When is it Time to Reinvent the Brand Wheel?
We've all heard the expression “there’s no need to reinvent the wheel.” Typically, it is used to explain the reasoning behind keeping the status quo, and not taking a chance and making a change where the speaker doesn’t see one being necessary.
A brand strategy approach that takes this route is a risk and reward proposition, and a decision that does not come with a one-size-fits-all aspect. Each brand and each brand marketing approach is different, and the ones that find the most success are those who fit the decision appropriately with the brand.
Brand equity can be one of a company’s strongest and most valuable assets,” says RJ Clouse, Brand Strategy Manager at Addison Whitney. “As it relates to key elements of a brand, I think that reinvention rather than recreation is the key to ongoing and deep emotional connections.”
The Budweiser Clydesdales have become a staple of the brand’s Super Bowl advertising campaigns. For years, it has been a given that at least one of their commercials during the game would either feature or have a tie back to the Clydesdales. It’s what people have come to expect from the brand, and so far they have complied year after year.
Another less famous, but just as powerful for the brand, is Old Spice, says Clouse.
“Old Spice, with heritage in scent and masculinity, reinvented its message of what it means to be masculine in an authentic and humorous way. This approach builds the deep brand connection with a solid foundation in brand equity for a new generation.”
After years of brand equity building connected with this particular ad campaign, how wise would it be for Budweiser to change its approach? In other words, when you know what kind of ad you are getting, and it has been successful in the past, does it make sense to reinvent the wheel?
The answer seemingly lies within the strength of the metaphorical wheel. Is it an essential and part of the foundation for the brand strategy? Or is it an aspect that has made a move recently into its strong point, but seems to have a shelf life?
In the second instance, the rule of thumb seems to be that it is better to make a change one year too soon than one year too late. Brand marketing can withstand a response that consumers miss that characteristic, but that response is preferable to backlash that it has become old and outdated.
This is where brands and marketers need to be one step ahead in the strategic planning. They need to see the writing on the wall and anticipate what is coming down the road when it comes to brand staples and have plans in place before its run ends.
On the other side of the equation, when a brand staple has become synonymous with the brand itself, as difficult as it may be for the creative focus and the creative departments, keeping it around in some fashion is really the best option.
Consumers, for the most part, gravitate toward the familiar when it comes to their branding, and in this case, the familiar is something that can help grow a brand’s trust with the consumer. They see something they recognize in an ad, such as the Budweiser Clydesdales, and they begin to connect the brand with the nostalgia and comfort that these familiar images bring.
“At times, I think recreation may pay off for short-term benefits of increased awareness or trial,” says Clouse. “But these approaches may not build the long-term, deep, emotional brand equities we strive to help brands achieve.”
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands. We specialize in verbal and visual branding, brand strategy and market research.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
3 Brands Poised for Success in 2015
Every brand wants to go into a new year with momentum, knowing their brand has the strength to make it the best year possible, but some have a brand strategy that is better suited to succeed than others.
Here are three brands who, through their actions in 2014 and the potential they show as the new year approaches, we feel have best set themselves up to be some the best in 2015:
This brand out of El Segundo, California that makes Nabi, a line of children’s tablets, has experienced an astounding 158,957 percent three-year growth, topping out at over $195 million in revenue in 2013. It led the company to the top 
spot on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the United States for the second year in a row, a feat only achieved once before, in addition to being named America’s Most Promising Company for the year by Forbes.
But what has allowed for such incredible growth and what sets it up for continued success in 2015 is Fuhu’s ability to take a very niche market and expand its offerings to cover all of the potential consumer and market areas. For instance, they offer branded accessories such as sports logo decals and Nabi-brand chargers, along with a partnership to sell special-edition versions of their tablets with brands such as Disney and Nickelodeon.
Whenever a brand can break out of a single-product offering they are more likely to sustain long-term success. When those additional products all tie in to the original and contribute to strengthening the overall brand strategy, well that’s just an added bonus that Fuhu has earned.
