Archive for the 'Brand Personality' Category
Liquid & Aviat are winning awards.
Liquid wins REBRAND 100 Global Award for the branding of Aviat Networks.
Winning awards is always flattering. It means that respected professionals think you do the kind of work that sets new standards in the industry. When that type of recognition comes with an international pedigree, then it’s something worth celebrating. And, that’s why we’re excited to announce that Liquid won a 2011 Rebrand Global Award for the rebranding work we delivered for Aviat Networks.
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Winning a REBRAND 100 Global Awards is a significant accomplishment.
The REBRAND 100 Global Awards is the first and most respected recognition for repositioned brands from across the world — meaning a brand “transformation”. Featured in publications like The Wall Street Journal, CNN Money and Bloomberg Businessweek, this annual competition receives entries from global organizations, Fortune 50 corporations, small businesses, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, cities, and universities from around the globe. Some past winners have been based in Brazil, Canada, China, India, Italy, Lebanon, Romania, Australia and the United Kingdom, in addition to the US. Aviat Networks was selected for a 2011 Rebrand 100 Global Award of Distinction. “We are honored to receive this award. This is a significant global competition, and it’s nice to know that we can compete with some of the best agencies in our industry at a global scale” said Alfredo Muccino, the Chief Creative Officer of Liquid Agency.
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A distinguished panel of judges selects the winning entries.
Each year, a multidisciplinary mix of respected international industry experts gathers to jury the competition. The entries include before and after examples of the work with written summaries outlining the strategic thinking behind the design execution. Some of the criteria used to evaluate the viability of the work includes:
• A clear evolution or transformation to meet strategic objectives
• Exceeded expectations and/or incorporated an element of surprise
• Spurred an emotional connection in the target audience
• Intelligently executed and capable of being implemented across a variety of media
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Aviat Networks underwent a major transformation.
Our client was originally known as Harris-Stratex, however, due to a change in ownership and a shift in its business focus, the company needed to evolve its brand. Liquid was hired to manage the brand transformation process. This extensive project included crafting a brand strategy and messaging platform, developing a new name, and designing a comprehensive identity program. Today the company is known as Aviat Networks and has quickly developed a reputation as a leading provider of end-to-end wireless solutions to clients that include public and private telecom operators in countries across the globe. Click here to read the full case study.
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Q&A with method Soap Master Eric Ryan
An excerpt of our interview with method Co-Founder Eric Ryan. Mr. Ryan will lead a discussion on turning customers into brand advocates at the upcoming Liquid Brand Summit, held March 1 in Palo Alto.
Click here to learn more about the Summit and our other outstanding guest speakers and session leaders.
ABOUT ERIC:
Eric Ryan is one-half of the “proud brain parents” of method, the leading innovator in eco-friendly household and personal care products. He started method in 2001 with his high school buddy Adam Lowry and has since built the company into a $150 million retail brand that was ranked the 7th fastest growing company in America by Inc magazine. He’s been named an eco-leader by Vanity Fair, a Food & Wine Tastemaker, an eco-revolutionary by Time Magazine, and PETA’s Person of the Year.
With method, Eric has successfully grown one of the world’s most loyal brand communities, the core of which is rooted in the company’s distinct values and brand culture.
THE INTERVIEW:
Q: What were some of the initial challenges you faced in building a community of brand advocates for method? Can you describe the one or two things that were most successful in growing that community?
A: One of the biggest challenges for creating advocacy within method is the fact that we compete in very low-interest categories. While there are self proclaimed “clean freaks” in the world (think the character Monica in the TV show “Friends”), it is difficult to build a community around the act of cleaning, which most people consider a chore to be avoided at all cost.
We took the approach of building advocacy around a diverse set of shared values which includes the emotional connection to our homes, caring for loved ones in our homes (i.e. pets and children) and the environment our homes sit on. The end result is that our advocates share our passion for design, sustainability and eliminating toxins from the home—and it’s these shared values that allow us to create advocacy in a low-interest category.
The core of growing this community starts with our culture. The team at method is truly passionate about our values and this comes through in everything we do as an authentic brand. We purposely blur the lines between who we are and who we serve under the belief that we are all “People Against Dirty.” This allows us to build the brand from the inside-out with a high level of transparency providing a lot of ways to connect with our advocates.
Want more from the method Master Eric Ryan? FOR THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW, CLICK HERE.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Send your questions and thoughts. We’ll include them in discussions at the Liquid Brand Summit. We look forward to hearing from you.
Q&A with Robert Richman of Zappos Insights
Here is an excerpt from an exclusive interview with Zappos Insights guru Robert Richman who has shared with us some of his thoughts on Brand Culture.
Mr. Richman is one of the Session Leaders at the upcoming Liquid Brand Summit, taking place on March 1, 2011 in Palo Alto.
