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They’re Grrreat! What is claimed as the first all cereal café recently opened in the United States. Cereality demonstrates effective emotional branding, and how brand strategy is so much more than developing a new tagline or slogan.
USA Today milks the story:
Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe [is] the first “cafe-style” cereal store in the USA, which could be the start of the next big thing. The cafe opened [on the University of Pennsylvania campus] last week, offering more than 30 kinds of cereals, more than 30 toppings and myriad juices, coffees and milks — yes, soy, too….
“It’s a return-to-your-childhood thing,” says Melody Joy Kramer, a junior from Cherry Hill, N.J….”We have a lot of stress here, and all this is kind of homey, cozy.”
“All this” is a 1,500-square-foot cafe with a breakfast bar, sofas and a farmhouse table that can seat a dozen or so….
David Roth…founded Cereality a year and a half ago when he opened a cereal kiosk in the student union at Arizona State University….
“Cereality is all about emotion,” Roth says. “Cereal is something we trust and rely on. It’s very reassuring. And when you add fun to that, you have the ultimate cereal experience.”
David Liu, a Penn sophomore from Dallas, calls it “funky…hip.” Someone else threw out the term “childhood zeitgeist”….
Most people say the idea of a cereal cafe is so simple they can’t believe they didn’t think of it themselves….
As with most retail operations, whether Cereality becomes a financial success will depend in large part upon the operational expertise of their management team and their ability to grab market share. But this team has a huge leg up on most all retail startups: a highly effective brand strategy as demonstrated every day within the four walls of their first cafe. This brand strategy creates an entirely new consumer category, one Cereality for now has the opportunity to own.
The Cereality concept plays with human emotion in a way that suggests success, by tapping into mental imprints humans develop at a very early age. It is these subconscious imprints, or mental codes, each communicating relevance, assurance, childhood joy, trust and a sensory expectation, that Cereality uses to build its brand.
The in-store experience itself is the brand, more so than the brand name or any tagline. As competition enters their new category, Cereality will likely need to revisit key consumer touchpoints. But for now, they are off to a promising start.
Pass the milk please.
Although a number of destination brands this year missed the mark in new image campaigns, such as Oregon, Kentucky and Wichita, one United States city gets it right. Jacksonville, Florida announced their first branding campaign as reported in the New York Times. The good people of Jacksonville will actually receive a return on this investment. The reason is Jacksonville’s mayor, who understands the difference between branding and advertising:
The [new brand image] is indicative of a trend that is remaking a formerly prosaic category of advertising and marketing. Jacksonville is joining cities like Pittsburgh and states like Kentucky and Oregon that are seeking to speak with a single, brand-like voice for governmental departments like tourism, economic development, agriculture, commerce and education. The goal is to extend the idea of brand identity beyond its traditional role in selling consumer goods.
In this instance, the brand is “Jacksonville. Where Florida Begins.” …[The new brand] was announced…by John Peyton, the mayor of Jacksonville….
“One thing I know from my [business] background is that brand is everything,” Mayor Peyton said. “We spent decades cultivating a [business] brand that has served us well.”
…Many residents believed the brand identity ought to refer to the bridges of Jacksonville, which is often called “the river city” because its downtown is divided by the St. Johns River. The National Football League made “building bridges” the theme of Super Bowl XXXIX and included a bridge on the game’s logo.
“Bridges are certainly not unique to Jacksonville,” Mayor Peyton said in explaining why he preferred “Where Florida Begins.” “The research told us that is where we have to hang our hat,” he added, “because that is where the positives are.”
Hats off to Mayor Peyton and Jacksonville. They developed a brand strategy demonstrating their difference rather than relying upon advertising to explain themselves.
Key to this effort was their understanding that to be successful, Jacksonville had to stake out an entirely new, authentic and compelling position in the mind of the consumer. And, they had the courage not to give-in to a homogenous, popular choice, in this case “the river city,” which made sense to those living within Jacksonville. As Mayor Peyton deftly sums it up, the term river city could apply to any number of municipalities. He understood that branding is not branding unless the result points to your key competitive difference.
Trading off the existing brand equity of the State of Florida, Jacksonville creates an entirely new market category, as THE place where Florida begins. Because there is only one place where Florida could begin, and as Jacksonville is the first to claim this position, Jacksonville will now own this brand positioning indefinitely.
While not as evocative as What Happens Here, Stays Here for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, still we see the Jacksonville brand as one that will become a balance sheet asset.
Beginning now.
An early discussion of brand research and the power of human emotion in driving consumer decision-making comes from what might seem a surprising source.
