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What do words such as outside the box or innovative really mean?
Because they are so overused, nothing.
In survey released…by…a human resources firm for the advertising and marketing industry, acronyms are at the top of the list of overused [words and] catch phrases…
The list included [ROI and CRM], as well as “the big idea, make it pop, break through the clutter, take it to the next level, free value, organic growth, voice of the customer, critical mass, customer-centric, low-hanging fruit, it is what it is, integrated solution and paradigm shift.”
People cannot underestimate the importance of clear language, said Collin Maria Ezzell, division director for The Creative Group.
…There were also some singular words on the list, including innovation, strategy, synergy and…buzz.
…At the top of [one overused] list is the expression “brand integrity.”
“As a marketer, I love a clear brand positioning but too often agencies and marketers use this word as the reason to not try something new… or keep the status quo,” …said [one agency president].
“It’s the obstinate marketer’s bulletproof vest — from productive debate.”
Which leads us to a corollary to Occam’s Razor in our Laws of Branding, as suggested by one marketer:
“Speak English, or French. Don’t use hundred dollar words.”
You can read more about this study in Canada’s National Post.
[More posts about Brand Management | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Laws of Branding | More posts about Occam’s Razor | More posts about Overused Words | More posts about Brand Blunders | More blogs about Laws of Branding]
Some four years ago The Isle of Man began a process to brand itself as a destination for tourism and business investment.
In 2006 the Isle of Man launched a new national brand using the strapline, Freedom to Flourish. The country’s government offers this explanation:
“The Isle of Man is a land of possibility where people and business will find the right environment in which to reach their full potential, whatever they feel that might be.”
“Freedom to flourish” is the strategy approved by Tynwald to promote, protect and improve the Isle of Man.
Sounds eerily familiar, given this recent effort by another government also attempting a rebrand:
In Kansas, our wide open spaces give people the freedom to dream and make big things happen.
Rather than an effective story demonstrating a unique difference offered by this self-governing British Crown dependency, the good people of the Isle of Man were left with a banal explanation, and bill of £500,000. They were sold advertising, rather than branding. See what their money bought:
Advertising is explaining. Branding is demonstrating.
Explaining chases the audience you seek to influence. Demonstrating engages them.
This difference is considerable in weighing the effectiveness of the Isle of Man campaign.
One commonly used advertising strategy is to rely upon an adulatory claim, such as We Offer More [”unrivaled quality of life”], We Are Better [”land of possibility”], We Cost Less [”low personal taxes”], and others offered here. Anyone can make an adulatory claim. And, anyone can top the last one. Which make such claims useless for effective branding.
The more a brand relies upon an adulatory message, the higher the advertising expense.
Of far more consequence to the Isle of Man, an adulatory message will never separate the country from other tourist and business options, because these claims are equally true of any number of competing destinations [such as, Freedom to Flourish - Dublin, Freedom to Flourish - Edinburgh, Freedom to Flourish - Wales]. It is this separation, that key point of difference from ALL other places the audience must hear to take action.
Effective branding uncovers and demonstrates that difference.
The Isle of Man misses a golden opportunity to uncover their one unique, authentic, engaging difference, setting the country apart from ANY tourism destination. Had they done that, the Isle of Man’s message would become unforgettable, rather than setting themselves up for the large year-over-year advertising spends of a Fortune 500 with little hope of success.
What is it about the country that separates the Isle of Man experience from other tourism and business alternatives? How does the Isle of Man fulfill a passion not satisfied elsewhere? Why should we care about the Isle of Man? The new campaign fails to provide compelling answers. But these are the questions a good brand strategy should instantly answer, within seconds.
An authentic story of a brand that is engaging, not heard elsewhere, and that matters, is by itself unique. And that remains the Isle of Man’s golden opportunity.
[More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Isle of Man | More posts about Tynwald | More posts about Brand Blunders | More blogs about Destination Branding]
Brand demonstration:
Brand explanation:
…[B]lank spaces. Advertisers seem determined to fill every last one of them. Supermarket eggs have been stamped with the names of CBS television shows. Subway turnstiles bear messages from Geico auto insurance. Chinese food cartons promote Continental Airways. US Airways is selling ads on motion sickness bags. And the trays used in airport security lines have been hawking Rolodexes.
