by Derrick T Lewis | Jun 2, 2021 | Business News, Latest, Tech News |
People are saying all kinds of different things about this month’s cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline’s operations, but one thing is for sure, this attack made every American aware of their extreme dependence on a company they’ve never even heard of. Many things need to be talked about this cyberattack, but the name of the company “Colonial” pipeline became a hot debate across the country.
Of all the things that are wrong with the company and it’s name, the branding of the company and its logo is the most disturbing. It is safe to say that the company didn’t bother to do anything about it’s logo and branding since the days of the Kennedy administration while the world kept moving on and kept spending on their branding and advertisement.
Let’s talk a little bit more about the history of this company and try to scratch the reason behind the boring and outdated logo of the company and why they didn’t care about the branding of their company at all.
Shall we?
Nine oil companies in the year 1961 started a joint venture and created a pipeline. The basic purpose of this pipeline was to deliver fuel from Houston to New York without any hurdle. That was the time when marketing was not the utmost priority for companies that were not in the eyes of the public and silently doing their important work for the citizens. Therefore, the branding and naming of the company were considered irrelevant to the public.
However, there was a small private concern that the name of the company should have some relevance and hint of American gravitas, and they thought that the word “Colonial” will do the trick, and somehow it actually did. Therefore, the original and more bulky name “Suwannee Pipe Line Company” was replaced with “Colonial Pipeline” in 1962, and it’s still the same in 2021.
You might already know that back in the day, terms like “National” and “Federal” were used to express the gravity of any company or institute. So, with that logic, the word “Colonial” did just the trick as two of the states that this pipeline was going to connect are the original of the thirteen colonies. However, at the start of the sixties, “Colonial” started to sound like an outdated term, and no one was quite very happy with the name of the companies that had this word in them. It is the reason that trademark office record shows a decline of usage of the word from 0.027% to 0.007% in logos of companies.
In today’s world, this word sounds straight away bad and geriatric. People have long realized the negative connotations attached to this word, and they start to see through the strategy of the great empires to colonize the weak and oppress them, and they are calling them out in 2021. Therefore, when the cyberattack happened, and the name of the pipeline company started to make headlines, Americans were not really happy with it.
But, let’s just forget about the name of the company for a while for argument’s sake and have a look at the logo of the company. The logo of the company is its initials “CP” within a cross-sectional view of the pipeline. Given the logo trends in the sixties, it is a pretty clean and clever logo. However, if you see it now, you’ll find it strangely odd and outdated. On the contrary, different companies that had direct customer dealing or are directly relevant with the life of consumers made a lot of effort in improving their logos through their branding campaigns like that of Coca-Cola and General Electric.
So, the real question is why “Colonial Pipeline” didn’t bother to invest in the branding of the company and work on its logo or name, for that matter, until it became a controversy? The answer is simple. The company was silently doing its work, and there was no direct relation of the consumer with the company in their everyday life. Therefore, they never really cared about the need for time and changing their name or logo according to modern standards. It is safe to say that if they had to deal directly with their consumers or if they had a direct customer base, they would have changed it for good a long time ago.
If the past few weeks have revealed anything about the company, it’s that it has failed to meet the modern standards, and it’s pretty outdated. Had it been the center of the public eye, they would have worked on its name and logo and took the branding of the company more seriously.
So, if this cyberattack revealed one thing, its that the branding, especially the name and the logo of company holds a significant importance that is quite often overshadowed by window dressings.
Therefore, from now on, let’s not forget that name and the logo of any brand is the biggest representative of nature and ideology that a company represents. Let this crisis be a lesson for all of us, and may we always be able to stand on the right side of history.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
by Derrick T Lewis | May 31, 2021 | Business News, Latest, Tech News |
Delivery giant FedEx has partnered with Accion opportunity fund to launch its own E-commerce Learning Lab program.
The FedEx guided program aims to aid diverse business owners who may be trying to expand or develop e-commerce operations as a result of the pandemic.
The program will provide hands-on training from experts in the e-commerce field to 150 minority and female small business owners through the use of various workshops and other one-on-one training. These business owners will also be given free technical support to help create and or maintain any of their virtual operations or stores. These operations range from marketing and promotions to order management and fulfillment.
The chief marketing and communications officer for FedEx released a statement addressing the fact that the pandemic has impacted many small business owners, especially women and people of color. She goes on to say that this program will work to even the playing field among women and minority business owners. She also mentions that this is a perfect time to launch this project as eCommerce volumes have continued to grow. She closes by saying that the launch of the FedEx Learning Lab will help businesses meet customer needs in new ways while also providing programming that will allow businesses to effectively operate through these unpredictable times.
The program is set to run over five months starting in September. This timeline allows FedEx to support the participants of the program with holiday promotions and technical support with managing orders during the holiday.
