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So I just woke up and my first thought was “what if in the four horsemen of the apocalypse, pestilence was one of those anti-vax moms?”

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Branding... Then what?

Now that we have completed our analysis of MassMutual and looked at Society of Grownups, I keep mulling the question of what to do after an amazing brand has been established. Society of Grownups had a full brand identity after MassMutual worked with IDEO to flesh out the concept. However, even though in November of last year it was reported MassMutual backed this learning initiative with $100million for its expansion, we noticed really low traction in the Boston location and no mention of specifics on the expansion. So… what gives?

This is where I would love to pester the client with questions on this topic! But while it seems their expansion may be stalled, we do know two things:

1) The twitter account is active! 

They tweet every day and have consistent use of the #DontPanic tagline seen in their initial ads. They have almost 5,000 twitter followers (opened account Sept 2013).

2) There is a clear social media channel strategy

The instagram content is differentiated from Twitter and Facebook, so we can tell someone is managing this brand and its customer interaction in a curated way. (2,500 followers on Instagram)

So, they are clearly working to engage with this community. We don’t know if they ever rolled out a large ad campaign in Boston, which would be very interesting to know given our team recommended a more education-based (ie explaining what Society of Grownups is, since its a fuzzy brand name) via an ad campaign. 

Overall, this made me realize that even with an awesome brand, with clear architecture, tons of collateral, a brand identity, your brand still might not be a runaway success. While we have our hypotheses for why, it is certainly a question I will continue to mull over! 

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The importance of “framing”

Right after our last branding section, I kept thinking about the importance of framing (the Princeton example). I remembered of a relatively old Ted Talk from Prof. Dan Ariely, which at the time I thought was enlightening (http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions). 

But even though I’m aware of how important framing is, it’s interesting how I feel I often still fall into the same mistake. For example, in a survey we had to prepare a few weeks ago, only at the very end when the survey had already been sent out did we realize that one of the alternatives was framed in a worse way than the others. In that specific case thankfully, I’m confident that the main takeaways will be the same, but this underlines once more how carefull we have to be and how in specific contexts, words have to be fully weighed, to minimize biases.

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The New Frontier of Branding

Reading the articles for Thursdays class, I couldn’t help but be reminded of how the Dollar Shave Club came out of no-where a few years back, bringing a fresh new take on providing a commoditized product, the humble razor and in a very short time created a multi-million dollar company in a saturated market.

The viral marketing of this low budget video led to 19 Million views during launch and culminated in a referral campaign that further helped accelerate the word of mouth network effects that resulted DSC’s commercial success. Had Dollar Shave Club tried to compete with the likes of Gillette etc on their own turf and advertised in traditional ways, they may not even have seen light of day on a store shelf.

As we consider a branding strategy for our start-up B-Energy, an all natural energy drink for the health conscious consumer, based uniquely on the superfruit of the Baobab tree, we are up against a similar highly competitive market. Where there are powerful incumbents and new energy drinks coming out almost every month, with some even claiming health benefits. How will we differentiate ourselves and carve out a share in this market? Knowing who our customer is, developing relationships with that customer, between such customers and making sure our values resonate with these consumers using networks and alternative business models will be central to our strategy.

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Consumer Perceptions on Energy Drinks

Our project is focused on developing a brand for a new kind of energy drink, one that is the complete antithesis of what the big players in this market (such as Red Bull, Monster etc) are perceived as.

These incumbents have spent years cultivating strong associations of their brand with a predominantly male, younger, fast living, work hard/play harder image.

These energy drinks have also developed a notorious association with being unhealthy.

Our idea, based around the unique nutritional properties of the African superfruit of the Baobab tree (”the tree of life”), is to create an alternative energy drink that is targeted at a more “responsible” (possibly older) health conscious consumer (of either gender) whose needs are not being addressed by existing energy drinks.

We made a number of assumptions here and as part of our branding assignment, we first wanted to understand whether our assumptions were correct. Is there really a wider market for energy drinks and if so, what are the pain points of consumers in that wider market that current players are not addressing? Does our product (a completely natural and nutritious alternative devoid of artificial chemicals typically associated with traditional energy drinks) truly offer value to this untapped consumer? If so, what are the day to day habits or rituals of these consumers, where this new kind of energy drink can become a part of their life?

In order to start answering some of these questions, we developed an extensive market research survey for which we employed the services of Amazon Mechanical Turk recruiting consumers between the ages of 30 and 50.

The early results are very interesting, confirming some of our assumptions and earlier qualitative research, while shedding new light on how to address this new market.

