BRANDING X|O A Montana Perspective (PDF)

BRANDING
A Montana Perspective
ITS OFTEN SAID
WE ARE
INFORMED BY OUR
UPBRINGING AND
ENVIRONMENT
!
BRANDING - A MONTANA PERSPECTIVE WEB.key - April 29, 2014

BRANDING
A MONTANA PERSPECTIVE™!
© GREG WERNER 2014
THIS IS A PERSPECTIVE OF BRANDING FROM A DISTINCTLY
MONTANA POINT OF VIEW. MONTANA IS ALSO KNOWN BY
MANY COMMON TERMS…
THE TREASURE STATE
MONTANA
THE STATE MOTTO, UPON BECOMING A STATE

MONTANA
BIG SKY COUNTRY
1947 A.B. Guthrie novel “The Big Sky”
THE LAST BEST PLACE
MONTANA
….THIS PHRASE, MADE FAMOUS IN The Last Best Place: A
Montana Anthology WILLIAM KITTREDGE. ONCE BEING
GRANTED TRADEMARK STATUS BEFORE REVERSAL AND
BEING PLACED ‘OFF-LIMITS’ BY SPECIAL STATUS IN 2012 WITH
THE USPTO. IT WAS RULED GENERIC AND “BELONGS TO
MONTANA AND ALL MONTANANS”. The State of Montana, on
the other hand, doesn’t ‘own the mark’ because it never claimed
it, and as in the public domain, can’t prevent Montanans from
using it.

GENERIC,
COMMON
LANGUAGE
PHRASES
THESE MAY BE WELL KNOWN PHRASES DESCRIBING
MONTANA, BUT IT’S NOT _THE_ BRAND OF MONTANA. THAT
BELONGS TO ONE UNIQUE ICON, ONE UNIQUE IMAGE.
BRANDING v 1.0

TRUST EVERYONE,
BACK IN THE 1800’S, IT IS WAS SAID, …
!
BUT BRAND!
YOUR LIVESTOCK

AND THIS IS HOW IT WAS DONE
BACK THEN YOUR LIFE OFTEN DEPENDED UPON THE MARK
YOUR LIVESTOCK WORE UPON THEIR HIDES

… AND THE SAME IS TRUE TODAY.
THEY WERE DISTINCTIVE AND THEY WERE YOUR’S - IF YOU COULD KEEP
THEM. THE BRANDS ELIMINATED CONFUSION ON THE RANGE AND IN THE
MARKETPLACE. THIS ROADSIDE SIGN IN CATTLE COUNTRY REMINDS US OF
THE PAST AND PRESENT.
THEY WERE CREATED TO BE SIMPLE AND SOME HAD SIMPLE MNEMONICS
ASSOCIATED WITH THE MARKS. THE NOTABLE ONES ARE THE CIRCLE, THE
BAR, THE “FLYING” LETTER, . . . DOES ANY ONE NOTICE A MARK COMMONLY
SEEN TODAY? THAT’S RIGHT, THE CIRCLE C - IT’S THE SECOND TIME YOU’VE
SEEN THIS MARK IN THIS PRESENTATION, COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE
“COPYRIGHT MARK”.
… THE “ROCKIN’” LETTER, THE “LAZY” LETTER, THE QUARTER CIRCLE, THE
“SWINGING” LETTER, THE DIAMOND, AND YES, THE CIRCLE R IS A LEGITIMATE
BRAND TOO, PREDATING THE MARK WE ALL RECOGNIZE TODAY AS THE
“REGISTERED TRADEMARK”.

HERE ARE SOME SIMPLE BRANDS.
VISIT BOZEMAN, MONTANA TODAY AND YOU CAN VISIT THE
ROCKIN’ R BAR ON MAIN STREET - POPULAR WITH COLLEGE
STUDENTS SINCE THE 1950’S.

BUT EVEN IN THE 50’S READING BRANDS WAS BECOMING
UNKNOWN. NO NEED FOR THE “ROCKING’ WORD, IT’S ALL
THERE IN THE “ROCKIN’ R”
THEN, AS NOW, THERE WERE THOSE UP TO NO GOOD WHO
SOMETIMES FOUND THEIR PAY AT THE END OF A NOOSE

A “LAZY M”, IN THE HANDS OF A RUSTLER, COULD BECOME
A…
TWIN, OR DOUBLE-DIAMONDS. YOU COULD BE SEEN AS A
REAL FOOL IF YOU BOUGHT A HERD OF “DOUBLE-
DIAMONDS”.

