Branding: The Three-dimensional Point

When I decided to get involved with the AMA for this year’s forward ‘09 Brandologie conference, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time pontificating about branding. I’m one of those people that think it’s easy to be confused between branding, marketing and advertising. Unless you have a reason to stop and ask what differentiates the three, it’s easy to think they’re all the same.

However, I’m not here to bore you with evolving definitions. Having the opportunity to work on this project and talk with some of the stellar branding experts speaking at the Forward '09 conference June 3rd, one theme that repeatedly sticks out, I think is worth sharing:

More than ever branding is three-dimensional thanks to technology. But you’re only as good as your weakest link, no matter how you differentiate or define branding, advertising and marketing. It’s all connected. Each channel depends on the other to be successful.

Illustrating how interconnected branding has become, Ken Smith, Account Director with Wieden + Kennedy, spoke to us about new media and how it offers a way to monitor valuable feed back, which wasn’t available until now. “You have to think of all the new media as an opportunity, not as a threat. Ask yourself, given all the new ways to talk to consumers and to have them talk back to us, how do we fit in given our brand personality? If we really think of our brand as a person, would we have a facebook page? Would we twitter? How would we interact with consumers and what are we open to hearing about ourselves? How much control are we willing to give up?”

Smith continues, “I recently read a great post called Top Ten Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn't Tweet. Number two was, ‘Every tweet has to be approved by legal.’ Our Oregon Tourism client decided that is was a better overall consumer experience if they allowed posts from consumers about their visits to Oregon on their site, even if some didn't have a great experience. If you are really smart, you're monitoring that feedback and looking at negative posts as an opportunity to improve and possibly win a consumer back.”

The example used earlier in our Forward ’09 March 24th Brandologie blog supports Smith’s point. Don’t judge too quickly. We won’t, shows how Americaquest Mortgage missed the mark when it didn’t incorporate the You Tube factor during its Super Bowl advertising. I think it’s safe to say the ads hit the money for being cynical and funny targeting Gen Xers who want to position their investments to bounce back from beleaguered financial markets. But as the blog post argues, Americaquest lost the opportunity for interactive feedback when it didn’t use new media as a branding tool.

Jared Reitzin, CEO and Founder, mobileStorm is helping companies build their brands via mobile marketing. He talked about how advertisers can embrace mobility to sync with their client’s brand strategies. With digital marketing Reitzin says advertisers have the opportunity to create an interactive experience and easily track results. “Instead of just throwing up a billboard with an image and copy, throw up a billboard and ask your audience to access a digital coupon or respond to a poll. You can text reply with your email address and we’ll send detail information about a product or service,” says Reitzin. “I can track how many people have been to my website, how many people have downloaded a [digital] coupon, how many have responded to an email or text message.”

I think Reitzin said it best when put simply, “Text is key to the short word now.”

If you’re interested to learn more from our speakers and sharpen your branding chops, stay tuned to our Brandologie blog. We’ll continue to post full interviews from the speakers who will showcase their expertise at the Forward ’09 event June 3rd. But these are just a tease. If you want the full deal, attend the conference and register.

Last Day to Register with the Early Bird Rate

Save your cash and attend Forward '09: Brandologie June 3rd. Early Bird rates apply through April 14, 2009.

Early Bird Member - $179
Early Bird Non-Member - $209

Regular Member - $199
Regular Non-Member - $229

http://www.forwardama.com/register/

Preview Forward '09 Brandologie Speaker Tim Stock with Scenario DNA

Meet Tim Stock, Partner and Managing Director of scenarioDNA, a brand planning think tank launched in 2001. scenarioDNA bridges the gap between research and planning, showing how branding can interact better with consumers.

What does "brandologie" mean to you?

The studies unique to a brand. Within the "ologie," just as in any science, there are endless layers to peel and slice. The eureka moment comes when you find the thread that links it all together.

Lizzie McGuire or Hannah Montana?

