My 90 minutes with Steve Jobs: What I learned about building enduring brands from Steve, Digiday Brand Summit, April 2017
1. What Steve Jobs
taught me about
building enduring
brands
Kevin Sellers
chief marketing officer
Avnet, Inc.
2. The *magic* of branding
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“I think youshould be more
explicithere in steptwo…”
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The business enterprise has two – and only
two basic functions; marketing and
innovation.
Marketing and innovation produce results;
all the rest are costs.
Marketing is the distinguishing,
unique function of the business.
- Peter Drucker
“
”
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…we’re not going to get
a chance to get people
to remember much
about us…no company
is.
...we have to be clear
about what we really
want them to know
about us…
“
”
16. Recipe: the best brands
Simple. They own a simple message that breaks through the competitive clutter.
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Unique and differentiated. They possess a ‘special sauce’.
19. Recipe: the best brands
Simple. They own a simple message that breaks through the competitive clutter.
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Unique and differentiated. They possess a ‘special sauce’.
Emotional connection. They give consumers a genuine reason to care about them.
23. Emotional vs. Rational Branding
13%
30%
43%
10%
20% 23%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1 Year 2 Year 3 Year
Campaign Duration
% reporting very large profit growth
Emotional
Rational
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24. Recipe: the best brands
Simple. They own a simple message that breaks through the competitive clutter.
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Unique and differentiated. They possess a ‘special sauce’.
Emotional connection. They give consumers a genuine reason to care about them.
Employ a clear call to action. Invite the customer to engage with them and take action.
34. Impact on Chrysler 200
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America had a story to tell
that was bigger than any
cup holder, bigger than any
Columbus day sales event.
Olivier Francois, CMO of Chrysler
Sales increased:
• 25% in first month
• 26% for the year
39. Dove Real Beauty Campaign
Within six months, sales of
Dove’s firming products increased
• Over 700% in Europe
• Over 600% in the US
The campaigned increased
Dove’s share of the firming lotion
market from 1% to 6%
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44. Recipe: the best brands
Simple. They own a simple message that breaks through the competitive clutter.
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Unique and differentiated. They possess a ‘special sauce’.
Emotional connection. They give consumers a genuine reason to care about them.
Employ a clear call to action. Invite the customer to engage with them and take action.
5 simple tenets that best brands get right…
As we roll out Look Inside, we will look at this template once again to how we stack up…
First, I want to start here…a tremendous example of where Intel marketing has made a huge difference.
THE POWER OF SIMPLE!!!
When we launched i3, i5, i7…this was all about simplifying. We made a confusing process so much easier—for consumers, for retailers, for OEM’s.
Sea of brands…Core, Pentium, Celeron, Atom, Phenom, Athlon, Duron… How could consumers choose?
Then we made it super easy—there was good, there was better, and there was best. And the results added billions to our p&l…
However…we’ve also been our own worst enemy at times…
First, I want to start here…a tremendous example of where Intel marketing has made a huge difference.
THE POWER OF SIMPLE!!!
When we launched i3, i5, i7…this was all about simplifying. We made a confusing process so much easier—for consumers, for retailers, for OEM’s.
Sea of brands…Core, Pentium, Celeron, Atom, Phenom, Athlon, Duron… How could consumers choose?
Then we made it super easy—there was good, there was better, and there was best. And the results added billions to our p&l…
However…we’ve also been our own worst enemy at times…
At the end of 2008, Chrysler was at rock bottom. Chrysler was tied to Detroit and Detroit was a complete mess
Executives testified to Congress that they were one year away from filing for bankruptcy and shutting down all operations permanently.
People weren’t buying the Chrysler 200 because foreign brands had so much luxury cachet….
Chrysler ≠ Luxury!
Instead of going to a purely rational advertising campaign—like most car companies do—
Styling
Leather
Navi system
Smoothness…etc.
Instead, they built on an emotional hook that spoke to the American psyche…’Imported from Detroit’
Proof points for the keynote:
By the early 2000s, Dove was an established, respected brand, but it had plateaued.
“Dove’s sales declined as a result of being lost in a crowded market.”
For those who think strong, emotional campaigns are nice—but don’t drive sales—here are the business results…
The Real Beauty content was zero paid media by the way…
Incidentally, the campaign enabled Dove to extend its product portfolio with successful introductions like Firming cream, Cooling Moisturizer, and Sunless Tanner—none of which were cleansers.