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    Brand Strategy

    Brand Strategy and Shortcuts

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    There’s an old axiom in police work that suggests the ability to solve a murder drops off precipitously if there isn’t a solid lead within 48 hours.  In brand strategy development, nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a long process. At What’s The Idea?– and we’re quick — it takes a good month.

    I don’t even fire up the strategy side of my brain for good two weeks.  I need to collect.  Data, stories, insights, visual cues, user experiences, the list goes on. Everything contributes.

    Maybe early patterns emerge before I get thoughtful, but those are often false dawns. I require lots of information before I begin the boil down. Snap judgments early on can taint the process. Clean slate, clean slate.

    When you have enough info on your brand to start dreaming about it, you are in the neighborhood. You are getting closer.  When the information starts cascading like a waterfall in one direction. That’s when it’s time to put the strategy hat on and start writing.

    Mark Pollard’s book is called Strategy Is Your Words. Strategy is your work, as well. Don’t make short cuts.

    Peace.

     

     

     

    The Green Day Effect.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    Green Day used to be one of the coolest bands in the world. They were on a mission. They were angry. Angsty. Hungry (literally and figuratively). And they thrashed out music from their bared souls. It changed a generation. Their art, their music, was easy for them.

    Then they became millionaires. And lost their anger appetite. Mansions, Rolls Royce’s, having kids…can do that.

    I’m working on a brand serving the small business market. They came from small. They were underdogs. Had chips on their shoulders. They lived small business main street. As such, they offered customers a familiarity and empathy few could offer. But then they started to grow. And grow. Scale became important. As did systematization, which savvy use of technology enabled.

    My work is to help them grow while still maintain that small business appetite. It’s not a logo thing. It’s not a typography or tagline thing. It’s a brand strategy thing.   

    Lee Clow or Jay Chiat once said about their ad agency Chiat Day (and I parapharase) “We’re trying to find out how big we can get before we suck.” It doesn’t have to be that way. But it takes lots of planning to fight off the Green Day Effect.

    Peace!

     

     

    Brand Strategy Presentation.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    When presenting brand strategy to a client, I typically start with a couple of quotes from industry leaders. Then I share the names of those interviewed during discovery.  Next, I share what the brand brief looks like in shell form before taking them through the completed brand brief.  I read the brief which plays out like a story. The big reveal is the brand claim and three proof plank array (that provide evidence for the claim). Organized evidence.

    In closing, I share bullet points on brand claim Pros and Cons.  

    I’m thinking about changing it up a bit though. I might lead with a verbal introduction explaining what makes their brand great. That “what makes the brand great” explanation will actually map to the three proof planks to be presented in the brief.  But it will do so conversationally, not presentationally. A foreshadow, if you will. Every parent wants to hear their baby in beautiful.

    The heavy lifting of brand planning is finding the correct 3 proof planks. Selecting the values, from many, is the brand planner’s IP.  E pluribus threeum.  From many, three. Together, these planks are the values most proven to get consumers to commit to your product or service. A triumvirate.

    Sharing with a client what makes the company or brand great at the beginning of the meeting can build trust, familiarity and set the table.

    Peace.

     

     

    Brand Planks Explained.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    My brand strategy framework presentation to prospects, contains an example of a strategy for a commercial maintenance company. An excellent company in a tough, price-driven category.

    The three brand planks supporting the brand claim are: fast, fastidious and preemptive. Taken together, these three values – top customer care-abouts and brand good-ats – are drivers of business success. If customers believe this company is faster to resolve problems, pays more attention to cleaning and maintenance detail, and offers insights about potential problems before they occur, the company can charge more money and gain market share.

    Here’s the problem. If the was to do an ad saying “we are fast.” It’s a comes off as a commodity claim. If they do an ad that says they provide quality cleaning, again commodity claim. And an ad talking about preemptive, well, it’s an unexpected value and needs explanation.

    Let’s deal with Fast. This commodity claim can come with baggage. Fast sometimes implies sloppy. By paring fast with fastidious, we overcome sloppy. But to really seed the idea of fast with customers, we need to prove it. Productize it. Build a response mechanism into it so everyone knows the speed of delivery.  For instance, every customer calls to a service line generates a response in 15 minutes guaranteed. And for major issues, they guarantee a person on premise in 45 minutes. Guaranteed. Productized.     