Marketers used to try their hardest to reach people at home, when they were watching TV or reading newspapers or magazines. But consumers’ viewing and reading habits are so scattershot now that many advertisers say the best way to reach time-pressed consumers is to try to catch their eye at literally every turn.
“We never know where the consumer is going to be at any point in time, so we have to find a way to be everywhere,” said Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief executive at the Kaplan Thaler Group, a New York ad agency. “Ubiquity is the new exclusivity.”
Or, perhaps, ubiquity is the new nausea. As the New York Times further reports:
One company that says…nontraditional advertising has worked is Perry Ellis, the clothing designer…
“We’re always looking for new mediums and places that have not been used before — it’s an effort to get over the clutter,” said Pablo de Echevarria, [senior vice president of marketing].
“But,” he added, “I guess we end up creating more clutter.”
For an advertising agency, ad placement ubiquity is all about chasing the customer to drive revenues…of the ad agency.
In stark contrast, effective branding engages the consumer.
Demonstrate vs. Explain.
Engage vs. Chase.
Brand vs. Advertise.
For any organization, which would you guess is by far the more cost effective?
[More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Brand Opportunities | More posts about Branding v Advertising | More posts about iPhone | More posts about Apple | More posts about Geico Advertising | More posts about US Airways Advertising | More posts about Continental Airways Advertising | More posts about CBS Advertising | More posts about Rolodex Advertising | More blogs about Branding v Advertising]
The official Seychelles website announced a new visual identity:
The Seychelles islands have unveiled a new tourism brand to showcase the country’s spectacular beauty and diversity, in addition to what many consider to be the most beautiful beaches in the world.
The new brand features a new colourful logo – a composite of some of Seychelles’ famous icons…
According to The Seychelles Nation these icons include:
The logo is a composite of the entire spectrum of the Seychelles experience, from the blues and turquoises of the sea, to white sand beaches and lush green foliage, as well as the vibrancy of the Creole culture and the islands’ unique flora and fauna. The shape of the logo is also representative of important Seychelles icons, from palm trees and flowers to endemic birds like the Paradise Flycatcher and the Tropicbird.
The new slogan conveys the rarity and uniqueness of Seychelles as the only mid-ocean granitic islands in the world, with an array of endemic species found nowhere else on earth.
Easy to see.
The Seychelles unveiling recalls another visual identity introduction described just as nonsensically:
The Hong Kong visual identity has been designed to communicate Hong Kong’s link to an historical and cultural icon. The flowing lines of the Dragon also mirror Chinese calligraphy. This dual expression symbolises a fusion of East and West that characterises Hong Kong. The Dragon’s smooth, fluid shape imparts a sense of movement and speed, communicating that Hong Kong is forever changing. The visual identity’s dynamic and contemporary rendering captures Hong Kong’s passion to be daring and innovative, and a can-do approach towards bringing visionary ideas to life.
Perhaps those behind the Seychelles and Hong Kong visual identities drew inspiration from a trademark first registered in 1997, and supported by this identity:
[More posts about Brand Identity | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Nation Branding | More posts about Seychelles | More posts about Hong Kong | More blogs about Nation Branding]
As a brand consultancy we are in the word business. To create human engagement we seek out words and imagery to effectively demonstrate the story behind any brand.
As part of this work, we often conduct etymological studies of the history, development, and origin of words. Words and their meaning in any language can be tracked through hundreds, often thousands, of years.
More than a dictionary or thesaurus, etymology is an important part of our brand development quiver.
In addition to any number of hardcover etymology reference works, including this one, here’s an example of an etymology dictionary online.
[More posts about Etymology | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Branding Resources | More blogs about Etymology]
Many U.S. based casual dining restaurants fail to differentiate themselves, or so says The Wall Street Journal:
Seared ahi tuna, cedar-plank tilapia and bruschetta hamburgers — they’re all on the menu as casual-dining chains delve beyond comfort food to hook more sophisticated palates. The question is whether customers will take the bait…
Applebee’s International Inc., the nation’s largest casual-dining chain, overhauled its menu in October with dishes from television chef Tyler Florence, in part to lure higher-income clientele. The new dishes don’t have “this big pile of mashed potatoes” that accompany many of the chain’s entrees, Applebee’s Chief Executive Officer Dave Goebel says. Items include a hamburger loaded with a bruschetta-style topping of pesto and diced tomatoes served with wedges of mozzarella on grilled focaccia. It comes with a side of garlic french fries sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
For years, Applebee’s held back on adding more contemporary items out of concerns its customers wouldn’t accept them, Mr. Goebel says. “That was an injustice,” he says. “We had stereotyped a little too narrowly.”
