Sticky Branding

Marketing to Generation Y: The Experience Culture

Note: Ok, this is a little off topic but its wonderfully valuable advice.

posted by Bea Fields at Fast Company

Generation Y. You’ve heard that they don’t watch TV, and you’ve probably been told that they don’t read that much. Your research tells you that you can’t target them through MTV anymore, and you certainly can’t tell Gen Y what is cool. So how do you reach these 71 million “Millennials” that spend over 200 billion dollars annually and will soon replace the baby boomer generation as the largest percentage of the workforce? The answer is simple—you STOP marketing to them. Let me explain.

First, let's look at who they are. As a baby boomer, I can tell you that this generation—sometimes called the "Connecteds"—are our own invention. We raised Gen Y on a strong dose of praise to believe that they could do anything or be anything. We made their lives easy enough that they now believe they deserve to live first and work comes after living. (How dare them!) So the first thing we have to do is to stop being pissed off at our own creation and embrace the brilliance of the Gen Y community. If you don't first respect them, you can't expect them to want to do business with you.

How to Fix the Advertising Industry

Source: Jack Trout, Branding Strategy Insider

The press is abuzz with stories about big companies moving dollars out of traditional advertising media and into product placements and other newer marketing methods. One expert after another is predicting that the ad industry as we know it has lost its way and is in decline. Stories about TiVo, buzz and the Internet are all the rage. But before everyone packs up their resumes and jumps ship, I think it's time for a more reasoned view of things--or at least one that gets us away from all of the negative hype and the doom and gloom. Let's start with what should be the role of the advertising agency.

Traditionally, the agency's role is to be the objective "outsider." The agency counsels the client on how to best sell their products or services to their marketplace, how to position the brand vis-a-vis the competition, and how to verbalize their message with that "reason to buy." Candor and honesty were always the hallmarks of a good agency/client relationship, as agencies played a major role in developing strategy for their clients.

A true story is in order here: Many years ago, a senior account supervisor was reminiscing to me about the old days in the business. He recounted a meeting in a hotel where the CEO of the client and the head of the agency were lying in bed together discussing strategy. The account supervisor said to me, "Jack, the industry problem is that we're not in bed with the CEOs anymore."

He was right. As the years have rolled by, I've seen less and less of that kind of relationship. Agencies have backed off on pushing strategy, as clients became more assertive in this regard. Instead, agencies retreated to creativity, emotion or humor as their contributions to the brand. The net result: Today, a lot of advertising lacks that reason to buy. Too many people looked at the advertisement and said, "What are they trying to sell? It's no wonder clients are beginning to question traditional advertising's usefulness. As Pogo would say about the ad business, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

The press is abuzz with stories about big companies moving dollars out of traditional advertising media and into product placements and other newer marketing methods. One expert after another is predicting that the ad industry as we know it has lost its way and is in decline. Stories about TiVo, buzz and the Internet are all the rage. But before everyone packs up their resumes and jumps ship, I think it's time for a more reasoned view of things--or at least one that gets us away from all of the negative hype and the doom and gloom. Let's start with what should be the role of the advertising agency.

Traditionally, the agency's role is to be the objective "outsider." The agency counsels the client on how to best sell their products or services to their marketplace, how to position the brand vis-a-vis the competition, and how to verbalize their message with that "reason to buy." Candor and honesty were always the hallmarks of a good agency/client relationship, as agencies played a major role in developing strategy for their clients.

A true story is in order here: Many years ago, a senior account supervisor was reminiscing to me about the old days in the business. He recounted a meeting in a hotel where the CEO of the client and the head of the agency were lying in bed together discussing strategy. The account supervisor said to me, "Jack, the industry problem is that we're not in bed with the CEOs anymore."

He was right. As the years have rolled by, I've seen less and less of that kind of relationship. Agencies have backed off on pushing strategy, as clients became more assertive in this regard. Instead, agencies retreated to creativity, emotion or humor as their contributions to the brand. The net result: Today, a lot of advertising lacks that reason to buy. Too many people looked at the advertisement and said, "What are they trying to sell? It's no wonder clients are beginning to question traditional advertising's usefulness. As Pogo would say about the ad business, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Clutter

Today's real competition doesn't come from other companies but from the extreme clutter of the marketplace. You can't fight clutter with clutter and expect better results because the human mind deals with clutter by blocking most of it out. Only the most interesting or useful stuff is retained.

