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.
Mar 28, 2010 | Branding, Management, Marketing
Building a brand is a “one bit at a time” exercise.
Most aspiring brand managers look at Coke, Google, Microsoft, the local leader in their market, and think about how they can take them on, and win.
The process is useful, but the reality is that you can’t do it in one big bang, it is one brick at a time.
There are many metaphors, I like thinking about the process as a bike race. You need to be in there and fit, and have the support team all pulling for you, there will be ups and downs, opportunities to go faster downhill, and hills you have to really work at to get over, but over the distance, you if build up momentum, experience, consistency, manage the risks and take the opportunities, you may earn a place in the peloton, and if you are good enough, and your timing is right, you can get to the stage finish first. Then, there is just tomorrow.
Building a brand is similar.
Mar 23, 2010 | Branding, Management, Social Media
The phenomena of social media is one that businesses need to understand, and be ready to respond when, rather than if, it gets difficult.
The Nestle Facebook page has been overrun by new “fans” after the publicity surrounding their practices of using palm oil sourced from Indonesia from areas with questionable sustainability practices. On Twitter when I checked a short time ago there were many entries, most about the palm oil, and all of them unhappy.
Justified or otherwise, businesses need to be on the front foot to be able to respond positively, and proactively to the potential of social media to undo brand integrity overnight.
The destruction of a brand, or in Nestles case, many brands is much easier than their construction,
At some point, all organizations will come under the scrutiny of groups utilizing the tools of the social media if they leave any openings at all, and these groups are currently better organised, better focused, and better able to mobilise support. Being proactive is no longer the task that should be given to the graduate trainee, but should be a board issue, as it is a major risk to the Intellectual capital and therefore value of a business.
