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Charity: Water Branding

In the case of non-profits or companies, branding associated to a social cause comes with potential criticism based on perception of authenticity of the organizations intentions. If a company is perceived to be using a social cause to boost profitability through a public relations stunt, then consumers (particularly in the age of social media) will see through the facade and could cause more harm than good. Likewise, charities or non-profits have often come under criticism for the great amount that they spend on overhead, especially when it comes to executive salaries and bonuses, rather than towards their mission or social cause.

One example of a non-profit that has effectively branded itself as an authentic and transparent organization is Charity: Water. They do a great job expressing their heart-warming origin story and can tangibly express what your donations are going towards and follow-up to provide transparency. Likewise, they have created several use-cases that you can do yourself to help raise money to donate to Charity: Water, including throwing a birthday party where you receive donations instead of gifts or running in a race to raise money. These use-cases provide effective ways for you to raise money and help the cause of providing clean drinking water to the entire world’s population as well as earn social currency among your friends and family. Please see the video below with more details into Charity: Water’s marketing and branding efforts.

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MassMutual Project Update

15.846 Branding - Progress Report

Brand: MassMutual

Team Members: Shahid Azad, Matt Cardoso, Anton Lande, Siddhartha Dutt Pandey, Horacio Straffon, Peter Touma

Firm Background

MassMutual Financial Group (MMFG) is a 160-year-old firm with the single purpose “to help people secure their future and protect the ones they love.” MMFG, one of the biggest life insurance companies in the U.S., has a market share of less than 4 percent. Northwestern Mutual, the largest player in this market, has a market share of more than 8 percent.[1] The life insurance market in the U.S. is a highly crowded one with largely commoditized products.

In this context, MMFG wants to enhance its competitive position. One new demographic of interest is the 92 million millennials, given that most do not yet have clearly-defined preferred insurer.

Problem Statement

Since financial goals are very different for people in their 20s, 40s, and 60s, in this business it is necessary to have specific strategies and products to address the needs of each segment. MassMutual is currently trying to figure out how they can better connect with the millennials and understand their financial goals and needs. By understanding millennials goals and needs, MassMutual can position its brand promise to engage more deeply with the millennials, or potentially create a sub-brand to address their unmet needs. MMFG can achieve this through development of new technology, customized products and services, or through acquisitions.

Our Research Plan

We plan to conduct primary market research to establish the existence and magnitude of the problem described above and develop solutions to improve the brand promise and awareness associated with potential millennial customers. We will also use secondary market research to complement our survey, interview questions, and methodology. We plan to use the following tools at various stages of our analysis:  

1) Establishing Existence and Magnitude of the Problem

Conduct qualitative and quantitative research to understand millennials’ general preferences and trends in the marketplace

Design and administer a Qualtrics survey to students at various graduate schools such as:

MIT Sloan

Wharton School of Business

Harvard Kennedy School

Harvard Business School

We will also use personal networks and social media platforms to collect data from millennials outside of graduate schools

Interviews with friends and family about their perspective on saving and retirement

Call and take notes on calls or visits to MassMutual locations posing as new potential customers

Research user feedback on online forums and blogs regarding MassMutual

Customer satisfaction surveys and rankings

To get access to the younger half of the millennials’ cohort, we intend to use MTurk, restricting responder by age and geography (e.g. U.S. residence, ages between 18-25)

2) Peer company and competitive market assessment

(Traditional Financial Investment Advisor (FIA) [e.g., Vanguard, Fidelity] and Robo-Advisors [e.g., Wealthfront, Betterment, Mint, LearnVest])

Websites

Trade Journals

Other research reports

3) Consumer insights from secondary sources

Articles/resources (e.g., Fortune, TechCrunch) indicating what millennials want in financial institutions

4) Experiment to figure out best way to increase positive sentiment towards financial advisors

Through our secondary research we found that millennials are very skeptical about financial advice coming from the financial industry. We want to create 2x2 experimental cells where our first independent variable will be financial knowledge: HI – LO and the second independent variable will be trust for financial advisors: HI – LO. Lastly the dependent variable will be willingness to seek financial advice from a financial institution, an engagement factor.

