branding
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Advertising isn’t ineffective because it’s a dying medium, it’s ineffective because it’s ineffective. Good branding is about “Claim and Proof.” Advertising, an important, controllable means of branding, needs to follow the same “Claim and Proof” dictum.
Toyota, a company playing defense peppered with catch-up promotions, ran an ad in The New York Times paper paper today – a perfect example of badvertising. All claim, no proof. Here’s the copy:
No matter who you are or what you drive, everyone deserves to be safe. Which is why the Star Safety SystemTM is standard on all our new vehicles – no matter what model or trim level. It’s a combination of five advanced safety features that help keep you in control and out of harm’s way. Toyota is the first full-line manufacturer to make the features of the Star Safety SystemTM standard on all vehicles. Because at Toyota, we realizes nothing is more important to you than your safety.
I forgot the headline and I only read it 10 seconds ago. The call to action, where one might actually find the proof, is prominently displayed below the copy — Toyota.com/safety. This ad is one expensive call to action and a lot less. Fail!
Who is at Fault?
I’m not sure who is responsible for this $20,000 piece of “we’re here” advertising but everyone is to blame. The creative person who said “People don’t read long copy.” The strategist who approved it, the client who agreed and paid for it. Frankly, The New York Times should be ashamed. Isn’t someone over there watching this stuff?
This business is easy: Find a great claim and support it with compelling proof. Compelling proof. Compelling proof. Compelling proof. Peace!
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Tags: Advertising, branding, call to action, promotion, star safety system, the new york times, toyota, whats the idea, whatstheidea
Here’s one of my favorite song lyrics. It’s from the rawness that is David Allan Coe:
The old man was covered in tattoos and scars;
He got some in prison and others in bars.
The rest, he got workin’ on old junk cars…
In the daytime.
I was reading the paper paper today and noticed a nice big Rolex ad featuring Lindsey Vonn skiing. She is not covered in tattoos but might as well have been. Here are some of her sponsors: Red Bull, Spyder Thinsulate, Nature Valley, Charles Schwab, Audi, Visa, Sprint and Alka Seltzer Plus – and that’s just on the front of her racing suit. She also represents Head skis, I believe, but they’re on her feet and hard to see.
Red Bull
I tweeted a couple of weeks ago before the Olympics that someone smart should pick up Lindsey and sponsor her. Within an hour someone from Red Bull (good job monitoring, btw) responded that they were her sponsor. Red Bull has done a better job than some with Lindsey – they own her helmet – but the reality is much of their stuff is still tattoo-like. As Bob Gilbreath says in his good book The Next Evolution of Marketing (better known as Marketing with Meaning), tattooed logos aren’t particularly meaningful. The reason I didn’t know Ms. Vonn had sponsors was because no one had really pushed their brand idea into her being.
I read somewhere that the Red Bull branding idea has something to do with “flying.” Can’t tell from their website. And if I can’t spot a brand idea, there probably isn’t one. Sponsors need to understand themselves before they can create a meaningful and promotable relationship with a spokesperson. They need to know their idea. Peace!
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Tags: audi, Bob Gilbreath, branding, Charles Schwab, david allan coe, head skis, Lindsey vonn, Marketing With Meaning, Nature Valley, Olympic marketing, Red Bull, Robert Gilbreath, rolex, sponsoships, Sprint and Alka Seltzer Plus, Spyder Thinsulate, Visa, whats the idea, whatstheidea
The brand planner in me looks at the brand “healthcare reform” and sees everything out of control. No wonder we can’t break through the stasis. The Dems have not managed the discussion, argument or conversation well. They have allowed the GOP to obscure the focus on the good: covering more people, more efficiently, with a systematized, measured approach to healthcare improvement.
Smartly, the Republicans have framed the argument in simple terms: healthcare reform = higher taxes and higher debt. In a time of financial distress, this is an effective strategy. They’ve moved away from “the gov’t shouldn’t be making decisions for doctors” rally, but that was a good ploy. It, with a variety of other shots, added confusion to which the Dems felt a need to respond. President Obama and the Democrats are acting like hockey goalies – fending off shots rather than managing the “healthcare reform” brand.
