The Affordable Branding Blog

The Affordable Branding Blog is a peek inside today’s branding blunders and success stories. Plucked right from the business and marketing headlines, my colleagues and I will make observations, pithy comments, overt criticisms, and well-deserved at-a-boys, all designed to help you make the right branding decisions for your business.

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Brand Building Beyond Marketing

Not so long ago, brands were in the limelight. They were seemingly powerful, and virtuous. Any inconvenient truths were hidden by glossy packaging and one-way, big-bang marketing campaigns. Now, as organizations become ever more transparent, people can see behind the marketing facade and are questioning what they are told. Trust in brands has diminished and consumers are more likely to view brands cynically, and to feel uncomfortable with brands’ desire to control. This has created a challenge for many brand owners, because they are ill equipped to cope with greater openness.

See the full story at the link.

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Logo Lust Redux

Identifying with a luxury brand is a lot more subtle among wealthy consumers than you think.

"Subtle Signals of Inconspicuous Consumption," a paper appearing in the current issue of Journal of Consumer Research, suggests that high-end shoppers are more in tune with "discreet markers, such as distinctive design or detailing," than obvious brand logos.

Read the full story at the link.

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Another Boston Chicken-type cautionary tale?

Elissa Elan reports that Cinnabon, the 25-year-old chain known for its cinnamon rolls, intends to transform itself into a full-fledged bakery-café. It's testing egg sandwiches in the morning and espresso-based beverages and panini-type sandwiches for lunch this summer as part of a strategy to increase the brand's customer base andattract new users outside of the mall.

Was it too much to expect that a place called Cinnabon would actually stick to its focus? Is it the curse of the narrow name, like when Boston Chicken changed to Boston Market to appeal to more people? Except it wasn't more appealing.

While there's no mention of a name change to go along with the re-invention, when I go to a Cinnabon it's to get a cinnamon bun.

From Al Ries' book Focus: "Management demands substantial increases in annual sales and profits, even when companies are in markets that show no overall growth."

Cinnabon president Gary Bales: “What’s happening specifically in the malls is traffic is going down and we need to increase the amount of customers who stop in front of our stores.”

Focus: "Predictably, in order to meet these targets, companies offer more varieties and flavors."

Cinnabon: "Cinnabon...is reinventing itself as a bakery-café concept complete with breakfast and lunch service as well as an expanded beverage program."

Focus: "Or they branch out into other markets."

Cinnabon: "...is part of a strategy to attract new users to the brand outside of the mall markets it primarily trades in."

Focus: "Whether you call this expansion process 'line extension' or'diversification' or 'synergy,' it's the process itself, the urge to grow, that causes companies to become unfocused."

Cinnabon: "...we’re looking for products and product lines that willexpand our customer base or attract new customers"

Focus: "When you try to be all things to all people, you inevitably wind up in trouble. It's better to be strong somewhere rather than weak everywhere."

Cinnabon: "What we’ve found is that people, because of health consciousness, are looking for non-sweet snack occasions. We think wecan fit the bill with some of these products."

Confucius: "The man who chases two rabbits catches neither."

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Branding a Thing of Beauty

Mike says: I would think differentiating and positioning beer is not an enviable task. But the Stella Artois name itself is intriguing enough that I would want to know what it means. And what about the mystic behind the special Stella Artois glass that it's served in? And what is the country of origin?

But to position the beer as "a thing of beauty" seems a bit of stretch to me.

Scott says: I agree, being tasked with positioning a beer is rough, especially when you have no say in the product because it's already been developed. ButI will admit I like the "luxury beer" positioning. It takes microbrewsand craft beers to a new level. I'm not sure if "luxury" and "beer" are a believable combination, but the position is at least one that remainsunoccupied to my knowledge. Plus there's a successful precedent forphotography-based liquor ads with the Absolut campaigns. Combine thatwith the exotic name and the lavish glass and they may actually have aunique and compelling brand identity on their hands.

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Brand Hardee's: "On Strategy"...Again

I've written here before about how I love the unapologetic nature of the Hardee's (aka Carl's Jr.) offerings. They don't pretend to be something they're not. Their Monster Thickburger made headlines, and now the fast food chain is test-marketing another concept--totally aligned with their brand position: The foot long cheeseburger.

My associate, Scott, agrees that this latest menu choice is on target: "It's nice to see a brand running on all cylinders. Imagine how much easier R&D is when you have a solid brand platform. And how it tastes is irrelevant to the marketing message. It's a foot long cheeseburger. Themarketing is built right into the product."

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"Y" Not?

"General Electric is a long name, so GE makes an excellent choice because it's what people will use as a nickname. The same goes for FedEx instead of Federal Express or IBM instead of International Business Machines. Can you imagine trying to drag around a name like Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing? It's no wonder they became the 3M Company. But remember, nicknames are given to you by the marketplace. It should be what people tend to call you. Don't try to force it. If people tend touse your full name, that's your name and that's what should be on your logo. Metropolitan Life Insurance can be MetLife. But New York Life will always be New York Life." -Jack Trout

So...
Federal Express can change to FedEx,Kentucky Fried Chicken can change to KFC (although they did it to escape "fried," which was bad strategy),National Public Radio can change to NPR,and American Association of Retired Persons can change to AARP.

