A reader recently called to talk about a problem with her CEO. For reasons that are about to become abundantly clear, this reader will remain nameless.
She told me that she and her work group have great energy to develop a branding program for their company. They want to bring the company "out of the dark ages" of a production/sales mentality, into a new day.
But the CEO isn’t having it. He doesn’t think branding applies to his company and doesn’t see it as a priority. How, the reader asked, could she convince him otherwise?
I'd like to imagine CEOs like this don't exist – surely he must have some idea of the potency of branding. But I've heard more stories like these than I can number. I’ve heard the same story about presidents, veeps and the rest of C-suite.
My friend Doug Hall has some advice for difficult work situations. He says you have three choices, which I’ll paraphrase:
1) Never ever, ever, ever give up. The biggest issue may be one of understanding. Maybe the CEO sees branding as an initiative involving logos, websites and sales collateral. But branding is not an initiative – it's everything you do. It's happening right now, and it will continue to happen as long as the company exists. The only question is whether it will be managed or not. If it shapes perceptions, it's branding – because your brand is simply a perception in someone else's mind.
As one example, ask the CEO to consider Delta Air Lines – and the actions they take that influence our perceptions of their brand. How about their flight schedule? If they're not going where you want to go, you can't experience the Delta brand. How about their hiring and training practices? At some point, Delta’s flight attendants, check-in staff, and/or call-center employees are going to shape your opinion. How about Delta’s ability to land their planes on time? The in-flight meal (or lack thereof)? The cleanliness of the plane? The price you paid for your ticket? The ease of use of the website? How Delta handles issues when they arise?
All these factors and more define the Delta brand in our minds. In other words, these are all branding issues, even though they cut across operations, management and human resources. So a branding program can't start and end with your marketing department – it has to be led from the top. Who better to effect these decisions in a brand-positive way than the CEO?
This simple example has helped many a CEO understand that their brand is everything they do – and that a cohesive, consistent branding program must be a core element of effective management strategy.
You can also find out what motivates the CEO. If he's a sales guy, there's plenty of data to show that true branding drives sales. Otherwise, why bother? If he's a finance guy, the numbers are clear that intangible brand equity can account for a half or more of a company's total valuation.
Get creative. Enlist co-worker support. Visit the CEO daily with reminders about the importance of branding. Forward columns and articles that deliver the message. Barrage him with info, and don't stop until he’s fully on board.
Oh, yeah – the two other options for tough work situations:
2) Sit down, shut up and sell out. If you're not going to work to change the situation, then you have no right to bitch about it. Sit at your desk quietly and accept it.
3) Beat it. Ride off into the sunset. If corporate leadership simply won't be moved, then say goodbye. Plenty of companies understand the power of branding. If it's important to you, you'll find your way to one of them.
I hope you pick door #1. And I wish you success. Because there's plenty of room in this great big goofy world for one more strong brand.
A version of this post appeared in the Cincinnati Business Courier on December 14, 2007, in the column "That Branding Thing." Originally co-written with D. Wecker.
December 15, 2007
December 1, 2007
300-page Branding Statements?! A Plea for Simplicity.
A colleague relayed the following story about a conversation with the chief marketing officer of a big-box chain. This CMO was grousing about having paid a big-name agency $500,000 for a branding statement.
But it wasn’t the price that bothered him – it was the fact that the statement was 300 pages long (not a typo), and he doubted whether anyone, himself included, would read it. He went on to say that what he had read was far too open to interpretation to suit him.
In fact, the document was so unwieldy that the big-box chain had taken, to me, the extraordinary step of hiring a second big-name agency and paying it $125,000 to boil the 300-page branding statement down to a tenth of its original size. And still, the marketing guy was wondering if anyone would read those 30 pages.
He recited some of the language from the original document. And while it sounded lofty and noble and aspirational, I wasn't sure what the words meant. Or what they had to do with branding the big-box chain. I was left with the feeling that 500 grand is an awful lot of jack for something you can’t use.
To be fair, quite a few of those 300 pages were filled with research findings and justifications for the branding statement proper. But the marketing guy was clear that the actual statement went on for pages and pages. And pages.
I wish this was an isolated incident, but I've come across this kind of corporate excess too many times. For example, I’ve worked with a 90-person company whose president had once presented, at a company meeting, a strategic plan with 19 key platforms. Nineteen!
