Brand Building - Unlock Your Potential

7/29/2019 Brand Building - Unlock Your Potential

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BUILDING BRANDS

unlock your potential

It is not the strongest of the species that survive,nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

Charles Darwin


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A fresh perspective on brand planning

Too much of the brand planning process focuses down into the 'one

knowable future we face'. Creating this picture of the future gives asense of certainty and purpose. It's comforting. We can do the jobdemanded of us: planning our marketing activities.

Yet when we stand back, and look at the work, deep down we knowit's nonsense, because we live in uncertain times.

Scenario Planning: A more realistic approachIt's much more realistic to plan for multiple scenarios. Embrace thefact that the future is uncertain, and anticipate that uncertainty.

Using scenarios is rehearsing for the future. You run through thesimulated events as if you were already living them. You train

yourself to recognize which drama is unfolding. That helps you avoidunpleasant surprises, and know how to act.Peter Schwarz, The Art of the Long View


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A fresh perspective on brand planning

How to build strategic brand scenarios

Look at your market and build from the bottom up. Certain aspectsof your market will be relatively unchanging: demographics,landstock, macro-economic statistics. Then look at the major drivingforces in your market, for example: changing consumer priorities,globalization, 'mass-customization' - any major force that is creatingmovement. Then look at the current trends: which trends will

become driving forces? Which trends will fade and die? Who to involve in strategic brand scenarios

Bring a diverse group together. Plot out many different dimensionsof the future and then begin to cluster these dimensions intodifferent scenarios. The scenarios should be grounded in currentreality, represent a coherent view of the future and be diverseenough to offer real choices.

Remember, brand scenarios are not predictions. They are thinkingtools. Follow through each scenario and the best patterns ofresponse - you'll be much better prepared for your future.


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What relationship does your brand have with your customers?

One way of exploring brand strategy (and opportunities for yourbrand) is to consider the relationship between your brand and yourcustomers. Here are some examples:

The brand as 'Guardian'A Guardian watches over you, and protects you from harm. You'll see

'Guardian' brand - customer relationships in insurance, banking,security and road safety categories, amongst others. ('PrudentialFinancial - Growing and protecting your wealth' is an example).

The brand as 'Domestic Helper'A Domestic Helper takes care of the chores around the house, they're

hard working and they make your home life easier. You'll see'Domestic Helper' brand - customer relationships in householdcleaning products, (P&G's 'Mr Clean' is a perfect example) as well asready-made meals, and home appliance categories, amongst others.


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What relationship does your brand have with your customers?

The brand as 'Inspiring Guide'Inspiring Guides help you to be the best you can be. This kind of

brand - customer relationship appears in many categories: includingsports ('NIke - Just do it'), technology ('Microsoft - Your Potential.Our Passion.') and many more.

The Dove campaign for real beauty is aiming to create competitiveadvantage by shifting their brand - customer relationship. Most

brands in the category offer women idealized beauty: imagine arelative who is a 'trust fund babe' - younger, richer, and morebeautiful. A woman may aspire to live their life, but that's not alwaysthe basis for a healthy relationship. Dove have turned this around,offering something much more real: '... beauty comes in all shapesand sizes' - a much closer, more honest relationship: 'an empowering

friend'.

Ask yourself:What relationship does my brand currently have with consumers?Is this typical of the category?Is there a way I can shift my brand - customer relationship tosomething more distinctive and motivating?


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How to use de Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats'

The 'Six Thinking Hats' is a quick, simple and powerful technique to improveyour thinking. It does this by encouraging you to recognize what type ofthinking you are using, and to apply different types of thinking to the subject.

Sounds strange? Take two minutes to expand your thinking skills

We all use different types of thinking, usually without realizing it. Forexample, if we are feeling pessimistic about the situation, that is the onlytype of thinking we apply! This limits our ability to see all the issues.

TheWhite Hat is cold, neutral, and objective. Take time to look at the factsand figures. The Red Hat represents anger (seeing red). Take time to listento your emotions, your intuition. The Black Hat is gloomy and negative.Take time to look at why this will fail. The Yellow Hat is sunny and positive.Take time to be hopeful and optimistic. The Green Hat is grass, fertile andgrowing. Take time to be creative and cultivate new ideas. The Blue Hat is

the color of the sky, high above us all. Take time to look from a higher andwider perspective to see whether you are addressing the right issue.You can also think of the hats as pairs:

White and Red

Black and Yellow

Green and Blue

to improve your thinking skills


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Communicating brand value

It is sometimes necessary to convince a skeptical audience of the value ofbrands. (When doing this it helps to have a very clear understanding of what

you mean by 'brand', covered in our brand definition article.)

