Branding

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11
Oct 09

McDonalds and the Louvre: McLouvre?

Next time you visit the Mona Lisa, would you want to get a whiff of greasy fries? McDonalds recently announced it is going to set-up shop in the Louvre. Though McDonalds will try to create a high-end atmosphere, it is a true clash of brands: prestigious art museum meets low-grade, homogeneous fast-food.

From a branding standpoint, this move is not one that will benefit the Louvre. By introducing cheap fast food to a museum known for its class and beauty, ultimately, it will lose charm and appeal. It’s about keeping on-brand.

Consider Isaac Mizrahi’s decision to feature his designs in Target. Yes, Target is a national chain. However, of the national chains, Target is most on-brand for Mizrahi. If the high-end designer were to be featured in Wal-Mart, he would be making a “McLouvre.”

When considering cross promotions and brand affiliations it is crucial to make sure it’s on-brand. When you think of Target, it’s higher end than market competitors, however when you think of the Louvre, the last restaurant that would come to mind would be McDonalds. A brand clash might help one brand (i.e. McDonalds), but could be to the detriment of the other (i.e. the Louvre).

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7
Oct 09

The Crow Paradox and Consumer Attitudes

NPR recently reported on the crow paradox. Studies have shown, crows can recognize and remember individual humans for years, while humans have a tough time differentiating one black bird from the next.

Interestingly, if you upset one crow, they will caw–cuing another nearby bird to caw and soon the entire flock is mad at you. It’s viral. Not only will they be mad at you then, but when they see you across town, they’ll caw and soon it’s turned into the G version of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.

The crow paradox could not be more relevant than in the digital age.

When your brand leaves an impression on a consumer, whether it’s good or bad, they will “caw” and let their friends know, either through word-of-mouth or social media. Particularly when something is bad, they can blast their message to hundreds of people, depending on their community influence.

If others agree, they’ll jump on the wagon, creating a banned group of unhappy consumers. And as your brand stretches into the digital space, every logo or mention of your brand they see, they will be reminded of how much they don’t like you.

Before that one person infects a group of people with negativity about your brand, recognize their dissatisfaction and try to rectify it. That means being quick on your toes; being responsive. The more time it takes for you to rectify the situation, the less control you have over the consumers attitude towards your brand.

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30
Sep 09

Get Off My Social Property

Early in the afternoon I heard the clanking of bottles and a shrill voice yell, “Get off my property,” about five times, consecutively. I imagined it to be a homeless man scrounging for bottles in the garbage across the street and the homeowner whom he was taking from got a bit overzealous. It got the wheels turning about brands interaction with consumers in social communities.

Often times, fans of social sites consider it to be private property—free of sales and pitchmen (i.e. brands). When brands invade their private property, some yell just like the woman across the street. Most people don’t mind, however.

To avoid those outspoken opponents, consider if the homeless man were to take a different approach—one that was not so intrusive—he might find more success. Consider Target. Every year they donate X amount of dollars to several charities. To open the lines of communication with Facebook users, they asked them to allocate their charities dollars for them.

Their efforts paid off. They garnered significant traffic and brand mentions permeated the blogosphere. This is an effective way to approach social private property. Ask yourself what you can offer them before you ask what they can offer you.

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28
Sep 09

Work Multi-Dimensional

St. Ignazio church in Rome features some of the early multi-dimensional artists that used depth of field to push their craft to new heights (literally). It is multi-dimensional thinking that pushes a craft or profession to the outer limits and revolutionizes what is possible.

Too often we are bound to one dimensional thinking; too often we ask, “what can fit inside this frame?” For example, how many lawn care services can one town have? Mowing grass is all the same… it’s one dimensional. What if you dare to be more? What if you incorporated a social mission into your business–give it depth, meaning and character. No longer are you just another lawn care service, you have a emotional connection with the community and do good by your business and those you support.