Franchises are the next wave of brand growth, with brands seeing this avenue as the best way to expand their reach. And no company has embraced franchising better than Anytime Fitness, which earned the top spot on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 list in 2014.
Not only do their locations have sound business footing, they have capitalized on the nation’s thirst for healthy options and promoting a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, their concept of 24/7/365 availability works into the daily life of the person who wants to stay healthy, but needs the flexibility to do it on their own schedule.
They have over 2,500 locations and sport over 1.9 million members, with goals to open 1,500-plus units in the next five years. This growth, along with the strong brand loyalty shown by its members (more than 1,400 have tattooed the company’s logo on themselves to represent a personal accomplishment), point to another outstanding year for the folks at Anytime Fitness.
Amazon is proof that the most successful companies never stop evolving. Already the largest internet-based company in the United States with over $74 billion in revenue for 2013, but they are not willing to sit back and let the brand coast in the coming years.
They too know the benefit of branching out with your brand, with original products, hotel booking site, streaming video services, food delivery services, and more all on deck for potential 2015 launches. They have also entered into the media creation realm, with at least seven new shows set to debut in 2015, go along with the already-successful Kindle, Amazon Prime and recent acquisition of Zappos.
This touches on another branding best practice – Amazon can look to expand its product offering because it is the best at what it was originally created to do. People around the world know Amazon’s brand for its outstanding success in the past, and therefore the brand equity is there already to test the waters, knowing that anything with the Amazon name on it has a built-in brand ambassador network.
Sources:
- http://www.fool.com/premium/supernova2015/disruptor.aspx
- http://www.forbes.com/most-promising-companies/list/
- http://www.inc.com/profile/fuhu
- http://www.inc.com/magazine/201409/lindsay-blakely/inc.500-2014-number-one-fastest-growing-company-fuhu-growth-secrets.html?cid=readmore
- http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230291
- http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/amazon-reveals-2015-pilot-season-lineup-article-1.2006787
Beat the Rush: 5 Ways to Prepare Your Brand for Black Friday
Black Friday has become the most well-known mass shopping day of the year. In addition to the notoriety, the numbers back up the hype: in 2013, consumers spent a whopping $12.3 billion during Black Friday, up 2.3% from 2012. This “holiday” for consumers is filled with brands advertising and looking to grab a piece of their attention. The noise is so loud in the marketing space that it’s easy to get lost, or on the flip side, try so hard to stand out that you negatively impact your brand.
The companies with the most success preparing themselves for Black Friday shopping are the ones who know how to walk the line between not enough and too much. From outrageous discounts to new advancements in technology that benefit those in the stores, these brands know how to make their mark on the day.
This may be a tall task for many companies who have not entered into the fray for Black Friday previously, but there are five ways you can craft your brand marketing strategy to set yourself up for success:
- Use the power of your brand. An often underestimated asset for many companies, there are very few places that a brand marketing strategy is better utilized than Black Friday. In the rush of the early morning sales, consumers are very rarely taking the time to research the pros and cons of each product, and therefore the sale decision comes down to two factors: price and brand. Pricing decisions are a different discussion, but the branding strategies can be put into place ahead of time to ensure that your brand is working as hard as it can for you.
- Don’t limit “Black Friday” to just one day. The decision to open your store on Thanksgiving should be done on a case-by-case basis, factoring in what is best for you and your employees, and whether it can be justified by the expectation of a great increase in your revenue. But all brands should at least take advantage of Cyber Monday, the newly-formed “Online Black Friday.” Consumers aren’t looking only for the sales that last in the early morning hours on Friday, but have come to expect brands to reward them for shopping the days, and sometimes weeks, following.
- Online and mobile are the new drivers of Black Friday shopping. More and more, people are using online sources to either prepare themselves for in-store shopping, or they are avoiding the crowds and doing all of their purchasing online. Don’t miss out on this vital component – your advertising strategy should cover an online component, while some brands find it beneficial to offer online-only discounts and specials to drive traffic to their sites.
