Brand Development is More Than a Marketing Plan

As a marketing process expert, let me share the steps involved in developing a brand. It’s a simple process, but requires thorough thinking to be successful.

Step One

The Marketing Plan

This contains all the product information (features, benefits, value proposition), competitive analysis, target market and market feasibility.

Step Two

The Creative Brief

A lot of people in the industry think this is part of the marketing plan. It is a secondary, and critical, document to augment the marketing plan. This is the document that prepares you for the customer approach or what used to be called Advertising. It answers the consumer’s question, “why do I want this product.” Properly executed, the creative brief can save you money when discussing the execution with your creative agency. No one knows the product as well as you.

Step Three

The Media Buy

Simply stated, how you reach your audience. There is a plethora of tools available online and with media planners to develop this plan. The challenge comes with the multitude of channels. The web has made this task very difficult. You will need to do a lot of homework to maximize your budget. Old and new media should be in your mix.

Step Four

The Financial Plan

Put your excitement about your product aside and remember your running a business. Everything should be based from a business perspective. As they say on the show Shark Tank, it’s all about “money”. A solid, and realistic, financial plan can help you secure funding and help you learn the realities of launching a new product. Most importantly, can you make money (profit)?

Step A

The Production Schedule

The entire process is driven by a schedule. Time can be your biggest asset or enemy. A production schedule will provide motivation and accountability. It should be realistic and fluid.

Branding is not one task, but a process. With due diligence, you can achieve developing a recognized brand in your category or even create a new category. These steps will also benefit the rebranding of an existing product.

Good Luck!

There is nothing new in advertising.

How many times have you heard this axiom?

Unfortunately, each day proves to me, it is true. I ranted in a previous blog, about car commercials that give me no reason to buy the car. I saw not one, not two, but three commercials last night using the "donuts in the desert" theme, Mercedes, Toyota and Kia. The Kia commercial had aliens suck the car up in a spaceship and drop it in the desert, where it proceeded to do donuts.

Apparently, I must be missing the fact that most of the country has turned into a desert and the primary use of a car is to do donuts in the desert.  I do have environmental questions regarding this practice.

I admit when I was a youthful driver, I liked doing donuts in the dirt or snow. Maybe the target market for Kia, Mercedes and Toyota are donut driven drivers or DDDs. These car companies could save a lot of advertising dollars and share their commercial production expenses. Am I the only person who drives on roads and use my car for comfort going to and from real locations (as opposed to computer generated roads and surreal locations)?

Please someone show some creativity! Reread my blog, "When to fire your agency." Here's the short answer, when they are no longer creative.

Traditional Media

For some reason, recently, I'm coming across articles concerning traditional media. This makes me happy, not because I can't accept change, on the contrary I'm a change agent. It's because we aren't driving flying cars yet. Meaning, who can really predict the future?

Many moons ago, I attended GRUPA, the International print show. It was when CD-ROMs were growing as the new media, generating software to replace printed databases. During one presentation, the speaker said, "Print is not dead." He held up a CD-ROM (presumable software) and said, "with everyone of these [disk] comes one of these," and he slammed down a 400 page printed manual. The manual was how to use the software. Fast forward in years - check Amazon for the number of books for learning software. Print is not dead, yet.

The most beneficial marketing campaign is still a mix of media channels and the best media mix reaches your customer target with an effective ROI. I still received a plethora of catalogs, this past Christmas season. There's nothing like sitting by the fireplace, looking at dreamy pictures of desirable items. It still prompts me to go online and BUY.

I firmly believe you need some forms of traditional advertising to draw people to your website. Enjoy the short article: Never Say Die.

When To Fire Your Marketing/Advertsing Agency Part II

How often do you meet with your Account Representative? Who meets with them? Do you have a feedback loop in place?

In theory, there should be some contact everyday. In practice, there should be some contact everyday. Yes, I repeated myself. Go back and read it again.

Okay, there can be some factors that preclude daily contact:
    •    It a project based relationship
    •    The project schedule has specified touch points
    •    You're very smart and already have scheduled periodic meetings
    •    Scope of relationship, including investment ($)

A standard agency practice is to provide "Call Reports". Each time someone in your company speaks with the agency, an email, or some other documentation is provided by the agency. Usually, this occurs within 24-48 hours of the contact. This report identifies the parties involved, the discussion points and action, if required.

