Archive for the 'Marketing' Category

Why is Starbucks so successful while other coffee brands falter? Why are we so infatuated by Apple products such as the iPod and iMac?  Why do we choose Nike footware over competing products? These are all questions that don’t seem to have a clear answer. I’ve wondered many times why one brand does so much better than others. Why seemingly equal products end up with such different outcomes.

Enter Idea-engineer, Patrick Hanlon and his new book, Primal Branding. Patrick has asked these questions and many others and distilled the results into seven pieces of “primal” code which he believes is the key to brand identity.

The seven pieces of primal code are: the creation story, creed, icons, ritual, sacred words, nonbelievers, and leader.

The creation story aspect is fascinating. It’s the interesting part of the company identity. How did this company come to exist? We all know about the two guys in a garage that started Apple computer, the college students that started Google and the guy who started Ebay in his back bedroom. Creation stories draw us in and give us an attachment to the product. We feel more a part of the company if we know the struggles and passion that it took to get it started.

The creed is the mission statement. All companies have a declaration that tells us what they are all about. It may be honesty or passion or going one step better than the rest. It uniquely identifies the direction and vision of the company or brand. If we can relate to the creed the company may have a customer for life.

The icons may be the actual graphic or logo of the business. It may be the taste of the food or the smell of the gourmet coffee. Icons differentiate the brand and give us instant recognition. We all know the Nike swoosh, the Starbuck’s mermaid, and the startup sound of a windows computer. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are very recognizable icons for Nike.

Almost every shopping experience involves ritual. In Starbucks you order, pickup, add sugar and creme, and then find a seat. The Amazon experience involves viewing the product, adding it to your cart, checking out, and then enjoying the fun of opening the brown box with the large smile on it that the UPS man just delivered. Different businesses, different rituals. Humans are creatures of habit and if a company can turn their ritual into one of your habits they will have a steady customer.

Sacred words are the language of the enlightened. People that know the sophisticated vocabulary of a business develop a close affinity for the product or service. Think about the vocabulary of Starbucks… tall, grande, vente, all provided by a barista behind a bar. Once you learn the language you have a feeling of belonging. You’re a part of the team, someone in the know.

The unbelievers are anyone who doesn’t believe in your product. With Starbuck’s it’s the people at home sipping instant coffee, with Coke it’s the Pepsi drinkers, with Democrats it’s the Republicans. Unbelievers offer contrast and a way to differentiate products and services. This contrast gives people a reason to use your product.

And finally there is the leader. It may be the CEO, the founder, or even a TV personality. Someone who you can relate to. Someone that gives you confidence in the product, that if something were to go wrong, would be there to fix it. If this person can gain your trust, they may have you as a customer for life. Personal connections are powerful.

Creating a brand that people believe in, means they want to be your customer and no one else’s. They prefer you above all other choices… even when the competition beats you with innovation, price, or other advantages.

Primal Branding is an amazing read. Patrick Hanlon is the founder of Thinktopia an idea task force whose slogan is, “Better Thoughts Through Thinking. He has served as the Creative Director at various advertising agencies

I downloaded the audio book “The Big Moo” the other day. The book is a compilation of marketing and business authors answering one simple question…

What does it really take to make your organization remarkable?

I decided to listen to this amazing and quick paced tome while walking thru the old town business district of Fallbrook, California. Fallbrook is an unique little town in Northern San Diego County with a history dating back into the 1800’s. The Old Town section is an eclectic mix of old and new with an amazing variety of different businesses. As I started walking it started raining so much of my journey was completed in my car.

As I started listening to Seth Godin read the compilations of the 33 authors in Big Moo, different points would come up and I would stop the iPod and make notes. This is an incredible little book and a remarkable little town… a great mix. As I walked the following ideas came up.

1. Remarkable doesn’t always mean right now.
Fallbrook is in transition. There is definitely a mix of old and new with distinct historical themes throughout. Much of the town was built in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. Each decade is apparent by the architecture and business names. Some of the remarkable businesses in town are old shops made new. Wonderful colors and fonts adorn the front of the shops with unique business plans. Here was a vacuum shop done up in a Victorian motif. The bright purple color made the business stand out from the crowd and the fonts and sayings drew customers in.

