Brand Story

Sprint—A Brand In Crisis

I've written about Sprint before (here and here), but the news last week got me thinking about Sprint again—from a brand story perspective.

Last week (Jan 18), Sprint Nextel announced they lost more subscribers than expected. And management's outlook for the next year doesn't look much better. To make things right, they've announced 4,000 layoffs and promised to close several hundred retail locations where customers can go to pay bills, purchase new equipment, and work out service problems that simply can't get fixed on the phone (i.e. most of them). The expected savings will be around $700 million. No report on the costs to the consumer.

Wall Street rewarded the announcement by pounding Sprint's stock (and this was before the massive sell-off on MLK Day). And while they've regained about half of that loss, Sprint is down more than 50% since last summer.

So what does this have to do with branding? The Wall Street Journal article about the cuts makes two very good observations. The first is from Craig Moffett of Sanford Bernstein & Company. He says, "Cutting costs isn't going to help solve the basic problem. They're not going to cut their way to greatness." Excellent point. While cuts may help set the stage for a change, the cuts themselves will only exacerbate the problems in the short term. Without a different (better) strategy, Sprint will continue to disappoint customers and investors. No company will ever cut itself to greatness.

The second observation is related to the first. Robert Passikoff of Brand Keys says, "Everyone knows Sprint, but no one knows them for anything in particular." That is, they are a brand in serious need of a story. Why choose Sprint over AT&T or Verizon? No idea. Back in the day, the pin-drop represented audio clarity for long-distance service. But Sprint cell service/reception/call quality isn't better than the competition. What's Sprint's story now?

If Sprint really wants to emerge from the malaise holding them down, they should rethink the entire cell phone business. There is so much wrong with how plans are sold, how phones are limited to carrier networks, how fees are charged, how plans are changed, and on and on...  Sprint (or, more likely a smart competitor not bogged down with Sprint's history and processes) has an opportunity to really disrupt the cell phone business and provide phones and service that customers really want.

Now there's a brand story just about everyone would get excited about.

Where's The Sausage? The Brandstory Review.

One of my favorite web logs is David Taylor's BrandGymBlog. David's no-nonsense approach to marketing is one that really appeals to me, so I'm a regular visitor to his site. A couple of months ago I got a copy of David's latest book, Where's the Sausage: Branding based on substance not spin. It's a serious marketing book wrapped in a short parable.

Though I really like David's thinking, I'm generally not a fan of business parables. Too often they use silly characters, absurd situations, and overly simple solutions that don't always transfer well to real business situations--like this book. Books like this include a lot of "what", but not a lot of "how". And when I heard that WTS? was a parable, that's what I expected to get. But then, you can't judge a book by it's cover.

To be sure, the story isn't high literature. But this book contains a generous helping of useful marketing ideas, ways to get insights from your customers, and smart thinking (the how in addition to the what). And the characters ring true more often than not.

It's the story of Bob Jones, salesman at Simpton's Sausages who is asked to spend a year as a brand consultant before being promoted to Sales Director. He's unenthusiastic about the opportunity and immediately sees through the typical marketing BS that comes from his boss and agency contacts. Rejecting their approach to branding (and rebranding), he finds his own way as he manages the neglected sausage brand. He records his feelings several times a month (in a blog or journal) and includes much of what he is learning from his experience. The story is okay, but the real power of the book is in the chapter summaries and ideas Bob uses to rethink his product—all of which (I assume) come from the BrandGym play book.

Among the observations Bob makes:

• A brand should drive the whole business, not just the image wrapper of communication    
    and brand identity.
• A new logo can't cover up the shortcomings of a poor product.
• Many brand extensions are brand ego trips offering nothing new.
• True insight doesn't come from focus groups, it comes from immersing yourself in your
    consumer's world.
• Having little or no funds for conventional marketing can be a great stimulus for creativity.
• Communication that has only emotional sizzle and not product sausage is 'sponsored
    entertainment'.

Add to that the simple exercises and processes that Bob takes his brand through (and that the reader can do with their own brand) and you have a decent little marketing book. Thanks David.

