Marshall Strategy Tag

Wayne Huezinga autonation marshall strategy
March 28, 2018 In Automotive, Consumer, Identity, Identity and Brand Strategy, Names and Naming Systems, Naming By @MarshallStrategy

A Tribute to Wayne Huezinga

We first met Wayne Huezinga when he asked our help in creating the identity of a new venture he was starting. When we asked about the venture, he said he planned to consolidate the largest unconsolidated industry in America, used cars. He pointed out that the annual sales of used cars was equal to half the sales of new cars. He also said that the average family could no longer afford the average family new car, so they were leasing cars instead of buying them. This meant that there would be a lot of formerly leased cars on the market when the leases expired within 2-4 years, with low miles, that he could buy and sell at a great discount.

He planned very large lots, with a great range of selection. He was not going to have sales people. Instead, he would have consultants to help customers figure out what kind of car was best for their needs and what would be the best way to pay for it. He was going to have fixed prices, the same for everyone. He would give you a firm price for your trade-in whether you bought a car from him or not.

We said, “Wayne, a lot of used car lots are owned by local businessmen who you will put out of business.” He replied, “Used car dealers take advantage of buyers, especially women. They misrepresent their cars, manipulate their pricing and don’t stand behind their product. They are ranked below politicians in honesty. They deserve to be put out of business.”

We named the new business AutoNation and within four years it was the largest auto dealer in America.

So, when you go to any car dealer in the future, new or used, you can thank Wayne Huenziga for bringing transparency and integrity to the industry.

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higher ed brands
February 14, 2018 In Branding, Higher Education, Identity and Brand Strategy, Non-Profit By @MarshallStrategy

It’s Time to Look Outside

It’s Time to Look Outside – Lessons from Brands Outside Higher Education

In this article, we share some high-level insight into what brands are doing to differentiate themselves on an ever-overlapping landscape, and how higher ed brands can learn from them.

Successful brands are adapting to three important trends that influence the way they communicate:

  • Authenticity is the new gold standard.

Younger audiences want to know more about your brand, in a real-world context. Your communications compete with the communications of all other brands, regardless of medium. You’ve got to be authentic, while also standing out.

  • Multichannel brands are winning.

Brands are rethinking how to tell their story across a diverse channel mix. Winning brands set a strategy, created for their audience, and deliver on that audience’s channels.

  • Interests are the new demographics.

Culture is being redefined in many more personal ways that it has before. We have more in common when we compare our interests than when we compare our age. “It’s less about an age group or ‘millennials’ and more about a mindset and lifestyle.” – CultureTrack.com

 

Three ideas for higher education to respond to the trends above:

  1. Be the experts.

Major brands have used experts to build awareness and enthusiasm for their brand promises. Universities are the original sources of expertise and can use partnerships to extend their expertise for public influence and appeal.

There are a few key steps to being the expert:

  • Become an expert on your brand promise.
  • Cultivate a diverse team of advisors.
  • Seek channels and partners.  

  1. Data won’t save you.

This doesn’t mean data isn’t important. It is. It just means it is not going to be your silver bullet.

Most universities use familiar and undifferentiating data points to promote their institutions. The key is to find new ways of using this data, to support a story rather than be the story. External research should be used to inform decisions, but not drive them.

In order to use data wisely, and not over-rely on it, consider these three steps:

  • Tell stories, not facts.
  • Promote your vision of the future.
  • Identify unique metrics that matter.

  1. Expand the experience.

Researchers have reaffirmed the campus visit as the most important decision factor for prospective students, because it helps them see themselves on campus. Universities have many experiential opportunities: from athletics to alumni events, to on-campus celebrations, and community engagement and services.

As you consider how to better expose audiences to your brand experience, consider the following steps:

  • Develop a dimensional brand.
  • Create umbrella experiences.
  • Don’t be afraid to be important.

If Universities allow themselves to be the experts, take care not to over-rely on traditional data, and think about coordinated experiences rather than individual channels, they will benefit from the same successes that the world’s great brands have had. Commitment to these ideas will help Universities break from traditional and undifferentiated approaches, to establish their own valued space in the world.

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October 10, 2017 In Branding, Identity and Brand Strategy, Non-Profit, Scientific By @MarshallStrategy

Brand Matters – The Power of Strategic Identity

The following content was presented at the AIRI 2017 Annual Meeting. Click here Marshall_AIRI_Presentation-2 to download a PDF of the slide presentation itself.

Brand has many definitions, and most of them line up within marketing and advertising.  In this presentation, I hope to shed some light on the power of strategic identity – being true and clear about who you are as an organization and why you matter. This should have influence over all an institute says and does, from who it hires, to how it fulfills its mission, and of course, how it engages, and inspires support from, its critical audiences.

Here’s one important reason brand matters to research institutes: The top ten federally funded institutes depend upon government funding for 71% of their budget on average. But our government appears to value research less and less.  In fact, according to AAAS, “The FY 2018 funding cycle has been rather mixed for Science and Technology on the whole, with many more agencies looking at reductions than increases.”

What this means is, a good portion of an institute’s budget is necessarily going to need to be replaced by other sources of funding.  Where is that going to come from?  Who is going to understand and value these institutes enough to participate in their future?  Why should they?

The challenge is even bigger than funding.  It is about awareness, relevance, and perceived value to multiple audiences, including new research talent, partners and collaborators, and the public who this research is intended to benefit. While in the past, your accomplishments may have spoken for themselves, now you’ve got to ensure that you are understood, appreciated and supported – in an environment that is more competitive than ever. You need to become a “preferred” place to invest in, to work for, and to rely upon for new knowledge.READ MORE

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