BrandSimple | BrandDigital: The Blog

Landor’s third annual list of the top ten Breakaway Brands was released in the November 2nd issue of Fortune magazine. The ranking is based on a comprehensive survey that measures brand momentum over a three year period in terms of financial gain and brand strength – how it’s appraised by consumers. As I looked over the newest top ten brands two things immediately came to mind. First, the brands on the list represented a broad spectrum of categories. TJMaxx to iPod, Stonyfield to Gatorade’s Propel, Costco to Barnes & Noble, with a few relative old-timers thrown in for very good measure. Second, the brands on the list all delivered especially well on the fifth in my top ten list of what it takes to be a strong brand. (You can see the other nine in my book, BrandSimple.) And that is, making sure that your brand strategy – what your brand represents to consumers – is in absolute alignment with your business strategy, or what you deliver. In other words, can you validate the brand experience?

While this has always been essential to brand success, it’s never been more important than in today’s totally transparent, digitally-enabled consumer environment. If you don’t keep your promise in today’s marketplace, you’ll get found out and taken down in an instant, whether by blog, text or brand-damning digital video. Should you have any doubt at all, take a look at the video of the sleeping Comcast repairman on YouTube, complete with background music by the EELS. Each of the companies on the top ten list of Breakaway Brands have the entire organization focused on delivering the brand experience just as consumers expect it to be delivered. The brand strategy is inseparable from the business strategy and it shows both in Wall Street satisfaction and customer satisfaction.

Landor has just released its 2007 ImagePower® Survey looking at green issues and green brands and, not surprisingly, it confirms what intuition would tell us. More and more Americans—40%, in fact—have gotten the message that global warming poses a major threat. More than 50% believe existing environmental initiatives aren’t enough to address the problem. Whether it’s the result of Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, or the increasing volume of business and political discussion from Thomas Friedman on down, green is definitely on the national radar screen. As such, more and more companies are beginning to look at the problem as more than a matter of concern to just tree-hugging fanatics living on the fringe of society. While, again, not surprising, when asked to identify the “greenest” brands, those in the survey did specify a number of brands that have been in the eco-space for years, Whole Foods, Wild Oats, the Body Shop, Aveda, and Toyota among them. The environmental positioning of these brands has been clear to consumers for some time. What was surprising, however, was that those surveyed also identified GE as worthy of a spot on the survey’s list of top ten greenest brands. Surprising, but heartening. And, an indication that this growing concern is leading to a growing awareness far beyond the fringe.

GE is about as unfringe-y as a brand can get. Yet, here is GE setting the bar for any huge, industrial company looking for the right way to enter the green space. First of all, it has assigned a senior executive to oversee the responsibility. Lorraine Bolsinger leads ecomagination, GE’s company-wide commitment to addressing environmental challenges on a global level and she has taken on the substantiation of the sub-branded program incredibly well. Stories on the ecomagination Web site call attention to everything from GE’s answers to cleaner, more efficient sources of energy to its on-going efforts in reducing greenhouse gases. Research and Development investments in the area have grown exponentially. In addition, Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, has gotten out in front of the program in a major way, a key proof point for any brand looking to walk the green walk, not just talk it. Despite that only a small percentage of GE’s products are environmentally related versus, say, the Body Shop’s where all are geared in that direction, GE has been able to plant itself firmly as a leader in the space early on. This is something that will serve them well as the issue continues to grow in scope and public concern. Needless to say there is no more fringe. GE’s efforts will serve all of us well.

