Old School Branding

Call me old fashioned if you wish, but some things, even in branding, remain key, regardless of all the bells and whistles, beautiful ideas and ever changing trends that face the brand world today.

I have to agree with Helen Edwards in her article, Old School Branding on Brand Republic (which by the way is one of the best platforms on marketing and branding news and views available).

But back to Helen and her recognition of the simple things that make branding work.

She uses the London Business School as an example, in that they truly are revolutionary and a pillar in contributing to business and society, BUT their branding sucks, or rather the execution thereof (execution is a big word and if you don't get it right consistently can bite you in the butt).

Short and simple Helen sums it up:

"The (relatively) easy and fun bit of branding is the theory - the workshops on values, generating ideas and coming up with a new slogan.

The hard bit is executing it consistently and coherently in everything you do and say - and unless everyone is engaged in the process and understands the part they play, you haven’t got a chance.

People on the inside will get bored with the brand and want to change it long before anyone on the outside has really grabbed hold of what it is. They should take a very deep breath before doing so, and give it, say, another ten years before they scratch that itch."

Helen for (branding) president!!

We only sell, because customers buy brands...it's not rocketscience!!!

There is interdependency between brand and business, but we should understand the correct cause – effect relationship between the two.

Companies do not build great businesses by doing 'branding' brilliantly. They build great brands by doing business brilliantly

- and by understanding the role of branding within this much bigger picture.

They all need fuel and the essential fuel of business is revenue.

There can be no bottom line without a top line

and the top line is caused by sales. We can sell only because customers buy brands. The purpose of business, therefore, is to keep creating and adding value to the brand which is the ultimate appreciating asset.

Derived from:
Gordon Cook's article You cannot pack a house into a cupboard. Cook is the Vega school of Brand Communication's principal. AND a presentation done by Anthony Swart from Brand Union, South Africa at the Branding Conference 2009.

Don’t sell the drill, sell the hole

"Unless you can show a consumer how those features can contribute to solving their problems/needs etc. you are probably only going to sell one, and that will be to your mother"

This is an age old and basic marketing and advertising principle. Yet, some marketers seem to be getting it horribly wrong. I almost fell over this week when our local blood bank was doing a blood drive.

Guess what stared me in the face as I was walking on our campus? A larger than life billboard showing a needle penetrating an arm in all and glorious gore with that very same arm pumping blood!!

I don’t know about you, but I am petrified of needles and that image is the very last thing that will motivate me should I ever pucker up the courage to donate.

This is just one example of how advertisers and marketers get the art of selling horribly horribly wrong.

As flattering as the thought might be, consumers don’t buy your product because they want your product.

No, they buy it because they have a real or perceived problem/need/desire/want etc. that they perceive your product will satisfy.

They're not selling tickets to a boat trip. They're selling an escape to luxury and relaxation.

Take clothes shopping for example (the favourite past time of most women, myself included).

Don’t think for one second that women buy clothes because of the fear of going naked.

That might be a valid reason, but definitely not the only one. If that was the only reason, we could all cut some holes in refuse bags and wear that.

No, most women buy clothes because they want to look and feel beautiful. And how do Woolworths, Truworths and Foschini etc. adverise their clothing? They don’t lay them flat on the floor and slap the unedited pics in magazines and on billboards. NO, they get gourgeous models to wear the clothes in unbelievably beautiful settings that portray the ideal lifestyle and sell that image.

So next time you are thinking of selling something to someone, stop looking at it from your perspective.

You might know everything there is about your product, but unless you can show a consumer how those features can contribute to solving their problems/needs etc. you are probably only going to sell one, and that will be to your mother.

Advertising bug repellent, Avon spends little of the page on the actual product and the majority on the benefits of using that product hold.

Quirky Photography

I have just found this amazing advertising art photography site b-hive! Check it out! No fluffy babies and endless landscapes just quirky pics from a great cooperative of photographers!

The Art and Science of Marketing by Dowling: Chapter 1

I have been reading the most amazing book on marketing! Before you start thinking that this is the next big thing, it's not! I am a great advocate of the fact that we should master the basics before we start getting fancy. And that is exactly what The Art and Science of Marketing: Marketing for Marketing Managers by Grahame R. Dowling is all about.

If you want to see for yourself, here is the link to the Google Books version and if you would like to purchase (which I would strongly recommend), here is the link to Amazon.

Following is a summary of what I got out of Chapter 1:

"There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer. (To achieve this purpose): Any business enterprise has two, and only two, basic functions - marketing and innovation." - Peter Drucker (The founder of modern management).

p1
Most consumers are agnostic to particular forms of technology. What they really want and value are the benefits and the solutions to problems that the technology can provide them with.

p2
Marketing, as the root word in the term implies, is the function of a business or a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on the marketplace. This begs the question of what is a market?

Dowling then uses the example of how the Polaroid camera competed with the entertainment market in the 90s. 18 to 30 year olds stopped going out so much, but rather took instant photographs at house parties and so denting the entertainment industry's market share with a total different need satisfaction object.

