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| Brand Legacy: What's You Next Move?
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By: Bill Nissim, December 2005 ©
Typically, the fourth quarter signifies a time to develop the following year’s marketing
plan. Although we often aspire to make dramatic changes, the final version of our plan
typically mirrors remnants from the previous year. In some instances, we feel a sense of
obligation to complete unfinished business or to carry forward past initiatives that
delivered positive results. These planning efforts help to solidify the basis of your
organization’s Brand Legacy. Why do you suppose this is important?
My neighbor owned a local Italian restaurant; they served authentic food and were
especially well known for their mouth-watering pizzas. Each night of the week people
stood in line for tables. Their Brand Legacy was a combination of Mama’s family
recipes and the restaurant’s interior design which resembled a comfortable Italian home.
Soon Roundtable, Domino’s, and an assortment of pizza companies inundated the local
area and offered speed of service over authenticity. Feeling the pressure of competition,
Mama’s strayed from her winning brand proposition (traditional Italian food) and
attempted to mimic the competition. Today, the once time-honored cuisine and Sicilian
ambiance (experience) has been replaced with video games and a service counter; the
lines are gone. Any remnant of Mama’s legacy has disappeared and so with it, a
differentiated brand.
What exactly is a Brand Legacy? After searching the American Marketing Association’s
“Dictionary of Marketing Terms” (marketingpower.com), Google, and Yahoo, I found no
such official term. As a result, I’ve coined the term and provided a definition below
which suggests the foundations of your brand can have an impact on your current brand
strategy.
Brand Legacy Defined:
A Brand Legacy begins from a point of origin (core idea) and considers historic
message layering to derive a current perception as it pertains to your target audience.
All brands possess a starting point and each additional message layer adds to the
ultimate shape of the legacy. Think back to 1984. Apple produced a commercial that ran
only once in which a female runner sped through a crowd of clones to launch a hammer
at the screen of “Big Brother.” The message from Apple – we’re different!
Apple’s many innovations both support and validate the initial core idea made in 1984.
These innovations include application icons on a desktop (verses MSDOS prompts),
multi-colored desktop computers, the first commercially available mouse, and
innovative software applications (Quick Time). Despite a few bumps in the road, Apple
has stayed true to their Brand Legacy. Recent product offerings such as the iPod (Mini,
Shuffle, and Nano) reinforce this core idea.
In an effort to demonstrate the power of a Brand Legacy at a recent speaking
engagement, I displayed the United Airlines™ (UAL) logo on the screen and asked the
audience for the company’s by-line (sometime referred to as a tag-line). Hands rose with
confidence; the first participant responded with “Fly the Friendly Skies.” Although it
was once the time-honored by-line, it was not their (UAL’s) current theme. The room fell
silent. In 1997, the by-line was changed to “Rising” and in 2004, UAL unveiled their “It’
s Time to Fly” campaign. As with this audience, the flying public in general has a right
to be confused. In fact, during a recent flight on UAL, the safety video played a familiar
tune from the past, Rhapsody in Blue, and even used the original slogan at the end of the
video. Is it the “Friendly Skies” or “Time to Fly?” I’m not quite sure.
UAL once served (legacy) as a moniker for an elegant, professional, and friendly airline;
they had many brand loyal customers. By 1997, they tried to enhance the business
traveler’s mindset regarding customer service through a new by-line titled “Rising.”
Next, they introduced United Express (aimed at discount travel) on many routes. Since
then, they’ve again changed their by-line to “Time to Fly,” cut services, rolled-out
“Ted,” and reduced the mileage program benefits. At this point, they are following the
same path that Mama took with her Italian eatery.
With the Brand Legacy definition and a few examples in hand, let’s return to the original
question posed – what is the next move as it pertains to your Brand Legacy and why is it
important? To plan these moves, we need to start with your “core idea.” From there, you
can begin to map a future direction and understand its importance.
Core Idea:
The final summation a consumer (whether B2B or B2C) extracts from your brand is a
core idea. A core idea is a word or thought that encompasses all facets of your brand.
Let’s try a few: Hershey’s™ = chocolate; Quaker Oats™ = oatmeal; Chevron™ =
gasoline; IBM™ = computers; Macy’s™ = department store; Hollywood = movies.
We practice the use of these “core ideas” every day to aid us with our consumption
practices. If we’re hungry, we mentally sort through all the brands available and select
one that closely resembles an ideal core brand. Every time you make a purchase choice,
there resides a reference point or origin from which you base your purchasing criteria.
Let’s expand upon this Core Idea concept to understand the dimensions of choice. A
core idea operates on three distinct levels. The “Brand Radar” depicted below may be
used to visually demonstrate these differences.
Core Brand:
This represents the true or original core idea.
