Bathurst-on-Branding

Build Place Brands, Not concepts, Says Bill Bathurst Property Marketing Expert

2012-02-21T13:46:00.003-08:00

Confusion

Brand and concept are two notions that are becoming increasingly popular in area
developments. They are sometimes used interchangeably and that often leads to
confusion, disagreement and disappointment. Professionals such as urban
planners and architects often dislike 'brand' while they have little trouble
accepting 'concept'. This is mainly because they, wrongly, associate brands with
advertising and commerce. It is high time that both notions are clarified.

Concept

A concept is a good, distinctive and sometimes unique idea for the development
of a product, service, building or area. In real estate, concepts are already
applied to the development of, for example, office and residential buildings,
shopping, entertainment and conference centres, and leisure centres. Concepts
function well for such developments because they take a certain characteristic of
the development and apply it to for example, the architecture, the retail offer, the
decor and service. A concept often serves a specific target group, such as
shoppers or partygoers, conference or business users. A concept is often has a
sell-by date. A workable concept often becomes outdated in a number of years.
The development and implementation of a concept is usually the responsibility of
separate parties such as the architect and developer. Concept management is
rare.

Brand

A brand is a promise of value that must be kept for different audiences
simultaneously, such as residents, visitors, businesses, investors and institutions.
This means that the way the promise is fulfilled will differ (somewhat) for each of
the groups while still retaining a clear connection between these activities. A
brand for an area development is therefore often not a single promise, but is
formed by several related themes. Often, (valuable) themes added over time.
This enrichment of an area brand does not happen by chance, but is created
through (carefully) brand management. A brand is not only a leading principle for
the development of an area (e.g. urban planning, architecture, landscape,
materials) but also for its management (e.g. attraction programs, area
management, events, communications). Furthermore, the development,
implementation and management of the brand of an area are the shared
responsibility of its stakeholders: government, developer, investor, key tenants,
residents and the like. A brand is ideally suited for developments with a fairly
high level of complexity and an extended period of development, such as (innercity)
mixed-use developments.

Complementary

In area development processes, brand and concept are often complementary and
can be used in conjunction. Within an area development, there may e various
concepts that help realise the brand, such as a designer hotel, a slow food
restaurant, an organic market, shared facilities for creative start-ups, an
ecological district, a culture institution or a factory outlet centre. In this context,
concepts such as area incubators are sometimes used. These are physical
(permanent or temporary) functions that are employed to speed-up an area
development process.

In summary, we can say that:

1. A concept is a form of reduction (a good idea), while in a brand enriches the
image of an area
2. The value of a concept decreases with the time, while the value of a brand
increases (at least with carefully brand management)
3. A concept is especially applicable to single-use developments and a brand to
mixed-use developments
4. Concepts within and area can complement and help realise its brand
5. A brand functions simultaneously as an organising principle and a decision making
tool for a partnership of stakeholders.

Place Branding Adds Value, Unites Mission and Stakeholders, Says Bill Bathurst, Expert Property Marketer

2012-02-21T13:29:00.002-08:00

A place brand acts as a common cause that required the
parties to seek solutions together, rather than engage in conflict.
Not only is a brand a leading principle in the development of an area
that involves urban planning, architecture, landscape, and materials,
but also in the management of the project—involving, for example, programs and events to attract interest, area management, and communication.

The development, implementation, and management of an area’s
brand are the shared responsibility of the stakeholders: government,
Developer, investor, key tenants, residents, and any others. During the
Process of creating the brand, all of the stakeholders together define core
Values, achieving a consensus that establishes a base of cooperation
Throughout the entire development process.

As the brand develops and Strengthens, it becomes a means of communication and a binding factor among stakeholders. A brand is suited for developments with a fairly high level of complexity, involving many stakeholders and an extended period of development, such as innercity,mixed-use developments.

Branding differs from marketing and concept design in scope and
timing. While marketing is targeted at selling a product to a particular
group of consumers, the audience for branding is much wider. The challenge is to change the public’s image of an area. Compared with an urban concept that embodies the essence of a specific design solution for an area, a brand acts as a nucleus out of which different design solutions can form and grow.

Branding should be started early in the development process in
order to advance partnerships and to use the brand itself as a coherent
decision-making tool, guiding design, marketing, management,
events, programs, and other procedures. Such action allows the area
development to achieve its fullest potential in terms of value creation.

“Introducing branding to our capabilities at Pristine Properties has
resulted in tangible added value,” says Bill Bathurst, who is consulting with Kor Development.

“The brand partnership of Bathurst Group/Pristine Properties has enabled our partnership of developers and public bodies to realize a truly imaginative and feasible strategy for the area development.” The brand promise is credited with attracting others, such as local entrepreneurs and cultural institutions, which can help bring the area to life. A professional branding process can lead to more trust among the groups involved, reducing the role of legal contracting. Such a process requires large investments of money and time, as the participation of representatives with substantial decision-making power is required. When these decision makers act on a brand, it can help establish strong mutual ties, enabling a partnership to overcome setbacks and search for novel solutions to create an area of lasting value to a city

The Power Of Branding For Real Estate Agents

2011-01-14T07:02:00.000-08:00

According to the National Association of Realtors, 76 percent of people who decide to sell their home with the assistance of a licensed real estate agent, interview only one agent for the job. Are you that agent? If not, who is?

What can you do to become the one agent 76 percent of the people in your marketplace are calling to list their homes? The answer is simple - eliminate the other options. By branding yourself correctly, you can create the perception in the minds of the public that you are the only option - the only agent - who will sell their homes. Build the perception in the mind of the consumer that you are the only one.

