Marketing 2.0

Branding Strategy - Visual or Verbal?

I recently found this excellent article by noted marketer Al Ries. He ponders the question of what is more important - the visual or verbal elements of branding. He likens the combination to a hammer and nail and uses BMW as an example of a company that has been very successful by implanting a phrase "the ultimate driving machine" in the minds of consumers. This allows them to leverage visual elements and create a powerful brand image. 

Creative Strategy Importance: Visual or Verbal? : Branding Strategy Insider.

The Taurus is Resurrected

One thing I don't understand about American car manufacturers is why they churn their model brand names so frequently. Think about how hard it is to get the attention of consumers and to build name recognition. Why would you want to throw that away?

Toyota and Honda have marketed the Camry, Corolla, Accord and Civic for decades. Everyone knows what these brands stand for. Can anyone keep Chevy's models straight? 

I've linked to a good article from the Name Wire that discusses the rebirth of the Taurus brand at Ford. For some unknown reason, Ford phased out this well-known model a few years ago and replaced it with the 500. Got that? Just throw out 20 years of brand equity and start over with a number that no one gets.

The new CEO has brought the old nameplate back and the car has been redesigned for 2010. What's interesting is the car has been pushed up market rather than positioned as an alternative to Camry and Accord. I think this actually makes sense given the current automotive climate and the success of Ford's Fusion in competing in the mid-size segment.

Back from the Auto Naming No-Man's Land, The Taurus Is Back!: Name Wire: The Product Naming Blog.

How to Build a Lasting Brand | Fast Company

Here's an interesting article from Fast Company on the Mayo Clinic's approach to branding. I found a couple of interesting points that run counter to the traditional best practices of high-performance organizations. For example, there are no incentives for managers and doctor's salaries are capped after a period. Imagine trying that with managers in a typical Fortune 50 company!

Link: How to Build a Lasting Brand | Fast Company.

Illusion, Not Quality: The Transformation of the Luxury Niche into a Global Mass Market - Knowledge@Wharton

Here's a very interesting article from Wharton on the proliferation of luxury brands and their rapid growth from hand-made to mass produced. Faced with burgeoning demand, some brands have secretly moved production to China in order to boost output and lower costs.

Link: Illusion, Not Quality: The Transformation of the Luxury Niche into a Global Mass Market - Knowledge@Wharton.

'If Brands Are Built Over Years, Why Are They Managed Over Quarters?' - Knowledge@Wharton

Here's a summary of new research from Len Lodish and Carl Mela on the impact of short-term discounting on brand equity. Their work indicates that brand managers are focused on short-term results and are using quick fixes such as trade promotions and price cuts to boost sales. As a result, consumers have become much more price sensitive and less likely to choose based on name brand preference. The authors provide metrics to measure the true, long-term success of brands.

Link: 'If Brands Are Built Over Years, Why Are They Managed Over Quarters?' - Knowledge@Wharton.

Strong and Weak Brand Names

Check out the latest book from Marty Neumeier, titled Zag. This link takes you to an interesting comparison of strong and weak brand names. Neumeier offers some good rules for creating effective brand names and then goes on to compare the good ones with the not-so-good names.
Link: ZagBook Brand Critique | Strong And Weak Names.

Trademark Tips

Many marketers are intimidated by the trademark issue. It has both legal and marketing implications and is generally not well understood, Maybe that's why consultants and lawyers often specialize in this area and charge healthy fees.

Here is a nice guide to trademarks written by Stephen Nipper and presented on Guy Kawasaki's blog. Nipper discusses different types of trademarks along with the registration process. Best of all — it's free!

Link: Signum sine tinnitu--by Guy Kawasaki: "Trademark Tips for Your Web App".

Elements of Good Design

Garr Reynolds offers an excellent article on what constitutes good logo design. He uses the current World Cup logo as an example of bad design and presents a nice list of design characteristics to shoot for. It's good reading and his weblog, Presentation Zen, is an excellent resource.
Link: Presentation Zen: Design and the World Cup: what can we learn?.

Branding Hall of Shame

CNN Money reports on major companies who committed branding blunders in 2005. At the top of this list is Microsoft with their dinosaur ads. There's nothing like profiling your customers as dinosaurs to get them fired up and running out to buy their 14th version of Office.

Ford is another culprit. Remember when their brand slogan was "Quality is job one?" Now they are saying, hey forget about the quality angle, we're all about innovation. Well, I've seen their their vehicles and trust me, there's nothing innovative going on. They dusted off the old Mustang design and reproduced it for aging baby boomers (like me, I guess). They copied the design of the last-generation Passat to make the Ford 500. Judging by the inventory sitting on the local dealer's lot. these "innovative" cars aren't catching anyone's attention.

Then there's GM. I really hate to pile on this dying behemoth but their brand message is "Attention auto shoppers, the blue light special is in effect for the next 30 days. Come on down and you can get the employee discount." At bargain-basement prices, GM did move some metal off their lots. Trouble was, no one checked the old price vs. cost comparison at GM and they lost $10 billion in 2005, largely by dumping their products at fire sale prices. Oops. Let's hope they don't start offering everyone pink slips.

Link: Branding bloopers and blunders - Mar. 30, 2006.

The Art of Marketing?

BMW has been an innovator in using non-traditional marketing strategies such as hiring directors to make short films that feature BMW models. This work often blurs the distinction between art and marketing. Is it art used for marketing purposes or is it marketing masquerading as art?

Their latest collaboration is with Joshua Davis, artist and designer, to promote the lovely new Z4 Coupe. The website sponsored by BMW, details this collaborations and offers limited-edition prints for sales.

Link: Z4byJD %u2013 The BMW Z4 Coup� by Joshua Davis.