| Harvard University responded when a company came along with notHarvard.com. The edu-commerce company that provides online universities didn't waste any time changing its name to Powered.com. According to university officials, Harvard was only protecting its name. In other words, Harvard was taking care of its brand. While Harvard struck with deliberate speed, the Firestone and Ford story is quite different. After several years of failing to deal with a tread separation problem with certain tires, Firestone left it in Ford's hands to push a voluntary tire replacement program once the problem made headlines. Ford grabbed the issue and responded decisively, recognizing that it had to protect its brands - Ford and Explorer, the vehicle that came with the particular tires. Why did Firestone fail to act immediately? Maybe they thought they could ride out the storm and the problem would be forgotten. Consumers, however wasted no time reacting. They wanted new tires. Demanding any brand except Firestone, they were stating that they associated faulty tires with the Firestone name. It wasn't long before Ford announced that Michelin (a tire long associated with safety) and other brands would be used on new Explorers. Facing Firestone/Bridgestone is the major question: Has the Firestone brand, long the symbol of quality tires, been permanently damaged? ValuJet didn't wait long after one of its plane crashes to determine if the brand had been harmed irreparably by the tragic event. It changed its name to AirTran Airlines, although its Web site can be reached using valuejet.com With all the talk about "branding," it would seem that there would be a clear understanding of what it is. Yet, just the opposite seems more accurate. If anything, there is considerable confusion about what it means to "brand" a product, a service, a company, or even a person. For example, a business consultant, someone who might be expected to know better, recently equated branding with a company's "image." Certainly, how a company presents itself to its various constituencies is an element of branding, but the two terms are neither synonymous nor interchangeable. A marketing practitioner has indicated that a particular company has failed in the branding process because its name did not include a reference to the type of business it was in. Is this to suggest that Jaguar has failed at branding because the name doesn't include "automobile" or F.A.O. Schwartz lacks brand identification because it left "toys" out of its name? The unavoidable fact that people, products, and corporations come to be perceived in certain ways either by design or default makes branding so critical. For example, no matter what Cadillac has done to entice younger customers, it continues to be perceived as the brand of the older, affluent American. While branding can create problems as in the case of Cadillac, it is more important to view it as the engine for fulfilling a company's mission. Here are some of the basics for creating the right brand: - Branding is about certain customers. What you and I want to sell doesn't count; all that's important is what someone wants to buy. Its that simple. A case in point is the Apple Computer "Think Differently" campaign. It has been brilliantly successful in branding Macintosh as a badge of honor for those who want to separate themselves from the PC masses.
The Apple branding message is clear: While a Mac isn't for everyone, it is for those who do not want to be computer geeks and those who think computing should be fun. In other words, this is the computer for those who like to think differently. The Mac product line-up reinforces the branding with the extraordinary design and colors of the iMacs and the iBooks, and the latest, the startling Cube. The iBook's handle and the PowerBook's "glowing" white Apple also reflect the Mac's distinctiveness. It isn't surprising that Mac users tend to become Mac evangelists.
Branding is about certain customers, not all customers. Wal-Mart has done as good a job as any company when it comes to branding. When some people think of Wal-Mart, the word "value" flashes through their minds, while others think of somewhat unpleasant surroundings, poor service, and lower quality. One group is the Wal-Mart customer; the other isn't, and Wal-Mart knows the difference.
- Branding has to do with what they think about when they think about a company, a person, a product or a service. What do consumers think about when they see Perdue chicken in the supermarket? Some may think "better quality," and others may think "more expensive." This isn't just about image. Perdue has distinguished its chicken products from those of other producers in terms of the way its chickens are raised so that they have less fat and are more tender. Those are the qualities that the consumer pays for when buying a Perdue product.
Perdue has long positioned itself as the "chicken experts." The company undoubtedly conducts research to determine what the buyer of premium poultry products wants and wants to avoid. Whether the research is conducted formally or informally, the task is the same for every business. Knowing what customers you want and what they want from you is the objective.
Palm knows exactly how it wants to be viewed by consumers - as the PDA industry leader. Visiting a CompUSA store, one observer noted that 10 customers looking at PDAs went to the Palm products first. Palm sets the standard against which other PDAs are judged.
- Branding is about everything a company does. Although some see branding in more simplistic terms, it is an inordinately complex function. It involves everything from the way the telephone is answered to the design of the company logo.