Additionally, make sure your website is in the best shape it can be, especially if you plan to offer online shopping options for your customers. Double-check all portals, links, payment processors, and information to keep the machine running smoothly and eliminate additional hassles if something goes wrong.
- Remember to integrate social media strategies into your overall brand preparation.Outside of the potential for additional sales on Cyber Monday, social media is an inexpensive and continuous outlet to inform consumers of what your brand is doing to commemorate Black Friday. This may be a good time to run an audit of your social media accounts, ensuring that everything is in line, including all logos, profile pictures, bio descriptions, manager responsibilities and posting schedules.
With a rush in consumer shopping also comes a rush of consumer attention to your brand, some for the first time, and as they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Make sure yours is perfect in this area of your brand marketing strategy.
- Maximize your visual presence. All brands should have a consistent theme overall, and this should carry over into your branding strategies for Black Friday, especially from a visual branding perspective. As previously mentioned the short attention span of today’s consumers is divided even more by the rush of marketing traffic being thrown at them, so a quick visual recognition is the best way to grab and maintain their interest and successfully convey a branding message.
Whether your brand strategies include these five ideas, or if you add more as you plan, one thing that is crucial is the power of preparation. If you want your brand to be successful this Black Friday (and beyond), you can’t be caught off guard. If your brand is properly prepared and set up to succeed, then this year should see you firmly in black after Black Friday.
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpassikoff/2014/11/06/for-retailers-black-friday-has-become-a-season-unto-itself/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/prepare-your-social-media-strategy-for-black-friday-cyber-monday/
http://www.marketsource.com/blog/2014/06/26/plan-now-win-later-preparing-for-black-friday/
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Is Your Brand Prepared to Capitalize on Recent Growth?
Is Your Brand Prepared to Capitalize on Recent Growth?
By Matthew Harris
Congratulations! For your company, 2014 was a banner year. From revenue and profits to number of employees and offerings, growth was the theme. The company is set up for continued success in 2015 and beyond… if you can continue making the right choices, specifically when it comes to your brand.
For companies that are coming off of a year in which they experienced their first true taste of success, the following year’s brand strategy actions and decisions can go a long way to determining how far the company can capitalize and continue to grow. One factor in this is understanding the power of your brand.
This growth has almost certainly increased your brand awareness and impacted your brand positioning. A company on the rise is likely to pique a heightened interest among its target audience compared to a company that has seen a growth plateau. Now, the challenge is to continue to increase your brand awareness and evolve your brand positioning with the goal of building a brand while not forgetting what got it to this point.
Long-lasting, successful brands are built on a foundation of meaningful brand strategy, one that provides a strong framework for what the brand is and what it represents. A successful brand strategy serves as a roadmap for where a brand should go in the future, and how to take it there, without wasting time or money going down the wrong path.
Additionally, strong brands know the benefit of not only focusing on externally-facing touch points, but also putting in the time and resources necessary to build brand awareness and strengthen the brand with internal audiences. For an employee of a growing company, the feeling of ownership and pride for the brand is a valuable asset to have for motivation and self-satisfaction in their role within the company.
Because your company has experienced success, there is a good chance that your brand is in a strong place and has some of the tools in place that can continue its success, so a complete brand strategy overhaul is likely unnecessary. However, the market is constantly evolving, and the risk of complacency for a growing company can quickly halt any momentum gained in the past. A company’s brand positioning needs to evolve as it does, following the growth from where the brand is today to where it wants to be tomorrow.
Before you begin to create your brand strategy, you should take stock of where you are. You will have many questions regarding your business on a number of important topics, including whether you are communicating the right thing to your target audiences, what brands in your portfolio hold the most potential for continued growth, and whether a rebrand would be a successful step to take. When faced with organizing and recognizing where you are as a brand, it is a good idea to bring in a third party to handle the research and analysis, who can provide objective results that cannot be reached when the work is done internally.
