Archive for September, 2007

Higher education that thinks like a brand

I recently spoke to the Ad Club of the Triad in Greensboro, North Carolina.  A nice AAF group from the third district.  A good presentation and some very interesting dialogue before and after.  Something came up in one of our discussions that I felt worthy of a blog post.  It seems that High Point University is located not too far from Greensboro.  A small private liberal arts school with about 3000 students.  I believe I had followed them in college basketball at some point and may have seen a sign coming through the airport, but I wouldn’t consider myself very familiar with the school, its setting, or their academics.  And those aren’t even the topics we spoke about. 

Under the leadership of their president Nido Quebin,  has turned High Point University in less than three years into… well, a brand.  And a brand that delivers a wonderful experience for faculty, students, and parents a like.  My Ad Fed colleagues spoke about all the great experiences that High Point had built into its campus, like lemonade stands and valet parking after 9pm to assure the safety of students.  It was just enough to whet my appetite to know more about this educational leader, change agent, and brand builder.  Grabbing a burger after the presentation I quickly went back to my room and Googled Nido and his University.  It was an enlightening web surf and I grabbed a short summary from Terry Paulson’s change and leadership blog that summarized some of their experiential efforts.

With new students just arriving at HPU, Nido and his team knew how frustrating that first day could be. He worked at changing that, “Positive experiences create brand. We want people to have a positive experience every three minutes when they first bring their kids to the university. We had bands playing music, free food and drinks at the kiosks around the grounds, free ice cream from our ice cream truck, and people ready to help with carts to carry luggage and boxes.” Nido was there walking the grounds, shaking hands, giving high-fives, talking to parents and students. The faculty and staff at the university joined in to make the WOW experience!

Nido realizes that initial experiences need to be sustained and institutionalized in a hundred different ways. Nido shared, “We have a Director of WOW at High Point University. Their job is to find the un-WOW and make it WOW. When a student first visits a campus, you have three minutes to make an impression. For the average student, it’s either ‘I feel at home’ or ‘Get me out of here!’ Since mothers are truly in charge, we focus on ‘What would momma say?’ Momma wants nice people, good food and a safe campus.” Nido has instituted WOW cards that people can give to anyone who provides a WOW experience. He and his team are committed to leaving a trail of tangibles that reinforce the HPU brand. The HPU Promise is contagious–”At HPU, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people.”

Nido highlighted three WOWs that are making a big difference to students: “The best three things we did to create WOW were to bring a branded ice cream truck and kiosks for free ice cream, food and drinks, free car washes on the weekend and valet parking for students after 9 PM.” The food and drink kiosks and the ice cream truck sell the value of generosity. The valet parking sells the value of safety and security; even on a safe campus, HPU goes above and beyond to ensure the safety of its students. Because of the dirt from all the new construction and renovation, the free car washes on Saturday show the value of respect for the students’ property.

A leader of an institution that thinks of it as a brand.  How refreshing.  You don’t have to make or sell a packaged good to think like, or lead your business like a brand.  With all the choices in colleges for kids, here’s a man that knows he needs to stand for something different.  He’s not one of the larger schools in the state like NC State, Duke, or UNC.  No, High Point only has about 3000 students.  But last year their freshman class had almost 40% higher enrollment than their previous class of freshmen.  Something’s working.  Simple brand principles like positioning, personality, core essences, and consumer experiences should not be limited to the classroom in the college of business.  A wonderful case study is happening every day at High Point.  With two kids entering college in the next few years, as a parent I would certainly like to think that High Point would make the short list.  It just sounds like a fun place to go to school.

YOUniversal Branding Anyone?

I throw out a cautionary note as I watch the YOUniversal branding wave crest.  And take it from a surfer like myself.  Waves are fun to ride but eventually break and dribble up on the beach only to be followed by another one.  But enough saltwater metaphors.  YOUniversal branding, a name I believe coined by trendwatching, a snippet of which is below:

“At the core of all consumer trends is the new consumer, who creates his or her own playground, own comfort zone, own universe. It’s the ‘empowered’ and ‘better informed’ and ’switched on’ consumer combined into something profound, something we’ve dubbed MASTER OF THE YOUNIVERSE. At the core is control: psychologists don’t agree on much, except for the belief that human beings want to be in charge of their own destiny. Or at least have the illusion of being in charge.

