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    Wu hoo…activism.

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    Google Reason.

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    A Clear Brand Idea.

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    Marketing

    Bullies and Bears.

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    Steve Poppe
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    Bullies do not understand sanctions.  They understand punishment. That’s a problem.

    As the loss of life begins today with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many are looking for ways out of the conflagration. I don’t remember the invasion of Georgia. And the Crimean invasion, though only a few years ago, was not a huge global/national news event. This invasion, though, has been orchestrated for maximum visibility by Putin from the beginning.

    America is trying not to be a bully.  But it’s hard watching Ukrainian dads going off to war putting their crying kids on buses. Publicizing the human toll via social media – bringing the drama home, is something Putin relishes. It causes chaos. And it destabilizes an already divisive political environment here in the U.S.  

    The non-Russian world is talking sanctions. The non-Russian world is not good at punishment.  Not until things are over.

    I am no hawk. The U.S. is not the world’s policeman. But the U.S. is the world’s beacon of freedom. And that means we are free to punish predators. We can build consensus or we can build consensus while brandishing a stick.  Putin is betting on our consensus-building. He is evil. He is unhinged. But strategically he is sound and he’s playing us. Remember the Syrian redline?

    Putin has a focused offensive strategy. It gets stronger by the minute. The U.S. and Allies strategy is deterrence and therefore tied to others’ actions. We are unfocused. Until we focus we will continue to backpedal.  I’m not saying send in troops. Or strafe Moscow.  But as we say in Asheville “bears will continue to feed until deterred.” We need some savvy offense.  

    Peace… and I mean it today in a very different way.

    Go Daddy

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    Steve Poppe
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    Go Daddy.

    Whether you agree with Bob Parsons, the CEO of GoDaddy.com, or not, you have to admire his tactics. Here’s a man who knows how to use advertising.  It is “we’re here” advertising, which in my book is lazy but people are noticing it. And they certainly know what his company does. (My PR firm, just yesterday, used GoDaddy to buy a URL.) For those unfamiliar, GoDaddy places most all of its advertising energy behind one provocative Super Bowl spot.

    According to Parsons, while there are over 800 domain name registry companies out there, consumers can recall the names of only two or three — GoDaddy being one of them. Though it may be a low-interest category, 10% of Americans have Web sites, so the domain name registry business it is not an un-trivial business.   

    If I saw GoDaddy Girl on the street I wouldn’t know her from Eve, but put her in that flowing white blouse, let her stare into the camera with those pouting eyes on Super Sunday and I’m ready to register…a domain.

    Brand Strategy From the Jump

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    Steve Poppe
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    Today, more than ever, companies need tight brand strategies. Especially big companies. Most new employees at companies these days are asked to sit through a half day of orientation. They learn about healthcare coverage, HR policy, the phone system, company intranet, etc. These meetings are enough to make you want to quit. Really smart companies have the CEO stop in and share a little vision, but that rarely, rarely happens.

     

    What every company needs to do during orientation is share the brand strategy. Explain the history of the company, discuss founders and founder philosophy, highlight key milestones which create context for product and service decisions. New employees need to understand the culture of the company. They need to be acculturated.

     

    Most importantly, new employees need to understand the brand strategy and have it dimensionalized for them through examples and stories. Only then are they are equipped to go to their desks and make decisions on behalf of the company.  (Leave the telephone systems and HR procedures for day 2.) Peace!

    Brand Strategy Freebee.

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    Steve Poppe
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    I’m hungry for brand work.  Blogging’s fun but planning and talking to people about consumerism is funner. The problem is, I charge money for my work and when I’m not on a job, the planning field lies fallow.  

    My life is cursed with a brain that watches marketers shoot in the dark. My blood curdles when I see ads, pr, social, and promotion that lacks brand strategy. The owners of this errant marketing will tell you they have a business strategy — to make more money — yet they think by publishing their brand or company name, surrounded by some generic sales effluvium, sales will appear.  That doesn’t work today. As I watch all this silliness play out in the marketplace I wonder what could be. If organized.

    A brand strategy is an organizing principle for product, experience and messaging. Are you organized? Sure, you say. But tell me how. Tell me how today!  I’m giving it away. I’m giving away my critique of your organizing principle.

    Write Steve@WhatsTheIdea.com. It’s a limited-time only freebee. I’m hungry.

    Peace.

     

    NIke Focus

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    Steve Poppe
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    Just Do All.

    I sit in my cube today in a red St. John’s tee-shirt, Levi’s jeans, and a pair of black high-top Chuck Taylor’s. St. John’s, my favorite college basketball team, is a university for whom I’ve done some strategy work.  Nike has also done a good deal of work for St. John’s.  In fact, their design team came up with the new sports logo. If you are in marketing you know about Nike’s brilliance.

    That said, today Nike is in trouble.  Remember the aforementioned Chuck Tailor’s? They squeak. When Converse was wholly owned, they didn’t squeak.  Now Nike owns “Cons.” Squeak, squeak. Nike is losing focus. They design logos for college basketball teams, re-design uniforms, and even sell golf balls. Nike is now trying to reinvent the tee-shirt, looking at 74 neck variations and changing the wicking properties so they can charge $25 per swoosh.

    The WSJ tells us Nike is re-focusing on core, higher margin products. Here are the categories on which they are focusing: basketball, running, soccer, sports lifestyle, men’s training and women’s products.  If that’s focus, I’m Greg Oden.  Under Armour is a company with focus. They will be the next Nike.

    Tag: Nike, Converse, Chuck Taylor’s, Maria Sharapova, St. John’s University, Under Armour

    ADD

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    Steve Poppe
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    The ADD-ification of America. 

