Every year, FORTUNE and BusinessWeek publish influential research on high performing companies. All of these companies have demonstrated superior business performance and have established powerful brands in the market.They’re strong, relevant brands. These are brands that resonate deeply with consumers, drive insight to impact and are admired for quality products, services and leaders. Marketing excellence is the norm at these companies. Marketing is a respected function, with leaders that drive the marketing agenda. Their teams maintain strong business acumen, and they have a deep understanding of market forces and strategic knowledge. Most importantly, their leadership teams get it. True cross-functional collaboration and integration exists throughout the corporation, and the management teams are de-siloed. These leaders are customer experience zealots: They demand consistency of experience across all touchpoints, they understand moments of truth, and they ensure that their employees understand their roles in bringing their brand promise to life. Read through for 5 Principles for Creating a Strong Brand.
1. THE NEW BRAND NORMAL:
IT'S NOT SO NEW AND
IT'S ANYTHING BUT NORMAL
SCOTT DAVIS
CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
Proprietary and confidential
Do not distribute
2. Hot off the presses; rankings of corporate brands
Every year, FORTUNE and BusinessWeek publish influential research
on high performing companies:
FORTUNE‟s
Most Admired Companies
BusinessWeek‟s
The Best Global Brands
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
3. Many companies have made both lists…
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
4. …so what do these companies have in common?
All of these companies have demonstrated superior business
performance and have established powerful brands in the market
STRONG, RELEVANT BRANDS
MARKETING EXCELLENCE IS THE NORM
Able to develop strong brands that
resonate with consumers
Admired as driving insight to impact
Admired for quality products and
services and leaders
Marketing is a respected function, with
leaders that drive the marketing agenda
Maintain strong business acumen
Have a deep understanding of market
forces and strategic knowledge
LEADERSHIP TEAMS THAT GET IT
Think about brand building and the
bottom-line – brand and demand
True cross-functional collaboration and
integration
De-siloed management teams
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ZEALOTS
Consistency of experience across all
touchpoints
Employees understand their roles in
bringing their brand promise to life
Understand moments of truth
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
5. Another way to measure
In 2013, Fast Company did its annual ranking of the
“World’s Most Innovative Companies”
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
6. Only a handful of companies made these three lists…
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
7. …but what do these companies have in common?
These companies have shifted and understand the power of their
brands, both internally and externally, and have…
Leaders who continue to reinvent the business and the brand
Constantly think what is next – new
offerings, experiences, business models
Fail fast mentality – constant test & learn mode
Design thinking as a pervasive part of the company culture
Executive-level commitment to diversity in thinking – internally and
externally
Culture that emphasizes the customer’s relationship with the brand
Measurement and reward systems that align with building strong
brands
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
8. A fourth way to measure
To start 2014, FORTUNE did its annual ranking of the
“100 Best Companies to Work For”
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
9. We are left with only a few leading brands
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
10. Finally, a fifth way to measure
To end 2013, Brand Index measured
the 25 most talked about brands of the year
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
11. Even fewer companies made all five lists
Amazon and Google get it. They thrive around a shared purpose
aimed at delivering end-to-end brand and business experience for
both BTB and BTC
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
12. Most of the brands just mentioned continue to outperform the market
Top 10 brands according to Interbrand’s 2011 ranking; stock
information from Google
8 out of 10 top
brands beat the
S&P index
S&P 500
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
13. Most of these brands get to experience benefits others cannot
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
14. Some more so than others
Toyota Camry
Lexus ES
2.5L Hybrid
