Monthly Archives: January 2020

Carcass Picking.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

“New” and “Sale” are the two most common words in advertising I was told growing up in the business. It’s not apocryphal to think it is still the case. As a brand planner or ad person, new categories always interested me. I was doing technology advertising when chips weren’t cool. Integrated circuits, software defined networks, private data lines, SaaS were all products of mine.

In advertising it’s good to work in emerging products, technologies and services. They are high growth. Not a lot of people are expert so your thoughts are creative, sometimes ground breaking, and non-commoditized. But the simple fact is, the marketers most in need of strategy help are not in the business of new, they are in tired, mature categories where growth isn’t happening. And when growth isn’t happening you are likely trying to take someone else’s share, not creating new share. Carcass picking.

What does the brand planner do in these cases?

Well, you have to make your insights and strategies new. Treat them like emerging markets. The consuming brain loves new. That’s why people get so tired of advertising. It’s not new. That’s why ad agencies are fired every 3.8 years (just made that number up). It’s easier to create new advertising that new brand strategy.

I can change one plank of a brand strategy and open up crazy new revenue. (Brand strategy comprises one claim and three proof planks.) Brand strategy is like DNA. Make a subtle changes and lots can happen. Imagine what would happen with a total brand strategy overhaul.

For brand planners there can be no such thing as stale businesses or categories. Everything “new” is a potential “sale.”

Peace.

 

Proof Not Platitudes.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

I once wrote a marketing communications deck for a billion dollar healthcare system that included quite an array of advertising and branding objectives. The obs were stuff like: increased doctor retention, increased patient satisfaction scores, improved close rate on nurse hires, reduce cancer patient outmigration to NYC – I mean, full monty stuff. My marketing director looked at me like I’d taken hallucinogens. “We can’t do all that.” I believed we could. I believed these results were already underway, he just didn’t see it.

The health system was indeed changing healthcare for the better, across all of its entities. And the brand strategy and service area (cancer) ads were chronicling it. You see, when “proof” not “platitudes” comprise your branding efforts, people tend to believe you. Sure, they might wonder about what you are not telling them but over time proof convinces. Proof is reality.

I can’t share the claim and proof array on this particular brand strategy, even though it was written close to 20 years ago, but believe me when I say it still applies. It still works, and it still shows healthcare improvements across a wide variety of objectives. Not the least of which is a nearly 4 fold increase in revenue since that fateful  meeting.

Peace.

 

Writing an Effective NPR Billboard Part 3.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Readers of the my last two blog posts know I’m writing a :15 radio billboard for What’s The Idea?

So let’s try to morph this mishegas (Yiddish) of preparation into a 15 second read.

NPR is brought to you by…

What’s The Idea?  A brand strategy consultancy that studies customer “care-abouts” and brand “good-ats” to create an organizing principle for content marketing. This words-only, one-page brand strategy takes the guesswork out of every  marketing decision.  WWW.Whatstheidea.com

Okay I was able to accomplish 4 of the 5 tasks needed for a successful billboard. I didn’t have time to hit the last point, explaining what makes my consultancy a good choice over others. That said, by properly explaining the Is-Does, the offer, and what’s in it for the consumer – hopefully in a clear, concise way – I will have differentiated What’s The Idea? Many brand shops have a hard time ‘splainin’ brand strategy.

So onward now. It’s time to buy some time.

As they say, stay tuned.

Peace.

 

Writing an Effective NPR Billboard Part 2.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Yesterday I explained what a 15 second radio billboard had to accomplish in order for it to be effective. The key tasks were five-fold. Doing the math that’s about 3 seconds per task. Let’s get started then maybe we can massage the flow later.

  • Explain what the business is.
  • Establish what the business does.
  • Explain what brand strategy is.
  • Explain why prospective clients need a brand strategy.
  • Lastly, establish why What’s The Idea? is a good choice.

What’s The Idea? is a brand consultancy (1). Fairly clear. A subset of marketing to do with branding. What’s The Idea? consults on brand strategy (2). We don’t do logos, packaging, style guides or websites. Task three is to explain what brand strategy is. An organizing principle for product, experience and messaging (3). At What’s The Idea? strategy is delivered as words alone. Words that offers explicit direction. When following a brand strategy, content makers know if they are making a deposit in the brand bank or a withdrawal (Hint: Don’t make a withdrawal).

