vmaloneymitbranding-blog

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The art of getting what you want

All of us in our careers -- no matter what we decide to pursue -- will need to practice the art of persuasion: convincing others to go along with our idea or changing someone’s opinion to take our preferred path of action. Persuasion -- including the art of managing yourself and your brand -- is an essential tool. While three types of pitchers are presented as distinct categories -- show runners, artists, neophytes -- consistent threads run through each category. 

Engagement: Audiences are more likely to respond to you if you engage with them and allow them to participate in meaningful ways. The showrunner is actively bringing the audience into the conversation, the neophyte isn’t afraid to ask questions to draw in the audience, and the artist example showed people building and using a product to demonstrate its value. Interacting with other people and building stakeholder engagement early makes a final pitch more convincing. 

Like-a-bility: The intangible metric of likeability crosses all three types of salesmen. They each have personality, confidence, energy and enthusiasm. They leverage charm and glitz to convince others to follow their idea. Listening to others. Smile. Be friendly. These simple tools serve to endear an audience to a messenger and thereby their message. 

Most important of all in defining your leadership brand is the concept of Authentic Leadership. People respond when they feel emotionally connected to others. This is much more easily achieved when that connection is genuine and not contrived. Understanding your personal narrative, as well as write a story to support what you are trying to achieve, and being able to communicate that message to others effectively makes it more likely that you will be able to connect others to your mission and make them invested in the outcome. A good example from the corporate world is Better World Books, where every fabric of the business and the decisions that were made kept in mind the broader philanthropic goals of the organization. Even as funding becomes a challenge, the values of the organization as an engine for sustainable good (and not short-term profits) help to steer the ship. 

On a related note: at a graduation lecture at the Kennedy school earlier this week, we were reminded to bear in mind what our personal values are, and as we move forward in our careers, to separate our role from ourselves. In life, we may take on many different roles: the MIT student, the banker, the parent. While those identifications do inform our identifies and value system, it is important to recognize that you are not solely defined by that role, but more importantly by the characteristics and values you actively seek to call forward. 

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How can you ID authentic brand values?

In the AdvertisingAge article, the message is clear that the way consumers engage with brands is changing from a controlled environment to one that is more emotionally charged. In the social media age, where consumers can engage with content and brands constantly, loyalty to and advocacy for a brand becomes paramount. To create personal commitment to a brand, a consumer’s emotional connection to that company becomes the most important piece to nurture. And it is often encouraged by finding a way aligning the consumer’s values with your brands values (the examples: Patagonia to environmentalism, Johnson & Johnson to family values, Apple to innovation, etc.). However, the perception has to be that the alignment is sincere for it to be effective. You can’t fake brand values. 

TOMS Shoes is a great example of this kind of a marketing strategy: doing good while doing well: http://www.toms.com. The “One for One” campaign tugs at the new consumer’s desire to contribute by promising that for every pair of shoes purchased in developed economies, a pair will be donated for free in the developing world. 

The “One for One” concept is incorporated into every TOMS marketing pitch. It’s the first tag line when you open their website. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed its one of the first qualities about Toms that people emphasize (over the quality of the shoe, price point, etc.) The company has been very effective at growing their business to become a fashion statement, and often a go-to example of a social enterprise.

But is Give / Get with shoes actually the best way to give back? Many studies (including the documentary screened last month at Sloan called Poverty.Inc) cite that this kind of development aid is not effective: creating dependencies on donations and breaking down local economies (particularly for local shoe makers that now no longer have a market to sell to given the free merchandise). 

A little bit more context makes TOMS mission statement seem a little less authentic... Is TOMS altruism a marketing ploy? Or actually a part of the Tom’s brand fabric? My skepticism leads me to believe the latter. What makes a brand authentic, and how can consumers better gauge whether a brand’s value system and message is actually aligned with our views? 

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Making microprocessors mainstream

The success of the “Intel Inside” campaign is their ability to translate the value proposition of their semiconductors into laymans terms. As Lewnes stated, Intel intended to market the product based on “feelings and experiences” rather than technical specifications in order to “bridge the gap between the technical details and the emotional experience of using cutting-edge technology.” The brand repositioned itself as a key component of a high-quality computers in a way that made the product accessible in a market where the majority of consumers are tech illiterate. Rather than focusing on the actual function and value of their product, the “Intel Inside” campaign successfully positioned Intel as accessible to average consumers while maintaining the aura of being a leading, reliable technology. I’d guess that most consumers would not be aware of what role Intel plays in operating their computers, but still have positive associations with the technology. In the modern economy, as more and more complicated products are developed, innovative positioning of technical products can define who becomes an household name.  

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The Signature Burberry Check

When I think of Burberry, the distinctive tan pattern of black and white squares instantly pops to mind. While it is subtle, in the sense that the brand name is not prominently featured across the products or incorporated into the pattern (as with Coach or LV), everyone still associates the pattern with the Burberry brand of “luxury and durability” that Bravo carefully rebuilt. 

The Brand Relationship Spectrum article from last week referred to the idea of a house of brands or a branded house. Burberry falls under the branded house category, using the check pattern as the unifying factor across various sub-brands. Even Burberry make up features the pattern in the product design and packaging.

With the check as a unifying thread, Burberry successfully diversified away from the classic trench to market its product lines across different genders (womenswear and menswear), different countries (Burberry Black, Burberry London), Luxury shoppers (Prorsum) and aspiring shoppers with lower cost accessory products. 