2.5L Hybrid
200hp
200hp
Georgetown, KY
Georgetown, KY
43/39mpg
40/39mpg
$26,500
$39,500
Source: http://www.toyota.com/camry/?srchid=sem|google|Camry|Car_Camry|Car_Camry_Base|Existing|Camry_MLP#!/panels2, http://www.lexus.com/models/ES/specs/
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
15. Some more so than others
Toyota Camry
Lexus ES
2.5L Hybrid
2.5L Hybrid
200hp
200hp
Georgetown, KY
Georgetown, KY
43/39mpg
40/39mpg
$26,500
$39,500
Source: http://www.toyota.com/camry/?srchid=sem|google|Camry|Car_Camry|Car_Camry_Base|Existing|Camry_MLP#!/panels2, http://www.lexus.com/models/ES/specs/
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
16. But it isn‟t as easy it used to be when we all lived in a push world
Brands are more difficult to build, understand and control…
Source: LUMA Partners LLC
17. …which leads to chaos, confusion and trust issues
CONFUSION
Only 24% of consumers trust
the ads they see
CHAOS
Over 50% of those
surveyed said they
thought marketing and
advertising were out of
control
94% trust word of mouth
Even when exposed to a
brand message 10+ times
online, only 26% of
consumers could recall it
Consumers believe that 70%
of brands could disappear
without them taking notice
Source: Fast Company, Hubspot, Nielsen, Emarketer, Havas Media, Prophet
40% of B2C and B2B
marketers believe that they
will have less control of their
brand in 3 years
90% of marketing
investments are in
traditional mediums, but
only 1 in 5 are getting the
results they want
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
18. Marketers are overwhelmed by the vehicles, choices and expertise
areas they need to build
Story over
campaign
Analytics
„connects the
dots‟
Marketing Agility
Experience
matters
Device integration
Knowledgesourcing
communities
Power of social
media
E-commerce
Richer dynamic
media
Smarter web
Digital personal
assistants
Short-form
content
Mobile maturity
Marketing
automation
Digital identity
mgmt, privacy, and
security
Brand
partnerships
Location-based
services & nearfield comms
Hypertargeting
Multiple devices
Deck Title
Wearable devices
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute. not distribute.
17
Proprietary and confidential. Do
19. And they know that Millennials are changing the game…
Talk value matters more than ever,
especially among millennials who live in
a video-on-demand-on-the-device-oftheir-choice world.
Average times per
week that a consumer
mentions specific
brands in conversations
with friends, family
and co-workers
Percentage of consumers
who consider buying the
brand, product or service
recommended by a
brand advocate
Percentage of Facebook and Twitter
followers, respectively, who are more
likely to recommend brands after
becoming a follower
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
20. …and the role of community and peer influence is here forever
WHAT MAKES YOU AWARE?
WHAT MAKES YOU BUY?
Awareness Driver
Purchase Driver
Advertising (TV, print, online ads)
Most
Friends and family who volunteered their opinion
Observing people use product/brand
Research conducted online
Friends & family from whom you sought out opinions
Information at store or on-shelf
Company's website
Promotion/sponsorship from the company
Sales material by company that came to you
Product reviews by experts, peers
Research conducted offline
Sales material by company that you sought out
Salesperson at point of sale
Direct mail with special offer from company
News media
Email/text message with special offer from company
Telemarketing with special offer from company
Least
Friends & family from whom you sought out opinions Most
Friends & family who volunteered their opinion
Research conducted online
Promotion/sponsorship from the company
Product reviews by experts, peers
Company's website
Information at store or on-shelf
Research conducted offline
Observing people use product/brand
Advertising by the company
Sales material by company that you sought out
Sales material by company that came to you
Direct mail with special offer from company
Salesperson at point of sale
News media
Email/text message with special offer from company
Telemarketing with special offer from company
Least
Source: Jack Morton : The Year of Experience Brands
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
21. InI knowNetworked Era, an this really anyof touchpointsor 50
the this is confusing, but is explosion different than 20 is
years ago?
now the norm
Word of
Mouth
Influencers/
Ambassadors
Friends &
Family
Wiki
Blogs
Online
Community
Call
Center
Books
Steve
Jobs
Apple
Website
PR
Online
Training
Spons
orship
Downloads
Advertising
Account
Mgmt
RSS
Gift
Certific
ates
TV
Adverti
sing
Print
Social
Networks
(Facebook)
RSS
Billbo
ards
Worldwide
Developers
Conf.