In order for your brand to stand out in all this clutter it needs to be RADICALLY DIFFERENT.

Brand Positioning: Remember This

Source: Jack Trout, Branding Strategy Insider

What seven concepts are critical to positioning?

   1. Perception (their’s, not your’s)
   2. Differentiation
   3. Competition
   4. Specialization
   5. Simplicity
   6. Leadership
   7. Reality

To sell concepts, products and services, you have to understand how the mind works:

   1. The mind is a limited container.
   2. The mind creates "product ladders" for each category (cars, toothpaste, accounting services, hamburgers, etc.) There is always a top rung and a bottom rung in each category.
   3. The mind can only remember seven items in a high interest category. Most people remember only two or three items in a category.
   4. On the product ladder, Positions One and Position Two typically account for more than 60 per cent of the sales in that category. In other words, Positions Three, Four and Subsequent are not profitable.
   5. The mind hates complexity. To the mind, complexity equals confusion. People don’t have time to figure out confusion.
   6. The best way to enter the mind is to OVER-SIMPLIFY the message.
   7. The most powerful positioning is to reduce your message to one simple and easily understood word.
   8. Minds are insecure. Most people buy what others buy: this is the "herd mentality."
   9. Minds don’t change—easily.

What seven concepts are critical to positioning?

   1. Perception (their’s, not your’s)
   2. Differentiation
   3. Competition
   4. Specialization
   5. Simplicity
   6. Leadership
   7. Reality

To sell concepts, products and services, you have to understand how the mind works:

   1. The mind is a limited container.
   2. The mind creates "product ladders" for each category (cars, toothpaste, accounting services, hamburgers, etc.) There is always a top rung and a bottom rung in each category.
   3. The mind can only remember seven items in a high interest category. Most people remember only two or three items in a category.
   4. On the product ladder, Positions One and Position Two typically account for more than 60 per cent of the sales in that category. In other words, Positions Three, Four and Subsequent are not profitable.
   5. The mind hates complexity. To the mind, complexity equals confusion. People don’t have time to figure out confusion.
   6. The best way to enter the mind is to OVER-SIMPLIFY the message.
   7. The most powerful positioning is to reduce your message to one simple and easily understood word.
   8. Minds are insecure. Most people buy what others buy: this is the "herd mentality."
   9. Minds don’t change—easily.

What seven concepts are critical to positioning?

   1. Perception (their’s, not your’s)
   2. Differentiation
   3. Competition
   4. Specialization
   5. Simplicity
   6. Leadership
   7. Reality

To sell concepts, products and services, you have to understand how the mind works:

   1. The mind is a limited container.
   2. The mind creates "product ladders" for each category (cars, toothpaste, accounting services, hamburgers, etc.) There is always a top rung and a bottom rung in each category.
   3. The mind can only remember seven items in a high interest category. Most people remember only two or three items in a category.
   4. On the product ladder, Positions One and Position Two typically account for more than 60 per cent of the sales in that category. In other words, Positions Three, Four and Subsequent are not profitable.
   5. The mind hates complexity. To the mind, complexity equals confusion. People don’t have time to figure out confusion.
   6. The best way to enter the mind is to OVER-SIMPLIFY the message.
   7. The most powerful positioning is to reduce your message to one simple and easily understood word.
   8. Minds are insecure. Most people buy what others buy: this is the "herd mentality."
   9. Minds don’t change—easily.

What seven concepts are critical to positioning?

