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SCULPTING A SUCCESSFUL BRAND!
My recent trip to Winter Park FL near Orlando was full of surprises. The most surprising was the Albin Polasek Sculpture Gardens and Museum. I was surprised to learn about Albin Polasek who was one the top sculptors in the world and that he had been director of the Chicago Institute of arts for decades before relocating to Florida in his seventies. He built a home studio modeled after his Moravian roots and continued to sculpt, create, and teach until his death in 1965. I was surprised at the wonderful sculptures around the gardens. I was also surprised to learn (during our docent’s presentation} the steps that were involved in creating a bronze sculpture. Each step was arduous and critical to the quality of the finished piece. As I learned about this process, it reminded me of the steps that I have learned are critical to the develop a successful brand strategy. We tend to think that the sculptor takes the raw material (bronze, marble, or plaster) and then chisels and polishes it to its final stage for viewing. I learned there are several other steps requiring molds, liquified bronze, casting, re-casting, welding and assembling before the sculptor begins to have the statue take on its life.
The same is true of an effective brand. So many marketers believe that all that’s needed is to develop a new ad campaign, logo, or slogan and produce a creative message and “Voila” there’s a new brand. I’ve long maintained that there are four critical steps before you get to the final step of communicating with the customer. First, you need to develop a VISION for the product or service and detail how it will be differentiated from other similar products already on the market and what value it will provide. Second, you must do RESEARCH to understand the marketplace, the competition, consumer trends and your products current perception (if it already exists). Third, determine the emotional VALUE to your customers. What appeals to their heads (the facts, specifics, product details) and their hearts (values, emotional response, personal benefits). Finally, develop a detailed PLAN on how you are going to reach the customer. This isn’t an ad schedule, but this specifies the steps that need to be taken logistically, organizationally, and financially that will enable you to live up to your vision. These must be done during the Developmental phase of the strategy just as the sculptor goes through the detailed and often arduous steps in preparing to create the final object. Next, the Implementation phase requires the communications plan that will deliver the message to the organization (first and foremost) and then to the consumers which includes adapting this plan as you learn what’s working and what’s not in reaching the customer.
There are many successful brands that have followed this process over the years, but here a couple of today’s most successful brands that I believe have done the work necessary in developing their brands that are recognized as the most successful in their categories.
AMAZON. At least 2-3 times a week, I am reminded of what a powerful brand Amazon is as I pick up a package at my front door. I am amazed at how easy it is to do business online with the company; how much time it saves us in not having to shop around; how quickly our order is processed and delivered; how easy it is to return if I didn’t get the right model or size; and how great the value is at the prices that are competitive to any retailer. No wonder that last year the company’s sales increased 22% to nearly $470 Billion and its net income increased over $33 Billion in 2021. What started out as simply an online book retailer has now spanned the globe with products from every category—both consumer and industrial—that the market is looking for today. Their marketing is legendary and creative, but the steps that they had to take logistically to be able to do what they do so well required a vision and a plan that exemplifies what I outlined above. As I drove by a line of over 30 gray vans on their way from the Amazon Distribution center near Tampa the other day, I was reminded of the technology, the facilities, the logistics and the communications that it took to build this business model. Yet, they realize that it’s people who make all of the steps come together. Here’s a commercial that talks about the people part of Amazon.
Click on this link: https://youtu.be/1Jzw3zJKHsc
CHICK-FIL-A. Who needs another fast food restaurant anyway? Chick-fil-a has set the standard in today’s competitive market. I am amazed at the double lines a the drive-thru every day at every hour at these stores. Especially notable is to look around at the other fast food chicken places, like KFC, PDQ, Zaxby’s, and several others who barely need a drive thru window to meet their customer demand. What started out as a small (t was called the Dwarf House) diner in suburban Atlanta is now a chain of over 2700 very busy outlets with over 200,000 employees who love working there. This didn’t happen by accident Truett Cathy had a vision for his company and then developed a strategy that differentiates it from all the other fast food outlets. It all is focused on its people and its communities. As Cathy said: “We should be about more than just selling chicken. We should be part of customers’ lives and the communities in which we serve.” If you talk to a Chick-fil-a staff member or manager they will quickly spell out to you how they live up to this promise at the store every day. Then they will rave about the company, its food, and its policies. And they will do this and it easy to understand how they have this tremendous growth and still be closed on Sundays. The company has been rated the #4 restaurant in the entire country by
Restaurant News and the top drive-thru by QSR Magazine. It all started out with developing a brand strategy that the company lives up to every day. Here’s a commercial that share its people philosophy. Click on the link: https://youtu.be/Oyp3pHRxE3M
Ken
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