Author:Marshall Strategy

February 20, 2012 In Blog By Marshall Strategy

The Fallout of a Flip-Flop: When Brands Gets Political

Any brand that thinks it is above reproach need only look back as far as the recent Susan G. Komen Foundation debacle for a taste of reality. Organizations out of step with their audience find themselves foundering in the wake of public outcry when business decisions appear to be based in politics. Komen, arguably the most visible women’s health advocacy group in existence today, spent last week backtracking and apologizing to constituents and supporters for political missteps it made not once, but twice. The first when it apparently bowed to political pressures from the right to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood, and the second when it apparently bowed again, this time to political pressure from the left, to restore funding.

The original decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood appears to have been based on an existing internal policy. But the move outraged supporters, convinced it was politically driven. The Foundation was inundated with angry emails, tweets, and Facebook posts. After two days of threats, resignations, and retracted pledges, Komen ceded and reinstated funding for the organization, sparking a second wave of anger from the other side.[1]

The fervor has since died down, but the damage left behind to the Komen Foundation’s brand is irrevocable. Contributors who, in the past, may have had concerns about the Foundation’s political affiliations but chose to overlook them for the betterment of women’s health are now voicing those concerns, and donations to the Foundation may never return to their former level. In addition, some of the past affiliations of the organization’s leaders are resurfacing, complements of media groups adamant to keep the controversy alive. This is slowing whatever recovery the organization expects to make as it responds to these new allegations.

Brands deliver a promise – what customers should expect from a product or service. When expectations and reality are not aligned, the promise is broken, and it can be very difficult to regain trust. If a brand does misstep and must reverse course, the reversal should be swift and apologetic, and make things better than they were before; not just return to the status quo. The Susan G. Komen Foundation was out of touch with its key audience, and failed to appropriately judge the response of its supporters to a politically-based decision, real or perceived. How the organization got to be so distant from its audience is a mystery, but in the minds of many, the Komen Foundation broke its core customer promise, and its trust among many may never be regained.

[1] “Who is Behind Susan G. Komen’s Split from Planned Parenthood,” Feb. 1, 2012, Nicholas Jackson

February 6, 2012 In Branding, Corporate, Video By Marshall Strategy

Company Branding – Why Can’t We Do This Ourselves?

Company Branding and Brand strategy is the process of identifying and articulating who you are, what you do and why you matter – as clearly and compellingly as possible in ways that are unique, motivational, sustainable and meaningful to all of your critical audiences.

It can be difficult for an executive team to step back from the flow of business for any period of time and think holistically about where the business is going. What are the big ideas will drive their critical audiences? And, how can the executive team arrive at a consensus when multiple ideas are generated at the decision table?

A clear brand strategy can be a powerful tool for the overall company branding, and finding the right consulting team to gain strategic branding advantage is critical.

Visit our YouTube Channel for more helpful videos like this one.

January 27, 2012 In Blog, Branding, Finance By Marshall Strategy

Three Key Brand Success Factors: Clarity, Relevance and Engagement

Every afternoon, we get an email called the Chart of the Day from the Silicon Alley Insider, a unit of the larger content publisher Business Insider. This chart is always current, relevant, topical, and easy to digest in under a minute. A minute is about the amount of time that we give it each day, but we remember these charts, and the simple points they make, and find ourselves referring back to them often.

These charts tell a simple story, visually, relevantly, and succinctly. They tell us who is responsible for the most bandwidth usage on the Internet (Netflix by far), where Apple’s astounding revenues come from (iPhone more than 50%) and who pays the most for software developers (Facebook, $110K). They never try to do any more beyond connecting the reader to a deeper article in which he or she may be interested.

These Charts of the Day, while highly focused and specific, represent a clear, relevant and engaging promise – one that can be delivered every day with consistency. Each chart tells different brand success stories, but the overall promise, of a quickly digestible snapshot into the business of technology, is fulfilled every time.

It is a helpful exercise to look at brands like this, and to consider the questions, “What is the promise we can make with our brand that gives us the flexibility to deliver over time, and the challenge to continue to fulfill customer expectations?” and “How can my brand deliver on its promise in a clear, relevant and engaging way, every day?” and, in this particular case, “If I had only one minute to deliver value to my customers, what would I say?” When brands get this right, customers recognize, appreciate and remember the value they create.

January 17, 2012 In Blog By Marshall Strategy

ViaSat’s Exede™

We’re proud to announce the new brand launch at CES of our client ViaSat’s new superfast satellite broadband service which we named exedesm . Delivered by ViaSat-1, their recently launched state-of-the-art satellite with more bandwidth capacity than all other North American satellites combined, exedesm is faster than DSL, and offers flexible volume plans to meet customer needs. The new service platform dramatically exceeds the speed and performance capabilities of existing satellite, DSL and wireless broadband. This is just one of many exciting new service offerings from ViaSat, a serious innovator in satellite technology.

So far the press coverage has been very positive. More people will soon have the chance to sample the exedesm speed when it becomes available for consumers, broadcast journalists, and in-flight on Jet Blue and Continental Airlines. Were confident that exedesm and its parent ViaSat will continue to exceed expectations around the world with their end-to-end, technologically advantaged communications services.

January 13, 2012 In New Work By Marshall Strategy

A New Brand for a Groundbreaking Satellite Service

We’re proud to announce the new brand launch at CES of our client ViaSat’s new superfast satellite broadband service which we named exede^sm . Delivered by ViaSat-1, their recently launched state-of-the-art satellite with more bandwidth capacity than all other North American satellites combined, exede^sm is faster than DSL, and offers flexible volume plans to meet customer needs. The new service platform dramatically exceeds the speed and performance capabilities of existing satellite, DSL and wireless broadband. This is just one of many exciting new service offerings from ViaSat, a serious innovator in satellite technology.