THERE WERE SOME OTHER CLEVER WAYS OF USURPING A
BRAND AND MAKING A QUICK BUCK, AND ALSO TEST YOUR
LUCK

A MORE PERSONAL
VIEWPORT OF
BRANDING!
!
THROUGH
MONTANA EYES
WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO NOW IS TAKE YOU ON A MORE
PERSON VIEWPORT OF BRANDING — THROUGH MONTANA
EYES
CMR
CHARLES MARION RUSSELL
MONTANA COWBOY ARTIST
1864 - 1926
…AND IT IS WITH THIS WESTERN ARTIST, CHARLES MARION
RUSSELL. IN HIS DAY, EVERYONE IN MY BIRTH-TOWN OF
GREAT FALLS KNEW HIM AS CHARLIE. THEN, GREAT FALLS
WHERE I GREW UP WAS A SMALL TOWN WHERE MOST
PEOPLE KNEW EVERYONE.

CHARLIE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS PAINTING, BUT HE WAS A
SCULPTOR TOO. BUT AS WE WILL SEE, THERE IS A ICON OR
LOGO, IF YOU WILL, THAT MARKS HIS WORK THAT EVEN
TODAY LIVES BEYOND HIS TIME.
CHARLIE WORKED IN A LOG CABIN STUDIO THAT HE AND HIS
WIFE BUILT NEXT TO THEIR HOUS IN THE EARLY 1900’S ON
“THE EDGE OF TOWN”. NOW, OF COURSE, ITS IN THE
MIDDLE OF TOWN. MY WIFES GRANDPARENTS OWNED A
SMALL GROCERY DOWNTOWN AND USED TO DELIVER
GROCERIES TO THE RUSSELL’S IN THE TEENS AND TWENTIES.
IT IS SAID, BEHIND EVERY SUCCESSFUL MAN…

NANCY RUSSELL
… IS A WOMAN, AND NANCY COOPER RUSSELL WAS EVERY
BIT THAT — FOR YOU SEE, CHARLIE WAS HAPPY JUST DOING
HIS PAINTING AND HAD LITTLE CARE FOR “THE BUSINESS”
SIDE OF THINGS.
CHARLIE RUSSELL
IT’S AFTER THEY MEET AND MARRY THAT YOU START TO SEE
THE USE OF HIS “SKULL” BRAND AND THE “CMRUSSELL OR,
CMR…” THAT MARKS HIS WORK.

AS A YOUTH IN GREAT FALLS, I WAS SURROUNDED BY THESE
BOOKS, AND THIS PLACE…
…THE CM RUSSELL MUSEUM. ESTABLISHED IN 1953. MY
FATHER IS NOW A RETIRED ARCHITECT FROM GREAT FALLS.
HIS FIRM WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO DESIGN THREE
EXPANSIONS OF THE MUSUEM OVER HIS SIX DECADES OF
PRACTICE THAT NOW COVER A FULL CITY BLOCK.

IT WAS IN THE BOOKS AND IN THE MUSEUM THAT I BECAME
FAMILIAR WITH THE ICONIC SKULL. CHARLIE MUST HAVE
DRAWN IT THOUSANDS OF TIMES. IT BECAME THE ICON OF
HIS WORK - DOUBLY EXPRESSED HERE.

IT WAS AT THE MUSEUM THAT YOU COULD BE SURROUNDED
BY THE SCULPTURES AND THE PAINTINGS…
IT WAS AT THE MUSUEM AND IN THE BOOKS THAT I GOT
FAMILIAR WITH THESE FANTASTIC IMAGES OF A WEST THAT
WAS DISAPPEARING - THE WEST THAT CHARLIE RUSSELL
CAPTURED SO VIVIDLY. “WAITING FOR A CHINOOK”,
OFFICIALLY “THE LAST OF THE 5000”

HE VIVIDLY CAPTURED SCENES OF A WEST NOW GONE.
“IN WITHOUT KNOCKING” - ONE OF MY FAVORITES

HERE YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE WHERE HE TRUELY BRANDS HIS
WORK. CHARLIE WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF THE NUMEROUS
INDIAN TRIBES OF MONTANA. IF YOU DIDN’T LIKE INDIANS,
CHARLIE DIDN’T LIKE YOU.
CHARLIE HAD A WAY OF BEING ABLE TO CAPTURE A TIME
WITH EVERY NUANCE OF HIS MONTANA SURROUNDINGS. HE
CAPTURED THE SKY LIKE IT IS. A SKY YOU HAVE TO
EXPERIENCE FIRST HAND.