Action is further detailed with deadline and who's responsible.

Finally, the most critical factor in good communication, I call it "Key Contact." Having a list of contacts  and responsibilities is great, but there should be a catch-all person, affectionately called the "Key Contact." Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to get someone, when you need them. Key Contacts are on both sides of the communication chain.

Oddly, our industry is communication and we seem to be just as guilty as most industries about it.

Part III will cover, "When to fire your client."

When To Fire Your Marketing/Advertising Agency Part I

Let's start with the old axiom, "Quality, Price, Time. Pick two."

The first step is to pick all three.

Second define these areas:
    •    Quality - What service are they providing? My primary reason is creative. I tell my agencies, "I buy creative. As long as they are creative, I keep buying." Feel free to replace creative with any term.
    •    Price - Are their rates competitive in your" marketplace. Rates vary by location, size of agency and level of team assigned to your account. Also, rates are only part of the equation. Are they billing reasonable number of hours per project? Rate x Hours = Cost. Rate and hours are directly related.
    •    Time - Is there a schedule at project start? Is it followed? What percent is on-time delivery? Is it their or your fault? You share responsibility in this area. Be honest.

Third, rate these areas. Be analytical. Rate each area on a scale of one to ten and take an average. If you feel one area is more important to you, use a weighted average (if you don't know how to do this, call me).

10	Tell them what a great job their doing!
8-9	Discuss concerns with agency
6-7	Put agency on review
4-5	Start agency shopping
2-3	Fire your agency
0-1	What are you thinking?

This is a simple process, but you can add areas beyond these three. The key is to communicate with your agency and they should be communicating with you. This will be the subject of "When to Fire Your Marketing/Advertising Agency, Part II.

Would you hire this company?

Recently, I was in discussion with an advertising agency, ready to double in size. They professed on their website, they only handle clients that are willing to change. Great start, I thought, as I am a "change agent" for marketing and advertising agencies, whether corporate in-house or external.

After a few weeks into how I can bring a lot to their company operationally, they leaped forward, and hired a lead person. Without further details, to protect the agency, this quick decision represents a business model that is 60 years old in the advertising industry.

Would you hire a company that wants you to change and operates their own company under an antiquated business model? I speak with authority, as I have never seen this operational structure succeed.

My favorite line in the movie Wayne's World, is when Garth says, "I fear change." Does anyone see a contradiction in this scenario? I want to say, "practice what you preach" or "lead by example". Remember all is exposed in the 21st Century www world.

The lesson.
Be careful what you say verses how you act and as exciting as explosive growth may be, proceed with calculated progress. Look before you leap.

Value Proposition

How many times have you heard this term? What does it mean?

Basically, it means how your product or service differentiates from the competition. But what if we apply it to people and preliminary work.

I am opposed to any service, as free. Specifically, interns' contributions and what we call advertising "spec" work. Everything has value or, as the axiom states, "you get what you pay for."

A warm energetic body is not your whipping person for drudgery work. They provide a function you probably don't care to do yourself. They deserve to be paid.

A campaign strategy or conceptual presentation has value. It should not be a requirement to obtaining a project. Remuneration should be expected.

This poor business model has existed for decades and is permeating other industries, such as architecture and broadcasting. I have also witness "spec" business or marketing plans, for various industries.

Stop this practice!

Anything of value deserves compensation or it has no value.

ROI

There seems to be a strong missing element in today's marketing – ROI.

To succeed as a entrepreneur, you just need to develop mass, without regard to monetization. "Build a social network site and they will come." But what if you're on the other side of the equation, as a marketer?

I've asked this question, as a consultant, to many clients who have joined the social networking marketing bandwagon, "What is the ROI on your investment?" and "Can you break it down per website?"

One client's answer was actually, "I'm afraid to find out."

What are your measurements? What is the ROI on each of your media channels? Basically, "What is working and what is not?"

Marketing/Advertising budgets are tight; choose wisely and measure the results.

Side note: since the "ad"vention of marketing, many claim you cannot measure advertising results with any degree of quantification. Social networking is just another channel. ROI can simply be "Did using this channel bring additional sales/recognition/(insert your goal here)?"