Respondents will be manipulated to put into each sells. For the first independent variable we would manipulate the respondents’ financial literacy competence by asking them easy questions to get them to the high case and tell them that they rank in a high quartile of financial literacy, and vice versa for the low case. In order to manipulate the second independent variable we would appreciate guidance.

We aim to have 30 people per cell, with 8 cells (two 2x2 experiments) that is a total of approximately 250 participants for $0.60 per completion ($0.06 per minute), in total our research budget is $250.

Project Progression Timeline

Phase 1: Problem validation, data collection, and initial analysis - 4/27-5/2

4/28 - Finalize and administer survey

4/29 - Finalize interview questions and questions for mock customer service calls

4/29-5/2 - Conduct surveys, interviews, and mock customer service calls

4/28-5/2 - Conduct competitive analysis, industry and branding research

5/2 - Collect results

Phase 2: Analysis and synthesis - 5/2-5/3 

Analyze data to finalize problem and understand deep customer insights

Better understand MassMutual’s position given competition

Decide if MassMutual should pursue a sub-brand or M&A strategy

Phase 3: MassMutual Branding Proposal - 5/4-5/9

Includes Current and Proposed brand positioning, communication strategy, and potential threats

Prepare deck (slides and presentation)

Due Date: 5/10

Source: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/life-insurance-biggest-companies/

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Intel Inside Goes to the Cloud

In 2014, Intel announced a new program called the “Intel Cloud Technology” Program. This program involved Intel joining forces with Cloud Service Providers across the world (including Amazon Web Services, Virtustream, and Rackspace) to provide better customer experience and value. This was a clear brand extension from the traditional “Intel Inside” PC campaign and showcases that even with cloud computing there is a strong enough brand association with Intel to drive value for cloud service providers trying to differentiate themselves. However, in this case with 16 cloud service providers signed up from the initial start, it appears that being “Powered by Intel Cloud Technology” will simply become a point of parity for different brands in an industry that is quickly becoming commoditized. Similar to the Intel Inside campaign with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), the program is likely to grow rapidly as it becomes a point of parity and Intel will continue to reap the benefits of its strong brand equity in the eyes of end users.

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Brand Extension Fail: Trump Ties

The Donald Trump brand has extended beyond reality TV and business and now is within the politics. The intermingling and overlap of these brands have proved both beneficial and detrimental for Trump at times. One example of an issue with conflicting messages from different Trump brands is the political Trump playing hardball with American global companies for moving abroad (such as Ford, Apple, and Nabisco), however his own Donald J Trump clothing brand is made in China. He has openly spoken out against imports from China as part of his political agenda and yet his own clothing brand with his name associated is made in China. 

http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/08/news/economy/donald-trump-trade/

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Apple iPod Headphones

Apple is notorious for its strong brand recognition and equity as well as simple and effective advertising. The advertisement above is a classic iPod print ad that showcases the product as hero and implicitly trains the viewer to recognize white headphones as iPod or Apple headphones. The choice to make the first iPod and its headphones white was a genius move on the part of Apple. Although the use case for listening to an iPod often involved the device itself being in a pocket or somewhere out of sight of others view, the headphones will always be easily in view when the iPod was in use and at the time, there were no other competitors with white headphones. This made it obvious and a status symbol when someone was wearing the headphones.

From Karl Popper’s Three-worlds Hypothesis, Apple has the following:

World 1: Utilize the white headphones accessory with the iPod as both a product and symbol projected outward for others to see.

World 2: Have active people dancing in ads or singing and having fun to evoke happy emotions associated with listening to music on your iPod

World 3: By having an iPod, you are thought of as hip and technology savvy, since you are a part of the Apple community of users

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Experiments with Wine Satisfaction

Upon reading “Fine as North Dakota Wine,” which looked into how winery location affected how favorable graduate students viewed the wine as well as how much companion food was consumed at dinner with the free wine. The fictitious wine was listed as either from North Dakota or California and biased their opinion of the wine. I have two potential follow-up experiments that I think would be interesting to test:

1. How does perceived price affect consumption of wine and companion foods? It would be possible to test this by once again giving free wine to people, up to 5 glasses at dinner at different “list prices,” ($7 vs. $15-20). This would both allow those being tested to consume more than a single glass of wine, which appeared to be an issue with the first experiments data in the paper, as well as test a different aspect of wine perception (price).

