BREAK-AWAY BRANDS–CREATING A NEW BRAND!
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As I discovered more than once, breaking away from the corporate world and going independent can be exhilarating and exciting—as well as risky. In branding, it often makes sense to split off a successful (or struggling) brand to breathe new life into the marketing and create that same exhilaration within the organization to sustain growth in market share. Standing at the battlefields of Culloden in the Scottish Highlands recently, it was interesting to learn more about the drive for independence by the Scottish clans in the 18th Century and which is now being revived in the UK.
Sometimes, a brand gets caught up in the internal competitiveness of a major CPG corporation and even though 
it’s successful, the time comes for a change of venue and management. My first marketing position was in brand management with P&G where I worked on the Folger’s coffee brand. Folger’s had the #1 share in all its markets at that time and I worked on some fo the plans to take the brand national within the next 5 years. The growth continued and Folger’s became the top grocery brand and sustained its growth even as new concepts like Starbucks or aggressive brands like Dunkin’ started to capture more of the coffee drinking market share. Eventually, as they have done many times, P&G spun off its coffee business (this time to Smuckers) and it continues to grow and maintain its position as one of the top promotional, traffic-building brands in the country. With all the change, however, Folger’s marketing has maintained its consistent, quality messages built on flavor and aroma (from those “mountain grown” beans) and is still one of the top brands in any category today. Its marketing has been refreshed many times, but it has stayed true to its loyal customer base by making it “the best part of waking up” again and again.
Red Lobster is another brand that was actually the original brand for Darden Restaurants back in the late ‘60’s. Red Lobster was the original chain of moderate seafood restaurants and continues to grow with marketing featuring product shots that still whet my appetite whenever a TV spot airs. As the company grew with other brands like Olive Garden, Seasons 52, Longhorn Steaks, and Capital Grille. Darden decided that Red Lobster whose growth had stagnated would be spun off and eventually bought out by Golden Gate Capital. Now the brand has been refreshed with new management, a new store prototype modeled after New England fishing towns, updated menus, and a consistent marketing campaign that still features the food, yes the food, presented in mouth-watering spots and messages that have revitalized the chain and the brand.
There are many other similar examples and it isn’t always necessary to break away from the parent company to revitalize a brand. Nor is it a good reason to simply fire your ad agency and hire a new one just for a different point of view. However, it does makes sense to encourage new, independent thinking that will question the past while bringing some perspective to what customer thinks about your brand and your competition.
While, we may not have to roll over the market like Mel Gibson in “Brave Heart”, an independent viewpoint can often bring more market share and excitement to your brand.
it was great to visit all the sights again and realize that not much has changed over the years and yet the city is as modern and state-of-the-art as ever. We enjoyed seeing the sights and were particularly impressed by two attractions that we hadn’t visited before—the Churchill World War II Museum and the London Eye.
Speaking of Coke, I mention in my video from Westminster Abbey that we should have a lasting memorial to great brands that have made an impact on marketing as well as the world that we live in. These are the brands that have become a fabric of our lives (sounds familiar) and have consistently been recognized for their marketing and advertising excellence. Coca Cola is certainly high on that list with a brand that continues to grow and excel despite the competition from other soft drinks and beverages. Coke has done it by providing messages and images that withstand the test of time and continue to stir the imagination as well as the thirsts of legions of consumers in all demographics and lifestyles. The great spots are reinforced with sponsorships at the national, worldwide and local levels that keep Coke not only top of mind but also as favored members of our community. 
also by producing some of the most memorable marketing messages in all media. From the classic “1984” to competitive defense against Microsoft (I’m a PC, I’m a Mac campaign) to the outstanding imagery in promoting iphones, itunes, ipads, Apple manages to keep itself on the cutting edge and judging by the number of iphones that I observed on the tubes and busses of London, Scotland and Wales, there’s no stopping them now. They keep this brand alive in their retail stores, online, on mobile and everywhere in between. This brand is already a legend and only a couple decades old.
