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From the “at this very moment as a viewer you are participating in a demonstration of the power of this idea” file.
A story from the New York Times illustrates how blogging can be a more powerful brand builder than public relations or advertising:
Putting a small business online used to be a relatively simple matter: buy the domain names that matched your company’s identity, set up a Web server and send out a press release and a few e-mail messages. No more…
“We launched our company in May 2006 with a blog, not a Web site,” said Jody DeVere, the president of AskPatty.com, an advice site that helps women find car showrooms and repair shops that are friendly to them. “Our blog has been the driving force of our branding effort and become the way we find our readers and our customers.”
…An active blog helps draw visitors to a corporate Web site and can improve a company’s search rankings… “Blogging isn’t just about promoting you or your business…” Instead…corporate blogs [should] focus on a niche or industry segment and become an authority by publishing advice and commentary on it.
“The old ways of hiring a public relations firm and putting out press releases just don’t cut it anymore,” …said [John Patrick, a former I.B.M. vice president for Internet technology]. “Today’s businesses have to be more hands-on, grass roots, interactive and maintain this flow of continuous communications.”
Examples of companies putting these theories to practice daily, including building their own respective brands through their blogs, include this San Francisco firm, and this international consultancy.
[More posts about Online Branding | More posts about Online Brand Strategy | More posts about Blog Strategy | More posts about Brand Management | More posts about Brand Opportunities | More posts about Web 2.0 | More blogs about Online Brand Strategy]
A professor at Jansons School of Business offers an interesting discussion on the topic of umbrella branding in a report published in the Hindu Business Line. The author offers the most pragmatic of reasons behind an umbrella brand strategy:
With scarce financial resources, firms cannot afford to allocate huge budgets for building and maintaining several brands.
The key, of course, is to do it well. One of the best examples of an effective umbrella strategy is demonstrated by Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, otherwise known as BMW.
But with what seems an infinite budget, even a respected global company can get it wrong, as in this example.
[More posts about Umbrella Branding | More posts about Brand Management | More posts about BMW | More posts about Nokia | More posts about Jansons School of Business | More blogs about Umbrella Branding]
A report in The McKinsey Quarterly, How Companies Are Marketing Online, offers a good synopsis of Web 2.0 tools and how they are being used to create engagement. 
The report also includes this forecast:
…[B]y 2010 the Web will play a role in the first two stages of the consumer decision-making process—product awareness and information gathering—for a sizable majority of all consumers… The expectation that most consumers will seek out new products online may be a factor in the plans of companies to increase spending significantly on several digital-advertising tools they see as most useful in building brands.
A smaller proportion of customers…will use the Web to execute transactions or access services.
A PDF of the report is available here.
[More posts about Online Branding | More posts about Online Brand Strategy | More posts about McKinsey & Company | More posts about Brand Management | More posts about Brand Opportunities | More posts about Web 2.0 | More blogs about Online Brand Strategy]
Always on the lookout for brands able to grab market share without advertising, we discovered a success story while in Portland, Maine.
We stepped into a local restaurant for lunch one day, and were introduced to a beverage our server referred to as free range root beer, otherwise known as Maine Root. As a root beer junkie, this was a real discovery, which led to our ordering another, and stopping by two days later for another.
The brew we enjoyed has become a success any entrepreneur [or corporate type] would envy. And, its a success achieved without advertising.
How have they done it? The short answer is, literally, organically. But the real engine behind Maine Root success comes in adopting and living a distinct attitude, casting themselves as the “little guy” vs. the Goliath purveyors of “corporate” root beer. 
As good as the product is, this brand personality is the driver behind Maine Root success, nowhere epitomized more than at this site declaring:
FreeRangeRootBeer.com is a movement. We believe that root beer deserves to be free. Free from chemicals, artificial sweeteners and confined spaces; the very things that strip a root beer from all its inate goodness, and the very things “corporate root beer” is guilty of committing…
The site directs the user to Maine Root.
Maine Root has created a passionate following through this own the conversation® strategy, changing the market beverage conversation to a basis they can win, and building the brand organically through endorsement and word of mouth [click on the Tell A friend link]. Sounds familiar.
[More posts about Brand Personality | More posts about Maine Root | More posts about Portland, Maine | More posts about Own The Conversation® Strategy | More posts about Branding v Advertising | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Free Range Root Beer | More posts about Beverage Branding | More posts about Root Beer | More posts about Restaurant Branding | More blogs about Brand Personality]
We like this quote from Thomas Friedman, from his book The World is Flat:
“There is nothing wrong with [a] complicated idea…, but if you want to convey a complicated thought to a mass audience, you have to first condense it into something digestible and believable. Once you grab someone’s attention, you can pour in the details.”
Friedman’s insight points to the power of simplicity in communication. With all of seconds to attract the attention of any audience, Friedman’s is good advice for any organization or product brand seeking to demonstrate relevance in answer to the implicit question asked by any audience — Why do you matter to me?