    One of the biggest cultural phenomena in America today is what I call ADD-ification. We all have attention deficit disorder.  We can’t sit still and we’re always in a hurry.  When was the last time you drove your car without some form of entertainment — using the time to think?  Thought so. 

    Newspaper stories have gotten shorter, the chapters in our novels can be measured in paragraphs not pages, our meals come in microwavable packages, we even beep at people who sit at traffic lights for more than 5 seconds.  Why?  Because we’re in a hurry. 

    How many advertising or branding briefs today are predicated on the insight that we are all pressed for time?  I certainly have written a few. 

    Stress is at an all-time high I would imagine, but with the right meds, we can get by.  But hurry, the pharmacy closes at ten!  

    (I’ll be off for a few days, see you Tuesday.)

    Tags: ADD, Marketing

    Ceding control of the marketing conversation.

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    Steve Poppe
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    The new paradigm driving a great deal of marketing dollars today is well summarized in a Sundance Channel print ad appearing in today’s New York Times. It says: “…the only currency that matters is trust; marketing can’t change consumer behavior, but must be a two-way conversation built around engaging content..”

     

    Let’s parse this little tidbit.

     

    1. Trust is indeed important. Too many marketers and ad agencies have reduced consumer trust by inflating claims and implying things that are just not accurate. (Can you say food stylist?) We have conditioned consumers to question our claims and have therefore made our beds. If you can’t tell the truth, change the product.  

     

    2. Marketing can’t change consumer behavior.  OMFG. It may make for good copy and even sound thoughtful, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth. Marketing has, does and ever shall change consumer behavior. Take a dollar off a bag of lettuce and you alter consumer behavior.   

     

    3. Marketing must be a two-way conversation built around engaging content. This is the pop marketing tactic of the week and, frankly, it’s dangerous. Allowing consumers to drive the claims, features and benefits conversation is just bad business. Having spent lots of client money modulating messages in the hope of increasing share points, I know how scientific it can be. Ceding that modulation to a bunch of Posters and Paster on the web can be problematic. Moreover, it’s lazy.  I’m not saying don’t allow the conversation; good marketing comes from listening to consumers, but my point is that a two-way conversation can quickly recede to a one-way conversation if not managed. Peace!

     

    Super Bowl

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    Steve Poppe
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    When is funny not funny?

    Was there one Super Bowl commercial  (Am I allowed to use the word Super Bowl without paying a licensing fee?) that wasn’t designed to make people laugh? It seemed that every marketer cared only about creating a humorous imprint on consumers rather than selling a little product. Don’t get me wrong, I love humor. But in the comedy club that has become the Super Bowl I’m afraid consumers are beginning to judge the work, rather than respond to it. The messages are getting lost in the humor. 

    The ad I remember most over the last couple of Super Bowls was the one in which soldiers returning home from Iraq were met with spontaneous applause in the airport. That was powerful. And though I’m not 100% sure it was Budweiser, I’m going to give them credit. While I’m giving Bud (not Bud Light) credit, I’m going to like them a little more as a company, albeit not in any thirst-quenching manner. 

    On what is supposed to be advertising’s finest day, I think we’re losing our way.

    Brand Strategy IS Business Strategy.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    A recent Ad Age article on Jonny Bauer, global head of brand strategy and transformation at Blackstone a huge private equity firm, was quoted as saying:

     “We don’t think of a brand as your identity or your name,” Instead, a brand is really the product of strategy and purpose “to define the existence of why this company exists.”

    While I agree with the first part of the statement, I take issue with latter part, it “defines the existence of why the company exists.”

    Mr. Bauer and Blackstone see branding much the way I do, as business strategy. When he is allowed in the C-suite of companies, not just relegated to CMOs, he is learning about all the business factors contributing to success: debt, legal, assets, culture, supply chain and purchase context.  When designing brand strategy, all these things must be accounted for. The brand claim needs to speak to most everything. As must the proof planks (the science groupings supporting the claim.)  This ain’t no disco. This ain’t no fooling around.

    A lot of people may agree they want “happiness” when they buy a Coke, but they really want “refreshment.” 

    All this talk about brand purpose and brand intention is silly. Those are outcomes of good commercial branding.  If you want to be intentional, go the non-profit route.

    Blackstone and Mr. Bauer get the fact that good branding is the best way to get good marketing. And good marketing (all four Ps) begets good sales. And it starts with strategy. Brand strategy. Tied to business strategy. I deal in customer care-abouts and brand good ats.  Not intentions.

    Peace.

     

     

     

     

    Brand Building. My Final Answer.

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    Steve Poppe
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    Ask Quora, Google or WARC “How do I build a powerful brand?” and it’s like trying to map the heavens. “What you are seeing today, was alive a million years ago.” Huh? 

    For many in the brand space, obfuscation seems to be the currency of the day. People talk about brand personality, mission statements, style manuals, the business problem, key thought, brand architecture…  How many stars are in the sky?

    Not me.  I am a brand explainer. Brand strategy needs a definition and it needs a framework. My definition of brand strategy is “an organizing principle for product, experience and messaging.” An organizing principle. Hard stop.

    As for framework, What’s The Idea? as the name suggests, focused first on a single idea or claim.  Something that captures and boils down all the many customer care-abouts and brand good-ats that can be articulated.  This is where the big bucks lie. E Pluribus Unum. Then to create belief and logic and a scientific understanding of the claim we need proof. For the purpose of branding we use three proof planks. Organized clusters that prove the claim. People are convinced by proof.

    With a definition and framework the work can begin.  Work done by agencies with hands untethered. Work done by company executives, with dashboards in hand. By consumers who have a lot more to think about than a sky full of products.

    Peace.

     

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