A concept used for many years by corporate America, personal branding is an invaluable tool that if used correctly, and it holds unlimited potential for real estate agents. Real estate agents are in a unique position to have success through branding because they are their own products. Yet many agents, who arguably spend more money than most other small businesses on advertising, are missing the boat when it comes to building a business through branding. As a result, the agents who do understand branding and build a consistent brand are able to take advantage of the market. They are that one agent three-fourths of the population calls to list their homes.

So what is branding?

Commonly lumped together with marketing, branding is actually a distinct concept, which if used correctly, can virtually eliminate the need for traditional costly marketing. While marketing is a quick, active message targeted at selling a product, branding is a slow process, building your image over time. Branding relies on consistency and repetitiveness. It’s about building your image in the minds of the public-creating a perception that you are the best, regardless of the market conditions.

A great example of a person who has used both personal branding and marketing is Oprah Winfrey. Over time, Oprah has built a perception of who she is and what she stands for in the minds of the public. That perception, that emotional, innate response to the name Oprah Winfrey is her brand. Her magazine, her television show, books, etc. are products she markets to the public. She markets her products through commercials, her shows, etc. The success of her product marketing is based in large part in the strength of her brand. Conversely, her brand continues to be strengthened because her marketing and her products consistently support her promise or her brand.

Everyone makes money in a strong market. Agents who are perceived as the experts, the leaders, make money regardless of the market conditions. Oprah does not need to do anything but mention a book and it shoots to the top of the best seller list. She doesn’t spend money on advertising her products. Her branded image pre-sells her, and, in turn, her products without the need for marketing. By building your image over time, by branding yourself, you can see that in the long run, you will spend less money on marketing yourself, but get greater return.

So how do agents brand themselves?

Branding requires a commitment. You cannot read this article, or read a book about branding, pick a slogan and consider yourself branded. Branding is more than putting your picture on your business card and a park bench and proclaiming you are the number one sales person in your market.

Branding is really everything you stand for - your promise to your customers. Read any book or article about branding and each will contain certain concrete steps you must take before you can begin to build your brand.

You must first evaluate where you are and where you want to go. This step is the most important for real estate agents. As an agent you have to live and breathe your brand every day or it will fail. You have to honestly evaluate yourself and your business. What does your business look like now? How do you want your business to look? What are you willing to do to get there?

After you have determined where you are and where you want to go, its time to step out of your box and define you as your brand. Did you determine that you really want to focus your business on serving the real estate needs of retirees? Pick a slogan or word that describes the commitment you have to your target. For example, “Providing golden service for the golden years.” Then own that brand in everything you say and do. Back up your brand with what you promised “golden service.” Use your slogan or brand consistently and repeatedly. Over time, your name will become synonymous with your brand to the extent that your target, in our example, retirees and their families, will think of you first when they want to list their house, regardless of whether you took out a full-page ad in your area’s local newspaper proclaiming yourself the number one agent in the market.

Remember, evaluate your business and your path, make a commitment to your brand and back it up every day. Follow these steps and you will be on your way to building your brand and becoming that agent your market calls first to list their home.

If you need help with your personal branding, touch base with us at www.clearbluemarketing.net

Some Brand Extensions are Bad to the Bone

2010-09-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Bill Bathurst

In various magazines, at various conferences, and in his online newsletter, Saatchi and Saatchi’s worldwide chief executive officer, Kevin Roberts, has talked of the ‘mythology of the brand’. The most powerful brands, according to Roberts, are those that have built their own mythology, or rather, that have helped their loyal customers to build this mythology. The one brand with perhaps more mythology attached to it than any other is, without doubt, Harley Davidson.

Harley Davidson owners aren’t just loyal. They love the brand. They do not care that the motorcycles they ride are not the best in terms of technology or that they may be prone to the occasional oil leakage. What matters is the biker myth – the freedom of the open road, and all its macho connotations.

This myth is vividly conjured up in the book Hell’s Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and The Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club by Sonny Barger (the original Hell’s Angel). In a chapter entitled, ‘Harleys, Choppers, Full Dressers and Stolen Wheels,’ Barger writes:

What it’s really about with a Harley Davidson is the sound ... everybody loves that rumble. Another thing Harley owners really crave about their bikes is the low-end torque, the raw power coming out of the gate.

It runs out pretty quick once you get up past ninety miles an hour. Most Harley riders don’t care about high speed, they’d rather have that lowend torque, the one that gurgles down in your groin and gives you the feeling of power. The Japanese bikes, while they have the power, they don’t quite have the feeling of power.

The appeal of the Harley Davidson is essentially masculine and its customers take brand loyalty to extreme levels. Indeed, many testosterone-charged Harley owners even tattoo the Harley Davidson name and imagery onto their bodies.

The company has attempted to capitalize on this unique strength of feeling towards the brand, by pushing the Harley Davidson chain of shops selling a wide variety of branded merchandise – Harley Davidson T-shirts, socks, cigarette lighters and ornaments. While Harley Davidson’s core fans may have accused the company of ‘Disneyfying’ the brand, the real problem occurred when Harley Davidson attached its name to a range of aftershave and perfume. For lovers of the motorcycle, this was an extension too far.

Harley Davidson had fallen into the trap of thinking that more products equals more sales. And it usually does, at least in the short term. But as Al and Laura Ries write in The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, this type of strategy can have negative consequences in the long term:

Do you build the brand today in order to move merchandise tomorrow?

Or do you expand the brand today in order to move the goods today and see it decline tomorrow? [...]

