Pondering our potential mascots

The Blog

by Linda Sharps on January 25, 2007

Recently I was reading about the ad agency that came up with the original AFLAC duck campaign. It's one of those amazing marketing success stories: AFLAC went ten years struggling to figure out a way for people to remember their name, and with Kaplan Thaler's commercials their brand awareness went from 12% to 90%.

The duck was the perfect solution to their problem—who doesn't know the word AFLAC now?—and since the commercials were so memorable and entertaining, they also did a great job of drilling home the secondary message (Hey, we sell health insurance! Ask for it at work!).

Companies usually put so much effort into having their branding campaign tell a story, sometimes with huge budgets and fantastic success (Target's commercials, for example: We sell all kinds of crap! It's sparkly! We're fresh and hip and appealing to a young affluent demographic, unlike that grody old Wal-Mart!), sometimes by creating a revolting animated hunk of snot to act as company mascot (I'm looking at you, Mucinex)—it's kind of refreshing to see an ad whose main goal is simply to sear the company's name into your head. AFLAC!

Of course, that concept can be taken too far. You know, that certain product...the one that you apply…directly to your forehead?

Anyway, I was thinking about Omni's overall brand and what we're known for. We do try and create continuity in our marketing communications, but I wouldn't say we adhere to a particularly rigid brand strategy. Which is nice, in a way, because you never hear anyone in Omni's building utter the words, “Well, I don't know, that's not really on message.”

But I do think we could use a lovable, curmudgeonly talking animal of some kind. Perhaps a star-nosed mole!

Or…not.

So what do you think of, when you think of Omni? Do you think of one particular application? A style of interface design, maybe? A group of old-school Mac nerds who still have a pile of NeXT machines in the basement? Why do you like (or dislike) Omni?

Comments

When I think of Omni, I think of beautiful, easy-to-use yet feature-packed applications, along with excellent customer service.

Richard Neal

01.25.07 6:16 AM

How about some sort of gun-toting amoeba?

Wait a minute…

Paul

01.25.07 6:37 AM

One of the coolest programs to show to non-mac users is OmniGraffle. That's because it's more visual, but it clearly has what all other omni-programs have: extremely good interface design. That the rest of the program works as expected is almost obvious too.

And lately I can't get OmniPlan out of my head, but that's a different story ;)

Chris Eidhof

01.25.07 6:51 AM

The Whole Thing

Omni = whole ... I see a company that makes software for our whole lives—helping us plan, do our web research, put our thoughts in order.

Liz

01.25.07 6:52 AM

CATS—think CATS. That mole is… well, not attractive. But you have CATS…. they will help you, if you ask them nicely.

Laurie

01.25.07 6:59 AM

I love the Pet testimonials - especially the Lundehund. I also love your apps of course. They help me keep organized.

Jerk

01.25.07 7:00 AM

I once wrote a term paper on the language used within the Mac GUI. In the chapter dealing with application names I wrote something about the Omni apps. They all begin with omni, the Latin word for “all”. Of course this prefix also serves as the company name, but in addition it communicates the philosophy behind the company and the apps themselves. They're designed to be yet equipped with loads of cool features (for the pro user) but at the same time you keep them quite easy to use (for the intermediate user). So I think in essence what makes Omni great is the versatility of the software (Take OmniGraffle for example. You can use it for all kinds of stuff.) and that it appeals to (almost) everyone.

Let's see… what would be a fitting mascot..? If it ought to be an animal, you definitely should choose an omnivore.

If an inanimate object would do as well, how about an omnibus? :-D

Vince

01.25.07 8:31 AM

I think of Omni as friendly, trustworthy, fun - so the obvious talking animal would be a teddy bear! :-)

Karen

01.25.07 9:09 AM

Image-wise, The OmniGroup is a wonderful aqua-blue highlight that makes it obvious what I've selected and what I can do with it. It's that visual feedback that identifies all the Omni apps.

Oh, and rounded rectangles. Somehow rounded rectangles end up as a favorite shape in every Omni program. Often in aqua blue…

So I think The OmniGroup should be represented by aqua blue rectangles and maybe other geometric shapes!

Oh wait, you already are! D'oh!