The constituents of the core possess
something that can’t be substituted.
Affiliate Brand:
Although closely associated with the core
idea, this surrounding area represents a close
approximation or facsimile.
Periphery Brand:
This represents a distant offering that maintains some resemblance to the original core
idea.
We can apply these three levels by viewing, for example, the habits of devout coffee
drinkers. First, we need to narrow the target audience down to those consumers who
“buy-on-the-run” verses “make their own” coffee. The habits of our “mobile” consumers
can be observed at any coffee house. Their profile resembles the following – always in a
rush, have something specific in mind, and demand consistency/quality. Whether “walk-
in” or “drive-through”, these people don’t have time to relax and enjoy the ambiance of
the coffee house.
For this particular target audience, they have a set pattern or behavior. In their minds,
only the core brand will do. I’m one of those “mobile people.” I see the same faces at
Starbucks™ each morning, at the same time, ordering roughly the same products. I took
the opportunity to ask different patrons why they stopped there each morning. The
resounding response was “I love Starbuck Coffee!” When I suggested Dietrich’s
(affiliate brand) down the street, the variety of contorted looks ranged from confusion to
“you’re crazy.” I’m sure if I visited with the Dietrich’s crowd, I would garner the same
response towards Starbucks™. The point here – we strive for the original whenever
possible. As a brand manager, this type of response is exactly what you want out of
your patrons.
Imagine the following scenario - you’re traveling in another city and there are no
Starbucks™ nearby. Although your profile remains the same (mobile consumers), we
instinctively broaden our brand acceptability to those products/services that are adjacent
to the core. An Affiliate brand for the mobile consumer could include other coffee
houses that share the same attributes as the original. Depending on the city, this subset
may include Dietrich’s, Seattle’s Best, Caribou, or any facsimile of the original. I was in
Minneapolis recently and confronted with the same dilemma. Fortunately, my friend
directed me to the nearest Caribou Coffee house (aesthetics are very similar – design,
ambiance, taste, etc.) and my expectations were met (to a degree).
Although you’ve gotten the idea by now, it goes without saying that the Periphery brand
has the lowest ranking and these brands are purchased in the absence of no other choice.
These offerings include Donut shops, mom and pop stores, and the mart area at gas
stations. Believe it or not, all of these venues promote their Periphery brands which are
derived from a core brand. Are you not convinced? Just look at the display signs and
designs (colors, visual images, etc.) used on the foam cups and the similar brand names
they employ. They all, in one way or another, resemble the core idea.
Your legacy:
When I was a child, we use to play on a hill that was carved away by a bulldozer. The
bulldozer uncovered layers of strata or sedimentary layers that had accumulated over
thousands of years. As we dug through this hillside, it was apparent that the top soil
looked very different than what lie beneath. The same can be said for many companies
(brands) today.
Let’s consider McDonalds™. The core idea of this fast-food restaurant was hamburgers,
fries, and shakes at affordable prices and quick service. The first facility was built in
1940 and grew as a franchise business. By 1957, a motto was created that permeated
throughout the nearly 100 stores: Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value (Q.S.C. &
V.) As history records it, it’s safe to say the core idea was: McDonalds™ =
Hamburgers.
Fast-forward to 2005. After many decades of advertising layering, promotions, slogans,
and jingles, what does McDonalds™ = today? I’m not exactly sure. Over the years, they’
ve introduced breakfast items, ribs and steak sandwiches, burgers for grown-ups, healthy
meals (variety of salads), and specialty desserts. Just like the sedimentary hillside we
used to play on, I know somewhere in those layers of messaging still resides a basic
hamburger. Have they drifted too far from the core idea?
If you live in or ever visit California, Nevada, or Arizona, you’ll likely find an In-n-Out
Burgers one just off the freeway. What is their brand legacy? Hamburgers! Even their
jingle stays true to the core: “In-n-Out, In-n-Out, that’s what a hamburger is all
about!” No confusion here.
What about your brand legacy? Let’s start with your point of origin. If someone asked
10 people in your organization to answer the following equation, would the answers be
the same? If you are truly confident in your legacy, try the same question with 10
customers.
Your company’s core idea = _____________
How did the answers stack up? Were they similar or vastly different? No matter what
business you are in, you should be remembered for one thing or idea. The next obvious
question should be what business are you in today? If you’re past (point of origin) and
present (perception) do not match, then its time to re-examine your Brand Legacy and
analyze what that means.
At this point, you have one of three strategic choices. Depending on the landscape of
your industry or business, your organization may ________ your Brand Legacy:
1) Embrace
2) Discard
3) Re-invent
Embrace:
Let’s look at a few organizations that have embraced their Brand Legacy. In the
automotive world, both VW’s Beetle and Ford’s Mustang have returned to their “roots”
and leveraged the heritage of their core idea. In effect, they took the original car concept
and modernized the design. The Brand Legacy instilled in the Beetle and Mustang is
more than just names or symbols; they represent a legend or storyline that’s enticing to
consumers. In short, they are buying a lifestyle that originated in the 1960’s and 1970’s
when it was “cool” to own a Beetle or muscle car (Mustang).
