Here's a good article from the Strategy + Business, Autumn 2007 issue. It adresses how the role that marketing plays within the corporate structure is rapidly becoming the corporate driver for growth.
The New Complete Marketer: How the most successful CMO's are teaching management to drive growth
By GregorHarter, Edward Landry, and Andrew Tipping
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Disingenuous Branding or Good Story Telling?
This week's brand debate on BrandChannel focuses on the ethical/(perhaps) legal snare of disingenuous branding. As per BrandChannel, "It's not surprising that corporations are willing to bend the truth to gain a competitive edge. But at what point does manipulating the truth undermine the consumer trust that successful branding requires?" They also pose the question of whether the government should step in to provide regulation. (See the complete debate intro and reader comments here: http://www.brandchannel.com/forum.asp?bd_id=84).
The brunt of the ethical questioning was placed on advertising & packaging and the lack of truth found therein. In my humble opinion, the debate question itself is fundamentally flawed. Branding is neither advertising or packaging alone. The brand is a company's personality, its emotional tie with consumers, the humanizing factor of an otherwise faceless corporation. It's the experience you have every time you go to Starbucks that helps you rationalize paying $4 for a cup of hot sugary milk. The brand is your friend. And much like your friends it can be prone to exaggerating a story now and again.
Advertising is one of many communication vehicles for a brand, and it's meant to engage and entertain, often through exaggeration. Yes, advertising bends the truth, but so do sitcoms and films. I'm about as likely to believe that Jason Bourne is a real ex-CIA assassin running around New York as I am that drinking Gatorade will help me throw a football out of a stadium.
There is a big difference between exaggerating and lying, and this is where the lawyers step in. If an advertisement expressly states that a product will do something or provide a benefit that it does not, then you sir are a liar, and thus subject to a class action. If a Coke spot claimed that by drinking Diet Coke you will lose 45 pounds, well that's unethical and illegal. But when we see an empathetic tow truck driver moving a VW away from a red curb because towing the 2007 VW GTI would deprive the car owner of an incredible driving experience. That's telling a story, not claiming that buying a Volkswagen will keep you from getting towed. Well, according to my interpretation of the commercial.
And that's why advertising can be such a powerful tool in brand marketing. It can tell a story, showing off the lighter, wittier, human side of a company. It engages consumers in ways that even the product isn't capable of doing. For me, a company that can make fun of itself says a lot about the confidence it has in it's brand.
The brunt of the ethical questioning was placed on advertising & packaging and the lack of truth found therein. In my humble opinion, the debate question itself is fundamentally flawed. Branding is neither advertising or packaging alone. The brand is a company's personality, its emotional tie with consumers, the humanizing factor of an otherwise faceless corporation. It's the experience you have every time you go to Starbucks that helps you rationalize paying $4 for a cup of hot sugary milk. The brand is your friend. And much like your friends it can be prone to exaggerating a story now and again.
Advertising is one of many communication vehicles for a brand, and it's meant to engage and entertain, often through exaggeration. Yes, advertising bends the truth, but so do sitcoms and films. I'm about as likely to believe that Jason Bourne is a real ex-CIA assassin running around New York as I am that drinking Gatorade will help me throw a football out of a stadium.
There is a big difference between exaggerating and lying, and this is where the lawyers step in. If an advertisement expressly states that a product will do something or provide a benefit that it does not, then you sir are a liar, and thus subject to a class action. If a Coke spot claimed that by drinking Diet Coke you will lose 45 pounds, well that's unethical and illegal. But when we see an empathetic tow truck driver moving a VW away from a red curb because towing the 2007 VW GTI would deprive the car owner of an incredible driving experience. That's telling a story, not claiming that buying a Volkswagen will keep you from getting towed. Well, according to my interpretation of the commercial.
And that's why advertising can be such a powerful tool in brand marketing. It can tell a story, showing off the lighter, wittier, human side of a company. It engages consumers in ways that even the product isn't capable of doing. For me, a company that can make fun of itself says a lot about the confidence it has in it's brand.
Back to the debate. I don't think its disingenuous to say that you've killed seven in one swat, you just have to make sure that in your message the listener sees seven huge flies.