   1. Perception (their’s, not your’s)
   2. Differentiation
   3. Competition
   4. Specialization
   5. Simplicity
   6. Leadership
   7. Reality

To sell concepts, products and services, you have to understand how the mind works:

   1. The mind is a limited container.
   2. The mind creates "product ladders" for each category (cars, toothpaste, accounting services, hamburgers, etc.) There is always a top rung and a bottom rung in each category.
   3. The mind can only remember seven items in a high interest category. Most people remember only two or three items in a category.
   4. On the product ladder, Positions One and Position Two typically account for more than 60 per cent of the sales in that category. In other words, Positions Three, Four and Subsequent are not profitable.
   5. The mind hates complexity. To the mind, complexity equals confusion. People don’t have time to figure out confusion.
   6. The best way to enter the mind is to OVER-SIMPLIFY the message.
   7. The most powerful positioning is to reduce your message to one simple and easily understood word.
   8. Minds are insecure. Most people buy what others buy: this is the "herd mentality."
   9. Minds don’t change—easily.

What seven concepts are critical to positioning?

   1. Perception (their’s, not your’s)
   2. Differentiation
   3. Competition
   4. Specialization
   5. Simplicity
   6. Leadership
   7. Reality

To sell concepts, products and services, you have to understand how the mind works:

   1. The mind is a limited container.
   2. The mind creates "product ladders" for each category (cars, toothpaste, accounting services, hamburgers, etc.) There is always a top rung and a bottom rung in each category.
   3. The mind can only remember seven items in a high interest category. Most people remember only two or three items in a category.
   4. On the product ladder, Positions One and Position Two typically account for more than 60 per cent of the sales in that category. In other words, Positions Three, Four and Subsequent are not profitable.
   5. The mind hates complexity. To the mind, complexity equals confusion. People don’t have time to figure out confusion.
   6. The best way to enter the mind is to OVER-SIMPLIFY the message.
   7. The most powerful positioning is to reduce your message to one simple and easily understood word.
   8. Minds are insecure. Most people buy what others buy: this is the "herd mentality."
   9. Minds don’t change—easily.

Brand Positioning: Key Questions

Source: Jack Trout, brandingstrategyinsider.com

To apply positioning thinking to your own company's situation, here are six key questions to ask yourself:

1. What position, if any do we already own in the prospect's mind?

Get the answer to this question from the marketplace, not the marketing manager. If this requires a few dollars for research, so be it. Spend the money. It's better to know exactly what you're up against now than to discover it later when nothing can be done about it.

2. What position do we want to own?

Here is where you bring out your crystal ball and try to figure out the best position to own from a long-term point of view.

3. What companies must be outgunned if we are to establish that position?

If your proposed position calls for a head-to-head approach against a marketing leader, forget it. It's better to go around an obstacle rather than over it. Back up. Try to select a position that no one else has a firm grip on.

To apply positioning thinking to your own company's situation, here are six key questions to ask yourself:

1. What position, if any do we already own in the prospect's mind?

Get the answer to this question from the marketplace, not the marketing manager. If this requires a few dollars for research, so be it. Spend the money. It's better to know exactly what you're up against now than to discover it later when nothing can be done about it.

2. What position do we want to own?

Here is where you bring out your crystal ball and try to figure out the best position to own from a long-term point of view.

3. What companies must be outgunned if we are to establish that position?

If your proposed position calls for a head-to-head approach against a marketing leader, forget it. It's better to go around an obstacle rather than over it. Back up. Try to select a position that no one else has a firm grip on.

The Bill Bernbach Advertising Philosophy

Source: Branding Strategy Insider

It's really quite simple. There are two parts to it. The first part is to find something important to say about your product. Search very, very hard for a point of superiority and difference in your product as against competition. If it doesn't exist, work with your client to make it exist. We've done this a good many times. One of the great writers said, "You say something better if you have something to say." And we always look for something to say.

Now, whereas at the time we started (DDB) most agencies felt that once they'd found something to say they'd done their job, our point of difference was the belief that at this stage your work was only beginning.

So the second part of our philosophy of advertising is that, having found something better to say, it is more than worthwhile to say it memorably and artfully and persuasively so that it is remembered and acted upon. We look for a way to say it in an original, fresh and imaginative way. As soon as you say it in a way that has been said before, you reduce your impact. We came into this business with that philosophy. It was more than a philosophy -- it was a deep conviction. And it was DDB, I believe, that brought the full meaning of disciplined artistry into advertising.