[More posts about Brand Simplicity | More posts about Thomas Friedman | More posts about Brand Relevance | More posts about Brand Promise | More posts about Brand Strategy | More blogs about Brand Simplicity]
None of the above.
Nothing defines a school’s athletic image quite like a football helmet, the billboard of collegiate athletic programs, as explained in this opinion piece appearing in the Des Moines Register:
Iowa State University appears to be missing a golden opportunity to simplify the branding of its athletics (”ISU Fans Vote for ‘I-State’ Helmet,” Sept. 2). The debut of the 2008 football uniforms with white helmets and mediocre logo options has caused much disappointment throughout Cyclone Nation.
The more important issue, beyond white helmets, is the lack of a strong iconic identity for all Cyclone athletics. I applaud them for realizing the way we currently represent ourselves is not the most effective. ISU’s logo is a complex, over-colored design with incorporated text that is nearly impossible to distinguish at more than five feet away. Multiple variations of it exist with no clear primary version. It’s difficult to establish instant brand recognition with no consistency to your identity, and since ISU hasn’t officially abandoned the current logo, the new helmet designs only throw one more option on the pile.
A larger perspective shows that simplifying Iowa State’s identity needs to be the focus. We need our own version of a Nike Swoosh… Create something simple and iconic, and it will become timeless.
I challenge Iowa State to take the time and get this right. The result will be 10 times more effective and meaningful than letters on a white helmet…
We could not have said it any better. Rather than clearly distinquishing itself, Iowa State is attempting to stand as part of the pack with any number of other I-STATEs and ISUs.
One obvious opportunity is that Iowa State is the only NCAA Division 1A school in the nation with the nickname Cyclones. But attempting to explain this unique difference by use of the word “cyclones” in script is inadequate, as such an approach creates a cognitive disconnect for audiences Iowa State seeks to influence and attract. A cyclone is a powerful force of nature, rather than some elegantly cursive script. To develop an image worthy of icon status, Iowa State’s unique nickname should be visually depicted as a “force” in simple graphic form.
Successful helmet examples that have achieved iconic status include those of the University of Michigan, and more recently Kansas State University with their Powercat logo. In contrast to the Iowa State approach, not a single letter may be found on these examples, yet both offer imagery that through their uniqueness and simplicity become memorable.
Iowa State attempts to cram too much, or too little depending on your point of view, into their helmet billboard believing, we assume, they will achieve iconic status by use of a white helmet, which would be a first in their history. Perhaps this line of thinking is overly influenced by their new head coach, who was hired from another white helmet school.
Iowa State has a unique opportunity to rewrite the book about itself. But, it will take a rethinking beyond the three homogenized helmet options depicted at top to create a memorable brand identity for the university’s athletic program.
[More posts about University Branding | More posts about Sports Branding | More posts about Iowa State University | More posts about Iowa State University Brand Image | More posts about University of Michigan Brand Image | More posts about Kansas State University Brand Image | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Brand Identity | More blogs about University Branding]
Okay, we admit it. We like pizza. But then, who doesn’t?
On the lookout for a great pizza wherever we go, from New York to Newport Beach, from Indianapolis to Italy, it is rare to find a restaurant that redefines the pizza category through an effective brand name. 
Such was the case this past week, while in Portland, Maine, where we were introduced to the joys of Flatbread, located on Commercial Street across from the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal. Flatbread not only has a brand name that changes the conversation to a basis they can win, they back it up with a unique product—no sauce pizza, err, flatbread. Founded in 1998, the Flatbread concept has grown to multiple New England locations with a unique brand strategy demonstrated at key consumer touchpoints through the product, the employee and customer experience, all without advertising. This own the conversation® strategy builds the brand organically through endorsement and word of mouth. Sounds familiar.
Stop by any of the Flatbread restaurant locations, and tell us what you think about the brand…and the Flatbread product.
[More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Brand Naming | More posts about Flatbread Company | More posts about Portland, Maine | More posts about Own The Conversation® Strategy | More posts about Branding v Advertising | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Brand Reputation | More posts about Pizza Branding | More posts about Best Pizza | More posts about Restaurant Branding | More blogs about Restaurant Branding]
François-Marie Arouet was a French Enlightenment writer known for his wit and defense of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and the right to a fair trial.
Arouet, more commonly known by his pen name Voltaire, he the author of Candide, ou l’Optimisme, or Candide: Or, The Optimist, also offered us the following, which today applies to the discipline of branding:
“The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.”
Too often organizations rush to tell consumers everything about themselves. Think of the vast majority of tech companies that rush to share the story of the science behind their technology. Zzzzzzzzzzz. It’s the equivalent of demanding that the consumer pay to hear a brand story—pay, literally, by paying attention with their time and mental effort, neither of which a consumer is likely to invest when a brand offers a book about itself. For organizations wanting to tell everything about themselves, it’s arrogant, narcissistic and yes, boring.
Instead, consumers will readily stop and invest their time and mental effort to hear a simple thought, elegantly expressed in a new and entertaining way.