    Words are important. Fastidious is not quality. It’s ADD quality. That’s how this company has to hire. That’s how this company has to reward employees.  That’s how this company has to behave. And mostly, it does.  Yes, fastidious is a word, but it’s also a product and operational strategy. And as I said, it improves the take-away on fast?

    Lastly, there is Preemptive.  This one’s the real kicker. Most commercial maintenance companies make money by completing tasks efficiently. To do so, they discourage employees from going beyond what they’re contractually obligated to do. My client does things differently; they keep their eyes open.  If they see a potential problem or anticipate a problem, they report it. This often solves issues before they cost the client money. A copywriter might spin the phrase “We treat your business like our business.” Don’t believe it. In the commercial maintenance space customers haven’t heard the word preemptive. It’s different language. And it can be operationalized. Maybe even productized. A history list of disasters avoided on the website maybe.

    Take the three planks together, not individually, and you begin to see the power of the framework. When all three actively support the brand claim you have brand strategy.

    To learn the brand claim that ties this company’s strategy together write Steve at WhatsTheIdea.

    Peace.

     

     

    Teaching Less and Learn More.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    I was talking to a client last week and something quite smart came out of my mouth. Unplanned. I like binary things — like “there are two kinds of women in the world, those who eat a sandwich with one hand and those who eat with two.” Don’t ask. Anyway, I was remarking to a this talented client who had lots of irons and revenue streams in the fire that in her line of work you were either “teaching” or “learning.”  I surmised she spent about 85% of her time teaching (in the hope of picking up consulting and speaking gigs) and 15% learning or getting smarter in her craft. I for one can empathize. Give it away in the hopes of getting paid-work down the line.

    I suggested she should flip the model or at least even it up at 50/50.

    People who constantly teach and don’t learn become pedants. And they’re not a lot of fun to be around. Teachers need to refresh so they can be fresh. And that requires listening. And positing. And debating.

    The best part of being a brand planner is the learning. We open the faucet and fill up the stock pot. Only when the pot is full do we turn on the heat and start the boil down.

    If you find yourself teaching to much in your line of work, do something about it. You need to up the ante on learning.

    Peace.

     

    An Example of Marko-babble.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    I often use the term marko-babble to describe some of the effluvia being shared on the web about brand craft. Or marketing craft. It’s my mission to get rid of mark-babble. 

    At a panel discussion the other day, I was close to nauseous by the constant use of the word “authentic.” Rather than babble about marko-babble I wanted to cite some content that actually fits the bill.  The brand services company that posted these words will remain nameless.  And I’ve Googled the entire sentences and the posting company name did not come up, so I’m in the clear.     

    Let it rain:

    Brand
    We build modern, digital-first brands designed to lead through market change and create long-term value for shareholders, customers, employees, and wider society.

    Culture
    We build purpose-driven cultures that drive employee behaviour and accelerate business growth.

    Experience
    We develop powerful, multi-channel creative communications, and intelligent, user-centric digital solutions designed to create lasting impact.

    So, do you have a good idea now of what these girls and boys do? Specifically? Uh…they build, build and develop.

    As famous Broadway producer David Belasco once said “If you can’t write your idea on the back of my calling card, you don’t have a clear idea.”

    Peace.

     

     

    Digital First Brands.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    In my travels through the ether I’ve read more than once the proclamation such-and-such is “a digital-first brand.” I have to admit, I’m not quite sure what that means.  If digital is first, what is it second? A brick and mortar business? A print business? I know AI is a growing these days — is that what a digital first brand is?

    If this was 1999, I could see calling yourself a digital first brand. That might be clearer. But today, everything is digitized and online.

    Being digital today is the price of doing business. If usability is poor, you fail. If online visibility is poor, you fail. If findability is poor, you fail.

    It’s simple really. Brands need to be something and mean something. Those spending time attempting to be trendy or common are lost.

    Peace.

