Tom Asacker on unlocking hearts and minds

Why a brand is not a promise

What is Wal-Mart's brand promise?  Everyday Low Prices? Saving People Money So They Can Live Better? Okay, let's say it's both.  So, why then has Wal-Mart unveiled a radically new design for remodeled stores?  A design, by the way, that includes:

• softer colors and lighting,
• lower, understated shelving,
• wider aisles, and
• curved, friendly signage.

Wal-Mart also announced last week that it's scaling back on opening new stores and will instead focus on remodeling existing properties.  Hmm.  Why is that?  To better fulfill its brand promise?  C'mon. Think about it.  They're doing it to better appeal to the desires of shoppers.  Shoppers whose expectations have been elevated by brands such as Target and IKEA.

HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO . . . oops . . . sorry . . . a little frustration coming out there. :)  Look, a brand is NOT a static promise; it's a shifting expectation that's created in the minds of your audience.  Wal-Mart is making these changes to try to keep up with the evolving expectations of consumers; especially women.  Perhaps academics should qualify their definition of a "brand" by stating that it's a promise to consumers that it will keep up with their changing expectations.  That's simple, and that's reality.

P.S. Please don't sit quietly for too much longer, contemplating the market, elections, consumer spending forecasts, etc.  Because while you're waiting for some kind of sign, smart organizations are stimulating their OWN economies.

How to do viral video

1. Tap into the zeitgeist;

2. Latch onto a popular meme;

3. Make people smile; and

4.  Weave in your brand solution.

Don't waste a penny

When asked what single event was most helpful to him in developing his theory of relativity, Einstein answered, "Figuring out how to think about the problem."  Unless, and until, you've figured out how to think about marketing your products and services during tight economic times, you should stop spending money on "marketing."

That's right: Don't waste a penny.  Don't print collateral materials.  Don't run ads. Don't sponsor events. Don't produce goofy videos.  Don't start blogging.  Take a deep breath, compose yourself, and quickly develop a strategic model that takes our new macroeconomic reality into heartfelt consideration.  It is not going to change any time soon.

Am I telling you to curl up in a ball and suck your thumb?  Absolutely not.  Quickly get whatever information you need to understand the feelings and behaviors of your customers, pull your team together, determine how best to uniquely create value for your customers, and then get on with it! But make sure that you have your finger on the pulse of a relevant and meaningful insight, and that you have the money available to execute on your plan and improve people's lives.

Far too often, marketing is the first thing cut by organizations facing a tough economic landscape. Why?  Because the proposed spending isn't typically tied to a strategic plan: one that exhaustively and painstakingly assessed all consumer influences and touch points and provided the most creative, effective, and efficient means to creating customer value.  And make no mistake: when you create value you create customers.  Period! Not media. Not images. Not impressions. Not messages. Value!

Now please don't misread my use of the word "value" for some simplistic notion like price or utility. It's a much deeper and more nuanced concept.  Funny thing is, of the ten value components I've discovered and described in my latest book, only a handful are being leveraged by modern marketers to build endearing and enduring brands.  Why?  I'm not really sure (although I have a pretty good idea). 

Here are three components of marketplace value.  Honestly evaluate their application in your marketing, and then think about what's stopping you:

• Social value
  
  What are we doing to connect our customers with each other?  How are we helping them feel accepted by others?  How does our marketing enhance their reputations? What do we do to fulfill their desire for attention and recognition?  What social currency or lubricant does our brand and our marketing strategically provide?
• Growth value
  
  How does our marketing help people create, learn and grow?  What tools, platforms and events do we uniquely offer?  How are we helping them advance their agendas?  Are we selling, or are we educating?
• Involvement value
  
  Do we allow people to contribute and participate?  How?  Are we providing them with the knowledge they need to take control of their own experiences with our brand?  Do we provide a means for self-expression?

Now is when you have to do your best marketing, not your most.  You must make your brand stand out by making it more relevant and meaningful. If you want to cut through the noise, don't be noise. Be valuable.  It's time to try harder to understand, than to be understood.

Consumer behavior will certainly change over the next 12 to 18 months.  But you have control over whether that behavior will include you or not.

Outside in, not inside out

According to the twentieth-century theologian and philosopher Paul Tillich, a philosopher of religion looks at God and religion from the outside in; pursuing the truth as objectively as possible.  The theologian, however, is already "grasped by faith," and is therefore engaged and committed to an inside out point of view.

I'm presenting this morning at a rare gathering of Procter & Gamble's North American marketing managers and executives.   My job is to challenge their theology of marketing and branding with my brand of insight, common sense and honesty (so I've been told).

It takes wisdom, and a great deal of courage, to provide license to someone like me, someone from outside your organization, to speak freely and dispense frank, outside in observations about the marketplace.  Fully awakened people in great learning organizations - like P&G, G.E., Google, etc. - relish the opportunity to have their worldviews shaken.

