John Drake

The Levers and Multipliers of Brand Building

 

 

Why is it that brands such as Nike, Red Bull and IBM continue forward as such incredibly strong brands? We cite them often. Long-winded white papers, hundreds of SlideShares and countless presentations all supply us with weaving theories about why such brands do so well.

But if you crave an amazingly sharp answer, scroll midway down this post and you'll find a section: 'the levers of brand building.'

 

The levers of brand building have been:

Utility

Price

Presence

 

And their multipliers have been:

Time

Investment

Creativity

 

About as succinct as it can be. And there's evidence to back up each of these six components in that post. 

What's most important in building brands is that there's the science of getting to the right area, and then there's the art of multiplying it.

Sometimes It Depends On Misunderstanding Each Other

Question to John Cleese: In your career you’ve had periods of close collaboration with other creatives and periods of very focused individual expression. Do you work better alone or with partners?

A: It depends on the subject matter. I’m writing my autobiography now, and I don’t think there’s any point at all in doing that with anyone else. But traditionally, comedy writers have worked in pairs, and I like that. I do believe that when you collaborate with someone else on something creative, you get to places that you would never get to on your own. The way an idea builds as it careens back and forth between good writers is so unpredictable. Sometimes it depends on people misunderstanding each other, and that’s why I don’t think there’s any such thing as a mistake in the creative process. You never know where it might lead.

Good interview.

What Planning Has Uncovered About Brands

Every so often it's nice to have a summary of things. A smart recap of what's happened and where things stand. Summaries are particularly helpful when we sense an overall pause in the air after a lot of frantic activity.

Patricia McDonald has written an important, and helpful, post on her blog. She talks about how the development of things--from smartphones to the social web and all that's come with them--has slowed from what it was.

Or, at least it feels that way.

But as a planning community there's been "a new consensus" that's formed over the last few years. Which is true and she's brilliantly recapped where we are and what we've learned.

So below is a summary of what she wrote, which you should read. Personally, I'd kind of like to print it and frame it for a little while.

We have come to understand some new thinking:
• That brands are now built as much by what they do as by what they say.
• That we live in the age of a vocal, connected consumer where peer to peer is now powerful at scale.
• That ideas are used, shared and propagated in networks, not solely in agencies.
• That consumers are telling us, in real time, more about what they need and want than ever before and that we can and must respond to this in real time.

We have seen that there are some flawed assumptions out there:
• That a mass of consumers want to actively participate with brands--they don’t.
• That the campaign is dead--it isn’t.
• That it would be easy to mine and integrate social, location and brand data--it's extraordinarily difficult.

We continue to embrace some old truths that should not be forgotten:
• That brands grow through scale not depth.
• That most consumers, most of the time, don’t care very much about brands.
• That they care, enormously, about the things they have always cared about:  connecting with their loved ones, building social capital, connecting around their passions, improving themselves and their communities.

Put Within The Bloodstream

Time Magazine: In 2003 you went to Iraq as an official UK war artist. Afterward, you made stamps. Why stamps?

Director, Steve McQueen: I liked the idea that it wasn't some sculpture catching dust in a museum, that the work could be put within the bloodstream of the country.

The work could be put within the bloodstream of the country.

Fantastic. Creative briefs should strive to feature such thinking and language

Every February We Ask The Wrong Questions

Four million dollars is a lot of money for a 30 second ad. So every year at this time the marketing industry asks itself aloud, again and again, "if brands should advertise on the Super Bowl?" Or, "is it a good use of money to run an ad on the Super Bowl?" These questions make for meandering industry posts and lukewarm journalism.

The question is: "when does it make sense to advertise on the Super Bowl?"   

And with that, a re-visitation of the three marketing situations when airing a Super Bowl ad to 110 million Americans makes sense.

 

1. It's a new product launch that many could find value in.

The key is "new." The advertiser is saying, "hello." After all, the history of Super Bowl-Advertising-As-Event started with Apple launching Macintosh; something that was new and relevant to the mass audience. And when online job seeking was hatched as a category in '99, Monster used the game for the same reason... But it doesn't have to be that grand of purpose; this year, Nestlé is choosing this reason to support putting Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups into the game.

 

2. It's a household name that has an important message to say.

The key is "important." After the game, many of the commercials panned as lame may not have fully embraced the fact that the Super Bowl is one of the biggest events of the year. If the core message isn't perceived as important enough to be worthy of that environment, there's a high risk the audience won't like it. This is a tough one to do well, but Master Lock in '74, Budweiser in '02 and Chrysler's recent ads have proven this reason true.

 

3. A household name that wants to further establish their position, gain more share, or expand the way we think about them.

This is primarily reserved for products that show well when we're in our football-watching mindset. Products that are social, fun and enjoyable for many. Brands like Tabasco, McDonald's and Coke have executed well here... It's predicted there will be a few of these this year, and, according to Brand Keys this is the area where ROI is most achievable.