Branding Strategy Insider

Brand Inspiration From The Far East

As the Far East seems to move closer and closer to the west, and its two billion people open their wallets to brands, it might be valuable to seek some inspiration from oriental culture. At least, from one part of the Far East, which is as culturally diverse as Europe’s thirty-plus countries are, and as varied as the cultures of North America’s states.

For western brands that are about to hit any part of Asia, you need a culturally aware Asian brand strategy to avoid a negative response to the culture shock you and your brand might experience. Even if you have no plans to enter Asian markets, there’s lots to learn from comparing culturally derived attitudes which all have lessons for brands and business.

For example, let’s look at sake, Japan’s traditional rice wine. When you’re in Japan, you’ll observe a gesture that’s typical in the hospitality of the country. It’s a gesture that has relevance to branding and business in general. The eggcup-sized sake cup will be placed in front of you, sitting in a receptacle of some kind – an elegant cherry wood box, an everyday saucer. When your host or companion pours your sake the cup will be filled to overflowing, the receptacle it sits in receiving the overflow and itself being filled to the brim. This over serving expresses the generosity of the host, restaurant or bar. It’s a gesture to show gratitude for your presence. And it exhibits a desire to give you more that you expect. You’ll agree that this vignette opens vistas of meaning – brands must over-deliver and exceed customer expectations. Yet, so often, brands simply meet expectations. I’ll never forget my first sake. Such gestures of abundance, hospitality and respect will be associated by your customers with your brand, creating an invaluable emotional tie between them.

Another lesson I’ve learned from Japan occurred when I was visiting a picturesque little village near Kyoto, in the beautiful Kansai region.

Brand Transformability In A Down Economy

In an economic downturn, there may be a tendency to give up on new ideas and thinking, and just hunker down, until the worst is over. But, what if this is really our chance to examine new possibilities? If freaking out doesn’t make your numbers improve (and - at this point - you can lead a consumer to your product, but you can’t make her buy), what might happen when you use that brainwave space to identify and integrate consumer trends you never actually noticed before? Perhaps amazing things.

Take Reena Jana’s quick hit Businessweek article and video with David Rockwell, architect/branding expert/set designer, as an example. He commented on hotel design, which has been on my mind a bit lately too. One of Rockwell’s thoughts: what about holding cooking classes in hotel kitchens? Such design thinking is worth a little hotelier attention these days, given the convergence of trends in staying home, cooking more, and being with family. What else, physical space or otherwise, is primed for such “transformability,” as Rockwell called it?

Cooking classes in a hotel kitchen could serve consumers and add value on so many levels - but without this “what now” sense of doom we feel, such ideas might never surface. Given extreme limitations, creative thinking is forced to be that much more bold, even as the solutions become more streamlined.

Here’s another example of transformability, in my mind: Consider how Subaru is handling the current “discount” season, with their “Share The Love” philanthropic campaign. Rather than promoting money-back at loan signing or one of the other typical year-end strategies for a car dealer, they kept within the tight parameters, learned more about their consumers and thought quite differently. What their research found was that a charitable donation would very much resonate with the types of people who’d be considering a Subaru buy right about now.

Brands Excel With Over Delivery

Recently I checked into The Peninsula Hotel in Chicago. Knowing the brand your expectations are by default tuned to the highest level – still I’ve time after time managed to be surprised. When I wished to access music in my room, I was told that the CD library didn’t exist in this particular hotel. The apologetic concierge however asked me out of curiosity which CD’s I was looking for. Listing all my favourite artists I hang up wondering the reason for this curiosity. 20 minutes later the bell rang on my door. The same person as I’ve been speaking with over the phone handed over a bag with three CD’s purchased by the hotel, all the favourites I mentioned – and given as a gift to me.

I bet you’ll never forget this story – neither do I. But the case is that the extra $20 the hotel decided to spend on my account makes me spread the story – just like now. Would you still claim this wasn’t worth the investment … hardly!

The story is very much in line with another experience taking place in a Louis Vuitton store, the maker of luxury leather goods, which explicitly does not offer a lifetime warranty on its products. In fact, the company's documentation states a charge will be applied for repairs. The salesperson to whom you return your faulty product further reiterates this when you take it in for repair. But when you come back to collect your item, you'll almost never pay for the service. The salesperson assures you this was done especially for you.

