Yahoo’s acquisition of Tumblr may be dominating Internet Week news, but close on its heels is the newly announced merger between Seamless and GrubHub—two food delivery companies that target the same audience with a seemingly indistinguishable value proposition.

Two weeks ago, we evaluated the two brands and their ability to use creative expression to differentiate where they cannot through functionality alone in our post Subway Standoff: Using Brand Voice to Stand Out, One Train Car Ad at a Time.

GrubHub is the burly, unexpected, anything-for-a-laugh comedian. Seamless is the refined older sibling who knows everything about you, but refrains from judgment. It comes down to a matter of taste—literally (the restaurants you’re connected to) and figuratively (the brands’ personality and marketing style).

Today, the companies announced their intent to merge, bringing together their technological capabilities, and broadening their restaurant access and domestic and international presence. The merger would also enable the two companies to trounce up-and-comers like Delivery.com and Eat24.

From a business perspective, the decision makes perfect sense, and consumers who toggle between the two will rejoice in the new simplicity, and, ahem, seamlessness.

But it poses an interesting question—what will happen to these two, well-formed brands? Will they veer in one direction over another, try to bring them together (SeamlessHub, anyone?) or create a new brand entirely?

In our last post, we argued that by tapping into the desires and trends of its target audience, Seamless has created a more compelling expression—one that may ultimately connect users to the brand beyond the moments they spend using the service.

However, both brands are successful, and part of what makes them so is their commitment to a central idea, weaving it through their name, visual identity, and voice and messaging. If, in coming together, they try to be everything to all people, the new, consolidated brand might lose it’s way, failing to be something special to anyone.

This is only just beginning to unfurl. We’ll be watching, observing, and sharing our thoughts, but we want to hear from you, too. What do you think should happen? Should one brand remain strong, or will a hybrid identity emerge?

Comment below and tweet to us at @Interbrand with #Seamless #GrubHub #IWNY.

Darcy Newell is a Consultant in Verbal Identity for Interbrand New York.

Mary Hirsch wrote, “Humor is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood.” With pins shaped like swords, Interbrand London cut out jargon, celebrated rapier wit and proved excellent at swordplay.

The Verbal Identity team creates workshops for clients with expertise and passion, but found it had been some time since they’d directed that love of language to building a workshop for themselves. As the Swordplay event took shape, in an anti-silo, breaking down barriers of specialty move, the team opened the invitation to participate to the whole of Interbrand London.

Bringing in favorite pieces of writing from song lyrics to poems and comics to famous quotes, participants shared what resonated with them and the words that get stuck in their heads. Playing with words in words, such as lust in lackluster or rue in accrue, rewriting film dialogue and thinking about how very little changes can have big impact on meaning, the Swordplayers enjoyed the fun of language and felt the power of each word choice we make.

Laura Tarbox, Strategy Consultant, said, “Like a ‘Magic Eye’ of language, the Swordplay workshop gave me a new perspective on life, ideas and language, revealing and bringing into focus the hidden heart of words like a true love that’s been right under your nose all along.” Lesley Stuart-Jones, Client Manager adds, “Insightful and inspiring – fun too!! We should do more sessions like this!”

Looking at paragraphs of business jargon, Sworplayers discussed how challenging jargon makes what could be simple copy to understand and its stark lack of joyous words. Taking sword pens in hand, it was time to stake out the jargon. Rewriting the copy it was clear that a few words could easily replace a paragraph of jargon, serving as a powerful reminder of the traps all writers should avoid.

Cat Totty, Senior Consultant Writer, shared that the conversations sparked interesting questions on a business level. To the question “If clients speak formally, do we need to mirror?” Totty stresses authenticity and advises, “Don’t be a chameleon. Be your professional self.”

Plans are in the works for more innovative Swordplay workshops at Interbrand London, and to explore different practice areas. Sandy Jones, Client Management Intern commented, “I found it was a really creative concept, and very well planned from top to bottom. It was obviously really well prepared, especially when we were presented with words we chose at the end of the session, that was a really good touch.”

“I found it especially beneficial to analyse the ‘jargon’ ridden text examples, and identify what is truly necessary when speaking with clients or other members of staff,” Jones says. “We tend to use 20 words when 10 will do, and changing that attitude would go a long way to making work-related communication more relevant. I think everyone was really open to the concept of the exercise because it was really enjoyable but perhaps most importantly inspiring.”

Joanna Jenkins, Senior Client Director, agrees, “Really got the creative verbal juices flowing. And forces the mind to look at words differently to get the most from them. Great hosts too!” Michael Quirke, Consultant Writer, concludes, “Beautifully simple and, later, even life-affirming – really enjoyed it.”

For the full Swordplay workshop photo album, please visit us on Facebook.

With every new medium comes a new opportunity to express your brand. We know this, but it’s often the case that some mediums are simply overlooked or not considered because they don’t fit the expected mold of brand expression.

Recently, a brand born in and of the digital age reminds us that brands can (and should) truly express their brand voice at every touchpoint. The touchpoint in question? The updates page of the iPhone app store. The brand? Spotify.

After a long-fought battle with the Big 3 (Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music Group), and a huge launch in the United States, (they can now boast 6 million paid customers and 24 million active users worldwide) the pressure is on for Spotify to develop and execute on a great brand experience. And while the jury’s still out as to whether they have a lucrative (or even sustainable) business model, they have taken steps to make sure at least their personality is alive in every touchpoint.

