branding in a troubled economy

Branding in a Troubled Economy

presented to:

Texas Public Relations Association

February 28, 2009

+ Representative George Miller(D) California

“The most negative brand in America.”

Guilt by association

“ Part of the problem is that the law, which comes up for reauthorization every five years, became closely associated with President George W. Bush, and as his popularity slid, the law, and its name, came under attack and ridicule.”

Rebrand!

Candidates

+Mental Asset Recovery Program (MARP)

+Resourcing Educational and Development Outcomes (REDO)

+All American Children Are Above Average (AACAAA)

+Not Even We Think This Will Work Act

+Act to Help Children Read Gooder

the morals of the story

+branding can’t cure everything

+branding has become part of our social currency

+branding is not as simple as it looks

Disposable?

Single Use Camera

Disposable?

SUC

Disposable?

One-Time Use Camera

What is a brand?

1. Marketing 2. Advertising

3. Public Relations 4. Branding

Source: The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier

a brief history of branding

from a mark to a meaning(and billions)

$4.1 billion(in cash)

equity

perceived quality functionality associationsprice

More than one way to build brand equity

+ Naomi KleinNo Logo

“There is a new strain in marketing theory that holds that even the lowliest natural resources can develop brand identities”

Southwest Recruiting Ad

The brand platform

Putting the platform to work

Identity systemInteractivePrint

AdvertisingProductVehiclesRetail SignageUniformsEnvironmentsIdentitymanagement+Amplifire™+Namequest™

ExperienceWebCommunications

CultureTransactionsEnvironmentProductsPoint-of-purchase

Identity elements Logo(s) Imagery

ColorTypographyGraphic motifFormatSound

Simplify Amplify

BRAND PLATFORM

Strategies NamingBrand

architectureMessagingSimplificationTechnology

Deconstructing the Apple brand

cause tools for the creative mindreason for action

promisedeclaration of intent

technology that is artful, elegant and radically easy to use

The compelling truth

an advanced technology company that produces artful, elegant, radically easy to use products

+ Brands are becoming more than differentiating marks and corporate missions. Some tell stories that are deeply connected to the ego and personal community.

Brand as storyteller

Narrative priming

+ The source narrative already exists in the consumer’s head

+ Brand touchpoints prime the brain to recall the story

+ Through repeated experiences, the brand is linked to the narrative in long term memory and validates the world view

story beat exposed to consumers

beats

narrative identity stored In consumer subconscious

consumer matches beat to the narrative stored in identity centers

of the subconscious brain

narrative

theme characters plot aesthetics

cause

promise

stakeholders products touchpoints

+visual system

+voice

Brand as narrative device

Putting brands to work

C A S E S T U D Y

C A S E S T U D Y

+ Should we spend at all?

+ Should we shift our brand spending plans?

+ Which brand investments will generate the most ROI?

Branding in a down economy

FALSE PERCEPTION

“a rich man’s game”

Game for the industrious

+ In the last recession, most companies that invested in their brands outperformed peers when economic growth returned.

America, the optimistic

the brand is a blast furnaceTHE RIGHT METAPHOR

the nervous consumer

+ US Consumer confidence indexed at 25

+ Many consumers link self concept to objects and brands

+ TMT research reveals that in times of adversity, favored brands provide comfort

+ Your brand asset may be more comforting to the consumer than a discount

Source: The Safety of Objects: Materialism, Existential Insecurity, and Brand Connection, Journal of Consumer Research, 2009

Brands and identity formation

tradition

early americans

identity linked to old-world customs and generational norms

inner

transcendentalists

identity linked to lessons learned in childhood and readings from the “inner compass”

other

modern era

identity linked to consumption and feedback from environment and “others”

a brief history of identity formation in the u.s.a.

Psychological underpinnings

“Making attribute information salient to consumers may switch the locus of equity from brands to attributes. Any equity that the attribute draws from the brand reduces brand equity.”

A shift from brand to discount might discount your future

Consumer brand perceptions are “sticky” and tend to be influenced by the most recent brand exposure, which frames the next.

The Brand A DiscountAttribute

Locus of Equity

Beware the misguided brand investment

“It’s just a faster-looking steed”

+ George SaridakisDesign Manager, 2010 Mustang

Before After

Source: brandnew.com

“ We wanted to give the Mustang pony a more realistic feel. We lifted the head to make the pony more proud, tipped the neck into the wind to give it a feeling of greater speed and better balance.”

