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I’m always amazed at how branding discussions seem to immediately require a new name, slogan, design, or packaging. All at a competitive price, of course. It was interesting then when I made the trek up to Chicago a week ago to see my Tampa Bay Rays play the Cubs. Frankly, the games were secondary. I really wanted to go to see Wrigley Field, which just happens to be celebrating it’s 100^th Anniversary this year. After taking the Red Line train to the ballpark and entering into the bowels of this historic ballpark, I was taken back to a time when baseball was king and everyone knew the lineups of every team and the stadiums in which they played. The weather was great. The games were competitive (they split the two we attended), and Wrigley was everything I expected from the ivy-covered outfield walls to the manually operated scoreboards they you could barely read from home plate. Coming from a market where everyone is clamoring for a new ballpark (to replace our 20 year-old dome which works perfect in the Florida heat and rain, but that’s another subject). In all, it was a great experience from the smell of the Italian sausages to the singing of “Take me out to the Ballgame”.

Rays manager, Joe Maddon summed it up best when he reflected on the first 3 games that he ever attended at Wrigley when he said: The games are great, but the key to this ballpark is the experience of playing here. It’s historic and a pleasure. That’s when I understood why Chicago fans continue to fill the stands year after year, while the Cubs continue to lose year after year. It’s the experience of just going to the game that is special. To me, Wrigley Field is not just a stadium; it’s a brand that promises a baseball experience unmatched (Red Sox fans may dispute this) by any other venue in the major leagues of any sport. A brand must create a pleasurable experience for its customers to survive and succeed through all of the changes in market trends and consumer interests. Wrigley has done that and so have the brands that consistently maintain loyalty (or a cult following, as BJ Bueno has written). To build an enduring relationship, the experience has to be special and exceed your expectations. Disney has done this since its inception. Nordstrom’s has succeeded while most department stores have faded away by providing a special experience with each shopping trip. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse provides a special experience that goes beyond the best filet mignon in the country. It is all about a special, satisfying experience that builds a loyalty to the brand.

Speaking of the experience, we visited the American Girl store in Water Tower Place in Chicago (our granddaughter’s favorite place in the world) and talk about an experience! We were there on a Monday and the place was packed with 5-8 year-old girls accompanying their dolls (or girls as they call them) on a special shopping trip.   Parents and grandparents were there too to pay for everything, but it was fascinating to see how AG has built an outstanding brand by building an experience for dolls that is so realistic and special that price is no object. Weather it’s getting an outfit for gymnastics or camping, they have it all and the girls love it. Need a new hairstyle; they’ve got a salon with specialists who can make that synthetic hair glow. Lunch? There’s a restaurant just for you and your dolls with special seating for the little ones. Even the rest rooms have special amenities for the American Girls while their live friends take care of business. The division of Mattel (what a sequel to Barbie!) now has 19 stores which offer what it calls “experiential retail” and if you look at their website for each store your daughter can choose from all kinds of experiences from birthday parties to a night out with your “girl” (for $195-240 per person). Starting out as a catalogue retailer, the company has created a cult brand that “inspires” their customers not just sell them a doll and its accessories. Their online business flourishes with an easy way for grandma to get just the right birthday or Christmas present without having to find a store. American Girl has learned that the brand is an experience and the more exciting they make it; the more loyal is their customer (and her parents).

Whether it’s baseball or dolls, creating a memorable experience is the best way to build a relationship that makes a brand really special—and successful.

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This month’s blog was actually intended for May but as I was getting reading to upload and publish, I had a recurrence of the AFIB and pneumonia problems that hit me about 2 ½ years ago and I ended up spending a long week recovering in the hospital.  So the May blog becomes the June blog but the message is just as valid even if the intro video is a bit out of sync!  The ongoing discussion in branding these days is how to execute your brand strategy while using the new mobile and online media that has grown exponentially in importance and usage over the past couple years.  I get asked that question consistently and my answer remains the same:  The same principles of a solid branding strategy and communicating your brand value apply to the new media just as much—if not more—as with the traditional media that have been important in the past.

The most important thing to remember is that today’s new media can help keep the brand alive and build the emotional relationship faster and more effectively than ever  before.  Simply put, the interaction that customers can have with your brand is now easier and more spontaneous and as a result, it provides the opportunity to  make the brand more relevant to your customers.  Let’s take a look at how three companies are using the online capabilities to make the brand more relevant and to provide immediate value as well.

