18 to 25 use illicit IDA MAE ASTUTE, AP
4-0 record; great characters and compelling sto- “I don’t think that everyone will land. It’s out said they regularly used illicit drugs drugs STYLE STAR Dennis Quaid, ALBUM REVIEW
informal sur- Manti Te’o PRESSWIRE ries will trump any spell that Harry or like the book, but I’m proud of this Thursday. such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, left, is Ralph
'UNO!' PUTS
US
Cool-girl chic: Dookie fans, welcome back to
vey of voters his mentor, the all-powerful Profes- book. I like this book. It is what it’s hallucinogens and inhalants or Lamb, the new
suggests most would sor Dumbledore, could ever conjure. meant it to be. As an author, you really abused prescription drugs, including 8.7% Maggie Gyllen-
haal was the sheri in town, paradise.
After fashioning two heady rock
consider him on ballot. 1C In her only U.S. newspaper inter-
view in advance of Thursday’s
can’t say more than that, and I don’t pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimu-
lants and sedatives.
of all Americans
use illicit drugs
epitome of laid-
back glamour in
who squares
o against
mobster
GREEN DAY operas, Green Day leaps into the mosh
pit on Uno!, a thrilling throwback to
BACK IN ITS
publication of The Casual Vacancy v COVER STORY CONTINUES ON 2A While cocaine abuse has dropped Lanvin’s color- the 1994 major-label debut that
from 2.4 million regular users in 2006 Vincent Savino
NEWS PHOTOS to 1.4 million last year, heroin abuse is 7% block silk gown
and black patent (Michael spawned the hits Basket Case,

PUNK-POP
When I Come Around and Welcome
When it comes to political
QR READER rising, the survey found. The number of Americans use sandals at the Chiklis) in
Scan with a QR reader; CBS’ new to Paradise.
ofpeoplewhoreportedregularheroin marijuana, up premiere of her The band’s ninth studio album
ATT code scanner
PRIME
use grew from 161,000 in 2007 to drama.
merchandise, Obama has edge
available at scan.mobi.
from 6.2% in 2002 film ‘Won’t arrives today as the first installment
Get codes for your 281,000 in 2011, the survey found. Back Down’ of a trilogy, with Dos! expected
business at att.com/mcode. Marijuana remains the most com- Sunday in Nov. 13 and Tré! on Jan. 15.
monly abused drug at all ages. New York. Uno! dispenses with the weight and
Gregory Korte branded stu are accounted for in Among youth, drinking and smok- GREEN DAY eeeg operatic flourishes of two ambitious

Quaid brings grit
MONTY BRINTON, CBS, VIA AP
HOME DELIVERY USA TODAY monthly filings with the Federal Elec- ing declined, but marijuana use grew Cindy Clark,
1-800-872-0001 USA TODAY
Uno! PUNK ROCK concept albums, 2004’s American
tion Commission. By that accounting, steadily since 2008, the survey found. DOWNLOAD Kill the DJ, Oh Love, Idiot and 2009’s 21st Century Break-
USATODAYSERVICE.COM WASHINGTON Supporters of Presi- Obama has ordered $6.7 million of Another study, “Monitoring the Fu- GETTY IMAGES GETTY IMAGES
Fell for You, Let Yourself Go, Nuclear Family down. Here, Green Day hurls a dozen

to glitzy ‘Vegas’ mix
dent Obama, it seems, are more likely campaign merchandise for resale. ture,” which surveys kids in eighth
to wear their political leanings on compared to $1.6 million for Romney. and 10th grades, also noted increasing 1.7% NEWS PHOTOS hot, radio-aimed grenades that reaf-