Alexis de Tocqueville, a young aristocratic French lawyer, traveled to the United States in 1831 to study its penal system. His visit resulted in the classic Democracy in America, a masterpiece of United States cultural and political analysis. Without framing it as such, he offers a compelling statement early in Volume One of the power of emotional imprints upon the human mind, and how they guide us throughout life:
[To understand a man] we must watch the infant in his mother’s arms; we must see the first images which the external world casts upon the…mirror of his mind, the first occurrences which he witnesses; we must hear the first words that awaken the sleeping powers of thought, and stand by his earliest efforts—if we could understand the prejudices, the habits and the passions which will rule his life. The entire man is, so to speak, to be seen in the cradle of the child.
Some 170 years ago, de Tocqueville had it right. To understand consumers and identify their emotional drivers, good consumer research uncovers what the consumer does not know that they know, by reaching into the subconscious and uncovering what was imprinted at an early age when encountering a variety of experiences for the first time.
It is these imprints — the first experiences in life — that are the context by which a consumer will see things throughout their entire adult lives, and react to communications and experiences intended to influence them.
Before the importance of research into the effects of human emotion upon brand development were understood by some, de Tocqueville prophetically pointed the way to success. He could foresee the power of those first impressions in most any effort to own the conversation within any industry, even in today’s popular culture.
He understood there is no second chance to make a first impression.
During one recent afternoon, we experienced a demonstration of the power of emotion and the human need for affiliation. By design.
A visit to our local Starbucks found a line out the door. People waiting while doing their Holiday shopping to buy the new seasonal blend of coffee or a latte, and to enjoy a bit of personal time for themselves. It was obvious this particular Starbucks served as an oasis from the shopping hordes, as every perch point in the place was occupied.
We witnessed the importance of design and environment in framing successful brand/consumer relationships — often of more value than advertising.
Store design is an essential part of a fully integrated brand differentiation strategy and the ability to own the conversation. The goal is to provide a spatial context to generate emotional connections, to demonstrate how a relationship with the brand enhances the life of the consumer. The challenge is to “dimensionalize” the brand — what the brand is, its reputation, point-of-view and aspirations — and use these environmental and sensory touchpoints to support the brand promise you wish to communicate.
Good design supports development of consumer/brand relationships by exposing deeply rooted emotions through shape and color, and latent association with human senses such as smell and sound. There is an opportunity to differentiate a brand by making design, lighting, audio, display, finish and other in-store elements work intelligently to stir consumer emotions at the point-of-sale.
Just as the script of a feature film is critical to box office success, so is store and product design important to effective branding. As any accomplished interior architect or designer will tell us, great design addresses basic human needs, attracting the equivalent of members to a club by projecting inclusion and the opportunity for affiliation.
At Starbucks, a relationship is sold with every latte, an implicit membership to the club. By design.
Branding is demonstrating, advertising is explaining. What you fail to demonstrate, you are left to explain.
Executed well, branding demonstrates a compelling point of difference, in contrast to “More/Better” advertising explanations such as, We Offer More, We Are Better, or We Cost Less.
The problem with More/Better advertising is that anyone can top the claim. That is why, for example, good brand strategy advises against taking a low-price brand positioning. Worse yet, when More/Better explanations are inauthentic and lack emotional connection, no amount of media-buys provide the heartfelt bond with the consumer every brand craves.
More/Better advertising strategies require a constant and expensive media presence. And, More/Better works only if the brand sticks around long enough to make multi-million dollar advertising buys year-over-year. In contrast, a brand strategy demonstrating a compelling point of difference works even when the brand is not advertising.
Here’s a cautionary tale of what happens when one relies upon advertising in the absence of a compelling brand strategy.
Wichita and Wyandotte County are two municipalities in the United States some 180 miles apart. Wyandotte County, then later Wichita, launched new brand image efforts in 2004.
The Kansas City Star reports on the Wyandotte County effort:
For generations, Wyandotte Countians…referred to themselves as Dots.
Now the county’s lead tourism agency is adopting that homegrown nickname to market the area to the rest of the world.
A new tourism logo and slogan — “Wyandotte County — The Dot’s Got It” — was unveiled Tuesday at an annual awards luncheon hosted by the area Convention and Visitors Bureau….
The new slogan was designed by Two West Inc., a Kansas City ad agency, after months of think-tank sessions with residents and tourism attraction operators.
The area’s previous slogan, “Not Your Ordinary Cowtown”…featured a funky, sunglasses-wearing cow.
The Wichita Eagle details the branding efforts of the City of Wichita:
Mayor Carlos Mayans got into the groove Friday as he and other area leaders introduced the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau’s new marketing campaign for the city: “Wichita — We Got the Goods.”
…Designed by the Greteman Group, it will target regional tourists within a driving distance of about 200 miles. More than three million regional tourists visit the area annually, spending $350 million.
Mayans said the campaign will position Wichita as the “NYC of Kansas — without the high prices.”
