Branding Blog

The Cutting Edge of Care

I had the privilege of attending a fund-raising breakfast for the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal this week. Guest speaker was New Zealander, Chris Liddell, Chief Financial Officer for Microsoft.

Chris spoke of the importance of philanthropy and of course, the effects of the world recession. But that’s not what got my attention. Our table was hosted by Paul, a Salvation Army officer and he talked about how he headed their drugs and alcohol abuse efforts. The issue here is the devastating trail an abuser leaves with family and friends. However, strictly from a marketing view-point I was compelled by Paul’s explanation how the Sallies are constantly looking for the next big thing! You see, drug and alcohol abuse is unfortunately a large business - there are now many organisations assisting with the issue - when that becomes the case it often becomes time for the Sallies to move some/all of their resources to that “next big thing” that perhaps isn’t getting the attention and the care required from other agencies.

I liken that brand positioning approach to Daniel Lamarre’s quote, President of Cirque du Soleil when he said, “Every time we come to a comfort zone, we will find a way out!”

Paul’s comments certainly made me reposition one of the world’s most recognised brands; the Salvation Army’s brand - an organisation at the cutting edge of care.     

Tough times don't last but tough brands do

We're getting great results from an adaptation of our highly successful Brandmap workshops… our new half day workshops focus on how to take advantage of these financially tough times.

The first thing I would do in a crisis period is to appoint a cost reduction task force, to develop a recession business plan. Please don't let it be only in the hands of the finance department. They will cut everything that counts - and tell you to stop marketing, when marketing is the only prop that you can turn to, to sustain demand.
   - Philip Kotler, Kotler Marketing Group

While everyone else stops spending, stops employing and stops brand building, how does your company leap ahead and grab market share that was previously too hard to get?

In a client's own 4-6 hour workshop, we use our Degrees of Focus© model to work out the position of your brand and where it can get to during the next year of turmoil. We discuss how your brands or overall business can move to a higher degree of positioning that will improve your emotional connection to your consumers. The workshops also spend time testing industry norms and they look to new ways of doing things – nothing is taken for granted – "if it ain't broke, we'll break it." We spend time brainstorming closer customer relationships and New Media phenomenon's that could revolutionise the way you do business.

Clients walk away from this tailored workshop with techniques to assert a stronger connection with their consumer and an action plan for tough times from analysing revenue and developing new streams of income. Call me for more information.

The Importance of Positioning Pillars

Having just completed a Brandmap for a large shoe retailer and a Communications Proposal for an up and coming car manufacturer, it was interesting to see the similarities in their situations! The shoe retailer placed a lot of emphasis on price and range and the car manufacturer focuses on features like value for money, fuel economy and safety. Both businesses could see that a higher, more emotive level of positioning was advantageous but both were also concerned about giving up their current attributes. The truth is that most of those lower level positioning elements are mandatory – most consumers seek value, quality and safety etc. We can't neglect attention to those core elements or take them for granted but because many of the competition in the retail market or car industry or FMCG markets or banking realise that to, they are not often fruitful grounds for sustainable distinctive positioning.

So, in order to have a unique position we'd prefer to position a brand, not on mere features and benefits, but on consumer experience and company attitude facets. Regardless of the degrees of focus© we strive for in a brand, we must not forget, what I call, our Positioning Pillars – the foundations for the brand. And of course without a strong foundation we can't hope to support a higher, more emotional, more connected position for our brand. The point of this blog is to remind marketers that YES OF COURSE we should retain references to price, value, range and safety because they are Positioning Pillars but if we can deliver the message in a more emotive manner we'll get a stronger emotional connection to our consumer.

Branding and advertising doesn't have to be clever or esoteric to be successful but one of its fundamental jobs is to make the brand's Positioning Pillars relevant and distinctive from the competitors.

Degrees of Focus in Sport

A few months before the Olympics I saw a TV news report that intrigued me. It was about New Zealand professional racing cyclist, Hayden Roulston. I knew that Hayden had battled with health and social issues but was now on a strong rebuilding path. In the brief interview he was quick to point out that while his PHYSICAL and MENTAL preparation had to be at their peak he was now working on higher levels of engagement. He was experimenting with alternative remedies and working on his EMOTIONAL and SPIRITUAL states.

I was quick to write down his comments, for his preparation structure parallels Wasabi's Degrees of Focus© model which we use to define a brand's mana and develop a highly level of positioning. The further around the Degrees of Focus' dial that we can position a brand, the greater the emotional connection we have with that brand's consumer.

We all know the lengths successful teams like the All Blacks or Team New Zealand go to find the edge over the competition. It's not just about physical fitness and technique – to be at the top of your game you have to deal to your emotional and spiritual states, just like a brand needs to develop its experiential and attitudinal degrees. Read more on Degrees of Focus here.