Williams is one of the top brands in household painting.  They have built a loyal following over the years with a quality product sold in a service environment.  The key to Sherwin Williams retail success—in the face of aggressive competition from the big box DIY stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s—is the reliance on the personalized service and expertise that their stores have provided almost since the beginning.  Excellent selection in a convenient environment with experienced, friendly paint experts who can help you find exactly the right paint in the right color with right tools to make the job a success.  However, Sherwin Williams has utilized the new media to add to the personalized value that they have always provided.  Using its app, ColorSnap, makes finding the right color not only a snap but enables the customer to visualize how it will look in their home.  The app enables the customer to take a photo  or scan a color that he/she wants to match in their home project.  You simply download to the app and SW analyzes it and provides you with the exact match to your color choice.  Then they go a step further and enable you to take a photo of your house or room and then, using their app, you can insert the new color over the area you plan to paint.  You can even mask it around windows or doors so you can really get an accurate picture of how the job will look before buying the paint or getting a sample and painting spots on the walls to see what looks best.  Seeing the entire project in the right color makes it much more accurate and representative of what the finished job is going to look like.  You can then save the various color applications on line/phone and bring into the store and discuss with the paint expert.  The process adds technology to a great brand based on personalized service.  And, speaking from personal experience, it really works.

Safelite AutoGlass has developed a national chain of auto window repair and replacement that makes this common problem easy and painless while saving you money and getting insurance coverage.  The company advertises aggressively but as a national chain of over 5000 mobile repair centers, there is always the doubt about the expertise of the installer and the reliability.  The company addresses the problem with its Technician Profile email system.  Once you contact the company (either online or by 800 call), the company sends you an email with the name of the technician who will be servicing your need as well as his/her experience, photo, and credentials to build your trust before you make the deal and have them visit your home.  Additionally, the site provides information that assures the customer that the job will be done correctly and professionally the first time so that you can back in your car and on the road immediately.

Quest Diagnostics has grown  to be the largest provider of health diagnostic lab work in the US with over 2200 lab patient centers and over 41000 associates.  As lab work has become an important part of almost any doctor’s appointment today, Quest has become the preferred choice  due to its convenience and service.  However, as a lab user for many years, it has not always been the most convenient or pleasant experience.  In recent years, the company has really made the effort to make the experience easier, quicker and more professional and painless (in many ways).  Now the company has added the My Quest app so that you can not only schedule an appointment online so there is literally no wait and you can also follow up on the results right from your smart phone.  By simply registering online and installing the app,  getting lab work done is easier and more convenient than ever and now works with your schedule rather than the lab’s availability.    It also facilitates the communication between lab and physician so that your results are more timely and easily understood by the patient.  In addition to building a preferred brand for a very important and frequently used service, Quest has used the new media to make the entire experience a brand building opportunity.

These are just three examples showing how building a brand can be enhance and accelerated by using the  new media options to make the relationship a brand-building strategy as well.

DON’T FORGET THAT OUR BOOK, BRAINBRANDING.  ACTIVATE THE BRAIN. STIMULATE YOUR BRAND IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON AND KINDLE.

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It’s been reassuring over the past couple years to observe the rebound made by the American car companies.  It just seems like a few weeks ago that we were wondering if GM or Chrysler would survive without government help or whether Ford could set new standards for cars that people really wanted to buy and drive.  Fast forward and it’s been exciting to see the strides made by the big three both in quality and in brand reputation after so many years of neglect.

That’s why it’s disheartening to see the problems that GM has brought upon itself with the recall scandal and lack of strong leadership in dealing with a PR nightmare.

It’s interesting to note that when the news broke on this situation that most of the brands that were mentioned in the recall problem were no longer in business.  It makes you wonder what really happened with Pontiac, Saturn, and Oldsmobile.  And where is Mercury and Continental or Plymouth and Thunderbird.  All of these brands had great recognition, significant top-of-mind awareness, and (even as sales slumped) a loyal customer and dealer base.  Why did they have to die?  Brands consistently need to be reviewed,  re-formulated, and re-marketed in order to keep up with the changes in customers and competition.  However, it seems like the auto companies would rather just call it a day, pack up their design tools, close up the plants and move on.

I was thinking about some the brands that my first employer, Procter & Gamble has developed successfully and then sold off to other companies to continue their market share growth.  I worked on Folgers coffee and it continued to be a market share leader in the category for years until P&G decided to focus on other categories of business.  They didn’t just close down the brand, however.  Instead they sold it to Smuckers who has continued to grow the brand and it’s share with essentially the same successful brand strategy that has been in place for years.  Why couldn’t the car companies do the same..

Think about some of these brands and what could possibly have happened to keep them alive and successful.

I think BMW could have taken over Pontiac and made it an American Driving Machine.  For years Pontiac was branded as a performance car and by narrowing its brand focus would still have appeal to a younger, American driver.

Mercury had a major share of the mature drivers (it was #1 overall in Florida for many years). If Volvo had taken over the brand and refocused it as something more than a Ford with a different emblem and model name, it could capitalize on the quality and dependability that Volvo is known for with the comfort that older Americans want.