Strong brands are valuable because they change behavior. For example,customers may buy more frequently, be willing to pay more or evenrecommend the brand to friends. Customers do this because the branddelivers more value back to them too. In my brand manual I call this thebrand 'value exchange'.

But how to communicate this value to a skeptical audience?

The chart below helps to illustrate and summarize the power of a strongbrand, and its ability increase long-term revenues.

As a brand strengthens the effect is to move the price/demand curve to theright. At any given price, demand is higher, and so is revenue.

As part of a presentation on the value of brands this chart can help a skepticalaudience 'get-it'. It will help you move the discussion on, towards how to build

your brand.
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Marketing Definitions

There are as many definitions of marketing as there are marketingbooks and marketing gurus. Here are some that we find most

thought-provoking: Which would you choose?

"A philosophy or orientation for the whole business - defining theprimary goal of everyone in the organization."

Or

"A set of distinct activities and tasks which constitute marketingplanning and decision making."Or perhaps something a littlesnappier:

"The identification and creation of sustainable competitive

advantage."That's OK as far as it goes, but it's not very helpful withregards to how to identify and create competitive advantage. Perhapsthis is better:

"Marketing is a dialogue over time with specific groups of customerswhose needs you understand in depth and for whom you develop an

offer with a different advantage over the offer of your competitors."


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Light Relief - Marketing explained

You go to a party and you see an attractive girl across the room. You go up to her andsay, "Hi, I'm great in bed, how about it?"That's Direct Marketing.

You go to a party and you see an attractive girl across the room. You give your friend abuck. She goes up and says "Hi, my friend over there is great in bed, how about it?"That's Advertising.

You go to a party and see an attractive girl across the room. You somehow get hermobile number. You call and chat her up a while and then say "Hi, I'm great in bed, how

about it?"That's Tele-Marketing.

You go to a party and see an attractive girl across the room. You recognize her. You walkup to her, refresh her memory and get her to laugh and giggle and then suggest, "Hi, I'mgreat in bed, how about it?"That's Customer Relationship Management.

You go to a party and you see an attractive girl across the room. You stand straight, youtalk soft and smooth, you open the door for the ladies, you smile like a dream, you set anaura around you playing the Mr. Gentleman and then you move up to the girl and say,"Hi, I'm great in bed, how about it?"That's Hard Selling.

You go to a party, you see an attractive girl across the room. SHE COMES OVER andsays, "Hi, I hear you're great in bed, how about it?"

Now THAT is the power of Branding.


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Loyalty Marketing

We instinctively understand that when customer loyalty increases, sodo profits. And in this case our instincts are correct, with many

studies conducted over the past twenty years proving just this point,which is why we see so many 'loyalty programs' being developed.But what is loyalty and how do we harness it?

Let's first look at a dictionary definition of loyalty:

"A feeling or attitude of devoted attachment and affection; or the act of binding oneself

(intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action."

This seems good, an intuitively correct definition. The problem formarketers arises when we ask: What is it that customers are bindingthemselves too? Many marketers measure the effectiveness ofloyalty programs with a combination ofbehavioral measures. Inthis case loyalty is seen as 'share of wallet', 'retention rate' or

'purchase frequency'.

But these measures of loyalty are too limited. They are likely to leadthe marketer towards tactical initiatives that only create customerloyalty to the program: its points, prizes, and promotions. Thedanger is the customer is trained to expect a reward every time they

buy, cultivating an intellectual, almost cynical commitment.


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Loyalty Marketing

I saw another perspective in a marketing magazine recently, wherea commentator suggested that loyalty marketing was about:

"Creating customers who don't need ongoing marketing investment and therefore are

more profitable".

This type of perspective is a natural backlash against the 'points andprizes' mentality, but unfortunately it is not very realistic. It's a littlelike saying we don't need to put any effort into our personalrelationships, because we've already secured a commitment. But weall know what happens then.

Successful loyalty marketing programs go beyond both of theseapproaches to create loyalty to the brand. Performance is judgedwith a combination ofbehavioral and attitudinal measures, and

the objective is to focus and deepen the existing customerrelationship, by offering relevant rewards that reinforce the brandvalues.