1. There is clearly a need within this demographic (not usually served by the traditional energy drinks makers)

2. This need is currently mostly being addressed with coffee (followed by traditional energy drinks).

3. Over 80% of respondents in this demographic consider traditional energy drinks to be either unhealthy or very unhealthy.

4. We also gathered some insights on the purchasing habits of this consumer base that can help inform our go-to-market strategy

As we move forward with our branding assignment, given the data we have gathered so far, we feel that we may be able to carve out a lonely place on the competitive frontier given the right branding strategy.

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Neophytes

“Instead of displaying their expertise, the Neophyte plead ignorance. Neophytes score points for daring to do the impossible, something catchers (investors potential partners) see as refreshing.”

In my venture, we have artist and showrunners personalities in this organization but at the very least, everyone has the potential to be a Neophyte.*

This is something that if we have to communicate frequently at our schools, it only serves to benefit us as an organization. As students, sometimes we get caught up with what we are doing, putting our heads down and working, keeping this a private project instead of a movement and getting our institutions to support us.

Next year I am really going talk about what we are doing in my venture until people cannot stand it. From what I learned in a recent conversation we haven’t (I definitely haven’t) tapped that nearly enough.

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Lionfish: “Eat them, to beat them” or “Experience the rare exotic delicacy”

In rebranding Lionfish one of our primary objectives is to get the branding message right. I think figuring out the right branding message –what will get the consumers hooked- is imperative to lift the lionfish brand. Corona lets you experience summertime, beach time, Axe gets you laid and Coors is cold. A simple branding message goes a great deal in getting people hooked to your brand.

In case of lionfish the question is should the branding message be around environmental sustainability e.g. “Eat them, to beat them” or should it be centered around its almost divine taste e.g. “experience the rare exotic delicacy”.  The former incudes crafting a social media campaign that propagates it as the most sustainable seafood choice, whereas the latter includes getting the Top chefs to cook and endorse the product with exotic recipes.

While we gather more data from consumer surveys and research on what should be the preferred branding message, we can also learn a great deal from other fish rebranding campaigns.

It’s all in the name Quite a few of the unpopular fish species have been rebranded by changing their names. Some notable cases* include:

Lionfish an infamous fish right now. Renaming it in conjunction with our branding message can be really powerful. ‘French Angelfish’, ‘Moorish Idol’, ‘Devilfish’ – the right name can give the required heuristic effects from our consumers.

Learning from the Asian Carp

The Asian Carp is also an invasive species that was affecting inland America and was rebranded in a very interesting way. The fish from central US is now being sold in Asia very successfully.  Their branding strategy revolved around two things - a branding message that created an allure of tasting something WILD. They used great imagery to relate the fish to being vibrant, wild and fresh – a euphemism for dangerous and violent behavior. (The fish is in fact known to slap people in boats because they get startled easily.) They were able to successfully promote that one message “Asian Carp is wild and fresh” successfully and attract a large audience who eat mostly farmed versions of it. The second interesting aspect of rebranding the Asian Carp was to increase the pricing and make it a premium pricing product. Premium pricing might be a risky strategy to use for invasive species but it’s a really effective way to attract attention.  

As we think about rebranding Lionfish these lessons give us a good reference point to develop our branding strategy and finalize the branding message we want to convey to our audience.

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Avoiding pitfalls of pitch

Reading the article of “How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea”, it was interesting to find some successful types of creative pitchers in the Hollywood movie world. However, the most appealing portion of the article to me was not the successful types but some of the dangerous pigeonholes that are guaranteed to kill a pitch. It was quite clear to me that these were some things I should always consider when speaking to people on all occasions.

Reading through the different characters reminded me of past experiences that I felt bad about. The “pushover” of being easily manipulated by others, the robot being too formulaic, the used-car salesman being an argumentative character, the charity case pleading for his/her needs. The list was clear on how each case could ruin the listeners by its characteristics. However, it seemed that it would be hard to balance the pitch and stay in the safe zone. As a person who are not strong at in the moment improvisation, I think it would be beneficial to plan accordingly and think hard to draw the right path of an effective pitches beforehand.

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Eureka! Now I have to pitch!