There are a few areas where many growing companies can find benefit in setting a strategy of evolution, including product and service lines, social media strategies, and how you position your company to your consumers. The main focus should be on ensuring that your brand can adapt and excel in an ever-changing business environment, without compromising your core characteristics.
Set yourself up for future growth – plan and strategize with the mindset that your past success was just the beginning and soon, your brand equity will carry enough weight to begin driving a portion of your business.
Follow us on Twitter @AddisonWhitney or join the conversation on Facebook and Google+
Build Equity in Your Personal Brand
Build Equity in Your Personal Brand
By Guest Blogger: Lindsey Freedman 
Today as I walked into work, I couldn't help but notice the Starbucks cup in my hand, the iPhone I was texting on and the Nike fuel band on my wrist. As a society we are fixated with brands; we are walking advertisements for the brands we love. However, do these certain brands define our own personal brand?
Personal branding is a phrase that has been tossed around a lot lately. But what is it? Is it the items we associate ourselves with, or the profiles we manage on the internet? Forbes says, “Your personal brand is all about who you are and what you want to be known for.”
To be competitive in today’s work force a personal brand is essential. Personal branding is more than a strategic social media presence. It is defining who you are and what your goals are while establishing authenticity. “Authenticity is as essential an ingredient to personal branding as eggs are to omelets,” says William Arruda, a Forbes contributor.
A personal brand is important because it advances careers, develops leadership and builds equity. A Forbes survey determined that 15 percent of employees have truly defined their personal brand, while 5 percent are living their brand every day at the workplace. Glenn Llopis, a Forbes writer, says that living through the “lens of the brand” will help one become aware of their presence.
To positively construct your personal brand there are a number of factors to consider and business objectives to define. Below are just a few tips for establishing your personal brand:
1. Discover your brand mantra
A brand mantra is the “heart and soul” of your brand according to professional Kevin Keller. It is an important step in defining your personal brand. A brand mantra is reminiscent of a mission statement. An example would be Oprah Winfrey: “an American television hostess, entrepreneur and avid gardener”. This will help define the foundation of your brand and your intended message.
2. Create your brand
Creating a personal brand includes executing paper and online initiatives. It is important to examine all social media platforms and create a consistent voice and message. According to Career Builders, 48 percent of employers Google candidates’ online portfolios and social media platforms. Additionally, 51 percent of employers have not hired a candidate because of their social media profiles, according to Bloomberg Business Week. Therefore, online portfolios that are strategic and consistent are more important than ever. The same idea goes for print work that includes cover letters, resumes and business cards. A consistent message across multiple platforms will only enhance your personal brand’s identity.
3. Invest in your own brand
After determining your brand, it is important to be consistent and believe in your message. “In fact, those who have defined and live their personal brand will more naturally demonstrate executive presence and as such may find themselves advancing more quickly at work,” says Llopis. Executing your brand consistently is a leadership quality and will help define your career and goals moving forward.
For more tips on personal branding examine the A,B,C’s of Personal Branding infographic provided by Placester and Feldman Creative. Here at Addison Whitney we love watching brands become successful and thrive. So why shouldn't your own personal brand gain the same benefits?
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Sources
"The First Step to Building Your Brand"- Forbes
"Personal Branding Is A Leadership Requirement, Not a Self-Promotion Campaign"- Forbes
"7 Questions To Ask When Uncovering Your Personal Brand"- Forbes
"New Survey Reveals Job Interview Stats: 48 Percent of Employers Google Candidates"- Media Bistro
"Number of Employers Passing on Applicants Due to Social Media Posts Continues to Rise, According to New CareerBuilder Survey"- Bloomberg Buisnessweek
Chipotle: Cultivating a Better World
Back in June, I wrote about my undying love of Chipotle and its brand.