The over deliver and under promise builds your brand in ways which few can imagine – as it reflects a brand which cares about you – rather than a brand which traditionally only cares about it’s shareholders. It’s a story, which stays with you for life – and not only keeps you as a loyal customer – it makes you spread the rumour. If you don’t believe me ask any kid about how many bricks there is in any box of LEGO –and the answer would be – “there are always too many bricks in the box”. I remember as a kid I always noticed the pleasant surprise – which always made me think this was a special gift for me. Many years later, when visiting the factory I realized, other factors were the true reason for this generosity – still the story stays with me forever.

Marketers Can Borrow To Win

Not too long ago I picked up the "big new idea" book, Blue Ocean Strategy. Its basic concept is about pursuing and creating new products and services (blue oceans) instead of duking it out with established competitors in existing categories (red oceans).

It is absolutely a smart way to go. In fact, we have been preaching this concept for years. In my 1981 book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, Al Ries and I wrote, "It's better to be first than better." And in our 1985 Marketing Warfare you'll read how "flanking warfare moves into uncontested areas that avoids established competitors."

Did the authors borrow old ideas and build on them? Sure. They have followed Thomas Edison's advice when he said, "Your idea needs to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you are currently working on."

You can increase your odds of solving a problem by becoming a collector. When you come across a nifty notion or a savvy strategy, save it. Start a journal, a clipping file and a computer file. Keep a pad by the bed, a voice recorder in the car.

When you're trying to find a solution to something, dip into your collection. Then use a blueprint to make the most of an existing idea. (The blueprint itself is adapted from a checklist by Alex Osborn, author of Applied Imagination.)

The simplest way to solve a problem is to borrow an existing idea. Military designers, for instance, borrowed from Picasso's art to create better camouflage pattern for tanks.

The simplest way to invent a new product is to adapt an existing idea. The pop singer and composer Paul Simon was asked where he got the inspiration for "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." He was brutally honest. He said he was carrying around two melodies in his head--a Bach chorale and a gospel tune from the Swan Silvertones--"and I just pieced them together."

Building a Strong Brand in Turbulent Times

As the current economic crisis deepens, consumer trend experts say there has never been more urgency for corporations to ditch their quest for money and embrace generosity as challenging times see people seeking care, empathy, sympathy and generosity.

According to Trendwatching.com, in turbulent times like now generosity will find an extra-appreciative audience, and certainly will not be forgotten.

Generation G will be the umbrella trend that will dominate the year and businesses cannot afford to ignore it in this business climate when consumers will be tightfisted.

Reinier Evers, founder, Trendwatching.com, says: "There has never been a better time to show you truly care about your customers. They will definitely not forget any kind of generosity you show them in these challenging times."

According to Trendwatching.com, companies stand to gain from being generous as not only will customers be more appreciative, they will also return your favours by being more willing to spread the word about you.

"Just by making the first firm steps to a holistic approach to generosity, your brand will immediately stand out, if not become known for being a truly generous brand."

Being generous to customers does not always mean giving away everything you have, or forgetting about bottom lines and profitability. Generation G, is about being a bit kinder, a bit more caring towards your customers. Eight ways for corporations to join Generation G.

Establishing a 'Branded Language'

Disney, Kellogg's, and Gillette are three completely different brands with one commonality. Over the past decade, they've established a branded language, whether they know it or not. In my latest book, we found 74 percent of today's consumers associate the word "crunch" with Kellogg's. Another 59 percent consider  the word "masculine" and Gillette as one and the same. Americans formed the strongest association of masculinity to Gillette, by an astounding 84 percent.

Disney scored higher in purloined language than any other brand. This brand welcomes you to its kingdom of fantasy, dreams, promises, and magic. If you've stayed at a Disney resort, taken a Disney cruise, or eaten in a Disney restaurant, it doesn't take long to hear "cast members" greeting guests with, "Have a magical day!"

For over half a century, Disney has consistently built its brand on a foundation much larger than its logo. A substantial chunk relies on songs and voiceovers that almost always include Disney-branded words. Associating words with brands comes at no extra cost. Disney's manages to "own" six of them: "dreams," "creativity, "fantasy," "smiles," "magic," and "generation."

Our BRAND sense study shows over 80 percent of the world's population directly associates these generic words with Disney.

