Branding

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Kidney Disease- Awareness issue

I have participated in various forms of walks and runs for diseases such as cancer or leukemia, but I do not recall hearing anything about Kidney disease. In fact, even during health events, I do not see their booths, no volunteers distributing pamphlets, no TV campaigns, and people do not talk often about kidneys. What is startling is the fact that 1 in 3 American adults are at risk for developing kidney disease and the prevalence of this disease has only been increasing.

In spite of high prevalence, one wonders why people are not as aware of kidney disease in comparison to other diseases. Is it the brand, is the funds for research, the providers, lobbying efforts or the disease itself? Having no symptoms probably play a huge role, but how about lifestyle? There is a clear link between heart-diseases, diabetes and risk of kidney disease. Then why is it that these patients do not know about risks of CKD? As part of the project, we will be conducting interviews with patients to understand what part of the patient journey has a biggest gap and where NKF should focus. Branding the foundation better involves understanding what is it that patients want? Also, how do nephrologists look at this? Their families? We hope to get insights that will help us reform the story for both NKF as well as kidney related diseases and prevention.

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#InspireThroughYourBrand

Social media campaigns are a great way to build support and create a strong buzz within the community. However, choosing the right hashtag can be like choosing a brand ambassador. It has to match the personality of your brand and be able to behave in public. The #McDStories failed on both fronts. In terms of personality, no one thinks of stories when they go to McDonalds and in terms of ability to behave, McDonalds failed to recognize that stories can be both good or bad. If given an opportunity, people are mostly going to write about the bad stories and that led to McDonalds quickly suspending the campaign.

On the contrary, a company that consistently does well with social media campaigns is JetBlue. Their campaigns are  well-targeted and the hashtags match what the brand is trying to accomplish. Extension links such as jetbluescholars.com (#inspiringhighered) or handles such as #jetblueSoFly both match the airline personality and at the same time quickly build a brand image without risking any reputation damage. The twitter handles are neutral and inspire fans to quickly react and help spread their stories.

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Is everyone really competition for Burberry?

Burberry is in a position where it considers everyone to be potentially competition. When I think of myself, I own Burberry but I also occasionally shop at Marshalls. I own Coach but I do like my target scarves too. I am going to all these places with completely different expectations; yes the products might be similar functionality wise and handbags and scarves are available at all these avenues but I am not just going for the product. My experience and rational for buying each of those is different. Thinking that I am choosing one over the other might not be the best strategy for Burberry. 

The lines between Coach and Burberry might be getting blur but this is where brand perception and strength plays a larger role. Consumers (both low-income and high-income) segment their retail needs and will allow brands to co-exist. Burberry should take advantage of that - focus more on sending a strong message to its customer base showing what makes the brand special and what is it really good at, and less on how it can be different from competition. Retail is competitive and that is not going to change. What makes a brand survive is the long lasting impression it leaves on customers and the value it creates to attract new, aspiring customers.

One consumer, multiple brands, multiple purposes

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Evolution of Dove

When I think of Dove as a brand, I think of it as having consistent roots but something that has truly evolved over time. The whole idea behind Dove not really being a soap and almost being like a moisturizer has always been Dove's messaging. They have also always focused on beauty but the definition of beauty has evolved over time reflecting the changes in society. The most recent focus of the Dove brand is on the concept of 'real' women. The commercials consists of ordinary women feeling confident in their own skin. This was not the case in their earlier commercial where emphasis was placed on beauty and pampering. Dove was able to successfully interpret the future in terms of the past. It did make a few mistakes along the way but quickly rectified them. Here are two commercials from Dove and even though the messaging has changed, you will notice how the roots remain intact.

An old print ad:

The new messaging:

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Do we really know the true value of wine?