I also know a local entrepreneur who tried to launch a product that had, in his view, no fewer than eight benefits. He planned to push all eight. He rationalized that, with this many benefits, he couldn't fail – there would be, as he said, "something for everybody."
People can't remember a 300-page branding statement, or 19 strategic platforms, or eight "primary" benefits. And if they can't remember them, they certainly can't act on them.
Your employees won't have the guidance they need to make good decisions, and your customers will be too confused and overwhelmed to buy.
I'm making a plea for simplicity. When it comes to matters of brand guidance – positioning statements, core strategies, and the like – less is definitely more. In my experience, if you can't express your core brand idea ("overall equity," in some circles) in seven words or less, you still have work to do. That's right, no more than seven words. Think Crest ("healthy, beautiful smiles for life") or Starbucks (the "third place").
Similarly, if your product or service delivers multiple benefits, I challenge you to establish a single primary benefit, plus no more than two secondary benefits. And if you're drafting your core strategies – those few things your organization needs to execute to achieve your brand and business objectives – shoot for three, with five as an absolute maximum. If your organization can truly execute three strategies over the planning horizon, life is pretty good.
To reach this level of simplicity, you'll have to make some tough choices about what you want to stand for and how you're going to get there. And you'll have to articulate those choices clearly. That's a good thing. You have limited resources of time, people and money, so clear choices are your ally. And the people that bring your brand to life – your employees and customers – will appreciate the clarity.
If simplicity has eluded you thus far, it's not too late to take action. Make the decision today: within six months, bring your brand strategy to a higher level of clarity.
A version of this post appeared in the Cincinnati Business Courier on November 30, 2007, in the column "That Branding Thing." Originally co-written with D. Wecker.
But it wasn’t the price that bothered him – it was the fact that the statement was 300 pages long (not a typo), and he doubted whether anyone, himself included, would read it. He went on to say that what he had read was far too open to interpretation to suit him.
In fact, the document was so unwieldy that the big-box chain had taken, to me, the extraordinary step of hiring a second big-name agency and paying it $125,000 to boil the 300-page branding statement down to a tenth of its original size. And still, the marketing guy was wondering if anyone would read those 30 pages.
He recited some of the language from the original document. And while it sounded lofty and noble and aspirational, I wasn't sure what the words meant. Or what they had to do with branding the big-box chain. I was left with the feeling that 500 grand is an awful lot of jack for something you can’t use.
To be fair, quite a few of those 300 pages were filled with research findings and justifications for the branding statement proper. But the marketing guy was clear that the actual statement went on for pages and pages. And pages.
I wish this was an isolated incident, but I've come across this kind of corporate excess too many times. For example, I’ve worked with a 90-person company whose president had once presented, at a company meeting, a strategic plan with 19 key platforms. Nineteen!
I also know a local entrepreneur who tried to launch a product that had, in his view, no fewer than eight benefits. He planned to push all eight. He rationalized that, with this many benefits, he couldn't fail – there would be, as he said, "something for everybody."
People can't remember a 300-page branding statement, or 19 strategic platforms, or eight "primary" benefits. And if they can't remember them, they certainly can't act on them.
Your employees won't have the guidance they need to make good decisions, and your customers will be too confused and overwhelmed to buy.
I'm making a plea for simplicity. When it comes to matters of brand guidance – positioning statements, core strategies, and the like – less is definitely more. In my experience, if you can't express your core brand idea ("overall equity," in some circles) in seven words or less, you still have work to do. That's right, no more than seven words. Think Crest ("healthy, beautiful smiles for life") or Starbucks (the "third place").
Similarly, if your product or service delivers multiple benefits, I challenge you to establish a single primary benefit, plus no more than two secondary benefits. And if you're drafting your core strategies – those few things your organization needs to execute to achieve your brand and business objectives – shoot for three, with five as an absolute maximum. If your organization can truly execute three strategies over the planning horizon, life is pretty good.
To reach this level of simplicity, you'll have to make some tough choices about what you want to stand for and how you're going to get there. And you'll have to articulate those choices clearly. That's a good thing. You have limited resources of time, people and money, so clear choices are your ally. And the people that bring your brand to life – your employees and customers – will appreciate the clarity.
If simplicity has eluded you thus far, it's not too late to take action. Make the decision today: within six months, bring your brand strategy to a higher level of clarity.
A version of this post appeared in the Cincinnati Business Courier on November 30, 2007, in the column "That Branding Thing." Originally co-written with D. Wecker.
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