According to Peter Senge:

"Real learning gets to the heart of what it means to be human. Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we reperceive the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life. There is within each of us a deep hunger for this type of learning."

What are you doing to reperceive your world?

 

Security theater

If you travel frequently by air, like I do, you may enjoy this Atlantic article (or maybe not):  The Things He Carried.

New article - Beyond Acceptance

The past four weeks has been one heck of an emotional ride, hasn't it?  But, this too shall pass. Like it or not, everything changes. The important question to ask is, Do I sit patiently and simply let change happen?  Perhaps.  But only if you're willing to accept what you get.

It has taken me many years to realize that the world is too busy to be concerned with me and my feelings (or yours). What you desire is definitely out there, but YOU have to go after it and make it happen. Never assume that someone else will do it for you, or that it will somehow "just happen."

I was reminded of that stark reality this past weekend when I returned to my alma mater for Homecoming to find my fraternity in shambles; physically, emotionally and spiritually.  The funny thing is, I saw it coming but did nothing to prevent it.  Why not?  Because I was in denial. I simply hoped that the situation would improve. It didn't.

To paraphrase Bacon, hope was a good breakfast, but it was a really bad supper. This month's article is a rant on that same kind of denial in today's organizations. Read Beyond Acceptance when if you get a minute.  And please let me know your thoughts. 

If you're interested in receiving notification of new articles by email (along with some random statistics, news and interesting links that you won't find on this blog), you can join the legion of others by entering your email address, clicking the submit button, and then confirming your subscription from Aweber.  Thanks! And please note: You'll only receive about one email a month, and I will never disclose you email address to anyone.  Promise.

 

What kind of hand are you holding?

Many companies are vulnerable right now, because the current economic environment has them holding a bad hand . . . in their heads.  That's right! Their belief systems are telling them to "play it safe," which typically means more emphasis on internal activities (counting their chips and rearranging their chairs) and less engagement with their audiences (taking calculated risks and investing for the future). Haven't you noticed how damn quiet it is?

What's that mean for you?  It means that now is the perfect time for you to split your eights, and double down. Increase your investment of time and resources in what matters most: your relationships with your customers, associates, and other constituents.  Let them know that everything is okay, calm their fears and concerns, and demonstrate your intentions by helping them in this time of great need. 

Do it now, while the others are showing - and ruminating over - their fives and sixes.

Knowledge is not power.

Passion is power!

I'm in sunny and hot Las Vegas for the next two days MC'ing a conference on everything brands and branding, and there are no less than fourteen expert speakers on the agenda.  If the attendees take copious notes, download all of the presentations and read all of our books, they'll go back to their organizations with more knowledge than they'll probably know what to do with.

You may be thinking, "Well then, they must have received information, not knowledge."  Is there a difference?  Once the right people have received information about how to improve something, doesn't that information become knowledge?

The British anthropologist Gregory Bateson wrote that information is "a difference which makes a difference." The real challenge of creating an engaging and enduring brand has nothing to do with information or knowledge (or semantic debates), just like our country's future has nothing to do with the endless debates around economic indicators. It has to do with purpose, desire, influence, and making a difference.

Knowledge is not power; not until that knowledge leads to some kind of transformation.  And transformation, my friends, always takes passion.

Looks like the partay is over.

“Political theater, not debate” says branding expert

"Last night was political theater, not a real debate," says Alan Siegel, Founder and CEO of brand strategy firm Siegel+Gale. "The American people are yearning to hear the authentic, credible voices of the candidates in these debates – not prepackaged 'message points,' winks, or posturing."

Siegel pioneered the concept of "Corporate Voice" over 25 years ago. Since then, he has been helping corporations and organizations develop powerfully positioned, clear, consistent, and resonant communications to their many audiences.

Following is Mr. Siegel's assessment of the "Voices" of the candidates in last night's debates:

Joe Biden's "Voice"

"Biden's voice was clear (although he was hoarse), confident, credible, genuine, passionate, responsive and respectful, commanding and vice presidential."

Sarah Palin's "Voice"

"Palin's voice was perky and enthusiastic, friendly, down-home, programmed, colloquial, ditzy, predictable, and at times modestly contentious."

Overall Observations

"The moderator contributed to the lack of debate by allowing Palin to insert her own programmed responses instead of answering the questions.

"Palin's repeated name dropping – trying to prove that she could pronounce difficult names – was annoying.

"Inserting her meeting with Kissinger into the conversation was laughable.

"During a time of such national crisis, the American people deserve more."

-----

So, what say you?  Does the "expert's" observations match yours? 

You know my views on politics, as it relates to branding.  Oh . . . you don't?  Well, if you're interested, you can read all about it in my new book: A Little Less Conversation: Connecting with Customers in a Noisy World.  The title kind of gives it away.