To further illustrate multi-dimensional thinking, I stumbled across this incredible video that embodies many of the key characteristics of multi-dimensional thinking:

How does this video work in multi-dimensions:

Scrap and Start Anew — The artists that created this video were not afraid to scrap and paint over time intensive and intricate designs.

Be Ruthless — Be ruthless and re-examine what is possible. As you can see, this video incorporates many artistic styles that make it fascinating and unique.

Be Cohesive — It’s not enough to just throw random ideas at a wall and hopefully one will stick. It’s about having a clear mission and statement. Just because Revlon wants to paint a mural in make-up doesn’t mean it’s right for them. This video uses a motion and layers to create a cohesive and interesting story.

Be Off-the-wall — Literally. This piece starts on the floor, moves to one wall, then another, to the second floor, then back to the first–circling around the courtyard. One of the most important and unique qualities of this video is it is not bound by one setting.

The value in this video is that it showcases creative thinking that works. It’s about creating layers and multiple dimensions. When you have a new idea, explore it. Don’t dwell on what has been, explore what is possible.

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26
Sep 09

Under Armour Doesn’t Care About Me

As most people that buy gym memberships after the holidays, I was really excited about getting into shape. To prepare for my new look, I went to the Under Armour outfitter to buy some work out clothes.

I’m a small guy, so I was surprised when all of the gym attire could hardly make it past my arms. My god I thought, should I have been working out before I bought my work out clothes? I’ve seen enormous football players, five times my size, fit into these shirts. After I was able to fit into a large (I’m a small), I looked like I’d gained 50 pounds.

Discouraged, I went with Reebok, because I could fit into a medium shirt. On the way home, I realized something– I’m not supposed to wear Under Armour. The designers at Under Armour do not want me to buy their clothing. I’m a skinny guy just under six feet tall. Had they wanted me to buy their apparel, they would have used the Reebok design. Instead, they made up their mind that the only people that could fit into their clothes and function properly are athletes.

Guys with muscles and 0% body fat are supposed to wear Under Armor and that’s why they’ve been so successful. They haven’t compromised or diluted their brand by chasing after people that don’t matter. I matter to Reebok, not Under Armor. The barriers Under Armour has created to gate-in a very specific community has ultimately made them successful.

Branding — 1 Comment
23
Sep 09

How a Jail Break Can Increase Product Value

As a thank you for taking care of our bunny rabbit, my girlfriend wanted to buy my parents a gift. My girlfriend, her mother and I found this cute local shop in a quaint town outside Philadelphia, PA.

As we were browsing, a tall gentleman in a neon orange sweater comes in, huffing and puffing. He asks to use the bathroom and the store owner tells him it’s for paying customers only.

He pauses, then asks if he can tie his shoe. (Who asks to tie their shoe?) Meanwhile, my girlfriend finds an ice cream serving dish and proceeds to check out.

The man then leans down behind a display case in the center of the store and ties his other shoe. This man should probably have been in a shoe store with all of the problems he was having with his footwear.

While he was tying his shoe for the second time, a police officer stood outside of the shop, his back turned, talking on his radio. After the officer left, the man took a peak out of the front door, and passed a mail carrier on his way out.

The carrier delivered some mail and as she left the store, she hailed the police officer and pointed in the direction of the malfunctioning-shoe man. A short man–no taller than five feet–whizzed by the store, chasing the man. Several seconds behind him, the overweight police office hurried to catch up.

Come to find out, the shoe man had escaped from a nearby courthouse when he was told he had to pay child support.

No longer is that ice cream dish a $21.99 item, it’s worth much more. With the story behind the gift, I’d value it at least $49.99, because now, whenever my parents use the serving dish, whether it’s with family or friends, they can pass along the tale of the escapee. It is no longer a piece of metal, it has a personality.

People are willing to pay more for compelling stories. Consider purveyors of luxury. When you buy that Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings, you’re paying partly for the earrings, but you’re also buying the powder blue box. The same goes for BMW, or Lexus or Hermes. You’re buying the story attached to the name. That blue and white BMW emblem is an icon of luxury that speaks volumes of your social status.

