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Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category« Previous Entries Next Entries »Gossip GirlFriday, November 19th, 2010
In this Thursday night insight Cristin Malone discusses how a bad habit lead to a refreshing view on market research This past weekend I took part in something that I am ashamed to admit. It’s a little embarrassing. I was overtaken by something that is completely unnecessary, totally fabricated, crude and at times disgusting: you may know it as “celebrity gossip”. It all began with my favorite sweats, my couch, and my decision to re-watch episodes of Sex and the City (aka SATC). As a die-hard SATC fan, I have seen every episode at least twice, so it was very easy for me to be distracted by the fashion and gossip magazines neatly stacked on my coffee table. At first I began skimming through “quality” magazines, Vogue, Elle, Bazaar, then I downgraded a little and skimmed through Cosmopolitan, and ended with an old Esquire magazine that had Katy Perry on the cover. Luckily my in-take of celebrity gossip ended there and I didn’t make it to People, Teen People, or Star magazine. However, my reason for why I stopped reading is just as embarrassing as admitting I read gossip magazines. After skimming through Esquire, I got up went to my computer and actually googled Katy Perry. Yes, I googled Katy Perry. I actually forgot why I was looking her up, because as I typed in Katy Perry’s name in Google’s instant search, it appeared as “Katy Perry (Hudson)”. Intrigued I continued with the “Katy Perry (Hudson)” search and found out that the singer was originally named Katy Hudson, and prior to her career as a pop performer, she was a Christian singer.  Wait, a Christian singer? Prior to singing about kissing girls and liking it, she was singing about the Lord? How, and I mean how did I not know this? So I called a few friends and realized I was late to find out this piece of information and also realized that many of my friends had a moral issue with Katy’s change in identity. I wasn’t at all bothered by the fact that she changed her image, but more concerned with the how. How did she re-brand herself so effectively? What actions did she take? And how did she know when and where and how to do those actions? My interest became less about Katy Perry and more about the concept of re-branding. The more I thought about it the more evident it became that Mrs. Perry (she recently wed Russell Brand – there is some gossip for you) did not forgo her transformation from church girl to pop star alone. Her re-branding required an in-depth understanding of the music industry, including:
There is no way she went from Katy Hudson to Katy Perry without having a team of experienced and knowledgeable professionals behind her. Then I thought she chose her team wisely, but what if she hadn’t? Would she still have become a star? That’s when I really came to love what we do here at B2B International. We play that supportive role to our high level, intelligent, and talented clients. While we may not be able to make our clients pop stars, we always strive to combine our research and consultancy experience to deliver effective brand strategies to our clients. As seasoned and knowledgeable market researchers, we provide our clients with actions on how to re-position and brand themselves as they enter new markets as well as help them discover their niche as they take on market challenges and the restructuring of their image. The reality is that no matter the industry, the market is always evolving and success is often contingent upon maintaining a brand or an image that is current and forward thinking. The brand represents what the company is and so as a business continues to establish or re-define its image, it’s important to have the right people on your team, because what’s the point of re-defining your image if it’s only going to be a one-hit wonder?  Anyone For A Bucksstar Coffee?Friday, November 12th, 2010
On his latest trip to China Mark Hedley discusses the impact of the brand names of the western world and how the growing market of copycat products is helping to reinforce these global brands. On one wet and rainy Sunday afternoon in Beijing last month, I decided to go and try to pick up a local Chinese gifts for friends and family back in Britain. Unfamiliar with the best shopping locations in the city, my hotel concierge recommended I take a stroll down to the pearl market, located just a few blocks away from my hotel. The market was overwhelming – a five storey building the size of a multi-storey car-park, packed full of small stalls selling all manner of traditional Chinese ornaments, memorabilia, clothing, jewellery and so on. This was the kind of place where you could buy everything from Chinese teacups, to aviator shades, knock-off golf clubs and a laser telescope. Anyone that has ever visited China will be familiar with the noisy and irritating cajoling from sales girls with a minimal grasp of English and pushy attitude. Feeling like I’d walked onto on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I hastily beat a retreat towards the exit, until I was stopped in my tracks by what seemed to be an I-pad (that most coveted of modern gadgets) being sold for a draw-dropping $150 (about 5 times cheaper than those in the UK). Fumbling for my wallet in hasty excitement, I suddenly noticed that I was not looking at a genuine bona-fide I-pad, but was actually something called an ‘A-Pad’…  What is an A-pad? Well, to briefly explain, over recent years, China remarkable economic expansion has led to the gradual opening up of the consumer economy to a whole host of global consumer brands, from Apple, and Microsoft, to designer brands like Burberry and Louis Vitton. This booming appetite for branded consumer goods has also been accompanied by the rise of ‘Shanzhai’ phenomenon. A fairly recent phenomenon, ‘Shanzhai’ can roughly be translated as ‘Mountain Stronghold’ or ‘Mountain Village’ refers to near copies of famous brands or products, but where the brand name or design has been slightly altered or modified slightly from the original brand. The easiest place to spot this Shanzhai phenomenon is in China’s countryside, where many of the products are produced and sold at prices far below the original brands. Originally shanzhai was mainly used to refer to the cheap mobile phones and digital devices produced in and around the manufacturing hub of Shenzhen. However, over time the concept has developed to refer to anything that imitates or spoofs a famous brand, and often contains more than a dash of rebellious humour. Some of the more amusing examples of include a southern fried chicken chain store named ‘KFG’, the ‘Buckstars’ coffee chain, and a search engine with a vaguely familiar web address: ‘Goojje.com’. There have been Shanzhai versions of Hollywood movies, Shanzhai celebrities and a Shanzhai version of the 2008 Beijing Olympic opening ceremony.  