Monthly Archives: September 2015

7 Year Brand Itch.

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LinkedIn says it’s my 7th anniversary at What’s The Idea? – so I guess it is. As someone who counsels others on brand building, it might be a good time to look back on how What’s The Idea?, as a brand, is doing.

The brand came to life as a blog while I directed marketing for Zude.com. Zude competed with Facebook in the social media/social networking space when Facebook had 18 million users. Blogging was at its infancy and blogs about branding were not at all common. That said Ad Age had a counter on the top 50 blogs, which I never broke. Some big time talent headed the list. A guy can always aspire.

I had a 1,000 hit day once, thanks to a tweet by Steve Rubel, which made it to Lifehacker, giving What’s The Idea? global relevance (for a few days). When I left Zude WTI became the name of my consultancy. It already had some equity, the name along with the words “brand consultancy” provided a good Is-Does, and it posed the question most marketers ask when strategizing about selling: “What is my focus?”

Over the 7years I’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of name-drop brands and some small lesser known brands. I love them all. My job it to help organize the brand and bring it to life. When a brand is alive, it can be liked or disliked. If the latter it can be fixed. If it just lies their like a lox, as most do, it has nowhere to go in the mind of the consumer.

So here’s too “life,” to another 7 years, and to lots more brand building for What’s The Idea? and its clients. Many thanks.

Peace.

 

 

Chicken of the Sea.

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chicken of the sea

Wikipedia explains the brand name Chicken Of The Sea thusly.

In the “old days,” fishermen referred to the white albacore tuna as “chicken of the sea.” It was called this because the white color and very mild flavor reminded them of chicken. The founder of the company thought this would be a unique name for a brand of tuna, and the Chicken of the Sea brand is now widely known in the Americas.

Chicken of the Sea is a venerable brand just about every American knows. There’s that. To jettison a well-known name at this juncture might be considered silly, but not to me. It’s time to find something with a little more positive brand value. Something that isn’t a joke punch line.

Even with Chicken of the Sea being a master brand name for salmon, clam, shrimp and mackerel, I’d lose it. Chicken of the Sea is synonymous with tunafish – which is not tuna anymore, it’s tunafish – a canned variation packed in water or oil.  The brand name has gotten old, silly and can be so much better.

It’s time for a change Thai Union Group (owner). I’m betting with a little smart brand planning, brand design and naming, you will be able to steal some share from Bumble Bee before next summer. Peace.

 

Stretch Strategies in Brand Planning.

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lucy skeletonWhen brand planning I like to see the product and brand strategy in historical perspective. It’s what I strive for. Big thinking requires looking at problems not of the moment, but from a higher, longer-term perspective. Marketers are paid to ring the cash register. Paid to transact business. Brand planners are paid to position products and services long term. Seeing what Al Reis calls the “position” requires viewing a product not up close but from afar.  So far, you may have to squint to see it. What is visible from afar is most visible.

This thinking is often what creates tension in a presentation of brand strategy to a CEO. S/he thinks of brand strategy as a tactic done once every few years prior to a new ad campaign exploratory. The tension comes from being asked to look at a brand long term, yet with a tightened focus. CEOs are great with stretch goals, but not with stretch strategies. They find them confining. Stretch strategies are only evident when looking long term.

If you were to ask Tim Cook to see his brand through a historical lens, he could do it easily. Ask the CEO of HTC and you’d get the dog’s “ball behind the back look.”

I can think of only one brand strategy I’ve worked on that has not lasted the test of time. The rest were built to last. See history me droogies.

Peace!

PS. An example: Regardless of where you stand on president Obama now, his presidency viewed from a historical perspective – policy wise – will be viewed as momentous.

 

 

Cutting Through Brand Marko-babble.

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“Brand identities create memorable distinction and differentiation in marketplaces in which meaningful functional product or service differentiation is increasingly impossible to secure. They help convey stories and meaning that assist decision-making, establish relevancy and positive disposition.”

This is a quote from a friend and really smart branding person. Someone who taught me a lot. It is true as true can be. It explains brand identity in a thoughtful, complete and rich way — yet it is a bit dense and suffers from what I call marko-babble. If you parse the sentence slowly it makes sense. It’s cogent. However, in branding circles where there is so much marko-babble quotes like this gets sucked right in.

I have worked really hard to take the marko-babble out of branding. I like to think I’ve simplified the definition and the outputs. Here are a couple of boil downs, in consumer language, for you to ponder.

A brand strategy is an “organizing principle for product, product experience and messaging.” (Some might argue product is the domain of product strategy and they would be right. But after the product is created, enhancements, extensions and evolutions need to be true to the brand strategy.)

A brand strategy is 1 claim and 3 proof (support) planks. Planks are populated by actual and future examples of what a company is great at and what consumers want most.

In sum, my branding meme is this: Branding is about claim and proof. Proof and deeds. Deeds and experiences. Strategically organized and tightly managed.

