BrandDigital | BrandSimple: The Blog

Some think chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Others, flight delays and crowded malls. Those in the brand business, myself included, think about trends we’re likely to see in the year ahead. Given that I had some time due to a flight delay of my own, I took the time to write down some of the things we’re likely to see in the marketplace in the year ahead, including which brands will most likely get stronger, and which might actually go south (not for the winter, but forever). While my record on some predictions is somewhat spotty (did you read what I wrote about Jay Leno?!), I feel pretty secure in my assessment that companies that play by the essential rules of branding, that is, offer people products and services that are meaningfully different, will continue to do well. For my year-end assessment, click on the link to Forbes Online. (If you want a chuckle, you can also read my column on Leno!) Happy new year!

Image courtesy @Ana Young via Flickr

The jury may have weighed in on this year’s Emmy winners, but it’s definitely still out on the newest iteration of Jay Leno’s presence. While many herald, “The Jay Leno Show,” airing weeknights at 10 P.M., as the next wave of broadcast television – lower cost, easier to produce, and more personal than sit-coms and hour-long dramas – others say it’s not quite living up the expectations set by the weeks of PR and advertising that preceded it. While I’m not a TV critic, a professional one, that is, I do know an interesting branding idea when I see one. And as I explain in my newest column in Forbes online, I think that what Jay’s producers at NBC did was nicely in line with classic Branding 101. Tune in and take a read.

Image permission being requested via The Ampersand

From the NBC network’s point of view, moving Jay Leno from his late night spot to a prime time spot is a stroke of financial brilliance. It’s going to save them the cost of producing high-budget cops, docs, and lawyer dramas (which people DVR and watch on-demand anyway). From my professional marketer’s point of view, moving Jay to 10 P.M. from 11:35 P.M. is a stroke of branding brilliance. Actually, two strokes. To begin with, among the first things a good branding strategy takes into consideration is the target audience. Jay’s forty-plus fans don’t (can’t) stay up late. Their ability to make it to even the 11:00 news is diminishing. Giving them their dose of laughter and live and lively banter when their eyes are still open is a smart way to keep them brand loyalists. It demonstrates an understanding of their needs. Second, all successful brand extensions – and that’s what this is – are the result of taking what people love about the original product and differentiating it in a relevant and innovative way. The Jay Leno Show will do just that. Leveraging Jay’s intelligent brand of topical humor and refreshing it in a ready-for-prime-time manner will allow the brand to stand apart from other talk-type shows, not to mention other 10 P.M. TV options. NBC appreciates Leno. Viewers appreciate Leno. Brand professionals should appreciate NBC’s decision to take a strong brand and enhance its appeal in an inventive way. In my opinion, it’s not just a stroke of programming genius, but a couple of strokes of branding genius.