Healthcare Problems
Most every voter would agree healthcare is fouled up. Been to an emergency room lately? Had to call an insurance company to resolve a bill? Noticed all the paper jockeys in the doctor’s office? Know someone paying COBRA? Had to answer 4 page questionnaires at a doc’s office every time you go? (Can you say computer?) Malpractice insurance? Let’s not even go there.
The reality is the Democrats need to manage the healthcare reform brand like a package of cookies. Focus on the positive and put power and focus behind the message. Healthcare reform is about making Americans healthier. It’s easy to demonstrate, discuss, and prove. It just needs to be organized around an idea. Stop playing politics. Stop defending. Start managing the positive (that’s branding.)
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Tags: branding, cobra, healthcare branding, healthcare reform, obama, whats the idea, whatstheidea
I read a lot of books about branding and marketing. One thing about which they all agree is “read lots of books.” But these books tend to cite similar case studies — especially the new ones trying to make a buck off of social media. One case study you’ll read a good deal about is Monster.com
Leaders lead and Monster is a brand that has done a pretty good job of leading. I’ve spent some time on Monster but honestly, have never used any of the features bloggers and book authors discuss as builders of loyalty and value. Resume writing, dressing for success, etc. have not bound me to Monster one bit. It has always been about the search and user interface. Plus they were first.
Then I took my son to college orientation earlier this year and one the big group presentations was a data party put on by Monster. Smart. The speaker was from Monster, as was the literature and much of the advice. The point of the event was “Here’s what you need to do at school to succeed and get a good job.” They made great points: grades matter, it’s not hard to allocate 2 hours a day to studying, go to class, it will be competitive when you get out. This is a wonderful marketing strategy; beyond wonderful. It was forward-looking, targeted, important, agenda-neutral and believable.
I don’t know where Monster will be in 4 years but I do know where my son will be. And if Monster keeps up with this type of marketing, he will definitely be touched by their brand. When cause marketing is personal it’s a winner. Peace!
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Tags: brand loyalty, branding, cause marketing, jobs, marketing, monster, whats the idea, whatstheidea
Today is Blog Action Day, the topic for which is the environment.
Global warming is a horrific, long-term problem for the planet. The trapping of carbon dioxide, methane and other noxious gases is altering the planet’s flora and fauna in ways we can’t imagine in our day-to-day world view. But the brand “global warming” is in some ways even more insidious. Who ever came up with the term created a brand that’s quite a euphemism. When has the word warm really had such a bad connotation? And how about “climate change” or “greenhouse gases,” those terms shiver me spleen.
Methane gas escaping into our atmosphere accounts for about 1/3 of all greenhouse emissions and stays there for 10 years. Carbon dioxide, the most common gaseous emission, lingers 100 plus years. Are you getting a warm feeling? Not me, I’m pissed.
Methane, carbon dioxide and the euphemistic words used to describe the ecosystem-changing area above our planet need to be demonized. No more happy words! For a society that curses and drops the f-bomb as we do, you’d think we could come up with some more apt, creative words to describe what’s enshrouding our planet. Here are some starter words to think about: toxic, deadly, cancerous, poisonous, noxious, odious, grisly… (Please comment with your entries, I’d enjoy hearing them. Here’s one: Global Warning!)
So on Blog Action Day I could ask you to shut off you lights, use more energy efficient appliances, stop flushing for number 1, and say “no bag please” to the deli guy, but I’d rather you change the way you refer to what happening to the planet. Let’s get more indignant. Let’s get angry! Words matter. Peace!
(Photo by New York Times, and EPA)
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Tags: #BAD09, blog action day, branding, climate change, global warming, greenhouse gases, whats the idea, whatstheidea
There’s this great ad running in the The New York Times showing a pair of blue rubber dishwashing gloves. Scads of copy surround the gloves and an antiseptic logo – the kind that only pharmaceutical companies can make – letting us know this is a DTC drug ad. But for a pharma ad, it’s quite good. It tells a compelling little story. Arthritis pain can interrupt the simplest of daily activities and the drug Humira can help.
So are dishwashing gloves a branding idea?
When Dawn detergent came upon the brilliant and real idea to show the degreasing quality of its product with ducks being washed with Dawn after an oil spill (nice idea John Murphy), was that a branding idea? In both cases the answer is “no.” These are demonstrations. Supports. Tactics. Memorable though they are, and as campaignable as they are, they’re not branding ideas.
