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Three Bucks for a Grande Latte!
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Hollywood Coming to
Your Office?
If you're not 100% sure Hollywood would cast YOU to play the part of someone who has your job today, you should be worried. Be prepared for the "audition."
Read these tips...
Clients' Corner
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Quick Question
What country is the largest consumer of coffee?
First to respond with the correct answer wins a gift certificate to Starbucks.
View last issue
October 2003
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What transformed a cup of coffee into a booming industry? What caused a search engine to go from a tech guy's favorite site to a global phenomenon? Author Malcolm Gladwell calls this
the tipping point—that magic moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.
What causes this magic moment? If I said branding, what comes to mind? Dollars in a trash can? Something only consumer companies need to think about? If not branding, how would you explain the successes of
Starbucks and
Google? Both had small budgets, neither used mass media advertising, and Google's revenue is B2B generated.
Starbucks and Google Sell an Experience
According to Jack Trout, marketing pundit, "to survive in an era of killer competition you must
differentiate or die." What makes Starbucks and Google different? Their brand pervades all aspects of their business—all the while using clear, concise, and consistent messages.
As I sit in my favorite Starbucks chair, I watch a coffee order given using a certain lingo. I hear music, which is also packaged and sold at the counter, and I smell fresh ground coffee beans. Combined, the sites, sounds, and smells are all uniquely Starbucks.
Back at my computer, I complete my research using Google—I'm confident I'll find what I need and my experience will improve as it always has through the years. I notice the logo has changed to fit the holiday or to celebrate Einstein's birthday. Walk into Google's office and this same capricious personality is conveyed with lava lamps and furniture in the Google colors. Google takes search very seriously and has fun with everything else.
A Company's Brands Are Its Assets
As with all company assets, handled properly, they are the future of the company, allowing the business to move ahead—handle them improperly and the company suffers. Properly created, implemented, and followed a brand can:
- Increase recognition in the marketplace
- Create a sustainable competitive advantage
- Align the corporate organization
- Create an enduring relationship with consumers, prospects, and influencers
- Grow consumer share and loyalty
- Make a difference to the bottom line
- Move the business ahead
A brand cannot be limited to a piece of paper used by an ad agency to create a campaign—it must extend to the entire organization. All facets of the organization must see the brand, understand it, and act upon it according to each person's responsibilities. By aligning the organization, the company achieves great brand power. Disorganization weakens the brand and leads to failure.
A brand means a consistent and enjoyable experience from the point where the customer sees an ad to the customer service they receive. Something as simple as a different font, different message, or broken promise creates confusion and diminishes the power of the brand.
So what can you do today to take it up a level? Start off by asking yourself these three simple questions:
- How is your company different from your competitors?
- Do you convey this differentiator in a clear, concise, and consistent message?
- Is your company aligned behind this message?
Finding it difficult to answer these questions? Send me an email and together we can create that magic moment called the tipping point for your company.
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