I talk in my book, BrandSimple, about the fact that Jerry Seinfeld would make a great branding guy. The comedian has the uncanny ability to see ordinary things from a different perspective. One of the greatest challenges to building a successful brand is having the knack to look at any of the most ordinary things, no matter how much of a commodity they may be, and find a different way in. The guys at Cereality have done just that. (The fact that Jerry’s a cereal fan is but a strange coincidence.) David Roth and Rick Bacher looked at the way people eat cereal, not just for breakfast, but for lunch, for dinner, and for snacking. They looked at where people eat cereal, not just in the kitchen, but in the living room, in their offices, and in their cars. And, as Jerry might have said, they said, “Hey, ever wonder why there isn’t a cereal restaurant?” There is now. Actually there are lots of Cereality cereal cafes snap, crackle, and popping up all over the country. The founders obviously identified a new way of looking at cereal and at the fast food category. Pajama-clad Cereologists™ stand ready to dish out your choice of over 40 cereal brands - mix and match any concoction you wish – with your choice of milk, from skim to whole to soy to chocolate. With store interiors designed to include the spaces where people feel most comfortable eating cereal - kitchens, living rooms and dining rooms, Cereality retail outlets have become popular with cereal aficionados from coast to coast. It’s a perfect example of brand innovation at its best. Take something so simple, so obvious and get people to say, “Hey, why didn’t I think of that.” Well, David Roth and Rick Bacher did think of it. They looked at something as ordinary as breakfast cereal and found a different way to serve it up. By the way, I’ll have Wheat Chex with Fruity Pebbles and soy milk, please. Let me find out what Jerry’s having.

The second annual Brandz™ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands ranking was just published by Millward Brown Optimor and it’s an incredibly valuable read. I like it a lot for a few reasons. First, it’s got a rock-solid foundation having been built on consumer insight data from Data Monitor and financial data from Bloomberg. Second, it ranks both consumer and corporate brands as measured by their dollar value. And third, I like it because it confirms that what I talk about in BrandSimple is built on rock-solid branding principles. What’s not to like, as my relatives would say.

It came as no surprise to me that the top-ranking brands in the Brandz study are those based on crisp, clear, simple ideas –the underlying premise of BrandSimple. Google, for example, up 77% over last year, is based on the simple idea that the smartest kid in your class – the one with all the answers - is sitting right on your desktop. Apple, another winner, is up 55%. Ask anyone which brand is responsible for creating the coolest, user-friendliest technology and you’ll know why this is so. Target, whose simple idea is making cheap chic is up 88% versus last year. And Best Buy, up a whopping 113%, proves that the simple, “Geeky” idea of a retailer who helps consumers understand how to actually use the technology they purchase is pretty smart.

While all of the above brands are, indeed, based on simple ideas, these ideas are also relevantly different from what the competition promises. Another topic I address in BrandSimple and something reflected in a few of the brand rankings. For example, Dell promises to “make it my way.” Different, yes, but I’m not sure how relevant this is to consumers anymore, which is, perhaps, why Dell is down 24%. Intel, too, has lost value over last year – 26%. The brand, which once differentiated itself by representing faster, more powerful chip capacity, isn’t differentiating itself quite as well these days. “Intel Inside” seems to have strayed. Even Microsoft has lost over 10% in valuation, perhaps related to the too-little-too-late launch of Zune, or maybe just because it’s difficult to differentiate a brand on sheer size.

Back to the upside, however, it’s interesting to see that a number of the winning brands were those that leveraged major market trends effectively, demonstrating that brands are listening to what consumers have to say. Brands that delivered on the promise of social responsibility, especially with regard to environmental issues, did very well. BP, by addressing the climate change with alternative fuels, rose in valuation. Toyota, too, benefited from its environmental stance. Food brands that showed a concern for healthier eating also gained in value, most prominently McDonald’s. As the only brand ranking that combines consumer insight data with hard financial data, the Millward Brown Brandz study is a significant piece of data in and of itself. It’s an interesting and telling read for anyone who wants to know what makes some brands more powerful than others. It’s rock solid.

Complete list

The health food groupie group is no longer a fringe group. The number of people seeking healthier food choices is growing as fast as the waistlines of the non-health food groupie group. Interest in, at least, “thinking about” eating healthier now cuts across many consumer segments. Coke and Pepsi, with the introduction of their vitamin-infused beverages, are acknowledging this fact. The move by these mega-brands signals that we’ve reached a tipping point relative to consumer interest in the nutritional value of food and drink. The hue and cry for healthier choices is getting too loud for brands like Coke and Pepsi to ignore. But, for those who wonder whether the health food groupies will start drinking Coke and Pepsi, the answer is probably not. The bona fide health conscious folks are not necessarily the target of this initiative.