For the gloves ad, the branding idea is something like “Humira frees the joints to return to life’s little pleasures.” For Dawn, the branding idea was presumably “Dawn disperses grease better than anything on the planet.” Gloves and greasy ducks may be campaigable elements or icons but they are not strategies – they are not the idea.
Campaigns come and go, a powerful branding idea is indelible. Peace!
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Tags: arthritis, branding, dawn detergent, dtc, Humira, John Murphy, pharmaceutical advertising, whats the idea, whatstheidea
Who should tweet the corporate Twitter account? Should it be one person or a pack? The CEO? CMO? A wired newbie? And if the tweets are more than just customer care, which is so 2009, what should that person tweet about? Regarding the “what,” use the brand plan as your guide. All 140 characters of every corporate Tweet should be on plan.
For example, a protein drink whose brand idea is “uncovering the taste of pure protein” and whose planks are tastes better, digests easier, and improves health — should only allow these messages to market. Every tweet should push these planks. Metaphorically speaking, these messages are deposits in the brand bank. When you know what your “brand money” is and organize it with a brand plan marketing success is just around the corner. And as to who should Tweet the corporate account, if you follow the plan it doesn’t matter. Peace!
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Tags: brand money, Brand Strategy, branding, corporate tweets, corporate twitter accounts, messaging planks, protein drink, twitter, whats the idea, whatstheidea
I went to a workshop yesterday hosted by Starfish Brand Design in NYC. It not only reenergized me, it reminded me there are still some really smart people in the branding business. Starfish preaches that a powerful branding idea is, indeed, indelible but they don’t just preach theory, they make it happen. Unlike some brand consulting companies, Starfish doesn’t stop at the paper strategy — or after the logo, mission statement, and style manual have been delivered. They don’t rest until clients “get” the branding idea and as a company “live” the branding idea.
Starfish goes into overdrive when it comes to helping brands manifest, operationalize and broadcast their unique selling proposition. That’s their point of difference. (My peo-ple!)
Megan Kent and David Kessler, along with the other Starfish tentacles, have a genetic predisposition toward understanding selling culture. They know which parts of the brain light up during the different steps to a sale and apply that learning to help companies sell more stuff. They’ve got the tools and know the tricks. Glad to have been invited to the workshop. Peace!
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Tags: brand design, branding, David Kessler, marketing, megan kent, Starfish, starfish brand design, whats the idea, whatstheidea
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, advertising, positioning and marketing are all about finding a strategy, getting management to support it, then turning it into a powerful branding idea. With a branding idea in place you’ll find it pretty easy to create a campaign (not an overrated approach today) and tactics which will allow consumers to hum your brand tune. Metaphorically speaking.
A branding idea is nothing more than an organizing principle that focuses selling messages to the masses. Often companies do a better job organizing their outbound messages – branding – than their inbound messages. This is most evident in early stage start-ups, where when you ask ten employees what the product is you get 7 answers. Branding must acculturate consumers and employees.
In its simplest form a branding idea is a claim (a consumer promise) backed by a product quality. For Coke, “refreshment” is both a claim and a quality. I sometimes refer to this as the “Is-Does.” Once you have a claim, it only takes hold if accompanied by believable supports or reasons to believe. Supports should be organized too. Brand plans, I preach, should contain 3 support planks. Sounds easy no?
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Tags: branding, branding idea, Is-Does, whatshteidea, “whats the idea”
I’m guessing every kid in a America’s least favorite words, behind “Stitches,” are Hydrogen Peroxide. Just say those words – iodine is in third place – and kids eyes tear and their Galvan Skin Response score goes way up. It’s a fact.
So if Hydrogen Peroxide are such scary words for kids why name a cookie after them? Hydrox. In August, Kellogg is bringing back Hydrox (nemesis of the Oreo) to celebrate the brand’s 100th anniversary, rekindling sales and perhaps mimic Oreo’s growth in China, where Kraft Food’s Oreos have taken off thanks to some smart marketing.
There’s no time left, but Kellogg need a new name for Hydrox before the August launch. The name probably needs to be close enough to Hydox to satisfy older cult followers yet far enough so that kids won’t be repelled. How about Lister-ash? JKJK
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Tags: branding, galvan skin response, hydox, kellogg company, kraft foods, marketing, oreos, whats the idea, whatstheidea
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