Branding Challenges 2011

Copyright © 2011 by Tim Calkins

May 5, 2011

Tim Calkins

Clinical Professor of Marketing

Kellogg School of Management

It has been quite a week for branding

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It has been quite a week for branding

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Branding Challenges 2011

Objective

Identify and help you overcome 2011 branding challenges

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Branding Challenges 2011

Agenda

• The Power of Brands

• Branding Challenges

• Building Strong Brands

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Branding Challenges 2011

Brands are associations

Kellogg School of Management Definition

A brand is the psycho-cultural associations linked to a name, mark or symbol associated with a product or

service.

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Branding Challenges 2011

Brands are associations

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Branding Challenges 2011

Brands are associations

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Branding Challenges 2011

Brands are associations

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Brands are associations

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Brands are associations

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Branding Challenges 2011

Three questions

1. Can anything be a brand?

2. Are brands always a positive?

3. Are brands becoming more important or less important?

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Branding Challenges 2011

Brands are much like reputations

Brands = Reputations

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Branding Challenges 2011

Brands shape customer perceptions

Brand

Product or Service Customer

Specifications Perceptions

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Branding Challenges 2011

Learning from earrings

Ladies diamond ear-rings. Good quality. Two small diamonds (0.3 carats each).

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Branding Challenges 2011

Learning from earrings

Ladies diamond ear-rings. Good quality. Two small diamonds (0.3 carats each).

From Tiffany.

TIFFANY & CO.

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Branding Challenges 2011

Learning from earrings

Ladies diamond ear-rings. Good quality. Two small diamonds (0.3 carats each).

From Wal-Mart.

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The power of branding

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The most valuable brands create customer advantage

• Customer advantage is critical if a company wants to avoid commoditization

Customer AdvantageCustomers value the benefit you provide, are willing to pay for it and see

you as best at providing it.

• One source of customer advantage is a strong brand. Building customer advantage is how brands add the greatest value

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Branding Challenges 2011

Agenda

• The Power of Brands

• Branding Challenges

• Building Strong Brands

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There are three core branding challenges

Challenges of Branding

1. Short-term financial constraints Cash

2. Media saturation Clutter

3. Alignment Consistency

Based on qualitative study including input from over three dozen branding professionals. Includes both company and agency contacts. Spans industries including CPG, financial services, technology, retailing, professional services, healthcare, B to B.

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Challenge 1: Cash

Observations from Marketing Executives

- “The biggest challenge is securing and maintaining management support, in terms of both budget and policy.”

- “A quarterly mindset is very difficult for building your brand.”

- “Getting the pointy heads in finance and operations to believe in the value.”

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A Question

Why are financials such a big challenge for branding efforts?

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Brands can last for centuries

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Challenge 2: Clutter

• Ad messages per day seen by the average consumer

1960 1,500

1990 3,000

2000 5,000

• Ads seen by average child by age of 16: 6 million

Source: A. McKinsey Quarterly B. Forrester Research

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Consumers are fundamentally skeptical of marketers

Ratings of Honesty and Ethical Standards

% rating high or very high Pharmacists 64% Clergy 59% Doctors 57% College teachers 53% Policemen 49% Bankers 30% Journalists 22% Business executives 21% Building contractors 19% Congressmen 17% Real estate agents 16% Lawyers 14% Insurance salesmen 11% Advertisers 10% Car salesmen 5% Source: Gallop, 1998

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Breaking through depends on understanding and focus

• Understanding the consumer is a critical step

– Need to be certain that your message resonates with the target group

– Shouting louder than the next brand doesn’t deliver success

• Focus is essential

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Challenge 3: Consistency

A Common Belief

Brands are created primarily by advertising campaigns

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The reality: brands are created by dozens of different touch-points

Slogans

Logos

Advertising

Experiences

Pricing

Word of Mouth Associations The Brand

Promotions

Partnerships

Newspaper Articles

Websites

Blogs

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Branding Challenges 2011

Creating a brand

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Creating a brand

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Branding Challenges 2011

Agenda

• The Power of Brands

• Branding Challenges

• Building Strong Brands

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Keys to Success

1. Understand your brand positioning and character

2. Engage

3. Track your progress

4. Move quickly

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Learning from MSI

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Contact Information

Tim Calkins

Kellogg School of Management

t-calkins@kellogg.northwestern.edu

www.strongbrands.wordpress.com

www.timcalkins.com

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