Branding Archives - Page 8 of 42 - McLellan Marketing Group

Your brand cannot live in the C-Suite

June 16, 2010

Here's the challenge with most brand promises. They only live at the top of the org chart. It usually happens on a corporate retreat. The C-level gang gets together at a lodge or fancy hotel and they talk about vision, mission and maybe even a company pledge or promise. Then, they either lead themselves or hire a consultant to lead them through a 2 hour exercise and from that exercise emerges their new brand.

(cue the trumpets blare)

Now…the front line employees aren't involved or consulted. In fact, they first see the new brand promise as a tagline on the new ad campaign. They don't understand it's not just marketing spin. They don't get that it is a promise that THEY are supposed to keep. Because no one told them.

Let me tell you a story I heard a few years back. A concierge in a luxury hotel with an impressive brand name was working her usual shift. She was accustomed to handling requests and complaints from the most discerning and demanding of guests. But she was surprised when a first-time guest criticized the quality of the hotel’s complimentary combs.

“They’re horrible combs,” he told her. “They’re not like the combs at XYZ hotel. Now they have good combs. They’re heavier and you can't bend them like this," he said as he demonstrated.

The concierge apologized and asked what kind would meet his satisfaction. She promised him a better comb on his next visit. Sure enough, a few weeks later when he checked in, the guest found a selection of high-grade combs in his room. When he checked out, he left a note for the concierge. “Thanks for the combs. Much better. See you in a few weeks.”

The guest became one of the hotel’s most frequent guests. That one interaction, over a complaint most employees would not be aware that they should care about, created a loyal guest who has meant tens of thousands of dollars in annually recurring business.

All for a comb.

You see….that's the problem. While the C-suite can come up with a brand….they're actually not the ones who deliver (or don't) on the promise. Odds are, that hotel guest couldn't tell you the hotel's tagline. But he could sure tell you the comb story. Now that concierge was either just naturally gifted at customer service or she was well trained. She could make the brand come to life because she had been taught what it meant. She had been trained to look for opportunities to make it so much more than a tagline.

Think about how she could have reacted:

She could have shaken her head as soon as the man walked away and declared him a pain in the rear.
She could have given him directions to the nearest drug store so he could buy a better comb.
She could have pacified him and then forgot all about it.
She could have "written it up" in some notebook, assuming someone would (or wouldn't) do something about it.

But she didn't. She recognized an opportunity to create a "story worthy" moment.

So one guy loves the hotel. Does it matter in the grand scheme of things? You bet. The ROI of customer loyalty has been proven again and again. This isn't just touching-feely stuff. This is bottom line results.

It's not enough to say you have a brand. It's not enough to have a good brand. It's whether or not your employees know and live the brand. And that doesn't happen by happy coincidence or luck.

It happens when you involve them from the beginning and it becomes a part of your company's DNA thanks to plenty of reinforcement, training and best of all — the "lore" that grows from customer stories. Whether it's the age old favorites of Nordstroms (who hasn't heard the tire story) or the latest example — Zappos — when you create story worth moments, the brand really comes to life.

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Brands, taglines and how the Pork Producers are killing their golden pig

June 12, 2010

At a recent industry event, the National Pork Producers announced that they would be stepping away from their iconic tagline of almost 25 years…the other white meat.

The association's VP of marketing explained that the tagline wasn't driving sales and that people seem to have forgotten what the tagline means. (I'd be willing to bet that if you did a man on the street poll — no one has forgotten what it means!)

This is actually not new news…despite all the buzz. The Pork Producers began to abandon their tagline in 2007 when they tried the completely forgettable "don't be blah" campaig n in a effort to step away from their own tagline. This was the same year that "the other white meat" was listed as #29 of the 100 most influential taglines since 194

The other white meat is one of the most recognizable taglines in the country. It's recall is the envy of most companies. It has it's own wikipedia page and website for Pete's sake!

Most businesses would kill to have that kind of tagline — the Pork Producers did it all right back in 1987 when they hired Bozell to develop the tagline and then until the last few years — they were absolutely consistent in their use for it.

So why would anyone abandon such an institutional asset? Because they are expecting it to do something it was never designed to do.

Taglines, by themselves, are not designed to drive sales as its primary job. That's what an advertising campaign is supposed to do.

A tagline, or brand promise, as we like to call it at McLellan Marketing Group, creates an emotional reaction or connection between the product and the consumer. It's the one thing that the brand wants to own in the mind of the consumer. In the case of the Pork Producers — that's why "the other white meat" was so brilliant.