In effect, branding raises everything a company does - including how it is done - and to a high level of importance. At J. Crew (and other retailers) the sales staff is constantly tending to the displays of clothing to make sure they are ready for the next customer who walks through the door. This isn't busy-work; it is branding. How quickly (and pleasantly) questions are answered is a branding issue, just as is maintaining a clean, clutter-free business environment.
Long branded with poor quality vehicles, Hyundai took the issue seriously and set about to improve its products. The company seems to be winning the battle with a combination of attractively designed cars, major improvements in quality, and the most comprehensive guarantee in the auto industry. In effect, Hyundai is saying: "Our cars are notably different from what they were, they're very good and we stand behind them." The company's sales seem to support this branding effort as consumers view the company as it presents itself today and not as it was thought of in the past. As an owner of a Hyundai and a Honda said "I'll take my Hyundai...and it cost $5,000 less than the Honda." It would seem that Firestone might study the Hyundai branding strategy.
- Branding depends on constant care and nurturing. Protecting the brand may be the most difficult task of all, and one that has been made even more daunting by the Internet where everything is exposed and nothing is hidden. Access to the World Wide Web is the great leveler. Everyone's voice can be heard. Information (and what passes for information) moves in every direction at the same time at little or no cost. If there's a problem with a product, everyone knows about it instantly - and Web sites spring up over night to proclaim the problem and give irate customers a place to ventilate.
The possibilities for brand damage are endless today. This is the Firestone problem. Failure to act quickly and decisively brings an instant public reaction. One of the most interesting areas of brand damage are Web sites themselves. Thousands of sites are out of date because they are out of mind and forgotten by those who created them. Yet, what does the visitor think when it is evident that a site has not been updated? How does this impact the branding process?
Athletes are also subject to branding issues, as are their coaches. Former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight is an example of a fiery, brilliant coach damaged and then destroyed by his brand. No matter what they may know about Knight, everyone has seen the TV clip of him throwing the chair across the parquet floor. As much as anyone else, baseball star and manager Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds has also experienced what happens when a personal brand is tarnished.
And whatever Bill Clinton's achievements, nothing can change how Americans feel about the way he conducted his personal life in the White House. The Clinton brand has been damaged. Can it be restored? Richard Nixon spent the last two decades of his life attempting to rebrand himself as a distinguished and wise elder statesman.
Crane's, the famous paper company, has branded itself for 200 years as the company that supplies currency paper to the U.S. Mint. When faced with the possibility of losing this market, Crane went into all-out damage control. What was at stake was not only the order from the government but the loss of its cache, the basis for its perceived quality.
No one recognizes the value of branding more than Dell Computer. Totally dependent on direct sales for its success, Dell cherishes (and guards) its J.D. Powers customer satisfaction ratings. The Dell people know that if these ratings should slip, so will sales. In a fast-paced business setting where the messages never stop, customers need cues (perhaps clues) when it comes to making buying decisions. Branding is critical in such an environment because it influences the decision making process. Branding may be easier for Old Navy or Nikon, but it's more complicated for a department store. In fact, the emergence of the specialty chains such as J. Crew, Victoria's Secret, The Gap, and Talbot's suggest that keeping the focus on particular consumer segments makes branding more successful. Radio Shack has faced this issue. Selling literally thousands of items, it is something of an electronics department store. However, its branding message, "You've got questions. We've got answers," conveys a highly focused "help desk" type approach that holds a strong appeal for those who are confused by electronics and computing. Branding isn't an option today. Companies, people, products, and services are branded by consumers, one way or the other. The Firestone fiasco is a case of branding failure, while Hyundai is a success story.
Credit:
John R. Graham
If There's No Brand, There's No Business
Magnet Marketing & Sales - The Newsletter of Graham Communications
John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm. Mr. Graham is the Author of The New Magnet Marketing (Chandler House Press), the revised and updated version of his original book, Magnet Marketing, and 203 Ways To Be Supremely Successful In The New World Of Selling (Macmillan Spectrum). Mr. Graham writes for a variety of publications and speaks on business, marketing and sales topics for company and association meetings. He is the recipient of an APEX Grand Award in writing. He can be contacted at 40 Oval Road, Quincy, MA, 02170 (617) 328-0069; fax (617) 471-1504; j_graham@grahamcomm.com.
Graham Communications
Winter 2000
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