Insight Categories: Brand Strategy

There was an interesting piece this morning on Morning Edition about a branding battle between Boars Head deli meats and Dietz and Watson.

Deli meats

Steve Chiotakis speaks of a branding battle for deli counter space between a nationally known producer, Boars Head and Dietz and Watson, the local “kinder and gentler” meat producer. This piece really speaks to B2B branding—since the sale is between the deli meat producer and the supermarket—where normally only one brand of meat is carried. Boars Head is the clear bologna behemoth in deli shelf space and holds a monopoly in some areas. In terms of branding, Dietz and Watson portrays the company as a smaller regional mom and pop operation and plays into the new local craze—buying locally to reduce carbon footprints.  And both brands heavily rely on their distributors and sales force to be brand ambassadors. Chiotakis relays a voice mail recording from a Boars Head rep:

Aggressive Voicemail: Hey Dietz and Watson: I dare you BLEEPers to come up here with your BLEEPing product. I’m a Boar’s Head guy. You bring your BLEEPing little BLEEPing circus up here, I’ll bury you BLEEPing guys.

Clearly this is not the brand steward that Boars Head marketing had in mind….

But this story is really about B2C marketing. Neither brand has made a convincing argument to the consumer on why their brand of mortadella is better than the other ones. After all ham is ham and smoked turkey is smoked turkey… right? Wrong. Both companies have failed to give the consumer a compelling reason to ask for pastrami by name. And so deli meat is a commodity and the decision is left up to the supermarket chain.

It reminds me of ordering a drink 10 years ago—if you ordered a gin and tonic—you got your drink… no questions asked. Now order a G&T and every bartender will immediately ask what brand of gin you would like. That is because most people know there is a difference between Gordons and Bombay Saffire… And even if they can not taste the difference—there is a perception that one brand is better than another. In terms of branding, Absolut is a model of how to change a commodity into a luxury brand…

Well the same for corned beef. When Boars Head or Dietz and Watson start talking directly to the end consumer they will have a better chance of either protecting their turf or breaking into the deli counter. When consumers start asking for Dietz and Watson by name, then supermarket officials will sit up and take notice. When they start to impress their brand on the minds of the consumer then the battle of the bologna will change course.

There was an article today in Investment News talking about the problems of naming a business in the financial services arena. It seems that a guy named Sid Blum had been running his own firm, GreenLight Fee Only Advisors, for more than three years when in April he received a threatening legal letter from Greenlight Capital Inc., the hedge fund led by legendary short-seller David Einhorn. In sum, Sid pressed his suit to keep his name, lost and spent a lot of dough on lawyers. And at no point did he talk to anyone who does naming that might have steered him clear and saved him beaucoup bucks in the end.

Naming. It seems like such a simple thing to do. After all what’s in a name? Years ago, before many of you were born, you figured out a name, printed stationary and you were done. If Mike Meyer opened up a Meyer’s Shoes in Indiana, and Sidney Meyer (no relation to Mike) opened up a Meyer’s Shoes in Alabama, they would not have known about each other or even cared. Now in modern times, the internet has changed all that forever. Now if Harry Meyer wants to open up a Meyer’s Shoes or a Meyers Footware or Meyers Slippers in Philly, he most likely will not be allowed to IF either Sidney or Mike registered their trademark and secured a url. Now Harry is going to have to do some fancy footwork.

Naming exercises can go for as high as a quarter of a million dollars if it involves an international search and if it is necessary to purchase multiple urls. More often than not our Harry Meyer is going to be forced to look at names that are either a bit crazy or made up like hoopdeedo or combinations of words like Meyoes (Meyers Shoes—and if you don’t think this ever happens, think again). And often these names—strange as they may seem—form a first impression to a viewer. Would you ever buy wingtips from a store named Hoopdedoo? You might from Meyer’s Shoes, but you most certainly would not from the former.

So for the sake of argument Harry was able to secure the url for Meyers Footware and decided to develop his brand using that moniker. Well—he still needs a lawyer to make sure that that name is free and clear. Probably 90% of the lawyers out there would nix that name if there is another Meyers or Mayers or Meiers or MyOrs in that category that might have a trademark that could cause confusion in the market. Now if Harry wants to open up a computer software company called Meyers Shoes—he probably would not have a problem.

Lets also say that Sidney in Alabama has been in business selling shoes for 60 years under the name Meyers Shoe, even if Sid did not apply for a trademark (who knew about that then?!) he has been doing business under Meyer’s shoes for generations and has first dibs. So even if he does not own the trademark you may still be in trouble.