As our friends over at Branding Strategy Insider say:

The ideal benefit to claim in a brand promise has the following three qualities: (1) it is extremely important to the target consumer, (2) the brand’s organization is uniquely suited to delivering it and (3) competitors are not addressing it.

So — is "the other white meat" not meeting those criteria anymore? Are people less health conscious about what they eat, red meat etc today? Nope. Is pork uniquely suited to being the other white meat? Yup. And are any other meat competitors trying to own that space? No.

If pork sales are stagnant — it's not the tagline's fault. In the Des Moines Register article, the Pork Producer's representative references the fact that their research shows that people believe pork lacks taste. Sounds like a problem that an advertising campaign, coupled with some education and sampling, could solve. Certainly a "it's tasty" is not a unique brand position.

Bottom line for me — they are fixing something that isn't broke. And in fact, are throwing away a huge organizational asset. And, worst of all — it's not going to solve their sales problem.

Dawn walks out their brand talk — thanks to BP Oil Spill

June 1, 2010

I am sure that everyone at Proctor & Gamble (parent company of Dawn liquid soap) wishes that the BP Oil spill never happened. I'm sure they are just as concerned as the rest of us are about the short and long-term implications of this disaster.

However… they were also smart enough to recognize the incredible opportunity it presented to them.

Dawn liquid soap is the only product approved for use with animals who have been oil-soaked. So as people are paying more attention to the entire crisis — Dawn is playing a starring role.

And I'm not just talking about the news media shots of the adorable ducks getting a bath. P&G has really thought about how they can differentiate themselves from the other liquid soaps.

Let's face it — the fact that you can use Dawn to clean off an oil-soaked animal is not going to come in handy for most of us. We're not going to rush out and buy Dawn now that we know. Our pets aren't likely to be dunked in oil. But… we love a hero. And Dawn's stepping up to that role by taking the lead in not only caring for the animals affected by the spill but by becoming a voice of advocacy and information regarding the problem.

So, since we have to buy dish soap anyway…why not buy the hero brand that is stepping up to making a difference?

Let's look at the various ways they're claiming this leadership position.

The TV spot:

The bottles/the donation:

Notice the new bottle design. See the cute (and clean) animals? What you can't really see is the little snip on the top of the label. But on that snip, they tell you how, through the purchase of that bottle of liquid soap, you can donate $1 to save wildlife. To activate your donation, they direct you to www.dawnsaveswildlife.com. (By the way…as of 5/31, they'd raised $413,475 thanks to their consumers — can you say that's a huge boost in soap sales?)

The website:

When you get to the website, they don't just let you donate, they engage you in the crisis. They connect you to photos of animal rescues, encourage you to meet some wildlife champions and visit their Facebook page.

The Facebook page:

Here's where they really set the hook. They use Facebook to tell us stories about the rescue, show us pictures and promote the organizations who are doing the hard and dirty work. They don't hold themselves out as the heroes — they are the support behind the heroes.

In other words — they're writing about what they know we care about, not their soap. They celebrate when the animals are released back into the wild, they teach us how we can protect and save animals in our own neighborhoods and they are the chief cheerleaders for the effort.

Brilliant!

So… why does all of this work and where's the brand lesson for us:

Dawn understood their own product — and saw how they were genuinely different (self awareness)
Dawn was willing to share what they had/knew in a time of crisis (sincere generosity)
Dawn was willing to let the conversation be about more than their soap (be a part of something bigger)
Dawn put resources behind the bigger picture, knowing it was in alignment with their brand (they give, not just take)
Dawn found a way to let us connect (we can donate, we can follow the efforts on Facebook, etc)
Dawn found a way to sustain our interest and their effort — just watch what they do over the next few months, I am guessing!

Bravo P&G. And thanks for helping save the animals!

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Sharpening the saw on your leadership and personal branding efforts

April 30, 2010

Two good friends and smart cookies have just released some great content available to you for free!

Terry Starbucker has been blogging about leadership and life for many years now over at Ramblings from a Glass Half Full. He's captured some of his best thinking and insights in a free e-book called Leadership from a Glass Half Full: What you Need to Learn Before You Jump into the Pool.

You can download it by clicking here.

Dan Schwabel, personal branding expert and blogger has been teaching people how to stand out in the crowd over at Personal Branding Blog for quite some time. Dan produces a fascinating magazine, chock full of interviews and helpful tips to build a powerful personal brand.

Dan's generously offering a free sample issue to you. All you have to do is click here.

