DON’T PAY LESS FOR BRANDING!
KEN BANKS’ BLOG APRIL 2019
PRESS PLAY>>TO VIEW THIS MONTH’S WELCOME VIDEO
DON’T PAY LESS FOR BRANDING!
By this time next month, the last of the former 4400 Payless Shoe Source stores will be shuttered and another retail brand will disappear from the marketplace…and no one will notice. Since the company announced its closing a couple month’s ago, I’ve been asked a few times for my opinion on why this once aggressive retail chain that had remodeled and re-positioned most of its stores not long ago, failed.
Of course, my simple answer is BRANDING…or the lack thereof. Having worked in the discount shoe industry for the agency handling the Pic n’ Pay Shoes chain, based in Charlotte several years ago. There certainly seemed to be a lot of opportunity for success for a chain like Payless. A closer look, however, showed that it was a tough challenge despite the growth of athletic and casual shoes and rapid changes in fashion shoe styles in the past several years. The problem with a brand like Payless was that the name said it all. It was a brand based on low prices and not much else in the customers’ minds. As I’ve said many times, low prices only get you in the retail ballpark and it’s all the other things that you need to do to form a customer relationship that builds a brand that resonates and makes a difference when someone chooses a store or service. With the intense competition from the discount chains, off-price designers shoe stores, and off-price stores like Kohl’s TJ Maxx, SteinMart, etc., just having your own brand of low-priced shoes wasn’t enough to keep a loyal customer. Add to that the warehouse clubs that feature name brand shoes consistently at least half off the regular retail. Don’t forget the outlet malls that always have a number of shoe outlets and it’s more than a challenge.
I recall a campaign that we did for Pic n’ Pay for their line of athletic shoes. The message was yes, this is a good price but when you compare the features and construction to the same shoe from Nike in a more convenient location, you had a brand statement that made a difference. Pic n’ Pay has long faded from the scene due to being acquired and merged into other brands.
However, Skechers has developed its brand of casual shoes with a brand statement that focuses on comfort and style and lets the retailer do the price promotion. I’ve noted that they have now opened over 3000 free-standing outlet stores and they’ve successfully created a brand selling over 170 million pairs a year and generated over $4.5 Billion in sales. It’s a brand based on comfort, but it has aggressively established itself as a strong citizen of the communities they serve and a sustainability program as well. Then, they market their shoes with effective creative that focuses on the comfort benefit, even if you have big feet like Howie Long. Click on this link to view one of the spots: https://youtu.be/CGhUEYvz8zI
Payless, to me, never seemed to have any other message than price. Its stores were updated but not exciting and their free-standing locations helped build a convenience attribute but they just seemed to be just another retail location with little consumer appeal. Additionally, their marketing never seemed to provide any other reason to buy your shoes there regularly. Price only gets you on the playing field, a relationship builds a successful brand.
That’s what branding is all about. Building a relationship and then providing a reason for being that resonates with your target customer. Unless, a store invests in the product, the outlet, and the experience to differentiate it from increased competition (both in stores and online), it hasn’t much chance. Then, if you can’t make the investment to create a marketing message that reaches your target customer, the store is doomed to become another of the several empty stores dotting our marketplace…and a brand we’ll soon forget
Bouygues Telecom is the French leader in internet and cellular communication and they realize that the real benefit of their technology is enabling their customers to not only share holiday greetings but also to be able to relive the memories of Christmas’s past with their family. This spot translates well using a pop standard with scenes that bring a smile to everyone. Click on the link below
lot of that is due to forgetting to brand themselves in the midst of all the promotion. Macy’s is no exception to that diminishing trend. However, the store continues to maintain important traditions that are memorable part of our Christmas traditions. The Thanksgiving parade, the wonderful Herald Square store windows, and the Believe campaign continue to separate the stores from all the other retailers. Take a look at this video that captures the unveiling of the store window on a snowy night on Broadway. Click on the link below.
