Narrative Assets

Dare to Be Different: Try Giving Away Chocolate Cake!

Armed with determination, years of experience and dogged persistence, I am (as are countless others) looking for ways to differentiate myself and my service amongst a slew of competitors in the marketing communications industry.

By now, I've read the books, joined countless networking groups - collected references, given speeches, taught courses, written articles, poured over business directories, started a blog - all in an effort to get noticed. What struck me as perhaps a bit ironic, is that after all of my efforts, what people seem to really remember me by is my chocolate cake. Let me explain.

Months ago, I baked a chocolate cake for my husband's birthday. Unable to eat the whole thing, he took a few leftovers to his office where the response was quite overwhelming. Not only were his co-workers appreciative, but they now connect my name to the chocolate cake. Last week, just before the company bake sale, an employee asked if I was to be bringing in any more of that cake. I haven't even met these people, and they've now built a connection to me through food.

If branding is really all about experiences and making emotional connections, then the process of baking and sharing that cake distinguished me from other people. It helped me stand out, if only from a personal perspective. In spite of my other more traditional efforts, I discovered that a very effective way to get people to remember you is by appealing to their appetite! Sometimes, what people really need is comfort food - or at least the feeling that in the middle of all the chaos, all is well for a moment.

What have you done to help distinguish yourself from the competition? Have you given away something that helped people remember who you are? Are you willing to share a few of your more unique ideas?

Brand NASCAR - A Tribute to Working Class America

Last night I watched a great special on ESPN on the origins of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing). Although I don't follow NASCAR, I was compelled by its brand story. The brand has its roots in the southeastern U.S., where bootleggers and rumrunners developed a passion for racing each other on twisty mountain roads. Its reputation for being a backwoods sport earned it a "redneck" following whose fans, coming from mostly working class backgrounds, reflected the true essence and spirit of the American people. Fiercely loyal and proud, many deemed it as "their sport." They saw it as part of them, a true reflection of who they were as a people.

On a brand level, brand recognition and loyalty seemed second to none. The NASCAR community shared a sense of ownership in the brand, and being part of the community meant you were really a participant in the brand story.

This sense of ownership and pride is what many companies strive for in creating brands. But what did it mean, exactly, for these fans to experience NASCAR? I found the answer in the words of an ex-Vietnam vet who, while sitting in a tattoo parlour, was about to receive a tatoo with the name of his hero, Dale Earnhardt. He said that the whole thing was about "a commitment to a way of seeing things."

Perhaps his words best describe the essence of a brand. It may explain why some brands succeed, while others fail.  Successful brands are able to tap into people's roots, and enable people to be part of a loyal community who share similar views and ideas. There's a sense of being a member in a successful club, no matter what your background.

Over the years, the nature of NASCAR changed with the entrance of drivers like Jeff Gordon. While increasing amounts of corporate sponsorship attracted new fans, it detracted many whose roots still lay in the dirt roads of the southeastern U.S.

Although the preferred beverage of choice at many events may have changed from beer to wine, the sport will always be a reflection of what seems to be a killer combination in the branding world: sex, speed, and entertainment.

But that's just the way I see it.

James Bond Martini Stirs Up Debate

In a recent issue of Advertising Age, brand guru Martin Lindstrom tackles the issue of brand confusion over James Bond's martini. His video report, entitled "When Branding Rituals Go Bad", discusses the advantages and disadvantages of brand ritual stereotyping. Lindstrom interviews Bacardi Global Brands VP Robert Ferniss-Roe to find out how James Bond films' martini mystique became a double-edged sword for his firm.

It seems that, as other companies bought product placements in future installments of the movies, there was confusion over the authenticity as to which type of martini Bond actually drank. What Bond drank in subsequent movies didn't seem to fit the original story.

To add to the confusion, Ferniss-Roe says that in Europe, Martini is known as a brandname - whereas in North America, it's associated with a cocktail. According to him, the challenge in brand ritual marketing is to get people to see brands out of context, in places where they might not expect to see them. For example, Bombay Sapphire gin might be placed at art shows or in upscale hair salons to gain further brand recognition and growth.

Lindstrom concludes the interview with three key points:

1) Brand rituals can be powerfully beneficial, or they can stereotype brands, hindering growth

2) Brand authenticity is prime - don't manipulate rituals to fit a product placement

3) Brand rituals gain power when experienced out of context. Surprise us!

Amazing how a martini can shake up the brand world.

