Brand Architecture Toolkit

Here is a short-hand condensed version of the material you are reading on brand architecture. It is the presentation I WOULD have given tomorrow, but we have our speaker, Rob Osler to enlighten us instead.

Brand Architecture Toolkit Final2.25.09

View more presentations from Carol Phillips.

SONY Climbs the Walls for Recycling

So much controversial brand marketing news this week to choose from.... Apple innovates again with iPad, Burger King launches Whopper Bars, Toyota faces a crisis of quality, Snickers re-enters the Super Bowl, the Super Bowl stirs up controversy by allowing ads from Focus on the Family (why Tim Tebow's Mom didn't abort him).

Rather than discuss any of those, I'd like to highlight an effort from Sony in Japan. This 'campaign' involved recycling Sony billboard tarps into one-of-a-kind jeans, then placing the jeans back where they first hung, on the side of the Sony Building in Tokyo. There, shoppers could browse the whole collection and guys decked out in mountain climbing gear scaled the walls to bring them the pair of their choice. The profits from the sale were enough to cover the cost of the campaign, but Sony kept the recycling going by donating the money to restoring world landmarks.



Another Japanese brand, Toyota, has created special grasses and flower species to adorn its plants and support its 'green' profile. Numerous other green capital improvements have been made to the physical plant. Solar panels and special paint that absorbs harmful gases have been installed at Toyota's Tsutsumi plant.

These programs required considerable effort on the part of Sony and Toyota, all to show they are socially responsible. Yet, these programs do not touch the consumer. And in terms of scale (actual donations and impact) are rather small.

How important is it for companies to support their brands with these types of gestures? Does this make you feel any differently about Sony?

Open Happiness

Last Friday, Coke released a video for its 'Open Happiness' campaign that it hopes will become a global viral sensation. The video has so far had over 900,000 Youtube viewings. The effort is part of a global effort on the 'Open Happiness' theme that includes other social media efforts, including teams sent all over the world to identify 'stories of happiness'.

Here is how Mediapost described the effort on Tuesday.

The video, shot on the Queens, N.Y., campus of St. John's University, concludes with a title asking: "Where will happiness strike next?" and a message encouraging viewers to "Share the happiness, share the video."

A.J. Brustein, global senior brand manager, Coca-Cola, says the video was conceived as a way to connect with teens and young adults outside of TV ads and online games. "We wanted to give them something that would spread a bit of happiness and something they could pass on to their friends to keep the happiness flowing," he sums up.

Coke acknowledges that the effort is an experiment and future videos will depend on the success of this one. Do you think this is a good approach for a powerful brand like Coke to use to connect with younger drinkers? Why or why not?

Culture Networks & Iconic Brands

This week we are looking at the intersection of culture and brands, or what brands come signify in a cultural context. Some brands take on broader meaning and identity value. There are several great blogs and books that have explored this theme. I especially like NYT's journalist, Rob Walker's book, "Buying In: The Secret Dialogue between what we Buy and Who We Are" and its companion blog, "Murketing" (in honor of the increasingly murky line between culture and marketing).

As marketers, the this intersection can result in 'iconic' brands. Doug Holt, author of "How Brands Become Icons" describes icons as "the person or the thing widely regarded as the most compelling symbol of a set of ideas or values that a society deems important.’ Holt describes how brands become iconic, by studying current and past iconic brands.

It's also interesting to take this understanding and reflect on what might be the iconic brands of the future. What brands are speaking into important cultural dialogs now and have the potential to become iconic? I am especially curious why so few Millennial generation-specific iconic brands have emerged . Most of the brands young adults like are the same ones the rest of the culture likes. See "Why Arent' There More Iconic Millennial Brands" for more of my musings on this subject)

What brands do you think have the potential to become iconic for adults currently 18-29? Or is the idea of a generation-specific iconic brand inconsistent with the whole idea of being an icon?

(You may want to check out this Post, "Millennials: Mapping Their Culture Code" and the referenced slide presentation by Tim Stock of ScenarioDNA:

Culture Networks (Lecture)

View more documents from Tim Stock.

Consistency May Look Closer than It Appears?

Chris Brogan, a leading voice in social media has this advice for brands: "Be Helpful, Be Consistent, Be Everywhere". Good advice, and of the three consistency may be the most difficult to achieve. Many great brands have become distracted by the latest shiny idea. In fact, it is often said that brand managers tire of an idea faster than consumers.

This article by from a blog by brand agency, Storm, chides LG for straying from its core brand message:

At the end of a long hard day have you ever sat back and dreamt of escaping the constraints of modern life? I know I have. It’s what makes all the sea change programs and stories so appealing. So when recently I found myself watching a TV ad that set out to appeal to exactly that sentiment, I was intrigued. It was long at 60 seconds, but was well produced with stunning imagery.

The ad began by showing a baby swimming, this is the freedom we are all born with.