But...
Pizza Hut shouldn't change to The HutRadio Shack shouldn't change to The Shack and TGI Fridays shouldn't change to Fridays.

I think the YMCA change lands right in the middle. The Y is shorthand for an acronym that's already shorthand for the original name. But it is a good opportunity to update what the YMCA brand stands for, because it definitely carries some outdated baggage. My guess is the name change will produce some shortlived buzz, but have little long-term effect on the brand in the same way the NPR change was ultimately benign.

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Tagline Musings

The American Cleaning Institute recently went through a name change (from the compellingly-named Soap and Detergent Association), and with it, a cleaned-up tagline (For Better Living). But my associate Scott had some ponderings on the efficacy of the new ACI slogan:

I'd give the American Cleaning Institute’s "For better living" taglinean "I" for incomplete. It’s so vague as to be meaningless. Better how? Better by what standard? Better meaning cleaner? Chemical free? Who’s their enemy, germs? It’s not clear, not obvious, and not a compelling benefit.

A better “better” tagline is Wal-Mart’s “Save money. Live better.” You instantly know “better” is referring to being able to afford more of the products you want.

Along those same lines, Home Depot’s tagline, “More saving. More doing.” clearly targets do-it-yourselfers who want to get the most from their money to tackle more of the projects they love to do.

And in a great positioning move, Ace Hardware’s tagline promises the non-do-it-yourselfer that they can “Get in. Get help. Get on with your life.”

But you could slap ACI’s tagline under countless company logos and it’d still work. A sure sign of a weak tagline.

Since ACI is a trade organization, it has two distinct audiences: consumers and members.

ACI’s value proposition for consumers is:Enhancing health and the quality of life through sustainable cleaningproducts and practices.

ACI’s value proposition for members is:Supporting the sustainability of the cleaning product and oleochemicalindustries through research, education, outreach, and science-based advocacy.

As a trade organization, it’s the public face for this industry, so Isuspect the consumer audience is who they’d primarily create their tagline for. And as a consumer, “For better living” doesn’t tell me what ACI is or why I should care, because it’s too vague. But there are some alternative options…

American Cleaning Institute
Improving cleaning products. Improving life.

American Cleaning Institute
Cleaner products. Healthier lives.

American Cleaning Institute
Making cleaning products cleaner

American Cleaning Institute
Cleaner living through cleaner products

While not brilliant, I think these at least begin to get at the heartof what ACI does and what benefit it provides.

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"Pure" Brand Speculation

This is a line extension that seems to beg the question, "If THIS Dentyne is pure, does that mean the other Dentyne sub-brands are not?" I thought Dentyne meant "gum for bad breath." Now we're told that THIS product "neutralizes" bad breath. So that would suggest that all other Dentyne brands simply mask bad breath.

Is this another case of ego-drive line extension? The corporate office is SO enamored with their name that they felt compelled to attach it to this new brand?

They could have created a new category of gum (bad breath neutralizing)and launched it under a new brand name.

"Pure stupidity?" I asked my associate, Scott?

I think this could've worked if it had been an upgrade of the core Dentyne brand instead of a line extension. This is exactly what Crest did when they introduced their fluoride cavity prevention ingredient, Fluoristan. Similarly, Dentyne could market their new NeutraFresh ingredient.

"Many products contain a piece of technology that makes it function. Yetmarketing people tend to dismiss these elements as too complex or confusing to explain to people. They would rather conduct research and focus on the benefits of the lifestyle experience of the product. The problem with that point of view is that in many categories [gum included], a number of products do the same thing [freshen breath]. All toothpastes prevent cavities. It's how they're made that often makes the difference. This is why we like to focus on a the product and locate the unique piece of technology. Then, if possible, we give that element a name and package it as a magic ingredient."
-Jack Trout, Differentiate or Die

But with all of the line extensions clouding Dentyne's brand, this "magic ingredient" USP becomes much harder to market.

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Your Brand IS Your Reputation

The reputation of your business is critical to your success in the marketplace. To build your reputation, you must first understand the needs and wants of your core market and beginbuilding your character byflawlessly delivering on your customers' and prospects' expectations. Since your reputation resides within the minds and hearts of supporters, customers, and prospects, your reputation is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions.

Check out this list of the ten most disliked and liked brand reputations.

By the way, this list was compiled more than a month ago, so you can surely add BP to the list of most disliked companies!

Top 10 Most Disliked Companies
1 Freddie Mac
2 AIG
3 Fannie Mae
4 Citigroup
5 Goldman Sachs
6 Chrysler
7 General Motors
8 JP Morgan Chase
9 Bank of America
10 Delta Airlines

Top 10 Most Liked Companies

1 Berkshire Hathaway
2 Johnson & Johnson
3 Google
4 3M Company
5 SC Johnson
6 Intel Corporation
7 Microsoft
8 Coca-Cola Co.
9 Amazon.com
10 General Mills

Source: Harris Interactive RQ Study

The World's Hottest Brands

Check out this Ad Age Insights global report that tells the stories of 30 brands succeeding on a global, regional and local level.

The goal was not to create a list of the largest global marketers or rank the brands that contribute the most to their company's market value -- plenty of others tackle those lofty questions. Rather, Ad Age sought to chronicle the brands percolating at the local and regional level; sometimes great marketing lessons can happen in your backyard, sometimes halfway around the world.

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