Line extension, megabranding, variable pricing and a host of other sophisticated marketing techniques are being used to milk brands rather than build them. While milking may bring in easy money in the short term, in the long term it wears down the brand until it no longer stands for anything.

Ironically, though, this quest for more products and to broaden the Harley Davidson line went against the way the company had built the brand in the first place. In Hell’s Angel, Barger writes:

Harley has enjoyed a huge share of the large bike market for decades. They control about fifty percent of cruiser sales, with Japanese bikes making up the other half. As a result, they often act a little high and mighty toward their customers.

An official at Harley Davidson was once quoted as saying, ‘Enough bikes is too many, and if we make enough, we lose mystique.’ While they keep saying they’re building more and more each year, up until a couple of years ago I believe Harley Davidson intentionally held back production to stir up demand.

The implication is that Harley Davidson originally understood that its customers could have too much of a good thing. Not only had it stayed focused on motorbikes, but the company may have also limited their availability in order to generate the Harley Davidson ‘mystique’.

By the 1990s, however, the brand was clearly heading in the other direction. Alongside aftershave and perfume, the company also launched Harley Davidson wine coolers. As you would expect, the bikers were not impressed.

On her Internet homepage, one biker girl, who calls herself ‘Tinker’, recounted her experience of seeing all these inappropriate items on sale in a Harley Davidson chain store:

Drifting closer, I found myself dazzled by the seemingly infinite variety of stuff. Man, they had everything under the sun! There were H-D socks, perfumes, infant clothes, an entire line of kids wear, tons of ornaments and collectables, even ties, all stamped with the official HD license logo. Everything, from the truly nice to the frankly ugly, was on display. Everything that is except an actual Harley Davidson motorcycle.

No parts, even. There was a Buell [a Harley Davidson model] in the window, with a ‘Do Not Touch’ sign on it.

A salesperson wandered over. ‘Can I help you find something?’ she asked brightly.

‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Have you got the official licensed Harley Davidson shampoo?’

‘Shampoo?’ she asked, a little uncertain.

‘Oh absolutely,’ I said. ‘It looks and smells just like motor oil, but it makes my hair so manageable!’ I smiled as I made my escape, but I know it’s just a matter of time.

Tinker was not alone in her criticism. And pretty soon, it became clear that the motorcycle giant was alienating its core customers.

‘Harley Davidson values are strong, masculine, very rugged values,’ says Charles E Brymer, chief executive officer of the Interbrand Group, a branding consultancy based in New York. ‘For Harley Davidson to go into a sector that doesn’t live up to what those values are would be disastrous.’

However, the disaster was a relatively limited one. The company has now admitted its mistake, and stopped producing perfumes and other inappropriate products.

In an interview for The Business Knowledge Network, Joe Nice, the director of corporate communications for Harley Davidson, spoke candidly of the company’s branding failures. ‘Over the years,’ he said, ‘we’re tried a number of different approaches to merchandising and put the Harley Davidson brand on some things that, in retrospect, we may not have been well-advised to do.

The company is much more selective today about who we work with and how we go about extending the brand.’

Lessons from Harley Davidson:

-Focus on your brand values. If your values are ‘strong, masculine and very rugged,’ you shouldn’t be selling perfume or wine coolers. A range of baby clothes may also be a bad idea.
-Don’t alienate your core customers. For brands that inspire strong loyalty, the temptation is to test that loyalty to its limits by stretching the brand into other product categories. However, this is a dangerous strategy and can lead to what marketing experts refer to as ‘brand dilution’ – in other words, a watered-down brand.
-Remember that more is less. ‘When you study categories over a long period, you can see that adding more can weaken growth, not help it,’ writes Jack Trout in his book, Big Brands, Big Trouble: Lessons Learned the Hard Way.
‘The more you add, the more you risk undermining your basic differentiating idea, which is the essence of your brand.’
-Keep it tight. Harley Davidson built its brands by staying true to what it does best, namely making big, classic, US motorbikes. The further it moved away from this original focus, the further it got into trouble. Any brand which attempts to be a ‘Jack of all trades’ will ultimately fail to carve a strong identity in any category.
-Handle ‘lovemarks’ with care. According to advertising guru Kevin Roberts, truly successful brands don’t have ‘trademarks’. They have ‘lovemarks’. In a now famous article for Fast Company magazine’s September 2000 issue, Roberts cited Harley Davidson as a supreme example of a lovemark and commended the company for not following the marketing rulebook.

Although Roberts says that the motorbikes themselves are ‘actually pretty average’, the nature of the brand has meant that the motorbikes don’t have to be compared to others in terms of performance. Roberts says: As a lovemark, Harley Davidson has two things. One is its signature rumbling sound. The other is that you can’t go very fast on a Harley, so you have to ride in a pack [. . .] The mystery of the Harley isn’t in its performance, and it isn’t in any of the words that end in ‘er’. Most brands are built on ‘er’ words – faster, bigger, better, cleaner. Mystery doesn’t need those words.

Mystery also doesn’t need hundreds of themed stores to push its brand extensions. In fact, such an approach tends to erode the mystery altogether.

Could An Improved Marketing Plan Help Your Project?

