THE David Anderson

R.A.D. - Rockin Ad of the Day / Scotch-Brite

Wash the dishes or pay the bill?  The folks at Scotch-Brite (in Brazil) created a fantastic opportunity to engage new customers, build brand awareness, and brand value.  They teamed up with some restaurants and offered to pay for a meal if the customer would wash some dishes using the Scotch-Brite scrubbing sponge.  I'm sure there were some who turned down the offer but look at how much the customers are enjoying this experience!  Some even took video of the experience and no doubt shared it with friends.  Well done!

 

2010 - Top Branding Events

Happy New Year to all!  2010 was another great and eventful year.  From a branding point of view there were definitely some historic moments.  Let's take a stroll down memory lane and revisit some of the memorable branding events of 2010:

• Old Spice became relevant again with a viral ad campaign.  I still haven't purchased any Old Spice products but I'm sure they have gained new customers.
• A new Gap logo... oh wait, nevermind... bad idea.  Thanks Twitter!
• The ipad launched and I capitulated... but it has been worth it!  New iphone launched but not without controversy... free bumper case anyone?  I think they'll survive.
• SunChips try to go green with the first ever 100% compostable chip bag only to be later buried when consumers banded together to protest the most noisy chip bag ever made.
• Vuvuzela... addicting and annoying but added to the draw of World Cup soccer... even I watched.
• BP Oil Spill - Not many brands fight a global crisis like BP had to this year.  Key take away is be prepared for crisis management and error on the side of the consumer. 
• Tiger Woods - it seems that from a branding point of view he is on his way back up... America will give you a second chance... ask Michael Vick.
• Goofy Bands - ok, not really a branding event but my kids are crazy about these things.
• Facebook, a social networking site with its own feature film?  This brand has reached new heights despite the privacy concerns.  What will 2011 bring?
• King James and the Decision - the majority was critical and appauled at the coverage of The Decision but we all watched and have chose sides.  Who will win/lose... Nike, NBA, ESPN, Lebron?  Either way, the Heat games will get more attention... for better or worse and my son still wants his shoes.
• Toyota - hard to believe that this quality brand became a punchline for comedians everywhere when they experienced issues with accelerators getting stuck in their vehicles.  They should be able to bounce back but they opened the door for others to grab market share... even Hyundai.
• Conan-gate - NBC and Leno took a hit for the way they handled their late night franchise but Team Coco took Conan to heights of popularity that he has never seen... now what channel is TBS on??  ...nevermind, I'll watch Jimmy Fallon instead.

I know this isn't a comprehensive list but some that stand out to me.  What are some of your top branding moments of 2010?

Brand Twitter Therapy

Here is a daily dose of Brand Twitter Therapy from myself and other twitter friends:

• @2social_soho: build strong relationships with your customers, and chatters to build your brand and create evangelists w WOM
• Happy customers = unpaid sales force. Make them happy.
• Automation in place of conversation = NONsocial Media
• @aliciafalcone: a brand is the stories your customers tell about you. Hopefully, same stories you tell about yourself.
• Branding is PRO-ACTIVE, not reactive. "If you don't lead, they can't follow."
• “In b2b, the customers you select are the company you become.” Das Narayandas of Harvard
• Every good brand needs a leader to execute the strategy and give someone for the activists to follow.
• When you can align your values and passions with what you do and how you do it, you gain energy and reduce stress. -Jordan Friedman
• "The best (sales) pitch is no pitch at all" - Valeria Maltoni via Marketing Profs.
• @bethlapierre: branding is first a strategic endeavor then a creative enterprise
• @DavidSandusky Yes, when everyone in org buys in to the brand strategy great things happen
• @IMAGEidentity: Many are under the perception that because their brand is selling well they have a strong brand... often not true.
• Every business involves a promise (brand) and the fulfillment of that promise (business’s abilities). – Interbrand
• The brands that create the most value are the ones that are the most relevant to the customers’ choice. –Interbrand
• Remain in tune with consumers’ attitudes and demonstrate empathy with what they are going through. -Interbrand

Evolution of Customer Support - Try Harder

 

Jeremiah Owyang published a presentation on the evolution of customer support that is worth reading.  Customer support organizations are a critical element of the brand experience.  Brand loyalty is largely determined from how customers are treated when support is needed.  As Jeremiah points out, customer support can be "strategic, a value center, and proactive towards customer needs".  Here are a few gems from his presentation:

• "Stop treating support as a lowly department who cleans up messes"
• "The evolved support organization must go to where customers already are at to proactively find, triage, and respond to customers"
• "Support is Marketing" - A happy customer can serve as an unpaid salesperson
• Use the insights from the support group to influence product development.  "Customer interactions should be recorded, prioritized and shared with product teams."
• "Let go and allow customers to self-support each other" - "Companies struggle letting go of answering questions about products, but should instead use the right collaboration and knowledge capturing tools to allow customers to self-support each other."
• "Shuffling customers with issues into a queue only amps frustration."
• "Measure based on value" - "(don't) only measure # of calls received and close but... how many crises were diverted, new knowledge gleaned, and interactions in the open web."

Dennis Hahn's "Building a Strong Brand: The ID Branding Framework"

Dennis Hahn's "Building a Strong Brand: The ID Branding Framework" does a fantastic job of describing the many elements of branding.  You should read the entire article but I want to share some of the highlights that stood out to me.