Recession Marketing

A few years ago I was working for one of the major wine brands and analysing the Japanese market which, as always, was proving fascinatingly difficult to understand. The more I looked at the data, the more unlikely the story became: throughout the 90s, a time of unprecedented economic woe in Japan, the consumption of high-end wines increased dramatically.

My French boss was greatly amused with my confusion and eventually took me aside. 'Listen Mark,' he said. 'Let me explain. If you are on a plane, and the plane is about to crash, you don't drink piss.'

Perhaps not the most elegant of explanations, but one that has stayed with me, and one that should be top of mind as we enter 2008. Marketers with long memories or a keen grasp of macro-economics already sense that there is more in the New Year's air than the cold wind from the Continent.

Repositioning The Competition

This is a post about a very powerful marketing strategy that has fallen into disuse. Why? I have no idea, unless it's about creative people thinking that it's not creative. It's called "repositioning the competition" and I, along with my ex-partner Al Ries, wrote about it in a book called, Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind.

In simple terms, to move a new idea or product into the mind, you must first move an old one out. "The world is round," said Christopher Columbus. "No, it's not," said the public, "it's flat."

To convince the public otherwise, 15th century scientists first had to prove the world wasn't flat. One of their more convincing arguments was the fact that sailors at sea were first able to observe the tops of the masts of an approaching ship, then the sails, then the hull. If the world were flat, they would see the whole ship at once.

All the mathematical arguments in the world weren't as effective as a simple observation the public should verify themselves. Once an old idea is overturned, selling the new idea is often ludicrously simple. As a matter of fact, people will often actively search for a new idea to fill the void.

Never be afraid of conflict either. The crux of a repositioning program is undercutting an existing concept, product, or person. Conflict, even personal conflict, can build a reputation overnight. Where would Sam Ervin have been without Richard Nixon?

Internal Brand Building: Overcoming Obstacles

We have conducted numerous “Internal Brand Building” workshops in the last few years.  The following are approaches that people in various organizations have found to be effective in overcoming some of the obstacles encountered in creating brand-building organizations:

Issue: How do you get corporate officers to support brand management initiatives when they don’t understand the value of brand management or marketing?

Ideas:

•    Influence the leaders with books and speakers.
•    Enlist the help of credible outside brand experts to spend some time with the corporate officer group.
•    Provide case studies of how brand management has worked in comparable companies and industries.
•    Symbolically “clean house” in the marketing department. Hire some new high profile marketers with a history of success.
•    Understand operating units’ objectives.  Help units achieve their objectives through brand-enhancing initiatives.  That is, tie what you do to others’ objectives.
•    Invite senior executives to help you solve brand management problems.  Appeal to their egos and their propensity to mentor.  (They will be much more bought in to the solution if they helped craft it.)
•    Build momentum for brand building initiatives from a grass-roots groundswell.  This requires intensive communication and education.  Start by identifying and influencing brand advocates throughout the organization.
•    Work with HR to integrate a brand-building module into a variety of employee classes.
•    To instill confidence, the marketing leaders should be optimistic, using words and phrases such as “control,” “promising opportunity,” “return,” etc.**

Issue: How do you get corporate officers to act as brand champions when they are accountable for other corporate priorities?

Turn Customers Into Marketers

P2P marketing is hardly a new phenomenon, however it is a phenomena that is about to be leveraged to unprecedented heights using our next generation of kids. During my "BRANDchild" research, one of the brands that impressed me most was U.S.-based Jones Soda. The product itself is hardly different from any other soda. What distinguishes it from the pack is it's created a persona that draws kids to it like a magnet.

Jones Soda identified an alternative distribution strategy. Instead of going the supermarket-drugstore route, it placed the product in clothing stores, primarily in skate and surf shops. These are not usually associated with drink sales. The unique move gained the attention and respect of a young audience.

But Jones Soda went a step further, introducing personalized labels. By logging onto its Web site, tweens could design their own labels and potentially see them on bottles. Thousands of labels have been produced, all gloriously created by the user group.

Where's the P2P element? It became clear when personalized labels were introduced. Unique talent emerged from individual surfers, skaters, cyclists, and wake boarders. Jones Soda began to sponsor these emerging riders. Not stopping there, it began producing a merchandising line around the individuals, turning its own customers into brands and brand advocates simultaneously.