#mitsloanbrandingsectionb

[tiffanyfung2-blog]

Econ or Human?

Surely I am an “Econ”. I am rational, logical, and aims to maximize utility. As an Econ undergrad, I would like to think that I behave rationally and acts in my own interest which helps to maximize consumer surpluses. However, as a Psych undergrad as well, I probably know that this is false...

Why I am actually “Human”: 

- I am nudged by sales in stores to buy more 

- the “1 seat left!” signs in airline sites will make me buy 

- I signed up to newsletter because that was the default option 

- I have filled in surveys for classes because apparently “everyone else did it” 

As demonstrated by myself, everyone falls in the trap of nudge theory once in a while and it can be used across a wide spectrum of context from public policies to marketing to individual goal setting. Utilizing principles of nudging can lead to many beneficial results such as more people paying taxes on time, more people donating organs, living healthier lifestyles. Yet, because these “nudges” are so subtle, organizations should also be cautious to not nudge people that may lead to negative consequences. 

Finally, as I was researching into the topic, I came across a video on how nudging helped with eating more healthily which was interesting. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF4ETgw29BA

[thehouseofwilliam-blog]

The pervasiveness of stereotypes and the bamboo ceiling

I’ve often wondered why there aren’t more examples of Asian Americans in positions of leadership in the corporate world.  The fact that Asians comprise just 1.5% of officer positions in Fortune 500 companies doesn’t reconcile with my own experiences; in both my undergraduate and MBA classes Asians were well overrepresented relative to the US population.

Asians have long been viewed as an example of the “model minority.”  On average, Asian Americans tend to outperform educational attainment, test scores, and make up a disproportionate share of higher education.  However, all else equal a white man or woman is 154% more likely to hold an executive role.

This largely stems from pervasive stereotypes about Asians.  A 2001 study showed that Asians were often viewed as very competent, but low on social and leadership skills.   Unfortunately, Asian stereotypes often comes into conflict with society’s perceive notions of leadership:  while leaders are often seen to be masculine, dictatorial, and confrontational, the prevailing Asian stereotypes are of docility and subservience.  This partially explains the funneling effect of Asians in corporate America - there is strong representation at entry level corporate jobs but as you go up the corporate ladder representation gets lower and lower.

It’s important to keep this in mind, especially when thinking proactively for issues of inclusivity and diversity.  The success of Asian Americans in higher education and lower management have created a perception that proactive inclusion programs targeting Asians are unnecessary.  However, Asian representation at the top of the corporate ladder is serious and it’s worth investigating what inherent biases are at play that have created this paradigm.

[thehouseofwilliam-blog]

How America Woke Up Fabulous

Changing social attitudes is hard. I mean, it’s 2018 and we’re still seeing Nazi’s walking down the street. 

And although there’s still much room for progress on a variety of social issues, I think it’s important to call out when they occur so that we can learn.  These successes can provide helpful insights for social movements, governments, and companies who seek to promote more positive attitudes and behaviors.

Case in point: acceptance of same-sex marriage in America improved much more rapidly than most would have predicted. 

Compared to other social movements such as abortion, women’s suffrage, and interracial marriage, same sex-marriage saw a much faster increase in social acceptance.  Since 2004, support for gay marriage has increased at a rate of about 2.4% each year.

Now, that is not to say that we as a society have reached where we need to nor am I discounting the years of struggle and hard work for advocates who helped make that possible.  But I do think it’s remarkable that compared to so many other social issues, same-sex marriage saw much faster acceptance.  How did this happen?

One thing that is important is that with support for gay marriage, the increased adoption is driven more by people changing their minds, whereas for things like women’s suffrage the main driver was literally old stubborn people dying and being replaced my more progressive-minded people that pushed the movement forward.

There are two drivers: 

(1) Depictions of same-sex couples are increasingly common in media.  TV Shows and actors like Will and Grace, Ellen, and Rosie O’Donnell paved the way for broader acceptance.

(2) People are increasingly likely to have an LGBT family member or neighbor.  For instance, it’s very possible that conservative parents could end up having a gay son or daughter.  So with the spectre of homosexuality much more proximate, it’s natural that attitudes might adjust.

These two things speak to the power of social proof in pushing attitude change of thorny cultural issues. 

So what lessons can we learn from this?

Advertisers & governments pay attention: it’s important to use social proof effectively.  Make your role models aspirational and personal.  Prime people to think of their close friends and family members who may be struggling with your particular social issue and they are much more likely to change their minds.

[thehouseofwilliam-blog]

A Tale of Two Companies

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.  But you’ll mostly remember the worst of times.

Providing quality customer service is a crucial part of any successful enterprise.  But in more importantly than providing good customer service is avoiding bad service.  This is especially true today.  Because of the power of social media, every single customer has a major platform from which to hold companies accountable.

There’s a lot of research that shows that people remember bad interactions more than good.  Furthermore, in today’s social media age, bad customer service is far more likely to be shared than good.  

Who could forget this massive faux pas, courtesy of United Airlines?

Remember the United Airlines video of a passenger being dragged off a plane? It dominated news cycles for weeks, cemented United’s reputation for poor service, and caused its stock to drop precipitously, knocking $250M off it’s market value.

