The most popular post at BrandSTOKE to date is “9 Criteria for Brand Essence.” Now I have combined it with some Branding 101 definitions, a few examples, and additional thinking in the accompanying SlideShare presentation.
It’s intended to provide a basic understanding of brands and branding for most business professionals. (Branding experts may want to skip it.) I hope you find it useful.
For years, BMW was “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” Recent ads feature the tagline, “Sheer Driving Pleasure.”
Now, BMW is … joy.
Why the change?
As discussed in a previous post, strong brands are founded on single intangible attributes, ones that connect emotionally with consumers.
These days, BMW’s tangibles (its engineering, technology, performance) can quickly and easily be replicated. Companies that base their brand essence solely on material differences struggle to stay ahead of competitors.
So which intangible connects with BMW owners? The joy of driving.
BMW has been playing with the “joy” position for a while. The voiceover in a 2009 TV spot which aired in Britain states, “We realized a long time ago that what you make people feel is just as important as what you make (emphasis mine). And at BMW, we make joy.”
Now, with the launch during the Winter Olympics of its largest branding campaign in company history, BMW believes it has identified its essence.
The updated web site says, “We don’t just build cars, we create emotions. We are guarantors of enthusiasm, fascination and goosebumps. We give you the keys to discover ever-growing and evolving Joy.”
In a release at PR Newswire, Jack Pitney, VP of marketing for BMW, says, “All of our efforts in engineering, design and technology are about one thing, which is creating moments of joy.”
In an interview with Marketing Daily, Pitney adds: “I don’t think the ‘Joy’ campaign is a tremendous diversion. In the past we focused primarily on the cars themselves and the technological innovations under the skin. Now what we have chosen to do is focus on the end result of all that: it’s the way the cars make you feel. Really, the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ is about bringing the joy of driving to life.
” … we challenged ourselves to think about ways to bring that promise to life in an emotionally compelling way. What we landed upon was, well, maybe it’s really about what our products do — how they make you feel.”
Does “joy” resonate for BMW?
It seems to meet the 9 criteria for brand essence. Intangible? Single-minded? Check.
Experiential? Authentic? Meaningful? Absolutely.
Consistently delivered? Sustainable? Scalable? Yep.
Finally, is it unique? Is any other brand more joyful to drive?
Car buyers will decide.
Electricity is a commodity. And therefore, it sells on price alone.
But in 1998, local electric cooperatives from around the country, all of which operate independently, got together to distinguish the electricity they serve from that served by investor-owned utilities.
A brand was born.
The catalyst: energy deregulation. Since the late 1990s, many states have rewritten the rules in order to increase competition among energy providers. Facing the prospect of competing head-to-head with large, well-financed utilities, electric co-ops decided to unite their individual brands under one banner.
“Touchstone Energy” became the national brand identity for participating electric cooperatives.
Because members own the co-ops which serve them, cooperatives have a unique advantage in a competitive environment. Market research conducted during the development of the brand identified the following differentiating attributes:
After developing the Touchstone Energy name and identity, participating co-ops adopted the tagline, “The power of human connections,” and launched a national branding campaign (See current campaigns here.).
Correctly, the co-ops didn’t try to brand electricity. Instead they branded the co-op experience, based upon intangibles including integrity, accountability, and commitment to community.
Today, the Touchstone Energy brand represents an alliance of nearly 700 cooperatives in 46 states. Touchstone Energy co-ops collectively deliver power to more than 30 million members every day. They distribute power for 75 percent of the U.S. land mass over 2.4 million miles of power lines.
And the brand lives up to its promise. Industry research indicates electric co-ops rank well ahead of their industry counterparts when it comes to customer satisfaction. Data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), one the nation’s most recognized measures of customer satisfaction, gives Touchstone Energy cooperatives an average score of 81 out of a possible 100, outclassing the utility industry satisfaction score of 74.
Co-op electricity — it’s a powerful brand.
Remember the old days when coffee was a commodity? We may be headed there again.