Nik

01.25.07 9:24 AM

I was thinking about a Platypus (mammal with duck head that lays eggs) but it's already taken…. Sad, it was an all-in-one animal that fits the concept of Omni rather well :-)

Corentin

01.25.07 11:36 AM

star-nosed teddy bear?

well…

forget

Anyway I'm a big fan of platypus too.

marlouin

01.25.07 12:38 PM

When I think of Omni I think of omnipotent, meaning all powerful or able to accomplish anything. This fits nice with describing the powerful applications that Omni makes.

With this in mind I think a good mascot is Zeus, the Greek god of gods. This is my idea of the omni mascot:

http://www.nuuanu.k12.hi.us/G-1/public_html/websites/chelsea/pages/zeus.html

For what it's worth.

Sean Lynch

01.25.07 12:39 PM

Omni makes me envision the Coyote chasing the Roadrunner using some Acme product.

Terry

01.25.07 2:14 PM

How about the polar bear? It's strong, well-adapted, and looks neat to boot.

Dan

01.25.07 2:17 PM

Really, Corentin? The platypus? The only mammal so primitive is lays eggs? All relatives within the same famiily are extinct? With venemous spurs on its feet and a reptilian gait? Nocturnal and crepuscular?

Actually, that sounds about right. Especially for Joel. you're really onto something, here.

-Tom

Tom

01.25.07 4:43 PM

I think of lovely web browser that does everything I ask of it (save for two exceptions), and other applications which I know about but have yet to spend time to see if I have a use for them.

As for a mascot, because there is no animal instrumental to getting things done; just put pictures of Lotus on the boxes and lure people in with cute… or something.

Jonathan Steinert

01.25.07 5:58 PM

Now I know what crepuscular means. I too, was going to say platypus.

Are we going to be graded on this?

Joel

01.25.07 6:00 PM

Okapiâ??begins with â??Oâ??, ends with â??Iâ??; exotic and endearing relative of the giraffe; looks like several animals rolled into one; bears one offspring at a time which it hides until ready for the world; has blue tongue long enough to wash its own ears. Case closed.

coconino

01.25.07 7:25 PM

I have always liked Omni for the simplicity and thoroughness of design.

If I were to choose a mascot…why not a Cyclops? Or, specifically, just the head of a cyclops.

J. Curtis

01.25.07 11:43 PM

JK Rowling must have been thinking of one of those moles when she came up with “Nifflers”! Does OG want to be associated with money-grubbing?

I would have thought something like a flying possum ... cute, and soars through its tasks ...

Mark

01.26.07 1:09 AM

The platypus isn't the only monotreme - you can't forget the echidna!

Paul

01.26.07 7:58 AM

Animals? Everyone does animals. What should Omni Group do animals. No, I think a mascot that represents the best of all of your products AND a spokesperson as well!

Inspector Clueso

Yes, that impeccable crime fighting genius that always knows just what to do. Inspector Clueso was able to solve all of his most complex cases by have the right tools available at the time he needed them, Just like Omni's inspector panes.

That is the one feature that I always miss when I use other applications. When ever I fire up Apple's Pages application, I spend the first couple of minutes yelling at the poor implementation of such a good idea. Omni perfected the inspector pane.

Besides, Omni would have a spokesman with a French accent just like that insurance duck.

Kevin

01.26.07 12:21 PM

Now there's a t-shirt.

Grant Hutchins

01.26.07 3:42 PM

Well, your software is the opposite of crap, it's generally the best in class.

Now, get on your metaphor horse and ride over to the Loose Antonym Corral and what word do you find… um, grazing?

Eat or Eating.

When you eat, eventually, you produce crap. Since your products are the opposite of 'crap' I think of eating. (yeah its a stretch - but I'm out-of-the-box right now - let me be).

Okay, (I see I have your attention) - eating what?

Everything!

I feel like if you guys had enough time, money and cooperation from Apple you'd make everything we need to be productive and have fun with our Macs!

So what do we have? Eating… and Everything. Eating everything. Something that can eat 'everything' (or will eat anything) is an omnivore. That fits right in with your current name!

A good example of an omnivore? A duck. Okay - duck's taken… crap.

Other omnivores: Bear, Pig, Opossums, Foxes, Raccoons - and what have we here? Humans! (thanks Wikipedia!). You make Human software. Software an omnivore can use.