We discuss the topic of simplicity as it relates to effective branding often in these pages. Voltaire helps make the point.
But then Voltaire, a font of memorable quotes, also is credited with this:
“It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue.”
What does virginity have to do with branding? With an assist from François-Marie Arouet, we leave that to you.
[More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Brand Simplicity | More posts about Voltaire | More posts about Laws of Branding | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Brand Virgin | More blogs about Brand Simplicity]
From this story in The Hindu, another definition of brand:
Brand…is…a promise that the brand and its products will meet the expectations generated over time.
Nearly identical to our definition of brand, linked here.
The story, also appearing in The Hindu Business Line, includes this:
Brands provide the basis for differences between apparently similar offers. They play a key role in generating and sustaining the financial performance of a business. In industry where competition is increasing and there is surplus capacity, strong brands help in differentiating products in the market.
Well said.
[More posts about Brand Definitions | More posts about Brand Equity | More posts about Laws Of Branding | More posts about Brand Strategy | More blogs about Brand Definitions]
A research report takes an in-depth look at a recent effort to brand the State of Kansas, as well as efforts on behalf of states from Alaska to Utah. The report, issued by Kansas Inc, offers a good synopsis of many recent U.S.-based destination / place branding efforts. Among a variety of topics, the report addresses the difference between branding and advertising.
What is otherwise a good 44 page compilation and analysis goes awry with this conclusion:
Kansas has tremendous opportunities in regards to economic development. The image of Kansas plays an important role in these opportunities, and we must do what we can to make our image as appealing as possible to both ourselves and others. While traditional stereotypes and clichés may never change, we must find a way to embrace who and what we are, and use that to our advantage. We must realize that we can change certain parts of our image, and certain parts we cannot – we are what we are. If we can project who and what we are, we can make our image work to our advantage. We must focus on our strengths and downplay any potential negatives. Kansas is both similar and different from other states and regions, and we can use our differences as an asset. [Emphasis ours.]
To become unforgettable—a brand ingrained in popular culture—any state, city, nation brand must own the conversation within its competitive context. To do this first requires taking ownership of the conversation about itself. Those behind the Kansas Inc. report make an all too common mistake, suggesting Kansas should essentially ignore it’s real and imagined deficiencies in sharing the story of the state. It is a mistake they make at their peril.
Readers of these pages know we have offered commentary on the Kansas brand effort more than once. The current Kansas message, As Big As You Think, is a cheerleading claim, one that quickly fades from memory unless supported by a Fortune 500 ad spend. Unfortunately, few states, cities, even nations, offer the advertising budgets of a Fortune 500. Which is why a cost effective brand strategy, rather than an expensive advertising strategy, is so important to place brands everywhere.
Unless people are given a compelling reason to shuffle the brand deck, they’ll stand with what they know rather than look again. Without a brand message to shuffle the deck, people feel they have all the information about Kansas they need and thus tune out.
Kansas cannot control how their state brand is perceived unless they begin to control how the state is presented. Changing the message about the state to one never heard before, one that snaps existing stereotypes yet remains authentic, is the only way to change the conversation about the state. Any great brand acknowledges the negatives about itself, for in so doing audiences gain trust and will stop to listen to what you have to say. For example, What Happens Here, Stays Here as the Las Vegas message offers both a negative and positive connotation, mapping authentically into the stereotypes of the city as a tourist destination.
Kansas is no Las Vegas. Nor should it be. But it can offer the world a stereotype snapping message reframing how it is presented, and ultimately how it is perceived. It is hard work, and too few place brands succeed in creating such a message, as they often settle for that which is safe, and of appeal to leaders sitting at the table as brand message decisions are made, rather than appealing to the tourists or business investors who must be convinced.
As the Kansas Inc. report also concludes, “we must find a way to embrace who and what we are, and use that to our advantage.” Indeed.
[More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Kansas Slogan | More posts about Kansas | More posts about Own The Conversation® Strategy | More posts about Branding v Advertising | More posts about Brand Image | More posts about Brand Cheerleading | More posts about Kansas Tourism | More posts about Kansas Advertising | More posts about Adulatory Claims | More posts about Government Strategies | More blogs about Destination Branding]
Own one word.
So you want to be a recognized, perhaps even global brand? John Quelch, Senior Dean of the Harvard Business School, offered this advice while speaking earlier this month in Singapore:
“If you can own an important word globally, it is the best way to create a global brand.”
Dean Quelch pointed to Google as an example:
Why did Google become the most valuable brand in the world? Quelch asked. Because it had an ambitious mission – to organise the world’s information; search is important; and Google is simply better than its competitors.
…Google owned one word – search. “If you can own an important word globally, it is the best way to create a global brand.”
It seems so simple. In any language, including Malay. Even Leonardo da Vinci would agree.
[More posts about Brand Management | More posts about Brand Simplicity | More posts about Leonardo da Vinci | More posts about Malay Language | More posts about Singapore | More posts about Brand Positioning | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Google Brand | More blogs about Brand Simplicity]
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