If you're looking for a quick read peppered with smart thinking, you'll like Where's the Sausage.

More Where's the Sausage? Links:
Other reviews of the book can be found here and here.
David's description of the book is here.
Buy it at Amazon.
Read the BrandGym blog.
Video of Hugo Gaines (the book's star marketing,um, expert).
Video of David talking about the book.
Buy David's other books here, here, and here.

McDonald's Proves Branding Works

As if we needed more proof that branding works...

A report in the New Scientist details a recent study revealing that pre-school kids prefer foods wrapped in McDonald's packaging over foods served in unwrapped packaging. Most parents are thinking, no duh. From the report:

"Dina Borzekowski at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health in Baltimore, Maryland, US, and her colleagues asked 63 preschoolers, aged three to five, to sample two meals, each consisting of a chicken nugget, a quarter of a hamburger, french fries, two baby carrots and a small cup of milk.

Although both meals came from a local McDonald's, only one of them appeared in its original packaging. Researchers presented items from the other meal in plain wrappers, which lacked the company's distinctive logo.

In most cases children said they tasted a difference between the two meals, and they overwhelmingly preferred the McDonalds-branded foods."

Interesting. Kids preferred McDonald's branded carrots by a margin of 2 to 1. Same carrots. Different packaging. They preferred the french fries 73% to 13%. All because of the golden arches. It's not like we don't know that branding/marketing/advertising works. After all, we spend well over $10 billion a year marketing products to kids. And billions more to advertise to adults. But it is somewhat disturbing to see the affects on kids as young as three.

Of course McDonald's has known this for more than 10 years—watch the proof here.

Might be time to unplug the television.

AdFreak has also written about this.

Made to Stick—A Few Story-related Thoughts

I recently finished reading Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath (I know, I'm a little late to this party). Anyone involved in telling brand stories (marketers, advertisers, customer service agents, CEOs, PR people, bloggers) should not only read, but ingest, what the Heaths have to say about communicating messages in a way that makes them "sticky".

They retell a variety of stories to make their points: from urban legends to familiar advertising tales like Subway's Jared and The American Legacy Foundation's Truth campaign.

In crafting stories that stick, the authors recommend that you create messages that are Simple (not dumb, but the core of the idea), Unexpected, Concrete (using details to hook the message into memory), Credible, Emotional (the need for analysis is the enemy of stickiness), and follow a Story line. The use the acronym SUCCESS to help you remember the steps.

From the book:

"[Stories] ...naturally embody most of the SUCCESSs framework. Stories are almost always Concrete. Most of them have Emotional and Unexpected elements. The hardest part of using stories effectively is making sure that they're Simple—that they reflect your core message. It's not enough to tell a great story; the story has to reflect your agenda... Stories have the amazing dual power to simulate and to inspire. And most of the time we don't even have to use much creativity to harness these powers—we just need to be ready to spot the good ones that life generates every day."

Chip and Dan note three types of story plots that resonate best. They are: 1. The Challenge Plot (underdog, rags to riches, willpower): think Southwest Airlines, Pepsi Challenge, or Richard Branson. 2. The Connection Plot: think Coke's Mean Joe Green or Hallmark. 3. The Creativity Plot (solving problems in new ways): think ZipCar or Post-its.

Great stuff. I highly recommend this book.

From a branding standpoint, don't miss what the Heaths have to say about the curse of knowledge and how to overcome it. Hint: well-told stories can help.

Check out these other Made to Stick links:
1. Good PDF summary of the main points of the book.
2. Chip and Dan's Blog.
3. You can read a book excerpt here.
4. Reviews from Brand Autopsy, Time, USNews, BusinessPundit. One more here.
5. Podcasts from HBR, Ducttape Marketing, and 800-CEOREAD.
6. An interviews from Guy Kawasaki. Another interview here.
7. The Made to Stick Change This manifesto.
8. The Made to Stick SlideShare.
9. And of course, you can buy the book here (recommended).