Walmart has grown to the largest business in the world and has an effect on the way the world does business in many ways (read “The WalMart Effect” by Charles Fishman) and it isn’t just by having everyday low prices. The company built a great brand strategy and then executes every day in every store with every customers. It’s marketing has been exceptional from the start by not relying solely on price/item print like most of its competitors, but rather by producing messages with real people, with great creative that makes the messages come through loud and clear. In the process, the company has built a brand that people trust and continue to shop no matter what their psychographics or demographics are.
target customers. However, there are many other great cars in the category. So, how does Lexus outsell all of them in the category combined. By marketing themselves smartly, logically and creatively and making a logical case for their brand over the others. They continue to improve on the product while maintaining the high standards of quality, features, and customer service that have re-established the standard of excellence in the automotive category.
McDonalds is everywhere in Great Britain and despite the hundreds of other food chains and local pubs and eating establishments, they continue to grow. We passed by the golden arches in almost every town and hamlet we visited and they were always busy and while they haven’t replaced English fish& chips on my list of favorites, they certainly sell their share of Big Mac’s and fries along the way. Again, McDonalds continues to improve on their product with innovation in food, service and stores, but they excel by an ongoing brand message that stands out among all of the other fast food providers in the market. They know that McD’s is part of life not just in the states but world-wide and their messages resonate with the customers no matter what part of the world they reside.
the company has moved toward larger stores in larger markets and has grown its sales to over $16 Billion (if my yen/dollar conversion is accurate). These are exciting numbers, but what’s really exciting is the in-store experience. UNIQLO’s theme for its Life Wear is “Simple Made Better” and the simplicity of the store is apparent the minute you walk in. With merchandise displays that make an immediate statement of volume and color that only exceeded by the neatness that is a constant. The training of employees on how to fold the clothes is legendary and is only superseded by customer service commitment that provides friendly faces who seem to be everywhere straightening and colorizing while helping anyone in sight.
Once again, WestJet, the Calgary-based economy airline, took a look around and found a reason to do something really extraordinary at the holidays. This time it was to bring the spirit of the holidays and send a message that it’s more than just good business to do the right thing for the people in your markets. This year, WestJet decided to do something big for the people of Fort McMurray, Alberta, which was devastated by wild fires last spring. In case you might not remember the tragedy, here’s a summary from Wikepedia on what happened:
in brand management on Folger’s Coffee. Back then, going to work at P&G was comparable to getting your doctorate in marketing and the strong foundation for a career in branding. One of the first things I learned was that SHARE OF MARKET was the most important measurement of a brand’s success. In my time on Folger’s, we never looked at a sales report like I did when I moved to retail a few years later. It was all about share and analyzing Nielsen reports every other month by market, by brand, by product and then analyzing what we did that worked to improve share or what the competitors did to take away share. Did a special promotion work? Did a change in campaigns have a positive effect? (Although we never change our ad strategy in my time there.)
Macy’s continues to run its BELIEVE campaign for the ninth straight year and it’s better than ever. If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while, you know that I’m not a big fan of any department store marketing for quite some time. However, Macy’s still has a commitment to making its store an important part of their customer’s holiday season.
special store mailboxes. Yes, Virginia, they’re doing it again and it’s just as special as the first year with driving home the true meaning of Christmas giving and benefiting the community at the same time.
In short, Macy’s gives us a reason to make the season special besides their one-day sales, 12 hour sales, holiday specials, etc. It’s all part of the Macy’s Brand that would hold true for any major department store as was the case in Christmas’s gone-by. Let’s hope this tradition continues!
Walking through the crowded aisles at the brand new Earth Fare store that just opened near me last week, I was impressed first by the amount of customers and then by the selection of organic and home grown products that were offered. It reminded me of my first trip to Trader Joe’s several years ago on the west coast or more recently to my initial visit to a Whole Foods in Detroit a few years ago, interesting, exciting, a sense of discovery. Not that we’ll shift our food shopping from our favorite Publix store, but this new store was a refreshing change in the shopping experience. Even though the store’s outdoor sign said it was established in 1975, the concept is new and refreshing and it capitalizes on the major trend in consumer preferences for natural and organic products in an innovative environment.