I wrote about the company’s original short film, released in 2011 and entitled, “Back to the Start.” The film, by film-maker Johnny Kelly, depicts the life of a farmer as he slowly turns his family farm into an industrial animal factory before seeing the errors of his ways and opting for a more sustainable future. Both the film and the soundtrack were commissioned by Chipotle to emphasize the importance of developing a sustainable food system. The video reached more than four million views on YouTube when it aired during the 2012 Grammy Awards (in its entirety, 2 minutes and 20 seconds). At present, the video has a whopping 7.8 million views.
Fast-forward two years and so many months later to “The Scarecrow.”
I came across this new short film when it launched last Thursday, Sept. 11 and was in absolute awe. From the hauntingly beautiful Fiona Apple singing a childhood favorite, “Pure Imagination,” to the amazingly profound storytelling, I was hooked. Only Chipotle could weave a story that seems so simple, but is, in turn, a profound critique of our food industry. See for yourself.
Oh, and did I mention it’s based around marketing for a game? In collaboration with Academy Award-winning Moonbot Studios, “The Scarecrow” is an app-based, arcade-style adventure game that depicts a scarecrow’s journey to bring wholesome food back to the people by providing an alternative to the processed food that dominates his world (click here for a behind-the-scenes look). Here’s the official game description off its website.
The Scarecrow needs your help to foil the evil plans of Crow Foods and break the crows’ monopoly on food production and supply in the city of Plenty. Tilt your device to navigate through each level, outsmart the Crowbots, unlock extras, and restore hope for animals, farms, and the environment, while providing the citizens of Plenty a healthy and delicious alternative.
The buzz from Chipotle’s latest marketing coup is substantial. A simple Google News search for Chipotle and scarecrow returned more than 6,000 results. Every element has been meticulously thought through:
- Download Fiona Apple's cover of “Pure Imagination” from iTunes and proceeds ($.60 per download) go to the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, which provides funding to support sustainable agriculture, family farming, and culinary education.
- Earn at least three stars on every level of the game and score a BOGO card for a Chipotle burrito, bowl, salad or order of tacos (while supplies last, sure, but who doesn’t love free food?).
And, all of the copy surrounding this campaign is clear and concise – case in point:
“The Scarecrow” is another chapter in our commitment to Food With Integrity, and represents what we aspire to accomplish through this mission. Our goal for “The Scarecrow” is to bring awareness of important issues to a broader audience, and we hope it entertains you as much as it makes you think.
Smart. Thought-provoking. Inspirational.
To leverage even more success, I’m curious to see if it runs during the Emmy Awards broadcast this weekend. It may have already netted more than 4.8 million YouTube views, but a primetime audience could mean a repeat of its initial “Back to the Start” success (and then some, especially considering the buzz is so big already). I’ll definitely keep an eye out.
So, how does this kind of campaign define Chipotle’s brand and tell its story? From a bigger branding picture, why does it matter? It’s rare for a large company to be so self-aware and smart that it builds a brand where it doesn’t have to blatantly use its own name in marketing and advertising. Chipotle relies on the wholesomeness of its food and emphasizes the importance of its cause to tell its overall brand story. From a bigger branding perspective, Chipotle’s success means more and more companies may need to figure out how to use similar tactics to build their own brands – and, for new companies, it’s a great example of the importance of working hard to do things right.
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Sources
“The Scarecrow,” ScarecrowGame.com, http://goo.gl/dTwNGV.
“The Scarecrow – Chipotle Mexican Grill.” MoonbotStudios.com, http://goo.gl/cOUhkK.
Brand Strategy 101: Terminology
Brand Strategy 101: Terminology
We’re starting a series of posts dedicated to terminology. Why? Well, because our clients always ask how we define or approach certain challenges. And it can be tough; especially because different branding firms define words in different ways.
And, brand strategy terms seem to be the most puzzling and sometimes, overwhelming. So, here are a few words we use (and hear) the most – with a little insight into how we define them.
