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Brand Planks For Good.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Brand strategy is an organizing principle that gives brand managers a “go-no go” guide for product, experience and messaging. It makes branding easy.

Nicholas Kristof in the NYT today was talking about the social entrepreneurs attending Davos and how refreshing they were to have around.  He was poo-pooing consumerists who are all about the money.

Doing “good” in a commercial sense is smart strategy.  In my practice, when I’m looking at care-abouts and god-ats, I try to plot and push brand planks that are socially positive. It’s not hard to do, and it can’t be forced, but it butts up against the nature of what makes humans humans.  

When a cigarette ad choses to shoot a photo at the top of a mountain on a bluebird day amongst cottony snow drifts, it’s hitting our natural beauty button. When a box of diapers shows an amazing toddler smile, it hits a warm, nurture button. But advertising which use positive imagery to cloud our judgement about what is “good” is disingenuous. And it give marketing a bad name.

A brand strategy, built with brand planks supporting positive social ideals is deeply human. And enduring.

Peace.

A New Market Shaker.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Anthony Noto was just names CEO of SoFi, the online banking lender. Mr. Noto came to my attention when named chief marketing officer of Twitter – with nary a marketing bone in his body. He was hired as Twitter’s CFO, then slid over into marketing side of the house (two hats) after spending time at Goldman Sachs and the NFL.  The gent knows finance and business. And gets technology, but he’s no nerd.  I’m betting he’ll really find his footing at SoFi.  Having spent time with Jack Dorsey and absorbing the Square’s platform and financial designs, he’ll have a nice non-Goldman view of the world.  

Still not sure if Mr. Noto is a marketer but marketing is easier with a great product. And I’m guessing he’ll be able to take Sofi’s gerrymander-the-lending-market approach and build some smart products.

Money, be it paper or digits, isn’t going away. And Mr. Noto is back where he belongs with some nice learning along the way.

Watch him.  

Peace.

 

Healthcare (B)Ads

By
Steve Poppe
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0

I was watching a TV ad last night for a local hospital and groaned to the wifus as the fifth obligatory shot of a doctor group hit the screen. You’ve seen it before — the blue scrubs, four or five smiling heads. (Proper smiling is harder than surgery for some.)  The only things that set this spot apart from the hundreds of other interchangeable hospital spots was the fact that each doc/nurse held a card containing a smiley face. And each smiley face was on what I thought was an outline of the state of NC.  My wife told me it was a smiley face on a heart outline. A Valentines heart.

She thought it cute. Me not so much.

What was the muscle memory of the ad, which I believe was created for Pardee Hospital?  If the cards held by the doctors were hearts, I’m assuming they have a cardiology practice.  Otherwise, the only take-away was they have a lot of people working there. And they can all stand up.  The copy was gobbledy, the visuals deafening in their silence, no idea and, frankly, no heart. “We’re Here” advertising at is worst.

The state of the advertising art in healthcare continues to be at an all-time low. Search What’s The Idea? posts for comments about Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to see that even the best practitioners are lagging. Pity.

Peace.

 

Brand Strategy Vs. Journalism.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

It seems that what I do for a living as a brand planner is similar to what I’d do were I a journalist. I interview lots of people to see where it takes me before culling the information and shaping the findings into a piece of writing. In my case the writing leads to a directive for a marketing team – a boil down – in the form of a brand brief. In the case of the journalist it leads to a fluid story meant to inform, educate and, perhaps, motivate.

I suspect journalists have a direction in mind before they start, either at the behest of an editor or an expected reader interest angle. Maybe that’s where the journalist differs from the brand planner. As a brand planner I have no going-in direction. My hope it to learn at the knees of consumers and product builders and let direction emerge. If my learning suggests the builders need to make changes, I share that. If it suggests consumers need to make changes, I share that too.

The process used by journalists and the brand planners may be similar, but the outputs are way different. In both cases, outputs need to be compelling. But for brand planner the rewards are etched in the tabula much longer.

Peace.   

 

The Chess Team

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Back a couple of decades ago I wrote a memo to the president of FCB/Lever Katz, an ad agency in NYC, during a new business pitch for the consumer portion of the AT&T account, expected to be a $200 million dollar account.  There had been a reorganization of AT&T and the head of the business business unit was moved to oversee consumer, a promotion of sorts. He was a marketing rock star. AT&T at the time was the clear market leader in telecommunications, but MCI was a smart, pesky and growing adversary. He business unit head was MCI’s nightmare. He was also very cagey. He would invent market-changing business “plays” for his ad agency to execute as ads by MCI, and confront his product marketing team with them to keep them on their toes.

The memo I drafted while at FCB/Leber Katz, outlined this gentleman’s modus operandi, his paranoia and his gunslinger mentality.

After the new business pitch was won by FCB/Leber Katz, it was reported that all competing agencies has come up with great ideas, taglines, cinema and media plans. FCB/Leber Katz, however, won the business, it was reported, because of a spectacular piece of music scored by a creative director (eventually recorded by Whitney Huston) and a strategic group called the “Chess Team,” a planning group whose sole responsibility was to predict future MCI, Sprint and other competitors moves.

The power of the memo.

Peace.

Values Do Not Make Resolute Brands.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

I found a little piece of scratch paper in my pile with this quote on it:

“Customers who share your values will be attracted to your brand and are likely to become loyal to your brand and even enthusiastic advocates.” 