Endo
rsem
ent
Bill
Me
Later
Prom
otion
Events
Starbucks
Partnership
Nike
Tours
Email
Apple
Expo
MacWorld
Expo
Product
Feature
Design
AS/
Warranty
Independent
Resource
Providers
Extension
Social
Software
(ebay/
Amazon)
Workshops
Apple Store
Purchase Experience
Authorized
Reseller
CGM
Merchandise
Sales
Rep
Genius
Bar
Display
Customer
Service
Billing
Statement
CGM
Reviews
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
22. However, is confusing, but is this really any different than 20 or of
I know this a time tested approach can make sense 50
years touchpoints
these ago?
Word of
Mouth
Influencers/
Ambassadors
Friends &
Family
Wiki
Blogs
Online
Community
Call
Center
Online
Training
Books
Steve
Jobs
Social
Networks
(Facebook)
Apple
Website
PR
Spons
orship
Downloads
Advertising
Account
Mgmt
RSS
Gift
Certific
ates
Advocacy
Worldwide
Developers
Conf.
TV
Adverti
sing
RSS
Billbo
ards
Print
Awareness
Endo
rsem
ent
Bill
Me
Later
Prom
otion
Events
Starbucks
Partnership
Nike
Tours
Email
Apple
Expo
MacWorld
Expo
Product
Feature
Design
AS/
Warranty
Extension
Trial/Usage
Independent
Resource
Providers
Social
Software
(ebay/
Amazon)
Workshops
Apple Store
Purchase Experience
Authorized
Reseller
CGM
Merchandise
Sales
Rep
Influencers
Genius
Bar
Display
Customer
Service
Billing
Statement
CGM
Reviews
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
23. Strong brands get customers to do things others don‟t
• 60% of customers prefer to buy new products
from a brand they know well
• 25% of customers state price does not matter if
they are buying a brand they are loyal to
• Brands with high advocacy get 264% more
earned media impressions than average brands
• Millennials and Gen We influence a lot
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
24. Strong brands get customers to say…
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
25. We all know it takes a significant investment to build a strong brand…
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
26. …but that investment can evaporate if not managed well
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
27. PATH TO BECOMING A GREAT BRAND:
IT‟S REALLY NOT SO NEW OR
NORMAL
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
28. There are five tenets for building strong brands
Relentlessly Drive
Brand Relevance
Be Clear on Your
Purpose
Become Famous
for Something
Create Seamless
Experiences
Arm Your
Communities
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
29. Be clear on your purpose
Know what you want to
accomplish. Align business
and brand strategy.
Understand your target
segment and where the
gaps are. Build a brand that
will disproportionately win
with those segments
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
30. Become famous for something
Get talked about, make
your brand fascinating and
disruptive relative to those
around it. Keep banging
the drum. Earn your media
and use your culture to your
advantage
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
31. Arm your communities
Leverage employees and
loyal customers as allies—
Millennials can make or
break you. Give them a
reason to love you and
influence others to
do the same
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
32. Create seamless experiences
Give customers what they
want through any
channel, in ways that make
them remember on- vs. offbrand behaviors. Leverage
a consistent identity to build
and maintain brand loyalty
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
33. Relentlessly drive brand relevance
Think bigger than
incremental improvements
to constant innovation to
stay relevant. Leverage the
brand to reach new
segments, new emotions
and greater partnerships
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
35. We have seen all of these work well together
Relentlessly Drive
Brand Relevance
Be clear on your
Purpose
Become Famous
for Something
Create Seamless
Experiences
Arm Your
Communities
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
36. Staples was seen as undifferentiated and faced competitive threats
“SEA OF SAMENESS”
OFFICE SUPPLY WAREHOUSE
Price Focused
Frequent Sales
Wide Selection
Massed displays
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
37. A new purpose was found
DEMANDERS
RELATIONSHIP DRIVEN
ENTHUSIASTS
EFFICIENCY SEEKERS
Segmentation applied across key targets:
from small business and power users
EASE OF
DOING
BUSINESS
more important
than lowest price
HASSLE-FREE
buying experience
MAXIMIZE
EFFICIENCY
in terms of
time/effort
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
38. Became famous for being “easy”
―That was easy‖ campaign brought the
brand positioning to life by making problems
go away with the push of a button
After the campaign store sales rose 5% and
customer satisfaction increased dramatically
Brand awareness spread even to out of
category purchasers with the ―easy button‖
which generated $7.5M in sales
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
39. Turned communities into brand