When I think of wine, I rarely think of the actual quality. This is one industry where perception probably outweighs any other factors, especially for someone like me, who is not an avid wine drinker. If I hear that a wine is from the French countryside, regardless of what it tastes like, I am likely to select it just because it sounds better. Marketers can take advantage of this gap in the consumer mindset and position their wines in a way that makes consumers pick their brand over the other, whether that is country, the shape of the bottle, packaging or price. I consider this to be similar to how consulting services are perceived- the higher the price,  the better the consulting firm probably is –at least in the client's mind. If the consulting firm suddenly reduces its rate, it may be perceived as loss of quality and result in long term image deterioration. Thus, a top-down strategy is going to be a better approach for Concha y Toro than a bottom-up strategy because the ‘true value’ of wine is unknown to the average wine drinker. Concha y Toro should play on the prestige aspect of wine and focus its efforts on putting its own distribution network in place. This will ensure that the brand value and positioning in the consumer’s mindset remains intact.

In terms of the overall wine industry, it’s definitely changing and external factors such as climate change are becoming more relevant. The way the baby boomers consumed wine is very different from the millennials and so wine producers need to take these changes into consideration when developing their new marketing and branding strategies. Here is an interesting article that talks about some of the external issues- https://coolclimatewine.wordpress.com/

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Black and Decker- The Brand

Black and Decker (B&D) is in a tough situation- on one hand its consumer division is doing very well while on the other hand it’s struggling to get recognition in the Professional-Tradesmen segment. A lot of it seems to be coming from brand association and brand perception. What I mean by that is even though B&D has good brand recognition, it’s not associated with professional products. Even I think of them as a household appliance company, a great company- but nevertheless a household brand.

The idea to come up with bold colors may not work until professionals are actually willing to buy the product. Since quality is not an issue, perhaps free samples, trials and brand tests can help establish a clear message. I am thinking of what Chevrolet is trying to do with its car testing commercials- it takes a bunch of people in a room and makes them guess the car. No one thinks Chevrolet could be so beautiful and technically powerful due its weak brand positioning and are surprised to see it. Similar campaigns could help establish B&D as a competitive brand in the professional market. This is what I am referring to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLFREsAZo8I

Something else to think about is to see if B&D can differentiate itself from Makita by going premium and establishing a sub-brand. The association of B&D with household is so rooted that it might be hard to compete with its current positioning. However, if there is a premium sub-brand/label from B&D that is known for its top quality products, professionals might perceive it as a ‘new product’ catered exclusively to them and may be more open to giving it a try. They could have an entirely different marketing methodology for this new target segment showing commitment to the new line of professional products (or at least that is what it will come across as to consumers).

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Beer - The product or the experience?

What you see is what you believe. As visual people we tend to form strong associations in our sub-conscious mind. It’s not that Heineken would taste bad on a beach, just that it feels like Corona would taste better. We have been shown that imagery so many times that perception becomes reality. Corona benefits from it’s consistent appeal- the beach image is what sticks to consumers. Consumers like brands that do not change their core values and stick to consistent messaging and so Corona should continue to be marketed as the beer for “Fun, Sun and Beach”.

However, Corona needs to put more emphasis on product quality, it has often struggled with media in this territory - very recently there was recall due to the presence of glass in bottles.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-09/corona-beer-recalled-because-there-might-be-glass-in-the-bottles

A few more incidents like this can cause serious damage and the fun and sun image will not be able to save that.

When one thinks of Heineken, one immediately thinks of a good beer. That’s it. It’s not associated with fun but it does not need to be- it’s simply a great product. Yes- a great product should sell on its own but when there are thousands of commercials pouring in from competitors, more effort is required. Heineken should think of a strategy that helps sell an experience rather than a product. Even though beer is not a direct experience good, the concept of drinking it is surely an experience. Therefore, marketing along those lines where the emphasis is laid on what it feels like when drinking this particular product is more likely to be successful than talking about the quality of the beer.

There is room for both to co-exist due to difference in appeal and brand image. Thus, more focus on branding and advertising can help both companies and the overall beer industry.