Tagline Trivia Part Two

Derrick Daye of Branding Strategy Insider posts a short list of taglines/slogans from 25 consumer brands. Can you name them all?

While it makes great trivia, the amazing thing is that many of these taglines haven't been used in decades (at least one since the 60s). Yet, it is not very difficult to connect them to their brands (at least for those of us approaching middle age). It just goes to show the power of a good tagline.

Compare Derrick's original list with the following:

1. I'm lovin' it.
2. Army Strong.
3. Just Do It.
4. The Coke Side of Life.
5. That's Right.
6. A Family Commitment to Quality Since 1920.
7. We Try Harder.
8. Moving Forward.
9. Find Your Voice.
10. On the Move.
11. Life Takes Visa.
12. Be there now.
13. My Life, My Card.
14. Like Always, Like Never Before.
15. With 100% Natural Flavors (I guess Make 7UP Yours wasn't working).
16. There's an M in everyone.
17. When you care enough to send the very best.
18. Have it your way
19. All the news that's fit to print.
20. Taking on the world's toughest energy challenges.
21. Childhood is calling.
22. Imagination at work.
23. Accelerate your life.
24. --
25. Nothing beats a great pair of l'eggs.

Now can you name them all?

Kudos to those few brands that know a good thing when they see it. Sadly, they're in rare company. Too many brands these days use taglines of questionable originality or relevance to their products. How exactly does "That's Right" help me remember Wendy's? And what was the Perdue family committed to before 1920?

Other slogan lists worth checking out: AdSlogans.com, SnarkHunting, and SingleGrain.

Does WalMart Need a Better Image?

Or maybe the question should be, should a leopard change its spots?

According to a couple of news stories earlier this week (here and here), WalMart's former advertising agency GSD&M prepared a report that argues for a more upscale image for the decidedly downscale retailer. And WalMart is playing down the importance of the report.

You can read the 55 page report here.

According to the news stories, the report argues for repositioning the brand along the lines of smart shopping and better living (and thus, away from "low prices—always"). Why? Because while WalMart is the smart place to shop for brand-name consumables like toothpaste, it is not seen as a smart choice for purchases like electronics, apparel, and home decor (they call these priority departments). "Its reputation for discounts... 'works against [them]' as it tries to move upscale." 

But can WalMart grow into these new areas without impacting it's existing story? Is changing WalMart's positioning and brand story to accommodate the new priorities worth the risk?

In fact, the news reports are badly misreading the report. The economic, psychographic, and competitive information in the report indicates that WalMart should stick to it's low-price story. One survey quoted in the report notes that saving money is the #1 driver of shopping and that 87% of female shoppers agree that getting the best price is the most important thing to them when shopping. What percentage of WalMart's 138 million weekly customers are begging for better service in Home Apparel or higher end brands in the electronics department? My guess, it's very low. Instead of changing its position, the recommendations are for helping consumers understand how the low price story also means a better quality of life.

So the report argues for helping customers understand that smart shopping can also mean saving time, energy, or stress. It can mean spending dollars at a company that gives back to the community. These are areas that WalMart can improve.

So why the bad reading of the report? Perhaps it has something to do with the source: WakeUpWalMart.com, a union-backed group that is critical of WalMart (and clearly has an agenda for releasing the report). Maybe the reporters should have spent a little more time reading what the report actually says. In reality, it's a fascinating look into the day-to-day challenges of appealing to WalMart's customers.

Don't get me wrong. WalMart has some massive challenges. But being the low-price leader barely makes the list. In fact, one could argue that low prices are the only reason WalMart is what it is today.

John has a discussion going on about this at Brand Autopsy.

What You Want Is Coupons, Am I Right?

If advertising were human, would you have a relationship with it (or, um, him)?

Self absorbed, non-communicative...

"You can't tell me you missed the billboard in Time Square. That's like a 200-foot declaration of love."

There's a website too.

Hat tip: John Winsor.

Sharing A Brand Story—How Stacy's Pita Chips Did It

Over the past few years, Word of Mouth or buzz marketing has had it's share of promoters and detractors. The rise of WOM marketing has prompted the creation of buzz agencies, a professional trade organization, conferences, books (here, here, and here too), and much more.

