Hollow Brands

We had an interesting conversation on brands at this morning's coffee klatch. An unusual topic for us, we talked about men's clothing brands. It is clear from that conversation that consumers have gotten quite savvy about brands. One person who had previously been very brand conscious shared that a well-known upscale clothing brand had disappointed him on several occasions. When asked why, he said their $92 dress shirts last a year at best before they start to fray and fall apart. When he went back to the retail outlet to voice his concern, he was treated as if he was a persona non grata. When asked by his fellow coffee klatch members, he confirmed that the brand's shirts were not more stylish or fashion forward than any other brand's shirts and apparently their quality level was at or below that of other brands. So why then was he paying a premium for that brand of shirts? He indicated that wearing that brand of shirt had made him feel successful until he discovered its quality flaws. He no longer buys that brand of shirt because now it makes him feel like a sucker. 

On the other hand, we talked about brands whose quality and customer satisfaction guarantees are solid. One that we all agreed was rock solid is The North Face. One guy told the story of sending back a ten year old winter jacket whose zipper had broken. The North Face opted to give him a brand new jacket at no charge rather than replace the zipper. Another person recounted a similar story. I then told my The North Face story. I have three pair of The North Face cargo pants. The oldest pair has lasted 25 years so far. But the story gets better than that. That pair of pants had caught fire about fifteen years ago when a white gas camp stove exploded as I was lighting it in the Canadian back country. The lit fuel sprayed all over the pants and I had to roll on the ground to put the fire out. There is still not a hole or frayed thread in that pair of pants. 

So what is the point that I am trying to make? While strong brands can convey status or other self-expressive benefits, ultimately if they are not stylistically superior to other brands or more durable than other brands or of a higher quality than other brands, consumers eventually figure it out and they can go from brand advocates to brand detractors. 

Based on this morning's coffee klatch discussion, I have decided that I will stick with the North Face and Orvis brands of men's clothes (among many others) and avoid the unnamed brand of clothing (initials - B.B.). 

Did you know?

Research has shown that the media environment affects advertising claims. For instance, quality claims are more effective on elite or prestigious websites because people associate the claim with the media environment.
(Source: Dean Donaldson, “Location Matters: How Ad Environments Affect Performance,” Advertising Age, December 10, 2009, adage.com/article/digitalnext/location-matters-ad-environments-affectperformance/140980/.)

Aspirational, upscale, and high status brands have the potential to alienate customers who lack confidence. While these customers might admire these brands, they don’t feel comfortable using them. Building warmth, humor, and less formality into the brands to make them more approachable helps overcome this problem.
(Source: Max Blackston, “Observations: Building Brand Equity by Managing the Brand’s Relationships,” Journal of Advertising Research 32, no. 3, May/June 1992, pp. 79−83.)

Excerpted from Brand Aid, second edition, available here.

Hollow Claims

Increasingly, I have encountered brands that make the following types of claims:

• We are the quality leader in the X category.
• We are the innovation leader in the Y category.
• We are the service leader in the Z category.
• We are the leader in the XYZ category (which is the worst of all claims).

Is quality important? Yes. Is Innovation important? Absolutely. Is service important? Of course. Is it desirable to be the industry leader? Sure. However, in more and more categories, as I perform brand audits, I find that large numbers of companies in many categories make these claims—so much so that the claims have become hollow. “Leader” means top, number one, not one of many striving to be top and number one. Don’t claim an aspiration unless you can uniquely deliver on that aspiration.

Regarding quality, who is the leader in the hotel industry? Is it the Ritz Carlton with its “Ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen” service, or is it the Four Seasons, or Mandarin Oriental, or Peninsula, or Amanresorts, or Shangri-La, or InterContinental? With this list of high-quality hotel chains, should Hyatt or Westin or Marriott or Sheraton or Hilton claim quality leadership? Who makes the highest-quality shoes? Who makes the highest-quality kitchen appliances? How about the highest-quality kitchen knives? Who makes the highest-quality shampoo? Why? Based on what? Is one independent ranking enough to make it so?

Are some companies real innovation leaders? Sure. Who would argue that Apple is not an innovation leader in its category with its introductions of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad? If your company is claiming innovation as its primary point of difference, is it as far ahead of its competition in reality and perception as Apple is in its category? Or is it in a pack of companies, each of which has introduced a comparable number of innovations? In the grocery store business, Wegmans has been widely recognized as the innovation leader time. Trader Joe’s is also innovative, but with a different formula. In the auto industry, which company should claim innovation leadership? Toyota because it was the first with a significant introduction of hybrid cars? GM because of its introduction of OnStar? BMW because of its constant innovations? How about Honda or Porsche?

Do some companies stand out as service leaders? I would contend that Ritz Carlton and Nordstrom would vie for this position in their respective industries. Who is the service leader in banking? In wealth management? How about in insurance? In restaurants? In hospitals? How does service leadership relate to quality leadership? And what does it mean to be the overall leader in a category? What is the metric for leadership? Market share? Distribution? Dollar sales? Unit sales? Customer loyalty? Leadership is a fairly vague term. Leadership, but in what? How important is quality to leadership? Service to leadership? Innovation?

I would contend that quality, service, and innovation are critical to most companies in most industries. Every organization should try to continuously improve its delivery of each of these performance areas. However, unless you are the undisputed leader in one of them, you should not claim it as your primary differentiating benefit. I would never try to claim industry leadership. It is a title that can only be conferred through general consensus by outside observers over time. And I would only claim quality, service, or innovation leadership if the following hurdles were cleared:

• Your brand is the undisputed leader in this area as evidenced by customer research, independent rankings, specific proof points, and truly measurable differences.
• You consistently deliver against this measure across all of your products and services at all of your locations/distribution points.
• You are, at least, perceived/recognized by your primary target audiences as a market leader.

Finally, if I made one of these claims, I would make sure that I had the resources in place to ensure consistent superiority in this area for a very long time. Don’t manage a brand that contributes to the hollow claims of quality, service, or innovation leadership. Rather, manage a brand that claims something truly unique, compelling, and believable to its target audiences. The organizations that can convincingly claim leadership in one of these three areas (quality, service, and innovation) are rare indeed.

© 2015 Brad VanAuken, Reprinted from Brand Aid, second edition, available here or here.

The Importance of Product

In large consumer packaged goods companies (houses of brands), the brand manager often manages product and brand decisions together. In branded houses, the product and brand decisions are often made separately. 

While products and brands are different - brands are the personifications of organizations and their products and services - products, never the less, are very important to the success of the brands whose names they bare. 

Witness the strength of the Apple or Tesla brands. They are based on high quality products with innovation, functionality and aesthetic appeal. Both also command premium prices and are in the luxury category. While a well thought through brand can increase the appeal of a mediocre product, it cannot completely overcome its deficiencies. As the saying goes, "You can put lipstick on a pig. It is still a pig."

Don't overlook the importance of the product or service itself when managing your brand. Deficient or sub-par products and services will tarnish the brand's image, while superior products and services will enhance its image.