Apr 8, 2010 | Branding, Communication, Marketing
Band building is hard, it is about creating and nurturing the stories about the products that have a resonance with a section of the market to whom the story has particular relevance, that sustain the difference between yours and the others.
I like a beer, and find myself drinking Coopers a bit more, it is different, it says something about me, and what I like.
To the point.
This blog was written whilst having a coffee and a think. The building opposite has an ad on it for Coopers beer, all it said was “brewed by beer nuts” with a photo of some beer nuts, a small Coopers logo, and a few words telling the reader that Coopers’ is a family company, that has been brewing beer for 120 years.
Lovely pun, and it left the impression of a small company battling the giants, just so you can have a beer with a bit of style, character, brewed with skill, integrity, and personal history. The advertisement adds to the story of the brand, it doesn’t just try to whack us over the head with a message that pushes us to have a beer now!. While it builds awareness, the story gains a spot in our crowded lives, to be recalled when next a beer is about to be ordered. Advertising that adds to the story of the brand, lovely.
Apr 7, 2010 | Branding, Marketing, Operations
Toyota has been lined up for a maximum fine of $16.4 million by US regulators for failing to report a fault within the statutory time. In the scheme of things the fine is a flea bite for Toyota, but the impact on the hard earned brand reputation of the current quality issues will be substantial.
It is paradoxical that Toyota is being fined for a quality failure, as the impact of Toyota in the quality of the auto industry over the last 30 years has been immense, Toyota has led the “Lean” revolution in manufacturing, and has been remarkably open and prepared to assist all comers, especially competitors.
Years ago, the US quality guru, W. Edwards Deming who was the primary architect of the quality revolution in Japan after the war, noted that as companies focus on increasing market share and profitability in the short term, customer service and quality will suffer in the long term. It would appear that this is what has happened to Toyota. As they consolidated as the largest auto manufacturer in the world, demand for their cars and light commercials outstripped supply, simply because of their superior quality and the way they met customer expectations in a range of areas. Under commercial pressure to meet demand, Toyotas increase in production capacity outran their increase in management capacity. I’m pretty sure that the fine will be an internal wake-up call, and the quality culture of Toyota will re-assert itself.
Apr 5, 2010 | Branding, Communication, Innovation, Marketing, Social Media
As you wander through the blogosphere, the pre-launch hype about the ipad is astonishing.
There are many reviews, but as very few have seen one, they are all just speculation, or Apple insiders doing their bit towards the marketing blitzkrieg.
Now it is launched, and there are reports of 700,000 being sold in the first 24 hours, perhaps there may be some realism emerging, but most of those early buyers will see nothing but the “greatness” they ascribe to the Apple brand, the shortcomings will not be noticed.
Those of us who build brands are in awe of the branding skills of Apple, but should remember their overnight branding success came after 30 years, and included some pretty ordinary stuff amongst the brilliance. Now their innovation machine is almost as well oiled as their marketing machine, but how are they going to hype away the advantage Kindle holds over access to books and magazines, or will they just accept that ipad will need to connect to Amazon to be competitive, and move on.
I suspect not, rather the other functionality will be the focus of attention, and shortcomings will be managed away.
Apr 3, 2010 | Marketing, Small business
One of the huge barriers to success in many small businesses I see, is that they tend to think that because they have a great product, produced with care and attention to detail, they should be successful, that customers will find their way to them.
By default, they believe marketing is not necessary, or it is a lesser priority than maintaining the product integrity and operational efficiency of their plants.
Hello!
Finding, engaging and satisfying customers who care about your great product is the game, marketing is the name. Producing a great product, at a value price, and providing the backup necessary to be competitive, is just the entry price.
Mar 30, 2010 | Communication, Leadership, Social Media
How do companies harness the power of social networking to the benefit of their businesses?.
It is simply a fact that employees will go into facebook, twitter, and so on, using company time and resources, rather than trying to stop them, which King Canute found hard to do with the tide, figure out how to harness it.
In many cases, this will be confronting, and require a change of attitude in the executive suite, but employees will rarely publicly dump on their employer, unless it is really deserved, in which case you should thank them for bringing the issue to your attention, not belt them for telling the truth. Employees are always your best advocates, (and conversely, harshest critics)let them advocate!
Here are a few thoughts:
- Encourage employees to post and link back to the companies site
- Provide a forum for their comments, on your intranet, a free newsletter site, or a facebook group location
- Ensure senior management engagement in the process, they are in a position to make the changes called for, but on line, are just another offering commentary, so not as threatening as in the normal course of events
- Reward good suggestions, and follow up on failures that are highlighted, and address the causes, and be transparent about both.
- Engage, motivate and lead them, so the time spent on social sites at work is not sorting out their personal calendar, and reviewing the Saturday night shenanigans, but adding value to the business.
When you are doing all of the above, the time employees spend on the web will be an investment from which you will receive a great return.
Mar 30, 2010 | Marketing, Small business, Strategy
Trader Joes in the US is not a huge chain, but they are one of the ones to watch to see what the others will be doing in the future.
Joes has a rich history of being different, and their customers love it.
The latest move is to announce that they will be rapidly changing seafood supplies to sustainable sources, of seafood, and if history repeats, this will be the first of many to follow that line. It is probable that Woolworths or Coles in Austalia will follow closely, there may be an opportunity emerging for aquaculture suppliers to gain shelf sapce, and for the retailers to lift the poor performance of their seafood counters.
