Brand Tracks

My clients often ask me if they can extend their brand into various products beyond their core line. And my answer is usually the same. “You don’t get to decide, your clients do.” That’s a pretty smug answer but it makes the point.

A lawn mower manufacturer may want to add a line of sewing machines because he can source it easily. And, yes, you can slap your logo on the sewing machine and send it to market. But when it hits retail, the ultimate decision maker is the customer. He or she gets to decide if the goodness you created in the lawn mower brand will translate into sewing machines. Often, it doesn’t.

I recently read an article that did a great job of explaining this complex issue. It also addresses other topics relating to brand extensions. I’d like to know what you think.

—————

About the author: S. A. Habib, founder of Locomotion Creative in Nashville, Tennessee, a.k.a. The Big Brown Man. He’s big and brown, thus the title. He’s been doing smart advertising/marketing thinking for smarter clients for 30+ years. Find your center!

Category: Brand Identity

Tags: Brand Extension, Branding, Customer

Last week I was invited to speak to a class at Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Management on “New Marketing Media.” The program, called Summer Accelerator, is a four-week high-intensity immersion into the business world through small group projects and presentations. The program is open to students nationwide. The 2008 program has students from probably 20 different universities across the U.S. and a few foreign students.

This is a terrific program for highly motivated, business-oriented rising college seniors and recent graduates.

The class has about 90 students. I started by asking them to quickly answer a set of questions that were part of a national survey conducted by Scarborough Research designed to identify the most “digitally current” cities in the US.

Eighteen digital behaviors or devices were listed and each student was asked to circle the ones that applied to them. Anyone circling eight or more of the 18 qualified as “digitally current.”

Almost 100 percent of the class had circled more than eight of the behaviors or devices listed. This is an indication of where Gen-Y is in the use of digital technology.

I then compared this to the national survey Scarborough conducted in which they identified Austin, Texas as the “most digitally current” city. There, 16 percent of the respondents were identified as “digitally current.”

My point in starting my presentation this way was to show that “not everyone out there is as digitally current as you are.” New Media has not replaced traditional media. It is not appropriate for all audiences, all products or all situations.

The tipping point in age seems to be about 35 years of age. Below that, MySpace, Facebook, SMS, VoIp, DVR, TiVo and other media use of cell phones better matches the Owen class. Above 35, usage, comfort and adoption of New Media technology and tools decreases the older you get.

This is not scientific, but generally it seems to be the case as far as I can detect.

This brings me to say that the New Media is just another set of tools to convey a message. What a discovery! As such, it is not a panacea.

The “right” media mix is still best arrived at by understanding the demographics and lifestyle characteristics of the audience, where the product/service being communicated about is on the Product Life Cycle, how involved the purchase decision is, how “serious” the product or service is and the campaign objectives.

—————

The Marketing Professor
About the author: Art Johnsen, a managing partner of Locomotion Creative, has taught college courses at four Tennessee universities over the past eight years as an adjunct professor. Along with his responsibilities at Locomotion, he teaches marketing courses at Vanderbilt University. Art has an MBA degree from the University of Virginia and is co-author of the book, Cases in Advertising & Marketing Management.

Category: Gen Y, Marketing, Social Media, Trends

I love getting free samples in the mail. Tiny tubes of toothpaste, little boxes of cereal, packets of shampoo and conditioner . . . I welcome them all. How else can I sample something I’ve never tried before, at no cost to me? In addition, samples are great to use when traveling (tiny toothpastes don’t take up much room), for snacking (smaller portions), and for gifting (care package for a college student).

Some samples come with coupons just in case you like what you tried and want to purchase the larger version. As a price-conscious consumer, coupons are a must. If I liked a product and saw that I could purchase that product for $1 or $2 less than the actual price, I would certainly be out the door redeeming that coupon before it expired. It’s a win-win situation for both me and the company that sent me the sample and coupon.

Every few days, I visit a handful of online forums where large groups of consumers congregate and post links to websites with free samples. There are also other websites hosted by large companies like Walmart, Walgreens, and Kroger that offer free samples of products they sell. It’s just a matter of filling out your information on these sites and waiting a few weeks (usually 6-8 weeks) for your sample to arrive.

Here are a few websites I visit to sign up for free samples:
• Walmart
• Kroger
• Free Sample Forager
• Your Daily Freebies
• Start Sampling

—————

About the author: Loraine Flegal, a.k.a. LoMein the Dish, joined Locomotion Creative as a graphic designer/production artist extraordinaire in August 2004. Previously, Loraine spent two years as a graphic designer with Leading Edge Communications in Franklin, TN. A transplant from southern Mississippi, Loraine moved to Nashville in May 2002 after graduating from Mississippi State University.