It's important for brand managers to remain aware of the brand communication vehicles used and understand each vehicle's purpose and how it goes about creating impact. The retail experience, the packaging, the customer support must all be in line with the brand message, promise, vision, mission and all the other co prorate compass points - but it is also important not to stifle branded communications in the name of controlling the brand.
In the end it comes down to consumer. The moment I hear Tom Shane's droning voice in a Shane Co. radio ad I turn the dial; when a Budweiser 'Real Men of Genius' radio ad comes on I turn up the volume.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Hard Things to Do - #47: Maintaining Objectivity
You know, it's very difficult watching others make bad decisions, well, what I think are bad decisions. We all have had the friend who was in a relationship with the wrong person for the wrong reasons and no matter how much logic you threw at him/her and no matter how many obvious red flags are presented, the friend chooses to stay.
Having recently seen my girlfriend go through this with a friend of hers, I was able to remain somewhat removed from the situation, giving me a chance to examine this situation from a more objective standpoint. Admittedly, I was against the relationship myself. She sold her successful business and moved to the Midwest for a guy who appears to be an all around douche bag. Nearing his forties, he's acting as if he's never left the frat house. During a recent trip back to the Bay Area her friends hit her with concerns, arguments and support for leaving. Although she appeared to 'see the light' she disappeared suddenly, refusing to return phone calls and text messages. She cut her trip short and returned to the flat barren, boring midsection of America.
Did we push her too hard? Maybe we were so busy talking at her that didn't stop and listen to her. Maybe what we see as a soon-to-be domestic train wreck is something completely different in her eyes. Maybe she's afraid of running out of opportunities...or time. Perhaps the situation will play out exactly as we fear, but it's a lesson that she needs to learn the hard way.
All I know is this: It's impossible to see clearly when you're too close to a situation, no matter what side of the fence you're standing on.
Having recently seen my girlfriend go through this with a friend of hers, I was able to remain somewhat removed from the situation, giving me a chance to examine this situation from a more objective standpoint. Admittedly, I was against the relationship myself. She sold her successful business and moved to the Midwest for a guy who appears to be an all around douche bag. Nearing his forties, he's acting as if he's never left the frat house. During a recent trip back to the Bay Area her friends hit her with concerns, arguments and support for leaving. Although she appeared to 'see the light' she disappeared suddenly, refusing to return phone calls and text messages. She cut her trip short and returned to the flat barren, boring midsection of America.
Did we push her too hard? Maybe we were so busy talking at her that didn't stop and listen to her. Maybe what we see as a soon-to-be domestic train wreck is something completely different in her eyes. Maybe she's afraid of running out of opportunities...or time. Perhaps the situation will play out exactly as we fear, but it's a lesson that she needs to learn the hard way.
All I know is this: It's impossible to see clearly when you're too close to a situation, no matter what side of the fence you're standing on.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Happy Feet
By some serendipitous twist of fate my sweet, bless-ed Reef flip flops have come home to me!!! It was miraculous: I was at home slaving away on my next blog post when the sky opened up and a chorus of angels spewed forth some form of angelic host-like musical number (mostly "aaah, aaaahh, aaaaaaaahhhhhs") and my sweet flippers descended from heaven into my awaiting (heaving) bosom.
Or the person who ended up with the flip flops gave them to Cynthia... who then brought them home for me, where I was most likely drinking beer, sleeping or a combination of the two.
Either way I'm walking comfortably again with a renewed sense of tanned masculinity, which is then quickly snapped away when my sweet Cynthia reminds me with her dark Mexican (unfair advantage) skin that my hard earned farmer's tan reminds her of the backside of a postage stamp. Thank you Love.
Or the person who ended up with the flip flops gave them to Cynthia... who then brought them home for me, where I was most likely drinking beer, sleeping or a combination of the two.
Either way I'm walking comfortably again with a renewed sense of tanned masculinity, which is then quickly snapped away when my sweet Cynthia reminds me with her dark Mexican (unfair advantage) skin that my hard earned farmer's tan reminds her of the backside of a postage stamp. Thank you Love.
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