1. Definition: "Brand is the recognition and personal connection that forms in the hearts and minds of your customers and other key audiences through their accumulated experience with your brand, at every point of contact.  Ideally the brand that emerges is a positive one, leading to trust, loyalty and advocacy for your offerings, increasing shareholder value and establishing long-term advantage in the marketplace."
2. "Branding is an integrating business practice.  (Branding) should span your organization, weaving across and through personal interactions, corporate culture, communications, products and services."
3. "Your brand should be championed by top management and embodied from the inside out by all of your employees, product offerings and communications - at all times."
4. "Branding should never be treated as a project that has a beginning or an end."
5. 4 Core disciplines of the ID Branding Framework:
6. 1. Brand Strategy: Understand key aspects of a company's business, marketplace, customers, and other key audiences.  The strategy sets the foundation for all other activities.
   2. Brand Identity: The outward expressions of the company's values, personality, and promise.
   3. Brand Management: Plan delivery of internal and external brand messages to best connect with audience.  Cultivate brand adoption among employees and others with brand training.  Set up a system of tools for monitoring and assessing the brand's health.
   4. Brand Experience: Enable companies to design a range of experiences that customers and other audiences will find meaningful, memorable, and associate explicitly with your brand.  This is the surest path to building brand trust, loyalty, and advocacy.  Includes traditional market communications, personal interactions, events, function and reliability of products, (i.e., every point of contact with the audience).

With so many different opinions for what "branding" is or isn't I found this article to hit the nail on the head when it comes down to understanding the branding concept.  In case the link is down I have created a PDF of the whitepaper Download Building a Strong Brand.

Yoda's Branding Advice

Like many of you I am a Star Wars fan and an even bigger Yoda fan.  Henrik Edberg posted Yoda's Top 3 Words of Wisdom and I will attempt to translate them into Branding advice.  Let the branding force be with you...

1. "Do or do not... there is no try."  I have often said that to build a brand you must DO THE THINGS YOU SAY YOU WILL DO.  If you do not follow through on your commitments you will not be trusted which also means you will not be valued.
2. "Fear is the path to the dark side.  Fear leads to anger.  Anger leads to hate.  Hate leads to suffering."  Many companies are so afraid of what could happen that it prohibits them from reaching out and becoming engaged with their community.  You do need to be careful about what you put out there but make sure you weigh the benefits before you pull the plug on that next project because it will be "too hard to control".  It might lead to unnecessary suffering.
3. "You will find only what you bring in."  We are all limited to our circle of ideas, friends, thoughts, and other influences.  If a product manager relied only upon their own ideas to develop a product they will miss the boat.  By looking outside of your "world", you will find different roads and paths to solutions you haven't dreamed of.  If you "bring in" ideas from your customers it will demonstrate a sense of appreciation, respect, and loyalty.

Chris Brogan: 50 ways Social Media Improves Marketing

Chris Brogan has published a helpful resource of 50 tactical ways marketers can use Social Media to improve their marketing.  As Chris points out not all social media tools are right for every company or person.  What might work for one market may not work for another.  Check out the full list in the link below but I wanted to publish a few of my favorites:

1. Create informational podcasts about a product's overall space, not just the product
2. Map out an integrated project that incorporates a blog, use of commercial social networks, and a face-to-face event to build leads and drive awareness of a product.
3. Start a community group on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn around the space where your customer does business.
4. Learn how not to ask for 40 pieces of demo data when giving something away for free.  Collect little bits over time... gently.
5. Track your inbound links and when they come from blogs, be sure to comment on a few posts and build a relationship with the blogger.
6. Spread good ideas far.  Reblog them.  Bookmark them.  Vote them up at social sites. Be a good social citizen.
7. Re-examine who in the org might benefit from your social media efforts.

Read the entire list here.  Thanks for the list Chris!

Brand Therapy - Daily Dose

Here is a daily dose of Brand Therapy from myself, experts, and twitter friends:

1. Godin: Every tribe (members of a community) needs a leader to challenge the status quo and create the culture.
2. @neilmckenzphoto: A great logo or name cannot make up for shortcomings in other areas of a business organization.
3. You can spend money on earning WOM but you cannot pay someone for giving it... it needs to be genuine.
4. @tmonhollon: people don't trust ads anymore... they trust experiences and WOM.
5. Many brands should focus their messaging on basic VALUES during these tough economic conditions

Building "Brand Love"

Julie O'Dell interviewed Bob Nanna of Threadless.com (online t-shirt vendor and community) to talk about how they are using Social Media to strengthen their brand or "brand love" as Julie terms it.  Here are some of the ideas that stood out to me:

1. They listen to customers and contributors
2. Everyone has their say - give customers the chance to vote on t-shirt designs
3. Everyone in the Threadless community is important
4. They think of their site as a social media site
5. Facebook: Publish videos on their Facebook page to run a weekly contest.  They pick a random fan from Facebook and spin the wheel.
6. Twitter: Customer service department is active on Twitter to respond to customer issues
7. Stay active in communicating with their community

Threadless is a great example of someone who gets social media... they also have a great product!

Brand Therapy - Daily Dose

Some quick doses of brand therapy for you...

1. A brand consists of the feelings, emotion, and opinions "consumers" have about you or your company.
2. You can try to manage the perception to enforce your desired brand but ultimately the market will decide.
3. A great brand represents a firm or person who follows through with their messaging, has a competitive adv, and fills a need.
4. Brand Managers ensure that core values are communicated and felt at all consumer touch points.
5. There are no small brands... only small minded brand managers
6. If you want to tap into a conversation, find the emotion. - Dan Heath