Brand
More than just a name or logo, a brand is…your reputation. It’s the sum of all of the experiences people have with you, what makes you different, a promise to and the place you own in the hearts and minds of your customers and your internal (employee) mantra.
Brand Strategy
Brand strategy is a long-term plan for the development of a brand within its market. Brand strategy is the foundation for and creates consistency across all marketing programs. Strong brands have a well-developed brand strategy that complements the business strategy and drives everything from communication to brand alignment within a portfolio.
Brand Strategy at Addison Whitney
We think of brand strategy as the evaluation and definition of long-term strategy to position brands for success. A client could be looking to define who it is, how its brands relate to one another, how to name its products or how to communicate about its brand, and we approach it all with a passion to find the right solution. We know each client faces its own unique challenges and a strong brand strategy outlines a clear path to guide the client through long-term success.
Brand Equity
Brand equity is the current value and goodwill that a brand has earned in its market. Equity can be measured by:
- Awareness: recall and familiarity of the brand
- Associations: images current and potential customers associate with the brand
- Loyalty: willingness of customers to repurchase and recommend
Brand Positioning
Positioning is a brand’s one big idea, what it can rally around. It’s important and believable to audience members, differentiated from competitors and sustainable in the long-term.
Brand Messaging
Brand messaging organizes and prioritizes the most relevant information and outlines how internal audiences should communicate the brand positioning to key audience groups.
Brand Architecture
The overarching strategy that outlines the role and relationship of brands in the portfolio is brand architecture. When companies acquire other brands or organizations, architecture can become muddled and confusing. A clear brand architecture builds a company’s brand from the inside, out.
Last, but not least…
Nomenclature Strategy
Nomenclature is a way of describing the strategy and guidelines for how to extend brand names within a portfolio. This strategy ensures product or service naming is consistent and makes sense to target audiences. It also provides clear direction for future naming decisions.
Apple’s iPod reflects a somewhat easy-to-understand example of nomenclature strategy. The nomenclature is the extension of the iPod name, so currently, the portfolio includes the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch and iPod classic.
So, that’s our vocabulary class for today. Hopefully, we’ve been able to clear up a little of the confusion relating to brand strategy terminology. We’ll continue these types of posts with each of our departments in the coming months!
Are Step-Down Line Extensions a Good Idea?
A brand extension in its simplest form is a strategy in which a well-established brand name is extended to a new product in a different product category. Sometimes brand extensions work, and sometimes they don’t, but for the purpose of this post we’re going to look at a specific niche of brand extensions: step-down line extensions (also called downscale extensions) for luxury brands.
A step-down line extension is when a brand introduces a new product that is perceived to be or marketed as lower quality than other products it currently sells. Implementing a strategy like this has clear pros and cons. The pros of step-down line extensions very heavily favor financial and awareness growth, but on the flipside, the cons most revolve around diluting the brand's equity and reputation.
More and more brands are testing out this strategy. From Polo Ralph Lauren, Armani and most recently Whole Foods, brands are constantly trying to redefine messages and come up with new ways to reach customers and step-down line extensions is one of those ways. While I tend to see more merit in why you shouldn’t introduce a step-down line extension, the strategy isn’t completely flawed.
Luxury brands have an interesting dilemma when it comes to their brands and profitability. Even though there is a strong desire for their brands and each product has a high margin, purchasing happens in low volumes. Maintaining a healthy cash flow into the brand can be tough. By departing from a strictly luxury market, luxury brands are given the ability to grow more quickly and reach certain financial goals. Stretching past luxury markets builds mass-market awareness, expands advertising opportunities, and ultimately gets the brand/products into the hands of more consumers, and, in turn, creates steady revenue for the brand.
Steady revenue, sounds great doesn’t it? But, from a branding perspective, is it really that great for a luxury brand to introduce a step-down line extension?