When I started this blog some 12 years ago, my goal was to replicate the many Monday morning quarterback sessions by phone with a select number of my peers in the retail, ad agency, and supplier worlds. Once the Monday am executive meetings were finished, there was always time for a call or two to get their insights on what was happening in our industry. We would talk about a new everyday pricing strategy at Sears, an acquisition by Saks, quarterly results for Walgreens, or what were they thinking with that spot on Super Bowl?
I wondered how do small vintners succeed in gaining shelf space and share of market. I asked Wayne Fieldsa, a small, family-owned Sonoma vineyard owner, who stopped bottling his own wine a few years ago and now supplies grapes to other winemakers, what it takes to succeed in today’s wine market. He conceded that the large companies will continue to grow and acquire small wineries that have developed successful brands just as the major breweries have taken over many craft brewers around the country. However, he said that there still is plenty of room for wines that create a niche for themselves and a brand that is distinguishable. For example, he specialized in Syrah grapes and produced some award-winning varietals that helped gain
Finally, there are plenty of places to get lobster rolls in Maine and all of them are pretty good, but Red’s Eats in Wiscasset on the Back River not far from Bath, ME, has created a brand that brings customers by the hundreds to stand in line for their lobster rolls (a pound of meat in every roll is the brand promise) and fried clams, served out of a small, food trailer right on US1 and the bridge over the river. Across the street is a lovely restaurant with A/C and windows facing the river. On a Sunday, there’s no wait for a table, but across the street the crowd at Red’s is testimony to a brand that brings them in from all over and bring them back again for more. The list can go on and I’m sure you have some small brands that have big-time loyalty near you. It’s all proof that the important factor in a successful brand is to determine a customer need that other similar products or services don’t provide or provide as well, and then communicate that value in an honest, consistent manner in everything you do.
Before writing this article, I visited the newest Bass Pro Shop location in the Tampa Bay area and it was obvious why Sports Authority was fading fast. The Bass Pro shop was an exciting experience. Huge displays, interesting experiences, valuable in-store events. Then there is the selection from more fishing rods than I have ever seen to more cammo gear than in a military post. From boats to ACV’s and with a restaurant that’s worth making the trip just for the menu, Bass Pro gets it. And it’s always supported by an effective, on-target marketing campaign. Across the road was a new Dick’s Sporting goods and while not as over-powering as Bass Pro, it was everything that Sports Authority should have been but wasn’t even close. And Dick’s marketing is as good as Gatorade or Under Armor in creating a relevant, adifferentiated brand of stores.
A few years ago, while spending some of my career on the advertising agency side of the business, I had the pleasure of working with the marketing people at Beall’s Department Stores in Bradenton, FL. The company had been in business for several years and had become of favorite shopping place for “mature” customers in Florida and Arizona by understanding who they were NOT trying to be. Beall’s (pronounced Bells) was not trying to be Macy’s, nor Kohl’s, nor JCPenney, nor Ross, nor TJMaxx. For that matter they weren’t trying to be just like any other stores competing with them in their select markets. The company understood the casual lifestyle of its customers. They understood that they were looking for a lower prices. They wanted quality brand names. They were no slaves to fashion. And they wanted a pleasant shopping experience at the store.
the registers were line up down the aisles with shoppers taking advantage of pretty much the same promotional offers that Beall’s offers regularly to its customers. The store was well organized and contemporary, but frankly not much different than the store that was demolished just 6 months earlier when the mall was torn down in favor of a new town center concept. Beall’s was the first to open this week. The store wasn’t exciting, and that’s the point. Beall’s brand isn’t necessarily exciting. It just works for the customers that they have targeted in over 100 years of doing business. Consistent, clean, well-merchandised, effective graphics all living up to the brand promise. A solid mixture of national brands like Columbia, Gloria Vanderbilt, Skechers and Dockers mixes well with Beall’s own Reel Legends, Guy Harvey, and Carribbean Joe.
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