Starbucks, with its expansion in 1987, revolutionized how we drink and think about coffee. It convinced us to buy whole beans instead of grounds. It familiarized us with espresso, cappuccino and latte. It introduced us to an American version of the European café experience.
Following Starbucks’ success, imitators, such as Caribou, The Coffee Beanery, and others, proliferated. McDonald’s, feeling the heat, changed its bean, ran a “Four bucks is dumb” campaign, and added its McCafé lineup. Tim Hortons and Dunkin’ Donuts followed suit. Now, Speedway is on the attack with less expensive, make-it-your-way coffee beverages.
Although these are very diverse retail models targeting different audience segments, they are clearly all responding to and offsetting the influence of the Starbucks’ brand experience.
It happens in every category.
No matter how hard a successful brand works to be different, it’s competitors are working just as hard to cash in by replicating it. Commoditization is a never-ending reality. It makes products and services indistinguishable and interchangeable. It levels the playing field after a brand has built a lead.
And yet there are some iconic brands that, despite competitive copycatting, manage to sustain their long-term “ownership” of a differentiator in the minds of consumers. Brands such as ESPN, Mountain Dew, Google, Volkswagen, Quaker Oats, Nike, Harley-Davidson, and Apple. How do they do it?
As discussed in a recent post, tangible advantages can quickly and easily be duplicated. Beyond the tangibles, strong brands have succeeded at bonding with their customers around an intangible attribute.
Starbucks’ defense against commoditization may not be the quality of it’s coffee, but rather the warm, comfortable, friendly intimacy it has created around the coffee-drinking experience. Is this an advantage they can sustain?
Once upon a time it was possible to differentiate a product or service by having a tangible advantage. “Tangible” means it can be seen, heard, tasted, smelled, or touched. Like a more powerful engine. A sleeker design. A secret recipe.
The problem with tangible advantages is, with today’s technology, they can quickly and easily be replicated. Companies that base their brand essence solely on material differences struggle to keep a step ahead of competitors.
Apple is a case in point. Known for its innovative technology and design, Apple commands worldwide attention with every new product announcement.
Yet Apple’s innovations are quickly duplicated. Copycat brands, by eliminating tangible advantages, tend to commoditize a category and cause consumers to buy based upon price alone.
As a result, the iPhone competes for market share in the smartphone category with numerous manufactures, such as HP, HTC, Motorola (Droid), Nokia, Palm, Research In Motion (Blackberry), Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and others.
Same with the iPod. Revolutionary in design, it faces competition from Archos, Coby Electronics, Cowon Systems, Creative, iRiver, Microsoft, Philips, RCA, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony and scores more digital audio player makers.
However, while the competitors play catchup, what Apple can and does sustain is an intangible competitive advantage: friendliness.
Based upon its design philosophy of making technology simple and easy to use, Apple has positioned itself as the friendly brand of personal technology. This brand essence is well portrayed by the approachable and laid-back character Mac in Apple’s TV spots.
Another case: FedEx differentiated itself by offering overnight package delivery in 1973. At the time, it owned the category. Now it competes with UPS, Airbourne, DHL, Emory, and the U.S. Postal Service. It’s initial advantage was matched by competitors.
FedEx didn’t sustain an advantage based upon delivering overnight. What it did sustain is reliability.
In each case, the intangible brand essence is perceived by customers as creating superior value and thus serves as an obstacle to competition.
Imagine, as a competitor, attempting to be more reliable than FedEx or friendlier than Apple.
We swim in a sea of commodities — cell phones, insurance, big-screen TVs, Angus burgers, airlines, banks, grocers, car dealers, etc.
Except for their names, we can’t tell most of them apart.
Why is it so difficult for brands to stand out by standing for something?
In theory, every brand ought to be chasing the ring. After all, strong brands reap huge rewards — loyal customers, competitive barriers, bigger margins, and greater equity.
And certainly, we have some admirable contemporary models of branding success — iPhone, Google, Harley-Davidson, Walmart, Whole Foods, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, etc.