As a firm that does naming we know how time consuming and expensive this exercise can be. Sitting with 3 or 4 windows open on our computers, one connected to USPTO, one to go-daddy.com as a start to see if the url is available and who owns it, one open to Wikipedia—which comes in handy when you want to research arcane information about shoes—or look at the derivation of the name Meyer, and one open to a blank document in Microsoft Office waiting for brilliant names to appear. And sometimes you nail it, and sometimes it takes endless rounds of sleuthing to find the needle in the haystack—the name that is available, that has a free and clear status on USPTO, has a good url and does not damage your brand, like hoopdeedo.com.

Oh and by the way, hoopdeedo.com is taken!

Let’s say someone gives you a list of ingredients: no measures, no instructions, not even a clue as to what the ingredients should combine to make. It’s an absurd notion, and yet branding firms do it all the time.

For the third or fourth time in as many months, Grafik has been asked by organizations to try and make heads or tails of strategic documents delivered to them by firms who were happy to drop a stack of research on their doorsteps and dash. In each case, there were no real conclusions, and absolutely no hint of what the organization’s brand focus should be.

As far as I’m concerned that’s less than half the job.

Before you can begin to express a brand, everyone needs to agree on a concise recipe—a directive that identifies the key components, weighs their significance, and details how they need to come together. This is a critical step. One you can’t skip because it informs imagery and messaging, ensures relevancy, and helps define tactics across every customer touch point.

We have a couple of branding projects in the works now, and you can bet that when they’re launched, these brands will be fully baked. The way we see it you shouldn’t have to settle eggs and flour, when you’re in the market for cake.

It’s not often you have a great client who always lets you do great work. But the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has provided numerous opportunities for Grafik to do just that. Penny Murphy and Amanda Hall are extraordinary partners in that they consistently bring us in on projects where we can offer strategic insight and flex our creative muscles. They’re wonderful to work with because they value our perspective and really appreciate our work.

Recently, we helped them develop print ads showcasing both the value of specialist care, and the need for tort reform. The two sample ads shown here are just a few of the pieces we created. We hope to extend these campaigns soon, but right now we’re busy helping ACOG launch a microsite for their new online publication, pause magazine. I’ll have more to say about that in coming weeks, but for now I just wanted to say thanks to Penny, Amanda and Adam (the latest addition to the team) for making my job easier — and a heck of a lot more rewarding.

Cheers to good work and good clients.

Alexandria, VA — July 1, 2009. Grafik Marketing Communications, the DC/Metro area-based marketing communications shop has been named agency of record for the Philadelphia-based non-profit, Women’s Campaign International (WCI). Founder and former Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies chose the Grafik Team because of their keen ability to compassionately get to the heart of the brand, creating an identity and communications platform that commands market share and increases awareness in a highly-competitive sector.

“In a short time, Grafik has not only become experts on WCI, our work and our peers – but has been able to get to the essence of our brand and help us see how to distinguish ourselves to our supporters, donors and governmental grant-making bodies ,” says Margolies, who is herself, not only a former NBC reporter and five-time Emmy Award Winner, but a best-selling author. “They completely understand cause-branding and we look forward to working with them as a partner for many years to come.”

Since its founding in 1998, WCI led by Margolies, has focused its passion and resources on increasing the participation of women in political and democratic processes worldwide. Even as successful initiatives are fulfilled, the need and opportunity for new programs continues to grow. And after 11 years of operating on boundless conviction, WCI’s leadership has concluded that building a larger, broader base of support and funding is essential. At their last major event in NY, WCI honored many well-respected female luminaries such as Hillary Clinton, Katie Couric, Gloria Steinem and Geraldine Ferraro to name just a few.

“Grafik has always been concerned with doing important work, and as a woman-owned company, we are particularly committed to working with WCI,” says Grafik founder and CEO, Judy Kirpich. “We believe that working with WCI will not only make them more effective, but it will make Grafik a stronger company, keeping us close to our founding mission and contributing to make the world a better place for us all to live in.”

Grafik will redefine the brand identity and strategy, from logo to interactive presence. Additionally, Grafik will be assisting with PR messaging and the WCI annual fundraiser in November 2009 featuring luminaries in the field and to be attended by policy-makers, opinion-leaders and superstar spokespeople in women’s issues. For more information on donating to or creating strategic partnerships with WCI, please contact Kerri Kennedy at 215.387.2602 or go to www.womenscampaigninternational.org.