Marko-babble beware. Peace.

 

UBER brand strategy. ‘sup?

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charger strom trooper

UBER is doing a really neat promotion in NYC, tying in to the new Star Wars movie. It is making 8 Dodge Chargers, painted to look like Mattel Hot Wheels Star Wars Storm Trooper cars (white with distinctive black striping), available for free for the day, providing you use the appropriate promo code. It’s really cool for Dodge, whose cars become roving brand billboards, and it’s a nice way to get UBER some excellent pub.

The promo made me wonder though about UBER’s brand strategy. I’m not sure I know what it is at this point. And that’s often okay for a first-to-category company. Your Is-Does becomes the brand claim a la “Your Ride, On Demand.” But without a brand strategy (1 claim, 3 proof planks), it’s hard to decide if a promotion is making a deposit in the brand bank or a withdrawal.  So this seems to me a promotion for promotion’s sake, not for strategy’s sake. Though I don’t know the Dodge Charger brand strategy, I’m feeling a proximity to it with this promotion. Storm troopers charge, no?

Start-ups and category pioneers need brand strategies. VCs should encourage this. It helps everyone make decisions about product, experience and messaging. UBER should have one.

Peace.          

 

Too early for breakfast.

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There have been a number of times in my career when I’ve recommended big marketing ideas that were not approved – only to appear a few years later, often by a competitor.  

Some may grouse “better late than never,” others may rationalize the “timing wasn’t right,” but whatever your view of these opportunities missed, it’s important to learn from them. And never, never stop looking ahead for the next big one. “Too early for breakfast” and other after-the-fact bromides kill innovation. And marketing is nothing if not innovation.

I’m thinking it might be a good strategic exercise – perhaps a line in a brief – to ask yourself “What product innovation would be great for product or category growth, but maybe a little too early for its time? And why?”

I’ll try this out on my next assignment and report back as to its value.

Peace.

 

 

The Craft Economy Is Not Going Away.

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craftsmanship

What would you rather have, one really good cup of strong, aromatic, nose curling coffee or 3 cups of watered down convenience store swill? How about one beer with a lovely malt taste, not over-hopped, and a rich, clean aftertaste or 3 PBRs. Last one, a plate of pasta with fresh backyard tomatoes, skinned and deseeded, a nice touch garlic and basil, sprinkled with Locatelli or a jar of Ragu?

If you favor the former, you are an appreciator of the craft economy. Where less is more, flavor is key and, sadly, the cost may be greater. It is mass production versus batch made. I’ve written this week about the craft economy and how it’s trickling into packaged goods. And how consumers are taking on more responsibility for preparation and doing it themselves. The craft economy allows us to remove unhealthy practices, preservatives and ingredients. It allows us to take more pride in our role in health and sustainability. In the craft economy we reuse more. We create more from scratch. It takes time. And as a result we may watch less TV, be less sedentary — and learn as we develop craftsmanship. Always be learning.

The craft economy helps us appreciate each other more, ourselves more and the planet more. It’s here to stay – and for all the right reasons.

Peace.

 

On-Demand or Craft Economy?

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heathkit

When I was a kid my dad used to build electronic things. I recall him building an RDF (radio direction finder) for the boat at the dining room table. The product brand was called Heathkit. Like a piece of Ikea furniture, it came in a box with all the pieces and a nice tome of instructions. Solder this capacitor here, wire this framus there. It was early evidence of the craft economy — where craftsmanship is important.

The craft economy today is most easily understood through the lens of craft beer – a better tasting, more complex, more expensive kind of beer. Spawned by the home brewing phenomenon, it has taken a big chunk out of the mass-produced pasteurized brew business. Two days ago I posted a story about “Frozen Vs. Some Assembly Required” Meals – pointing to the craft economy as seen through a convenience lens. This morning I read a post by Sara Lacy at Pando about two start-ups: PlateJoy or Blue Apron. It’s another lesson in business tailored to the craft economy. She framed the business model as “on-demand,” I’ve scooched it into the craft economy. Either way, it’s part of our future. Check it out.

Peace.

 

 

Cause Strategy

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It may be my age, it may be my level of wisdom, it may be age….didn’t I just say that…but a great many of my strategies lately contain an undercurrent of cause marketing. It’s as if my brief also has a line that says “What about this strategy will make the world a better place?” Back in the day my briefs were more likely to have the line “What about this strategy will sell more product, faster, regardless of consequence?”

My new approach certainly is intended sell more product, but it comes in an envelope of comfortable altruism. This new found reliance on educating over selling, undergirds my strategies. “An educated consumer” as they say.

Strategies that are more cause reliant take advantage of cultural context. Cause strategies feel more human. So what do we do with Axe? How do we package Coors Light? Geico?  We do what we always do — but now we think more positively about people, planet and how our persuasion is a positive force. Bang (not a gun ban either).

Peace.

PS. For examples of cause strategies for products write steve at whatstheidea.