Brand Champions

Brand Champion of the Day- Dr. Nikolaus Eberl, Author and Brand Expert

 

Every Monday and Friday I feature a person or organization that exemplifies what it means to be a brand champion. Today it is my pleasure to highlight author and brand expert, Dr. Nikolaus Eberl. I became aware of Dr. Nik last week when I discovered that someone had visited my blog from his website.

As a fellow internal branding advocate I was glad to see that someone across the pond shares my enthusiasm for this approach to brand building. As you will see when you visit his website, Dr. Nik uses sport like the 2006 World Cup in Germany as a back drop to help organizations understand the importance of internal branding.

With video as the dominate means of informing the user, I think Dr. Nik's site is revolutionary and represents the future of the Internet. What do you think?

Creating an Emotional Brand Experience

 

It doesn't get any better than the train ride from Philadelphia to Washington DC. Starting at the birth place of the United States, with stops along the Delaware River, including picking up his Vice President-Elect in Wilmington, and arriving the nation's Capitol, this was quite the event. Barack Obama and his team orchestrated one of the most impressive brand experiences I have witnessed in a long time.

You could not help but feel goose-bumps and have your eyes well up watching the people lined up along the route from Philly to DC to catch a glimpse of the rock star US President-Elect. The moment that the train slowed down outside of Wilmington and the people had the opportunity to briefly see Barack Obama waving to them from the back end of the train was priceless.

While the challenges he faces are immense and we do not know what the future holds for the next President, one thing we can count on is that every one of his touch points will be on-brand! Most brands can only hope for the same type of success in recruiting brand champions. The opportunity now exists to retain the brand champions! 

Deliver on Your Brand Promise

 

In the past month we have witnessed two airplane crashes of jets from major airlines in the United States. In both situations the flight crew performed heroic rescues of passengers on board. The result, no one was killed. The fiery crash here in Denver and the miraculous water landing in New York could have ended much differently. The safety training and performance of the flight crew allowed every passenger to keep their lives.

Having spent a brief time working in the airline industry, and knowing many relatives and friends who have done so too, I understand the countless hours airlines devote to safety. It is in the DNA of the airline industry. Unfortunately most of us when we travel do not think about thisattribute of the company we are flying. Sometimes, probably too often, we are more concerned with departure times, getting our beverage on time and how much we have to pay for checked luggage.

It is too bad that we have to get a wake up call from events like the ones in Denver and New York for us to realize the importance of flight safety. Airlines have been reluctant to promote safety as a brand attribute. Maybe these events should be a wake up call to the airlines too, and begin communicating this brand attribute. The people that walked away from those crashes and many more of us are now brand champions of those airlines. What do you think?

Brand Champion of the Day- Linda Rutherford, VP Communications & Strategic Outreach, Southwest Airlines

 

On Wednesday evening of this week I had the pleasure of seeing Linda Rutherford present the Southwest Airlines brand story at a Business Marketing Association- Colorado dinner meeting. Linda is the Vice President for Communications and Strategic Outreach and did a marvelous job of engaging the audience in the Southwest brand experience.

For those of you who know me, I am one of Southwest's biggest fans. Linda says people like me are "Southwest Customer Evangelists." Whether I am in-flight, waiting for a plane, reserving a flight online, or listening to Linda, each touch point with Southwest is very much on-brand! During the majority of my brand presentations and training sessions I use Southwest Airlines as a case study and best practice. I did so yesterday when I met with a group of school principals, I plan to do so next week in Chicago when I meet with some school administrators and I am sure Southwest will come up in conversation the following week with a client in Philadelphia. Oh by the way, I will be flying Southwest!

I love Southwest because they put employees first, followed by customers and then shareholders. If more organizations followed the Southwest lead in this regard, you probably wouldn't have to read my blog posts about the current economic situation. Linda for your work as a true Southwest brand evangelist, you are my Brand Champion of the Day!

Championing the School Brand

 

Today I am meeting with a group of school principals to discuss the "principles" for developing an effective school brand, and what it means to be a brand champion for their schools. I have the unique experience of getting to work with constituents at all levels of education, from Pre-K through doctoral programs.