Hayden went on to win the silver medal in the men's 4000m individual pursuit and a bronze medal in the men's 4000m team pursuit at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Defining a Brand’s Soul

I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend with Christian Pol Roger and his family many years ago in Epernay, France. Back then I was the brand manager for Pol Roger Champagne in New Zealand. It was quintessential rural France – among the rolling hillsides and rivers nestle vineyards planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, the grape varieties from which the most famous of celebratory wines is derived: Champagne.

Before settling in to a magnificent Sunday Roast at the family mansion, Christian took me for a morning drive through the countryside in his vintage Citroen. He planned the educational excursion well – we passed the elaborate large complexes of Moët et Chandon and Veuve Clicquot and other Champagne houses in Reims before returning to the more romantic village of Pol Roger's home and as we drove back to the estate's courtyard, Christian says, "You know Phil, if Reims is the Heart of Champagne then Epernay is the Soul."

That one sentence left a lasting impression on me early on in my marketing career. Christian had driven home that the product is important but the consumer experience and brand perception is far more potent. Christian Pol Roger's presumably well practiced line squarely positioned his brand apart from the larger marquees and looked to put the brand in a unique personalised space in mine and other consumers minds. That's why defining and developing a brand's mana or essence is vital to a greater emotional connection to consumers which can only lead to a more successful brand.

What Every Good Marketer Knows

Seth Godin published this list three years ago; which was very much a riff, not a carefully planned manifesto. As he says, it still holds up well…

• Anticipated, personal and relevant advertising always does better than unsolicited junk.
• Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.
• Your best customers are worth far more than your average customers.
• Share of wallet is easier, more profitable and ultimately more effective a measure than share of market.
• Marketing begins before the product is created.
• Advertising is just a symptom, a tactic. Marketing is about far more than that.
• Low price is a great way to sell a commodity. That's not marketing, though, that's efficiency.
• Conversations among the members of your marketplace happen whether you like it or not. Good marketing encourages the right sort of conversations.
• Products that are remarkable get talked about.
• Marketing is the way your people answer the phone, the typesetting on your bills and your returns policy.
• You can't fool all the people, not even most of the time. And people, once unfooled, talk about the experience.
• If you are marketing from a fairly static annual budget, you're viewing marketing as an expense. Good marketers realize that it is an investment.
• People don't buy what they need. They buy what they want.
• You're not in charge. And your prospects don't care about you.
• What people want is the extra, the emotional bonus they get when they buy something they love.
• Business to business marketing is just marketing to consumers who happen to have a corporation to pay for what they buy.
• Traditional ways of interrupting consumers (TV ads, trade show booths, junk mail) are losing their cost-effectiveness. At the same time, new ways of spreading ideas (blogs, permission-based RSS information, consumer fan clubs) are quickly proving how well they work.
• People all over the world, and of every income level, respond to marketing that promises and delivers basic human wants.
• Good marketers tell a story.
• People are selfish, lazy, uninformed and impatient. Start with that and you'll be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
• Marketing that works is marketing that people choose to notice.
• Effective stories match the worldview of the people you are telling the story to.
• Choose your customers. Fire the ones that hurt your ability to deliver the right story to the others.
• A product for everyone rarely reaches much of anyone.
• Living and breathing an authentic story is the best way to survive in an conversation-rich world.
• Marketers are responsible for the side effects their products cause.
• Reminding the consumer of a story they know and trust is a powerful shortcut.
• Good marketers measure.
• Marketing is not an emergency. It's a planned, thoughtful exercise that started a long time ago and doesn't end until you're done.
• One disappointed customer is worth ten delighted ones.

My gym doesn’t love me anymore

I joined BodyTech in Mt Eden, Auckland, some 8 years ago; right at their inception. I was wooed by their genuine personal approach, great equipment and fitness plans; and all without the gym-bunny bullshit of other gyms. I had an overall objective to get and stay fit – and the Bodytech instructors promised personalised assistance and an encouraging attitude, so I signed up.

I still feel positive about the Bodytech brand – it's a great gym experience – I'm proud they're prospered, moved to new and bigger premises, added saunas and pools and spas… but what started out as a very personal experience is now just a sophisticated experience.

I haven't been for 7 weeks (I blame that on work) – In the early days I would have had an encouraging phone call by now enquiring where I'm at. I'm still paying my monthly fees by automatic payment. They happily take my money but show no obligation to see me maintain my fitness objective – surely that's what I'm paying them for. But my gym doesn't love me anymore!

Seth Godin writes in his renowned book, Permission Marketing, about an experience he had with his favourite picture framing shop. A friend informed him that he'd received a good discount from the same shop on his first visit while Seth was always paying the rate-card price – Seth felt portrayed – his ongoing loyalty was worth less to the shop owner than a new customer. That's how Bodytech makes me feel – the genuine interest in my fitness and well-being has been replaced with sophistication and a coldness – just look at the new website www.bodytech.co.nz

Just like any service business the marketing cost of finding a new customer/member must be high – say $150+. It's certainly a lot higher than the cost of retaining me as a member year after year – a phone call is all it would take for Bodytech to show me they do still care and that we have the same objectives in mind – to keep me fit and healthy. Even an automated reminder email sent to me, based on the fact I haven't electronically swiped at the gym entry for 7 weeks, would have told me that at least their computer hasn't forgotton me.

