Brand

NEW YORK -- It's with an almost blase air that Reed Krakoff mentions his latest dabblings as president and executive creative director of Coach. Grabbing a fistful of gloves splayed on a chair outside his office, he mutters, "We have mink-lined mittens, stripes, oranges." He casually gestures over at a nearby Game Boy pouch for Holiday 2003 that has fuchsia patent leather piping. And, during a quick tour of his floor, he stops briefly to inspect a new Coach shopping bag featuring a sharp pattern of pink and blue flowers.

Finally it's spring. That means baseball, hay fever and the start of painting season. "May through September are the biggest months for paint sales," says Mark Sposito, vice president of marketing for Sherwin-Williams' Eastern Division. As temperatures rise, so do the number of home painting projects, he notes. The Sherwin-Williams paint factory on Hollins Ferry Road is operating 24 hours a day, five days a week. Soon the plant will be working around the clock on weekends as well, says plant manager Mike Levitsky.

Your article abut the Republican Party's recent exercise in self-criticism was fascinating ("GOP study: Party alienates," March 19). Apparently, Republican big-wigs refuse to recognize that it is their principles, not just their candidates, that have been rejected by a majority of Americans. As long as their party maintains positions that are anti-worker, anti-women, anti-gays and anti-immigrant, and as long as they appear to despise poor folks, suppress minority voting and oppose civil liberties, the party will continue to lose elections.

Riders used to seeing white, Connect-A-Ride buses along the G route could be confused by red and white vehicles at bus stops this week that have a CMRT logo emblazoned on the side. Central Maryland Regional Transit (formerly CTC), which manages the local bus system in Laurel and surrounding counties, has changed the bus service's logo, and the Connect-A-Ride brand is no more. CMRT officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Laurel Municipal Center April 3 to unveil the system's new logo and rolled out the first bus displaying the new design.

Beth Colley, certified expert résumé writer and career management coach of Chesapeake Resume Writing Service, will present "How to Create an Engaging and Exciting Elevator Speech," Wednesday, Jan. 19, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., at the Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber, 312 Marshall Ave., Suite 104, in Laurel. In this seminar sponsored by BWCC's Business Tools Group, learn proven strategies for promoting your brand; find out what people want and need to know quickly; capture interest and generate solid leads in 15, 30, 60 and 90 seconds; and take your elevator speech from the basement to the penthouse.

It is amazing how the Under Armour line of apparel has caught on with the school kids. I had a chance to attend grandfather's day recently and stood in the back of the room watching the kids sitting on the floor and singing. Initially, I thought all of the kids were in uniform, but when I looked more closely I was surprised to see that all the shirts bore the Under Armour logo. Also, at a recent soccer game many of the players' fathers also wore shirts with the Under Amour logo.

When the Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans last week, the team crossed a threshold for sports franchises: They joined 11 other teams in the National Football League to have won more than one Super Bowl in the 47 years the game has been played. It is a mark of distinction in sports, to be sure. But long before the Ravens became Super Bowl XLVII champions, they crossed another threshold in sports, one that can be every bit as difficult to achieve as becoming a consistent winner on the field.

Los Angeles -- Surprise, there is something genuinely new under the network TV sun.The producers are calling it the "first Third World network television show." And, visually, it's the most interesting network series since "Miami Vice." Culturally -- in its presentation of the Third World and people of color -- it's potential seems without limit compared to standard prime-time network fare.The show is called "Going to Extremes," and it debuts on ABC in September in the can't-miss time slot of 10 Tuesday night following "Coach."

There isn't much about the problems created by the brand split, or lack thereof, that hasn't been said. But as preparing for Sunday's Hell in a Cell, there have been a lot of theories floating around, and one of the prevalent ones has left me shaking my head. It doesn't directly relate to tonight's Smackdown, but it highlights one of the problems of the not-really-split split brands. Dolph Ziggler's Money in the Bank contract allows him a World Heavyweight Championship match at the time of his choosing.

"Calgon, take me away" became the catchphrase for stressed-out people everywhere during an advertising blitz for the bath products in the 1970s and 1980s. Commercials featuring haggard moms escaping to soothing bubble baths seemed to resonate with anyone who ever had a bad day. Even as the products slipped in popularity, the slogan continued to span generations of pop culture as musicians from Mariah Carey to Snoop Dogg sampled it in songs and TV shows used it as a punch line. Now, a Baltimore private equity firm hopes to make Calgon bath and lotion products once again as well-known as the iconic name itself.