Now that you've identified your weekend reading…. what's next on your To Do list?

Image courtesy of ShutterStock

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Do your customers think you’re a “10”?

April 26, 2010

In the drive up windows of one of the country's largest banks — there is a sign. "Please honk if we've delivered a "10" customer service experience."

I've never heard anyone honk or honked myself. Now…I want to honk. I feel bad about not honking. I can see that the tellers are being very friendly. They use my first name. They enclose a pen in the little tube so I don't have to ask to borrow one. But here's the thing. That's not being a 10. That's just being good. Being a 10 isn't about being good — it's about being spectacular.

For those of you over 40, you will remember the movie 10 with Bo Derek. The premise of the entire movie is that Bo Derek is so extraordinary that Dudley Moore makes a complete and utter fool of himself.

Check out the trailer (e-mail subscribers, click here) and then we'll talk about how Bo relates to marketing and our customers.

According to the movie, Bo wasn't just pretty. She wasn't satisfactory. She was stunning. She was so remarkable — she made everyone stop and notice.

That's what I want the bank tellers to be. Not friendly. Not doing their job. But remarkable. Do something that I can't help but tell others about. (Who is going to say…"boy, the bank teller called me Drew today.") Dare to be remarkable.

What does that look like? It looks like a small gesture that says you know who I am and appreciate me and my business enough to do something that most would never even think of doing.

Include a dog treat with my receipt because my dog is with me? Nice but not remarkable. Include a dog treat because you remember that I have a black lab, even when she isn't with me… remarkable.

Send me your newsletter, chock full of helpful hints? Nice but not remarkable. Drop off a book you think I will enjoy because you know that I grew up owning horses… remarkable.

Include a free sample when you ship my order to me? Nice but not remarkable. Include a packet of flower seeds that will grow perfectly in my climate with a note saying you can imagine how happy we are to see Spring after a miserable winter… remarkable.

Then, I will honk my heart out. I will tell everyone about your business. And, I will love you enough to never leave…no matter how much your competitors woo me.

That's a 10. And that's why we rarely (figuratively or literally) honk our horns for the companies that serve us.

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Stop trying to be a liger brand!

April 11, 2010

I've had this conversation about 6 times this past week, so it seems timely to write about it as well.

For some reason — many companies and brands are not content to be who they are. They feel the need to create some artificial hybrid of themselves…. no doubt because they're afraid they're leaving money on the table, they are missing out on some customers or their revenue is down, so they're going to fish outside of their own pond.

Here's the truth about your brand. If you are a lion — then be a lion. Be the boldest, loudest, most confident lion you can be.

The minute you decide to become half lion and half tiger… you compromise your own brand. You become less of who you truly are.

I've seen this too many times to think it is a coincidence or fluke. While you are out prowling as a liger…here are the results:

You chase after business that is outside of your sweet spot — so it takes up more resources (time, talent, money) for you to deliver what you sold. In other words — lower (if any) profit.

You end up working with customers who value something other than what you are best at selling, so in many cases, you are satisfying them but not delighting them.

Because you are a little (or a lot) outside of your usual scope — you price your offerings badly — either giving it away (what did we say about net profits?) or trying to charge a ridiculous amount, just proving that you aren't really an expert in that particular arena.

While you are working extra hard (see #1 above) to deliver on business you really aren't superior in, you're so busy that you can't chase or win sweet spot business.

In short….you are working harder, delivering less spectacular results and making less money.

I get the short term temptation of trying to be that hybrid — it's money in the pocket.

But, in the long run, you simply diminish your own ability to be remarkable. To be the brand that goes way beyond delivering satisfaction — but instead, your customers LOVE you. Those are the companies that are surviving this recession. Those are the companies who enjoy incredible word of mouth business.

If you are a lion — be the biggest, baddest, boldest lion you can be. You don't (and shouldn't) be anything else.

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Be a game changer like Keurig and the iPad

April 4, 2010

Every once in awhile, someone comes along and instead of just adding to the existing industry or category — they literally change it.

In fact, they change the entire game. They re-invent the way we think. They create a want or need where we hadn't even imagined one to be. They spark spin off products and offerings — from their own company or others.

Let's look at a of couple game changers and see what makes them so revolutionary.