Thinking Outside the Box

This is not just a cliché or esoteric business strategy, it's a practice.

If you read my blogs, it is fairly clear, I'm all about change. Here are two situations where "outside-the-box" thinking was successful when applied to hiring.

Maintaining my philosophy, "If the people grow, the company will grow," I needed a manager who could apply this principle. It took quite a bit of time and I actually when through two previous hires, before landing someone with the right blend of qualifications.

Did he come from the marketing/advertising industry? No. I hired a professor. A person with all the industry skill sets and the added punch of knowing how to convey this knowledge. He could also motivate. He built on the staff's current strengths and taught them new skills. On the management team, he brought a broad perspective.
It worked.

Next, I needed a Business Manager. A prevalent practice of mine, when building organizational structures.

Did she come from the marketing/advertising industry? No. I hired a financial analyst from the banking industry. I needed a number cruncher. She brought not only accounting skills, but helped me set up productivity metrics. On the management team, she brought an outside-the-industry perspective. It worked.

This philosophy can be applied in any position. Don't look for the candidate that matches every detailed bullet point in the job description. If you do find such a person, you will get what you don't need–change or new thinking. Look for skill sets. Skill sets that can be applied to your real needs. These skill sets are referred as – transferable.

Examine your job postings. Do they represent functional duties or skill sets? If you require help determining your needs or examining this subject matter, hire a consultant (like me). Consultants bring an unbiased "out-your-box" viewpoint, as well as their broad experiences.

First Lesson

My first class, Advertising 101 (not a joke; literally ADV 101), was held in an 300 student auditorium. What seemed to be a mile away, the gray-haired professor stood at the podium and exalted, "You have choosen a great field. When the economy is bad, businesses must advertise to draw customers. When the economy is good, businesses must advertise to beat the competition." What he didn't extol was, "Get used to unemployment."

Marketing and Advertising is a very unstable career. When the economy is bad, companies cut their marketing and advertising budgets. When the economy is good, companies may bulk up on staffing for a temporary ride. In the 21st Century, lean operations is the norm. I read in "48 Days to the Work You Love", by Dan Miller, the average job lasts 3.2 years. Advertising Age indicates the average CMO position lasts 18 months.

Don't be discourageed, by these stats. Marketing and Advertising can be a fun career, if you like a fast-paced, changing environments. During one of my unemployment stints, I received company sponsored out-placement services. This service teaches you how to "transfer" your skill sets. I didn't want to "transfer" my skill sets. I enjoyed my industry. Working at several companies can really broaden your skills, as well as provide steady growth. The key to survival is tolerance and tenacity. Your company turnover should not be too high, unless you're really unfortunate to pick companies with short life spans.

Initial Thoughts on differentiating between Advertising and Marketing

It seems in the 21st Century, companies do not understand the difference between marketing and advertising. With their goal to reduce costs, they have combined the two disciplines into one.
Traditional Marketing involves the four “P”s: Product, Price, Place, Promotion
Advertising involves how to reach and communicate with the customer
They collaborate in determining product Features (marketing) and Benefits (advertising); target customer

I believe the industry itself has blurred the lines between marketing and advertising. Marketing should be weighted towards product development. Advertising should be weighted towards developing and executing the brand communication voice. The two disciplines interface on strategic direction.

The 21st Century has also lost focus on the customer and develop strategic plans that fill their own needs (i.e. company profit goals, meaning build it and they will come). Advertising has become competitive in manipulative methods to get the consumer to buy. They use countless data points and then develop an esoteric message, like cars driving on the edge of a building. Fine work for the CG team, but most people buy a car to drive on real roads not those in Second Life. This is not to stifle creativity, but the message must connect the consumer to the product.

Under the “Features and Benefits” school, advertising should appeal to filling a consumer need, real or perceived. From the customer’s point of view, it’s called, “what’s in it for me?” Both disciplines need to think like consumers.

Marketing should research and define the customer needs and develop the appropriate products. These products must be better than the competition. If they can’t be better, then they must differentiate themselves from the competition.

Marketing will define the target market. Advertising must do the research on how best to reach this market, speak their language and determine the channel(s) of communication. They must be creative, without missing the message. There is definitely a partnership and synergy between advertising and marketing.

Companies need to engage or reengage both disciplines.