YOU ASKED FOR IT

“Change is inevitable,except from vending machines.”

—Unkown

April 24, 2012RAMADA...YOUTUBE ADS...ASTRO POP

BRAND OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAYFrom my random collection of info sources, here are some highlights related to the brands of our times...• Have you seen the new Ramada Inn TV spot? A

bunch of guys in suits, riding on a merry-go-round, smiling at each other. Weird. Creepy... Yeah, somebody will probably get fired over this one.

• YouTube is now offering a video version of Google Adwords. In fact, new users will get a $75 credit when they sign up for it. Let me just say—EVERY business needs to take advantage of this. If you need some help getting started, call me!

• According to the Wall Street Journal, you can teach an old brand new tricks. The Journal reported that numerous retired brands from the past are making their way back onto the market, thanks to some nostalgic (and hopeful) entrepreneurs. My favorite was the Astro Pop, the rocket shaped lollipop we had as kids. It was discontinued in 2004, but Ellia Kassoff of Newport Coast, CA has recently purchased the rights to manufacture it and will be putting it back on the market next month.

BEST NEWS OF THE DAY...A new Harvard Business Review article says that older entrepreneurs have an edge over younger ones. It said 9 million of the total 15 million small-business owners were born before 1965, and that creativity and innovation spike for many later in life. So...I’ve got that going for me...which is nice...

JIM HUEBNER

j i m h @ h u e b n e r p e t e r s e n . c o mC E L L U L A RT E L E P H O N E970-420-3382

Hmmm.

Brought to you by popular demand of a client, my mom, and some folks I met at a church potluck

From the remaining gray matter of Jim Huebner

Information that will make you smile, groan or think...

from my“YOU CAN’T ALWAYS

JUST COPY AND PASTE”file

Brought to you by popular demand of a client, my mom, and some folks I met at a church potluck

I made up a new word today.

The reason I know it’s an original word is because I “googled” it (hey - another word that was new not too long ago) and it said my “search did not match any documents”. So if it didn’t show up on 4.99 billion web pages, then I think I’m good to go calling it my own original word.

The word? Transappleformation.

The beauty of making up a new word is that I get to make up the definition, too. So here it is:

Trans-app-le-for-ma-tion[trans-app-ul-fer-mey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act or process of transforming a brand into Apple-like stature;

2. The state of being transformed into Apple-like stature;

3. change in form, appearance, nature or character in a manner similar to the ways of Apple.

Why did I feel the need for a new word? Because I constantly find myself in discussions with clients and staff about approaching brand building “like Apple does.” Have you ever noticed that Apple really doesn’t compete…with ANYONE!? And guess what – when you don’t compete with anyone, you can

charge what you want, make the profits you want, and rack up the biggest market cap in the history of the NASDAQ (and the NYSE for that matter.) So why WOULDN’T a company want some “transappleformation” in their brand?

This whole concept of putting your brand in a situation where you don’t really have to compete was first introduced to me in Trout & Ries’ classic marketing book “Positioning”. Recently, David Aaker’s book “Brand Relevance—Making Competitors Irrelevant” has certainly emphasized the point where he contends that by creating new “categories”, you make competition irrelevant. This gives you immediate and significant pricing power over anyone else. And as long as you continue along the path of new category creation, others will simply copy and sell at lesser prices, while you are on to creating the next category...and maximizing your profits.

Most brands could use some transappleformation. If yours is one of those brands and you’d like to explore creating new categories that will make your competitors irrelevant, let the discussions begin.

Jim Huebner is President of HuebnerPetersen Marketing Communications.The firm was established in 1989 and specializes in helping make manufacturers heroes to their dealer and distribution networks through strategic brand positioning, integrated marketing, and front lines marketing services. You can reach Jim at jimh@HuebnerPetersen.com or on LinkedIn.

WORDS TOLIVE BY

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.

–Proverbs 3:13-14

Get rich turning relevance into irrelevance

...and straight from the HuebnerPetersen blog...! PAGE2

My first Apple purchase

still sits on a shelf in my

office. How many 23-year

old HPs or IBMs are still

sitting around YOUR office?