Editors Note:
Women’s Campaign International (WCI) is a United States-based, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to incorporating women into political, democratic and decision-making processes worldwide to impact legislative agendas. WCI works toward this goal by promoting and assisting women leaders at all levels in post-conflict countries with the skills and knowledge needed to influence policy, laws and social issues in the areas of education, environment, healthcare, social welfare, women’s, children’s and family issues. www.womenscampaigninternational.org.

CEO,  Judy Kirpich was recently interviewed along with 9 additional nationally-known design professionals as part of the AIGA/Aquent Survey of Design Salaries 2009. This group of select design professionals was asked to share advice on how to remain competitive in these challenging economic times. Here’s her advice for staying competitive:

Control only the things you can control

Here’s my advice for staying competitive in tough times:

Always manage your business like you are in a recession. That means putting money away in good times so you can weather the next recession—because there will be a next recession. Resist the temptation to spend profits during fat years because lean years always follow. Remember, cash is king.

“Business” is not a dirty word. Many of us designers look down our noses at the business aspect of our profession, in which creativity reigns supreme. Never forget that if you do not operate your practice like a business, there will be no place for your creativity to live.

You cannot control many things, but you can control your budget. During difficult economic times you can’t control if a business cuts back its marketing budget or Wall Street tanks. But you can control what you spend. A budget can help you understand where your money is flowing and is the best picture into your economic health. Create one yearly; look at it monthly; revise it if necessary.

A “Grub first, then ethics” mentality is shortsighted. If you abandon your professionalism by entertaining spec work, or by severely undercutting your competition, it will come back to bite you.

The health of the economy is not your fault. If your business is not doing as well as you would like, it won’t do any good to beat yourself up about it. There is less work and more competition for accounts and projects. And jobs are often cancelled right after they are awarded! That’s the definition of a recession. Just remember that you are going through tough times due to external circumstances out of your control— not because you are a bad designer or a bad person.

To read the comments of the other luminaries:

http://www.designsalaries.org/advice.shtml

Our firm is often called upon to engage in pro bono work. Sometime a long-standing client will ask us to provide our services for a worthy cause. Other times, employees of our firm might have a specific interest that could use our help. The reasons vary.

However there is a list of criteria we’ve learned to ask ourselves before making a commitment, and we offer them up for discussion as a good rule of thumb for others about to take this leap. Here’s our top 10.

1. Our first consideration is timing. Can we as a firm take on the commitment based on what we’ve already committed to in our studio? As much as we may want to, if our resources are thin, we have to pass.

2. Is the cause something we’re passionate to support? And will it go against the beliefs of even a minority in our firm?

3. Will a partner lead this charge? We don’t believe that it sends the right message to ask our employees to make a personal commitment of time and energy if we are not leading by example.

4. Is the potential client specific about their goals? It’s not enough to want a new identity or website. When working for a pro bono cause we seek actionable results for these clients. Our time is too valuable to create something for the sake of making it “new.”

5. Can the client afford to produce something of quality? This one’s admittedly a bit tricker to stick to. You must be up front regarding this question. Don’t wait till after you’ve committed. If the case is such that there is no funding for creative services, we still must know that the client can either find funding to produce quality execution or has secured other partners who will donate their services— at the same level of commitment that Grafik brings to the table.

6. Are we committed to the work being done on business hours? From our experience, we’ve realized that it’s critical that our staff understands Grafik is serious about the commitment we’ve taken on.

7. Will this effort foster a deeper relationship with our long-standing clients? Another tough one to answer. Only you can figure this out.

8. Can we create a story in our community around our effort? OK, it may sound a bit self-serving but it is a real consideration as we make our choices.

9. Can we exercise our creative chops? Another consideration that may on the surface sound less “selfless,” but pro bono work is not charity.

10. Is the potential client willing to give your firm creative freedom? You’d assume if they’ve approached you, that must respect what you can offer. Not always the case. Please don’t dance around this one. Be specific.

Should you be able to to answer yes to all of these. Of course. But if you end up with half on the affirmative side, go back to question #1 and then make your decision.

From our first kick-off with the city of Lynchburg, Virginia we knew it made more sense for Grafik to establish the brand sensibility from a high-level “look & feel” and then have our client’s various departmental teams develop materials specific to their needs. After creating a few key marketing pieces, including their new website and tagline, we set out to produce an online Brand Style Guide.

The guide is now available to the various departmental design teams who are putting it to good use. And  we’re no longer cringing.

Detailed description that deconstructs the Parks & Recreation Collateral Template

Wuvie. That was just one of the names Gannett Digital had developed for its new social network for moms. And as you might well imagine, it failed to inspire a single positive response with focus group participants.