Then the images became grey and hum drum. This is the reality of our lives. The baby is soon behind the bars of a cot, a man is just one of dozens sitting in identical work stations in an open office, miserable commuters are standing on a packed train etc. You get the picture.


But wait, there is hope. The mood of the ad lifted. Imagine a world without borders, a world where you can cycle off to the horizon down a sunny country lane, flowers bloom, a girl laughs as she is soaked by a hose, a man dives into an azure blue ocean… I get ready for the punchline, it’s got to be Queensland, or New Zealand or at the very least a brand who will offer me the secret to a wonderful, rich and carefree life.

Roll end frame and the big reveal – it’s LG and it’s an ad for a TV.

Sure it’s a really nice TV, from a really good company. In fact it’s a borderless TV, the latest innovation from a company renowned for it. The ad signs off with ‘Life’s Good’ so there is a connection to the LG brand there. But for me this is a case of an advertiser getting carried away by a big budget, feel-good ad concept and loosing sight of their strategically-driven brand strategy in all the excitement.

But the thing is LG has spent many years and many millions of dollars building equity around ‘Life’s Good’ by showing they’re innovative in everything they do and that the technology they deliver enhances the quality of the life you lead today. Their ads heavily feature LG technology in the home, busy improving the quality of life and demonstrating that ‘Life’s Good’ is more than just a punchline. The creation of their brand image has been consistent and I love LG and their products, I’ve been a great admirer of their ads, but for me this ad misses the mark. From the perspective of a brand building professional, there are few things more frustrating than seeing a brand that’s invested so much in building a unique market proposition and a strong brand image, distracted from their path by the glittering prize of a flash ad.

It is unquestionably a beautiful ad, is it the right move for LG? Take a look at the ad and tell me what you think.

Doing Well by Doing Good - The New Differentiation?

Cause marketing -- the practice of tying charitable contributions of a firm directly to customer revenues produced by promoting a product -- is nothing new. Barnes & Noble promotes literacy, Coca-Cola sponsor local boys and Girls Clubs, and many brands support the Race for the Cure for Breast Cancer. Here is a list of the nine most influential cause marketing campaigns of all time.

The altruistic tendencies of Gen Y are giving extra urgency to many brand seeking to connect with under 30 consumers. Pepsi recently announced it would not be participating in the Super Bowl in order to focus on social media. Pepsi's 'Refresh Everything' social media campaign kicks off Wednesday. Pepsi is inviting consumers to nominate and vote on the causes that should receive funds from Pepsi, a classic 'crowdsourcing' effort. Pepsi plans to give away multiple grants each month, including two $250,000 grants, 10 $50,000 grants, and 10 $25,000 grants. Visitors are also encouraged to submit their own organizations and grant ideas, a $20 million effort in all.

This is a risky move for Pepsi, even if it is considerably less expensive than running spots in the Super Bowl. Do you think it will pay off? Do you think this effort will be among the most influential cause marketing campaign of all time? Why or why not?

Return to Core Brand Value - and Values -- in 2010 Predicted by Leading Brand Designer

Adam Adamson is director of the New York office of Landor Associates, a leading brand consultancy and design firm. He is also the author of BrandDigital and BrandSimple. He posted this article in Forbes early last week. It is a great articulation of the importance of understanding consumer values in creating strategic advantage.

"It doesn't take a seer, or even a branding professional, to declare that consumers will continue to demand value, no matter which direction the economy goes. Consumers have learned--some the hard way--that financial discipline is a must. They will also demand that the values practiced by the companies with which they choose to do business are good and honest and trustworthy. And lest any company thinks it can put one over on anyone, a text, a blog, a YouTube video or a Tweet will quickly prove otherwise.

Consumers will latch onto products and services that offer something relevantly different. Look at what makes a strong brand in any economy and you'll see that the underlying business is robust and the products and services are things people want, use or need to make their lives easier, healthier, safer or more convenient. In today's marketplace, it doesn't take a fortune teller to proclaim that businesses that can't to keep up with changing habits and behaviors will most likely disappear. For example, my guess is that with the continuing evolution of digital on-demand movies and programming, Blockbuster ( BBI - news - people ) may be a brand of the past. So, too, now that news is available and gobbled up as it happens, it's likely that some weekly news magazines will be a thing of the past.

More so, because consumers are more sophisticated in their buying behavior, my belief is that they won't buy into any product that promises a superficial change. They want difference, yes, but they want this difference to represent substantial change. Given both the prudent mindset and the fact that consumers will seek brands that share and uphold their values, I don't see this branding dynamic changing anytime soon, if ever.

I especially love this quote that seems to encapsulate the bridge between consumers and strategy:

"Consumers will look for the four 'goods': Does it taste good? Is it good for my health? Is it good for my wallet? Is it good for the planet?"

What, if anything, would you add to this list?

To read the full article click here.