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.

Branding Point of View with Founder and CEO Culture of Future, Jody Turner

Forward '09 Brandologie speaker Jody Turner, Founder and CEO Culture of Future, talked with the AMA Forward '09 team to share her view of Branding from a design and archaeology point of view.

What does "brandologie" mean to you?

Anthropology is the science of humans and their endeavors, psychology the science of human and animal behaviors, archaeology is the science and study of articles and items from the past revealing the cultural behaviors of historic humans... what is brandologie?

Fast forward and you have the science of product iconography and human engagement in the marketplace. Business is a powerful agent of influence and change, Brandologie is much more active than a study or science.... because it is current and real-time engagement.

If you are doing brand correctly, then you are a living, breathing engagement dynamic reinventing your relationship with the consumer continually. This does take study. It is important to look at what is happening in culture that is inspiring the consumer and to know what is happening within your brand, service and product that is inspiring you. How you communicate your passion to the consumer has changed as well, are you twittering your delight with your consumer and offering something of value in doing so or is this not appropriate? (See UberCool article on Twitterati for information on this brandscape)

What are the realistic opportunity spaces that you can grow into? A living brand is everything from Generation G (see trendwatching.com and cultureoffuture.com briefings) in which you infuse meaning and mutual beneficial behaviors in your brand conversation with the consumer to a Starbucks Green Campaign YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pVpaLsRmJ8) to...

Why did you found Culture of Future?

I was doing a contract at Starbucks Store Concepts group in Seattle and met two major drivers of IDEO (San Francisco and London) who really shook me up. The subsequently became my mentors, helping me develop my business and hiring me for over 20 projects over the next few years.

It was a joy to move from end of the line designer (creating beauty is of great value in these situations but I had done it long enough) to front end innovation.... it was thrilling. I like being around smart people, IDEO is filled with them. I felt challenged and really had to step up.

The joy in creating Culture of Future is influencing companies in directions closer to the heart of the consumer which helps align companies with deeper meaning and value all around. When I was doing design communications for the Nike trend resources my ideas of Generation G (giving versus greed or growth economy) were not yet peeking... since then Nike Considered and the Armstrong benefit bracelet have shown otherwise.

How has your background in design and archaeology informed your branding point of view?

Oh I think I just answered that one.

I recently contributed to a Danish book called Instant Icon. Jens Skibsted is a designer who has created Biomega bikes for Puma and other brands. His ideas center on product design versus marketing.... engaging consumer in your brand via useful, inspirational and iconographic items that speak well for your brand culturally. He believes in products that are of high quality and very consumer connected, in this way you have an instant brand icon and long-term relationship with the consumer. This is one sustainable model as well.

So design is intriguing right now, Generation X has product lust as we return to the value of crafting things of meaning, and we have evolved into a highly visual society looking for authentic communications. Much is riding on design right now. Design is in a powerful role and can make or break this reinvention of American and her green economy.

Archaeology studies the item and the energy around the item.... the culture. An item says so much about a culture and visa versa.

Modern Brand Archaeology is about making sure the product, service and engagement we promote have meaning to consumer human and the society to come.

Culture of Future is the study of culture now and the reinvention of how we live, work and play for betterment in the future.

Providence's Director of Marketing and Communications Talks Branding Experience

Claire Celeste Carnes, Director of Marketing and Communications with Providence talked with Taraneh Foster, the AMA's Forward '09 PR/Media Coordinator to provide further insights about branding.

What does "brandologie" mean to you?

A required conference for marketing professionals in the Northwest, as well as a good reminder that both personally and professionally, our brand defines us to the outside world. It would also make a good name for a cocktail, maybe something a little fruity, but that last part might be wishful thinking.

At Intel you probably did mostly B2B marketing, and at Providence you probably do mostly B2C marketing. Which do you like better? Why?

I have had the opportunity to do both, at both!

