Brand Champions

Don't Let Retro Marketing Dilute Your Brand

I thought about this as I was reading an article in the current edition of marketing news, one of the publications of the American Marketing Association. The writer, Elisabeth A. Sullivan does a credible job of attempting to provide a balanced view of the emerging concept of retro marketing. Unfortunately the views of those interviewed for the story appear to be too focused on tactics, rather than strategy. Imagine that.

While I completely agree with the notion that organizations should honor the traditions of their company, I don't think they should be limited to executing their brand strategy with nostalgic designs and slogans. Most organizations want to ensure that their time-tested attributes are recognized, but that they are positioned in a modern context. I am concerned that retro marketing will be viewed inside and outside the marketing arena as just another fad, without regard to the mission and core values of the organization. People take this stuff literal, especially when the strategy or tactic is not executed from a brand strategy.

So, retro marketing might be appropriate for oldies night or the way the NFL is honoring the original AFL teams by having AFL teams periodically wear retro uniforms, but the league itself is not attempting to look or act like the 1960s. Jerry Jones and other forward thinkers would not have anything to do with that approach, nor should you. Don't let your brand be diluted with too many references to the past by too many visuals, unless it is in the context of honoring your traditions , your mission and your core values and with a modern balance. As Sullivan says at the end of her article, "Don't ply your brand's history in a way that makes it seem mired in the past, outmoded, uncool, too much your grandmother's phonograph and not enough your trendy kid sister's iPhone 3GS." I agree.

I doubt you are trying to recruit or retain brand champions that thought your brand was relevant forty years ago.

Brand Cafe- Where Brand Geeks Get Their Fix

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of the Brand Cafe in Denver. Each month local brand geeks meet to share their experiences, perspectives, and sometimes arguments on topics related to brand. This month we talked shop and sipped our favorite beverage over the subject of personal brand. Like many concepts brand, personal branding is gaining momentum. Thanks to David Sandusky for helping guide yesterday's conversation, and reiterate what it is and what it is not.

Like many things brand, even the word itself, people tend to think of personal branding as either a buzz word or the newest thing. Like the word brand, it is neither. Whether we are talking organizational brand or if we are talking personal brand, we should be thinking in terms of strategy. And remembering that a brand is our name, what our name stands for and the associations that people make with our name.

In today's rapid-fire, techno-savvy, do-more-with-less world, we all need to be a part of our organization's brand, and we need to develop a personal brand strategy. Without both, we run the risk of having no value to our constituents. On both levels we must have the ability to recruit and retain brand champions. Do you have a personal brand strategy? What about an organizational brand strategy? Are they both based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement? Or are you stuck in logo, tagline and advertising mode?

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Brand Champion of the Day- Peggy Olson, Copywriter, Sterling-Cooper, Mad Men

On Mondays and Fridays I feature someone who understands what it means to be a brand champion. Today I recognize Peggy Olson the strategic thinking, copywriter for Sterling-Cooper advertising agency from the hit series Mad Men. Peggy, one of the only woman with an office in the show, is also one of the only characters who I would consider hiring for my firm in the 21st Century.

I love the setting for the show and watching the agency/client relationships. The show helps me keep in perspective why the world of marketing, especially in the United States, has been dominated by advertising concepts and media buys from Mad Men. Thank goodness those days are changing. Now that more and more organizations are understanding that developing a sustainable brand is based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement. Combined with new media like blogs, facebook, mobile, twitter and others, the days of the Mad Men are coming to a screeching halt.

For the strategic brand and marketing thinkers out there, I say thank you for the Peggy Olson's of the world, you are the Brand Champion of the Day!

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Back to Brand Basics

Here is how I define the word brand. First and foremost it is a noun. A brand is your name and what your name stands for. A brand are the associations that people make with your name when they see of hear your name. Whether we are talking about you personally or your organization, your brand is your name. It is a noun.

Once we have that established we can think about your brand as a verb.The actions that you take to make our name memorable in the minds and hearts of our constituency. The reason that this is important is the fact that most marketers and the people that they work with limit their thinking to a brand as a verb. They want to get to the all mighty tactics and the cool campaign.