Rather than talking about “bug fixes and stability improvement,” Spotify says, “No more pesky crashes when you skip in radio.” They add fun pieces about how their “app is reverse-engineered using alien technology.” Necessary? No. Genuine? Yes. Differentiating? You bet. It’s how and where they their personality it that sets them apart.

Spotify’s also not the first to do it. AT&T didn’t want to push out some generic roaming message, so they tweaked it to be friendly and on voice: “Welcome abroad! To call back to the U.S., dial +1 followed by 10-digit number.” Firefox knew they needed to be Internet Explorer’s hip sibling, so they added some spunk to their error message page: “Well, this is embarrassing.”

As Jez Frampton, Interbrand's Global CEO, says, brands “live, they move, and develop on a day to day basis.” As new mediums and channels are also developed, brands have to think about how they want to utilize them to differentiate, engage with their audience, and tell the world who they are.

Any other brands doing it well? Tell us in the comments here, in our Facebook community, on LinkedIn or on Twitter with #NewBrandSpaces.

Tom Shanahan is Associate Consultant, Verbal Identity, Interbrand New York.

If you’ve visited New York City recently, you may have enjoyed the latest batch of clever subway advertisements. You may have also noticed a competition heating up between food delivery providers Seamless and GrubHub. The brands use the same real estate, target the same audience (digitally savvy consumers that love brands that make their lives easier) and tout a seemingly indistinguishable value proposition.

It’s in the creative expression of their brand messaging and voice that they differentiate, showing who they are and what they do for customers. But who will win?

GrubHub delights in the shock and awe, pairing busy scenes of cartoonish, debaucherous figures with casual, flippant headlines. GrubHub’s key message is functional, we’ll feed you the food you love. Often, though, the brand’s heavy-handed use of farce obscures that message.

One ad, for example, shows a scuba diver following a fish. The scuba diver says “sushi!”; the fish says, “S#!t,” an unusually transparent grawlix. Another shows a hotdog presenting flowers to a bun. The bun thinks, “Hope he brought condiments, too.” The headline pushes it over the edge: “You’ll want to do it again and again.” In these scenes, actual information about GrubHub is often buried in the chaos, suggesting the ads’ intent is to make consumers laugh first and share the message second.

Seamless, on the other hand, takes a subtler approach with its wit, adopting a conversational, but polished voice, making it an equally hip choice. It’s in messaging that the brand truly shines.

Seamless connects communications to a human emotion or desire, which are often semi-subversive, such as the desire to be anti-social: “You joined a ‘meetup’ for people who loathe calling restaurants.” Playing on a digital trend, like checking in on Foursquare: “Your delivery guy’s 246th check-in ousted you as ‘Mayor’ of your own apartment.” The brand emphasizes that it understands and accepts customers, giving permission for them to stay just the way they are—and keep ordering takeout, of course.

Both try to establish common ground through the use of humor. Where GrubHub is making a joke, Seamless shows that they are in on it, keying into their customers’ sense of humor, but also their lives, frustrations and desires. In this sense, the brand lives up to its name: giving customers motivation and information then getting out of the way.

Darcy Newell is a Consultant in Verbal Identity for Interbrand New York.

LSG Sky Chefs, an international brand known for its airline catering, galley equipment and in-flight management, called upon Interbrand Hamburg to help develop Spiriant into an autonomous brand. After conducting market research and analyzing the scope of its in-flight equipment business in relation to its total offerings, it was clear there was great potential for an independent brand.

Under the flagship LSG Sky Chefs brand, the company’s in-flight equipment has won the Crystal Cabin Award, the Observeur du Design Award, the red dot: best of the best award and the Gold Mercury Award. As LSG Sky Chefs expands its portfolio of food management, onboard retail management, supply chain management and operations management to include lounge and train services, as well as school and hospital catering, Spiriant will carry on its award-winning tradition of in-flight product and equipment design.

Spiriant provides the Enlight product line, an eco-friendly series of lightweight, compact and durable porcelain tableware, trays and sugarcane tableware and meal boxes. The brand also provides a line of natural toiletries, linens, 100% cotton hot towels and ergonomic galley equipment.

To differentiate the newly independent Spiriant, Interbrand Hamburg created a verbal and visual identity for the brand. "The name and the slogan Spiriant bring 'Where Inspiration meets Performance' brand promise to the point," said Richard Veit, Managing Director of Interbrand Hamburg.

Combining the essences of innovation, inspiration and initiative, the name expresses Spiriant’s work and vision for the future. The logo, incorporating a soft ampersand symbol (&) and plus sign (+) conveys the value proposition of Spiriant: creating value through the combination of emotion & function, design & technology and inspiration & performance. The secondary design element playfully embodies Spiriant’s creative process with its clients, personalizing work to meet individual needs.

Erdmann Rauer, LSG Sky Chefs, Sales Director noted, "The introduction of Spiriant underlines our intention to invest in the equipment activities even more. With more than 20 years experience in this business, we have the product knowledge, a qualified supplier base and the purchasing power to tap the existing market potential further."

Amy Edel-Vaughn is Interbrand's Community Manager.