HIS LETTERS AND NOTES ARE SOME OF THE GREATEST
WORKS FOR THEIR SIMPLICITY AND THE HUMANITY THAT
THEY EXPRESS. HIS ILLUSTRATIONS SURPASSED HIS RITIN
SKILLS, BUT The RITIN’ EXPRESSED UNMATCHED SINCERITY.
YOU WILL NEVER FIND PUNCTUATION IN HIS RITIN’. HE MUST
HAVE BEEN SKETCHING DURING THAT CLASS. HERE HE SIGNS
OFF WITH THE BRAND, NOT AS WE MIGHT, WITH OUR NAME.

WOULDN’T IT HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC TO GET A NOTE LIKE
THIS.
I THINK YOU WOULD NOTICE THIS LETTER IN YOUR MAILBOX!
I WONDER HOW MANY DIDN’T GET DELIVERED AS CMR
BECAME MORE AND MORE FAMOUS.

THE TRIGG FAMILY WAS THE NEIGHBOR FAMILY AT THE
OTHER END OF THE BLOCK THAT ENDED UP WITH A
CONSIDERABLE COLLECTION OF THE ART AND WITH IT,
THIER ONLY CHILD, AN UNMARRIED LIBRARIAN, HELPED
FOUND THE MUSEUM ORGANIZATION IN 1953. IT WAS ON
THE LOT OF HER CHILDHOOD HOME THAT SHE ESTABLISHED
THE FIRST MUSEUM BUILDING WITH MY FATHER’S FIRM’S
HELP.
MY FAMILY CAN’T ESCAPE CMR’S HOLD. IN 1964 A NEW
HIGH SCHOOL OPENS IN GREAT FALLS, DESIGNED BY MY
FATHERS ARCHITECTURE FIRM - C.M. RUSSELL HIGH SCHOOL.
A CAMPUS FIT FOR A UNIVERSITY SETTING WITH A…

FIELDHOUSE TO COMPLIMENT.
THIS PLACE FIGURED HIGHLY IN MY FORMATIVE LIFE, WAS IT
CHANCE THAT THE “SKULL” BRAND AND LOGOTYPE NAME
ARE SO CENTRAL TO THE DESIGN?

THE SKULL ICON REMAINS THE ICONIC “GO-TO PLACE” AT
THE SCHOOL FOR BUILDING MEMORIES.
BRANDING v 2.0
SO LETS TRANSITION NOW TO WHAT I’LL CALL “BRANDING,
VERSION 2.0”

“Charles M Russell!
Skull Brand”
SO, WHAT DO WE DO THESE DAYS WHEN WE WANT
TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE “Charles M Russell Skull
Brand”? WE… …IT
AS A RESULT, WE’LL SEE IMAGES OR READ STORIES
LIKE THIS OF CHARLIE RUSSELL… OR

…OR WE DISCOVER ANOTHER RUSSELL BRAND WHO
HAS THE CHALLENGE OF MANAGING HIS OWN.
I MANAGE MY BRAND, AND YOU PROBABLY DO TOO.

V 1.O >>>>> V2.0
SO WE BEGIN TO SEE THAT BRANDING, IN THE OLD SENSE,
TAKES ON A NEW MEANING IN OUR AGE TO THE POINT
NOW THAT WE MANAGE OUR OWN BRAND, AS CHARLIE DID
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
TODAY, BRANDING!
IS!
EVERYTHING,
ESPECIALLY TO A
COMPANY IN
BUSINESS

WHERE YOU RANK MATTERS. HOW YOU STAND OUT
IN THE CROWD MATTERS.
BRANDING
SO, WE’VE SEEN BRANDING UNDERGO A TRANSFORMATION
OF ONE MEANING,…

WE’VE GONE!
FROM THIS
TO THIS
… TO THIS. TODAY’S BRANDING MORE THAT IDENTIFIES, IT
STRATIFIES OUR CHOICES AND DECISIONS.

THE ULTIMATE
BRAND!
COMPLIMENT &
TRIBUTE
SO, WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE BRAND COMPLIMENT AND
TRIBUTE?
IN CHARLIE RUSSELL’S CASE ITS THIS. IN TIME, WE FROM
MOVE FROM THIS…

TO THE SIMPLICITY OF THIS…
TO EXPRESSION IN THIS…

TO TEACHING WITH THIS…
TO SHARING WITH THIS - WITH ITS CENTRAL ICON,
COURTESY OF CHARLIE RUSSELL. THE ICON BINDS IT ALL
TOGETHER IN AN ITEM THAT ANYONE CAN HOLD, AND
APPRECIATE, IF THEY HAVE KNOW THE HISTORY.

THE SKULL IS AN
ENDURING ICON OF
A TIME GONE BY
THANKS CHARLIE
65

FOR MORE
INFORMATION
http://www.CMRussell.org!
http://www.charlesmarionrussell.com/
museum.html

BRANDING X|O A Montana Perspective (PDF)

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