Of course, the other names they had generated faced some pretty harsh criticism as well. And through the ordeal, our friends at Gannett learned just how painful naming can be.

It’s the same for everyone. You start a naming project, and everyone has a clear idea of what the name should communicate. But after weeks of searching, someone invariably strays off into the land of nonsensical terms and portmanteau words. I don’t want to go there — but my clients sometimes do.

Anxious to be done with it, they make long lists of ridiculous, and completely unpronounceable names. They find the wikiHow page on how to create a make up a word, while away hours on naming sites, or (and you knew this was coming) download an app for that. Then, the next time we get together, they unveil a name that looks like an alphabet soup spill.

“You can call your company anything you like,” I tell them, “but you better have the time and budget to make a whacky name meaningful. (Quick: Any of you know what companies like Xoopit, Squidoo, and Ponoko do?)

Not long after the focus group testing, we persuaded Gannett to let us take a crack at the name. And I gave them the best advice I could: Be patient. In the end, they were. And that’s why their national social network isn’t called Wuvie. You can check it out for yourself at MomsLikeMe.com.

Meanwhile, if you’re in the process of naming a company, or a product, you might want to think twice about a name that means nothing to anyone. The last thing the world needs is another Eefoof.

So today Etrade introduced a new online portfolio tool that will allow investors to cut out investment advisors. Supposedly it will give self-directed investors, after filling out a questionnaire, a recommended asset allocation model. According to an Etrade spokesperson this is geared towards the investor that is leaving a full service firm, still needs guidance but wants to control investing himself.

So here are my unvarnished thoughts. Oh- that will work really well as long as the markets start to recover and numbers go up. And it will work really poorly as individual investors start lining up on the ledge as markets start to tank. Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of having a long term relationship, and I mean long term, with an RIA is the advice you get when markets start to tumble. The words “long term” have a different meaning, and it takes real discipline to keep and maintain a long term investment strategy. Yes, I suppose the last 2 quarters of 2008 have shown us that stuff happens- but keeping that long term prospective is where an outside counsel can really help.

Since when did financial advice only become about performance? Yes- some of it is about asset allocation, some of it is about risk ratios, but some of it is about listening, being sympathetic. But some of it is also about reminding investors what their long term goals are, reminding them of historical patterns, and pointing out where models continue to work, and where they don’t. Lots of it is about experience and expertise and research- commodities that the do-it-yourself-financial-advisor may not have.

And so, once again our online replacements for real advisors, will attract average investors that want to cut out any fees, and want to control all their assets themselves. But I bet that will only work in the short run. In the long run… do you really want to take your advice from a company that makes wonderful commercials but whose own stock is down a gazillion percent and who has flirted with bankruptcy? Not the kind of investment advisor that I want in my court for the long haul.

I work in the advertising industry, but for the life of me I just don’t get the ad execs that recommended that GM, on the very day it files for bankruptcy, leaving thousands unemployed, creditors owed and the people of the US of A holding the bag—how on that very day can they recommend  launching a completely meaningless, self absorbed  TV campaign?!!

If you really want to reinvent yourself,question the wisdom of placing a video instead of plowing that money back where it belongs—getting this behemoth up and running again. All these “victory images”—hackneyed, and trite. Instead give us straight talk and action.

Now what I will give them credit for is putting up a pretty good “reinvention” web site that does answer lots of questions… of course some marketing hype. But at least on this microsite you get detailed information on concrete actions.

Funny how we call ourselves creative thinkers, but go about our work the same way day after day. We’ve developed our own tried and tested formulas for problem-solving. We’ve chosen the tools, the process and the atmosphere that makes us most comfortable. And in doing so we’ve created a safety zone.

Now don’t get me wrong, playing it safe in an awful economy is never a bad idea. It’s just not the way to get to the best solution. Breakthroughs only occur after you’ve hit the wall once or twice, and in truth, most of us aren’t willing to put up with that kind of pain. No, we prefer comfort.

In the most recent issue of CA, Milton Glaser says one of his greatest influences was Picasso. “His incredible willingness to abandon his own accomplishments … was the most important thing you could learn from Picasso; this incredible desire to give up what you know and always move toward uncharted waters. That ambition, is what I thought was extraordinary.”

We all know the uncharted waters Glaser’s referring to. When we first got into this business, that’s where we spent most of our time. And now that we’re a little older, (and hopefully a little wiser) it’s where we need to return.

So let’s go. There are no rewards for safety. So let’s go get uncomfortable.