I relish the opportunity that one day I can be working with teachers at an elementary school discussing their role as a brand professional, and the next day I am engaged in a similar dialogue with a university professor. Or like today, I can be presenting to charter school principals and the next day meeting with a university president.

What was your day like? Did you recruit any brand champions today for your organization?

Should Brands Change for Hope or Hope for Change?

 

Hope and Change, two promises made by the Obama brand. It now appears that many other brands are borrowing those two terms from Obama and adding them to their list of brand attributes. After all the US Presidential inauguration is only a week away, plus we might only have a few days to take advantage and appear to be an Obama brand champion!

I think it makes perfect sense to take advantage of the timing if your brand stands for hope and change. If your organization does not stand for hope and change then you run the risk of appearing to be jumping on the Obama brand wagon and creating a short-term tactical approach to brand building. Didn't that approach get us into this economic mess?

Are you going to change your brand, or hope to change it? Wouldn't it make sense to better understand who you are, and then decide whether change makes sense? I hope so!

Managing Brand YOU

 

I am currently reading Managing Brand YOU by Jerry S. Wilson and Ira Blumenthal. Authors Wilson and Blumenthal do an effective job of applying corporate and product brand development approaches to a personal level.

When I conduct personal branding workshops, I prefer a corporate approach. In fact I prefer a corporate approach when I am advising organizations and helping them develop their brand. I find that a product approach is not always sustainable.

There are a number of resources out there now on personal branding, and I think Managing Brand YOU this is one of the better efforts. No matter what resources you choose, we all need a personal brand strategy. We need our brand champions to help us too. Especially now!

Brand Champion of the Day- Bob Parsons, Founder, Go Daddy

 

Reading a story about Bob Parsons, founder of Go Daddy , in the most recent issue of Inc. magazine reminded me that I have not featured him as the Brand Champion of the Day yet. My apologies. Like many of you, I first became aware of Go Daddy a few years ago from one of their wild television ads during the Super Bowl.

As you know I am not always a strong advocate of advertising, because I think too many organizations limit their brand development to this approach and fail to create an effective means of measuring its effectiveness. However, to provide awareness, I think advertising is a tool worth considering. For Go Daddy, advertising, namely advertising on Super Bowl Sunday has been successful.

After seeing their ads I became a convert. Many of the URL's that I own, including the one for this blog, are thanks to Go Daddy. For your authenticity as the brand champion for Go Daddy, Bob Parsons, you are the Brand Champion of the Day!

Do Naming Rights Enhance or Dilute a Brand?

 

I pondered that question this morning when I was watching the commissioning ceremonies of the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier. George #1gave an inspiring speech and the ceremony was quite moving, but what about the name?

That question led me to think about other naming rights. For example, I believe Manchester United football club still carries the AIG logo on their uniforms and the New York Mets baseball team is getting ready to begin play this spring at Citi Field. I am not sure those teams relish the fact that their sponsors are caught in financial challenges, and I can't imagine how the fans think.

What about University of Phoenix stadium for the Arizona Cardinals? That one I have never figured out. In the future will organizations look for other resources instead of naming rights to keep their business afloat? Will companies even have the resources to to devote to sponsoring other organizations? Will sport survive without the current relationship?

I believe organizations will for other means to acquire their brand champions. What do you think?

Brand Champion of the Day- Rutt's Hut

  A couple of days ago I was working out and watching The Travel Channel. The show that was on at the time featured restaurants that served signature food items. The restaurant that caught my attention was Rutt's Hut. The restaurant was founded in 1928 in Clifton, New Jersey and is best known for their deep-fried hot dogs.

I was amazed at how many of the people that were eating there and being interviewed were repeat customers. Some of them had been coming to Rutt's for the past sixty years. Each employee and customer told similar stories about the essence of the restaurant and why they engage in the restaurant experience. Today I tried to find their website to learn more about this amazing restaurant, but could not find one. Perhaps it does not exist. They probably don't need one.

Other brands can only hope for recruiting and retaining the brand champions Rutt's has developed. For your efforts and for understanding completely who you are and what you stand for, Rutt's Hut is the Brand Champion of the Day.