So if you're looking for advice on how to get people talking about your brand story, there are plenty of resources.

Or you can do what Stacy's Pita Chips (part of Frito Lay) did, and just send a product sample to everyone in the United States. At least, that's what they wanted to do. But mailing chips to nearly 300 million people, well that's a little much for even this spunky little division of the snack company to bite off.

So instead, they mailed a sample pack to everyone in the country named Stacy. 133,000 people, most of whom hadn't heard of the product before. The package included the Stacy brand story and on the back of the enclosed card, said:

"We hope you enjoyed getting your free box of Stacy's Pita Chips as much as we enjoyed sending them to you. If you did, why not share the joy by sending a FREE gift box to a friend? Since we've already sent them to every Stacy, you're free to send them to Bill or Mary or Cheryl or John—or whoever you think would enjoy Stacy's chips the most."

So has it worked? It looks like it. Here are a few Stacys who are now spreading the word: here, here, here, here, and here. Think how many people have mentioned this to friends and coworkers. And how many Stacys have tried, liked, and now regularly buy Stacy's chips.

That's not all that Stacy's does to promote great customer experiences/brand stories that are easy for customers to share with others. Check out what Art Steiber at The Diff has to say about Stacy's when he wrote to complain about a half-empty bag of chips. Not content to leave him with a negative impression, they went well beyond and sent him a case of pita chips.

This is a brand I like, and I've yet to taste the chips.
 

The Secrets of Selling

Today's Weekend Wall Street Journal features a short article by Steve Cohn called the Secrets of Selling (this week's installment of the Five Best series). It's a list of Cohn's choice of five best books about selling. Here's the list:

1. "Understanding Media" by Marshall McLuhan (MIT Press, 1964).
2. "Brand Sense" by Martin Lindstrom (Free Press, 2005).
3. "Reality in Advertising" by Rosser Reeves (Knopf, 1961).
4. "Why We Buy" by Paco Underhill (Simon & Schuster, 1999).
5. "Branded Nation" by James B. Twitchell (Simon & Schuster, 2004).

Interesting that the list doesn't feature a single Zig Ziglar or Tony Robbins type sales book. Nothing here about cold calling or other sales techniques. They're all about branding, unique selling positions, how brands attract interest and sales, and marketing. So sales is marketing.... hmmm.

If that's the case (and I believe it is), why is so little advertising designed to sell?

Dave's Insanity—The Brand MakeOver Story

Here's a great story about the back and forth between Dave's Gourmet (maker's of Dave's Insanity Sauce as well as other products) and creative branding shop DESKEY. Short recap: DESKEY offers to help Dave's with a complete rebrand of the company's products at no cost. Dave goes through the process, then balks. Did he do the right thing? Read the whole article here.

Something to think about: Would the final decision be different if the agency were more focused on growing consumption of Dave's sauces, rather than changing the labels? What exactly is the agency selling? Is it different from what Dave needs?

I've been on both sides of these kinds of meetings. There's enormous value in thinking through what a brand represents. And in the end, the process changes Dave's thinking in a good way. But when the product of the process is a new label or ad campaign, I don't think the process has gone deep enough. Branding is about the entire business, not just the look or cohesiveness of the packaging.

DESKEY's website says: "If branding is all you do, sooner or later you're going to get pretty good at it. And we were branding before 'branding' was a word." Well, that all depends on your definition of branding. If branding is advertising, packaging, and design, DESKEY is darn good. But branding is more than marketing. As I've written before, branding is the process of building a great business—from supply chains and ingredient choices to delivery channels and the end-user experience. Yes it includes marketing. But it is so much more. How many successful businesses has DESKEY built? How many has Dave built? Who knows more about branding—really?

Disclaimer: Of course, the article shortens several days worth of discussion into a couple of pages. DESKEY may have discussed other business issues that didn't make it into the article. If they did, great. But it wouldn't be typical of my experience in the advertising industry.

Hat tip: Brand Autopsy.