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Loyalty Marketing

Consider this quote, from 'Scoring Points: How Tesco is winningcustomer loyalty':

' loyalty marketing is a strategy, not a tactic. The reward is no more a bribe than a

birthday present from your partner or a dividend to a shareholder is a bribe.'

The Tesco Clubcard is one of the world's most successful retailloyalty schemes, and has helped transform Tesco into the UK'sleading retailer. The book 'Scoring Points' defines six ways that theloyalty programs can create value: from customers making more

purchases more often, through to tracking trends, providing betterservice, and promoting trust.

Interestingly, not all the benefits are directly related to the customerrelationship. Many benefits come from the better information thatmanagement has about the business, and how this can be applied toa range of decision-making, including, for example, the planning of

new store locations.

Ask yourself:

Are my initiatives creating loyalty to 'points and prizes' or to thebrand?Am I really measuring what it is I want to achieve?Have I really thought through the benefits that loyalty marketing candeliver to my business


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Vision and mission

The Vision and Mission of a company should be a driving force,setting the strategic direction of the business. But many are ignored

at best, and ridiculed at worst. Most of us would have sympathy withthis quote, from Hamel and Prahalad:

If we took the mission statements of 100 large industrial companies,mixed them up while everyone was asleep, and reassigned them at

random, would anyone wake up tomorrow and cry, 'My gosh, wherehas our mission statement gone?

Do you even know the Mission and Vision of your own company? Andwhat role do they play?

First, let's be clear about their respective definitions


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Vision and mission

A Vision is a description of the business as you want it to be. Indictionary terms it is, 'a mental image produced by the imagination'.

It involves seeing the optimal future for the business, and vividlydescribing this vision. The description might include HOW things willbe, WHERE, WHO with, WHAT you'll be doing and HOW you'll feel.

A Mission is the definition of the 'special assignment' beingundertaken by the business. It is likely to cover the customer groups

that are being served, as well as (perhaps more importantly) thecustomer needs that are being met.

Well, that's the theory, but in practice everything gets jumbled up.Which doesn't matter, so long as they help the strategicdevelopment of the business. This will only be achieved if the Visionand Mission are able to:

1. Bring focus and clarity to the desired future of the business (and whatmakes it distinctive)

2. Inspire people to work towards that future

3. Guide people in their decision-making as they reach for this future


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Vision and mission

Here are three good examples:

The Mission ofGlaxoSmithKline is to improve the quality of humanlife by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

The Mission ofOgilvy & Mather is to be most valued by those whomost value brands.

And Amazon aims to be the earth's most customer centriccompany.

These statements don't contain the usual corporate waffle about'leadership, innovation, and best-practice'. All these threestatements are focused: they provide a guide to behavior, yet theideas they communicate are big enough to inspire. This ensures they

have a valuable role to play in the development of the business.


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Companies can live forever

The oldest companies are hundreds of years old, and are stillgoing strong. What makes them so special, and what are thekeys to survival? A study of some of the oldest companies inthe world, including a Swedish company that is over 700years old, provides some of the answers. The study,conducted by Arie de Geus when he worked for Shell (itself

over 100 years old) aimed to discover the commoncharacteristics of companies that had lived longer than Shell.Arie de Geus and his team researched over 30 companies,from America, Europe, and Japan, ranging in age from 100 to700 years.


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Companies can live forever

He identified four shared 'personality traits' that could explain their

longevity: Conservatism in financing

Sensitivity to the world around them

Awareness of their identity

Tolerance of new ideas

And the priorities that managers set for themselves and theiremployees were:

Valuing people, not assets

Loosening steering and control

Organizing for learning

Shaping the human community

Tremendous food for thought in these few bullet points

Ask yourself: How do I perform against the characteristics of the'living companies' that Arie de Geus investigated?


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Volvo: How strong brands evolve

There are many brands that have been with us for years, and haveremained strong by evolving over time. When properly managedthis evolution ensures that the brand remains distinctive andmotivating to all stakeholders.