Most marketers don’t wake up in the morning saying I need a brand strategy. Especially those outside of the packaged goods business. But everyone needs a brand strategy. Marketing without a brand strategy is like knitting without a pattern (4)… you are just making marketing knots.

And lastly, why should a marketer buy brand strategy from What’s The Idea? rather than say Atlas Branding, Interbrand or Brandtuitive? Well, it’s all we do. While many use brand strategy as a lost leader to sell other forms of art and content, What’s The Idea? is only about the idea. And idea that drives consumer value and business value (5).

Stop by tomorrow to see how all this is assembled into a ready-for-primetime NPR billboard.

Peace.

 

Writing An Effective NRP Billboard.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

I’m getting ready to do my first ever paid billboard ad promoting What’s The Idea? on NPR. Though I’ve written over 2,600 blog posts about branding and marketing, I’ve never actually done an ad for this business. Nor have I written for it a brand strategy. Clearly some cobbler’s children shit going on here.

An NPR billboard these days is anywhere from 10-15 seconds of copy read on the radio by an NPR announcer. Recorded but sans any overt production value. Just words. If they are still holding to form, NPR will not allow any superlatives or overly salesy copy.

This is going to be a wonderful exercise. Boiling down What’s The Idea? and its value proposition to a scarce few words.

Here’s what copy must do:

  • Explain what the business is. (Brand consultancy.)
  • Establish what the business does. (Brand strategy.)
  • Explain what brand strategy is. (Organizing   principle.)
  • Explain why prospective clients need a brand strategy.
  • Lastly, establish why What’s The Idea? is a good choice.

And all this must be accomplished with panache in less than 15 seconds.

It could be worse. I could be writing an actual roadside billboard, where you are limited to 5 words and a picture.

For the next few days, I’ll be putting my thinking cap on and drafting a billboard. Stay tuned.

Peace!

 

Problem Vs. Insight.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

So, many brand planners will tell you to start out looking for the main business or brand problem as you begin your planning efforts. It’s a great place to start. Brand planning savant Mark Pollard of Sweathead is a big advocate of identifying the problem. And it’s hard to argue with Mark. But another approach is to simply mine business, brand and behavioral insights in a more free-form way. The issue is, most brands seek help when there is a business problem. Conundrum much? 

For me the latter approach wins out. Ever the optimist, I like to think the brand strategy needn’t be built on a problem. Better to seek an opportunity. A positive. It can open more doors. Reading the faces of consumers is always more fun when they are juiced and smiling than when harangued and frowny (afrown is not a word?). Also, riffing and pursuing the positive is a way to extend the interview, maybe make it even more creative. We aren’t psychiatrists after all.

Any good listener knows people will go to complaint land. That’s okay. Let them. But if there’s an opportunity to go all Pollyanna, take it and fly.

Peace.

 

 

Small Businesses Success.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Ask a small business owner if they have a “business strategy” and they can’t help but answer yes. Probe a little and they’ll answer you with superlatives about product and service such as “to provide the best food and dining experience in the area” or “offer an uncompromised level of tax return service to the community,” “help improve lead generation thru web search tools at the lowest cost.” These are make-more-money explanations – perhaps mixed in with a little bit of strategy.

Ask that same small business owner if s/he has a “brand strategy” and you get a different response. Most will say yes, but it will be attached to slightly quizzical expression. The brain lights up with synapses popping around name, logo, packaging and ads, but the word “strategy” confuses. They don’t really know what a brand strategy is.

A brand strategy is “an organizing principle for product, experience and messaging.”

A brand strategy is a set of words that provide a litmus for product marketing success. You are either on brand strategy or off. With brand strategy before marketing happens everyone agrees with what success looks like. It’s binary. It’s measurable. It’s scientific.

With science in the house, the creative process can begin. Small businesses often forget the science. They just start making. Invest in brand strategy and divest of random marketing and business tactics.

Peace.

 

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