2. How much wine would people consume if there was no limit to 1 glass of wine? This would be a replication of the first experiment in the paper, but allow those tested to consume up to 5 glasses during their dinner. This would allow for a more accurate and potentially statistically significant finding, which was not allowed given the first experiment’s parameters.

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Tesla Model 3: 5 Factors

After the long awaited announcement of the Tesla Model 3, technologists and car enthusiasts are extremely excited about the $35,000 price point on Elon Musk’s product 10 years in the making. To think through the innovation diffusion of this product, I will utilize Roger’s Five Factors:

Relative Advantage - Given the context of a traditional car, the Tesla Model 3 has significant environmental and cost savings compared to the traditional gas fueled car on the market today. The Tesla Model 3 does not sacrifice performance and actually out-performs most cars in the $35,000 sedan segment. One limitation that needs to be taken into account though is that there is not a robust network of electric car chargers across the US or the world to recharge the cars on longer distance journeys, unlike the gas station network. With a range of at least 215 miles per charge, this will be sufficient for many car owners that use it for the typical daily commute, but may require a second car for longer distances or car share service subscriptions.

Compatibility - If someone knows how to operate a gas fueled car, the Model 3 will have a smooth transition. The easy to use user interface that is similar to Apple products will likely be easier for new users to adjust.

Complexity - The product itself will not suffer from a large increase in complexity and certain aspects of the software will actually make driving easier, such as autopilot and automated parking, which have already been rolled out on existing Teslas. One increase in complexity could come from planning out longer distance trips as well as dealing with an emergency when the battery runs out of charge. However, maintenance and adjustments should be easier for owners, since virtual software updates can be sent to the Tesla 3 remotely.

Trialability - While there currently is no plan to give significant trialability, users can take test drives with the Tesla Model 3 and if Tesla wanted to push this further, they could create their own temporary ride share service where you could test out the product. 

Observability - Cars are incredibly visible and serve as a status symbol, so observability will be high. Likewise, if a charging station is installed at an owner’s household, then the charger will also be visible to neighbors and those that drive by.

Overall, given the high demand and excited around the Tesla Model 3 at a much more affordable $35,000 as opposed to previous models at $100,000 even after tax incentives, it can be expected for a relatively quick diffusion. Two key limitations that may slow diffusion will be the potential for Tesla to not meet production demand from consumers and too slow of growth in the electric car charger network.

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Black & Decker: Tale of Two Pictures

Black & Decker’s recognizable and noteworthy brand has been both a gift and a burden for them throughout their history. Having a top-20 brand in the United States has helped them particularly in the consumer segment of the market, since most Americans know Black & Decker has a household name that represents a reliable and useful product. This brand has been built over years of making a promise to customers and living up to that promise with each touch point. However, since Black & Decker operates in so many different industries and makes such different types of products that appeal to different users, it is difficult to maintain a brand that promises and meets all of these different perspectives. The two pictures shown above represent two very different types of products that appeal to very different audiences. Black & Decker has done a terrific job of changing based on user feedback and responding to the need to create sub-brands that are able to make different promises and live up to the expectations of different audiences.

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Corona’s Lifestyle & the Clear Bottle

As Michael Foley of Heineken said, “Beer is all marketing. People don’t drink beer, they drink marketing.” With this critical insight in mind from an industry veteran, I believe Corona needs to focus on creating a full experience around drinking Corona. Upon reading this case, my key takeaways are listed below:

- Focusing only on advertising and not distribution or customer/consumer education will be a critical mistake. Marketing an experience and a feeling will be far more important to the success of Corona in the future than ever before.

- Corona must make sure that their product is available at every point of sale that a consumer may want a Corona. Every missed opportunity is a dissatisfied customer and a new touchpoint for our competitor to take advantage. This is crucial in the beer market, since it is an impulsive purchase that consumers will still want to fulfill their desire for a beer. The worst loss for Corona would be a consumer on a beach ordering a Corona and being denied due to lack of stock. This requires a streamline supply chain, effective distribution, and strong relationships with distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and of course consumers. Distribution efficiency also gives Corona a competitive edge against the competitors to be more available at every touchpoint.