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the mostintelligent, but the one most responsive to change.Charles Darwin

Take Volvo for example, one of the oldest of car brands. Whatjumps to mind when you see the word Volvo? For most people itwould be 'safety'. Here's why: in 1927 the founders of Volvocommitted the company to this idea:

... cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behindeverything we make at Volvo, therefore, is and must remain,

safety...Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf LarsonBut safety is pretty dull andboring these days. We don't think about our safety too much whenwe buy cars, because all cars are built to be safe for theiroccupants. To meet this challenge the Volvo brand has evolved, tocontinue to meet our needs in a way that is distinctive andmotivating.


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Safety at Volvo now works in new ways. 'Preventative' safetyhelps us avoid accidents in the first place: 'simply put, avoidingaccidents is better than having accidents'. And they have alsoaddressed increasing concerns about crime with their 'Personalsafety' initiatives: building features into the car that help make yousafe as you enter and exit your car.

Volvo has also developed its thinking from the founders' philosophy

of'cars are driven by people'. Today this means that: 'Volvobuilds cars for human beings. At Volvo, we also recognize thathuman beings are just a small part of the life of our planet'. This isthe basis for a more environmentally-friendly car, supported by apolicy of 'reuse and recycle'.


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All of this is beautifully summarized in their corporate line:

It's a clear evolution from their early brand positioning, which wasfocused on keeping safe from accidents with safety-glasswindshields and steel cages (two of their earliest initiatives).

The Volvo brand has successfully evolved to stay distinctive andmotivating. (These are just two of the five characteristics of astrong brand. You can find out more in my Brand Manual.)

Ask yourself:Looking back over the history of my brand, has it successfullyevolved with the market?How should my brand evolve to stay distinctive and motivating inthe markets of the future?
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CreativeThinking

You've probably heard of contrarian thinking. Most often it isassociated with investment advice, but contrarian thinking createsopportunities for brands too.

A contrarian thinker is 'one who takes a contrary view or action, whomakes decisions that contradict prevailing wisdom'. You too can find

opportunities by becoming a contrarian. After all, no brand is going toachieve success by copying the rest of the pack.

Here are a few brands that have been built with an element ofcontrarian thinking (roll your cursor over the images to discover thebrands).

Contrarian thinking


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CreativeThinking

The computer brand that overcomes market challenges because it can 'think

different'. (apple) The books that no bookshop wanted to stock. Now with more than 100 million

books in print. (office xp)

The brand name that broke all the rules.(Poison)One of Christian Dior's most successful perfumes.What's the harm in a little contrarian thinking? Who knows where it may take

you! Try this exercise

Pick a topic you'd like to explore. Draw a line down the centre of yourpage. In one column, write many short statements, of everthing youknow to be true. Then, in the other column, write the oppositestatements. Then explore these contrarian statements for ideas.

Contrarian thinking


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Have you identified your brand's proofpoints?

How do you persuade consumers that your brand is worth considering? Youneed 'proof points' - quick and simple evidence that supports your brandpositioning.

Automobile proof pointsThis is a typical luxury saloon car review: "Yep, torsional rigidity is 40 percenthigher, which also contributes to a feeling of solidity. Of course, you can alsoachieve this feeling by slamming the door. That thunk is masterful." The thunkof the car door is shorthand (in the mind of the consumer) for this is a safeand well engineered car. Most people don't understand torsional rigidity, butthey can hear and feel the thunk - it's a key proof point for luxury carmanufacturers.

Life insurance proof pointsWhen people buy life insurance they look into their distant future: 10, 20, even40 or 50 years ahead. They worry about the changing world, and the security

of their investments. That's why a key proof point for insurance companies isstability. How do you prove stability? In two ways. Make sure consumers knowhow long you've been around (the longer the better), and how much moneyyou manage (the more the better). Successful life insurance companiesestablish these two proof points in the mind of the consumer, before they tryand do anything else. (While 'challenger' brands scramble to find surrogatesfor these proof points.)


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Have you identified your brand's proofpoints?

Camera-phone proof pointsHere in Hong Kong there is a camera-phone war going on. Every handset

brand is trying to upsell consumers to their latest and best camera-phone.Three things determine the quality of camera-phone pictures: the lens quality,the processor quality and the number of pixels in the image. But only one ofthese is established in the consumers' mind as a proof point. Which is why allthe brands focus on their 'Mega Pixels'. (Perhaps soon a brand will try and shiftthe proof point, to the processor for example.)

Ask yourself:Do I fully understand my brand's proof points?Have I properly established my brand's proof points in the mind of myconsumers?

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