And all of this is well and good and I totally get the whole consumer generated content wave and the empowered consumer or prosumer.  What I don’t get is when  large brands, which should have the resources to know (and do) better take the easy and lazy way out, try and communicate universally (in a generic way) to this new segment of one.

ATT welcomes me to my world delivered.

Not sure what they’re delivering just to me, other than a new bland, I mean brand camapign. 

McDonald’s tells me that “I’m lovin’ it”.  Love is a pretty strong emotion.  Not sure I would connect it to their fast food dining experience. 

 To quote Mike Roberts, president of McDonald’s USA:

“Our 13,500 U.S. restaurants are uniting behind this new brand message and energy. We are focused on bringing the i’m lovin’ it theme to life not only in our advertising but also for every customer who visits our restaurants. This world-class marketing strategy is the latest element of our overall plan to continue revitalizing McDonald’s for our customers through compelling food choices, great service and restaurant operations, motivating value and exciting new restaurant decors.” 

In contrast,  Apple the king of customization has built a global brand franchise around the “I” prefix.  Start with brilliant, yet simple design and devices that come to the consumer all alike (except for colors perhaps).  Then each product quickly becomes a blank canvas evolving into a unique portrait of that consumer reflected in their preferences in skins, play lists, and ring tones not to mention a pletheora of cosmetic accouterments. 

Now I’m lovin’ that.  A much better approach to a unique customer experience.  If you’re a brand don’t tell me what you’re going to do for me.  I’ll be the judge of that.  And brands, watch your use of pronouns.  Have a conversation with your consumers don’t just talk to them.

Wal*Mart gets a smiley face lift

A recent article in Advertising Age talks about Wal*Mart going through a bit of a subtle re-positioning, or at least beginning the process with a lifestyle oriented “freshen-up” of  its tag line.  It seems that after 19 years the famous tag line “Always low prices..always” often accompanied by the smiley face will be given a face lift of sorts. 

In its first big push from its new shop, Martin Agency, the Bentonville behemoth is scrapping its happy-face logo, which has been in use for 19 years, from its TV spots and trading in its “Always Low Prices” motto for a new one. The new tag-line, “Save Money. Live Better,” will be rolled out onto everything from receipts to shopping bags. Wal-Mart’s new tack signals a scaling back of recent attempts to go upscale, and marks a return to its traditional emphasis on low prices.

Many of you may have noticed their subtle shift over the last year or so as they apparently were trying to lure in a more upscale sophisticated shopper with trendier designer brands and a more polished approach to their advertising.  And if anyone in Bentonville is listening, here’s my problem with that.  

After indelibly etching the Wal*Mart brand in consumer’s brains as the low-cost leader they wanted to go after a more upscale shopper.  A shopper that probably loathes the Wal*Mart experience - if you could call it that.  A shopper that would gladly pay double what they just saved just to get out of the store and feel clean.  Literally and emotionally.   Let’s just say it.  Wal*Mart wants to be a Tar*Mart with Martha Stewart, Cindy Crawford, and HGTV on board as influential endorsers.  Can we say, “All things to all people.” 

Here’s the marketing conundrum, and I’ve argued this point many times with my academic friends.  Brands don’t position themselves…consumers do.  As sharp brand stewards and marketers we can establish what amounts to little more than guard rails to guide our consumer down a path.  But ultimately the consumer positions the brand in their mind based on their experience with the brand.  That experience includes the brand promise and whether it lives up to it.  It also includes all marketing communications, user and shopping experience, and price value equations just to name a few components.  And let me reiterate the consumer’s perception is the brand’s reality. 

