Packaged Goods Reign Supreme

Earlier this year, Harris Interactive held their latest brand equity study. This study, which has been held every year for 28 years, measures brand equity ratings across 39 categories on 6 different factors utilizing around 1,000 products for the survey. The report on this year's study revealed that by and large, consumer packaged good brands reign supreme over all others; 9 out of the top 10 brands can be found on supermarket shelves and of those, the newest brand is Duracell, introduced in 1964.

Should we be surprised by this? Probably not. Although there may be stronger or more well-established brands out there, these are the ones that pour billions of dollars every year into mass-media advertising, sponsorships, and promotions. Couple that with the fact that these 9 brands have all been around for 45 years or longer to build up their equity, it stands to reason that when it comes to consumer rating, these packaged good monoliths stand above all others.

Brand equity is an interesting measurement. I think this study proves that, if nothing else, it is a good indicator of how longevity and steady consumer exposure trumps marketing stunts and flash-in-the-pan bursts of advertising. Recall, however, that brand equity is a measure of the value of a brand, and not necessarily its effectiveness. For most product and organizational brands, the ability to offer a consistent and strong customer experience and attract new business is always going to be more important than that brand's intrinsic value.

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Discount, online logo development. The words alone make people like me and my colleagues shudder with disgust. But, is it really that bad? Aren't there some circumstances when quick and dirty logo design might get the job done for someone with literally no budget?

A great experiment recently concluded where the folks at Speak Up provided the same creative brief to a series of online logo developers, using an overall budget of $1,000 (total, spent on 4 different sites), and compared the results. The outcome was interesting, if not expected.

I was speaking with a colleague about this article and the whole online design phenomenon. He said the whole concept just didn't make sense. We thought it through, and here's what we came up with: If someone had one of these studios with 1 or 2 designers on hand, they could do well. If a designer sat down and did nothing but crank out logos for 8 hours a day, never throwing anything away, they could easily satisfy at least 10 or more clients each day--multiply that by 2 or more if they have a larger staff. That translates to a lot of money. This model, however, hinges on delivering quantity, without regard for quality, and hoping that most customers will be happy with the first set of designs that come to them.

And that's what you usually get: fairly low quality work for a very low price. For some people, this is just fine. For others, they are looking for something a bit better.

Previously, we discussed not overthinking a logo, but I think there is a happy medium between these 2 extremes. Unless you really have no budget or just need something out there - anything - then hire a real agency or designer. Otherwise, you'll just have to be happy with what you get.

Overthinking the Logo

Logos are funny creatures. Employees (and especially boards of directors) can become completely indignant at the idea of changing a logo. People become fiercely opinionated about colors, symbolism, image use, etc. and all of a sudden, everyone is an artist or graphic designer.

While it's great to have a logo that means something, resonates strongly with a particular audience, or is loved by all of top management, the fact remains that these attributes simply are not necessary. There may be some backlash from this, but I'm going to say it: sometimes a logo just has to look good and be easy to use.

There are a couple things to remember when developing a new logo. Remember these, and hopefully the experience will be a little more bearable and you will walk away with a usable, iconic logo:

• The logo is not for you or your employees; it's for your customers. You don't need to love the logo like your own child in order for it to be effective.
• If you are trying to create a logo that has symbolism in it that no one would understand without it explained to them (i.e. "the three stripes here stand for the three pillars of . . ."), then don't bother. You won't have the opportunity to explain it to 99% of the people who see it.
• You don't need a 100% consensus on a logo for it to be effective. Design-by-committee will always produce a bland result.
• You probably aren't going to create the next Nike "Swoosh" so don't even bother trying!
• Focus on ease of use, simplicity, and scalability. These are the factors that will really matter once you start using the logo.

Having a well-thought out, symbolic, and robust logo that everyone loves is a perfect scenario. Sometimes, however, we have to be realistic, get some work done, and deliver a product that does what it needs to.

Brand "Maturity" for U.F.C.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (U.F.C.) taps into much the same scenario as Romans that had tens of thousands heading to the coliseum cheering on their fighting. Today, television increases the number of viewers to hundreds of thousands.

The “sport” is a pay-per-view “league” using mixed martial arts in bouts that regularly end in knock out or opponent surrender. Referees often call the fight because they are afraid for the health of the losing fighter. It is like WWE, but without the actors and numbers currently competing alongside professional boxing.

U.F.C.’s first attempt at mainstream media in the early ‘90s was halted by states unwilling to publicly host the then barbaric event. The “league” was at the time no more then a no-rules brawl. In order to legalize their events, U.F.C. had to calm down its fights by slowly and slyly inserting rules in an effort to “professionalize” the sport in the minds of the general public while still keeping its blood thirsty fans.

Why is U.F.C. continually backing away from its rugged anything-goes foundation now that they’re able to host fights? Growth. There is so much growth that they attempted to make the sport an Olympic event in 2004 and are currently lobbying to be featured on ESPN. Now they are forced to adapt their image to attract new spectators and break away from the niche market they occupied before, pleasing its limited audience.