What I came away with is being remarkable doesn’t always mean “right now”. As this town was a great example of taking something old and ordinary and transforming it into something extra-ordinary. Remarkable here was Victorian, purple and bold.

2. The secret is bringing a great idea from another market or industry to your market or your industry.
My walk thru town was at lunchtime on a Friday. I was intrigued by the crowds at the center of town. There were hundreds of people out on a weekday. This was so different from my experience in Old Town Temecula just 10 miles away that was empty during the week. What was the draw? As I got closer I noticed a sign that said “Farmers Market,” 10-2 on Fridays.

This was great with a lively and fun atmosphere. Vendors had umbrellas setup on the sidewalks with a mix of fresh produce, art work, and unique clothing all for sale in a large patio setting. The restaurants in the area were doing a booming business. All of the businesses were flooded with people. I came away with the idea of Collaboration. Taking the great ideas and marketing plan of one type of business and meld it into a workable attraction for all local entrepreneurs. In this case there was incredible synergy on a weekday afternoon.

3. Sometimes you find remarkable innovations in the places you least expect
At one end of the main street thru Old Town Fallbrook was a small roadside cafe. From the outside it looked somewhat inviting with a rustic sign and a old western look. Inside it was a restaurant and history museum with memorabilia from decades of Fallbrook life tacked on the walls and ceilings of the place. The innovation of the place was the authenticity of the experience. It felt like you were transported back to the 1940’s with great service, wonderful food, and authentic memorabilia.

So many new businesses have a retro feel but you find that everything inside is a modern copy of an original item. Not so with the Wayside Cafe… all original just like it was in the post war era of this little boomtown.

4. What’s in the trash that needs to see the light of day, needs to be run by a customer or tried out on a playground?
As I entered town I found a small periodical called the “Fallbrook Sourcebook” on a bench that was a great resource for this whole community. It tells the story of the town and gives many insights to the businesses located there. This book needs to be prominently displayed for visitors as they enter town. This would really help since it tells an authentic and timely story of this wonderful town called Fallbrook.

Fallbrook is a town that prides its self in the Arts. Many art galleries line the street and the weekday business can be brisk. This is different that other old towns such as Temecula that have many antique stores which tend to be busy on the weekends. If you make down to San Diego in the future, be sure to put Fallbrook on your list of places to visit.

Be sure to pick up the Big Moo. This is a fascinating book and one that will give you many marketing insights into many types of businesses old and new.

Over the last two weeks I have been enjoying some new audio books as part of the MBA on the Run program. It has been interesting to listen on my Ipod to the best in the business talk about marketing, advertising, and financial concepts while walking through local business districts. Earlier this week I walked through Old Town Temecula at lunch while listening to Seth Godin’s new book, “All Marketers Are Liars”.

The concept of Seth’s book is that businesses need to tell compelling stories to be successful in the new millennium. No longer are facts and figures enough… businesses must tell authentic stories to their customers. This was profound. Almost all of the shops and businesses in Old Town are unique. Each one should be telling a unique story… but they were not. All I saw were facts and figures strewn out around the landscape.

Many signs said “antiques and collectibles” while others said candy and others said hamburgers. As I was walking I found myself hungry and thirsty. I wanted something different to eat. After all I was in old town and there was no fast food joints to compel me to come in. All I saw were “facts” such as hamburgers, sodas, Mexican food etc. No one was telling me a story. No one was compelling me to come in and have lunch.

If a sign had said “delicious” hamburgers or “hand rolled” tortillas or even “worlds best” pastrami I would have been in there in a minute. There was no story… no reason to even come in. I walked past a Mexican Restaurant that I know has the best Carne Asada in Riverside county.. the only sign outside was one stating it was a cantina. Why don’t they tell everyone driving by that they have “melt in your mouth” carne asada, “warm fresh” tortillas and a “signature” salsa?