Brand managers can sit around a room and look at positioning maps till they see spots; but we can only guide our brands, we can’t drive them to an ideal “sweet spot” .  So if Wal*Mart wants to be perceived differently it will take more than just a tag line change or a smiley face lift.  I guess if we end up with a few extra coins in our pocket because we shopped at Wal*Mart, our lives are supposed to be better.  In what way?

How about some research?

Defining experiential marketing and how it’s best utilized is kind of like nailing Jello to the wall.  The street’s full of buzz about it but there’s not always a tremendous amount of factual insight. 

The folks at Nielsen Business Media who publish such great reads as Adweek and Brandweek have partnered with the Experiential Marketing Forum to try and gain some clarity on the topic.

The publications will also be running a special Experiential Marketing section probably sometime in November.

This will be a very broad study with an international reach, and Adweek and Brandweek will be releasing the research cross-platform. The result will be an epic study and white paper that will help everyone more effectively sell their innovative programs through to their clients.

Click here to go to the survey

A rising tide floats all boats.

Don’t just take it from me…

I always like to feature interesting articles from really smart people way above my pay grade that “get it” and espouse the value and benefit of experiential marketing.

A recent article  from Fortune magazine interviews Shelly Lazarus, the CEO of advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather.  Lots of great stuff but one quote worth mentioning:

 We’re living in a world now where consumers are bombarded with thousands of commercial messages - they’re everywhere you look. Unless you can cut through that and engage someone, I think you are lost. Consumers are now clearly in control. They control what they hear and see, when, and where. You have to find ways to allow them to actively engage with you, or the money you spend is wasted.

Couldn’t't have said it better myself.

A Predisposed Nose

An interesting post from Stuart Elliott of the NY Times on the innovative marketing of Chanel’s newest fragrance line summarized below:

Marketers of luxury brands have been laggards in advertising online because they have considered the traditional media better showcases for their glamorous, glitzy pitches. Now, Chanel is joining the ranks of brands with big Internet presences, devoting a considerable part of a sensual new global campaign to efforts in the new media.

The campaign, for the Coco Mademoiselle fragrance, includes ads on Web sites like eonline.com, instyle.com, nymag.com and nytimes.com as well as search-engine marketing on Google and Yahoo.

There is also a special Web site mademoiselle-forever.com where computer users are able to watch video clips as well as get a virtual tour of the Paris apartment of the designer Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel.

To generate “buzz” about the special Web site, Chanel has been communicating with the writers of 200 blogs around the world, including Beauty Addict (beautyaddict.blogspot.com), Blogdorf Goodman (blogdorfgoodman.blogspot.com) and Kristopher Dukes (kristopherdukes.com). The bloggers received a mysterious box offering them a preview of the special Web site along with an inside look at the making of a sexy commercial that is the centerpiece of the campaign, featuring the young actress Keira Knightley.

More than a dozen bloggers were even invited to Paris, to receive an actual tour of the Chanel apartment.

The full article can be found here.

What I found interesting is the use of  on-line media, social networks, blogs and influentials to promote the new Chanel perfume Coco Mademoiselle.   Here’s a product category that really lends itself to experiential marketing and finally someone is going beyond the scratch & sniff ads in the high priced fashion mags.

Not being a perfume wearer myself, what intrigues me is how imagery, social chatter, recommendations, brand names, and even a tour of the designer’s home can predispose a consumer’s senses to expect a certain smell.  I’m not sure what I would expect this perfume to smell like much less be able to describe that fragrance, but it’s interesting how marketing can get your nose properly “set up” to have a brand deliver on an olfactory promise.   Great experiential campaigns engage as many senses as they can to deliver on the brand promise.  With each additional sense, the consumer becomes more involved and more immersed in the essence of Chanel.

Think of other great brands in the food, wine, music or even clothing (tactile) categories that market through one sense (sight or sound) only to pay off that marketing through another (taste smell or touch).   And hopefully everything connects in a meaningful way inside the consumer’s mind.