On top of that, once a company has a reputation for bad customer service or poor quality, that brand identity is extremely hard to shake. Just ask Comcast, America’s most hated company.

Some have tried.  Remember Domino’s bold campaign that admitted that the pizza sucked?  

Dominos: We promise to stop sucking

Admitting that your product is terrible extremely risky strategy, hence why few companies try this approach.

In general, it’s probably easiest to not suck in the first place.

[sahardar-blog]

Business Leaders & Branding Association

           Last week, we discussed leadership in terms of branding, and specifically talked about the qualities or attributes that business leaders have and portray.  I have always considered the best business leaders to portray specific positive attributes such as competence and confidence but in class we discussed how business leaders that show vulnerabilities are actually more likable! As I finish my second year of grad school and look to enter the third and final year of my dual degree MBA-MPA program, I would like to think about what qualities I possess that I hope to convey to the world (that is, the brand associations that people have with me as a person) and also embrace my vulnerabilities.  I think that this will empower me to be an authentic leader – someone that people will trust and admire to get the job done and someone they want to be around.  

          One leader, in particular, who I greatly admire for his authentic sense of leadership is Barack Obama.  He conveys his confidence and competence regarding his job, but also comes across as a very authentic, extremely likable, and incredibly approachable person: a devoted husband, a loving father, someone who gives out fist bumps to his staff, and who is not afraid to be silly around kids nor feels the need to put on airs.  He also has a certain charm and swagger to him!

[luceminott-blog]

Brand Reappropriation: How to React

Last class we discussed how, in today’s world, brand managers can no longer control their brands like puppeteers. With consumers increasingly connected and active on social media, brand managers must expect reactions to the products and content they produce. While it is impossible to predict how consumers will respond, it is important to think through the different reactions because once a campaign goes live, everything happens very quickly and you may need to respond fast. 

Based on the class and our readings, I believe the following is a simple map to help brand managers consider their response options.

1. If the campaign was good/on brand and the reaction does not undermine your credibility: Do nothing / embrace the reaction - this is the Wheat Thins case, while the reaction was sarcastic and made fun of Wheat Thins, it did not undermine Wheat Thins credibility or what is stands for as a brand, as such Wheat Thins should embrace the press and laugh along

2. If the campaign was good/on brand but the reaction undermines your credibility: Respond in a manner true to your brand - this was the Downfall and Dove examples, in this case consumers will be quick to forgive and forget, since your initial campaign was in line with your brand there is less ‘punishing’ required, so your best move is to respond in a way that is humorous, but true to brand.

3. If the campaign was a mistake/not in line with your brand and the reaction undermines your credibility: Do not respond / hope consumers move on as soon as possible - this was the Tiger Woods example, in this case, bringing additional attention to your original mistake does you no good, and the best option is to learn from it and move on, as fast as possible. 

[nitzanhak-blog]

How to Pitch an Idea Like Mark Cuban and Reid Hoffman

Sometime this year, you pitched a new idea to someone. If you’re an entrepreneur, you probably tried to convince an investor to fund your startup. If you’re an employee, you might have asked your boss

How to pitch an idea? Adam grant in his book “The Originals” argues that you should do it by focusing on your idea flaws...

[horileal-blog]

Do’s and don’ts of pitching

How to pitch new ideas is a difficult task. Certainly in corporate environments it involves a lot of discussion between “pitchers” and “catchers”, a lot of persuasion, a lot of adaptation, a lot of spending and resource allocation, and a lot of time. Similar in many ways is the pitching of a new idea to the general public. Even for existing products, sometimes it is necessary to bring new ideas to boost their presence or to change the message they want to convey to the existing and new audiences they want to appeal to. In my opinion the best thing they can do is to be personal and to tell you very clearly that they want to help you reach your goals and dreams thanks to this product that maybe you want to consider more thanks to this new twist and image you wish to add to an existing product.

Examples of this are the Coca Cola ad for Argentina for the World Cup, where the basic message is that Coca Cola helps you in good and bad moments just like the Argentina national soccer team has good and bad moments:

Another example is this Turkish Airlines case. Have you not considered Turkish Airlines before? Consider it because we care about what you care. We want to help you carry out your dreams:

These two previous examples show how well achieved personal connections can have a great boost to a pitch of an existing product to new and existing audiences.

Similarly, for new products, maybe a great thing to do is to tell you how this new product will be a great complement to you daily life. Be explicit about what problem this new product comes to solve, which gap to fill, etc. This is what the Coin ad tells you:

This is a product that solves a very concrete problem and even has some additional features that you may like.

What not to do? I guess to pitch an idea you should never tell consumers that they are stupid. Very simple, but many companies, perhaps inadvertently, convey this message in some of their new product launches. Such is the case, in my opinion, of the first Amazon Echo commercial:

This seems like a very interesting product. However the trivialization shown in this commercial in many instances and the partial message it conveys regarding how dumb you can be without this product is simply a very bad approach. Some of this was fixed with the Echo Dot ad because they highlight more the functionality of the product rather than the absurdness of its trivial uses and how dumb people are without it.