Stories tie your product or service to an emotion. And mostly, people buy with their hearts, not their minds. If you can make that emotional connection through a story, you’re product or service is more than just a metal ice cream serving dish, it’s special.

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21
Sep 09

This is not for you – The power of exclusivity

I was always the last choice in sports. Athletically underwhelming is what you might call it. There are some people that were not born with an advantageous physical disposition and I was one of them. When I would be picked last for the team, what everyone was trying to say is “this is not for you.” My inability to excel in any sport (I tried swimming, soccer, you name it) ended in viola lessons. Point in case—there were significant barriers to entry.

The same is true for brands. Creating barriers to entry keeps the customers you want in, and those who don’t matter, out. If you’re walls are too short, intruders are going to dilute your brand and soon your community will be reduced to rubble.

Here are a few barriers to entry:

Language Barriers – Think about having an in depth conversation with your doctor or lawyer. They’ll probably dumb down everything and put it into layman’s terms. If you were to enter their world outside the patient room, you’d might as well be in Russia. The professional languages of medicine, law and business keep those that are unlearned, out.

Price – Think Hermes, Tiffany & Co., Porsche and other luxury brands. Do you think they care about people that cannot afford their products? That’s why they their media buys are where only the affluent frequent or are interested in. Yacht magazines are more likely to have a Porsche advertisement than your fisherman’s weekly. Luxury brands don’t want to waste their time or money catering to people that do not have sizable wealth. You won’t see deep discounts or buy one get one because if you cannot afford the products / services to begin with they don’t care about you.

Consider country clubs. Memberships can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. Do you think the affluent want their country club letting your average Joe buy a membership at a discounted rate? Country club members buy that barrier–that wall–at a high price.

Effort – Seth Godin’s Dip concept speaks to barriers of certain professions. Doctors and lawyers have scaled the high walls that surround their profession. The determination that fuels the countless hours of hard work is how to survive the Dip. If obtaining your doctorate was easy, then it wouldn’t be such an exclusive professional community.

Building walls is important when developing a tight-knit brand community. Diluting your message by catering to others outside your target audience makes the entire community toxic and eventually no one will want to live there. If Porsche started offering their vehicles for the same price as a Toyota, initially their sales might go through the roof, but what happens to the primary Porsche demographic? No longer is there the price barrier to keep less affluent people out of the Porsche community and it’s ruined. To maintain the integrity of your brand community, make sure you have strong walls to keep those that don’t matter, out.

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14
Sep 09

Do You Need to Shake Everybody’s Hand?

Saying goodbye to everyone at a birthday party, I shook the hands of those friends I was closest to, but there was one awkward moment between someone I kind of knew, but didn’t at the same time.

There was this strange moment when I waved and he went to shake my hand. Because I didn’t know him well, I didn’t know if I could complete the handshake and laugh about the awkwardness. So I ignored his offer like it never happened and left.

Everyone’s probably had an experience like this at one time or another. Do you need to shake everyone’s hand? If there are more than five people, that is a lot of handshaking time. Usually you shake the hands of those people you are closest to. Hugs are reserved for the most important.

Should brands have to shake everyone’s hand? At chain restaurants, managers are trained to say, yes. At Denny’s, Bugaboo Creek and the many others, every customer (or “client”) is valued. But what about those freeloaders that are actually a detriment to your company? Some brands not only shake freeloaders hands, but give them big fat hugs (in the form of gift certificates).

Many of these brands can learn from purveyors of luxury products and services. There are very defined barriers between those whom get their hand shaken, those who don’t and even those who get great big hugs. Wasting time and money on those that don’t matter makes poor business sense.

As it doesn’t make sense to shake hands with and hug the 20 people at the party, nor does it make business sense to cater to those that don’t matter.

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