Publix has long been my favorite for branding and setting the standard for holiday creativity in advertising. This year is no different. Yes, you can get Turkeys for 99 cents a pound, but you can welcome home your son to a dinner that makes the food special to every family. Click on the link below for this great spot?
this video “spot” Apple creates a new animated special that highlights the importance of Christmas wishes that need to be shared. I didn’t quite grasp the message in the commercial but this is worth the 3 minutes to tell the whole story of what technology can do to help a young girl share here holiday wishes. Click on the link below:
While in my home town, Detroit, for a high school reunion a couple weeks ago, I took a trip down to my undergrad alma mater, Wayne State University, to visit the new Mike Ilitch School of Business Building which was dedicated about a month ago. I was impressed by the building and by its location which was about a mile from campus and right next to the new Little Caesar’s Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings (which Ilitch owned) as well as the Pistons NBA team. I was impressed by the new arena as well as nearby Comerica Park (home of the Tigers, which is also owned by the late Ilitch’s family). My first impression was “Wow, that’s a lot of pizzas to build these mammoth, modern facilities! Indeed, it is and it’s particularly amazing given the competitiveness of the pizza industry in the US.
and local Detroit favorite Buddy’s for a share of the pizza market. Little Caesar’s established itself years ago by marketing the fact that not only are its pizzas really delicious but that you get two pizza pizzas every time you order one at the same prices Don’t forget the take and bake stores as well which includes Papa Murphy, Straw Hat, and the Sam’s and Costco Warehouse stores). Of course, we all have our favorite local independent pizza places which help make up the over 62 million pizzerias who spread mozzarella and pepperoni in every corner of the US (and the world for that matter). So, what make one pizza shop succeed in such a competitive market place? Sure, there are the multitude of coupons that flood our newspapers, mailboxes and on-line every day. And there are the thousands of delivery cars and vans that deliver hot pies to our front doors (and don’t forget Uber and Lyft as well). However, I believe it’s branding that continues the growth of this popular staple to our diet.
I recall my first pizza job when I was in grad school at Pizza Hut which was a regional player at the time. The key to Pizza Hut’s brand was its special sauce which was confidentially delivered to each hut weekly. We made all the rest of the pie like any other but when we added the herbs and spices to the sauce, the brand took on its uniqueness. Since then, Pizza Hut strengthened its brand with innovative offerings like personal pans, stuffed crust, pan pizzas and unique toppings and amenities.
insure it still gets there hot whether you order delivery or pick up at their state-of-art system stores.
Papa John’s went even further with its “Better ingredients, better pizza” by building on its owner as an icon (although that’s been tarnished lately).
Jet’s built on its Detroit roots by offer a square pan with a crispy crust just like Motown Buddy’s (which was included in my reunionvisit as well).
sheer size of the boat that took all those animals two-by-two according to the Book of Genesis. It’s the same awe that I have experienced as I gazed at cruise ships at the Port of Tampa, San Diego, Miami, and Sitka, Alaska over the years. I just can’t imagine how those mammoth ships with 3000-5000 passengers and crew and all that food manage to stay afloat and weather the storms of the sea day after day. More significantly, I’m still amazed at how the cruise industry—and the brands that make up the fleets—continue to grow every year despite the intense competition from planes, trains and automobiles.
Now, I’ve never been a big fan of ocean cruisers, having only taken two in my life (although the Disney Cruise could make me change my mind). I have taken four European river cruises in the past few years and really have enjoyed that experience immensely and expect we’ll be on a few more in the future. I like the idea of being with only 100-125 other passengers, never being more than 100 yards from shore, having excellent dinners in a first class restaurant, and being able to go ashore to see great cities easily and comfortably.
During the ‘80’s, I never was that concerned that Walgreen’s would beat us in advertising. While they were aggressive with weekly promotions and multi-media budgets, their ads were pretty mundane and repetitive, and they never scored highly in the ad research that we conducted. However, where they excelled was in their expenditure to develop the digital systems that would provide them with more timely sales and inventory data than we could only hope to imagine. This insured that they would have the right items in the right stores in the right quantities. As we learned in our own strategic research, this would be a dramatic competitive advantage as they matched Eckerd store for store and their market share reflected it was working. As Walgreen’s grew and Eckerd dissolved, this capability also enabled them to communicate more effectively and more directly with their customers on an ongoing basis and that has paid great dividends in building loyalty and increased sales per store and per customer.
Industrials companies. However, it is more than just significant revenue growth. Walgreen’s has built its brand on an understanding of what has happened to the US economy and to the country’s consumer buying habits.We are becoming a service-oriented country and with the increased demand for health care products, it has served as a perfect storm for Walgreen’s to grow its market share despite even more competition than ever before.
Recent Comments