ambassadors
Created a new service approach for floor
staff: Engage, Ask, Show, Always Yes
Changed way leadership communicated
internally – from technically correct to better
focused, including the brand voice (wit and
polish)
Store managers spent ~20% less time in the
back office reallocated that time to be on the
floor helping colleagues and customers
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
40. Developed a “hassle-free” experience
“PRODUCTIVITY EXPERT”
New Solutions
Free Delivery
Loyalty Programs
Interactive Displays
Education
Mobile Ordering
Online order and in-store
pick-up
Office product buyers needed an expert to help them navigate a vast array
of category choices
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
41. Continues to differentiate a relevant brand
Staples became the #1 office supply
retailer, surpassing OfficeMax and Office
Depot
Store sales growth outpaced the leading
competitor by 10-15% over a seven year
period
Staples continues to profit and refocus on
online retail, while competitors continue to
sink and consolidate
Source: WSJ, Thompson Reuters, The Boston Globe
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
42. We have seen all of these work well together
Relentlessly Drive
Brand Relevance
Find your
Purpose
Become Famous
for Something
Create Seamless
Experiences
Arm Your
Communities
Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
43. Scott Davis
Chief Growth Officer
sdavis@prophet.com
@scottdavisshift
(312) 878-4934
Prophet
prophet.com
Notes de l'éditeur
Brand Index:Is a company committed to tracking the status of thousands of brands every day with real time reports of public perceptionsThey are one of the rare real-time researchers that track everything from “brand buzz” to purchase intentTheir research distinguishes awareness between paid and earned media, and has a great focus around the traditional purchase funnelEvery year they release the 25 most talked about brands of the year
Over the last 5 years the total value of the top 10 brands has also increased by over $300B
The Toyota Camry was the most popular car sold in the United States last yearIt’s hybrid model has 200 system horse power and about 40mpg City/Highway combinedIt sells for $26,500 according to Toyota’s WebsiteThe 2013 Lexus ES is being manufactured in the same town, Georgetown Kentucky and is built on the same cassis with the same engineThe stats and add-ons between the two are almost exactly the same, but the emblem on the front increases the price by $13,000Note: these are the base models for each car, so the perforated leather seats are not included with the Lexus ES shown
The Toyota Camry was the most popular car sold in the United States last yearIt’s hybrid model has 200 system horse power and about 40mpg City/Highway combinedIt sells for $26,500 according to Toyota’s WebsiteThe 2013 Lexus ES is being manufactured in the same town, Georgetown Kentucky and is built on the same cassis with the same engineThe stats and add-ons between the two are almost exactly the same, but the emblem on the front increases the price by $13,000Note: these are the base models for each car, so the perforated leather seats are not included with the Lexus ES shown
Less than a quarter of consumers trust the ads they see, but the vast majority trust their peersFew brands have broken through – with only 26% of consumers remembering messages that are exposed to several times, while 70% won’t notice when brands are goneFinally, marketers and consumers alike feel like marketing is out of control: with many that they have less control of their brand and even fewer desired results
The sheer amount of options most brands have when it comes to choosing a marketing weapon can be mind boggling. I am going to focus on the ones that are both most relevant and most impactful if tackled effectively
There is one messaging system however that clearly works: Talk valueIt’s primarily dominated by social media and adopted by millennials Future generations will continue to be involved in this constant communication
An explosion in not just the number of, but also the power, and increasing influence of a myriad of stakeholder types
Apple is a good example of a company that has unlocked the value and power of its brand network. First, Apple has a clear set of business objectives that forces management to continuously update its historic brand promise: to develop elegant products that integrate hardware and software in such a compelling fashion that consumer demand can reshape markets and consumer use can enable new behavior patterns. With every new product launch, techies, retailers, bloggers, journalists, and consumers anticipate what ’ s next.Apple’s second bead on developing networks is its clear understanding of the needs of key stakeholders:In addition, Apple builds its networks by aligning its commercial interests with those of its customers, partners, external influencers, and other companies. It also listens to its network through its Genius Bars
