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So, another Super Bowl has come and gone and I lament the fact that if not for an official’s error, my Buccaneers would have gone to the playoffs instead of the Packers. But that’s Monday Morning stuff. Of course, there’s been more conversation afterward about the commercials again this year and I have to agree that at $3 Million a spot, there should be some buzz afterward. I’m just not sure that the buzz is among the targeted customers as much as the media who cover them. Certainly in this venue, these message must pop and generate a lot of interest. But so do your commercials that run the other 364 days of the year. There were some really creative spots (yes, I thought the VW/Darth Vader spot was one of the cutest ever.) but I have to keep asking the same question for the past XLV years:
“Where is the brand message? Does this motivate me to consider buying this product?)

I use Go Daddy for my web URL’s and have been pleased. Their terrible commercials have nothing to do with my choice nor keeping them as my provider. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure what Go Daddy is saying in their sexist, stupid spots. The Dorito’s spots are great, but do they really convince you that they taste good enough to lick someone’s pants or fingers? Audi must have spent as much as Avatar’s full production cost to contrive a luxury jail spot that wouldn’t convince me to buy an Audi no matter how good they are.

I could go on, but let’s take a look at the Chrysler spot which salutes my home town of Detroit. I thought this not only gave an honest, sincere tribute to Chrysler’s and its workers home. The branding behind this, I thought, was a particularly sound strategy as the company has re-emerged from its financial and sale woes. A company with roots in a city that’s tough, that works hard, that has pride, and has a long heritage in automotive, is about to introduce a new model line that reflects today’s automotive needs and desires. I think this is a sincere effort (even if their agency is not in Portland, Oregon) to get back to the relationship an auto has with its owner. At 120 seconds, the spot really got into the spirit of Detroit and the company and even Eminem seemed sincere. Whether they get their media dollars’ worth will remain to be seen as the new models roll out, but it’s an excellent branding message that many of the other spots failed to even come close to replicating.

It’s interesting that Ad Age’s survey of the best Super Bowl spots of all time had some really great spots and I found that almost all of them had a great branding strategy behind the outstanding creative message. Mean Joe Green’s Coke spot could run today (probably with Packer linebacker, Clay Matthews) and still have the same strong message that was right on about Coke’s being the “real thing”. It was a sincere, well-placed message that said more about the great taste of Coke than the Pepsi Max spots did this year.

Even the NFL’s own spots generated a great brand message that not only promoted the sport and its players and fans, but also it helped offset yet another wasted halftime debacle. Why Bridgestone tires would think that the Black Eyed Peas, Usher and Smash would motivate “younger customers” to consider their tires over the others on the market is beyond me. Let’s get back to great brands with breakthrough creative that wins over the minds and the hearts of the customers.

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Another season of holiday sales and advertising is so quickly coming to an end. It’s often said that this is the most important sales season of the year, and yet so much of the marketing efforts are so predictable–so redundant. Let’s look at some of this year’s efforts …what works and what doesn’t.

BLACK FRIDAY: I have to admit that I’m not a big fan of this sales event that makes more media noise than profits (as in the black). I think that most retailers have just shifted the sales revenues to earlier day parts so that now Black Friday has almost become Black Thursday Night and Friday Dawn. Then again, I started thinking about the successful post-Thanksgiving events of years gone by and remembered that the excitement was all part of the experience of shopping for Christmas presents and being caught up in the stores “dressed in holiday style”. To some extent, Black Friday has recaptured that excitement for many shoppers. Part of the new holiday tradition is to get to the store at the crack of dawn, or earlier (sometimes with the whole family) and take advantage of the super saver items. If more stores put as much effort and budget behind the rest of the holiday season—not to mention the rest of the year—there would be a lot more customers and a lot more revenue.

MACY’S: I have to hand it to the bastion of department store retailing.. From the parade to the multi-media assault every day leading up to Christmas, They really put out an effort to create the glory days of 34th Street. However, they—and Dillard’s, Sears, and the other traditional department stores—just seem to put as much on sale in as many one-day sales events as possible. There just doesn’t seem to be anything exciting to make all of the customers want to go into the store for the experience. The watch catalogue was well done, but boring. The fragrance catalogue was a cacophony of scents that make you want to peel each and every one of the scratch and sniffs just for exercise. But do they make you want to go there instead of Target, Kohl’s , Walmart or any of the specialty chains? I think not. Let’s get back to making the brand an exciting place to go and the gifts with your logo a symbol of something special and not just a one-day sale.

