On a Mission
A day with Mike Harris
Stand for Something
Building trusted brands
The Upside of the Downturn
Ten Management Strategies
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Communications AuditFriday 27th February 2009 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statements below?
Strongly Agree (10 Points) Agree (5 Points) Disagree (0 Points) 1. Our key messages and designs are distinctive, memorable and break through the marketplace clutter.
2. We have developed a brand positioning statement that all customer-facing employees understand and can communicate (A shared, realisable vision as to how the brand will act on its insight, articulated in the form of a practical 'elevator pitch', including the following elements: target audience, core essence, brand pillars and value proposition). 3. We have a series of compelling anecdotal brand stories that fire the imaginations of our customers. 4. We have a list of proof points (facts, figures, testimonials, editorial endorsements) at our fingertips that endorse our key differentiators and demonstrate our competitive advantage. 5. Our employees use a consistent brand vocabulary and tone of voice in all our day-to-day conversations (that our customers can relate to and that maps directly to the core brand essence). Architecture AuditThursday 26th February 2009 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statements below?
Strongly Agree (10 Points) Agree (5 Points) Disagree (0 Points) 1. We have engineered / re-engineered our Unique Value Proposition around our core brand essence.
2. Our brand name and corporate identity is evocative and maps to the core brand essence in a way that resonates with our target audience. 3. We protect our brand and have a stewardship strategy in respect of domain name ownership, company registration and trademarking of our organisation's name, logo and strapline. 4. We have up to date brand guidelines that are applied and followed by both internal and external users consistently, without change or compromise. (these govern the use of the company name, logo, icon, strap line, colours and its applications across various media). 5. A clearly defined brand strata exists within the organisation; how the corporate brand and sub-brands relate to and support each other; and how the sub-brands reflect or reinforce the core purpose of the corporate brand to which they belong. Positioning AuditWednesday 25th February 2009 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statements below?
Strongly Agree (10 Points)
Agree (5 Points) Disagree (0 Points) 1. Our brand has a distinctive Core Essence and creates competitive space (The brand's promise distilled in the simplest, most single-minded terms - the phrase we most want to own in a client's mind).
2. This Core Essence is based on an analysis of customer needs, organisational strengths (core competencies), competitive weaknesses and market gaps. 3. Our brand positioning is disruptive, creating the potential to displace the entire market.
4. We have defined Brand Pillars (The guiding insights and qualities that support the essence of the brand).
5. A clear Brand Personality has been developed (The brand's recognisable personality traits expressed in terms of admirable human characteristics).
Strategy AuditTuesday 24th February 2009 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statements below?
Strongly Agree (10 Points) Agree (5 Points) Disagree (0 Points) 1. We have identified the brand's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT).
2. Our company is committed to a shared, long-term Brand Vision.
3. We have a deep understanding of our customers’ / introducer channels' values, attitudes, needs, desires, hopes, aspirations, fears and concerns.
4. We have developed a marketing plan with measurable objectives linked to my our business plan.
5. We have mapped how we differ from our competitors and understand why our customers buy from us.
Create Your Own Space™ Brand AuditMonday 23rd February 2009 Take our quick and easy Create Your Own Space™ Brand Audit to see how you score in the five critical areas that are integral to the SPACE Model™ – Strategy, Positioning, Architecture, Communications and Engagement.
Over the next few days, you will see five sets of five questions relating to the above SPACE headings. (Please note that I have blogged ahead of myself, so you can follow the thread rather than waiting for each days posts).
For each question, simply select the option that best describes your views: Strongly Agree (10 Points) Agree (5 Points) Disagree (0 Points) Once you've completed the Create Your Own Space™ Brand Audit, add your points together and then we’ll show you exactly how you’ve scored.