Great gym's aren't about equipment and instructors and running with optimum member numbers; their real goal is to make us feel great – they need to work on a higher level of brand positioning that embraces this consumer experience and emotion - and show us some love!

Authentic roots or national lager

Original Ale and Celtic Beer is one thing but New Zealand Lager must have the early Monteith's brewers squirming. I love Monteith's branding and I love the product. As the brand manager, I worked on Monteith's from the heartland when I took it from a West Coast oddity in the DB line up to a true specialised alternate brown beer. Back then we proposed launching it in an eloquent screen-printed bottle as a boutique - that was turned down because of a 'national brand strategy' – oh how things have changed.

My issue is that the people at DB Breweries (Monteith's owners) have gone from focus to greed. The brand seems to have done well as a 'mass-boutique', positioning on its authentic West Coast origins and its crafting of a very likable beer range. Now they've launched 'Monteith's New Zealand Lager' and all of a sudden the brand focus is shifted from authentic west coast to premium national lager, including jumping on the naturally brewed band-wagon!

The brand gurus are quick to point to big brand disasters after the fact but slow to predict mistakes before they happen. Well I predict this latest addition to the Monteith's family won't work because it's not focused on the brand's core success factors.

It's not in sync with the brand's mana of authentic crafting of real beers. The new billboards and glossy magazine adverts even highlight the international medal haul; dragging this product further from its focus. I suspect that the large budget mass media campaign, which Monteith's hasn't had to resort to before, is more about a strategic pincher move at Steinlager's Pure campaign than an honest line extension. I just doubt that any short term gains will outweigh the long term degradation in Monteith's brand mana.

Delivering Emotion in a Star Brand

OK, this blog is meant to be strictly about branding from a New Zealand viewpoint. BUT I can't help but post the following video… If a brand can deliver this sort of emotion then it is already a Star. Look to ways for your brand and its communication to connect to its audience with emotional marketing like Paul Potts does.

Britain's got Talent is a UK talent quest TV show featuring none other than Simon Cowell as a judge.

And to find out what happened next click here.
And then you'll just have to click here to see the final outcome. Priceless.

And while we are doing the emotional thing, take a look at Connie as well. Enough said.

iPhone Hot or Not?

Launched on 30th June to an eager US market, Apple aims to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008, which would amount to a 1 percent share of the global market.

Not bad for a new entrant with a high priced phone aimed at affluent trend-setters. If you read all the negative reviews regarding phone quality, touch-pad screen, battery life, wireless speed etc then you'd soon consider that it may not be something you'll fork out US$500 (NZ$650) for the base model. But lets take a brief look at its pros and cons from a brand view point... 

A Spectacular Failure?

I particularly like Al Ries argument for failure. He points to an iPhone as a convergence device; compared to the iPod which is a divergence device. "In the high-tech world, divergence devices have been spectacular successes. But convergence devices, for the most part, have been spectacular failures." comments Ries.

How many of us watch TV or recorded movies on our mobile phone - very few; that's convergent product development. The real action in the TV market is the booming market for divergence products such as wide-screen LCD TVs.

A convergent James Bond do-it-all watch is reality now but we tend to choose specialist devices that do things well rather than one device doing many things poorly.

iPhone is not first in its category. Feature and benefit wise it offers nothing new over competitors. One of our core principals is 'narrow the focus to build the brand'; it certainly isn't doing that - it does everything (with critics saying that even its phone audibility is poor - you'd think that the quality of that component would be fundamental!).

Or a Runaway Success?

For all of these criticisms and despite the fact that some will prove valid, the iPhone will be a runaway success.

The Apple brand has developed from computers to music players and to mobile phones because it's known for "cool thinking".

Applying our 'Degrees of Focus' model, Apple is not confined to being a computer brand because its reputation is not based on 'what it does' (computing), but 'how it goes about it' (cool thinking). This powerful Apple attitude transcends 'features & benefits' and allows it to offer a broad range of products that deliver on its "cool thinking" reputation.

Apple are unleashing a mobile phone that will succeed because it looks great, it taps into an ever growing and improving mobile world, it's an original, it's a badge, because it creates passion-beyond-logic, because it's cool, because its Apple.

It may not be first in its category but before it was even launched it was first in mind. Apple aren't asking for global phone domination - they're targeting 1% within 18 months. Even if half the product shortcomings bear true, it will be a success - because this is not about a multi-featured phone, its about buying in to the culture and authenticity of an Apple.