Although the Shanzhai phenomenon no doubt terrifies the vast majority of Western corporations keen to protect their intellectual property rights in China, if nothing else it does serve as an ironic reminder of the power of the brand to penetrate even the most remote and insulated of markets without any real marketing. In actual fact, rather than diluting the power of the brand, the Shanzhai versions actually serve to help to reinforce these global brands by duplicating and popularizing them with a large group of potential future consumers. Over the next few years we will see rising incomes in developing markets like China, with more and more people lifted into the middle classes, and this should result in a growing number of companies shifting from Shanzhai consumption towards mainstream consumer culture. Although part an ironic rebellion at the high cost of luxury brands to the majority of Chinese people, more importantly the shanzhai phenomenon expresses the deep aspiration for material wealth among the Chinese peasantry that will one day reap huge rewards for Western brands that can learn to position themselves correctly. Rising BrandsWednesday, October 13th, 2010  And that’s what Toyota looks to have done. After a shaky few months, the car giant looks to have steadied the ship somewhat. Or that’s certainly what the latest BrandIndex report of the Top 20 Most Improved Brands by YouGov indicates. While the brand is still struggling with an overall negative perception, it was the most improved brand in the second quarter of 2010. The Top 10 biggest improvers are shown below:
The Name GameFriday, August 27th, 2010  This week father-in-waiting Matthew Harrison reflects on the imminent addition to his family, and what this tells us about industrial branding. It is a truth universally acknowledged that buying a house and getting divorced are the 2 most stressful experiences in life. Frankly this is a statement I find it difficult to agree with, and not only because my in-laws are coming to stay next week. Looking for and buying a house is one of life’s pleasures, bringing with it the opportunity to tread mud through strangers’ houses and chuckle at their patterned carpets. As for getting divorced, so long as I resist insulting my wife’s family on my company’s blog I am optimistic that this won’t happen. No, by far the most stressful experience of my life has come these past 8 months – the duration so far of my wife’s pregnancy. The sources of my angst are too numerous to mention. Is the baby healthy? How is my wife feeling? Am I capable of looking after another human being when I can’t even look after my household’s Christmas card list? Will I find my way to the hospital without getting lost? What the hell is a BabyBjorn? And how will I know when I start dilating? Even these worries pale into insignificance, however, next to the decision that will affect the success or failure of our future child’s life: what shall we call our future offspring? Of our two current labels, ‘it’ is frankly derogatory and ‘Bump’ would most likely result in playground bullying. These may be adequate descriptions for a child we are yet to meet and who – despite my rapidly expanding wife – remains abstract to us, but a more personal name will be required once the baby enters the big wide world. Naming a baby, it seems to me, is rather like choosing a brand name for an industrial product. A brand is something that is asked for and referred to by name. It is, however, far more than a mere descriptor. A brand name must reflect the product it refers to both in its personality and in its aspirations. It should be individual enough to be memorable, but not so individual as to invite ridicule. A successful brand name is backed up by closely aligned brand values. These values, in turn, should inspire. Everyone working on behalf of a brand lives up (or down) to the expectations set by that brand (what would be the implications of calling a product or indeed a child ‘garbage’, for example?). It is clear that the choice of my baby’s name is of the utmost importance. In-depth market research maximizes the chances of getting a brand name correct, exploring issues such as the target audience’s likely reaction and whether there any other companies with a similar brand name. Having trawled through a number of baby-naming books and websites, my wife and I conducted desk research, Googling potential names and seeing what the world’s leading search engine churned out. ‘Audley’ was crossed off the list when we were reminded of Audley Harrison, the erstwhile Olympic boxer (a glance of my physique would tell you why). ‘Tina Catherine’ is also out of the question when you learn that TC Harrison is a second-hand car-dealer in Leicestershire. And how could we realistically call our child George? The target audience’s reaction was judged scientifically, through a series of informal interviews with friends and family. This research was aimed at drilling down into the darkest recesses of the audience’s imaginations and prejudices. “Sounds like a 13th century poet” guffawed my Dad as we broached the name ‘Theodore’. “Is that an industrial lubricant?’ harrumphed my drunken friend as we debated the name ‘Alexa’ late one Friday evening. Some people name their children after themselves, which strikes me as either egotistical, unimaginative or both. More importantly, a brand that is not clearly distinguished from the competition – like a son who shares his father’s first name – is by definition consigned to a life of anonymity. My father (Martin) only shares an initial with me, but it didn’t stop him opening my post for 18 years. So, where did this research take us and what does this tell us about industrial branding? Well, my wife and I eventually agreed on male and female names that we both liked, resisting the temptation to analyze them too deeply or seek the views of anyone outside our own front room. I also thought of some of the world’s most successful brand names and it struck me that most of these are based on relatively mundane criteria such as the original geographical location of the company, the founders’ name or the initials of companies that have merged into the corporation over time. Most successful brand names have no intrinsic meaning beyond the superficial, and only gain real meaning through their activities and interactions over the years. Building a business-to-business brand, like bringing up a child, is a task that requires continuous investment. The name itself is rather like the wallpaper in a maternity ward – so long as it isn’t offensive, no-one is likely to notice. The final proof of this came when I Googled ‘Matthew Harrison’ and was left agog at the wide range of activities undertaken by my namesakes. A Las Vegas musician, a Rastafarian spokesperson, a Missouri Lutheran Church president and – horrifyingly – director of the film ‘Kicked in the head’ were amongst those conspiring to keep yours truly out of the top 10 pages of the search. I am hoping that, like the best industrial brands, I eventually grow into my name and make it my own. The Importance of VoiceFriday, August 20th, 2010  In this week’s Thursday Night Insight, Paul Hague considers the importance of “voice” and how it can be your most important asset… “Good morning from the flight deck. This is your captain speaking.” I can’t help looking up from my John Grisham novel and admiring the dulcet tones of Capt. Bill Jones. I am on a Continental flight from Newark to Manchester although it could be from anywhere to anywhere. All captains sound different but they all sound the same. They seem to exude the same confidence and assurance that we passengers are looking for on a flight and yet the only thing they manage to tell us is what time we will arrive and that it will be raining in Manchester when we get there. It got me thinking. Is it genuine confidence that is being communicated by Bill Jones’ voice or am I being influenced by his seniority and his position? He sounds more authoritative than the chief steward but maybe that’s because I know that he is the captain and have conferred status and authority to him. Now the point of my introduction is not to be obsequious to airline captains but to get us thinking about something that is crucially important in shaping our view of people. In fact, a search on the Internet suggests that the voice, its intonation and its delivery accounts for 40% of the impression that we make on someone we meet for the first time. If this is true, it is massively important. Forget worrying about your height, the size of your nose, your sticking-out ears and your hairdo. What matters is what you say and how you say it. When you think about it, there must be some truth in this. Obama has a wonderful speaking voice. So had Churchill and, God forbid, so did Mister Hitler. And what does a wonderful voice mean? It means (I think) that it communicates your strength of personality, your enthusiasm and your authority. It gives a clue as to your upbringing through your accent, to your confidence as a person, and to your intelligence. Forget being six feet tall with dark wavy hair and a dimple in your chin (and that’s only the females) – you could be let down immediately you open your mouth if you sound like Kenneth Williams. All very interesting you might think but what has this got to do with a business blog? I was reading in the Financial Times today about one of Italy’s richest entrepreneurs – Enrico Preziosi. My interest was aroused when I read the story of his transformation from a street hawker of toys bought from China to a €1 billion turnover, fully integrated business, which is now the fifth largest toy company in the world. Apparently his success is all down to his voice. To be more precise it is down to his company’s voice. A few years ago, when he ran a fledgling company, he learned that Mattel and Hasbro, the two leading toy companies, spent all their advertising money in October and November, just prior to the Christmas buying season. Preziosi used his relatively small advertising budget to run a television campaign in every month outside this period. In other words, he bought “share of voice” and achieved it by choosing months when he would be heard and not swamped by those who could shout louder. Of course, voice is not just about being loud and being heard; it is also about communicating the right message. Preziosi knows a thing or two about this. “About every five years toys change completely,” he says. “If you want to stay stable in the market you have to be trendy. In 1978, girls still played with dolls when they were aged 14. Now if I gave my daughter, aged 11, a doll, she would throw it out of the window.” You have to be right on message to resonate with your fickle and ever demanding audience. Working out the importance of voice to a customer or potential customer is not easy. I said earlier that 40% of the impression we make on people when we first meet them is due to our voice rather than our appearance. Let us assume that this figure is roughly right for business introductions. What if the impression we make for our companies is achieved in a similar way, as with Preziosi’s company, by our voice – as measured by the impression left by our sales people, our signage, our logos, our adverts, websites and the like. I leave you with a very important question – are you getting your share? « Previous Entries Next Entries » |
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