Neither. iCarly. We've got issues with Lizzie and Hanna in our house.Usually watched while goldfarming Webkinz dollars for my 7 year old.

Why do you refer to Gen Ys as "the Transformer Generation"?

They're both conceived in America, inspired by Asia, they shift their identities and they travel in packs. They're subculture living among us. More than meets the eye.

Why do you classify scenarioDNA as a "brand planning think tank"?

Because Brain Box doesn't exactly float off the lips. Now, seriously: Because we plan. We think. We go beyond the research. You can't believe what people tell you.

What was your response to the Hulu Superbowl ad with Alec Baldwin?

I think it's good to get ahead of the game and address the critics before they speak. And in a clever way that showcases the value of the content. And who doesn't love Alec Baldwin? Well, maybe I can think of one person.

To learn more about Tim Stock:

http://www.timstock.net/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/timstock

http://brandnoise.typepad.com/

http://accountplan.ning.com/profile/timstock

Parsons Professor profile

http://api.twitter.com/timstock

Portland based Quango's, Dave Anolik, Talks Branding

Portland's AMA Advisory Board member, Dave Anolik, VP and Creative Director of Quango sat down with the Forward '09 Brandologie Conference communications team to chat about his experience and thoughts about branding.


What does "brandologie" mean to you?
The methodology of branding.

When you were at Intel, how did you adapt branding and marketing strategies to resonate with the Asia Pacific marketplace?

I tried to disregard Western modalities and attempted to develop all of my strategic initiatives based upon the nuances of the local cultures that were our markets. Through localized testing, research, and extensive travel to the specific geographies, I sought to embrace the vibe of all the various cultures so that I could recognize and implement creativity that would strike a chord in the marketplace. In short, I got to know the people I was selling to.


How has the evolution of web metrics analysis affected web design?

Though there is a wealth of great data available toward understanding the ebbs and flows of user interaction with online markets, a web designer needs to meet and observe the human beings potentially using their sites in order to fully empathize with their online needs. The same holds true for product design of any sort.

What do you think "Coraline" will do for filmmaking in Portland?

I think it'll continue Will Vinton's work by bringing great animators to Portland. An animator-rich production community means, if anything, a heightened level of goofiness and aberrant physics around town.

How has your filmmaking background informed your branding strategies?

Tactically, my filmmaking background taught me how to successfully realize very large marketing programs on minuscule budgets in unrealistic time frames, and have a blast at the same time - making friends while at the same time achieving slammin' ROI.
Strategically and creatively, filmmaking taught me to speak in images and sounds rather than verbose copy when articulating a business message.

How are you using filmmaking in your branding work now?

I use various filmmaking technologies, from HD video to super-8 film, to observe a company's operations and market presence. Nothing draws the curtain back on things like in-store traffic-flow, production-line effectiveness, or brick and mortar presence than to look at them either in juicy HD slow motion or grainy 18 frame-per- second super-8. Revelations present themselves that transcend either large war-room bulletin boards or PowerPoint projections in darkened conference rooms.


To learn more about Dave Anolik & link to articles:


http://quangoinc.com/who-we-are/principals.php


http://www.linkedin.com/in/daveanolik


http://www.spoke.com/info/p9EGN4R/DaveAnolik


http://daveanolik.com/


Articles:


http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/66483.html


http://www.portland.com/portland/press-releases/quango-inc-speaks-at-key4women/


http://www.arrufatphotographer.com/events/projectforthehungry/


http://industry.bnet.com/technology/1000980/is-google-burning-its-brand/

Placement Project Drawing: A Grand Prize Worth Cage Fighting a Grizzly For

Wouldn't it be nice to know exactly what you were doing wrong at interviews? To get instant feedback from the source, instead of calling your friends after interviews to do a blow-by-blow and speculative analysis on whether or not you'll get the job and if not, why?