Saturn was one of the best branding stories in any category when it was introduced.  Nissan or Toyota could certainly have applied some of their innovations to keep the loyal Saturn customers and again focus the brand on sedans that put it on the map originally (rather than SUV’s and sports cars).

Thunderbird was a legendary sports car like Corvette and the brand was one of the most successful re-introductions a  few years ago. Think what someone like Suburu or Kia could have done to bring Asian quality and design to a sporty new T-bird brand.

Oldsmobile could have also capitalized on the Baby Boomer market who still wanted some of  the quality that their “fathers” wanted in their cars.  With a reputation from Hyundai or Land Rover and some re-styling that doesn’t look like another Buick, the brand could prosper in today’s market.

Look how Fiat/Chrysler has re-introduced the Fiat 500 which had a terrible brand reputation in the ’60’s and ’70’s in the U.S.  However, now it’s cute, trendy, and appeals to a whole new market that didn’t even know the care ever existed before.

If Plymouth had stuck with cars like it’s Land Cruiser and Duster and had the creativity of a Mazda re-branding it , the brand could still be around and have a younger, loyal customer base.

Of course there are many other considerations before a company can sell one of its brands to another company, like manufacturing, dealer organizations, etc.  However, there are brands that could still prosper by focusing on their historic strengths and what today’s consumer wants in a vehicle.  Bring in some new perspective and creativity and these brands can survive and gain market share.  For a brand to be reborn requires the same ingenuity and strategy that is required by new products and innovations.  If some of the brands mentioned above had an infusion of branding instead just a new ad campaign with tired model names, the auto industry would still be competitive and a showcase of effective marketing.

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A visit to the DaVinci Machines exhibit last month made a real impression on me about the genius of this 15^th Century artist and designer.  While there were only a limited number of his designs on display (his notes reflected several thousand ideas that were developed), I was convinced that every one was developed for a particular reason—usually military weapons—that provided a solution to a particular problem or opportunity.  Whether it was the ball bearing or a device that helped build a pyramid before hydraulics,  the value of these concepts increased as the need for their benefits became more obvious in providing a competitive advantage over the users adversary.

The same holds true as marketers develop new or improved products to gain market share versus their competition.  So many new products or stores are introduced on to the scene for no other reason than to compete with a brand that’s already there.  If they are successful, let’s get a piece of the action.  Unfortunately, with so many choices vying for the same dollar from the customer, we end up with just another brand.  If you walk through a shopping center (an activity that fewer and fewer of us get involved with these days), you can’t help wonder why this or that store with a name on the sign that you’ve never heard of ever managed to get into the marketplace.  How many more fast food burger places do we really need offering basically the same ground beef on a bun?  As I watched the $4 million Super Bowl spots, I kept asking what is the reason that I should buy this product.  Now, I know that established brands like Budweiser and Coke don’t have to continually explain what they are.  However, they do have to reinforce the brand as part of everyone’s lifestyle and create a brand preference.  I took note of the Chobani Greek Yogurt spots on the Olympics recently and I kept asking what does “How Matters.” mean and why should I opt for their brand or for Greek Yogurt in the first place?  Nice spots for the Olympics spirit, but why Greek Yogurt.  I like Activia anyway.

The point is that the first essential characteristic of a successful brand is to have a reason for being.  The initial work is to determine why someone would try your product—or keep using it—and then reinforce this reason with an effective, creative message that cuts through the clutter and truly differentiates your brand from the others.

It occurs to me the high-priced spots on the major media events that the primary reason for being is to run creative commercials with very little emphasis on providing a reason why or a really competitive message that differentiates.  It’s not unlike most shopping malls these days which don’t provide much reason to shop there other than “under one roof”.  Thus, so many are being torn down or sit half empty these days.  Yet, the town centers and shopping villages are thriving because they provide a more convenient, pleasant shopping experience—and a return to the past when downtown shopping was neighborhood gathering spot with personality and with ambience that beats most big mega malls or big box retailers.

So, if your brand is beginning to lose share of mind and share of wallet, it’s time to go back and revisit what prompted your product or service in the first place.  Are the reasons still relevant?  Do they still differentiate you from the competition? Do they provide value beyond a sale price?  Do they provide a reason for a personal relationship with the customer that really is the essence of a brand?  If not, it’s time to revisit and find a reason for being.

IN MEMORIAM:  I lost a good friend this week.  Phil Kabachnick was professional retailer who brought innovation and moxy to his store in Middletown, Connecticut, for years.  He understood customers and how to market to them by understanding the trends and what would keep them from going to the Big Apple to do their fashion shopping.  After he closed the business and  and was the behind-the-scenes operator of his wife, Terri’s, consulting business, we shared some office space here in Tampa Bay.  We also shared many discussions on retail, sports, and business building ideas over many Chinese lunches.  He fought a good battle against cancer and kept his sense of humor till the end.  I’ll miss him.

