Bold North: Branding Brilliance

As many of you know from posts over the years, I love Super Bowl Sunday more for what it tells us about American culture, marketing and advertising than the actual game of football.

This year is no different, although I am writing about the astonishingly great marketing that has surrounded the game, but again not because of the football – but rather the host committee of Super Bowl LII.

I first saw ‘Bold North’ on a pair of mittens worn by a volunteer spokesperson on a news clip earlier in the week. However, as the coverage continued to grow over the week, I began seeing more and more how the tag was being embraced and leveraged at every turn. I loved it more and more each time I encountered it.

I speak and present a great deal on the topic of brand and branding. “Bold North” is precisely what all marketers look for: succinct, memorable and effective.

In a recent quote in a TwinCities.com article it was shared, “A brand works when it’s a promise you can keep,” said Maureen Bausch, a longtime marketing executive and CEO of the Host Committee, a group of civic leaders that has helped coordinate Super Bowl events, from the original bid to host the big game to this week’s activities. “This is an honest definition of who we are: leaders and innovative risk takers. And yes, it’s cold here. It’s a promise you can keep.”

Read this brief article on the origins of the “North” concept and how it was married to “Bold” to create what some hope becomes the official tagline of the state of Minnesota.