U.F.C. is not the exception. Many companies shed the ways of their founding nature as they mature and look toward expansion. Some fans of the sport see it as “selling-out” but as new fans flock to U.F.C. by the thousands, it’s easy enough for them to turn the other way.

The no holds, mixed martial arts brawls they have branded themselves with, have helped them to secure a following, but like every brand, as it matures and grows it must adapt.

Brands Outlive Products

People tend to believe brands come and go along with the times. One day you saw Brim coffee on store shelves along-side Eagle Snacks, and the next year they’re gone. Allow me to make the statement: brands don’t die. Products themselves are discontinued but product brands continue in the memories of people.

Take River West Brands, a small company out of Chicago who base their company solely on acquiring “ghost brands” (brands whose products have been discontinued). They believe in the nostalgia and affection people have for brands and have made a business out of reviving these brands (with some tweaks).

So next time you walk down an aisle wishing for a bag of Eagle Snacks because you used to eat them as a kid or get some Brim coffee because you used to drink it on your way to work, remember that the power of a brand will sometimes outlive the power of the product itself.

Branding by Department: Human Resources

Internal audiences are often the most overlooked group when it comes to branding. To many business owners and executive directors, employees don't spring to mind when thinking of key stakeholders. How can employees embody the brand when if the brand doesn't surround them? Branding is not simply an external tool.

Taking your brand to an internal operation like HR is usually more complicated than using properly designed business tools. Consider a few of these areas that are great places to integrate your brand into your human resources practices:

Interviews: This is the first time a potential employee will encounter your organization, so structure your interview format to reflect the best aspects of your brand. Should they meet the principles? Should it be an intimidating experience? A warm, friendly experience?

Policies: Do you have a code of ethics? Is there a particular dress code that reflects your brand (casual vs. formal vs. "creative")? Does your leave policy reflect an opportunity to relax or does it stress the importance of the job?

Documentation: Make sure all HR procedures are documented on branded company materials.

Compensation: Salaries, bonuses, raises, and other forms of compensation should be tied to and reflect brand attributes. Give bonuses based on brand milestones, review employees on their ability to embody the brand, and structure your compensation packages to reflect the core nature of your brand (i.e. stock-heavy compensation denotes strong ties to the company, cash-heavy can denote a stress on personal reward for employees).

Perks: The extra attributes to a compensation package say a lot about the organization. What type of savings/retirement package do you offer? Is it tied to the company's performance? Consider the other perks such as memberships and opportunities. Do they stress relaxation, professional development, or health and fitness? Which one aligns best with your brand?

Mediation: The way your HR department handles mediation is important. Choosing between supervised mediation, seperated hearings, formal documentation, and other methods should be tied to your brand.

Hiring: Maybe most important of all, who you hire and where you advertise those job listings is of critical brand importance. Looking for people who can embody your brand is the best way to ensure that you are stacking your ranks with star brand ambassadors. Define the attributes you are looking for and search those people out in places that are most likely to attract them (online vs. career fair vs. head-hunters, etc.).

As always, examine your current HR systems and try to find brand opportunities. They probably exist all over the department and are waiting to be aligned.

Branding by Department: Accounting

An oft-overlooked venue for branding is accounting. Accounts receivable, accounts payable, book keeping, and reporting all serve their utilitarian functions, but there is opportunity here to spread your organization's brand. Some easy-to-implement methods include:

• Utilize properly branded materials (letterhead, envelopes, etc.) for all invoices/bills
• Use branded checks with properly identifiable information (i.e. don't use checks that have the name of a holding company or alternate corporate name on them)
• If you have a high-end brand, especially with large invoices, consider handwritten invoices or including a handwritten note along with the invoice
• The invoice is often the last experience a customer will have with your company, so including proper detail, thank-yous, messages, etc. is your opportunity to close the relationship with consistent branding (assuming you opened the relationship with proper branding).

Simple branding methods, such as the items above, can be put in place by just about any organization. If you are already doing some or all of these things, consider some more radical extensions of your brand into accounting:

• If you have a united, trusting, or team-based aspect to your brand, consider an open-book accounting policy that would allow all your employees to view your financial records (private companies only, obviously)
• Consider the way you prepare and send invoices: can this method be better aligned with your brand? Should large invoices be hand-delivered? Should invoices be emailed to improve convenience?
• What are the terms for your billing? Upon receipt? Net 15 or 30? Do you offer a discount for early payments? There could be an opportunity with these parameters to align them with your brand position.

Remember, these are just some suggestions. Give branded accounting some thought and develop some techniques unique to your organization and your brand.

Branding by Department

This article is the first in a series that I will be writing about how to extend branding across your entire company/organization. To truly take advantage of an organizational brand, it can't be confined to your marketing department. We will discuss how you can use your brand as a holistic tool, fully integrated within areas that most people never consider.

A brand, especially when you have hired an agency to develop it, is a serious investment. It is a tool that embodies the essence of the organization and to work properly it must be more than a short list of guidelines that gets pulled out when a new brochure is developed.

I hope that by exploring the different ways you can bring branding into the fold of accounting, human resources, sales, operations, and other typical departments, your organization will be able to harness the effectiveness that branding can have when you have succesfully and consistently connected all business functions together.

Come back soon for the first article on accounting.