QIJFAF-02005y(N)o
©COPYRIGHT 2012 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc.
their sleeves.
The Obama campaign has bought
four times as much gear to sell to sup-
porters — T-shirts, mugs, bumper
stickers, etc. — as GOP rival Mitt Rom-
An individual’s purchase of ocial
merchandise is counted as a contribu-
tion, which could help explain why
Obama boasts a big advantage in
small-dollar donors: 48% of Obama’s
marijuana use. That study found
12.4% of eighth- and 10th-graders had
used marijuana in the previous
month, the highest rate since 2003.
“Marijuana is still bad news,” Kerli-
use painkillers
for non-medical
reasons, a
10-year low
QR READER
Scan with a QR reader;
ATT code scanner
available at scan.mobi.
Get codes for your
business at att.com/mcode.
VEGAS
CBS
eeeg
Tonight, 10 ET/PT
isfoundonhisranch,leadingthemay-
or to ask for his help and setting him
firm the band’s status as a punk-pop
powerhouse. The collection bristles
with the youthful sneer and strut
that gave Dookie its snotty charm,
but the attitude now is sharper and
on his way to becoming Sheri Lamb smarter, calibrated by experience
USA SNAPSHOTS © ney, according to a USA TODAY fundraising comes from donors giv- kowske said. Source: 2011 National Survey
Sometimes the stars align. — and CBS on its way to adding anoth- and a mature eye.
analysis of campaign-finance reports. ing $200 or less; 24% of Romney’s Just 44.8% of teens think smoking
on Drug Use and Health
USA SNAPSHOTS© The instant Dennis Quaid appears er Vegas-set procedural, one that taps Singer/guitarist Billie Joe Arm-
The campaigns are reluctant to dis- money comes from similar donors. marijuana is risky, down from 54.6% on screen as an irascible rancher into the current fascination with all strong’s thematic shift toward ev-
Cargo handled cuss their merchandising secrets. But “You might have a lot of people who in 2007, he said. Voter initiatives to le-
Earning a college ready to punch out anyone who dis- things ’60s. eryday concerns and away from politi-
in 2010 Obama for America revealed part of
its strategy in court papers in June,
JAE C. HONG AP
T-shirts, other
wouldn’t normally give a political
contribution but might buy a pen or
galize marijuana send a message that
marijuana is medicine, he said. degree in 2012-2013 turbs his cattle, you know Vegas, CBS What CBS doesn’t seem to have cal issues hasn’t tempered his temper,
goods displayed at and their star have all drawn a win- here, at least not yet, is a great drama which flares in fist-pumping anthems
In millions of tons when it sued a web site selling bumper GOP convention. bumper sticker or something like “They are getting a bad message on ning hand. The time seems right for of the Homeland/Breaking Bad varie- and even bright pop tunes.
Number of degrees expected
stickers and pins with the campaign’s that, who get swept into it that way,” marijuana,” he said. “I think that the to be awarded: Quaid to make the move ty. But it could end up with an Yet punk is merely the primer on
(Busiest ports)
trademarked “Rising Sun” logo. said Kent Cooper, a former FEC o- message that it’s medicine and should TV from film to TV, and this entertaining, refreshingly hackney- Green Day’s canvas. In an electrifying
Meaghan Burdick, the campaign’s cial who tracks money in politics. be legalized is a bad message.” PREVIEW ’60s-set drama from free series, with the crimes playing yet tightly choreographed fandango,
merchandising director, told the One of Obama’s smaller donors is Ethan Nadelmann, executive di- ROBERT
Goodfellas writer Nicho- out against a background of interest- Uno! jumps from lush, melodic love
BIANCO
court that sales are a crucial part of its Santos Crespo, who stood in line at rector of the Drug Policy Alliance, las Pileggi seems like an ing characters and flashy time-travel songs and dance tracks to raucous
South
Louisiana 236 overall strategy. Buyers of even small the Democratic National Convention which advocates legalizing marijuana ideal vehicle. casino sets. True, ’60s sets and cos- Listen Up stomps and power-pop singalongs.
purchases are put on a mailing list and in Charlotte last month with fists full and treatment over incarceration, Nor is he traveling alone. As a back- tumes didn’t do much to help NBC’s More music reviews 6-7D
Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and
Houston 227 repeatedly solicited for more dona- of $10 pins. “We’re competing against says the U.S. should focus on public up, he has a younger brother played by Playboy Club or ABC’s Pan Am survive drummer Tré Cool comb the past for
New York
tions, she said. The online store drives the Koch brothers, who are putting up health initiatives to curb drug use, re- Associate’s 937,000 Terra Nova’s Jason O’Mara, a per- last season, but sets and costumes nuggets of punk, new wave and guitar
and N.J. 139 trac to the campaign’s website, and millions. We need to raise money ev- duce overdoses and halt the spread of sonable actor who may have finally were ultimately all those shows had to rock, then inject punchy choruses and
shipments contain even more Obama ery little way we can,” he said. HIV and hepatitis. Bachelor’s 1,800,000
found a series that deserves to stay on oer. Vegas knows better. enough energy to power a bullet train.
Beaumont 77 campaign literature. Among items for sale: a $40 Obama “It’s good to see problematic use of the air. As an antagonist, he faces o Still, despite that ’60s flash, the The results, given a modern sheen by
Master’s 756,000
Long Burdick said the campaign raised 2012 grill spatula, a $12 gay pride dog alcohol and tobacco among young against a newly arrived Chicago mob- weight of Vegas falls on Quaid, and he longtime co-producer Rob Cavallo,
Beach 75 $37 million o merchandise sales in bandana and a $10 Joe Biden beer can people continuing to decline — and Doctorates1 174,700 ster — an ideally cast Michael Chiklis, carries it easily. From an early look reveal the threesome at its spastic,
2008. The average purchase was $43. holder. For Romney, items include a worth noting that this good news has who adds an air of menace without of stunned surprise to a late-show bombastic best.
Comparable figures for 2012 EVAN EILE, USA TODAY $30 silver “R” necklace, a $3 “Catho- little to nothing to do with arrests, in- allowing it to become suocating. flash of his trademark mischievous
Democratic items Edna Gundersen
Source Army Corps of Engineers haven’t been disclosed, but the cam- are sold at Char- lics for Romney” button and pink or carceration or mandatory drug Quaid stars in this fact-based dra- grin, Quaid reminds you he’s a star —
RACHEL HUGGINS AND PAUL TRAP, USA TODAY paign’s wholesale purchases of lotte convention. blue baby onesie for $20.12. testing,” Nadelmann said. 1 – Includes medical, law and other
ma as Ralph Lamb, a World War II and has been pretty much from the
professional degrees
Source National Center for military police ocer seeking a quiet moment he hit the big screen.
STATE-BY-STATE 6A MARKETPLACE TODAY 7D PUZZLES 7D USA MARKETS 6B WEATHER 12A WHAT TO WATCH 8D YOUR SAY 11A Education Statistics life outside an about-to-boom Las Don’t bet on the small screen
MICHELLE HEALY AND KARL GELLES, USA TODAY Vegas. That life changes when a body resisting.
C


How Brands Can Stay Relevant in Today's Distracted World

How Brands Can Stay Relevant in Today's Distracted World

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