As my friend Erik Hauser says, “Good experiential marketing doesn’t always have to be touched (in a live event sense) to be felt”.

The new kid: connected meaning and relevance

Connected meaning and relevance.  You’re probably thinking this phrase is fast becoming the new buzz words in marketing now that we’ve tossed aside ”breaking through the clutter”.  But hang with me.  I write this in response to some good chatter on the  Experiential Marketing Forum on the topic.  And by the way I would encourage anyone that plays in this brand game, or just looking for stimulating conversation on the topic of consumer engagement through experiences, to join IXMA and get involved.

Anyway back to connected meaning and relevance.  Way too deep of a topic to thoroughly cover in this format but good brand building that hits on these two sweet spots ultimately wins over consumers hearts, minds, and souls.

In its simplest terms connected meaning is something that is controlled by the consumer.  Brands that have done their homework  will present a brand personality and proposition that consumers will want to connect with in a meaningful way.  Not just lustful infatuation but a long term relationship. 

Relevance is even more controlled by the consumer.  Brands that say they speak the language and embody the lifestyle can only cross their fingers that their brand is relevant.  Relevant to a consumer’s lifestyle, passions, and ultimately relevant to who they are as an individual - not just their social community.

So if everything is controlled by the consumer, “What’s a brand to do?”  Sit back and let the consumer rule our marketing?  Well, kind of, sort of, but not really.  Strong brands need to aspire to understand their consumers better than the consumers know themselves.  Not just in a focus group kind of market research way (not that research isn’t important- it is), but live among them, hire them into your company.  Ruminate amongst their tribe (social community) and most importantly listen to what they’re saying about your brand and other brands they are passionate about.  Then once you gain clarity about their passion points and personalities make your brand personality (and any experiences that come from that) fit within that space - naturally. 

Think back to elementary school days.  How often did your group accept the “new kid”?  And what typically did the new kid need to do to become accepted?  Usually follow the leaders, act like they did, and assimilate naturally without being noticed or ostracized. 

Is your brand trying to be the new kid?  It’s tough.  Consumers don’t let just anyone, much less everyone, in the pack.  While the schoolyard analogy may be a stretch, I believe kids exhibit a very sophisticated consumer behavior even at a young age in how they adopt friends, trends, and ultimately brands.  Where do you think we as big fancy educated adult consumers learned all this stuff we call connected meaning and relevance?  It certainly wasn’t from blogs.

Respect your consumer’s time…all 3500 hours of it.

Back at it after a bit of a Labor Day end of Summer mental wind-down/respite. 

There’s a post on media consumption and shifting startegies that is getting a bit of conversation in the media world.

A couple of key points:

Overall communications spending is projected to grow 6.4% in 2007.  Good news for us in the branding biz.

Consumers are shifting their attention to alternative media.  Cconsumers are also migrating away from advertising-supported media, such as broadcast TV and newspapers, to consumer-supported platforms, such as cable TV and video-games.  No real revalations - but more bad news if you’re in the :30 spot biz.

And probably the saddest fact of all is that consumers are spending over 3500 hours annually engaged in some form of media messaging.

Now I’m not sure how VSS measures such statistics and I’m sure we could all say figures lie, and liars figure, but none the less at over 9 hours a day it is an inordinate amount of our daily lives.  Granted much of that media consumption is clutter not being paid attention to; much less retained or recalled.  But here’s the shout-out to smart marketers trying to build brands.  Respect the consumer’s time!

Think about it.  After consumers sleep 6-8 hours and then go off and spend the same amount of time earning a respectable wage to buy our stuff, we as marketers are basically taking all of what’s left.  Treat it as a business transaction with your consumer.  They will give us a small slice of that precious nine hour program block only for something worthwhile in return.

Make your branded message engaging and provide some real value for that time they just gave away.  Make it entertaining.  Make it remarkable.  Don’t just throw your message into the mix assuming it will connect with someone.  As Bonnie Raitt said, “Let’s give them something to talk about”.  Because when people talk, people buy.