At the End of World Cup 2010, the Most Memorable Brand Image...

Presuming that you haven't been staying in South Africa for the past several weeks, what will the world (and you) remember as the brand-mark of this great World Cup series? The FIFA-copyrighted “Zakumi?” Or the amazing, colorful, noisy vuvuzela?

When it comes to judgment calls, you won't find me blowing my own horn. (But let's hear it for the loud voice of the masses, eh?)

Go, Otters!

Thirty years ago, a US president was attacked by a swamp rabbit. After three decades, I can understand that this famous-at-the-time Jimmy Carter incident wouldn’t be top of mind. It did float to the top of mine, though, because of another news item making its way round the Worldwide Web right now.

“Woman says she was bitten repeated by otters” – that’s been the usual headline. Why this story, about an Austrian vacationer (Brigitte France) gnawed on by two, possibly three otters while swimming in a Wisconsin lake, is news is beyond me.

Still, I couldn’t resist Googling “Otters, advertising.” The first thing that came up was the Erie Otters. Unbelievable, really. In Houston, I suddenly remember there’s an American Hockey League team called the Aeros. Despite winning seasons, I scarcely think of it.

Now there’s this logo – this thing – staring me in the face. It’s the “primary logo” of the Erie Otters of Erie, PA, in use since 1997. This is the team (brand) mascot, Shooter.

Shooter the Otter is supposed to be wearing a “home jersey,” though the animal looks topless to me. (Really, how would I know? I can barely recall going to a Minnesota North Stars game or two when I lived in Minneapolis.) The team is now in its 13th season – it was founded in ’96 and is part of the Ontario Hockey League.

This otter’s not alone in the OHL. There’re Greyhounds (Sault Ste Marie) and Wolves (Sudbury), IceDogs (Niagara) and Bulls (Belleville). The Ontario Hockey League features 20 teams, but the Otters, Plymouth Whalers and Saginaw Spirit are the only League members based in the United States. The Otters play the IceDogs at Tullio Arena on August 29th, BTW.

Like most sports franchises today (including hockey), the Otters have a fine marketing engine – at least it looks comprehensive from this distance. Aggressive branding. Involving website that includes programs for fans of all ages, plenty of news, statistics and shopping. Facebook pages for loyal fans...and the franchise actively Twitters. Shooter’s team is wrapping its stakeholders up in a great big otter hug and, with a premium single-game ticket costing just $14.50, it’s way more affordable than big-market teams can deliver. I’m certain Shooter will be optioned by Disney soon.

Meanwhile, there’s a marketing opportunity for Shooter’s franchise: Make certain that the Austrian woman and her husband spend their next US holiday in Erie, PA, as a guest of the team. Go, Otters!

Happy Swiss!

Although it wasn’t the reason I got a phone call from Peter Thoma in Rorschach, Switzerland, the first thing out of his mouth was, “We won!”

I said, in my best Schweiz-Deutsch, “Huh?”

Peter (Chairman of Swiss advertising agency ET&H and a long-time colleague) patiently explained that the Swiss yacht had won the America’s Cup: “Alinghi won the 32nd America's Cup 5-2 against Team New Zealand on Tuesday, in a regatta widely hailed as the most exciting in recent history,” according to TVNZ.

For those less up-to-the-minute than Peter and the rest of Switzerland, Alinghi is the name of the really quite gorgeous boat, and the defending yacht club, established in the Year 0, is Société Nautique de Genève.

With its first victory in the Year 3, Alinghi brought the America’s Cup back to Europe for the first time in 152 years. It looks like the Cup’s going to stay there. In Switzerland – that well-known yachting nation.

Sports promoters take note: UBS and other Swiss sponsors are going to make a killing over this, PR-wise. Und so, Peter, Glückwünsche zu alles!