Posts Tagged brand creation
What You Could Learn From Costco
Posted by Mike Paffenback in Brand Identity on August 10, 2010
I like going to Costco. Free food samples, good prices on good products, a frequently changing selection, interesting people-watching, and the occasional I’ve-got-to-get-this-today-because-I-know-it-won’t-be-here-tomorrow deal. I’ve bought eyeglasses at Costco. Discounted movie tickets and spa packages. And wine and fresh flowers, too.
It’s big. It’s not too crowded (except on weekends). And there’s something very “I’ve just robbed the bank”-ish about walking out with a 52 pound bag of dog food and having paid what a 25 pound bag would cost at a regular grocery store.
There are at least a dozen other reasons to like Costco. And, for me, it all fits into a singular image of this: selection (not the widest but enough for me most of the time) and value in a no-frills-but-enjoyable shopping experience.
I suspect most loyal Costo customers have the same image. And I suspect the good folks at Costco planned for this image to take root by very deliberately mapping out their brand identity platform, and then executing it to near perfection through their various brand touchpoints.
By developing their brand identity, Costco management also clearly defined several things they are not. Service is not their strong point. Neither is product selection. Elegant ambience is another thing Costo leaves to other retailers. A limited number of locations is ok by them. Product displays are a secondary consideration to functional stocking logistics. All these possible negatives, and more, are just fine with Costco. Because none of them are a part of the brand identity they developed.
Though Costco is unabashedly not all things to all people, they somehow manage to accomodate a very large number of disparate customer groups.
Simply, Costco operates in a manner which is completely synchronized with their strategically-developed brand identity. Their customers come to Costco for the right reasons — the reasons Costco itself has identified and communicated via their brand touch points – and rarely leave disillusioned. And business is good at Costco.
Yes, your business is completely different from Costco’s. But you can take away at least this from the Costco model: it’s ok to remain true to your brand identity and eschew the notion of being all things to all people. It’s not a bad way to run a successful business, as the folks at Costco know.
Your Audience Will Only Catch One Brand Message
Posted by Mike Paffenback in Brand Messaging on August 9, 2010
An ad agency creative director friend of mine shares the story of participating in a client meeting for an important new brand launch. Like many clients, this one had many equally important selling points they insisted needed to be communicated to their audiences.
My friend sat quietly taking notes as the discussion continued around him. When the subject turned to creative execution of the brand messaging platform, he grabbed an armload of ping pong balls — perhaps a dozen, each of which he had been quietly noting with one of the selling points that had been discussed – and gently lobbed the entire armload to the client to catch.
The client caught one ball with one message noted. And he was lucky to catch any at all given the sudden deluge.
Completing the metaphor, my friend suggested that today’s far flung marketing world requires a client focus on one singular message, reinforced time and again in all brand touch points. Because realistically, audiences will only catch and hold onto one message about the brand that’s tossed to them.
And, though I wasn’t there to confirm, it’s unlikely the ball caught by the client represented the single above-all-most-important message the client would have chosen to communicate. No doubt, the client would have agreed it a more controlled practice to cull the balls down to the primary message desired, and then toss only that ball out for the audience to catch.
You, too, have many things that need to be said about your brand. Culling it down to the one most important ball isn’t easy, but it’s the way to ensure your audiences catch what you want them to.
I’ve written before about brand positioning and value proposition – two elements of a brand platform that provide focus for your brand messaging and a standard for how you deliver your brand touch points to reinforce that messaging focus. Nail these and you’ll be in the game in no time.
Madmen & Loyal Brand Customers
Posted by Mike Paffenback in Brand Touchpoints on July 30, 2010
photo copyright AMC
I like the AMC cable tv series, Madmen. It’s set in the early 1960′s New York advertising agency world and seems to deliver an accurate peek into how that business operated back then (well before my time) while weaving in the requisite tv drama of relationship issues, marital affairs, etc.
There’s a natural interest because of the advertising business context, my livelihood for the past 30 years. But there’s something more. There’s a certain visual style, a consistent smartness to the writing, a tight definition of the character roles, a freshness to the plot turns, and a real involvement with the unfolding storyline and the characters. Every time I watch, I have an expectation that my one-hour investment won’t be wasted.
Madmen appeals to me for various reasons, and it continues to reinforce those reasons every time I tune in. From day one, I’ve been a loyal customer of the show. And, until the producers mess up and give me a reason to stray elsewhere, I’ll continue to tune in to AMC every Sunday night at 10pm.
Apparently I’m not alone. The show does well in the ratings and has garnered critical acclaim since it began its run in the summer of 2007. And for uber-fanatics, there are various ways to become even more deeply engaged with the show and it’s characters online and through social media.
Successful tv shows like Madmen are actually no different than successful brands.
Just as for well-liked tv shows, well-liked brands cultivate customer loyalty by consistently reinforcing the reasons those customers became customers to begin with. They do this by carefully identifying, prioritizing, and then deliberately managing the customer interactions with the brand — the brand touchpoints — that drive the sale, reinforce brand loyalty, and foster a genuine long-term engagement.
Customers form a positive image about the brands they repeatedly use, just like they do for the tv shows they routinely watch. Maybe it’s worth thinking about your brands as if they were tv shows:
- Are people tuning in?
- Tuning out?
- Are they regular viewers?
- Hit and miss?
- Loyal fanatics?
- Why?
Getting a handle on this now so you can better manage your brand touchpoints that matter will pay off with brand loyalty later.
Starting a New Company = New Brand Opportunity
Posted by Mike Paffenback in Brand Identity, Brand Positioning, Brand Value Proposition on July 29, 2010
A blank slate. A fresh start. A new company. If you’re at the starting line for sure-fire success with a new venture, congratulations.
One way to pave the way for that success is to consider the kind of brand image you want to have. Do it today. Right now. Because whether you manage it now or not, the simple truth is that an image will start taking root of your company, product, and service. And unless you take control of this yourself right from the start, you might not be too happy with what that image is.
When you contemplated starting your new venture, you most likely decided what kind of company you wanted to be relative to the competitive solutions already available to your future customers. Ideally, you can identify several points of distinction between your company and your new competitors. Maybe it’s the products. Or the pricing. Or quality. Or service after the sale. Or … whatever.
Take all of this stuff rolling around in your head and spend some time writing it down for each of your brands. Then, sit back and craft a vision/values statement for each brand: the irrefutable truth about what your brand unconditionally stands for.
Next, write out your brand value proposition: the basic, functional benefits a customer will derive from using your brand; the emotional/feeling benefits a customer will derive; and, if appropriate, the self-image benefits a customer will derive. Think about the relative role your pricing will play in the benefits equation, too.
Then move on to crafting your brand position. This is what you’ll actively communicate to your prospective customers that demonstrates a distinctive and decisive advantage over your competitors.
Finally, map out the various ways you’ll likely interact with prospects and customers throughout the sales process: before, during, and after. The obvious ways, and the not-so obvious ways. Prioritize these relative to their impact on the sale or customer retention. Then, create a plan to proactively manage the delivery of these interactions — your brand touchpoints — so that they’re in sync with your brand position platform, your brand value proposition, and your brand vision statement.
If you do this, you’ll be in better control of what kind of image the public forms about your brand — because you’ve defined what you hope that image to be and you have a management plan to ensure it happens.
And a strong, positive brand image leads to a strong, positive growth chart for your business. Good luck.