+ Douglas GaffikaChief Designer, 2010 Mustang

Source: brandnew.com

Three guidelines for branding in bad times

+Simplify your architecture

+Tap brain power

+Align your messaging

Simplify your architecture

Brand architecture models

Situational/Combination

Hybrid

Associated products

House of Brands

Master brand

Branded House

Pros:

Offers clear, logical paths to new brands and extensions

Value of master brand preserved and transfered easily

Cons:

Dependent upon the health of the master brand

Sometimes makes it harder to micro-segment

Our house

Master brand

Branded House

Pros:

Insulates and “protects” individual brands

Communicates breadth

Allows for competing brands within the same category

Cons:

Expensive to promote and maintain

One house, many brands

Associated products

House of Brands

Pros:

Flexible–provides option to use master brand, or not

Allows for segmentation through endorsement

Cons:

Difficult to manage

Rife with “slippery slopes”

Hybrid

Something in-between

Situational/Combination

Hybrid

When in doubt, default to the branded house

“MOTOization” created complexity for Motorola

And consumer products

Extending to business platforms

C A S E S T U D Y

Proliferation of names

Motorola’s new brand architecture

Suggestive name

Products, services, technologies

Motorola +Trademark names

Descriptive namesGeneric name or AlphanumericsMotorola +

Masterbrand

Welcome to the brand

HELLO MOTO

Experience of the brandMOTOME

Strategic sub-brandsMOTO + 1 to 4 easy-to-pronounce characters or short word

C A S E S T U D Y

Architecture decision tree

Game changing

Is this a game changing offer, upon which the success of Motorola depends?

Create a trademark name

Powerful marketing

Will there be significant marketing support over the long-term?

Innovation

Is this a new product, and not a modification of an existing product?

Create a version

Unique value proposition

Is the offer so unique that it cannot live under the umbrella of an existing name?

Extend an existing name

The Motorola brand

Is Motorola + descriptor insufficient?

Naming resources

Is there time, budget and resources to create, manage, market and extend a trademark name?

Create a descriptive name

Substantial revenue

Will the offer generate significant revenue?

Create a strategic sub-brand

C A S E S T U D Y

Brand architecture drivers

AlignmentThe optimization of individual brands with the corporate strategy

+ Does your portfolio reflect and reinforce your brand and business strategy?

+ Is there a clear relationship between your brands?

+ Do your brands invite the customer relationships you want?

+ Are your branding practices cost-efficient?

+ How well do customers understand what you sell?

+ How loyal are customers to your brands?

+ What are the risks and rewards of change?

+ Can you learn from competitors or peers?

+ Are you getting your money’s worth from current brand investments?

+ Can you afford to move to an ideal scenario?

+ What return should you expect from different models?

+ Will brand change create unacceptable cultural disharmony?

+ Do legal or regulatory obstacles stand in the way of change?

+ Are your current operations and technology able to accommodate brand integration?

LoyaltyHow the marketplace feels about the current brands and how they are likely to react to change

FinancialHow much change will cost and what return should be expected

ObstaclesThe human and operational barriers to change

don’t be afraid to simplify from the middle

Prototype theory

bird chair

Stickley

furniture

iPhone

3G

Apple

basic level

animalssuperordinate

sparrowsubordinate

tap brain power

frosh frish frish frosh

frosh frish frosh

frosh

frish

frosh

frosh

frosh

frosh

frish

frish

frish frish frosh frish

frish

frosh

+ Phonetic Symbolism and Brand Name PreferenceJournal of Consumer Research, 2007

“...back vowels such as the [u] sound in dull or ugh are very often found in words expressing disgust or dislike (e.g., blunder, bung, bungle, clumsy, muck), and words beginning with sl also tend to have a negative connotation (slouch, slut, slime, sloven). Words beginning with fl often express movement (flutter, flap, flicker). Across languages and cultures, similarities have also been noted.”

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+ Apples are delicious

+ Apples are good for you

+ Apples are natural

The Power of Experience

+ Engaging“The engaging aspects of product experience can lead to illusions of control ... improved consumer memory when information learned through experience was organized around a goal.”

+ Non-Partisan“Consumers are skeptical of advertising claims, especially those that can only be verified through experience ... product experience is credible because it is basic, with no obvious staging by a self-interested outside party.”

+ Pseudodiagnostic“Experience is selective, and since it does not come along with a control group, interpretation is required ... people learn brand associations that later block the learning of new attribute associations.”

+ Endogenous (affected by changes in tastes)“Beggen (1992) found that people evaluated a brand more favorably merely because they owned it ... Consumers engage in creative, motivated reasoning when faced with justifying a choice.”

+ “Learning from experience is more seductive than learning from education.”