The quote was by Brad Van Auken of Forbes.

If you believe this statement raise your hand.  As they say in NY, if you believe this statement “I have a bridge to sell you.” It’s a nice sentiment, but not something brand planners should be concerning themselves with. Brand planks are a marriage of “good-ats” and “care-abouts” — what a brand is good at and what customers care about.  

Unless you are good at values, as a non-profit might be, it’s best to focus brand strategy on tangible product benefits. Leave the values for the PR and corporate responsibility departments.

If you do go the value route, the values you pick are going to be noncontroversial and values others are likely to pick. I’m not being insensitive here just pragmatic. I don’t buy Hellman’s mayonnaise for values. I don’t drink Voodoo Ranger for values. I don’t buy Marmot tents for values. Values are nice, but they are not a brand’s day job.

If you are in a meeting with a brand shop and they’re going on and on about value-based brand planks, and charitable give-backs, politely bit them adieu. I’m sure they’re wonderful, generous people, but they have, likely, never build a resolute brand.

Peace.

PS. Charity work and sustainability are important, they are just not brand planks. For examples write steve@whatstheidea.com.

 

 

Brand Planning and Startups.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

I’ve done a good deal of brand work with startups.  It’s not the easiest work but it is exciting because a great deal of the planning takes place “beyond the dashboard.” When I break out the “24 Questions,” (the follow the money questions) there’s not a lot of history to discuss. No last year’s earnings. No market segments. Just lots of nos and nones. (Note: Beyond the dashboard planning refers to tabula rasa planning, contrasting with the more common “rearview mirror” or “side view mirror” planning.)

And let’s not even start talking about how founders, especially in the tech space, can change strategy. Like underwear. More disciplined startup founders may change business strategy only once or twice. Sometimes a meandering proof-of-concept is the culprit, e.g., you build a brand around family doctors and specialists want to purchase, or you focus on ecommerce and people keep paying you for search. Shit happens.

The more flighty founders (the underwear changers) can be influenced by the last meeting they were in; say, an investor or a key industry blogger. (Been there, learned from that.)

But startups are a good training grounds for brand planners. Planners can have a powerful influence on direction. Even if founders don’t abide   It creates structure for them. Yeses and Nos. Ones and Zeroes. 

If you are a brand planner, you need to bracket your experience with some startups. Trust me.

Peace.

 

 

Inchoate. Word of the day.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

I’ve never used the word inchoate in a blog post before. Its definition is hard to remember, as is its pronunciation. I means “not fully formed” or “partially in existence.”  Okay, okay you know where this is going. Am I that transparent?

Most brands use inchoate brand strategy. Everyone says that have a brand strategy. Everyone believes in their logical minds, they have a thing called a brand — comprising a name, logo, and a Ramblin Jack Elliot value proposition. But were you to ask for an articulation of that strategy, in words, on a piece of paper, they’ll want to change the subject.  Ask marketing directors at service companies and B2B companies and it gets worse. You are likely to get push back about brands being for packaged goods. So “nope.”

With the disintermediation of sales and marketing, due in part to Google and the web, brands left unmanaged are brands without endurance.

Brand strategy sets direction for product, experience and messaging. It provides guardrails. Consumers understand brand strategy. They can articulate it, just like they can articulate words from an ad campaign. “We are farmers…” But only when clear. When managed.

Inchoate brand strategy is the enemy. Fix it.

Peace.  

 

Discipline

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Brand strategy is, in a word, discipline. I define brand strategy as an organizing principle for product, experience and messaging; that’s all fine and good. But if the paper strategy isn’t actualized by management and marketing, all is for naught. As someone who came up in the ad business, I know that getting work approved is the financial goal. Getting good work approved is the business goal. And in all the day-to-day management of those processes, holding to strategy often gets overlooked. That’s the ad business. On the marketing side, it’s even more complicated. More moving parts. So adherence to strategy isn’t easy. Business strategy is “make more money.” Brand strategy is “make more people love the brand, so you can make more money.”

It takes disciple during all the marketing horse trading to hold to a brand strategy. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the according to Mike Tyson. That’s how it is with brand strategy. Everybody has a brand strategy until they get punched in the face. 

Strong brand is a most critical KPI. (Imagine if you changed your name every year.) It sets direction and it sets expectation. Disciplined brand strategy undergirds all successful brands.  Checkmate.

Peace.    

 

Feeling Is Believing.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Before Christmas, I was removing dead strings of Christmas lights from garland – not a recommended pastime – and as the mind wandered I thought of my favorite pastime brand planning. While hunting for the next light in the branches I found that my sense of touch was often more powerful than my eyesight. When I couldn’t see the next light I just had to feel for it.  It dawned on me, as my fingers began to lose feeling, that most marketing is visual. Even radio, though an auditory medium, paints a visual picture. Ads, websites, search links are all constructs that show or tell consumers what to buy.

Brand strategy, however, is a more “eyes closed” selling medium. Close your eyes and tell me why you buy Coca-Cola. Close your eyes and tell me why you prefer Burton snow board pants. Close your eyes and explain your preference for Disney World over Six Flags.

Of course there are visual cues in branding that spark associations, but done the right way the most powerful associations are feelings.

The difference between good and great brand planners can be found in their ability to drill past marketing jargon and ad phraseology and head straight to feelings. Feeling is believing.

Peace.

 

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