     

     

    Click-aholics.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    Noah Brier wrote in the WITI newsletter today:

    Loyalty is about nurturing behavior that defaults in a business’s direction.

    Noah knows marketing. (Noah knows.) “Default” and “in a business’s direction” are spot on.  In a presentation on a digital comms planning tool “Twitch Point Planning,” I suggest “moving customers closer to a sale.”  Noah and I are intentional in being noncommittal. Non-absolutist.

    Digital generation marketers think nirvana is going from an unknown brand to click-to-buy in a matter of keystrokes. That would be cool. (And it can be done. See a picture of a pair of unknown sunglasses on Kim Kardashian and BAM! Click to buy.) The belief that that steps-to-a-sale (Awareness-Interest-Desire-Action) can be collapsed into a click or two is a digital marketers’ dream. And fantasy. Frankly, it’s a cancer that metastasizes daily.  

    A very famous McGraw-Hill ad states: 

    “I don’t know who you are.
    I don’t know your company.
    I don’t know your company’s product.
    I don’t know what your company stands for.
    I don’t know your company’s customers.
    I don’t know your company’s record.
    I don’t know your company’s reputation.
    Now – what was it you wanted to sell me?

    Selling takes work. Building brand affinity and loyalty takes work. And it’s fragile. Back to Noah. If we don’t take a long-term approach to nurturing, if we don’t understand that loyalty is simply a default until something shinier comes along, we’re kidding ourselves.

    One click sales is not branding. No foreplay. No demonstration of caring or consumer love. Just a click. A sale. Too many digital entrepreneurs are click-aholics. Clicks are not strategy.

    Play the long game. The humble game. You have time.

    Peace.

     

     

     

     

    Victoria’s Secret Needs To De-Brand Before It Rebrands.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    Here’s a question for my branding friends. Before you can rebrand, must you de-brand? I say that because I’ve been reading today in The NY Times business section about Victoria Secret’s efforts to redefine what the brand is — so as to make it more inclusive and more women-centric. Or maybe even more “we” centric, using the more nonbinary term.

    Sexy, according to the article, has long been tailored to the male point of view.  The retail experience, the marketing experience has been using a dated prototype of the so-called perfect body. Well, Victoria Secret’s market share (in women’s underwear) has dropped 11 points since 2015 and that’s more than a clue. Broadening their market is the future. Redefining sexy to be more functional and stylish is the goal.

    (When women in the 80s started shaving their heads during the punk rock era on the lower east side of Manhattan, it was a functional decision. It also became stylish.)

    So, must Victoria Secret rebrand or de-brand? In this case, I’d go with de-brand.  Provide a mea culpa and an explanation. Do it once. Do it big. Then move on. With a new mission. A new creative approach. And a new motivation. The market will follow.

    Not all brands need an interim step before rebrand. Many do.  In today’s world, it’s a thing.

    Peace.   

     

     

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/business/victorias-secret-collective-megan-rapinoe.html

     

     

    Is there democracy in brand strategy?

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    When comparing the new (multiparty) Israeli Parliament with that of the (2 party) United States congress one can see how democracy must use compromise in order to work. If you think it’s hard to make decisions with two parties, imagine ten. When nobody really gets what they want, people are more apt to think harder. And be creative.  

    Speaking of democracy, is there room for it in brand strategy? My gut and sharings over the years lean toward “no.” You are either on idea or you are not. And as Marilyn Laurie of AT&T lore has said “You are either making deposits in the brand bank or withdrawals.”

    But, if using the What’s The Idea? framework for brand strategy (one claim three proof planks), you really do have room to compromise. Granted, the claim is the claim and that’s pretty binary. However, the proof planks are real brand building blocks and they do provide a level of democracy.

    Back in the day, working on AT&T’s business services, the plank for innovation worked against that of competitive price. That is, as attitudes increased that AT&T was an innovator, the competitive prices attitudes sunk. Hence, these different “parties” has to be monitored, metered and planned to maximum effect.

    Attitudes beget behavior. Attitudes built through Democracy build brands. Attitudes built through despotism build decay.

    Peace.

     

     

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