Artistry is, of course, a very difficult thing to measure. It's an intangible thing. But we had the job of convincing business -- selling them the idea -- that this unmeasurable, intangible thing could give them maximum impact for their dollar.

- Bill Bernbach, Advertising Legend, Circa 1969 in DDB News

Ries' Pieces of Slogan Savvy

By Al Ries

Have you seen the advertising campaign for "the new Chrysler"? Slogan: "If you can dream it, we can build it." Sounds like an ad for a California custom shop. But more important, is the slogan memorable? In this day and age, it doesn't matter how well-crafted the words are; if the slogan isn't memorable, it's just a waste of space.

"It's all inside" is the slogan of a department store. Maybe everything you might want to buy is inside that department store, but who is going to remember that forgettable line? It's the slogan of JCPenney, a brand without a clear identity.

If you want an effective, long-term rallying cry for your brand, you need a slogan that sticks in the mind. A sticky slogan can live forever.

"Liberte. Egalite. Fraternite" was the slogan of the French Revolution more than 200 years ago. Yet the slogan still stirs the hearts of freedom-loving people everywhere. On the other hand, the slogan of the American Revolution, "Don't tread on me," is mostly forgotten today. Even a minor war, such as the Spanish-American war of 1898, can generate a memorable slogan: "Remember the Maine." And the first World War will always be remembered by the unforgettable slogan "The war to end all wars."

What makes a slogan memorable or sticky? Here are four mental "glues" that can help paste your message in the consumer's mind.

What do customers really want?

How to construct your brand campaign - article 3 by Craig Wilson

In the last post of this series we discussed the first step to building an effective marketing strategy by asking, “Who are you? Identify your Identity.”

Hopefully you have spent some time now determining where you stand, or should, stand in a crowded marketplace. I.e. What is your positioning?

The next step is all about emotion. Most businesses try to sell their products and forget all about the real reasons people might buy from them. People don’t buy products, they buy the emotional state of mind that product can deliver them.

Charles Revson, founder and president of the Revlon Corporation, was once asked, “what exactly was his product.” His very intuitive response was: “On the factory floors, our product is cosmetics, but in the department stores, our product is hope.”

Here is one successful businessman who understood the difference between his product and his commodity. His real product was the effect that they hope the cosmetics will create not the powders and lotions in the jar. Revson was selling emotion.

The truth is that there is only one reason why people have ever bought from you in the past, and why they will buy from you in the future, and that is because they want to change the way they feel. It’s that simple.

Great Product, Lousy Brand

Source: Laura Ries, The Origin of Brands Blog

Just because you have a great idea and make a great product (or deliver a great service) doesn’t mean you will build a powerful brand and enjoy great success. This sad truth sometimes becomes personal when a product I love makes egregious branding errors. In fact, it really makes my blood boil.

 

I am an avid walker. I love walking in New York City going up the avenues and through the park. I love walking in Paris to the Eiffel Tower and through the Tullieries. I love hiking in the mountains of Austria and around the volcanoes in Maui.

I am also into fitness and new exercise trends and gadgets. I have all sorts of wobble boards, weighted balls, body bars, ankle weights, abdominal wheels and yoga mats. I also have an elliptical machine, Rollerblades,  an inversion table and now MBT shoes.

 

I love my MBT shoes, but their branding stinks.

Competitor Repositioning

Source: Jack Trout, brandingstrategyinsider.com

In positioning your brand sometimes you discover there are no unique positions to carve out. In such cases I suggest repositioning a competitor by convincing consumers to view the competitor in a different way. Tylenol successfully repositioned aspirin by running advertisements explaining the negative side effects of aspirin.

Consumers tend to perceive the origin of a product by its name rather than reading the label to find out where it really is made. Such was the case with vodka when most vodka brands sold in the U.S. were made in the U.S. but had Russian names. Stolichnaya Russian vodka successfully repositioned its Russian-sounding competitors by exposing the fact that they all actually were made in the U.S., and that Stolichnaya was made in Leningrad, Russia.