Category: Marketing

Something’s been bugging me since last Saturday. I caught a little of the final leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, The Belmont Stakes. From ten minutes before and ten minutes after the actual race, all the network announcers could talk about was the favorite Big Brown. All the network would show were images of Big Brown. The only jockey that was riding that day was Big Brown’s and there was only one trainer at the track. You guessed it, Big Brown’s. ABC was so invested in Big Brown that they had nothing to say about any other horse in the race.

Then they ran the race.

And Big Brown decided he didn’t want to run that day. Good for him. But here’s the sad part. Even after the race was over and there was another winner, all ABC talked about and showed was Big Brown. The loser! There were no victory shots of the winner. No horseback interview with the winning jockey. No shots of the winning owners jumping up and down. No Teary-eyed views of the jockey’s wife. Nothing but Big Brown being unsaddled, Big Brown walking to the paddock, Big Brown looking happy the race was over, Big Brown’s trainer sweating like a pig…it was all Big Brown.

Ten minutes after the end of the race, they showed a quick shot of the winner being presented a blanket of carnations, as is the custom at Belmont. Then back to Big Brown and more Big Brown.

Bad job ABC. How about giving a little love to all the little brands out here.

—————

About the author: S. A. Habib, founder of Locomotion Creative in Nashville, Tennessee, a.k.a. The Big Brown Man. He’s big and brown, thus the title. He’s been doing smart advertising/marketing thinking for smarter clients for 30+ years. Find your center!

Category: Brand Identity, Media

Communication between clients and marketing agencies can sometimes work like a game of telephone.

The client CEO gives direction to a marketing VP, who passes it along to an agency account manager, who meets with a creative director, who finally assigns the project to a writer, designer or art director, the people who will actually do the work.

By the time the original message gets to the end of this long line, it can be completely lost in translation. Throw a few more intermediaries into the mix, and it’s a wonder any good work gets done at all.

This dysfunctional system, which has been in place forever in our business, is a symptom of the traditional division of labor between creative and account people.

Account people (the well-attired logical left-brainers) are supposed to interact with clients and manage their accounts. Creatives (the funky, rebellious right-brainers) should be kept out of view as they incubate ideas. I worked at one agency where the creatives were banished to the basement, commonly referred to as the “Pit of Snarling Dogs.”

Funny thing, though. Most of those “snarling dogs” were actually nice, smart, organized, strategic and well-groomed people who I wouldn’t hesitate to bring up from the “pit” to participate in client meetings.

The point is, good left-brain thinking is not limited to the suits. Just because you are creative doesn’t mean you can’t think and work like a good account person. There are truly talented people who can do both — exceptionally well.

And their dexterity can greatly improve the agency/client relationship.

Let’s go back to our game of telephone. What if all the unnecessary layers of communication were peeled away? What if the people responsible for the creative could work directly with the client’s marketing VP? Or better yet, the CEO? What if they could ask questions, observe body language and get a first-hand sense of what is truly important to the ultimate client decision-maker?

The client gets better, quicker creative solutions, that’s what. All without being charged extra for an account manager’s time.

——–

About the author: Rich has worked as both a copywriter and an account manager in his career, which has included stints at Ericson Marketing Communications, The Buntin Group and David Paine + Partners, all in Nashville. He is a recent addition to Locomotion Creative, where art directors and designers have been successfully managing accounts for the past 10 years.

Category: Communications, Marketing

Tags: Account Executives, Clients, Communications, Creatives, Marketing

Now that my Vanderbilt teaching is done for the summer, I have some reflections on the year, the students, and what might await them as they move beyond their undergraduate education. My two classes combined for almost 90 students, the vast majority of whom were seniors. Here are my observations from this past academic year.

• Many of today’s graduates are highly motivated, high achievers and optimistic about their future.

• Many will go to marquee companies in fields such as investment banking, marketing, general finance and entertainment.

• Many plan to start their own businesses, or join the family business.

• Of those not going right into the business world, many will continue their education at top-tier law, business, medical or professional schools.

• Of those without a job or graduate school slot, the majority still expect to be successful in the future although they might not know what it is, yet.

So, is this very different from graduates from other top tier universities? Probably not. But this is what makes this story great.