Well if you don't start with your name as a brand first, you will be disappointed about the number of brand champions that you are able to recruit or retain. Do you think noun first, verb second?

Four Ps of Marketing are Old School

Yesterday I had a very engaging conversation with a fellow marketer. We were comparing notes about 21st century thinking vs. 20th century thinking. Our topics of conversation included branding, mission, core values, employee engage, social marketing, mobile marketing, traditional and contemporary issues facing marketing professionals. I am amazed at how many organizations are still using the four Ps of marketing-- product, place, price and promotion to guide their thinking.

Several  years ago when my marketing career evolved into brand development the four Ps became old school for me. I developed a brand building and marketing model based on the six Cs-- core values, connection, conversation, collaboration, community and culture. Those concepts feel more appropriate, especially in terms of developing a brand strategy and executing the strategy through social media, mobile marketing and other current channels. I am not sure how many brand champions I am going to recruit and retain if I am talking about the four Ps.

I doubt Apple, Coca-Cola, Google, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks or other brands are talking about the four Ps at the strategic table, why should you?

Brand Champion of the Day- Wendy's

If I am not mistaken, this is the first fast-food company that I have recognized as a brand champion. I am not necessarily advocating fast-food, but any organization that understands who they are and has lasted for 40 years understands what it means to be a brand champion. This brand has been effective in staying true to its identity on many levels.

I can remember when Wendy's and its founder the late Dave Thomas opened their doors. Prior to then McDonald's had a strangle hold on the fast-food burger industry. I recall how as a youth (a very, very young one) I thought the name was stupid. I wondered why a company would pick a girl's name and image as a logo. Of course I was a young naive boy at the time and did not know a thing about brand development then.

Fast forward forty years, I think I know a thing or two about brands and now marvel at the thinking behind the name and the time-tested image. I also understand the value of building a sustainable brand based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement. Even though I am not a regular visitor to this establishment, unless I am on the road and craving a chocolate frosty, I am a champion of this brand. For their brand building efforts, Wendy's is the Brand Champion of the Day!

Brand Champions Meet in Boston

On Sunday, November 15 I have the pleasure of co-facilitating a pre-conference workshop on internal branding. The session will be part of the American Marketing Association's Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. Last year I facilitated a round table discussion on internal branding, and the room was packed. This year I will be presenting alongside one of my client's (and brand kindred spirit) Joe Donovan, assistant vice president for university communications at La Salle University. Joe and I will be conducting a comprehensive tutorial on internal branding.

The process of engaging employees in the brand building process, or internal branding, is an emerging trend in many industries and is now finding its way onto the higher education landscape. As institutions are asked to do more with less and as colleges and universities realize that externally focused branding is often not sustainable, institutions are understanding that an inside out approach to brand development, and one based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement are more likely to last.

For any of you who will be attending the Symposium, we hope to see you in Boston. If you are interested in learning more about how to become an internal brand champion, check out our session.

Human Resources- A Key to Recruiting and Retaining Brand Champions

Those organizations that build brands based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement understand sustainability. They also are likely to realize that human resources plays a significant role in recruiting and retaining brand champions. Job descriptions, job postings, interview questions, new hire orientation, training and development, rewards and recognition programs and employee evaluation all need to reflect an organization's brand strategy.

I find that more often than not, brand building is limited to the marketing and communications offices. Yes, those are important departments too. That is my background and of course those are my kindred spirits. But, there is usually a gap between those departmental functions and the human resources division. Marketing and communications focuses on external reputation and human resources focuses on internal culture. As a result, there is often no department responsible for internal communications.

If we think of branding as the process of aligning our internal culture with our external reputation, then it makes sense for marketing and communications and human resources to on the same page. Otherwise our brand will be out of alignment. How well does your organization connect your human resources office with your marketing and communications departments? What if there were regular meetings between human resources, who are recruiting and retaining employee brand champions, and marketing and communications who are responsible for recruiting and retaining customer brand champions?

Internal Branding = Brand Success

A number of recent experiences have affirmed what I have advocated for a number of years, that a key driver to building a sustainable is including an internal component to your organization's brand development efforts. Commonly referred to as internal branding, this formal process involves implementing a research-based brand strategy into your organization's culture.