But these champs are the exceptions. For every one of them, there are literally millions of lookalike, sound-alike brands-that-aren’t.
Why can’t they bottle the lightning? Because:
Certainly there are more reasons why so few brands succeed at brand-building. Which ones can you add to the list?
This month BrandSTOKE is one year old.
I’m honored that you take the time to read and comment. My goal for 2010 is to engage more conversation. If you have any suggestions for topics or improving the blog, please let me know.
Thanks for your interest and support. I’ll try to do better next year.
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:
On brands vs. commodities:
On simplicity and effectiveness of messaging:
On smarter strategy:
On getting hired:
Just for fun:
There are brands and then there are affinity brands.
The difference? Community.
You don’t just experience an affinity brand. Your identity is enmeshed with it. You are a proud member of the club.
“Cult Brands aren’t just companies with products or services to sell,” says BJ Bueno, co-author of The Power of Cult Branding: How 9 Magnetic Brands Turned Customers into Loyal Followers. “To many of their followers, they are a living, breathing surrogate family filled with like-minded individuals.”
Few brands exemplify affinity branding as well as Patagonia.
Patagonia makes outdoor apparel for climbing, surfing, skiing, and other low-impact sports. Its clothes are renown for their durability and performance.
But at Patagonia, it’s not about the clothes — which is characteristic of affinity brands. Selling apparel at Patagonia is practically an afterthought. Or so it seems.
Instead, affinity brands build a community of diehard evangelists around a common cause or set of values.
Patagonia’s cause began with its founder, Yvon Chouinard.
Chouinard, a rock climber and surfer, got his start making tools for climbers. Around 1970, he became aware that steel pitons were causing significant damage to rock-climbing surfaces. Inspired, he developed new alternatives and introduced a style of climbing called “clean climbing.” The result: his innovations revolutionized climbing, despite destroying the sales of pitons which accounted for 70% of his income.
Planet first. Company second.
“What is it that we all so love about the experience of being in raw nature?” Chouinard asks. “And having known raw nature, don’t we have an obligation to protect it?”
At Patagonia, protecting it is the priority.
In 1986, Chouinard committed the company to environmental activism and paid employees to work on local community projects. In 1994, Patagonia switched to using pesticide-free (organically-grown) cotton as well as recycled polyester in its clothing. Always planet first.
Today, the scale of Patagonia’s commitment is impressive. The environmentalism page of its web site lists its numerous initiatives, including Conservacion Patagonica, working toward the creation of Patagonia National Park; The Conservation Alliance, encouraging companies in the outdoor industry to support environmental organizations; 1% For The Planet encouraging all businesses to donate at least 1% of their annual net revenues to the environment, and more.
Through its Common Threads Recycling Program, Patagonia uses a fiber-to-fiber system to make new garments from old.
“For us at Patagonia, a love of wild and beautiful places demands participation in the fight to save them.”
How do brands create affinity?
“Brand communities exhibit three traditional markers of community,” according to Thomas O’Guinn and Albert Muniz in “Brand Community,” a 2001 article published in the Journal of Consumer Research. “Shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility.”
All are present within the Patagonia community.
Company “ambassadors” share knowledge and experiences from the field on its blog The Cleanest Line, its own video channel The Tin Shed, and its YouTube channel. Outdoor enthusiasts and preservationists connect on Facebook and Twitter.
True, there’s a big difference between summiting Everest and wearing a Patagonia hoody to the park. But an affinity brand allows one to participate in the common cause. As Patagonia says, “Reward comes in the form of hard-won grace and moments of connection between us and nature.”
Which other brands inspire community?
I’m pleased to share the following guest post by Gary Moneysmith. Gary is the Interactive Strategy Director and social media guru at Conrad | Phillips | Vutech (where I work). Be sure to visit his blog, Social Media @ Work & Play, for more insights.
Ever watch your grandmother sort through her (postal) mail? If your granny is anything like mine, she carefully inspects and opens piece after piece. You just want to scream, “Just scan and throw it out — it’s all junk!”