Despite the economic gloom that we keep hearing about, despite the issues that seem to be focal points of presidential politics, some important, some not so, and despite the changes taking place in banking, marketing, the media, and healthcare, optimism prevails.

Yet, despite this overall optimism, some of these graduates are in for an awakening.

• I use cases in the marketing class, and cases don’t always allow for black and white answers. Some students have difficulty managing the “gray” of a real-world situation.

• Some students have asked me, “What do I need to do to get an “A” on a case?” When I say, “Analyze it thoroughly”, the absence of a one-dimensional answer has frustrated some.

• In the business world, at least if you start out working for someone else, you have to play by their rules, not yours.

• Not everything is customizable to suit an individual’s preferences.

I wish all 2008 graduates the best, and I am looking forward to resuming teaching in mid-August.

—————

The Marketing Professor
About the author: Art Johnsen, a managing partner of Locomotion Creative, has taught college courses at four Tennessee universities over the past eight years as an adjunct professor. Along with his responsibilities at Locomotion, he teaches marketing courses at Vanderbilt University. Art has an MBA degree from the University of Virginia and is co-author of the book, Cases in Advertising & Marketing Management. Continue Reading »

Category: Gen Y, Market Segments, Trends

Tags: GenY Nashville, Marketing to 18-24 year olds, Marketing to GenY, Non-Traditional Marketing, Workplace

How do you position a brand? How do you write a positioning line? How do you decide what your brand means to consumers? Well, it’s really quite simple. You don’t.

You don’t get to tell consumers where your brand is positioned, what they find acceptable for your brand extensions, what promise you should make to your customer. You don’t get to tell them what you want them to believe. Instead, they’ll tell you.

Your brand position should be a promise that you can reliably deliver to your customer. And no more. Because they won’t believe you anyway and will walk away from your brand when they are disappointed. Of course we want our customers to believe more about us than just the average, mundane story of what’s real but they will appreciate your honesty and your ability to do well what was promised.

We also want to write positioning lines that meet the expectations of what our customers aspire to be. Those lofty goals that we all dream about getting to some day. Are they really real and won’t you be disappointed after you don’t attain those unreachable goals?

“Be thin again like you were in your teens”

“Lose 10 pounds in two months by healthy eating”

We all want to believe the first line but know and believe we can achieve the second. A company that helps me do the second is one I can live with and stay with. I know the first is only for the supermarket tabloids.

We helped H. G. Hill, a 100-year-old grocery chain in Nashville, position themselves for their second century. They had nice, medium-sized stores in all the best locations but were unable to compete with the new, shiny mega-chains promising everything they were unable to deliver. The big stores had better prices, more merchandise, flower shops, lawn mowers and sushi. They were big and BIG and BIGGER. And they were a real pain to get in and out of when you just wanted to shop for groceries. So we did some quick research and found that people, especially their older, loyal, longtime customers, loved the fact that you were in and out in much less time, people carried your groceries to the car and used paper shopping bags with handles.

We came up with a simple promise, one that Hill’s could deliver on and one that resonated with our customers: “It’s just easier.”

Positioning a company can sometimes be just that easy too. Let the customer tell you.

—————

About the author: S. A. Habib, founder of Locomotion Creative in Nashville, Tennessee, a.k.a. The Big Brown Man. He’s big and brown, thus the title. He’s been doing smart advertising/marketing thinking for smarter clients for 30+ years. Find your center!

Category: Brand Identity, Positioning

Tags: Advertising Nashville, Branding, Branding Nashville, Consumer Branding, H.G. Hills, Locomotion Creative, Marketing Nashville, Positioning, S.A. Habib

To a company it’s a trademark. To a publisher it’s a colophon. To a club it’s a badge and to the aristocracy it’s a coat of arms. It may also be an emblem, an insignia, a mark, a tag, a symbol, logotype or bug. Whatever you call it, logos are designed to graphically identify a particular organization or product in a way that is unique, appropriate and relevant. And they are all designed to leave a memorable impression. So much so that really great logos that have been promoted well speak volumes even when you can’t read the words.
Here are some that don’t need identifying at all:

Yes, they are all logos for well-known brands that over time have been drilled into our heads using millions of dollars of ad money. Seems so easy, right? Just design anything, throw enough money at it and presto! You have a great trademark.

Well, maybe not. Here are some logos that have spent millions on promotion but are difficult to recognize.

What happened? Well, for starters, there is nothing unique about any of these letterforms. Nothing interesting about their shape that may communicate the company’s product or service. A logo should be more than just some letters that make up a word. It should have personality, style, the right colors. It should feel like the product you’re selling.