Supply-Side View
This perspective traditionally focuses on all the competitors that supply physically similar products and services. Descriptions include the type of industry, the number and nature of competitors, business models, manufacturing processes etc. Adopting a supply-side perspective can result in losing sight of the needs of customers.

p3
Business-to-enterprise / Internal Marketing
Another group of people to whom the ideas of marketing can be applied is employees. Here, the task of managers is to 'sell' the vision, culture, control systems, operating procedures, etc. of the organisation to employees and agents.

p5
Two of the roles of marketing are to act as:

• the 'match making' function of the organisation
• the market-sensing part of the organisation

Living the Brand: Aligning Organisational Culture & Strategy

"If you want to out-execute your competitors, you must communicate clear strategies, reinforce those values in everything the company does, and allow people the freedom to act, trusting they will execute consistent with the values. It calls for a commitment from employees that goes way beyond the normal company-employee relationship" (Gerstner as quoted by Ind, 2009:4). This can be done through ‘Living the Brand’ strategy.

The Challenge

A company must make ‘living the brand’ a key business objective which requires a multi-dimensional approach, including everyone from HR to Logistics, to the Accounts department and more. To get everyone on the same page, excellent communication is necessary to create a culture where employees are valued. This of course then creates a sense of belonging through loyalty, pride and commitment (Boyd & Sutherland, 2006).

This culture, should be the building blocks in creating a 'Living the Brand' strategy.

Your Corporate Brand and Living the Brand

A brand is the outward manifestation of the organisational strategy. Your brand is a component of everything your company does. Therefore a brand is represented by the entire organization. A strong brand requires that everyone in the organisation has a complete understanding of and an ability to express the brand (Spark, 2003).

This suggests that ‘living the brand’ is about ensuring the linkage between employee attitudes and behaviour and overall business goals (Ind, 2009).

When internal stakeholders (employees) care about and believe in the brand, they’re motivated to work harder and their loyalty to the company increases. Employees are unified and inspired by a common sense of purpose and identity (Mitchell, 2002).

For the brand to come to life with customers (and create a bond based on values that are backed up by performance), it needs to form the backbone of organisational culture (Spark, 2003). The organisation should therefore strive to attain a culture of ‘living the brand’.

Some background… Socio-cultural Connection

An employee defines her/himself in their world of work in terms of identity as a member of a group, one’s place within a larger community, one’s role in regard to others, and relationships

• Interaction and the creation of reality
• Culture
• Community
• Symbols
• Context
• Establishment of identity

Corporate Culture

Culture is constantly enacted and created by our interactions, and shaped by leadership behaviour, structures, routines & rules. [Organisational] culture is pervasive & holistic.

It is embodied by:

• Observed behavioural regularities when people interact
• Group norms
• Espoused values
• Formal philosophies
• Rules of the game (more often unwritten)
• Climate
• Embedded skills
• Habits of thinking, mental models
• Integrating systems embodied in aesthetics
• Formal rituals or celebrations
  

Making it Work

The stronger the culture and the more it is directed toward the marketplace, the less need for policy manuals, organisation charts, or detailed procedures and rules (Waterman as quoted by Hofstede, 1994:179). An organisation should attempt to guide its members toward a strong culture.

Organisational Culture and Living the Brand

Brand values need to become the invisible glue of the organisation, and in so doing project a culture of oneness. The brand values (should) embody cultural values; by living the brand, you exude organisational culture. This provides direction and clarifies expectations for customers, employees and the organization.

Constructing the Living the Brand Strategy

True culture is voluntarily accepted and collectively created by employees, not coercively enforced by top management.

Look within first: are you achieving congruence between the organisation’s soul and culture producing mechanisms? Whilst truth is fundamental, an element of vision needs to be included in your organisational culture creating campaign. Translate the strategy into the tangible.

Mechanisms of Implementation

On a tactical, mid-management level, internal branding may include ongoing training, encouragement of formal & informal communications such as newsletters & internal market segmentation.

At the strategic, top management level, internal marketing extends to the adoption of supportive management styles and personnel policies, customer service training and planning procedures.

Lastly

Millions are spent each year on the right location, information and logistics technology, when the employees render all value-adding measures useless with their lack of passion for the strategic vision. This can be corrected with actively pursuing the strategy through culture creation. True success lies in the fundamental fabric of the culture of an organisation. Living the brand is that fundamental fabric.

Sources

BOYD, G. & SUTHERLAND, M. 2006. Obtaining employee commitment to living the brand of the organisation, South Africa Journal of Business Management, 37(1):9-20.

HOFSTEDE, G. 1994. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, London: Harper Collins Publishers.

IND, N. 2009. Inside out: how employees build value, http://www.mycustomer.com/ct/DOWNLOAD/5355/3/doclibrary/download/5355/insightexec-077.pdf, Date Posted: 2003, Date Accessed: 3 May 2009

MITCHELL, C. 2002. Selling the Brand Inside: You tell customers what makes you great Do your employees know? Harvard Business Review, 80(7):99-105, July.

SPARK, J. 2003. Living the Brand drives sustainable competitive advantage, http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/82/2751.html, Date Posted: 13 November 2003, Date Accessed: 2 May 2009.

TELLIS, G.J., PRABHU, J.C. & CHANDY, R.K. 2009. Radical Innovation Across Nations: The Pre-eminence of Corporate Culture, Journal of Marketing 73:3–23, January.

Is Social Media a Fad?

This video confirmed that corporates and individuals must adjust the glasses with which they are viewing potential for coverage and exposure. Well worth watching.