2010-08-27T05:40:00.001-07:00

Selling out a real estate development takes incredible coordination—numerous branding and marketing elements working in concert, often long before ground is broken. The Bathurst Group and Pristine Properties International understand that. Our deep experience within the residential and commercial real estate industry has allowed us, as a creative agency, to work closely with developers, architects, designers and brokers to bring successful projects to market in Florida, the southeast and across the country. We believe successful real estate branding and marketing requires a comprehensive approach, rooted in a solid strategy, which requires:

-Understanding current industry and economic trends, as well as the market in which a project is located
-Connecting with the target audiences to understand their needs, attitudes, timing and preferences
-The experience and creativity to develop branding that resonates with the target audience and the community
-Communicating that branding through integrated marketing tactics that include strategy, creativity and execution
-Constantly refining and fine-tuning the marketing mix over the life of the development to optimize sales velocity

Our integrated marketing services for the real estate industry include: strategy development, branding and rebranding, naming, identity design, messaging strategy and development, website design, web development, advertising and media, print collateral design, outdoor advertising, sales center graphics, site signage, email campaigns and social media strategy and execution.

As commercial realtors we can staff and execute the sale and leasing of your building, land or project

Call us at 561 247 2455

Branding Lessons at the World's Top Universities

2009-12-01T07:16:00.000-08:00

We tend to associate brands with things that sell. How about brands that sell us? The school from which you received your BA, BS or BEng often impresses prospective employers or clients. The allure of the institution stems not from a factual knowledge of the university's strengths, but from a received understanding of what it stands for --- its prestige, ideology and reputation. Universities are more aware of this than ever; some have groomed themselves into überbrands, leveraging their equity beyond the traditional educational arena. This article suggests, however, that their success should not be surprising. After all, universities that get it right operate the perfect forum within which the ultimate brand experience can be offered.

Isn't it amazing how, come every commencement season, temporary amnesia sets in? Surrounded by the bubbly and bunting, brutal all-nighters and massive loans are forgotten, and everyone displays unreserved affection for the alma mater. The magic lies in the fact that the best universities are, essentially, great brands.

The benefits of solid branding are as apparent in the educational arena as they are in business. Universities cost a lot of money to run, and research costs even more. Government funding, moreover, is declining. Raising money for operating costs and endowment enhancement is thus more important than ever. Every revenue stream -- alumni contributions, corporate partnerships, long-distance learning opportunities and merchandising -- must be conscientiously cultivated. In many cases, this means exploiting the core assets of the organization. Like many successful brands, universities have learned that the brand is one such core asset that can transcend categories to sell almost anything. The power brands of the university industry successfully reach across and beyond the educational sector. Harvard, Stanford and Oxford credibly and successfully sell summer camp for twelve-year olds, cheerleading classes, T-shirts, holiday tours, and even financial services.

What are some of the branding lessons we can glean from universities?

1. Focus on the experience, not on the product
As in most industries, universities offer very similar "products" at first glance. But the best universities define a world of difference behind the B.A., M.B.A., M.Eng, or Ph.D. In fact, many of the best universities offer terrible undergraduate education. Students have little or no contact with the illustrious faculty who grace the university's academic catwalk. Instead, their educations are typically guided by teaching assistants eking out a living.

No worry. The students from the top universities will tell you that the degree is merely an excuse for the overall experience, in the same way "I need new shoes" really means, "I want those Nikes." No one remembers the mathematics class, or even that groundbreaking seminar on the Middle East. They will remember the annual football game, the "Full Moon on the Quad" tradition, the fountain-hopping, and the breakfasts with the President.

2. Stick to one idea.
The best universities stand for a single idea, one so simple that it lends itself to transposition into each stakeholder's individual world. This facilitates a sense of complete ownership, which in turn catalyses loyalty to the brand. This was brought home to me when I attended graduation at MIT this year. The idea was simple: Live for technology. While waiting for the ceremony to start, friends tapped busily at their Blackberrys, keeping in contact with their friends. Occasionally, they would look up to inform the over-anxious parents whom they had been appointed to chaperone that the graduand they were awaiting was "turning onto Mass Avenue right now."

A roar of approval met the Commencement speaker's quip that he looked forward to the day an astronaut would plant her boots on Mars. A giggle wafted through the solemn ceremony as a bunch of silvery NASA balloons was let loose over Killion Court. I couldn't believe it. Everything said that technology was a way of life; being a geek was almost cool.

3. Speak in one voice.
Keeping it simple also means presenting yourself clearly and coherently to your stakeholder. Oxford and Cambridge have more trouble than Harvard or Stanford in encouraging alumni involvement for this reason. It is true that British universities have, traditionally, larger endowments and more support from the government, making business development a lesser priority. It is, however, not the lack of need that has inhibited the development of these university brands.

The problem, from a branding point of view, lies within the decentralised college system of Oxbridge. Students are simultaneously members of the university and of a college. This arrangement splits loyalties, confusing the claims of ownership over the fond memories of those youthful days, fragmenting the power of the brand.

The muddle is further exacerbated by the perceptual disjunction amongst internal and external stakeholders. To the insider, the college (e.g. Trinity) is the true hub of social and academic activity, with which members are wont to build lasting relationships. The university is merely the aggregate of the different college. To the wider public, however, the name with the cache is the university (Cambridge or Oxford). Consequently, external stakeholders such as corporations and foundations support university-wide initiatives, whilst the colleges work at delivering the brand promise. The lack of clear brand architecture is clearest in the international arena, where the distinction between the college and the university is dimmest. Flip open this week's Economist to see Templeton College battling with the University of Oxford for centerstage within the same advertisement for executive advancement programs.

4.The brand exists in the people.
The critic would argue that universities are not as generic as I characterize them to be, that they provide unique environments of learning and challenge. I agree. I also suggest, however, that the brand is a key component of this offer. And the brand is particularly potent because universities almost always celebrate the key element of the brand: its people.