HYUNDAI: I think this is one of the great brand development strategies over the past several years and certainly has made this car one of the new powerhouse brands in the industry. However, this year’s holiday efforts (and a Hyundai would be a nice stocking stuffer) were really quite silly. A bunch of weirdo-looking singers and musicians singing poorly with brief shots of the cars didn’t live up to the new styling and certainly doesn’t compete with the great effort put forth by Lexus this year.

HALLMARK AND FOLGERS: These two brands with everyday products continue to do a great job at Christmas to bring back the traditions and feelings that make the holidays so great. Hallmark’s commercials outshone the 200 holiday movies that were featured on their cable network, and Folger’s spots are so good you can almost smell those mountain-grown beans brewing. Great spots. Well-placed.

KOHL’S AND JCPENNEY: Help save the forests! With all the circulars that fill the paper and mailboxes, it appears to me that these two must have printing subsidiaries that make more profit than the stores. They seem so redundant and I wish they would take some of the dollars spent in print and do something exciting in broadcast. Great stores, but please how about some brand statements to fight the discounters.

GAITHER HOMECOMING: I had the pleasure to attend the final Gaither Homecoming Christmas concert in Jacksonville, FL, last week. It was a moving, exciting experience even if you don’t like gospel music. However, what is most impressive is how Bill Gaither and his family and organization have built a brand that is so consistent and so on target in television, dvds, cds, magazines, books, programming, gifts, concerts, and events. The Gaithers have become a resounding success as a brand and yet have maintained a sincerity and down-home personality that keeps their brand in the hearts of thousands of loyal followers (and customers).

OFFICE MAX: OK, my family “elfed” ourselves again this year and shared it with our friends and families. I can’t help it, it’s so funny! This office supply store, however, knows that it takes more than good prices on laptops and thumb drives to win over customers in this competitive category.

These are just a few of many brands to look at. Overall, I think many retailers and other consumer brands have left the creativity at home when it comes to the holidays. And while retail sales have increased versus last year’s poor showing, there is so much more that could be done with some breakthrough thinking and creative execution to make this the season for branding as well as giving.

Merry Christmas!!
Ken

There’s been a lot of criticism in the trade press about the new theme line introduced this past week for Chevrolet. “Chevy Runs Deep” is the signature that the car company has put on a series of nostalgic spots which stress that Chevy is a brand that we grew up with and that has been part of the American scene for as long as most can remember. The spots are well produced and, for us baby boomers, the memories are as vivid as Don McLean’s “Bye Bye Miss American Pie” verses.

Once again, the marketing experts have forgotten what the brand is all about and are focusing their attention on the theme line, tagline, or slogan for the product and not the essence of why people buy it in the first place.

According to Jeff Goodby from the company’s ad agency (in Advertising Age), “It’s not fair to judge a tagline out of context.” I would go further and say that it’s not fair to judge a brand by its tagline—in or out—of context. I believe the Chevrolet branding has been one of the best in the auto industry for the past few years with or without great taglines we’re used to, such as “An American Revolution” or “Like a Rock”. The car/brand is part of the American scene and they have appealed to basic American values ever since it was part of “Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet” decades ago.

The fact is, the brand has several really good, quality models now that continue to sell quite well (not like they used to when Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda weren’t as strong). Despite the economy, it has many loyal customers (and non-owers as well!) who have a clear understanding of the Chevy brand and its history. The concept of building a brand based on its American roots is not new and, quite frankly, today has a lot more resonance than others (“Droid Does” comes to mind).

The campaign is more that just a look back. I believe it stresses loyalty, quality, and uniqueness in a very engaging manner. However, I also believe the key to Chevy’s future success is that its brand strategy “runs deep” as it continually improves its models, quality and can maintain a positive positioning in the face of overwhelming competition from abroad (even if they are made in Tennessee or Ohio). Chevy has staked its claim on the values that many of its target customers (middle of the road Americans) feel are important when making a significant purchase.

I think if they stick with this understanding of their brand and let the critics keep on writing without a knee-jerk change in strategy, the brand will truly run deep in hearts of the market. Now, if they can only get their dealers to understand and live up to it as well!

With the announcement of the impending bankruptcy of Blockbuster, it seems that there are a number of companies, and, for that matter, industries, that may bite the dust as a result of consumers going more online to complete their transactions. While movie rentals make a lot of sense as an online product, there is still an opportunity for companies to build loyalty through an effective brand strategy and execution on a consistent basis.