When employees understand the relevance of your brand strategy to them, they are more likely to embrace the brand platform and meet or exceed your expectations of them "living your brand." At the same time you and they are able to answer the proverbial question, What's in in for me? Unfortunately most organizations leave this internal requisite piece out of the process. While it is the most important aspect of brand building, it is also the hardest part. This is when the rubber meets the road, when branding becomes real for everyone. Most organizations look for the easy way out.

Why would we want to build a brand and not include our most passionate brand champions, our employees? I guess those organizations that leave out their employees were never really serious about building a sustainable brand. They never really wanted to succeed. They just wanted a paint job and a logo. They just wanted to spend millions of dollars (or applicable currency) on an advertising campaign that most people will not like, especially their employees. They just wanted to get a few people together one afternoon after lunch and knock out a snappy tagline.

Brand Champion of the Day- Kristen Fusco, Field Marketing Manager, H&R Block

Those of you who are regularly visitors to the Brand Champions blog know that on Mondays and Fridays I feature someone or some organization that understands what it means to be a brand champion. Those passionate individuals who are evangelists for the organization that they work for, and those organizations that engage their stakeholders in the brand building process. Those people and places who understand that a sustainable brand is based on mission and core values.

Earlier this summer I had the pleasure of meeting Kristen Fusco, field marketing manager for H&R Block. Kristen and I both serve on the board of the Colorado Chapter of the American Marketing Association. From our conversations I realized that we were kindred spirits in terms of brand. Kristen shared with me the brand building work that her organization, a trusted name and familiar to most, H&R Block was involved with, so I asked her to share their story with you today.

Transforming a Brand from the Inside Out

 

"It’s such an exciting time to be a part of H&R Block! We’re renovating our brand, tearing down the walls, facing brutal truths and growing in a direction where we become one brand with one vision and one goal. Strengthening our brand requires some out-of-the-box thinking, and that can be a little scary. In fact, I’m still adapting to this new way of thinking about our business. 

 

"Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, hangs upside down to cure his writer’s block. 'Hanging upside down seems to help me solve plot challenges by shifting my entire perspective,' he says in an interview with Mirror.co.uk.  I love this! Brand strengthening, too, requires a change in perspective and a different way of doing things inside the organization. 

 

"For example, H&R Block is starting with internal, not external marketing. We’re changing the way we train our associates, so the people who touch our clients every day can fully and accurately represent the brand with pride.  It takes employee pride to change a brand.  Larry Light and Joan Kiddon, co-authors of Six Rules for Brand Revitalization: Learn How Companies Like McDonald's Can Re-Energize Their Brands, say it best. 'Pride is bigger than just being satisfied with your job. Proud employees are engaged in their work: They are committed to helping inside and outside the company walls.'  When someone experiences pride, they automatically feel better about themselves. To be a part of a company that puts employees first and holds them in high regard is very cool. 

 

"However, reshaping a brand can be uncomfortable. It takes personal responsibility and commitment; being honest; and holding yourself and others accountable for actions. It takes the dysfunction – or most of it – out of the organization, but to get there is like having a heavy duty intervention with yourself and those close to you.  I love what Gina Sebree, an H&R Block learning and development manager says.'Being accountable is more than just taking responsibility - it's a way of thinking that can lead to great professional and personal achievements.' 

 

"Rejuvenating a brand doesn’t happen overnight.  It takes time, nourishment, teamwork and commitment. It requires taking a good look in the mirror and challenging old habits, opinions and thoughts. However, companies do it all the time and it is so exciting to see….but mostly exciting to be a part of something so big and transformational!

 

"You can become a fan of H&R Block by going to www.facebook.com/hrblock or follow us on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/hrblock.  H&R Block is also hiring!  Find out more at www.hrblock.com"

 

Kristin Fusco is a Regional Marketing Manager for H&R Block. She lives in Denver, but travels extensively, helping local offices improve the H&R Block brand within the community.



Kristen thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share with us the H&R Block brand story. For your efforts and those of your company, you are the Brand Champion of the Day!

Rex Whisman
Brand Champions Blog