Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Branding Wisdom From My Mother's Kitchen

Exactly what is branding? No, I mean really; beyond the Wikipedia definition, what do we mean when we throw around the word, “branding” sitting in a strategy meeting trying to look cool and sound sophisticated? For far too long, branding was seen as just the use of logos, icons, symbols and the corporate name. But if you’re a smart marketer or business leader, you know that creating and establishing brand identity is far more reaching than a color-coordinated ad campaign. Powerful branding has exponentially morphed into the sum total of the audience’s experience. Branding now reflects the views and perceptions imprinted in the consumer’s mind until that psychological interaction shapes their behavior. It all boils down to an emotional experience – the way you handle your customers, how well you deliver products, promises and services. Susan Allen, owner of Out The Box, states, “…Branding means starting with your values and beliefs, projecting these into everything you do, and going forward from there…”

My mother was an incredible cook. Her down-home southern styled meals were served with warmth and genuine hospitality. And all you had to do was ask someone if they were going to Katie’s house for dinner after church and their mouth would water! Mom didn’t skimp on ingredients, spices or portions when the economy was bad. And she never cut the guest list or ask for donations when food costs went up; nor were people asked to leave early or do the dishes. Her caring personality, smile and awesome recipes were her brand. It was the experience of good times, laughs, a warm kitchen filled with love and a stomach full of the most delicious food you’d ever eat that people remembered. And that's what created her brand.

Krispy Kreme use to be a powerful brand until we bit into too many dry donuts left too long in the AM/PM kiosk – damn, did they forget what the “HOT” light sign did to our taste buds? I use to hide the empty KK box in the outside garbage can so my boyfriend at the time wouldn’t know I had eaten the entire dozen in an 8-hour period! My weekly trips to their stores have dwindled to once or twice a year now. United Airlines was the crème de la crème of airlines (my mother wore white gloves back in the ‘60’s when we flew) until they left too many passengers stranded for hours at too many gates, or left us at the mercy of rude and over-worked (and sometimes not so attractive I might add) flight attendants – with nothing more than a half-can of Coke and less than an ounce of peanuts. But boy aren’t their new commercials great? But now if I have to fly United, I won’t go.

So what does brand America look and feel like? Like many Americans I wept and cheered on election night at the audacity of hope, the possibility for greatness and the millions of cracks made in racial barriers. But I have to ask, did the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States, improve America’s brand? Because beyond the brand – you know, the American flag, record voter turn-out, spacious skies and purple mountains majesty – have we made lasting changes to our views and perceptions about race in our country – did we wake up on November 5th feeling differently about each other?

If I had a dollar for every blog, news article and quote that touts instruction on how to market your brand in a down economy, I could probably pay off most, if not all, the $ trillion national debt. Every business guru and pundit has sage advice on how to get focused, how to concentrate your efforts on your core customers. And most of what has been said has really been right on the money. But providing an incredible customer experience should have been happening all the time. Akin to what I call, the 911 share & care syndrome, excellent treatment of our customers is a behavior phenomenon that should be the norm. Why must we wait until a down-turned economy to start paying attention to our best customers, offering the best service with the most competitive pricing, or to reduce ineffective ads and promotions and begin thinking creatively for branding solutions? Effective branding shouldn’t be reactive to a bad economy or any other external forces, but should be an on-going persuasive experience that produces tangible results from our target audience. As author Jonathan Baskin points out in his book, Branding Only Works On Cattle, behavior trumps branding every time!

So in essence, branding isn’t the cool pictures, a killer logo or really funny creative ads. Branding is the sum total of the experiences of your audience. And it isn’t true branding until those attributes, and the created value, gets communicated through your actions and in turn influences the mind and thoughts of your audience. As my mother would say, it ain’t what you say baby, it’s what you do! Mom, you were absolutely right!