Participants must be relatively new businesses with no online presence, and they must produce shelf-stable general merchandise or food products. The participants also cannot earn more than $500,000
CEO of the Action Opportunity, Fund Luz Urrutia, said that this program will allow for the opportunity to help bring awareness to entrepreneurs who have been going unnoticed. She also says that access to resources and opportunities will set these businesses up for future growth and generate more economic possibilities for a diverse range of businesses.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
by Derrick T Lewis | May 31, 2021 | Black Girl Magic, Business News, Latest |
The Everything legendary founders went into the shark tank with their plant-based meat products and came out with a $300,000 deal and a nationwide deal with Target. Beginning May 15th, 2021, this black-owned and operated producer of plant-based meat will be available across 13 different states at 310 Target locations.
Everything legendary released an Instagram post alerting followers of the deal with Target. In their post, the plant-based meat brand announced the 13 states that would carry their products. They also mentioned that they’re working hard to expand to additional stores, but it’s all up to the demand they receive in the first 310 stores.
Though demand for their product doesn’t seem to be an issue for Everything legendary, according to Brie Boswell, some shipments will sell out in a matter of days, all because people love the burgers so much.
The three founders, Jumoke Jackson, Duane “Myko” Cheers, and Danita Claytor, pitched their vegan brand to the sharks during the 12th season of Shark Tank. The trio finalized a deal with Mark Cuban for $300,000 in exchange for 22% of the company.
Everything legendary is taking advantage of this vegan movement by showcasing a delicious and healthy product. Co-founder Duane has shown so much confidence in their product that he believes Everything legendary has the best tasting vegan product on the market right now.
Now, this black-owned meat brand has the chance to extend to thousands of households. Everything legendary has already shown success due to their exposure on Shark Tank, as they generated $250,000 in revenue within 24 hours of being featured on Shark Tank. Now thanks to Shark Tank and their national Target deal, Everything Legendary will be available to many more people throughout the United States.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
by Derrick T Lewis | May 29, 2021 | Business News, Editorial Pick, Latest, Trending |
Minimum wages have been increasing in many states in the past several years, and one of the world’s largest restaurant franchisors is still paying it’s workers very low wages. In response, workers have recently gone on strike in select locations in an effort to obtain more adequate living wages.
These McDonald’s employees in 15 different U.S cities arranged to go on strike the day before the company’s annual shareholders meeting in an effort to be given higher wages. Specifically, the employees are asking to be paid a wage of $15 per hour.
The employees are reportedly receiving large support from a few politicians who are fighting to implement more livable wages. Both Bernie Sanders as well as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have said they will join McDonald’s employees in their strikes which are planned throughout the U.S.
Senator Bernie Saunders also released a statement saying he was proud to join the workers who are fighting against corporate greed. The Senator also made a statement encouraging McDonald’s employees, saying that when working people unite, they can’t be beaten.
There have also been several reports that many fast-food chains around the country are having trouble hiring enough workers to keep their restaurants fully staffed.
A McDonald’s spokesperson has responded to complaints of workers being underpaid by saying that it is the federal and local government’s responsibility to set the minimum wage, and they are open to any changes that need to be made for the benefit of the hardworking McDonald’s employees.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
by Derrick T Lewis | May 29, 2021 | Business News, Latest, Trending |
Two African American women Letta J and Keshia Walker, have created a niche in esports.
Playing video games like Warzone and NBA 2K isn’t just a hobby anymore. Playing video games could potentially be a full-time job. However, some issues have arisen, such as online hate speech and the access minorities have to game careers. Even ESPN has discussed race and diversity relating to esports.
Letta J and Keshia Walker indicated that hate speech has become more frequent as video game streaming has become more popular. Letta J runs Soho Gaming House in New York, and she has created a space specifically intended for women involved in esports. Letta also founded COEXIST Gaming which supports all gamers that are interested in opportunity and growth.
Keshia Walker is a gaming champion who has experienced different levels of racism and discrimination throughout her career. Keshia Walker has gone on the be the founder of Women Got Game, a popular gaming tournament intended for women.
The gaming industry is exploding with millions of fans and billions up for grabs. Walker is also tapping into the career aspects of esports and gaming. Keshia Walker also owns a collegiate gaming company known as the Black Collegiate Gaming Association (BCGA). On the BCGA website, the company says that its main goal is to create opportunities for Black college students, which will ideally lead to corporate roles with gaming or other tech industries.
Keshia Walker has also been recognized as the first African American woman to own both a gaming and collegiate esports company in the United States. Letta J and Keshia Walker have both created opportunities for African American gamers that were unavailable to them previously. According to studies, African Americans between ages 13 and 24 account for 67% – 74% of recreational gaming, although they only represent about 3% of gamers in esports leagues. For the first time, students of color have the ability to participate in fun gaming competitions with scholarships in prizes while also learning about a variety of exciting career opportunities.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
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