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“9 Criteria for Brand Essence” Deck
Uncovering & Articulating Essence
- 9 criteria for brand essence
- Why “trusted” isn’t the brand essence
- 7 common branding workshop pitfalls
- Patagonia: They also sell clothes.
- Why so few brands get it right
- Why intangibles are the more sustainable competitive advantages
- To inspire loyalty, ask why, not how.
- You say tomato. I say Fox’s Fine Gourmet Ketchup.
- Warning: Your brand is being commoditized!
- Brand essence by every other name
- For brand authenticity, look inside.
- Table-stake attributes do not differentiate brands.
Simplicity & Effectiveness of Messaging
Other Popular Posts
- What every non-marketer should know about branding
- When to hire vs. when to outsource
- Do artisan brands lose their fans when sold to conglomerates?
- So who is “the world’s greatest insurance spokesperson in the world?”
- Does Geico’s multi-concept strategy work?
- BMW uncovers its brand essence: joy
- P&G brands … itself?
Industry News
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Category Archives: health care
Table-stake attributes do not differentiate brands.
Airlines, give up safety. Banks, forgo stability. Hospitals, turn your backs on compassion. These are not the essences of your brands. Marketers often find brand-essence discovery processes difficult and even painful, because they are forced to look beyond some of their most beloved brand attributes. The reason? These attributes are table stakes, the minimum requirements to enter the brand category. They buy a seat, but they don’t win any hands. Consumers expect hospitals, for example, to be compassionate. Saying “we care,” or even “we care more,” just doesn’t resonate. It doesn’t provide a basis for choice. Without compassion, a hospital … Continue reading
Posted in brand essence, health care
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Best posts of 2010
This month BrandSTOKE is Terrible Two. Better put the breakables out of reach. Thank you for continuing to subscribe, read and comment. If you have any suggestions for improving the blog, please let me know. In celebration of reaching this milestone, here’s a list of some of the most popular posts as well as a few personal favorites from the last twelve months: On brand building: Why so few brands get it right Why intangibles are the more sustainable competitive advantages To inspire brand loyalty, ask why, not how. The true value of your brand and how it should be … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, authenticity, brand essence, copywriting, event marketing, health care, loyalty, promotion, retail, strategy
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Packaging that unsells: The FDA gets graphic with cigs
Will images of dead bodies on cigarette packs discourage tobacco sales? We’ll find out soon. The Food and Drug Administration, as required by the Tobacco Control Act, will require changes to cigarette packaging and advertising in June 2011. Mandatory will be displaying prominent photos of the realities of smoking, such as cancer, heart disease, and death. The harsh images must make up at least 50% of package panels. Nine images will be chosen from 36 options under consideration. Can’t wait for the alcohol and fast-food warnings.
Posted in art direction & design, health care, packaging
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Show us your Nationwide Insurance tattoo!
Thinking about some new ink? Instead of the usual dragon, barbed wire or butterfly, why not a Nationwide Insurance logo? Although corporate trademarks are rare in the world of stained skin, Nationwide’s wouldn’t be the first. That honor may belong to Harley-Davidson. Harley is the only brand on a list of the top 50 most popular tattoo designs, probably because it has become an icon for personal freedom and perhaps rebellion. Expressing individuality is an oft-cited reason for getting a tattoo. Along with high blood-alcohol content. This may explain why beer logos are among popular designs … Continue reading
Posted in art direction & design, brand essence, event marketing, health care, promotion
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Health-care reform apparently involves lots of dancing
What is it about life-or-death medical situations that make you want to burst into song? Ask the Laryngospasms, a singing group from Minnesota composed of anesthesiologists. Their string of medical song parodies landed them a shot on America’s Got Talent. They’re not alone. You can hardly swing a deductible these days without hitting a singing nurse or technician. Performing health-care professionals abound on YouTube, representing the Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing, UAB Hospital Emergency Department, Southwestern Vermont Health Care, Gwinnet Urgent Care, and so on. Do you find singing about life-threatening surgery entertaining or offensive? How far is … Continue reading
Posted in cause marketing, health care, social media
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ChalkBot remembers Mom
Nike’s Chalkbot may be the perfect convergence of technology, social media, and cause marketing. Essentially a pneumatic chalk-paint sprayer driven by a computer, ChalkBot takes messages from around the world via text messaging, Facebook, Twitter and the LiveSTRONG web site, and sprays them in yellow on the roads of the Tour de France during the event. According to The Inspiration Room blog, the system includes a text-message interface, web-based queue and approval system for tour officials, onboard machine and nozzle control, spray mechanism, camera and GPS capture system, and Twitter integration. (See how it works below.) The messages generally support … Continue reading