We've all been there. Prepped and ready for the interview of a lifetime, we think we nailed it, but as a couple days, then a week, then two weeks go by with no call back, the questions creep in... Was it what I wore? Is it my qualifications? Did I answer that question the wrong way? Did I ask for too much money? Did I not sell myself well?

Well for one lucky winner...the days of endless self-doubt and post-interview flagellation are OVER!

In addition to being privy to some super-insightful insider information on personal branding and the art of getting hired, Placement Project attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a drawing for the aforementioned JobSeeker Holy Grail of Preparation Awesomeness.

All you have to do is register to attend The Placement Project at www.forwardama.com, grab your booth passport when you check in, visit all of our sponsor booths for a stamp during Joint Networking with Forward '09: Brandologie, and enter to win:

• 1 hr Personal Branding Consultation with Lynette Xanders, Placement Project Panel Moderator and Founder/CEO of Wild Alchemy
• 1 hr. Online Personal Optimization Consultation with Kent Lewis, Placement Project Keynote and CEO of Anvil Media
• 30 Mins. Mock Interview/30 Mins. Candid Feedback with Matt LeBlanc, Placement Project Panelist and Branch Director of FILTER
• 30 Mins. Mock Interview/30 Mins. Candid Feedback with Gordy Seeley, Placement Project Panelist and Creative Services Manager at Razorfish
• 30 Mins. Mock Interview/30 Mins. Candid Feedback with Ben Elkin, Placement Project Panelist and Talent Acquisition Manager at Nike
• 30 Mins. Mock Interview/30 Mins. Candid Feedback with Jenny Livermon, Placement Project Panelist and Recruiter, Enterprise Staffing at Starbucks

I told you it was worth Cage fighting for!

So, go to www.forwardama.com and register, otherwise, you may have to do this (below) and nobody wants that...

NYT: keep people shopping with "it's new" strategy

In the advertising section of today's New York Times, Stuart Elliott reports that companies like General Mills are churning out new products to pique people's interest and keep them shopping rather than saving or going without.

What about our local food companies, like Dagoba, Kettle Foods, Bob's Red Mill and Reser's?  What strategies are these companies (and their respective marketing and/or PR agencies) employing to keep sales up?  If you're a local food company, or have one as a client, please share your strategies and/or "wins" in these recessionary times via the comments section.

Read the full article.

"Don't judge too quickly. We won't."

You may recall a couple of these spots if you watched the Super Bowl this year, but you may not remember (before this post) what brand was associated with the spot.

David, the brand manager from the ThirdWay Advertising Blog, who reviewed the two spots aired during the Super Bowl, didn't seem to think it hit the mark.  He uses the IAG National Consumer Survey to validate his opinion.  The survey, which, according to his post, "[shows] both spots on the top 10 list for 'Most Liked' but neither on the top 10 list for 'Most Recalled,' for which the measure is recall of the brand name."  So yes, in his narrow view, these commercials might be a humorous, yet ineffective, bit of branding.  

But he forgot to widen his scope to include the YouTube factor.  

As of 5:56 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, YouTube had 68 results for "don't judge too quickly commercials," a phrase that populated itself after "don't judge too."  The second search result has had almost 1.7 million views.  And I found out about these spots from an email forwarded to me from a person that had received it as a forward.

The spots aren't where Ameriquest missed the mark.  Here's where they fumbled the proverbial ball:

• There's no Ameriquest channel on YouTube for them to host the conversations that are happening on the Internets; and
• The company's Web site looks like a glorified "parked" site.  The header even lists the site as being "hosted for free by GoDaddy."  Lame.

Final word: commercials are worth wasting a few minutes to watch (click play below), but Ameriquest's overall brand strategy blows.

Want to watch other funny commercials?  Check out Funny Place: the funny side of advertising at funnyplace.org.  They also include print ads on their site.  The only standard, as far as I can tell, is that the ad (in whatever medium) has to be funny.