…Advertisements touting Wichita will run in 132 newspapers across the state, and Greteman said travelers won’t be able to drive on major highways across Kansas without seeing a billboard promoting the Wichita area.
Greteman seemed particularly excited about a 60-foot banner that will drape a silo between McPherson and Salina.
The ads and billboards will proclaim “More Dining” (featuring a woman with a plate, glass and napkin balanced on her head); “More Shopping” (featuring a woman with colorful shopping bags on her head) and “More Playing” (a man with ticket stubs on his forehead).
The concept behind the design treatment, Greteman said, is to keep Wichita “at the top of your mind.”
Both of these approaches rely upon a More/Better advertising explanation, rather than a point of difference brand demonstration. The More/Better approach forces the brand to explain itself.
How would any consumer outside of Wyandotte County know about the Dot, and why the Dot has got it? Why should they care? And, why should any consumer accept as genuine that any city has “got the goods?”
Think about the person who explains, “I’m the most honest person you will ever meet.” What effect does such a pronouncement have on you? Or, if someone tells you “we are the New York City of Kansas,” what credibility do you bestow upon such a claim?
In contrast, everyone on the inside, government leaders, at the chambers of commerce, or at the convention and visitors bureau, all feel great about We Got It advertising because they are so darn POSITIVE. But each of these individuals is already convinced—they are paid to pay attention, while the consumer is not. The consumer has to pay, literally, when they pay attention—they pay with their time and mental effort, neither of which consumers are likely to invest when a brand shouts a “heard that before” More/Better explanation.
We Got It advertising claims may be applied to ANY location brand; they offer no point of difference. Tulsa could easily claim We Got The Goods, with More Shopping, More Dining, More Playing. Omaha could shout about how Omaha’s Got It. Wichita proves this point by six months later parroting Wyandotte County’s advertising tagline.
How often have we seen this, the ineffective message glossed over by high-production-value creative? Presented in a conference room to decision makers outside the context of how the target audience will hear it, see it, experience it. Then, some months later, the client wonders why the sales needle did not move.
Instead what should occur is a brand positioning pointing to different, compelling and entertaining. But it MUST be new AND authentic, the equivalent of electric shock therapy to snap people’s preconceptions about the place, providing a now we’re paying attention moment for the city to frame itself. Because those preconceptions are strong and not easily brushed aside, the audience needs to come away questioning their assumptions, their stereotypes, as if to say, “THIS is Wichita? Wow, I had no idea.”
The most effective brands demonstrate their value, knowledge and under-standing of consumer wants and needs rather than explaining themselves.
Branding engages your customer to lean forward and pursue you. Advertising pleads with and chases after consumers.
Branding is a seduction. Advertising is a 60-foot banner shouting “More.”
As reported by ABC News, U.S. based retailer Wal-Mart experienced weaker than expected holiday shopping on Black Friday, prompting Wal-Mart to cut its projected sales increase for November by more than half:
The world’s largest retailer estimated that the month’s sales at U.S. stores open at least a year would be 0.7 percent higher than last November, well below the 2-to-4 percent range that the company had said it expected last week.
“Sales fell below plan this past week, which impacted the results of our November forecast,” the [company said in a statement on its Web site]. “Keep in mind that this past week was the largest week of the reporting period.”
The company’s raison d’etre is to function as THE low price pass-through between manufacturers and consumers. The Wal-Mart brand positioning is all about low price rather than shopping experience and affiliation. As a result Wal-Mart’s consumer base may be more price sensitive than those of most other retailers. Analysts were quick to say Wal-Mart’s sales didn’t grow more rapidly last month in part because it didn’t cut prices on promotional items aggressively.
There may be another reason. With a singular low-price focus, perhaps Wal-Mart has devalued their brand.
In contrast, by fostering an emotional connection between their brand and consumer base, the Target brand positioning is about being smart as a consumer, affiliating with other smart consumers in seeking cheap AND chic products, in a store environment focused on an intimate human scale appeal rather than an industrial warehouse. Store environments and the staffs operating them are critical brand touch points, demonstrating brand difference and brand relevance more effectively than any advertisement.
James Cramer of TheStreet.com says this about Wal-Mart: “The stores are dowdy. The aisles are ugly. There’s nothing exciting or different or even colorful at Wal-Mart. It feels almost Soviet in its selection and presentation.”
Ouch!
By failing to fully optimize every brand touch point perhaps in deference to developing new stores, Wal-Mart has become the brand of the low margin necessity item. In contrast, by optimizing consumer touch points Target attracts the higher margin discretionary item purchaser.
Which company produces the greater return on equity? Given their respective Wall Street reputations, the answer may surprise. Many would say Target’s greater ROE is due to a difference in the attitude and very human point of view projected by the brand.
Smart.
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