One of those industries is travel—and there probably hasn’t been a category that has been revolutionized by the Internet as much as this one. Whether it’s airlines, hotels, car rentals, cruises, or vacation resorts, almost everything necessary to “purchase” the service can be done quickly and easily with a few keystrokes. Now if we can just push “escape” and be transported to our destinations, we would have it all under control. Unfortunately that isn’t going to happen any time soon so the need for personal service and brand loyalty is more important than ever. While we have a number of choices in making our travel plans—from the direct company websites to the many travel consolidation sites out there—there is still a need to have a source for information and help to make the right decision. We still want an expert to give us the advice that can, not only make the trip more productive and less stressful, but also we still want to be sure that we aren’t paying too much.

This need is where the companies must make their sites as helpful and as easy to navigate as possible with information and follow up to make sure that you are comfortable with your plans and arrangements. I recently was interviewed by marketing consultant, Terry Brock, for a client of his (travel agents) and you can view those comments by clicking on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqCH_2NjDj8

Certainly this is an industry that has been reeling from all the changes, but it has survived. I believe the reason is that despite all the technology at the consumer’s fingertips, they still want help to relieve them of the emotional stress of travel before their departure. Sometimes this is still a real person, or more often than not, it may be a user-friendly program that makes it easy to get the information and the reservations. I personally use Travelocity as my basis for travel not only because I’m used to it, but because my profile is already loaded and my preferences are in place. More important, however, is the follow up and verification that automatically appears even if haven’t confirmed the trip yet. I also use Hotwire, Kayak, and the dedicated sites to check price, but the brand preference keeps me coming back to Travelocity.

We still have preferences to certain brands. Southwest has consistently reinforced its brand to become the nation’s leading airline. Hilton and Marriott have established several brands to appeal to a variety of travelers’ needs. Enterprise has grown to the top of the car rental business through its personalized service. It’s still all about differentiating your brand by creating a distinctive value and then following it up with a personalized service—either in person or online.

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I’ve talked a lot in these articles over the years about the need for consistency in developing and maintaining a successful brand strategy. There’s no doubt the brands that have the most equity with their customers also are those that adhere to the strategy with every decision made. Whether it’s the marketing message or the product design, it’s important to maintain a unified front in all aspects of the brand’s execution. Unfortunately, many companies adhere to strictly to the adage:
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In doing so, they often ignore the changes in customer trends and expectations as well as changes in the economy and the competitive marketplace.

I’m reminded of a Wall Street Journal article I read not long ago about the taxis in Mumbai, India. For years, the streets have been “served” by a collective fleet of over 50,000 cabs and over 200,000 taxi drivers. To say that most of these taxis are uncomfortable would be an understatement. The black and yellow cab is as much an icon in Mumbai as the yellow cabs of New York City. However, the fleet is made up mostly of a model called the Premier Padmini—a version of an Italian Fiat model which ceased production in 1966 or the Indian manufactured version, the last of which rolled off the production lines locally over 10 years ago. They are uncomfortable, non-air conditioned (something I can’t imagine in Mumbai) with scrap metal patches and parts to keep them on the potholed riddled streets with suspensions that gave out long ago. This leaves the passengers in almost as bad a mood as the veteran drivers who insist on keeping their old cars in service.

Competition has picked up with newer, more comfortable cars driven by courteous drivers who will take appointments, provide air conditioned comfort and a much happier clientele. However, the old line is resistant to change insisting that the old jalopies are more economical and part of the Mumbai street scene. The veteran drivers prohibit the new taxis from cueing at the most desirable street corners. They block gas stations so that only older cabs can refuel. They even physically attack the new breed of drivers to intimidate them in a way that a gang of hoodlums protect their territory.

The customers? They overwhelmingly would prefer the new taxi service, but they too are intimidated by the older drivers and fear for their safety. In fact, the new fleet receives over 10,000 calls a day for reservations. The issue has gone to court to allow free competition and calling for enforcement of the law to prevent further violence, or at least the intimidation.

While this may be an extreme example,it does demonstrate that companies often ignore the desires of the customers in order to keep doing what they’ve always done. It’s easier, more comfortable, and less chaotic to simply sticking with the same old, same old.
Today’s successful brands ignore the challenges and instead develop their plans to grow by keeping up with the changes in customer demands and expectations. To beat the competition, we can’t resort to roadblocks or intimidation; we have to exceed those expectations and stay in front of the competition with better marketing and better branding. Kodak had to change from a brand built on film and processing to one on the cutting edge of digital technology. Google could have stuck with being the world’s largest search engine, but change brought online videos, social networks and more. Apple could have stayed with a strong product brand, but retail brought change that helps both the customer and the products. The brands that are in an ongoing state of change and modification—based on what the customer wants—are the ones who continue to grow and succeed. While Mumbai’s citizens suffer through an antiquated system of transportation, the newer, more comfortable brand of taxi is slowly but gradually changing the landscape and providing a long-awaited change