 

Chasing Cool to Stay Hot

A recent article in Brandweek Magazine featured an interview with Noah Kerner, co-author of the new book "Chasing Cool - Standing Out in Today's Cluttered Marketplace."

Creating a successful product or service that is worthy of "cool" is every marketers dream. But what is it, exactly, that defines a product or service as "cool"?

In the book, Kerner and co-author Gene Pressman interviewed branding legends and mavens, to find out why some brand personalities worked, while others didn't. The difficult part is that everyone has a different opinion as to what "cool" really is. More often than not, the term is applied to someone who has created something using an independent vision - versus someone who relied on everyone else's perceptions to create their product or brand.

Kerner mentions the vodka Grey Goose as an example of a brand that has achieved a surprising level of "cool." To create cachet for the brand in a market where vodka is deemed as the ultimate commodity, Grey Goose took the product and shipped it from France, because France is perceived as being high-end.

To Kerner, being "cool" means working not only on authenticity, but on aspirational aspects as well. He describes aspiration as "striving for what you don't or can't have", and explains that since so much action is driven by aspiration, marketers have to go beyond thinking about demographics to reach a certain level of "cool."

No matter what the age, everyone is constantly striving to reach the next level of action in their life. If marketers can speak to this need in a genuine way, they may be on the road to developing a product worthy of "cool."

In the words of former Nike and Starbucks marketing executive Scott Bedbury, "It's possible to be both mainstream and edgy. You can be the Goliath but you always have to think and behave like the David."

Brand Canada

On the eve of Canada's national birthday, I feel compelled to write a few thoughts. If every brand tells a story, then Canada's is one of adventure...of pioneering spirits...of survival and hope in a brave new land. Not quite a world power, we're sometimes content to sit on the sidelines. What we lack in power, we make up for with a fierce sense of Canadian pride. We're proud of who we are, and of the stories that make us unique.

We offer a unique combination of untouched, raw wilderness and dynamic world-class urban centres. Our hospitable reputation makes us a magnet for tourists from all over the globe.

Canada, to me, will always mean weekends and summers at the lake. The shrill cry of the loon as I guide my canoe through calm waters. The sound of my skis as I race down the Kandahar run at Mt. Tremblant resort. The interest expressed by European tourists when they find out I'm from Canada. The ritual of sipping that Tim Horton's coffee while travelling down the 401. And the pure joy and satisfaction of claiming that "I Am Canadian!"

Happy Birthday Canada.

Timeless Brands

As a kid, I found I was affected by commercials for certain brands. For some reason, I found myself singing the old jingle for Coca-Cola ("I'd like to teach the world to sing...") while diving off rocks in our favourite Quebec lake. The words in that ad had the ability to move me in a way that made me feel alive, as if the world I was in at the time really was "the real thing."

When I was sick and my Mom offered me Campbell's chicken soup, I knew that the brand would "take care" of me and I would be feeling well again soon. The soup also tasted good...just like the old slogan said it would.."M'm! M'm! Good."

To this day, when I hear the old jingle for Coke or see an ad for Campbell's soup, it transports me to another place and time - just for an instant. Now that's brand recognition.

In his book "The Brand You 50", Tom Peters quotes Scott Bedbury. Bedbury, a senior ad and marketing executive, is best known for his work on brand development for Nike and Starbucks. He suggests that the ultimate value of brand is a result of how we experience it.

To Bedbury "A great brand taps into emotions...Emotions drive most, if not all, of our decisions. A brand reaches out with a powerful connecting experience. It's an emotional connecting point that transcends the product...A great brand is a story that's never completely told. A brand is a metaphorical story that's evolving all the time...Stories create the emotional context people need to locate themselves in a larger experience."

Marshall McLuhan may have agreed. In the book "Marshall McLuhan and Virtuality", Christopher Horrocks states that the concept of immersion applies to McLuhan's observation that "electric media" transport us instantly wherever we choose. McLuhan's work suggests that it's not the type of media that matters, but the effect the medium has ON us, that causes us to react a certain way. Just how we react to certain media provides clues for marketers as to how to create engaging experiences. 

This whole idea of being "immersed" in an experience has been capitalized on by Hollywood throughout the ages. How many times do we "lose ourselves" in a movie, only to feel that we're being transported to another place and time?

What does all this mean for brand marketers? It means that when you create a brand, or design a campaign to advertise a brand, give us something interesting and real. Tell us a story - use emotional appeal so we can connect a positive experience with your brand. Make it memorable. Appeal to our senses and show how others like myself have used the product to escape everyday life - if only for a moment.