Seated at a downtown coffee shop last week, Victoria Vox quickly noticed the table was wobbly and uneven. Rather than ignore the minor nuisance, the 34-year-old singer-songwriter took the newspaper she walked in with, folded up a few pages and stuck it under the table's leg. She punctuated the correction with a shrug. "I fix things," Vox said nonchalantly. Born Victoria Davitt, Vox's do-it-herself mentality has served her well since May 2003, when she quit her managerial job at New York & Company in the mall of her hometown, Green Bay, Wis. Since then, music has been her only career.

Randy Edsall has been committed to growing Maryland's brand ever since he took the job in College Park more than two years ago. The state flag was already printed across the Byrd Stadium end zones when he arrived on campus, but that wasn't enough. The football coach unveiled state flag-inspired "Maryland Pride" uniforms for his first game on the sideline and replaced the Terps moniker with Maryland on both the field and jerseys. On Saturday afternoon, he'll unveil another part of his plan.

Randy Edsall is a football coach, not a marketing guy, but he's got the lingo down. Ask him why the Maryland football team is practicing Saturday at Dunbar, and he says it's all about growing the Terps brand in this area and throughout the rest of the state, too. "What we need to do is make sure we're going out and meeting the people and being visible in the Baltimore community, rather than expecting people to come to us," he says....

Longtime Lake Clifton boys basketball coach Herman "Tree" Harried has been selected to coach in Nike's Jordan Brand Classic International Game, which is set for April 13 at the Brooklyn Nets' Barclays Center. The Jordan Brand Classic International Game consists of one game between the top U-16 players from around the world. In addition to the International Game, there will also be a Regional New York City Game and an All-American Game. In January, Harried was selected to be a member of USA Basketball's 2013-16 Developmental National Team Committee.

Your article abut the Republican Party's recent exercise in self-criticism was fascinating ("GOP study: Party alienates," March 19). Apparently, Republican big-wigs refuse to recognize that it is their principles, not just their candidates, that have been rejected by a majority of Americans. As long as their party maintains positions that are anti-worker, anti-women, anti-gays and anti-immigrant, and as long as they appear to despise poor folks, suppress minority voting and oppose civil liberties, the party will continue to lose elections.

Nike started with running shoes and Under Armour with undershirts. Both stories begin with dissatisfaction. While trying to sell a Japanese manufacturer's shoes, Phil Knight sent some to his former coach, who modified them, using, among other things, a waffle iron. Tired of undershirts that didn't dry quickly enough beneath the pads he wore as a football player, Kevin Plank set about experimenting with new materials. In 1964, Knight hawked his goods from the trunk of a car. In 1996, Plank did the same.

ALICE MARGARET BRAND on May 1, 2004, of Aston, PA; survived by her sister Marie O'Connor and brother-in-law John Matthews; several nieces and nephews and her Franciscan Community. Religious, relatives, and friends are invited to attend her Funeral Mass Thursday 11 A.M. at Assisi House, 600 Red Hill Road, Aston, PA. Interment Our Lady of Angels Cemetery. Prayer Service Thursday 9:30 A.M. followed by her viewing. Memorial Donations in Sister's memory to Franciscan Ministries Foundation, 609 S. Covenant Road, Aston, PA 19104 would be appreciated.

CLEVELAND - About five years ago, we noticed something strange on TV: commercials asking us to ask our doctors about amazing new drugs. All of a sudden, we all had allergies, and Claritin could help. Millions of American men admitted that they weren't as potent as they had hoped. Viagra sales soared. New syndromes were created: One recent commercial states that up to 17 percent of us suffer from social anxiety disorder. Not surprisingly, there's a drug for this. Pharmaceutical companies had discovered the power of advertising.

When the first customers enter Under Armour's new Brand House in Harbor East Saturday morning, they'll have little choice but to think "Baltimore. " The shirts displayed at the front of the store promote Baltimore neighborhoods such as Fells Point and Canton and sport iconic symbols like Mr. Boh. Banners next to the main entrance honor NFL great Ray Lewis and the Ravens. Swimmer Michael Phelps adorns the side of the building facing the water. Inside, there are vintage-style shirts with crabs and others showing the outline of a Raven image with famous city streets and places spelled within.

When the Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans last week, the team crossed a threshold for sports franchises: They joined 11 other teams in the National Football League to have won more than one Super Bowl in the 47 years the game has been played. It is a mark of distinction in sports, to be sure. But long before the Ravens became Super Bowl XLVII champions, they crossed another threshold in sports, one that can be every bit as difficult to achieve as becoming a consistent winner on the field.