Are Big Ideas too big for ad agencies?Friday 20th February 2009 Traditional advertising agencies have become warders to the Big Ideas they have created for financial organisations. Guarding them, locking them up firmly in the confines of the published media, they have become prisoners themselves. The one-time lead discipline is dwindling in influence, causing the old guard to lament their lavish expenses, as new digital dreams are created elsewhere. However, it could be argued, with strong justification, that few of the brand’s other business partners are capable of framing the big idea in the first place. With respect, web designers and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialists are unlikely to have the market knowledge or creativity to develop market-shifting ideas for organisations in the financial sector, due to lack of product knowledge and industry immersion. The reality is that only a specialist Financial Marketing Agency can deliver all of these strengths: in-depth sectoral knowledge gained from senior client-side experience, creative firepower honed agency-side, integration of marketing disciplines and mastery of online marketing techniques. It’s the reason that specialist hybrid agencies are powering ahead as the new breed of primary brand partner. I know where I’d rather be putting my budgets right now! Demand CreationThursday 19th February 2009 The focus in financial services industries has shifted away from improving profits through operating efficiencies to generating top-line revenue growth. Demand creation is the new imperative. The technology revolution has surrounded customers and consumers with a plethora of information and entertainment options, and, as a result they have become more elusive. The consumer is firmly in control. They expect choice, information, speed of service, and ease of acquisition. This growing multi-channel environment adds a whole new dimension to the challenge of financial services marketing. Given the confusion of marketing channels, the increased sophistication and scope of all our marketing communications disciplines and the emergence of new online players, there is a demand for a new kind of differential marketing model. The new e-book, “Create Your Own Space” TM will be published in April 2009 to explain how our proprietary model is making a difference to our blue-chip financial clients and how it can be applied to your organisation. Watch this space to find out how you can obtain your priority copy. Top Trends RevisitedWednesday 18th February 2009 Early 2008 showed real promise for marketers within financial organisations. Certainly, it was a very different environment for financial marketers than it is now with less pressure on budget. However, there is arguably less competition now and certainly more opportunity for those with the capacity and appetite to lend. The brave amongst us went forward with an exciting Web 2.0 toolbox. Here were my predictions at the beginning of last year. I thought it would be interesting to revisit them and it is perhaps surprising still how few organisations have embraced the mantle:
Online TV
Web 2.0 is changing the direction of the Internet, it's no longer a one-way flow of information (e.g. getting your business an "online presence"), it’s about sharing – resulting in a brave new world of podcasts, vodcasts and blogs. But watch out, production values will need to be kept high to keep your audiences watching a visual medium. Hence, using the term, Online TV as a marker, rather than Online Video. Widget Workplace Experiential Excellence Game On Social Networking Experimental Marketing Behavioural Targeting Green Team Consumer Generated Content Narrowcasting
Attributes of DistinctionTuesday 17th February 2009 Theodore Levitt once said: "The search for meaningful distinction is a central part of the marketing effort. If marketing is about anything, it is about achieving customer-getting distinction by differentiating what you do and how you operate. All else is derivative of that and only that." Whilst in my view, differentiation is the fundamental purpose of all marketing activity (you may have seen my earlier blog on a new definition of marketing), a distinctive position today now comes from attribute differentiation rather than "what you do". "How you operate" is vitally important, however, it is essential that this is the expression of the core essence of the brand, rather than what the business does. The first era of differentiation was to make what you do the distinctive element, the second era involved adding features in a spiral of increasingly complex bundles. In this Era 3 age of hyper-competition, only attribute differentiation linked to a core brand essence forms a sustainable competitive advantage. Good and Bad URLsMonday 16th February 2009 We’ve long recognised the power of the URL in creating market space from both brand recognition and generic (search engine optimisation) contexts. The site below posts a stack of helpful rules using real life examples, all of which make a specific point. One of the main ones is: THEURLINCAPSDOESNTMAKEFORCLARITY.COM Another point the site makes is that the act of using the prefix WWW is unnecessary in advertising terms, since every user understands the convention and all browsers should add it automatically. Note to self: check out http://www.goodurlbadurl.com/ or should I say, GoodURLBadURL.com Supercar ChallengeFriday 13th February 2009 I have been studying the direct mail that clutters up my physical mailbox. It didn't take me long to realise that if I had a pound for every mention of “uncertain times” or “in today’s challenging economic climate” featured in the letter copy, I would be driving a Bugatti Veryon. There are several reasons why this approach to DM letter writing doesn't make for such a good idea:
1. We are all painfully aware of the fact that the UK is in recession and how banks are not lending to businesses or even one another 2. It draws attention to the fact that this is not a personal communication from the managing director but a bulk direct mail piece 3.Telling us just how bad things are going to get does not necessarily foster an environment which is conducive to decision-making 4. Since so many companies are using these phrases, the opening proposition is undifferentiated and therefore adds no value.
If in these challenging, uncertain times someone wished to surprise me with an utterly, stunningly, jaw-droppingly brilliant mid-engined supercar, I would be very, very pleased indeed. Instead, the next thing on my list is to write some utterly, stunningly, jaw-droppingly brilliant direct marketing copy - right now! Email EtiquetteThursday 12th February 2009 In one of his latest blogs, Seth Godin Godin contrasts two sets of email messages he received in a week: Paul McGowan of PS Audio, sent a highly anticipated newsletter filled with information, reviews and storytelling. "Because I signed up for the newsletter," notes Godin, "I open it. Because he never abuses my trust, I trust him … When it's time to buy the sort of thing he sells, I won't look around much, because I'm already sold." McGowan's approach might not generate instant sales, but he'll see a long-term payoff.