Discard:
In 1984, Integrated Electronics Co. (later known as Intel) produced DRAM or dynamic
random access memory chips by the millions and was their main source of income. The
onslaught of Japanese companies (Fujitsu, Hitachi, NEC, and Toshiba) invaded this
market space and proved to be more efficient. By the mid eighties, Intel was losing
market share due to low prices and the “dumping of chips” into North America. Intel’s
CEO, Andy Grove, made a difficult decision– discard the manufacturing of DRAM
chips and focus all of their energy and efforts on the development of microprocessors.
Following Moore’s Law of doubling power and halving costs every eighteen months,
Intel transformed itself from a marginally profitable commodity memory chip maker into
the standard (1989) processor that drove all the worlds’ computers. The 1990 “Intel
Inside” campaign in affect solidified their new core brand position.
Reinvent:
What comes to your mind when you think of baking soda? Would you agree that most
consumers would respond with Arm & Hammer? In 1846 Dr. Austin Church and John
Dwight set out to sell sodium bicarbonate in little boxes. After Dr. Church retired in
1867, his two sons formed Church & Co. which is when they introduced the hammer
wielding arm of Vulcan (god of fire) to their packages. Through the years, this simple
product has found numerous new applications including: cooking, personal care,
household agent, deodorizer, laundry detergent, dental care, and a variety of other uses.
Their website states their value proposition very succinctly:
ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda – pure, versatile, effective,
environmentally safe and economical. Evidence that good
solutions for your home, your family and your body are timeless.
As with A & H, you do not have to abandon your core, you
merely need to find new ways to leverage your Brand Legacy.
Your Next Move:
We’ve defined your Brand Legacy and filtered out the core idea. Next, we evaluated
what your core brand represents and identified the affiliate and periphery brands that
surround your market space. Finally, we charted a course for your brand (embrace,
discard, re-invent). The next step is to integrate this brand strategy into your future
marketing plans.
A word of caution - great care must be considered when you take your next step. For
Andy Grove at Intel it was enormous: he laid-off 3,000 workers, sought government
protectionism against foreign competition, and walked away from his base business. His
calculated moves were made to save Intel.
When Michael Eisner was considering the CEO position at Walt Disney in 1984, the
company was financially stumbling along and vultures loomed overhead. Eisner
embraced the Disney legacy and put into play the many assets the organization had
locked away in a vault. He, in affect, generated needed revenue by raising theme park
fees, released to video animated classics, purchased ABC, and invested heavily into
new films and entertainment venues. By embracing the “Mouse,” Eisner generated $65
billion in market wealth to this organization.
Another bold business leader laid-off nearly 100,000 workers in 1981 and radically
restructured the composition of the company he was hired to reinvent – Jack Welch and
the company was General Electric. Welch’s mantra was to be the first or second in the
marketplace or get out! Although his approach seemed unconventional, he did convert
GE into one of the most valued corporations in the world.
Your next move may not be as earth-shattering as Grove, Eisner, or Welch, but in your
organization, it may be the next plausible direction your company will take. After
careful analysis, you may discern that your organization is not growing, hardly
profitable, or just stagnant in your designated market space. As Chris Zook stated in his
book "Profit from the Core," he suggests that narrowing your focus and strengthening
your core values will drive top and bottom-line results. Zook goes on to suggest that
only after your have a strong core do you venture out to an adjacent business as a
growth strategy.
Conclusion:
We began our discussion with this question: Brand Legacy: What’s your next move? We
defined a Brand Legacy and suggested that your core idea or point of origin can impact
your current perception. Through years of message layering, if the core idea conflicts
with today’s meaning customers will be confused. We also explored three aspects of the
core idea by breaking them down into three constituents: core (original), affiliate
(facsimile), and periphery brands (minor resemblance). Your position on the brand radar
as it pertains to the competition remains the key to your future trajectory.
Next, we considered your Brand Legacy and what your core idea equates to today. We
also presented three possible strategies for your organization to consider: embrace,
discard, or reinvent your brand. Several examples demonstrated how business leaders
took bold actions to change their strategic direction. The challenge for your Brand
Legacy in the future remains – what is your next move?
Bill Nissim consults with organizations on strategic branding
imperatives. His website www.ibranz.com contains reference materials, links, and helpful
articles on the many facets of branding. In addition, Nissim released his first book
“The Brand Advocate” to provide a tool-kit for the marketing practitioner.
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