Some logos are so great at doing this you don’t even need the whole mark to recognize them. That’s when you know you’ve done a good job with your identity.

How cool is that?
The difficult-to-recognize logos?

—————
About the author: S. A. Habib, founder of Locomotion Creative in Nashville, Tennessee, a.k.a. The Big Brown Man. He’s big and brown, thus the title. He’s been doing smart advertising/marketing thinking for smarter clients for 30+ years. Find your center!

Category: Brand Identity, Logos, Marketing, Trademarks

Tags: Brand Identity, Creating Logos, Logos, Marketing, Nashville, Trademarks

It just needed a woman’s touch.” How many times have you heard that comment? We all probably know the guy whose home was transformed by an injection of feminine magic. Suddenly, his previously lackluster man-space is graced with amazing warmth and character.

This, of course, is no surprise to most people when it happens. We all just accept it as one of those mysterious things about women’s abilities. But how many people fully understand these implications when it comes to branding and marketing their product or service — and, in particular, when it comes to marketing luxury real estate development today?

Let me make my point with just a couple of statistics:
• 91% of new home decisions are made by women.
• Single women, the fastest-growing group of homebuyers in the U.S, totaled 22% of all buyers in 2006.

Now comes the interesting factoid: What percentage of advertising creative directors (the ones who direct the marketing messaging and branding) in the U.S. are women? A whopping 3%. Really.

Why does this matter? Does it matter? Well, yes, if you want to connect with the soul of a woman when she’s about to spend money on her nest. Now, this doesn’t mean that men should be left out of the equation, but it’s important to be honest about whose opinion leads the purchase decision in the home.

When women are making a home decision, it is a choice that reflects who they are at their essence. It is deeply personal. They are trying to capture something elusive … an emotion, a feeling. Precisely because a home decision is in large part an emotional decision, it’s critical for real estate marketers to recognize the need to connect in a meaningful way to women. And who better to know how to reach women but … a woman?

Female creatives are in tune with the emotional chords that resonate with other women. And the skillful ones know how to translate that sensitivity into the promise of a meaningful brand experience.

—————

About the author: Tonya, a founding member and managing partner of Locomotion Creative, is one of the few (3%) female creative directors in the U.S. — a significant advantage in a market where 85% of all brand purchases are made by women. Her unique perspective is positioned to give Locomotion’s clients a definite, competitive edge.

Category: Market Segments, Marketing to Women

Tags: Female Creative Directors., Marketing to Women, Single Women Homebuyers

On the way to teach the other night, I ran into one of my best students from last term. She had been a student of mine in my basic Principles of Marketing course, and last term took my advanced course, Marketing Communications.

Persona and personality-wise, this is a kid who is destined to succeed. Smart, poised, mature, articulate, she mastered the course material with ease and she also participated in an extra credit case competition team I put together.

Knowing she is to graduate in about 3 weeks, I asked her what she had planned for the future. I expected to hear the name of category leading company in finance, or consulting or marketing.

Instead, she said, “I’ve joined the Peace Corps and I will be stationed in a West African country that speaks French.”

I asked her if she speaks French.

She said, “No but I’m learning.”

I have no doubt that she will make an immense contribution. But, to say the least, I was shocked by her decision.

The point here is that one line of traditional marketing thought is that all successful marketing revolves around a recipe of combining the right ingredients of Product, Place, Price and Promotion. The four P’s that we learned in college. This is what creates appeal and causes a prospect to take action.

But, if you are to appeal to someone in Gen-Y, often the four P’s are not enough. A marketer must add a fifth, “Purpose.”

A company or product that reflects a greater purpose or motivation to higher ideals is often seen as more desirable. This can be true whether the cause is “green”, peace or sustainability.

Marketing is still about giving people a reason to buy. I am suggesting that with Gen Y, a different mix may have to be used.

—————

The Marketing Professor
About the author: Art Johnsen, a managing partner of Locomotion Creative, has taught college courses at four Tennessee universities over the past eight years as an adjunct professor. Along with his responsibilities at Locomotion, he teaches marketing courses at Vanderbilt University. Art has an MBA degree from the University of Virginia and is co-author of the book, Cases in Advertising & Marketing Management.

Category: Gen Y, Market Segments, Trends

Tags: GenY Marketing, Marketing Mix, Marketing Nashville, Non-Traditional Marketing, The Four P’s