At Intel, I worked on the Pentium 3 processor launch at a time in which people lined up outside retailers to buy the latest and greatest PCs. Those were the days! I managed the Web launch including our first "Where to Buy" area, with links to online etailers, retailers and OEMs like Dell who were selling directly. But then I also worked on strategies for IT managers to increase their PC replacement cycles as well as data center consolidation strategies with virtualization, which as you probably had guess, was more B2B.

At Providence, I am accountable for both consumer and business marketing, as well as our channel marketing and communication with members. I love the ability to work on strategies and test them with consumers and see the immediate results with traffic and enrollments and measure the ROI. But then winning big new accounts such as the Oregon Educators Benefits Board in 2008 or retaining a valued customer is also a thrill.

So, in terms of which I like better, I actually like both. One thing I would say to other marketers out there is that it's easier to excel in B2B, there seems to be less competition for break-through communication.

Why do you think the Pillsbury dough boy hasn't gotten stale?

Careful here, the Doughboy and I are the same age!

Poppin' Fresh remains relevant because he's able to reinvent himself with brand extensions that follow the trends, yet remains consistent with his core brand identity of the helper in the kitchen. And the products fulfill a need for affordable baking short-cuts in the kitchen. And, for those wondering, yes it is OK to eat the cookie dough without baking it first.

What led you to marketing and branding?

It always seemed a natural path to me. I really enjoyed communication strategy and followed the marketing path to WSU for their communications program, and there competed in the National Student Advertising Competition and doing promotions for the student radio station. After graduation, I went to an advertising agency, then to the best Marketing MBA program in the country (the Kellogg School at Northwestern), then P&G for a brand internship, and applied these as I continued to focus on brand management and marketing throughout my career, picking up more management and strategy experience and education along the way. I enjoy putting together the marketing strategy to support the business strategy first, then seeing it reflected in strong creative execution and consistent branding, finally to assessing results.

Many people who live near Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital go to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center instead. What is it about Providence that makes them drive farther to get treatment?

Thank you for that example. We consistently find that Providence has high loyalty in the market across our hospitals, clinics and our health insurance. Providence has been in the Northwest for 153 years and you can only enjoy that kind of longevity if you value, respect and truly care about the community.

Providence is a non-profit mission-driven organization and the employees here really take that seriously. You can find clinical excellence at many places, but when you are sick or injured, or frightened for a loved one that is, you need more than clinical excellence. You need to know that these people care for your well-being and will do everything they can to make your experience better. Compassion is one of the five core values and you will feel that when you're at a Providence facility. We try to put the patient or member at the center of everything we do.

What are your thoughts about the brand refresh at Intel where the "i" has a square dot rather than a round one? Do you think it makes a significant difference to the Intel brand?

Actually, it was a huge change and the flawless roll-out really spoke to careful planning and detailed implementation. To put it in perspective, it rolled out at the first of the year in 2006, my badge was delivered and worked in the building right away and I was at CES (a large consumer electronics trade show) later that week with not only the new business cards but all of our signage, collateral and presentations updated.

Beyond the execution, the strategy was central for both updating the stale Intel logo, but also combining it with Intel Inside to streamline and strengthen the brand architecture.

You've worked both in-house and agency. Which environment is better for branding professionals?

This is a very good question, but it depends. At an agency, part of what clients pay you for is your branding knowledge and expertise. It's expected; valued. You have an opportunity to focus on branding elements and how they're implemented and do it for a variety of clients in a multitude of industries.

When you're within a company, you have an opportunity to influence how that company lives its brand – you see into business processes or departments that agencies will never see or influence. But you're often the only one in the room that cares about the brand, so it can be a challenge to keep that passion for your brand and continue to explain why to a CFO or other director why marketing has value and a strong brand delivers positive ROI. Sometimes, it makes me long for the agency days where everyone around you "gets it." I'm lucky enough right now to have a very strong marketing and communications team under me, so at least I have a team that "gets it," so maybe I have the best of both!