…While a few chains say that some items haven’t been popular, several chains credit the updated menus with driving sales. Applebee’s says its most frequent customers like the new items as much as or more than the old dishes. Still, Applebee’s same-store sales, a key measure that strips out new locations, haven’t reversed their slide since the chain introduced its new menu in October…
Analysts say one of the industry’s biggest problems is that chains haven’t done a good enough job differentiating themselves from one another…
Apostrophe restaurants such as Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern, and Chili’s Grill & Bar are attempting to establish competitive separation through the introduction of more sophisticated menu items. But, as the story points out, these new dishes may create little more than confusion among target consumers:
Clay Dover, chief concept officer for Bennigan’s, part of Metromedia Restaurant Group, says the recent new item tests reaffirmed that its customers prefer fried food, hamburgers and beer instead of more eclectic fare. “Our guest consumer didn’t have as sophisticated palate as we may have thought,” Mr. Dover says…
Chili’s Grill & Bar, in an effort to add bolder flavors to its menu, recently came up with a grilled tilapia seasoned with hoisin, a Chinese sauce. The chain describes the dish as a fillet brushed with a sweet-and-spicy glaze and garnished with red-chile tapenade, green onions and sesame seeds. But Chili’s ended up taking the word “hoisin” out of the description and calling it “firecracker tilapia.”
“The consumers really said, ‘You know what? That’s not who Chili’s is,’” says Dana Tilley, vice president of product innovation for Brinker International Inc.’s Chili’s.
Any way you cut it, in moving their menus upmarket each of these restaurant chains ignore a basic truth: use of descriptors such as Grill, Bar, or Tavern stereotypes the restaurant and its menu. Such stereotypes are difficult to overcome without a shift in thinking.
Instead of myopically focusing on upmarket menu changes to increase the average ticket [”of course, we’re a restaurant, so let’s change the food!”], what should occur is a rethinking of the brand beyond the menu.
As an example, with nearly 1,900 restaurants in the US and 17 countries, Applebee’s has a ready made platform to sell more than chicken wings. Rather than trying to move upmarket away from its base, Applebee’s should refocus on its core customer. What is the brand promise the chain is trying to cultivate, and how does that promise result in an image reflective of the Applebee’s customer? It’s not a stretch to think of Applebee’s in a new way, as a channel with 1,900 points of distribution, with every point representing an Applebee’s restaurant around the world.
Applebee’s proclaims itself a part of “the neighborhood.” One wonders if the company seriously examines the meaning of this important human connection, beyond creation of a slogan and a smattering of localized artifacts included on the walls of most any Applebee’s restaurant.
Applebee’s should be all about this neighborhood, as seen through the eyes of the consumer, creating a relevance that extends beyond the hamburger, bruschetta toppings or no. The company should be intently focused on the dignity and ego of the consumer within that neighborhood.
It’s all about the community Applebee’s serves and aligning with that community, that neighborhood, to create human engagement. Such a strategy will create a powerful emotional connection with the customer, and creating an Applebee’s experience that is anything but casual.
As a growth opportunity, there’s nothing casual about that.
[More posts about Brand Promise | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Brand Relevance | More posts about Brand Opportunities | More posts about Restaurant Branding | More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Applebee’s | More posts about Bennigan’s | More posts about Chili’s | More blogs about Brand Differentiation]
A respected CEO talks of the importance of brand promise, in this from China Daily:
“You need to have a promise in the brand to your customers,” said Gerard Kleisterlee, chairman and CEO of Royal Philips Electronics, whose brand value has risen by more than 50 per cent since it began repositioning in 2004.
Good advice for any CEO, as also shared here, and here.
[More posts about Brand Promise | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Global Branding | More posts about Brand Management | More posts about Royal Phillips Electronics | More posts about Brand Positioning | More posts about China | More blogs about Brand Promise]
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Saturday, January 20th, 2007 - 8:07am |
Blunders + Brand Grad School + Brand Management |
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