Source: Neilson, Also a great source for brand facts: http://www.factbrowser.com/tags/brands/
Companies like Tiffany’s build a strong brand over years of due diligenceThey understand their customers and deliver a promise through signature experiencesThey are committed to success from the bottom up with dedicated employeesBest of all they are dynamic and change appropriately to win in the marketplace
LululemonChip Wilson,Founder and chairman of Lululemon stepped down after making degrading remarks about the size of customersIt didn’t help that in the same year Lululemon released see-through yoga pantsRepublican senator Chris CristieChris Cristie, Republican senator of New Jersey, is being scrutinized for his use of public funds to further his own agendaWhile all US politicians are under scrutiny, Chris is a front runner for presidential nominationIn both cases the parties failed to proactively control the conversations about their brands
Amazon:To start, Amazon was a book seller, but Jeff Bezos looked at it as the first major online retailer – that was it’s purposeAmazon quickly became famous for it’s cheap and timely shipping, as well as the Kindle, and for putting brick and mortar stores like Borders out of businessAmazon has created legions of followers from it’s excellent customer service, and it’s amazon prime membershipsAmazon allows users to purchase from any device, and stream videos to most devices, they can ship anywhere and are happy to cater to customer needsFinally, amazon is not stopping, but innovating with new business acquisitions, closer ties to the android marketplace, and new online services
Special KWhile the brand has been around for over 55 years it continues to be relevant today.More recently the “Special K Challenge” turned into a real stance on women’s health: since then special K and it’s products have focused on being healthier for the average womanLike Dove, their best ads feature issues in women’s health and less on productsEven their website more actively promotes their campaign against “Fat Talk” than any of their productsUSGUSG is a very old B2B construction company that continues to drive brand relevance todayThey have overcome issues with asbestos ceilings and a construction slowdown during the financial crisis, but they persist by partnering with relevant firms to keep people aware of their brandMost recently they have partnered with the Olympic games ti build most of the facilities and have effectively messaged around it, not only because it was a big achievement, but because like the Olympic athletes they are go getters who are responsible for “building” tomorrow
We have all heard our wives or daughters say some thing like “I look fat in this dress” or “I’ll eat this because I’m a fatty”“End Fat Talk” is a campaign to help women stop putting them selves down for how they look and eatSpecial K believes that “Fat Talk” is a barrier to weight management successThe goal is to have positive thinking out-weigh these self degrading statements about one’s own weightNotice that this dominates their webpage and that it is almost difficult to find product information, their commitment is to the health of their customers in this case; not their products
After 15 years of category creation and leadership, Staples found themselves in a precarious situation and believed uncovering a unique brand promise was imperative
Staples divided their customers into four segments and repurposed them selves based on the needs of a target segmentBy providing a hassle free experience Staples was able to win with many more customers instead of being the undifferentiated retailer that it was before
With their “That was Easy” campaign they brought this new positioning to lifeBut they didn’t just communicate the positioning, they improved the store experience for all types of customers, In some cases including the same products in multiple places in the store, recognizing that school teachers, artists and office managers would go to different parts of the store, looking for the same thing
Staples converted their leadership and their employees to a more supportive cultureThey changed their communication, their service approach, and even their leadership behaviors to better engage each other and their customers
Staples really differentiated themselves by owning a seamless experience that others have been slow to imitateStaples used loyalty programs, interactive displays, and free shipping a priority to stand apart from the crowdToday they continue to differentiate by moving their operations online and making ordering easy with hassle free apps
Impact:Just last year (November 2013) Office Depot and Office max completed a merger, they each also posted second quarter losses of $65M and $10M respectively. Staples Had a 3rd quarter profit of $132MStaples is currently closing stores and repositioning for an online consumer while it’s competitors are suffering losses.