Personally, showrunners have a greater probability of pitching a brilliant idea. On SharkTank, the investors ask a wide array of questions, requiring practical and technical knowledge of the business. The best showrunners get the investments. The investors associate strong technical knowledge of one’s idea with his/her ability to run the business and add value. You will sometimes see neophytes on this show but when you do, they are more susceptible to being taking advantage of or failing. However, neophytes are prized entrepreneurs. A great example is Stephen Kaufer. Although technical in background, he lacked strong knowledge in a travel review platform. His frustrations in regards to limited reviews for a hotel that he planned to book drove him to conceive a novel idea to remedy this issue, TripAdvisor. He is now a showrunner.

I was a neophyte. I started a company in the online obituary space in which I had no idea about death care services. However, it was well worth the experience. The best entrepreneurs and pitchers, who are neophytes, have the ability to seamlessly transition to showrunners. I’m still working on that with Homegoing.

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Which Pitcher am I?

Since I don’t yet have the reputation of delivering on creative promises, the “How to pitch a brilliant idea” article suggests that I match myself to one of the above pitcher stereotypes with which I feel most comfortable.

I know I am not the artist type. I couldn’t pull off the charm of a creative idea that could sweep your imagination away. And after attending business school and hearing countless pitches I couldn’t genuinely be the neophyte stereotype. So I guess that leaves me with the show-runner, which sounds amazing and frightening at the same time. I know that I am not there yet, but at least I know where I need to be.

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Lessons in personal and corporate branding

Personal branding has gained visibility in the last years with the emergence of social media. Our parents’ generation did not have to think about how their “brand” would be portrayed by others, especially if they decided to follow a life away from politics, sports, or entertainment. Nowadays, anyone can become a renowned face from one day to another, whether on purpose or not. Within seconds, anyone can find out a large information about your life from your presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, etc., -or absence from them. Thus, personal branding is something we -ordinary netizens in a globalized world- should give a little bit more of thought.

Taking control of one’s narrative is relevant whether a person is interested in social media or not. Leaving it for others to tell your story could let anyone, from an unfriendly colleague to an influential personality like John Stewart to tell the story they want about you. Not having control of how your story is told is unfortunately no longer an option, and will cause less grievances the sooner we realize it.

Once we acknowledge the need to exert power to how personal brands are perceived over social media, it make sense to ensure that there is consistency with the image one tries to project. Having a public Facebook profile showing pictures of a weekend debauchery is not consistent with a LinkedIn profile for someone presenting himself as an “experienced Financial Analyst”. Or maybe it does, but it probably was not the user’s original intent.

As with all brands, building a personal brands takes time, but can be destroyed in an instant. Selectively choosing what content to post and with whom to share could be a first step in protecting a personal brand. However, we should remember that all content eventually could become public, even if it was shared with a group of close friends, or if it was exclusively meant to be private.

Finally, the most important lessons for both company and personal branding is to remain genuine. Nobody likes phonies. Whether it is someone posting excessively retouched Instagram photos or a brand failing to acknowledge paying celebrities for endorsement on Twitter, being honest and transparent are prerequisites for being taking seriously by peers, colleagues, potential employers and anyone in general in the global community.

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Positioning of BlueWave

BlueWave is a solar company that operates across several markets: 1) solar project development; 2) community solar; 3) residential solar financing. In this discussion of BlueWave’s positioning, I’ll focus on community solar market, as a new avenue of growth for Bluewave.

Community solar

Community solar is a very localized market, since solar energy from solar farms (also called solar gardens) can only be provided to nearby residents. Players in the community solar market in Massachusetts include Clean Energy Collective, Nexamp and IGS Generation (Next Step Living mentioned in the table below discontinued its operations in 2016).

Source: GTM Research U.S. Community Solar Outlook 2015-2020

4 P’s of companies providing community solar

Product: Clean Energy Collective is positioned as a pure-play community solar provider. The focus of their website is to educate a consumer about the benefits of community solar and how it works. Nexamp is a company focused on commercial solar solutions, but also providing community solar. Nexamp brands its full project lifecycle and a proven track record in solar projects. For community solar, Nexamp focuses on 15% savings on energy bills for users and lack of upfront costs. IGS Solar is a company within IGS Group focused more broadly on energy generation. IGS Solar does residential, commercial and community solar projects.

Place: All these companies build and maintain community solar projects in Massachusetts.

Promotion: All companies have websites with detailed description of their offerings. Nexamp shows up as the first result in Google search for “community solar.” Yelp search for “community solar” returns rooftop solar installation companies only.

Price: All companies are somewhat vague about the price of using community solar for consumers. All underline savings on the energy bill (Nexamp specifically mentions 15%, BlueWave mentions 10%). However, it’s not clear how much it costs for consumers to buy Net Metering Credits.