When a luxury brand introduces a lower quality product, the brand is doing so at great risk to the equity of its original brand. The greatest risk, of course, is the chance that the luxury brand will lose its status by being associated to the new product, therefore changing the course of the brand altogether. Consumers who once trusted the quality of a brand may change their opinion if they feel the luxury brand is no longer highly focused on making the best version of a product, but rather spreading itself thin by introducing additional products. Aside from the quality of a luxury brand, the worst thing it could lose is its own exclusivity, or the very thing that made it desirable in the first place. To maintain control of where the brand is sold, requires a lot of effort, but is time well spent if it prevents dilution to the brand’s value.
The debate that a step-down line extension brings up is, what’s more important: generating a healthy, steady revenue stream or maintaining the value, meaning and promise of your brand? The side you’ll take can probably be answered by asking one question – when you first started your company/brand, were you hoping to reach a mass market or did you seek to create a high-end, best-in-class product that has a more of an exclusive audience?
Musical Festivals: A Branded Experience
In the 1960’s and 70’s, when music festivals began to rise in popularity, they were predominately about rebelling against commercial and corporate gimmicks, and primarily focused on peace, love and, of course, music. Fast forward to 2013 and corporate promotions and branded experiences are as synonymous with music festivals as the music itself.
Music festivals have become a multi-billion dollar industry and an excellent opportunity for brands to reach the hundreds-of-thousands of festival goers each year. Sponsorships for these festivals by big brands payoff for all parties involved. The festivals reap the benefits which, in turn, helps provide a better festival experience for attendees, and the attendees benefit from the amenities and giveaways (often festival essential) from the brands. What’s in it for the brands? Well, they gain awareness – and a lot of it.
A summer 2011 Havas Sports and Entertainment study and found that out of 2,244 respondents, only TWO didn’t notice any sponsorship while at a festival, 36 percent said they were more likely to purchase a sponsor’s product after experiencing their activation at the festival, and a whopping six out of every 10 brands on site could be recalled by fans.
Fredda Hurwitz, global VP of strategic planning, marketing & communications at Havas Sports commented: “Our research does much to dispel the view that music festivals are a dangerous arena for brand sponsors, and suggests brands are a welcome part of the festival experience if they develop activations that add value.”
Creating a memorable, exciting or unique experience at a music festival is what will set a successful sponsorship apart from those following the not-so-impactful route of traditional signage. When a fan attends a festival, they are seeking an experience, and that doesn’t stop at the bands they come to see, but is carried over to the brands they choose to interact with. There isn’t a right or wrong way to approach a festival sponsorship; to be successful, it just has to make sense. With summer music festivals kicking into high gear let’s take a look at three different types of brand sponsorships from one of the most popular (and branded) music festivals, Bonnaroo. You’ll see that each of these approaches provides a different, but equally creative way to promote brands.
- L’oreal Garnier Fructis: More than 80,000 people travel to a remote 700-acre farm in Tennessee each June for the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Knowing the attendees would be outside day and night listening music on multiple stages, Garnier Fructis provided practical services, such as free hair-washing and styling in a 40- by 40-foot air-conditioned tent. In an area where trees are scarce and the temperatures regularly reach 90+ degrees, the desire to cleanse yourself of yesterday’s sweat all of a sudden becomes pretty strong.
- Philips: Philips sponsored a silent disco at Bonnaroo. The company provided 400 of its new CitiScape Collection headphones for guests to wear to listen to tunes being spun by two DJs. In this situation attendees were able to experience firsthand the sound quality and silencing ability of the headphones in a fun, party-like atmosphere.
- Ford: Ford dubbed its tent at Bonnaroo "Destination Escape," playing on the name of its Escape vehicle that was displayed outside the tent. Inside, festivalgoers could cool off in the air-conditioned space, listen to live performances and charge their phones. While this essential phone charging service is not directly tied to what Ford’s Escape vehicle provides its users, it certainly generated a ton of exposure for the vehicle.