Stephen J. Hoch

align your messaging

Connecting messages to brand

Promise

Voice

MessagesCharacteristics of Good Brand Messages

+ Reasonably consistent over time

+ Connected to a distinctive manner, tone and style

+ Sometimes subtextual

+ Tailored to audiences while retaining a familiar character

siegel+gale | REAGAN MESSAGING FRAMEWORK | 26 August, 2008

+ Voice attributes

+ Messages

+ Narrative architecture

Content in voice

Framework deconstructed

Voice attributes

Messages

Narrative architecture

The voice attributes derive from the brand platform. They guide the tone and manner of verbal communications.

Clever | Determined | Dignified | Optimistic

The messages are high level assertions to be communicated at targeted audience segments. These messages rest at the corporate / brand level, and are intended to remain in tact for several consecutive years.

The narrative architecture provides a few storytelling constructs that can be used to compose and edit copy so that it naturally connects with the Reagan Library voice attributes and conveys a sense of the brand promise.

Tonal characteristics of Reagan Library verbal identity signature

Visit one of Southern California’s “must see” destinations.

Illustrative message targeted at tourists

Anecdotal Bookends Like the oratorial style of Reagan himself, this construct delivers a message within the context of a personal anecdote about real life experience. It often works well when used with lighter, more optimistic subjects.

Architectural construct for framing a a message with voice attributes

C A S E S T U D Y

After

He stood at the podium on the terrace of the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, a break with tradition that provided a sweeping view of the great mall which now teemed with thousands of spectators. It was unusually warm that January afternoon, as a nation gathered in to listen to the vision of its 40th president.

“We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow,” he told them. “And let there be no misunderstanding–we are going to begin to act, beginning today.”

In a leadership career that spanned more than five decades, Ronald Reagan inspired Americans to act and achieve more than they imagined. His legacy thrives at The Reagan Library, one of Southern California’s most beautiful destinations where an ongoing stream of interactive events and exhibits rediscovers Reagan’s values, actions and spirit of determination. Experience the studio days that shaped his future role as the “great communicator.” Glimpse at fragments of the Berlin Wall, torn down from his bold leadership against the cold war. Step aboard Air Force One to learn how Reagan changed the face of global diplomacy.

But The Library is more than a record of the past. It celebrates and continues the mission of one of America’s most vibrant visionaries, echoing the hopeful sentiment he shared that January day on the threshold of his presidency, when he recalled the words of a soldier on the western front:

“I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggled depended upon me alone.”

Reagan Library copy illustration

Before

Artifacts from President Reagan’s childhood

and professional career provide physical

evidence of his extraordinary life. Step through

a model of the Dixon Arch in Illinois to

experience Reagan’s youth, while his Eureka

College letter sweater recalls his student years.

A recreated studio booth highlights his early

radio broadcasting career, which led to an

acting contract with Warner Bros. Film clips.

Original costumes and movie posters trace his

days in the movies, the Screen Actors Guild,

and on television, as host of GE Theater and

Death Valley Days. Glimpse into Ronald and

Nancy Reagan’s devoted marriage, a love story

straight out of a Hollywood script. Learn about

Reagan’s growing involvement in politics.

Witness his presidency, from reviving the

economy, reducing the size of the federal

government, and ending the threat of nuclear

war. See a piece of the Berlin Wall, immerse

yourself in Camp David and Rancho del Cielo.

And, in 2005, walk through the Air Force One

that President Reagan used throughout his

eight years in office.

Use of anecdotal bookends to frame the message of the copy

Embedded message – visit a “must see” destination

Voice influence – the language choices conjure a determined, optimistic and dignified tone – implies “you can act and change anything”

C A S E S T U D Y

C A S E S T U D Y

EmpowerOrganizations need to have the structures and tools in place to empower employees to deliver brand-centered results, so that the promises being made by the brand are kept by every employee.

InformEmployees know what the

brand promise is and why it is right for the organization.

InspireEmployees must be inspired to believe in the brand and the role they have to play to support it. Inspiration results from creating compelling and emotional dramatizations of the brand.

Extending messaging

Three guidelines for branding in bad times

+Simplify your architecture

+Tap brain power

+Align your messaging

a word from your sponsor

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ResearchBrand StrategyBrand ArchitectureNamingContent Development

Visual Identity DesignEnvironmental BrandingDigital Strategy + DesignExperience SimplificationBrand Alignment

What we do

over 40 years of experience…

Gratuitous plug...

+ Explores how the best brands tell their stories through unconventional media

+ Describes a unique cycle that transforms ordinary brands into cultural phenomena

+ Explains how brands play a role in identity development and cultural norms