Exede Viasat Satellite Dish

So far the press coverage has been very positive. More people will soon have the chance to sample the exede^sm speed when it becomes available for consumers, broadcast journalists, and in-flight on Jet Blue and Continental Airlines. Were confident that exede^sm and its parent ViaSat will continue to exceed expectations around the world with their end-to-end, technologically advantaged communications satellite services.

January 9, 2012 In Blog By Marshall Strategy

Brand Naming: A Plum By Any Other Name is Just As Sweet

A number of years ago, I remember catching a TV commercial that announced Sunsweet “Dried Plums”, and the healthy joyful life that they enabled. I mused to myself how Sunsweet had taken the prune, a derided fruit only thought to be suitable for the elderly and the constipated, and reintroduced it to the mainstream with a more descriptive, but less negative, name. I wondered how successful it would be.

Brand Naming

It must have had some degree of success, because it appears Sunsweet has done it again. They’ve recently re-re-introduced the prune, this time cast as Plum Amazins.
The brand name strategy is brilliant, fun, and catchy, but it makes me wonder when it is appropriate to change a product name, especially when the product has essentially not changed at all. Sunsweet of course claims a revolutionary new drying technology that keeps the Amazins fresh, full of fiber, and with a high “glycemic index” (they’re sugary).

Whether or not these prunes are any different from the old prunes, the reality is that the dried fruit has always been tasty, good for you, and multipurpose – so the old rap was just a bad rap. As long as it raises brand awareness for the right product attributes, and results in sales, changing to Plum Amazins seems like a smart marketing decision.

Other food product rebrandings have been less successful, because they were done for the wrong reasons. For example, the change last year to “Corn Sugar” from “High Fructose Corn Syrup” was meant to mask the truth that this ingredient is a contributor to obesity, but it did little to change public opinion.

We’ve helped to rename a number of brands, either product or company, usually because the old name was too restrictive, or inaccurate to the reality of the brand. For example, when Korn Ferry chose “Careerlink” as the name for its new online recruiting tool, we recommended immediate change. Careerlink sounded more like a job supermarket than like a sophisticated tool for finding young executives. The final name, Futurestep, was a far more appropriate and elastic brand that could grow with the sophistication of the service.

For corporations, as well as food products, the key to a successful brand name or identity change is in trying to better reflect your reality, not try to change it. This is where Amazins win and Corn Sugar loses.

January 3, 2012 In Blog By Marshall Strategy

Create a New Brand: When is it necessary?

One of the key questions we often hear from our clients is: when is it necessary to create a new brand?

Creating a new brand affects everything within your organization, including products to personnel, marketing and finance. It also affects customer perceptions of your competitive promise.

Creating a new brand is not always the best way to win over your customers. However, here are a few examples of historical cases where it made good sense to create a new brand.

December 19, 2011 In Blog By Marshall Strategy

Branding Strategy: Repairing the Shoe Shop

I took a pair of shoes in to be repaired today. Around the corner from our San Francisco office there are two shoe repair stores. One of them, Anthony’s Shoe Service, is an old-school shoe repair shop that has been in business since 1926 – a dying breed in the city. Next door to it is Mak & Co – a relative upstart with one of our favorite signs in San Francisco. “Mak & Co: Shoe Service, Keys Cut, Watch Repair, Shoe Shine, Nails, Facial, Waxing, Massage.” Basically, any service you can cram into 650 square feet.

Branding Strategy

The two stores illustrate two distinct brand challenges.

Anthony’s has a clear identity and brand focus. They offer a highly specialized service, have a loyal clientele, and will continue to repair shoes as long as their customers keep coming in. However, with a singular focus, they have limited alternatives for driving new business or growing revenue.

Mak & Co, on the other hand, is highly entrepreneurial, offering a bewildering array of services with skills that may or may not transfer from one service to the next. As they add more and more services, they face the risk of confusing the market. Mak & Co. is an identity that doesn’t say anything.

We recently helped a client faced with the same brand challenge as Mak & Co. Highly entrepreneurial; they had started as service company with a specific industry expertise in digital media buying. As their capabilities and client list grew, they added more and more individually branded services and proprietary technology tools that they could sell separately. Although revenues continued to grow, their growing sales and account team couldn’t clearly articulate what business they were in or how their offerings added up to a clear value proposition. By being so broad in their offering, they risked losing business to more specialized competitors.

Our recommendation was to develop a new brand positioning that serves as a broad platform, appropriate to the multiple services and technologies they provide, yet establishing ownership of a specific expertise. It also gives them a clear direction for future growth. This new positioning has invigorated the company, clarified their business direction, and reassured their investors. Now, everyone in the company can clearly articulate what the business they’re in and why they matter to their most critical audiences.

The moral of the story: A company with a clear brand positioning has a greater chance of gaining new business and retaining existing customers. Where did I go to get my shoes repaired? I went to Anthony’s.

November 28, 2011 In Blog By Marshall Strategy

Brand Story Case Study: Shutterfly Success

Through an excellent brand story, Shutterfly continues to help consumers navigate their own path to personal expression, providing much more than products; they provide the promise of personal creativity, expression and shared experiences.

Since building and communicating their story through all they say and do, Shutterfly has been rewarded with double-digit growth year over year. It is a great example of how a clear, relevant story can help your brand elevate above others in the market.

October 28, 2011 In Video By Marshall Strategy

What is the Role of Research in Branding?

Managers and CEOs often want to base their brand decision on measurable market research. So, how much market research should you do?

Research can never give you all the answers, but it can be effectively used to understand how target audiences might receive a new idea, or to find a new market opportunity.

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Author:Marshall Strategy

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