Jimmy John’s:
A Brand Delivered
Author: Ed
Permalink| 6 Comments »
12 Mar 07
Witnessing a Brand in Action
At the suggestion of a lunch companion who praised their fast service and high-quality, tasty and affordable food, I recently dined for the first time at a Jimmy John’s restaurant.
The restaurant was clean and the service fast and friendly. When I smiled at the quirky humor of their “Free Smells” sign, my friend remarked, “Oh, you’ve got to visit their website.”
Delivering the Brand Promise, Literally
She went on to relate what is recognized as Jimmy John’s key differentiator: They deliver to any destination on the Purdue campus—without using motorized vehicles. Remember, this is a Big Ten campus with 40,000 students.
“They even delivered on cross-country skis when it snowed recently,” she said. As if on cue, an athletic Jimmy John’s delivery person leapt from his bike and shot inside the restaurant to collect his next order.
A Well-Branded Identity
Jimmy John’s identity supports the brand: bold, well crafted, full and meaty. Their logo makes proper use of upper and lowercase letters, spanning eleven characters in a bold yet distinctive font. Designed to function independently if need be, the logotype is unencumbered by busy integrated graphic lock-ups and therefore easily read and recognizable at great distances, unlike our most recent identity review.
Jimmy John’s distinctive “JJ” logo mark works as a stand-alone secondary element. The nostalgic graphic functions equally well as an optional accompaniment to the logotype, adding flair as well as format flexibility.
Brand Adoption
Great product, memorable messaging, solid identity, clever advertising, friendly, prompt, consistent service, and a clean and engaging atmosphere, all delivered with humor and honesty—I’ll be back. As Jimmy John says: “If one of my sandwiches doesn’t hit the spot, there’s something seriously wrong with your spot.”
In my experience, Jimmy John’s hit the spot. Their brand promise permeates everything they say and do, and how they say and do it—a case study in branding.
Can you say the same about your brand?
March 13th, 2007 at 11:33 am
I looked at the site: the little travelling photo/icon of Jimmy (he’s likely “tested” quite a number of his own sandwiches) walks a tightrope between campy, yet catchy irreverence and cheesey silliness. Overall, it does seem to work and the history of the company and its description of their sandwiches and how they’re made and delivered, “delivers” the brand. I feel sold and now want to try the restaurant myself.
March 14th, 2007 at 8:52 am
I’m sorry, but where are these lowercase letters you speak of???
March 14th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Thanks for your input.
U/L: You are correct, no lower case.
The intent was simply to convey that the JJ logotype, unlike our recent logo review, demonstrates an overall understanding (broad terms) of how and when to use uppercase, lowercase and/or small caps, etc., i.e., a grasp of appropriateness relative to a given circumstance and usage.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Hey Ed! Unbelievably, I was doing a Google search to try to find out what agency did the Jimmy John’s branding, and the page with your comments popped right up – small world. So, I’ll ask you: who did the branding? It’s spot on.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:25 am
@Jan. Hi, Jan!
JJ: I was never able to ascertain who their agency is. The only reference I found was an article about them dropping Schafer Condon Carter a couple years back.
Perhaps it’s Jimmy John himself, or perhaps I simply didn’t search for a long enough period of time. Sorry I can’t help you on this one.
Thanks for stopping by, reading, commenting…
April 18th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
actually, i was lucky enough to be on campus when the designers visited UW-Stevens Point.
its a design firm called PLANET PROPAGANDA that did the branding. offhand, i don’t know the website. probably planetpropaganda.com, but i’d google them to know for sure!