The community that develops around the university is its true distinguishing factor. The "inspired environment" unique to a university is not due to an institution per se -- its walls, architecture, gardens, its ivy and spires -- but to the other individuals who, by a shared notion of mutual affirmation, collectively create that very matrix the organization is supposed to provide.

Universities are motley collections of individuals who, somehow, come together to define and redefine an idea, an ideal. By building strong emotional bonds between disparate groups of independent-minded students and professors, universities transform themselves into universes of unmistakable loyalty. This spirit transcends the individual product of the organization -- the educational experience and degree.

More and more universities are acknowledging the value of their brands: those intangible assets, that single idea clear and distinct enough to bridge time, discipline and geography. No matter how distinguished, the buildings, machines and accolades are consequential, not central, to the allure of a university.

The best universities succeed because they live and breathe that cardinal rule of branding -- that its value exists solely in the minds and hearts of its community -- more successfully than many corporate organizations. Moreover, the university brand thrives on the persuasive power of received understanding -- because a university stands for certain values, it will attract people who share in those values, who in turn perpetuate and strengthen the brand.

That's the genius of it all. Well-managed, the university brand best displays its potency by its remarkable self-perpetuating, evolutionary properties.

Real Estate Brokers..Your Branding Stinks

2009-09-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

But you can develop your own killer brand of Real Estate services!

Competition among real estate brokers and agents is fierce. And, that makes sense. What other industry can you think of where:

Barriers to entry are as low.
Such a large percentage of the competition comes from people who enter the market as a hobby.
Industry professionals must sell against the reputation often applied to them based on the record of the hobbyists.
Often, industry professionals are not aware that they should be selling services, not houses.
Consumers often believe they can easily enter into legal contracts related to the largest investment of their lives without professional assistance.

The competitive environment makes branding for real estate brokers and agents a critical issue. However, there are a couple of common misconceptions about marketing real estate services. Among the real estate agents I speak to, these misconceptions are often expressed like this:

“If I get a dynamic-looking logo and publish it on my website, yard signs, brochures, and print advertising, I will eventually establish a brand.”
“I don’t have a brand right now, but I am reviewing several graphic designs, and I’ll be choosing one soon.”
“What I really need is a catchy tag line to attract more customers.”

The problem with these statements is this: Your logo is not your brand. And, a catchy tag line does nothing to strengthen your competitive position unless it clarifies your competitive edge.
Sound like a crazy idea? Let’s test it out. What comes to mind when you think about Kmart®? Pier 1®? McDonald’s®? Outback Steakhouse®?

If you’re like most people, you have a very definite mental image that comes to mind when you think of each of those companies. Now, consider this:

Would your mental image change if Kmart® had a big green K on their building instead of a big red K?
Would your mental image change if Pier 1® was displayed as Pier One?
Would your mental image change if the McDonald’s® golden arches disappeared?

The point is that a brand is only represented by a logo. The mental image that comes to mind when thinking of a particular brand? It’s the result of a lot of hard work by the company to define their brand identity, and to burn that identity into the minds of their customers.
Some of the reasons branding is even more critical in the real estate industry than it is in other industries are these:

-Generic Industry Example: A manufacturer can partially differentiate itself based on the features and quality of its products.
-Real Estate Comparison: All real estate agents have the same “inventory”, the listings on the MLS.
-Generic Industry Example: While people have favorites among nationally-known fast food restaurants, the experience is essentially the same no matter which restaurant you frequent.
-Real Estate Comparison: The experience working with an agent, even in the same nationally-known broker agency, can be vastly different.
-Generic Industry Example: Consumers have 3-4 choices of where to go to pick up a fast meal, or an inexpensive shower curtain.
-Real Estate Comparison: The number of people purporting to be real estate agents in any one community is seemingly endless.
-Generic Industry Example: People buy enough cans of peas or boxes of cereal to develop a favorite brand, and they often become fiercely loyal to that brand.
-Real Estate Comparison: People buy and sell homes infrequently. They develop loyalty to a particular broker or individual just as infrequently.

Now that you are convinced you need an effective brand, here are some tips to help you develop one. First, it’s important to recognize that every real estate firm and professional views their role in the industry differently. Don’t get distracted by thinking that everything that could be said about a real estate professional has already been said. Then, ask yourself these types of questionsconcerning your real estate consulting practice:

What do I do best and enjoy most?
What are the characteristics of my best prospects?
When clients compliment me, what do they say?
What is unique about the services I provide to sellers? To buyers?

Once you have identified the things that make you unique, you can weave that into a brand identity that will make you stand out from the crowd.
So, the moral of the story is: Don’t just focus on which typestyle you should use to ensure that your logo projects stability, or which tagline makes the best play on your last name.
Take the time to identify your unique sales proposition, your most competitive strengths in the industry, and the mental image you want to create when your prospects see your logo. Make the definition of your brand the story you sell, using your logo to trigger recognition in your prospect’s mind.

Interested in developing a killer brand for you real estate practice, Email me at Bill @ Bathurstgroup.com

The King of Touchpoints-The Call to Action!

2008-06-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

In every brand experience the customer should feel the touchpoints that control the path from brand introduction, to purchase, to referral, to repurchase.

Touchpoints are the points along the buying process where your customer experiences the brand. These experiences; from the magazine ad… to the website… to the on hold message…to the paper your contract is written on are what deliver the brand promise.