For those who wonder whether these new line extensions will be unhealthy for the Coke and Pepsi brands, again, probably not. In fact, it’s a smart branding opportunity. It makes them look good. By adding a healthier line of products to their core offerings these brands are demonstrating awareness of health and wellness issues. More significant, however, is that by seeing these healthier products on the shelves (even if they don’t buy them), the general population may feel less guilty about consuming these brands. Health by association. People started feeling better about McDonald’s when the brand added salads to its menu choices. Whether they gave in to their Big Mac attacks wasn’t the issue. The McDonald’s brand gained favor just by offering a number of more nutritious options. It wasn’t simply healthier for the people who chose to eat them, but it was good for the health of the brand. My belief is that the Coke and Pepsi brands will enjoy similar collateral health. People may drink their regular colas, but at least they’ll feel less guilty doing so.

Disney’s recent decision to take on the childhood obesity issue was a healthy move. Not just for a nation of chubby kids. But for the brand.Adding high quality food fare to its high quality entertainment fare seems the most natural of branding ingredients. We all know kids love sugar and spice and everything not so nice. We know they love the cartoon characters that cleverly market these foods. We also know kids love Disney. Kids do not always listen to mom and dad when it comes to eating their veggies, but they might listen to Buzz Lightyear.

As parents face the challenge of getting their kids to eat right, Disney is coming to the table at just the right time.

Its new nutritional guidelines for both its licensed food products and the food it sells in its theme parks are sure to put pressure on other marketers of kids’ food products to do the same. (Sesame Street and Warner are already in the game.)

In the past, if a cartoon character promoted a food you could bet it was full of sugar and low in nutritional value. Disney’s raising the bar can only add to its reputation as a responsible family brand. The Incredibles Oatmeal. Mickey-shaped organic ravioli. Fresh kid-sized produce from the Disney Garden. Healthy food. Healthy branding. Healthy kids. Great recipe.

Stop & Shop might be cooked. King Kullen could be dethroned. Publix may take a licking. That is if they and every other traditional supermarket chain don’t look into some major re-invention strategies. Consumers are demanding more from their grocery shopping experience than stale Muzak and employees who offer up freeze-dried smiles. To put it more bluntly, traditional grocery stores are fast becoming commodities, which in the world of brands means, “Sorry Charlie.” To win in any category, even a category as basic as the weekly groceries, you’ve got to stand for something compellingly different, and you’ve got to make good on your promise. When it comes to filling shopping carts these days, you can’t brand down the middle. You’ve got to come up with something consumers haven’t seen before and make sure it’s something they want. What do they want? Whole Foods recognizes it’s wholesome and organic. Fresh Direct, convenience. Wal-mart and Costco have proven the value of value. And Stew Leonard’s, for those of you lucky enough to have experienced this chain, looks at shopping as entertainment (if you call dancing cows entertainment). Consumers aren’t necessarily fickle, but they are inundated with brands. (Brand Attention Deficit Disorder wouldn’t be too extreme a description.) While your business strategy might be selling groceries, you’ve got to get people in the door with a unique brand strategy to get carts (full carts) rolling in the aisles.

Consumers pledge allegiance to brands. When a brand has problems, no matter what the root cause, the brand organization suffers financially. While a growing number of Americans have made a pledge to eat healthier, no single spinach grower is going to suffer unduly as a result of the recent outbreak of E. Coli. Why? Spinach is a vegetable, not a brand. Any allegiance we have to spinach is to the vitamins on the inside, not the name on the plastic bag outside. While spinach growers and distributors will definitely take a financial hit from this very unfortunate situation, no single brand will be held liable. It will cut across the industry, mitigating the effect. This is not like the Tylenol package tampering scare where a specific brand bore the brunt of the headache. In that case we were able to turn to other remedies for our own headaches. (In that case, Tylenol’s parent company, Johnson & Johnson, set the standard for appropriate brand behavior in a crisis. It took the company time to recover but, as a result of its actions, respect for and loyalty to the brand soared. For those too young to remember, check your brand management textbooks.) If you’re looking for an excuse not to eat your spinach, baby, you don’t have much time left. As soon as science gets to the root cause of the problem and the media gives us the okay, spinach will be back in the produce section. While we won’t necessarily look for any one brand, the industry will recover, as a whole. We’ll be free to sauté, toss, and make our spanikopita. And, in your case Popeye, you can just chug the stuff.