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Exploring the Brand Manifold

As stated in “Viewing Brands in Multiple Dimensions,” a brand manifold considers the multiple dimensions of a brand and incorporates the elements of history and future, internal and external meaning, and the "who when and why” of where their brand is being consumed. A look at the transformation of multiple brands in recent history confirms the nuances of this analysis:

Target, a company for only low-end shoppers, to now a spot for thrifty young professionals to find a good deal; a transition aided by the financial crisis and more emphasis on smart shopping;

UPS, transforming from an ineffective logistics company, to an innovative and personal delivery service forced by pressure from competitors;

And the obvious choice of Apple, branding itself today with its modern, sleek image.

In these instances the “who” is consuming the brand, the context through which they are viewing the product, and the broader culture and environment influence how a brand is consumed and facilitate shifts in the overall branding image.

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“Singapore Girl, you’re a great way to fly”

Would I want to take Singapore Airlines? Not necessarily… The intrigue of a premiere experience, a superior customer service, and personalized touch that brings back the glamour of flying certainly sounds enticing, but I personally find the use of the “Singapore Girl” in the airlines branding to be off-putting.

The “Singapore Girl” campaign did successfully position the icon as the “embodiment Asian graciousness, hospitality and charm” -- aligning the airline with a glamorous and enjoyable experience. However, the campaign relies too heavily on typical female stereotypes of women. Stewardesses’ are positioned as doting, docile, and devoted women prepared to take care of their clients needs. To international audiences, the campaign further stereotypes Asian women as Singapore Airline’s competitive advantage. The over-emphasis on the “Singapore Girl” is (in my view) sexist, even suggesting through advertising that the main intrigue of flying Singapore Airlines is the opportunity of being in the company of such a woman.

Take this video for instance: 

Shots of beautiful women preparing for their day, applying make up, engaged in conversation -- none of which is related to flying or travel. Similar advertisements show groups of glamorous Asian women entertaining western men.

Most interestingly, it seems that the airline and country’s adoration of the Singapore Girl’s iconic image permeated into the broader country’s culture in disturbing ways, with women excited to be “well groomed and ready to serve” and parents proud that their daughter could be counted among the ranks as flight attendants. This idolization of the Singapore Girl is effective for recruitment, but not necessarily for women’s empowerment. As was mentioned in class, the target demographic is changing and as such, audience receptiveness to the traditional “Singapore Girl” is adapting. I applaud Singapore Airlines’ efforts to adapt to a more modern interpretation of women

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Ignorance is bliss

Today’s readings reminded me of a freakonomics radio podcast I listened to a few years back about how studies have shown that:  

“individuals who are unaware of the price do not derive more enjoyment from more expensive wine.” 

LISTEN HERE 

http://freakonomics.com/podcast/freakonomics-radio-do-more-expensive-wines-taste-better/

The experiment collected over 6,000 blind taste test samples and found that at the end of they day, expensive wines did not perform any better than the two buck chuck. Even the most well trained vinters were unable to make the distinction. 

Ultimately, it all comes down to branding and aligning with being a premium product. Concha y Toro should target their growth at that upper market and gradually move away from the volume business of low-cost wines. They can rebrand their label to allow them to price high and increase their margins per sale -- even if market share goes down. 

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Four Products, Five Factors

Reading through the Four Products case, it is easy to have a gut reaction to each of the products as we imagine ourselves using them in our daily lives. In almost all instances, I am skeptical of the consumer acceptance they will have -- but for Satellite Radio. Roger’s Five Factor’s provides a more objective framework through which to evaluate each of these categories: 

Sliced Peanut Butter - Initial reaction: a convenient, but unhealthy way to deliver america’s favorite snack. The relative advantage is low: without the jelly, the product is not nearly as valuable. Further, trends towards organic food and heathy eating make this product’s success unlikely given the alignment with a banned “food-grade wax.” This “ick” factor makes it less compatible with existing conceptions of peanut butter. It is also not a highly observable product. Across the other 5 factors, the product performs quite well: it is simple to understand, and low commitment for consumers.

Silver Bandaid - The product is complex in the sense that the benefits are hard to describe to consumers. To the layman consumer, the benefits of silver bandaids lack a relative advantage over other anti-bacterial bandages that already saturate the market. This product would likely be more successful if targeted at the medical community who is more informed and sees value.  

Satellite Radio - My instinct was that Satellite Radio is the most successful of each of these product ideas -- perhaps because of my own familiarity with the product. There is a clear relative advantage over normal radio, however, it is still compatible with perceptions of how radio should be consumed. It is simple to understand, and observable as cars adopt satellite radios -- and as programming is designed for the medium. However, the subscription model makes it less trialable, particularly as an initial investment in satellite radios is required. 

iSmell - While a cool idea in theory, and a slight relative advantage that involves our olfactory, iSmell seems like an unnecessary product that is not compatible with current perceptions of which senses should be engaged when consuming information from technology. It is also harder to adopt - requiring technology installs.    

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Corona Post 2

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B&D Post 1

The team sholud pursue option 2: a sub-branding campaign targeting the professional-tradesmen segment. B&D already has a high quality product that can satisfy the professional-tradseman segment of the market – and this market is too large to ignore. B&D can reposition its products with a sub-branding campaign that capitalizes on the overarching brand, while also developing a sub-brand that targets its messages to the right consumers. Option 2 accomplishes that. #professorgosline #mitsloanbranding