Starbucks is a master at this, from the moment you enter the shop until the time you leave. You know you are in Starbucks, they control your actions. You even learn to speak their distinct language. ( I”ll have a trippio vanilla skinny latte please) Of course, right before you asked for your latte the “barista” asked “welcome to Starbucks how can I help you", took your order and then said, "Your drink will be ready on the far side of the counter."

At Starbucks you become part of the brand experience. This is brilliant.. You are a touch point. The person at the other side of the counter says “ Trippio vanilla skinny latte for Bill." Lord have mercy my favorite barista knows my name. You say "This is my coffee shop." And therefore you come back tomorrow, to hear your name again and be a part of this experience.

Beautiful image ads, websites and direct mails can influence a customer only to learn more about your brand. If they are intrigued they need to know what the next step is. What is their next touchpoint. The next step is the call to action!

What is a “call to action”? I think it’s a request for a prospect to take the next step. It is a phrase that signals where to go next in the process. It is anything that moves the prospect closer to a sale: Experiential, glossy, vague, printed materials ads and websites are nice, but as I like to say, Vague salesmen have skinny kids. So the king of touchpoints is the call to action that asks to close the sale. You are inviting the customer to experience your brand, don’t be timid. The call to action clearly tells the prospect what the next step is and what to do.

When working on closing a sale, the call to action is to provide a series of steps to help move the prospect along. Faster is nice, but skipping a step along the way or going for a close too soon can damage the whole process. On the other hand, you don’t know if the prospect is READY to order right now and you don’t want to continue to make them walk thru the entire process if they’re ready to move right now.

When you’re reading company websites, tally how many have a call to action on every page… or even ANY page!! Getting a prospect to move along the stairs from being aware of your company, knowing your products/services, matching a need they have to a product/service you provide and then overcoming any objections is where marketing and sales blend.

Here are some phrases that you should incorporate into your website, direct mail or sales presentations:

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How do customers experience the touchpoints of your business, Call me today(gotcha) and together we can discover how to grow your brand and bottom line!....Bill

The Enemy of Innovation

2008-06-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

Mindless habitual behavior is the enemy of innovation. - Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Have you noticed that every time the economy goes through its correctional dip the business press hops on the innovation stump? So do most business leaders, and more and more they inappropriately cry “be innovative” when what they really mean is “be resourceful” (probably because it sounds more inspiring): “Times are tough people. We have to look for ways to do more with less. Let’s innovate!” It certainly sounds more scholarly than, “Let’s make do!” or “Buckle down!” But it’s still wrong. Innovation is not a mandated, disjointed course of action for optimizing daily activities. It’s a collaborative, strategic endeavor designed to add value to marketplace offerings, while increasing the value of ones brand over time. And there’s the rub: “over time.”

I remember reading something prophetic in an entertaining tome by Mike Daisey called 21 Dog Years. In the book, Mike recounted his short-lived time working in a call center at Amazon.com. If memory serves me right, he was routinely reprimanded for poor stats, i.e. average number of calls handled per hour, average minutes per call, etc., and at one point was told, in no uncertain terms, to improve his numbers—to become more productive—or else. So how did Mike respond to that request? He did what any misdirected, time-starved and pressured employee would do. He innovated! From that point forward, on every fifth call that Mike answered he immediately hung up in the customer’s ear. His numbers soared!

What is Innovation?

Ask ten people to define innovation and you’ll get eleven answers.

It’s a lot like asking people to define the word branding. The origin of the word innovate is simply, “to alter or renew.” But that’s about as useful as defining branding as, “to mark with, or as if with, a hot iron.” It doesn’t help inform decisions in an increasingly complex workplace and highly competitive marketplace. Think about the inventive Mike Daisy: He altered his call handling routine to improve his measured performance, but we all know that what he did should certainly not be called “innovation.” But what if Mike had invented a way to quickly get customers off of the phone, while also making them very happy? Would we call that innovative? Perhaps. It depends, right? What did he do? Did he make hollow promises? Did he add cost to each customer interaction. We need some clarity.

So here’s my clear-eyed view, which is intended to stimulate new and valuable ways of thinking and acting throughout an organization: Innovation is the successful introduction of a new idea that results in a more desirable customer experience, and which is believed will make the brand more valuable to everyone over time.

Innovation, in this context, can range from business model and supply chain innovation to designing new products and processes, creative pricing and financing, even to the way people answer the telephone and respond to emails. The new idea can be breakthrough or incremental. It can be a significant game changer, or a simple smile inducer. The one thing that it should not be is haphazard.

Idea generation may be chaotic and messy, but innovation needs to be strategically designed and carefully orchestrated to inspire and align people, and to increase the value of the brand over time. What ever changes you make from improvements in productivity to innovations in marketing communication must ultimately be made around things that matter to everyone. That’s right; they have to be things that you and your people, as well as customers, care deeply about. Why? Because in today’s increasingly transparent world, the marketplace will call out phonies and sycophants. More importantly, your people will only become engaged and creative when their activities have significant personal meaning; meaning beyond money. When it comes to something as challenging as innovation, passionate intent and total engagement is paramount.
What About the Fear of Change?
Despite what conventional wisdom continues to whisper in your ear, people are not afraid of change. What they’re afraid of is the unknown. The most typical employee reaction to, “Let’s innovate!” is fear and confusion, because they don’t know what the hell that means. It’s like a coach yelling, “Let’s win!” without ever going over the strategy and tactics necessary to win (and with a bigger, more skilled opponent staring you in the face). Why in the world will people change what they are doing without a clear vision of what that change will produce in the future? They won’t, especially not during tough economic times when every activity and dollar spent is routinely scrutinized.
It is the duty of today’s leaders to eliminate that fear; to communicate a vivid and inspiring vision of the future, as well as to articulate a plan to get there. It’s their job to shake things up, to coach and encourage people to innovate; especially the malcontents who have seen ways to do things differently, but who have been stifled over the years. Don’t let the press confuse you more than they already have.