For additional info on other branded experiences at Bonnaroo, check out Bizbash’s slide show here, and to learn about sponsorships at other festivals, the online pub has produced a similar list extending past Bonnaroo.
Red Bull is Killin’ It
As someone who holds a deep passion for the branding and marketing industry, I tend to informally monitor a brand’s progression over time. Just like most people in the business, I’m a bit of an industry critic – some brands I naturally root for and some I root against. Today, however, I want to talk about a brand that I’ve always been pretty unbiased towards… that is, until recent years. The other night while I was cooking dinner, watching television and browsing my iPad (welcome to 2012), my attention was briefly apprehended by Red Bull’s new TV spot. Not only was I impressed by the production value – impactful, dynamic clips of the Red Bull Team overlaid with an emotionally charged, motivating melody and voice-over – but it also caused me to say out loud to myself, “Wow. Red Bull is really killin’ it.” And here’s why.
Progression
Red Bull has been a pretty interesting brand to follow over its relatively short life. It was first developed and sold in Austria in 1987. It didn’t make it to the U.S. until 1996, and by that time Red Bull was starting to establish itself globally. And not only establish itself, but establish an entirely new product category. Red Bull was really the first to pioneer the global energy drink marketplace, which anyone would describe as courageous, risky and bold. So even at its pioneered essence, Red Bull was founded on characteristics it has spent so much time, money and effort trying its best to embody.
Flash forward to present day and a completely saturated (and regulated) marketplace, and Red Bull is still the world’s #1 energy drink company. In 2011, Red Bull pulled in $471 million in U.S. sales and held 44% of the energy drink market share, according to SymphonyIRI. But how do they continue to stay on top in such a crowded market? Well, the simple answer is branding. Red Bull has managed to create something that reaches far beyond its product offerings and even its industry. It has created a movement, a culture, and even a world – the world of Red Bull.
Here are a couple of ways Red Bull got there:
Vision
From the beginning, Red Bull realized how you market a product is just as important as the product itself. That’s why it invested in relationships – with people and brands that reflected similar characteristics. In 1989, Red Bull sponsored their first Formula 1 driver. Now, it’s hard not to see a Red Bull sponsorship at a sporting event - they even own a professional soccer team. And within the sporting world, they absolutely own the extreme-sports segment. Skateboarding, skydiving, wakeboarding, cliff diving, rock climbing, surfing… you name it, and Red Bull has some sort of stake in it. But it doesn’t stop at sports. Dance, music, film and gaming are just a few other categories that Red Bull is exploring. Its vision spreads far and wide, and there are no signs of slowing down.
Consistency
Consistency is what develops reputation. Red Bull has remained consistent at a high level for the majority of its existence. Red Bull’s messaging focused more on functionality in the early years as the product was introduced, and now has switched to a much more emotional approach. But even with the shift, its overall positioning has remained consistent. Just ask any consumer about Red Bull and their response will most likely leave you with, “It gives you wings.”
Execution
You can have a great idea, but if you can’t execute, nothing will ever come of it. Fortunately Red Bull knows how to execute, which might be its strongest attribute. Its efforts began with animated sketch-art advertising, to help showcase the product in an amusing, but functional manner (who can forget the “Pigeon” ad). Red Bull’s more recent marketing efforts have become wildly interactive and social, focusing more on the lifestyle it has created that surrounds the brand. Consumers are regularly visiting its website to explore and discover the world of Red Bull, looking for opportunities to hang with the brand. Red Bull even has its own media company, Red Bull Media House. So not only is Red Bull the content feature, they are also the content producer. Pretty amazing.
The remarkable thing about Red Bull’s brand is the fact that it has matured in such a short period of time. It went from a new product in a new category, to a cultural influencer in less than 25 years – not many other brands can say that. Without Red Bull, it’s hard to say where extreme-sports would be today. And I’m excited to see what’s in store for the future.