- Corona needs to be agile and creative in their efforts, since they have a far lower annual advertising budget compared to competitors in the US market ($5M vs. $15M for Heineken vs. $192M for Anheuser Busch). Capitalizing on differentiation (like the clear bottle) that is inexpensive and uses unique product characteristics can be leveraged to Corona’s advantage. At the point of purchase, consumers will recognize the clear bottle and immediate know and/or want a Corona. “Freshness was a competitive advantage” and “Modelo’s innovative brewing process had eliminated” the negative effect of having a clear bottle.

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A professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business co-founded the Behavioral Science & Policy Association (BSPA), which has helped the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team at the White House. In class, we recently discussed the implications of using behavioral science to inform policies in Washington and read the first report from the White House’s team. This Q&A with professor Sim Sitkin hits on some of the potential for this to continue in the future and the potential implications. By helping or nudging individuals to make decisions in their or the collective groups best interest, the government can be more effective. 

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How One Incubator Is Using Behavioral Science to Encourage the Products Customers Really Want

Based out of Duke University, the Startup Lab wants companies to consider customer behavior in the design and the features of their products.

Given that my project team has been researching entrepreneurship and nudges that can be used to improve entrepreneurship in Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago, this article stuck out to me that Duke’s incubator is using behavioral science at its core. Led by Dan Ariely, the incubator wants its start-ups to think about the types of products and customer preferences through the use of behavioral science. How can they nudge consumers or customers to decide to use their product over a competition? How can they continuously improve based on data driven decision-making as a company?

-MMC

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Cuban Baseball Culture

http://www.redreporter.com/2014/12/20/7424235/baseball-at-the-intersection-of-cuban-culture-indpendence-and-identity 

In the US, baseball is referred to as America’s past time, and whether you are a fan or not, it is undeniable the cultural impact that baseball has had in America. One recent example would be President George W. Bush throwing out the first pitch at Yankees Stadium in the first MLB game played after September 11, 2001. That day and that moment transcended baseball, sports, or entertainment. It sent a cultural and political message to the American people and all others watching around the world. 

Similarly, baseball is the national sport of Cuba and has culture, politics and baseball all interwoven into one. The article above showcases this point as it covers a brief history of the importance and impact of baseball in Cuba. Fun fact that is covered in the article (teaser to get you to read it): Fidel Castro tried out as a pitcher for the Washington Senators!

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(Re)Branding with Meaning: Start-up Chile

After discussing successful and less than successful country branding in class last week, I could not help but think about the rich start-up, entrepreneurial, and innovative brand that Chile has created for itself. Despite being a country of less than 20 million people, Chile has been able to attract entrepreneurs from around the world to participate in the Start-Up Chile program, which is sponsored by the government. This is an example where the government has recognized the long-term potential benefits of entrepreneurial activities and having its own rich ecosystem. I think there is potential for Trinidad & Tobago to launch a similar entrepreneurial ecosystem and become the hub of entrepreneurship for the Caribbean, since it already has a strong brand in the Caribbean for being the economic and financial center..  Please enjoy the video.

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Qapital the App is Rethinking Savings

Saving money on a budget is tough for people of all ages and is never described as a fun experience. Dan Ariely (Chief Behavior Officer) is helping Qapital, a lifestyle app, that tries to help people save money in a more effective way. Changing the way that people behavior is difficult, but reframing the question or decision can sometimes help us make better decisions rather than emotional impulse purchases. This app will be helpful for people using it, but in theory should continue to get better through data collection, since each user could be seen as a test subject (A/B tests) proving better and more effective ways for the app to interact with other users in the future. Read more about Qapital in the article below.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/251662

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“Smart” Way to Get People to Wait

After hearing that our MIT Study Tour to Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago would be focusing on behavior science, I was extremely excited to think about how we could use creativity and experimentation to “nudge” people into making better decisions. The first video that popped into my head was the one that I have linked to below. The company Smart developed this campaign to raise awareness and strategically nudge urban city dwellers to stop at traffic lights when crossing the street. While the video is city, it certainly shows that Smart was able to take a simple problem that is difficult to change behavior and make it fun and more safe in a very creative way. I hope you all enjoy as much as I did.

-MMC