Another audio company, however, sent a single unsolicited offer twice under different subject lines. Godin suspects the company harvested his address from a source like an old business card. "I get a lot of spam from non-reputable companies," he says, "but it was surprising to get this html ad via email from a company that used to have a good reputation." This is not the impression any business wants to create. "[C]onsumers now have rights too," Godin concludes. "The right to ignore, to distrust and to choose someone else when it comes time to spend money."
It pays to remember the 4Rs, especially in financial services marketing. An email communication needs to be Remarkable in terms of offer or message, Relevant in respect of content, Real in terms of approach and integrity and not least Reputational in terms of building (not reducing) the image of the business concerned.
Merging BrandsWednesday 11th February 2009 I agree with Henderson's Chief Executive, Andrew Formica's comments regarding the logic behind the possible merged brand name, Henderson New Star, following the £115 million acquisition deal to buy New Star. He claims that New Star has a higher market appeal among UK investors than Henderson Global Investors. He adds that “positioning the Henderson name before New Star would reassure investors by removing uncertainty and underlying the stability provided by the acquisition”. His line of argument follows that Henderson equals solidity and New Star represents entrepreneurial flair. Certainly, in my view to ditch either of these established brand names in a downturn is not going to endear the merged organisation to the market. However, it would be worthwhile consulting with Henderson Global Investors clients as to the value they place upon entrepreneurialism if what attracted them to Henderson Global Investors is their solidity. However, the move to combine names does make logical sense as a short-term strategy. Whether or not it will be revisited when the combined organisation emerges from this cycle in the economy with an entirely new business culture and brand name is quite another issue. It is worth bearing in mind that Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand recognised the wisdom of a merger and faced the usual hurdles involved in bringing legendary brands together. In just a few years, PricewaterhouseCoopers has established itself as a globally respected brand identity. At the time of the brand’s launch, the look of the brandmark and the choice to use the one uninterrupted name seemed radical and raised some eyebrows. Now the identity is immediately recognised and the success of the internal branding program has united the two cultures into one. The merger of two recognised brands is always a challenge and I am not in favour of convoluted brand names. The issue with lengthy brand names is that it encourages acronyms in an environment where they are rife. Most people refer to PricewaterhouseCoopers as PWC, for example. My long term preference is always to unite under a memorable, consistent, relevant brand name with a clear core essence that resonates with the market. The key thing is that whatever decision is ultimately made, everyone rallies behind it throughout the combined organisation. Obstacles to CreativityTuesday 10th February 2009 With so much negative comment in the media, it is worthwhile being alive to some of the "creativity blockers" that may inhibit you, as a financial marketer, from being able to Create Your Own Space. Here are just a few: Inflexible strategies / unchallenged rules
Existing paradigms / sacred cows Habit / routines / comfort levels Fear of consequences / making mistakes / change Not invented here syndrome
Upbringing and beliefs at odds with your target audience Outdated thinking / knowledge
Self-doubt and self-criticism
Stress Boredom
Ego
Rational (only) thought Being too close to the market you serve Politeness
Fear of appearing stupid / childish Unwillingness to play games Lack of time
Address these (maybe play the exact opposite) and you are some way towards shaping your mindset, if not your agenda.
Made to be BrokenThursday 05th February 2009 This definitions section is included in order to recognise those constraints that must be avoided in the pursuit of the Big Idea: Breaking the RulesWednesday 04th February 2009 I have included the following definitions as inspiration for those who actively seek to break the ‘rules’ or at least know when not to follow them to gain strategic advantage: [Nouns] disjunction, break, disconnection, disruption, distinction, differentiation, disengagement; discontinuity; separateness, separation, fission. It's Not Big and it's Not CleverTuesday 03rd February 2009 The small idea invokes: Hey, this could be a Big IdeaMonday 02nd February 2009 Big Ideas break rules. Shatter conventions. Challenge the status quo. They smash through the safe, culturally embedded biases that shape business convention. They have the power to change the hearts and minds of individual customers. Ultimately, Big Ideas can shift entire markets – in your favour. Here, arguably ironically, are some rules for a Big Idea: 1. It creates market space |
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