Innovation has nothing to do with the ebb and flow of the economy, and its enemy is not simply mindless habitual behavior. It is also the reactionary rhetoric and disjointed activities that infect every organization that has taken its eyes off of the brand ball, and has lost the passion and resolve required to innovate and add value to people’s lives.

Tom Asacker May 29, 2008

The Art of Silver Bullets... Top Ten

2008-06-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

Silver Bullet Branding Top Ten

1. Understand that brand and branding are different concepts. The “ing” makes a huge difference in meaning. A brand exists in your mind. It’s a collection of associations or feelings people have about a particular product, service, or an organization. Branding is the tangible process of creating the signals that generate these associations.

2. Establish a differentiated meaning for your brand that the consumers you want to reach care about – find relevant – before you try to begin branding. Differentiation and relevance – not awareness – make a brand strong and keep it strong. You can’t build awareness without having something to build it on. The most successful brands know this.

3. Know exactly who you want to talk to – that is, know your audience. Also, know exactly who you want to beat – who your competition is – and make sure the difference between you and the other guy is crystal clear.

4. To find a different and relevant brand idea, look for the obvious. The best answers are usually right under your nose. Good brand people never stop looking for insights, and they know to look in the most obvious places. They read letters from customers, go to call centers, speak to retailers, hang out in supermarket aisles. The key is to find something meaningful that no one has noticed before.

5. Make sure your brand idea aligns with your business strategy. What exactly are you selling? Is your brand idea in sync? You can deliver what your brand idea promises to deliver by validating the brand experience at optimal points of customer contact.

6. Capture the essence of your brand idea in a brand driver – a simple statement of what your brand stands for. Make sure it’s as succinct, as focused, and as compelling as possible. It has to be able to drive your branding signals, brand actions, and brand behavior – intuitively. It’s your brand recipe and it has to be simple to follow and remember by heart.

7. Draw a map of the customer’s journey with your brand. Take everyone in your organization on this journey to give them an understanding of the points of interaction that have the greatest potential to impact people’s perceptions of the brand. Doing so also allows them to see how their role in the organization influences customer perception through the branding signals they bring into being.

8. Pick your battles. After you’ve established which points of customer interaction have the greatest potential to drive consumer perception of your brand idea, invest your branding dollars in these interactions. These are your power branding signals.

9. Remember, only the paranoid survive. Make sure you keep your brand difference differentiated, and make sure it’s a difference people care about. Always pay attention to your core customers. Don’t lose the center.

10. Remember that brand building is a marathon event. Success is not a one-time thing. Make sure you have the nerve and the verve for the long haul. Good brands last and there’s a reason they do

How to Create Silver Bullet Brands

2008-06-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

Cultivate a Culture of Creativity

Companies that produce silver bullet ideas over and over have this in common: They foster an environment in which creativity is not only accepted, but expected—and rewarded. It sounds obvious, but the realities of today's competitive marketplace make doing the obvious nearly impossible. In a crowded marketplace, innovation is one of the only ways to stand out from the crowd, but with pressure to deliver value and proven results, innovative thinking all too often gets edged out in favor of safe thinking.

According to Satkar Gidda, sales and marketing director at SiebertHead, a packaging design house in the United Kingdom, "Every new product or pack concept is researched to death nowadays—and many great ideas are thrown out simply because a group of consumers is suspicious of anything that sounds new." Gidda cites two examples of classic products that might never have made it into production in today's more fearful atmosphere: Toblerone chocolate, because of its awkward triangular shape; and Polo mints, because of their unnecessary hole in the middle.

The same could be said for Life Savers.Ironically, while corporations are frozen by a decision-by-committee paralysis, consumers are clamoring for exciting new experiences. As marketers, we are paid to be creative. However, we are seldom allowed to pursue creative lines of thought without feeling the pressure of time, productivity and other realities that keep us from reaching breakthrough solutions. In the end, we become as practical and risk averse as our clients. The irony is that the biggest ROI comes from the buzz factor that erupts when a truly creative idea captures the public imagination.

Conservative ideas bring conservative returns.

Handled correctly, big ideas have the potential to erupt in a big bang.

Give 'Em What They Always Wanted (Even If They Don't Yet Know It)

Often, silver bullet brands fill a void in our lives that we never even knew existed. Suddenly, a product or service comes out of nowhere to answer a need we might not have been conscious of. This springboard has the potential to take unknown products to superstardom, as more and more people discover the genius within it.The trick to this springboard is in knowing what the public actually needs at any given point in time and tapping into that need successfully. Some would argue that there are no more "needs" in modern society. We have available to us any number of arguably excessive products and services, from doggie psychiatrists to valet parking at gyms to Botox injections. It seems that our choices multiply daily. But how many of these choices actually fill a void in our lives? Very few. Those that do have a very real shot at becoming silver bullets.Consider the thong. Not very much to it. Very little, in fact. Yet in the past few years, lingerie brand Cosabella has managed to produce a line of colorful, functional and sexy thong underwear that has become an instant classic. Up until that point, most women—even women who care about such things—considered panty lines an undesirable, but accepted fact of life. Sure there were ways around it, most notably by going au naturel under stockings, but this had limited applications. (For anyone who's not a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall, wearing stockings with shorts is not a viable option.)Today, panty lines are simply not acceptable to a growing number of women. They don't have to be, because these women are now loyalists of the Cosabella brand. How did they hear about the brand? Entirely through buzz. The brand does not advertise, instead relying on editorial coverage and word of mouth. Thus far, Cosabella has popped up on hit TV shows (Friends, Sex and the City), in movies (Crossroads, starring Britney Spears) and on such A--list celebrities as Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez and Kirsten Dunst. In fact, when Vogue UK recently asked Dunst, costar of the blockbuster Spider-Man, what clothing item she could not live without, she responded, "Cosabella thongs." Once an article of clothing deemed vulgar and inappropriate for most women, the thong is now a must-have item, even among the Hollywood elite.