Having grown up in the era of bulk postage rates, we’ve developed a ninja-fast ability to discern what’s real and what’s not when it comes to the daily mail haul. Why? To preserve our mental health. We’re overloaded with marketing messages every day on the radio, television, billboards and of course, our mailbox. If we gave every offer a neighborly, 1900s-like consideration, we’d never make it through our day. It’s too much and most of it’s crap.
As a defense mechanism, we’ve developed a sixth sense to gauge what’s legitimate and what’s not. We can scan an email inbox with hundreds of messages and quickly identify the few “real” ones. We rifle through pages of Google results to find sources we can trust and which should be ignored. We read product reviews on Amazon and quickly decide which are helpful and which aren’t. Our brains are gold-panning supercomputers instantaneously filtering our way through daily information overload.
Now, consider social media, the most eclectic, ever-changing fire hose of information in human history. As online marketers, what can we do to make sure our legitimate voice and information is taken seriously?
Answer: Branding. Yep, that old school marketing stuff …
Your brand is the genuine, distinct personality of your company. It’s what your organization stands for and makes you unique in a sea of otherwise sameness. It’s an emotional connection or way people react to a logo or product. And while it’s often associated with a visual/logo (an icon that symbolizes your brand), it includes what you say and how you say it as well. Over time, your brand builds equity — it means something to people and has value. It builds trust, justifies your attention, and rationalizes a premium price.
When it comes to social media, the need for branding is greater than ever. People may find your organization’s Web site in search engine results along with your Twitter account, Facebook group, YouTube channel and blog. Do all these places “feel” the same? Do they speak with the same voice? Do they offer consistent materials?
Now, considering the chipmunk-on-meth attention span of most Web visitors, does your social media channel pass the five-second brand consistency test? Pull up one of your social media channels (say, your blog) then quickly review it for visuals, personality and content:
There’s a lot in social media that you can’t control, but what you say and how you say it is still your choice. Your online brand identity should be treated as an invaluable asset that MUST be nurtured and protected. Because without it, you’re just a commodity fighting to breathe in an increasingly crowded online marketplace.
They treat cuts, burns, sprains, rashes, allergies, fevers, and infections.
They are called MinuteClinic, Take Care Clinic, RediClinic, The Little Clinic, The Clinic at Walmart, and Target Clinic.
They are located in the aisles of Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Target, and Kroger.
There are more than 1,100 of them in the U.S., and more are on the way. (Find the one nearest you at Merchant Medicine.)
They are retail-based medical clinics — and your doctor doesn’t like them.
The primary advantage of retail clinics (also known as walk-in clinics and convenient care clinics) is convenience.
They accept walk-in appointments (no waiting for an opening at your doctor’s office) and they may be open late. They are often less expensive. You can fill usually fill a prescription on premises.
Your doctor says retail clinics don’t provide the same quality of care. (Meanwhile, he or she may be losing patient visits to them.)
Here is your doctor’s argument. Retail clinics:
In marketing terms, your doctor is claiming the quality position.
However, a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine by the RAND Corporation, the nation’s largest independent health policy research program, concluded “retail medical clinics located in pharmacies and other stores can provide care for routine illnesses at a lower cost and similar quality (my emphasis) as offered in physician offices, urgent care centers or emergency departments.”
Uh-oh. Lower cost and similar quality? And more convenient? That’s a problem for your doctor.
How should he or she respond?
Doctors call this concept your “medical home.” At your medical home, your personal physician serves as the coordinator of all of your medical needs and maintains your comprehensive health records. This centralized control results in care that is customized, instead of off-the-shelf.
Brands are built on perceived intangible attributes. The attributes your doctor should own are dependable, trustworthy, knowledgeable, concerned — attributes that may be difficult to perceive in the aisles of a discount store.
When it comes to health care, which do you prefer? Convenience or quality?
Is having a medical home of value?
How should doctors respond to the threat of retail clinics?