Keurig's Coffee Maker: This amazing little device has completely shaken up the in home/office coffee making experience. Let's look at the problems it solves:

I make a pot of coffee but have to keep reheating it throughout the day so I can have a hot cup when I want it
I make a pot of coffee but almost always end of throwing away most of it
I want to enjoy a variety of coffee flavors but I don't want to buy a full bag or can of each flavor
Sometimes I want hot tea or hot chocolate and can't make either in my coffee maker

Now… this little device has not only answered all of those concerns but it's also launched all kinds of new products (K-cups, display holders for the cups, a carrying case for traveling with your keurig coffee maker, water filters, etc. )

Apple's iPad: Like about half a million other people, I spent a fair amount of time this weekend playing with my new iPad. I'm not going blather on about the coolness factor (although it is incredibly cool) but instead let's look at how this product is going to change our worlds.

The iPad is a computer, for all intents and purposes. And it's going to change the fundamentals of how we expect to interact with our computers from this point forward.

Kiss your mouse goodbye. We're all going to want to be able to just intuitively touch our screen and move files, re-size photos, click on items and scroll through multiple pages.
Want to see that PDF in landscape mode? Prefer to look at that photo vertically? Just grab your "computer" and turn it and watch what's on your screen rotate to accommodate you.
Want all of your entertainment completely mobile, with high resolution, great sound and full functionality? Now you can carry your movies (buy or rent), music, books and games. With lightening fast speed and impressive graphic capabilities — you're all set.

The iPad has been out for less than 48 hours and the accessories are already starting to fly off the shelves. Cases, keyboards, cords that connect cameras, screen protectors etc. I can't even imagine the apps that will be developed in the next few weeks and months.

Companies like Netflix, Amazon and many others are already re-tooling their offerings for the iPad, just like they did for the iPod.

But what about us? Of course…this needs to loop back around to you and me. Our companies aren't Apple. We probably don't have a huge development team working in the lab. So how can we be game changers?

If you look at the lists generated by the two game changers above, you'll see some common themes.

Both identified "annoyances" that everyone else dismissed as being "just the way it is"
Both looked at shifts in our daily life patterns and recognized a before non-existent opportunity
Both took time to observe and hear "I wish I could…" wants and figured out how to make them so convenient that they quickly became needs

What if you surveyed your best customers and asked these questions:

What are the three most annoying aspects of selling your house? (substitute your business appropriately)
Complete this sentence: When it comes to selling my house, I wish I could…. (again, substitute accordingly)

While you're waiting for their answers, ask yourself how your customers' lives have changed in the past 5 years. What do they do differently? What doesn't they do anymore? What are they doing now that they never used to do?

Take your thoughts….and combine them with your survey results. I'm betting in the jumble of truths are some ideas worth pursuing. Ideas that could be your game changer!

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How potent can brand be?

March 31, 2010

Watch this hysterical but quite pointed video created by Penn and Teller for their Showtime special. (E-mail subscribers — click here to watch the video) Ask yourself these questions:

If my business were stacked in a row next to all our competitors — would we look different?
If we looked different — what would that difference be perceived to be?
If you were to peel away our "label" would that difference still exist or is it just marketing spin?

A hat tip to the very smart and savvy Susan Armstrong of Armstrong|Shank for reminding me of this eye-opener!

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What’s your March Madness?

March 20, 2010

For two weeks every year, people ask questions like:

Where is Gonzaga? (Spokane, WA)
Do you think that Ben Jacobson is getting a ton of job offers? (Yes)
Can you believe all the double digit ranks still in? (Broke the record)

Most of the people asking those questions could care less about college basketball. Throughout the regular season, it's safe to say they've never watched a game.

But March Madness comes along and everyone is filling out their brackets (even if it's with complete wild a** guesses), joining pools and talking college basketball!

The NCAA has taken their product — college basketball and for those two weeks, transformed it into something so spectacular and special that even their non-customers become rabid fans. Even if it's just for the tournament.

What aspect of your business could you "march mad" up? What could you do that would be so engaging and so big (probably so big you could only afford to do it once a year for a limited time) that it would draw in your non-customers?

What annual moment in time could you own?

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Do you inspire customer service tales?

March 9, 2010

Everyone loves to tell a good story. Stories teach, they inspire laughter and the bring about change. As consumers, we love to tell stories about the people we buy from — good, bad or ugly.

If I stopped 10 of your clients/customers today and asked them to tell me a story about your company's customer service — what story would they tell?

Would it be as compelling as this story about Frank? (E-mail and RSS feed subscribers, click here to watch the video)

If after watching the video, you had to honestly answer no — ask yourself this: What could I do on a consistent basis that would get my customers to the point where they couldn't stop themselves from telling the story?

A big thanks to Laynie Kelly for telling me about this video!

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