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Merry Christmas!  It’s a special time of year and a time to do something special with your family, friends, associates…and your brand.Marketers have always used this time of year to break the mold of their ongoing ad campaigns to be more creative, more promotional, and (unfortunately, not often enough) do something special for their customers and employees.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is a special tradition that helps kick of the holiday season for retailers all over the world.  Yet, it is also a wonderful sales promotion event to generate sales, awareness, and strengthen the store’s brand as a special place for holiday gift purchases.

Bass Pro Shops has created Santa’s Wonderland at its mega-stores for several years now, but before you say that “Well, what’s new about that?  Stores and malls have had Santa for years.) take a trip to your nearest Bass Pro and experience the transformation of the stores and their customers into a Christmas right out of the Hallmark Channel.

And it’s not just retailers who capitalize on the season to do something special.  If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look at this five-minute video  on what Canadian airline WestJet did this winter.  This is truly an amazing event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIEIvi2MuEk

The idea of making the Christmas wishes of all the passengers on two of their flights sounds simple enough, but it took the efforts of everyone from airport agents to the baggage handlers to make it happen seamlessly.  Corporate support from other companies like Best Buy helped them share in the positive media coverage that this event achieved.  And it was a lot of coverage:  27 Million views on YouTube in less than a week;  major news coverage in nearly all national network and cable news programming;  buzz on social networks.  All giving testimony to the kind of service (It took 175 employees to pull off this event.) and commitment that WestJet must provide its passengers on an ongoing basis.  The interactive kiosks at the gate were state of the art, the delivery of the gifts on the baggage carousel was an event in itself, and the wonder and surprise of the lucky Calgary-bound passengers reinforced WestJet’s brand as an airline whose employees genuinely care about making every flight special.  If you want to read more about what it took, click on:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/westjets-holiday-video-becomes-an-online-sensation/

for just one of the news coverage articles that have appeared

A sales promotion event?  Sure.  But it goes beyond that and it’s disappointing that more advertisers don’t do something special for the holidays that helps reinforce their brands the rest of the year.  Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Happy Thanksgiving!  Here come the ads.  Once again it’s time to be deluged by holiday advertising in every medium possible.  Frankly, am I the only one bored to indifference by all the Black Friday ads.  I liked it a lot more when it was the day after Thanksgiving.  Having worked in department stores for several years, I remember the excitement of that day and the long hours because it really was something special.  Sure, it’s a time to promote and generate as much traffic as you can get to stampede into your store at 5am, but it’s also a time to strengthen your brand.

Unfortunately, over the past several years, this time of year has degenerated from the time when retailers spent the most on creativity, in-store excitement, and marketing to one big SALE event.  However, there are still some advertisers who take advantage of the seasonal opportunity for revenues and traffic by going after the heart (and brain) as well as the wallet.  Let’s take a look at a couple retailers going after the same customers:  Publix and Kmart.

There’s been a lot a buzz in the media and online about the Kmart holiday commercial for Joe Boxer.  Take a look. Click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Ub1x7Arfs

I have to admit that I kinda like the spot for its entertainment value.  However, if I had the difficulties that Kmart has had over the past few years, I don’t think I would put all my creativity in trying to create a hip brand image of a line of underwear.  I really don’t think this spot does anything for Kmart.  Walk into a Kmart (if you can still find one that hasn’t closed in the past couple years) and you might see one cashier line open and a couple of customers usually waiting to get helped by an indifferent clerk.  Meanwhile, Walmart, Target , Costco continue to add registers and sales. (Walmart’s latest spot talking about employee benefits really is super…but more on that in another blog.).  Kmart needs to convince customers that there is a reason to shop there.  That they can compete.  That they are fun.  Instead, they have a bunch of guys ringing their “brief bells”  for Joe Boxer.  No wonder they continue to shed stores and lose the customer’s interest.

Publix, the southeast grocery giant, has always done a marvelous job with its holiday and other seasonal advertising.  They don’t just stop with TV spots however.

Their print, direct mail, and online messages are just as personal, just as creative, and just as successful in convincing their customer that “shopping is a pleasure” at their stores.  Publix has gotten aggressive with promotions (watch out for the BOGO’s everywhere you look.)  to keep their customers from migrating to Walmart.

Their stores continue to be some of the best run operations in retail, and their employees really do enjoy helping you get just what you wanted.  People is my part of the world don’t just shop at Publix, they make “My Publix” part of their daily life.

Publix continues to  endear itself and its brand to the hearts of people who value family events and all the food that goes with it.  Eating a Publix meal is not just dinner, it’s a memory being made for the entire family.  With advertising like this one below, Publix continues to grow its brand and beat the competition every day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08rj14I6QPY

It all seems so obvious about what really works at this time of year when it comes to advertising that sells.    The brands that do well the rest of the year really do deck the halls when it comes to the holidays.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday