Branding in a campaign can either be visual or textual. Our communication campaign in Vietnam was dubbed, “Three Reductions, Three Gains” (Ba Giam, Ba Tang, in Vietnamese) which encouraged rice farmers to reduce three agricultural inputs (seed rate, nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides) in order to gain three benefits (high income, better grain quality, high yield). Additional practices were subsequently included in Ba Giam, Ba Tang, particularly, water saving and postharvest which led our partners to change the brand to Five Reductions. However, Vietnam’s Agriculture Minister, Dr. Cao Duc Phat, advised his staff to retain the brand as Three Reductions has demonstrated its impact and it is associated with a bumper crop. Evidently, the memorability of Ba Giam, Ba Tang has carved a niche in the Agriculture Minister’s mind.

Three Reductions, Three Gains poster

Three Reductions, Three Gains poster

In UNDP Brazil’s communication campaign to create nationwide awareness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a single message was chosen to unite the campaign: “”8 ways to change the world. Yes we can.” The campaign was known by its Portuguese tagline, Nos Podemos. The campaign committee started by visually branding the Nos Podemos campaign. Bold and colorful logos were designed by McCann Erickson, a global advertising firm. They also placed the MDG logos on supermarket bags which was seen by millions of Brazilians.  The MDG logos were designed to ensure easy recognition and convey the issue without using words. A campaign website posted under the Nós Podemos brand, www.nospodemos.org.br, is a portal to materials, ways to get involved and information on the MDGs.

According to the campaign report, the logos which were used constantly “attracted much attention and contributed to a self-perpetuating cycle of expanding publicity and new partnerships.  The campaign received so many requests to use the logos that it made them widely available and translated them into English and Spanish.”

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