Positioning opportunities for BlueWave

Out of the 4 P’s Product and Price present most opportunities for unique positioning of BlueWave. To differentiate itself from other companies providing community solar BlueWave can underline its expertise in solar project development. BlueWave can also leverage its expertise in financing solar projects by educating consumers about the price and benefits of community solar and various financing options that can be offered by the company. 

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A Failed Neophyte

Sarah Palin could have been a neophyte, she claimed to not only not know how Washington worked and to be a simple woman from “Main Street.” But unlike a neophyte, she also did not care. She didn’t understand foreign policy, but claimed she did getting her information from “the magazines.” She endeared herself to many claiming she new nothing about these politician-only topics and instead was a lipstick mom, but then exposed herself to not knowing anything, 

So much so that Saturday Night Live was able to do a direct parody of her actual incoherent with Katie Couric that put on display her lack of preparedness, prowess, or poise under pressure. 

She reinforced a Neophyte is not a persona that could or should be successful in American politics, but that notion has been challenged somewhat in this year’s election.

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Reblog.

Substance & How to present

When I was reading “How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea,” I remembered my pre-Sloan experience that several project ideas in emerging countries could not get supported due to their impression, rather than their substances. Although I generally agree with the article’s generalization, I believe there are industry specific aspects in 

While the article talked about three models, I think there are several other reasons that may lead to scrapping ideas. Probably it largely depends on industry, it was a taboo to be late for the presentation in banking industry, for example. However brilliant your idea is, unfortunately it would never make it if you are late for the pitch.

I think this is part of the power of stereotyping as discussed in the article. Being punctual is a good trait in banking industry because the pitcher seems to be able to and be willing to repay loans punctually. Thus, not being punctual is a bad trait. I felt this stereotyping was more obvious when it came to emerging markets where the catchers had less knowledge compared to the major markets.

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Sloan’s showrunners

After receiving an MBA from Sloan, can you really approach a pitch as an artist or a neophyte? Mmmmh I don’t think so! Those times are over, and now our (future) resume creates expectations in any catcher we will pitch to that we will perform as Showrunners. 

I came across these expectations a lot over the past few weeks, when I had to perform a few pitches for my startup dueminuti. My co-founder Filippo and I participated to all of these pitches. He was the “scientist”, the crazy mind behind our mysterious healthy pasta formula; I was the Sloan MBA, the business guy.

We fell into this framing almost naturally, and we decided to indulge this role-playing during the interviews. I followed a very structured script while Filippo was more “original” in his part of the pitch. Without even knowing, I played Showrunner while he played the “artist”, or actually the scientist, that in a tech environment are strangely the same role.

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My brand of leadership in healthcare

On Tuesday, I participated in a revolutionary design lab with leaders in the healthcare space. The focus of the day was to brainstorm solutions for financing future cures such as gene therapies. My role was to synthesize the findings and to produce a white paper. This experience actually tied directly to the topic of class—our leadership branding. In the long-run, I want to continue to work in healthcare and to differentiate myself as a leader.

Here are 3 desirable, deliverable, and differentiating points I want to establish for my business career:

1. Expertise: Develop an expertise in innovate financing options for treating expensive cures. This is the future of healthcare, and I want to be involved in this revolution.

2. Balance: Develop a leadership style that effectively delegates work and establishes strong work-life balance

3. Versatility: Be known as someone that can pivot into different functional areas and can adapt as a leader

In the short-term, I will work to create content knowledge in the pricing space in order to work towards the goal of Expertise. For Balance and Versatility, I will need to practice this on a daily basis and to proactively attend workshops on management. 

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#mitsloanbranding, #professorgosline

Because you are a book, and I will judge you by the cover!

So tomorrow in class we will talk about making the perfect pitch and how much form shapes content and message - and by form, we also mean our form and the messenger, from posture to clothing to smile.

In the Devil Wears Prada, I see a perfect depiction of what truly happens in the corporate world, and one scene stands out to me - in th context of our discussion tomorrow. The first one (video above) is Andy’s (Anne Hathaway) interview by Miranda (Meryl Streep) - when the interviewer is so transparent about how much she judges the candidate only by looking at her. While all of us would do the same, I am sure we would have been more subtle - but it our nature. The scene is crowned by the one-second-after-seeing-Andy comment “Who is that sad little person?” by Nigel (Stanley Tucci).

We all must present the best of ourselves to genuinely captivate people - and this is hard, because we are complex agents that communicate in so my ways other than pure language.