Ron

01.27.07 7:17 AM

When i think of Omni and its products, I get the idea of a strong Mac-centric developer who reliably creates great products. A lot of the products are the type of things that could fit snuggly in an office environment, yet still be useful for home use, as well. Since several of Omnigroup's applications are Productivity apps, they fall under the same umbrella which seems to create a particular identity.

“Hey, if OmniOutliner is so great, perhaps I should check out OmniGraffle so I can diagram my company's server network!”

Or something like that.

But what if Omni was trying to sell 20 disparate products, which no relation to each other? It might make it more difficult to cross-sell products. Adobe, has done this quite well with selling its related products in bundles and suites.

Chad

01.28.07 8:53 AM

“A group of old-school Mac nerds who still have a pile of NeXT machines in the basement?”

Yup, that pretty much nails it for me. When OS X first came out, I saw Omni as a tiny outpost of good software in Washington state. Much like Asterix and Obelix's village surrounded (but not defeated) by the Romans.

Now, with Mac marketshare rising and a million shiny new Mac apps with lickable interfaces, Omni is a tiny outpost of software that isn't just cool, but actually useful too.

Jon

01.28.07 2:02 PM

The platypus is not an odd freak of nature that survived through evolution by chance alone. The fact that all its relatives are extinct is not a sign that the platypus is not fit for survival: quite on the contrary: it's a perfect illustration that it was the only animal of its kind well adapted to survive.

It's as if you were saying: really, the human?? It's slow, can't keep warm in winter because it has lost all its hair and all the other such creatures (Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon) are extinct!! ;-))

Corentin

01.29.07 1:58 AM

Hey, star-nosed moles are cool! They can smell underwater!

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=31200

On the other hand, I have no idea who AFLAC is. And do they have a star-nosed-mole mascot? I think not. I rest my case.

Wim

01.29.07 10:03 AM

I usually see God as portrayed by Gary “The Far Side” Larson: http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=img&cs=iso88591&q=Gary+Larson+God&rys=0&itag=crv

Just keep in mind the perverting of a phrase or logo. First thing that comes to mind: It's Craptastic!™

Ralph Fontcuberta

01.29.07 11:52 AM

[...] I subscribe to the Omni Mouth for a number of reasons, one I really, really like OmniGraffle, and two, the blog might be the absolute best example of a small company blog I’ve ever seen. The writers of it have style, pizzaz, and it’s just fun. Really fun. Although, pictures of star-nosed moles really don’t belong in my news list. [...]

Rambles of a University Systems Manager » Bl

01.30.07 12:50 PM

Clearly, an Omni mascot would embody power, grace, and adaptability. I can't imagine a more appropriate animal than our Giant Pacific Octopus. No creature has more tricks up its sleeve and is more well-featured in as sleek and versatile a form (a description equally well-suited to your software). As a Seattle diver and designer, I would love to draw you an Omni-pus should you choose to go this route.

NILLIN

01.31.07 6:22 AM

I think Nillin is on to something with the many-armed (per se) octopus. I mean, Omnipus. (cough)

Ralph Fontcuberta

01.31.07 2:00 PM

May sound odd, but I thought of Nanotech. Something that is sleek, highly targeted and efficient. Working on such a specific minute detail but accomplishing such an important larger task. Liquid Metal, strong and binding. Overall design Impact and Finness!

Ryan

02.02.07 7:52 PM

I have to second the octopus idea. It was the first critter I thought of which really seems associated with the omni group. Octopi are flexible and intelligent animals. On top of that they are extremely badass. What other animal has eight semi autonomous limbs with fine motor control, is smarter than a cat (smartest invertebrate), can see the polarization of light, change color, and change shape to squeze through tiny openings. Octopi rule, and like the omni group are pretty much the coolest most effective things in their habitat.

Nick

02.08.07 6:09 AM

“Omni” either sounds like an omnipotent God - or like Space. I like the latter connotation because it signifies endless opportunities and amazing openness.

Axel

02.12.07 8:50 PM

mmm. mind like water. I know GTD and other stuff like that so well.

I look forward to OmniFocus getting closer to beta-ness, since I need it so desperately.

Have you considered mole rats? They're so under-utilized.

Danielle

02.20.07 1:11 PM

I am a bit late to the party here, but I read your post and immediately thought… Octopus. Then I read through the comments and saw that it was suggested by many. Talk about affirmation!

Andrew Theken

05.09.07 11:26 PM

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