Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Your Corporate brand identity system at work

[Updated at 3:22 p.m. ET from my iPhone. Readers are now reporting that these photo galleries have been taken down. It would be interesting to know who made that call.]

My original post: I doubt Corporate anticipated this "Thanksgiving Kitchen Hotties" photo gallery last spring, when it required the company's brand name appear on all Gannett properties.

The gallery was published by USA Today's action-sports subsidiary BNQT. In the following screenshot, my arrow points to the phrase "A Gannett Company," just below the site's logo.

One of my readers flagged the photo gallery yesterday. You can see it here -- but it's most definitely NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

BNQT (pronounced like its full name, "Banquet") has clearly gotten the memo on diversity in news coverage. Consider its Native American-inspired "gallery of Poca-Hotness."

The site is part of the fast-growing USA Today Sports Media Group. Gannett bought the company in January 2008. At the time, then-Publisher Craig Moon said: "USA Today's acquisition of Banquet is another example of the innovative ways we are trying to diversify our audience." 

22 comments:

  1. Are they all within reach? Wonder how much they charge?

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  2. Hah, 1:25!
    Speakling of Moon, Jim, why did you crop hers out?

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  3. Why don't they just be honest and go all the way: buy some porn sites. They make 10X the coin these watered-down pretenders do!

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  4. 2:21 Gannett Blog is G-rated!

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  5. I dispute that G rating. You regularly write about obscene compensation packages.

    Heh, heh -- I said "package."

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  6. Maybe corporate forgot the company owns BNQT.

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  7. I had never heard on BNQT so I went to see exactly what it was. While it may SAY it's a sports site, it's photo galleries are more like soft porn. This one celebrates cyber monday... http://www.bnqt.com/photos/album/Cyber-Monday-Hotties-Gallery/1030/

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  8. How can a GCI site, including one that's received so much praise from corporate, be NSFW? I think I'll leave it up on my screen all day and see who challenges me on it.

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  9. We're sorry, if you don't care for white chicks we don't want your clicks.

    I'm guessing that the guys behind bnqt were the ones too horny for the locker room over at PointRoll?

    Why go double entendre when you can go full entendre, baby!!

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  10. 12:23 But BNQT offer a Native American version that approaches blackface!

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  11. I've now asked the Native American Journalists Association for comment.

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  12. Jim - did BNQT take down these galleries? I clicked on your links and can no longer find them. If they are gone, this is more proof how closely corporate reads this blog!

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  13. Well, well, well. The galleries do indeed appear to be gone.

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  14. Phooey. I missed the galleries, too. Wonder if anyone's head will roll?

    Nah.

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  15. Amazing that they have been taken down - that's incredible that someone at Corporate saw it here, and made some calls, and poof. Gone. Jim, you need another headline at the top of the blog that shows that the galleries were taken down.

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  16. I'm away from my laptop right now, so I've got limited access to BNQT's site. I'll check it out later.

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  17. Yep . . . definitely gone. You can find some old pics scattered on the website, but the hotties galleries disappeared sometime this morning after about 5am ET.

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  18. We've always been click whores. This just takes it to another level.

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  19. Jim doesn't have any proof that the galleries were taken down.

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  20. There's more to the BNQT/Big G empire:
    http://www.tattoojohnny.com/flash

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  21. Another smart move that enhances Gannett's iconic image among readers, marketers and Wall Street

    Thanksgiving hotties. Really? Are Bevis & Butthead in charge of content?

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  22. Their mamas must be so proud of what their sons do at the Big G.

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Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."

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