I continued walking down the one mile Old Town Strip looking for anybody to compel me to come in. Someone to offer me something that I couldn’t get at McDonalds or Burger King. I reached the other end of town, crossed the street and headed back the other direction. Seth’s words were playing in my ears and I became increasingly aware why most of the businesses were empty on a weekday. This town didn’t have a compelling story… It really didn’t have much of a story at all. It was just different… and different wasn’t necessarily enough to get my business.

Seth’s book really came alive as I continued to walk. The marketing ideas of most of these businesses were as old as the adobe on the buildings. Just like Joe Friday… Just the facts ma’m. I continued to walk and I soon reached the other end of town. I had seen some interesting adjectives in front of business names such as “mad” or “sweet” but nothing as far as the food or drink.

As crazy as it may sound I ended up eating lunch at the new Starbuck’s at the end of town. Many people have told me a compelling story about Starbuck’s sandwiches and I just had to try one. This new Starbucks is in a historic building but their marketing is legendary. Starbucks had a huge crowd and I found it somewhat sad that nobody else in this unique business district was telling much of a story. At least for a visitor walking through town.

This has been an incredible weekend. On Saturday I posted an article entitled “MBA on the Run“. The concept of the article is to listen to MBA related Audio books on a Ipod while walking through interesting business districts. Sounds like a crazy idea doesn’t it. I have to say this is one of the most incredible things I have ever experienced.

When I wrote the article I had no idea how profound the experience would be. Last night I picked up Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki from Itunes and downloaded it onto my Ipod Mini. I decided to follow through with my plan and I drove down to Old Town Murrieta which is a few miles from where I live. I parked in a strip mall on the edge of the main street. The Audio book had been playing while I was driving in the car so I had an overview of the first chapter.

I plugged in the earphones, put on my jacket, and clipped the Ipod to my belt. I started walking south along Washington Ave about 7pm. The story on the Ipod was one of two boys growing up in Hawaii in the 1950’s. The reality I was seeing was an old town that could have been out of that book. As the Author talked about his adventures growing up and the lessons that he learned it was if I had been transported back in time. Robert talked about working in Mrs Martin’s store for 10 cents and hour… I looked across the street and there was the rustic Murrieta Market. There was a young boy in the door dust mopping the floor and shaking the dust off in a huge cloud. Probably the same thing had been happening for 40 or 50 years… different kids… different times..

I walked further and I passed a Bar & Grill. The noise was loud and somebody inside was causing a commotion. I walked past the entrance and the story on the Ipod talked about people who didn’t understand how money worked would always be spending their money on frivolous things like alcohol and gambling. This was getting more profound by the minute. I continued down the street fascinated by Mr. Kiyosaki’s stories. The words were literally before my eyes.

As I reached the other end of town, I crossed the street and headed back. I soon heard people singing and I noticed a very small church building off to the left in the darkness. It could probably hold 30 people at the most. There was a glow around the front door and the singing got louder as I approached. All of a sudden the front door burst open and a young gal came running out at full speed. She ran right in front of me and continued down the street to a tattered mini van. She grabbed a book out of the back, muttered a faint hello, and hurried back in. The interesting thing was there was no name on the building… no worship times , no denomination, … nothing.

The audio book was talking about the desperation of people and businesses that didn’t understand financial principles. I couldn’t help thinking that this church needed to invest in a sign so the people of the neighborhood could get more information. Why wasn’t there a name or other information? If I lived nearby how could I get involved? It seemed so odd. And then it got more interesting as I walked further. Across the street there was more of a ruckus at the Bar. The noise level increased and someone was yelling from the front porch. What would happen if that little church had an outreach and a name, I wondered?

I continued on and Robert talked about the lesson’s he learned from his rich dad and how he invested in Real Estate. The stories of how he took dilapidated old buildings and turned them into high rises. I looked up to see an amazing dichotomy. On one side of the street was an old house from the turn of the century… boarded up and a rickety for-sale sign hanging from a post. The other side was a new two story office building that was under construction.

I had now reached the other end of town and I headed back to my car. When I opened the door I turned off the Ipod and I was suddenly transported from 1956 back to 2006. I can’t tell you how amazing this short little journey was. I will finish this audio book up in the next few days and then I hope to interview someone who has learned some of Robert’s financial principles.

This book tells an amazing story..

Back to the future 2006… Wow!