Monthly Archives: September 2016

Pop Up Magazines.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Rich Battista was just made the chief executive of Time Inc. He has been charged with creating a growth strategy out of a business anchored to magazines, the flagships of which are Time, Sports Illustrated and People. Most everyone agrees that the future for Time Inc. is digital.

Here’s my take.  The weekly, bi-weekly (or is it semi-weekly) and monthly magazines should stop publishing and become digital.  News is hourly and most of these properties need to have websites that reflect so. Magazines still have a place, but I’m afraid they are better as mementos and commemoratives. The Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue is one example. Think of these as pop-up magazines. They can also be created for more limited, targeted audiences. Also events. And as such will be better advertising vehicles.  Time, for instance, might put together a print magazine on the state of space travel. These would offer an even more in-depth look than would be available in a weekly effort. As “keepables” these magazines aren’t as likely to offend conservationists. I see Time Inc. as having some print but it will be pop-up print. 

Setting up this new organization will be like herding cats though. That’s the challenge.  That’s why Mr. Battista is paid the big bucks.

Bold? Yes. Today? Yes’er.

Peace. 

 

 

 

Good-Ats and Care-Abouts.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

“Preservation is one of the highest forms of good citizenship” said the late John Belle, partner at Beyer, Blinder and Belle, the architectural firm that renovated Grand Central Terminal. Words to live by, also, in the branding business.

We want to preserve in the minds of consumers a brand’s “good-ats.” And we want to maintain the linkage of those good-ats to consumers’ most strenuous “care-abouts.”  Good brands start with good products. It’s simple really — build a product that is good at something. Make sure it’s something customers really care about.  Then work your ass off to preserve the product good-ats over time.  

One definition of branding is “identity + reputation.” It’s a nice definition but doesn’t take into account product — or should I say core product value. Good-ats and care-abouts.

So when you are spending a quarter of a million dollars with a big branding firm, make sure your strategy and tagline have a product component to it. Otherwise, your brand strategy firm may not be good-at branding. Peace.

 

 

 

Culture and Product.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

I just received an email from Nobl a really smart, forward thinking consulting company. The email suggested that the most important advantage a company can have is its culture.  People, products, technology, customers come and go, they say, but a tight culture holds a company together. I’m not so sure this is the most important thing. It is an important thing.

For me, a great product or service is the foundation upon which a good company is built. That’s what people shell out their hard-earned for. Culture may facilitate and create mastery over a product or service but it’s not why money exchanges hands. Culture is people centric. Brand design is product or service centric. When selling a service (as oppose to a product) the lines blur a bit but I find it always better to focus first on product and service — and the people and culture will follow.

Now let’s go to the neighborhood bar and get an ice cold draft of culture.

Peace.   

 

 

Product Is Value…in Tech.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

I used to say “People who talk about ROI aren’t, getting it.” Today, I amend to say company “CEOs who talk about shareholder value aren’t getting it.”  Look at HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise). They divided from HP, sold off their services business, are selling their software business and tightening the company compression shorts to make themselves even more attractive to shareholders. Consolidations of this sort are focused on Wall Street. But in technology you need the best product not the leanest business. 

Look at Apple.  Do you think Apple’s people really care about shareholder value as they drive to work?  No, they’re thinking product. Product innovation. Product woosh. Today, The NY Times Farhad Manjoo dinged Apple for lackluster product design of the iPhone 7…and you know that had to hurt. From Tim Cook all the way down to the parking garage attendant. But Apple knows the design is good and they know what’s in the pipeline. Apple cares about product, not shareholder value. Leave shareholder value to the tech companies on the way down. 

Peace.    

 

Evidence over Soft Claims.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

I help companies build brands by combing their business for evidence. Evidence is also proof but doesn’t turn into proof until later in the engagement — when we know what it’s proof of. (The “proof of what” is called the claim.) So at What’s The Idea? the brand exploratory is all about evidence.

If Kitchen Magic has remodeled 50,000 kitchens, that’s evidence. If Newsday provides more news coverage of Long Island than any other news source, that’s evidence. If Northwell Health delvers 42,000 babies that’s evidence.  And, if Trail Of Bits, creates a product that makes digital passwords obsolete, that’s evidence.

Marketing and advertising is tainted and ruined by too much claim and not enough evidence. 

When doing brand discovery I’m often inundated with generalizations. “Our kitchens are of the highest quality. We offer the best obstetric care. Our newspaper covers Long Island better than any other. We’re the leader in cyber security innovation.”  

These soft claims don’t help. If we can drill down so the claims are supported by evidence, then we have a place to start.

Peace.

 

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