Capture the Moment

Some silver bullet brands capture so accurately and viscerally the feeling of a moment that they become the symbol or point of reference for that which they have encapsulated. This happens most often with places, people and media. Places can be the geographic hub of a movement, people can be spokespersons for a movement and media can be the mouthpiece of a movement.The pace of life today makes this springboard one on which it is very difficult to capitalize. Movements happen so quickly that they're gone before most people have a chance to respond. Of the four springboards, this is the most likely to be driven by buzz alone. It is not unusual for silver bullets in this category to find themselves swept along in the momentum of the moment. It is also easier to look back and spot the winners in this category than it is to recognize who they will be while the play is still in motion.Consider music festivals. The original Woodstock was the symbol of a generation. Beyond the music, it represented a way of life, a political statement, a spiritual experience and, ultimately, a historical event. Today, brands strive mightily for that kind of social import but very rarely succeed. When corporations tried to revive the spirit of the original 1969 festival in the form of Woodstock 1999, their plans were thwarted by unruly youth setting fires, rioting and assaulting women. Very un-Woodstock. Vans, the skateboard brand, was more successful with its Warped Tour, developed to capture the essence of action sports—a leading movement of our times. As a company involved with the athletes on the cutting edge of the movement, it knew how to put together an event that would authentically capture the sentiment of its most enthusiastic participants.The kind of instant hit status that comes from capturing a sentiment happens with television shows all of the time. Much like a mirror, TV reflects our lives at a point in time. Its role as a social lens is the equivalent to the role of art in past centuries. M*A*S*H, Cheers, Seinfeld and Sex and the City became hits because they were well written and well performed, but also because they tapped into something that truly resonates among the viewing public. We identify with the characters, so we tune in every week to see what they are up to.

Challenge Conventions

Rules are made to be broken and conventions are begging to be challenged. This is the way renegade marketers have to think these days. This springboard, perhaps more than the other three, requires the kind of courage that we talked about in the introduction to this chapter.Taking the norm and turning it upside down is a gutsy thing to do. Done right, it can lead to some of the biggest, boldest and fastest silver bullet brands.We are surrounded by conventions in our everyday lives. Most of the time we go about our daily business oblivious to how many things we take for granted. You take it for granted that breakfast is to be eaten in the morning, that the bank will be open on nonholiday weekdays, that your office will be functioning when you get there, that the mail will arrive at around the same time each day, that the water from the hot tap will be hot and the water from the cold will be cold . . . really, it is an endless list. What happens when something takes place to disrupt the usual flow? You take notice. Just think how surprised you would be if you turned on the faucet to brush your teeth and out came milk, or you opened the refrigerator and it was a balmy 100 degrees in there.Branding guru Steven Addis believes in the power of surprise. He recounts a recent experience at a fast food chain that left him "charmed and disarmed." At the end of a long day he pulled up to the drive-through window of California's retro burger chain, In-N-Out Burger, ready to place his order. He was pleasantly surprised when the voice coming out of the speaker cheerfully asked him, "How's it going?" rather than the rote, "Can I take your order, please?" True to the buzz continuum, Addis' pleasant experience, though it seems small, was recounted to us and is now being published in our book. Way to go, In-N-Out. The company seemingly has created an environment in which employees feel comfortable winging it, and that freedom has allowed them to challenge the convention of the fast food experience. "Brands that really succeed redefine the category," says Addis. "In fact, you should define yourself in a way that is counter to the category."

Questioning is the basis of scientific discovery, and it should play a part in the development of products and marketing plans, as well. Just think about how many of the great inventions in our society came about because someone did not accept an idea that everyone else believed to be true. Over the years, some of the best campaigns have developed because someone had the guts and creativity to question conventions.

Consider just a few such examples:

Convention: Cars are a serious purchase.Challenge: Saturn told us that buying a car can be painless . . . even fun!

Convention: Breakfast cereal is eaten with milk in the morning.Challenge: Cold cereal can be eaten at any time of day, with or without milk, as an on-the-go snack.

Convention: Coffee is a hot drink that wakes me up in the morning.

Challenge: Coffee can be a communal experience or a relaxing ritual at your local Starbucks.

Because conventions are so ingrained, we forget sometimes to think about them, much less challenge them. This should be the role of the marketer whenever a new project is approached. Leave no stone unturned in the development of an unconventional idea. In the right hands, no idea is too small to make a big impact.

One of the greatest challenges marketers face these days is finding new and inventive ways to stimulate interest. Consumers are overstimulated as it is. The common element shared by the brands we have showcased in this chapter is the element of surprise. Each has taken a different approach to surprising the audience, but all have worked hard to foster a creative environment that encourages and protects breakthrough ideas. They keep their sights fixed on the consumer and on ways to attract attention and fill needs.

Will all of these brands achieve superstar status? Perhaps not. But all have a far better chance at it by having been propelled into the public consciousness by a silver bullet idea