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    Is-Does

    Clear Idea.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    Robert Scoble has a question he asks every interviewee for his video blogs: “Who are you?” Answers always included name and title, but as Mr. Scoble mostly interviews heads of start-ups, many of which are somewhat anonymous, the “Who are You?” question also elicits a brief boil down of the product or service.

    If asked “Who Are Your?” my response would be Steve Poppe, brand planner. If speaking to people unfamiliar with brand strategy and brand planning I’d expand it with “I develop brand strategies that guide product development, customer experience and messaging.” 

    In my branding practice, nothing starts until we identify the product Is-Does. What a product Is and what a product Does. It’s branding 101. If the Is and the Does are not clear from the get-go you have a brand strategy problem. The Is-Does is mostly a functional description. It may not seem like a hard task, but it can be. Especially with first-of-a-kind products or services. It can also be hard for products with layered value propositions and for products in mature product categories introducing a new wrinkle or feature.

    David Belasco, the famous theater producer, is credited with saying “If you can’t write your idea on the back of my business card, it’s not a clear idea.”

    Get the Is-Does right and we can go to brand planning.

    Peace.

     

     

    First Sentences.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    I don’t mean to pick on marketers and branders having a hard time articulating their business, but I do find it instructive to read copy designed to convey such.

    One example is for a company named InMarket.

    Here’s the first sentence from their About paragraph on LinkedIn:

    InMarket is the leader in 360-degree consumer intelligence and real-time activation for thousands of major brands.

    From their website About page, comes this first sentence and since it’s an About page I’ve included the second sentence:

    At InMarket, being best-in-class means providing our customers with access to the most accurate and precise, permission-based, SDK-derived location data available today. It also means creating breakthrough experiences via hyper-relevant, timely messages in the moments that matter, providing transformational 360-degree measurement and delivering consumer intelligence that makes advertisers smarter with every interaction.

    Here is the sentence from their Twitter bio: The leader in digital advertising for the physical world.

    And lastly, here’s some marketing copy they lock up with the logo in some instances. Let’s call it an advertising line:

    Connecting brands and consumers in the moments that matter.

    Here’s the question. From any of these individual descriptions, do you know what InMarket Is or Does?  If you work really hard at it, when you add them all together, you may get a sense of their business.

    The basis for proper branding is a clear Is-Does. What a company Is and what a company Does.

    Strategy first. Copy second.

    Peace.

    PS. If you would like a look at your first sentences in the form of a free promotion Brand Strategy Tarot Cards, write Steve@WhatsTheIdea.com  (Promo supplies limited.)

     

     

    The Great CPG Data Dilemma.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    Data drives marketing. The most important data is sales. Duh. Always start with sales: daily, weekly, monthly, annual, forward and back. Data on purchase clusters, purchase frequency, bundling and demographics provide a wealth of insight, especially when compared to key competitors. One can look at dollars or units, regions, sales tied to marketing investments, both on and off-line.  However, as the data gets more complicated and pervasive, the sources require greater scrutiny.  How the data is classified and arranged is critical.  Consumer product data from Mitel and Euromonitor International aren’t always organized the same way and even when done so don’t always agree.

    The next problem happens when marketers cloudy-up the waters by making hybrid products.  Can a beverage be a carbonated soft drink and water at the same time? (Ice, for instance?) Is a frozen, ready-to-bake cookie clssified as a frozen dessert or cookie? Many are these data dilemmas. It’s troubling. And if the data companies don’t know how to classify a product it’s likely consumers are having similar trouble.

    Is-Does

    Enter the Is-Does. What a product is and what a product does.  The Is is different from the Does.  The iPhone is a phone. Some product marketers don’t get the Is and it can be staggering – especially for startups. And the data dilemma is only making this phenomenon worse. So get your Is-Does right first and the data will follow.  

    Benefit-Shoveling Or Culture-Shoveling.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    I was watching a 75 video, masquerading as a TV spot, on LinkedIn the other day for a company named CQ Medical and, because I know the ad agency’s work, thought it a fairly nice piece of healthcare ad craft. But one word in the copy (“design”) threw me. I thought CQ Medical was a healthcare provider, e.g., a hospital, or health system.  It turns out — after a second viewing and some research — they’re a medical device company. An equipment company.

    The first rule of advertising is explain what you’re selling. Unless you have Coca-Cola awareness. Otherwise, the ad is impressionistic and there are few Picassos in advertising.

    I often write about the Is-Does: Explain what a product/service Is and what the product/service Does. Those who miss this step are likely benefit-shoveling. Or culture-shoveling. Too far down in the weeds to register with consumers what one is selling.

    In branding, it’s never smart to jump over the Is-Does. Even if you have a limited target audience that supposedly knows your name. It’s “smart” brand craft to identify your product clearly. 

    Peace.

     

     

     

    Insure Product Meaning

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    Yesterday I Tweeted the question “Does anyone know what the Discount Double Check is?” Everyone has heard of it; it’s all over TV.  Especially on NFL football. Aaron Rodger’s who mimes putting on a championship belt after touchdowns has sold the little dance to Allstate Insurance who has paired it with some double check insurance option and uses that as a differentiator.  I’m so interested in the humor (or lack of it), I’ve yet to figure out what the product feature means. Perhaps you do. What are we double checking and how does it work? 

    It only took AFLAC half a decade to move beyond its quacking name-onic brand device until the advertising explained to customers that AFLAC is insurance that pays out if you are hurt on the job.   

    In both cases we knew what the company IS but not what the product DOES. They both fail the Is-Does test. The first test of marketers, and I know it sounds fundamental and silly, is to get the Is-Does out of the way. So all you self-described lifestyle brands out there, that’s way too inside baseball. It’s too markobabble. Get your Is-Does right.

    Peace.

     

    The IS and The DOES.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    The IS is a foundational brand element.  It is a clear explanation of what a product or service IS.  If you are a restaurant you are not a bar. If you are an Italian restaurant you are not a French restaurant. If a professional services provider, say in the insurance business, you are not an accountant. If you only sell property and casualty insurance, not health, you must make that known in your marketing and branding. It’s part of the IS. I learned a lot about the IS when working in the technology sector, especially with start-ups. Apple’s iPhone was way more than phone, but that is what they chose as their IS, to launch the idea. Service companies have trouble with the IS.

    Now for the DOES. The DOES is what the brand or service does. It offers up a key value or consumer benefit. When deciding upon the DOES marketers often fall prey to the “Fruit Cocktail Effect.” They like to think they’re good at so many things that they position around all those things, and none stick out. And the cherry tastes like the grape, which tastes like the peach and pear…a sugary confection sans any individual taste at all.  So software tools default to productivity and fast food defaults to convenience.

    Getting the Is-Does right is basic blocking and tackling in branding. It may sound simple, until you try it.

    Peace.

     

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