ABOUT ROBERT:
Robert Richman lives in Las Vegas, where he works for Zappos Insights, an off-shoot of Zappos.com that was started by CEO Tony Hsieh to show other companies how to create a workplace people love and a service customers rave about. Robert began his career in 1996 creating sites for U.S. Senators and co-founding the web strategy company Articulated Impact. He co-wrote the business plan for a new online venture from the Tony Robbins companies and has developed digital media strategies for The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Magazine, and The National Leadership Institute. When Tony met Rob, he asked him to re-launch the Zappos Insights program—then a small web site with a staff of one. Rob has grown the program to a 12-person company, offering a range of experiences and services to educate companies about culture and to give insight into “what” and “how” Zappos.com has built such an amazing culture and brand.
THE SESSION:
Building Brand Culture. Today’s leading brands have one thing in common: They have a strong culture. Growing companies often ask themselves: How can we grow and sustain the culture that makes us successful? Amazon recently purchased Zappos.com. Why? One key reason: Because of their culture and potential to innovate the customer experience on the web and “WOW” them. In this session you can learn how to create a strong brand culture that will fuel your company’s sales, create customer loyalty and attract the right people to work with. Oh – and it will make life at work great!
THE INTERVIEW:
Q: How do you define brand culture?
A: Brand and culture are two sides of the same coin. One faces inside the company; the other faces outside. It is made up of the values, stories and rituals that a company engages, and it all starts from within, so the brand is usually a lagging indicator of the true state of the culture.
Q: How is a company’s overall performance influenced by its brand culture—for example, its management, growth, innovation, customer relationships, etc.?
A: The culture influences everything because it is everything. Said simply, the culture is the way of being. Or to be even more literal: In biology, you use a culture to grow something—it’s the environment that creates the context for growth, interactions, and relationships.
FOR THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
ASK ROBERT:
Please feel free to send us comments or questions, and we will make sure that we include them in the discussions during the Liquid Brand Summit. We look forward to hearing from you.
Q&A with Chuck Eichten, Design Director of Nike DNA
Read our exclusive interview with Chuck Eichten, Design Director for the Department of Nike Archives, and a session leader for the Liquid Brand Summit taking place March 1, 2011 in Palo Alto.
Every great brand has a powerful story to tell. By creating these stories and sharing them, brands can build a powerful, emotional connection to their audiences. Without question, brands that master the art of storytelling have an advantage over the ones that don’t—take Nike for example. In this Q&A, Chuck shares his thoughts on the important role brand storytelling plays in building a brand’s identity and culture.
ABOUT CHUCK:
Chuck Eichten started at Nike as an apparel designer in 1996 and later moved to Nike Brand Design where he led the packaging, the logos, the books, the posters, the retail spaces and event experiences. Chuck is currently the Design Director for the Department of Nike Archives (DNA). In DNA he helps gather and preserve the Nike stories, and find fresh new ways of telling them again. The story of how the first best-selling Nike shoe was born of a waffle iron. How Phil Knight, when he first saw the swoosh mark, said reluctantly, “Well, I guess I’ll get used to it.” Why Michael Jordan wanted to sign with adidas out of college.
INTERVIEW EXCERPT:
Q: Why do you think the concept of “story” is so compelling to people, and how does story influence the brand?
A: Stories are compelling because that’s how our lives unfold. Stories provide context to what happens in our lives. You have a story to accompany anything that happens in your life. When brands tell stories, it makes them feel more real, more alive, more honest…more like us.
Stories influence brands the same way stories influence our lives. Grandma tells us a story and it becomes a part of who we are. It explains something about us. Stories are something we share as families, and as employees. Our stories make us unique, and help us imagine the traits that set us apart — and likely way above all the rest.
Stories of strength, of obstacles overcome, of passion, and belief, mistakes made and hard work that paid off (maybe even when no one else believed it would), that’s something to build a family or a brand around.
MEET CHUCK:
Learn more about the Brand Summit and how you can get a chance to meet Chuck Eichten, click here.
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW:
To read the full interview, please click here.
Making a brand relevant…again. The fine art of revitalization.
When and how do you start a revitalization effort?
Strong, established brands can lose vitality because of a lot of different reasons: Shifts in the corporate structure and/or ownership can be distracting; Audiences and their habits can change making it challenging to remain relevant; Products and services can become obsolete or tarnished over time; The competitive landscape can become more challenging…etc. Brands that were once popular can slide into obscurity, and their value seriously diminish.
Just look at recent efforts from AOL, Yahoo and MySpace who are all trying to revamp their brands. And, outside of the internet/social media space, look at GM – which has emerged from bankruptcy to become the biggest IPO in US history. GM recently beat Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC with a profit of $2.16 billion in Q3 2010 – and now the company is investing to be the first major U.S. automaker to design and manufacture electric motors.
So….what are the tell-tale signs for a revitalization effort?
How does one go about the task of reinvigorating a brand whose luster has faded?
How do brands stay relevant with their audiences?
Join us at the Liquid Brand Summit to discuss this.
On March 1, 2011 we will be discussing this very topic at the upcoming Liquid Brand Summit in Palo Alto with Rosabel Tao, Sr. VP from MySpace – a brand that has seen its traffic and member numbers dwindle due to Facebook’s growth, and has recently admitted that it’s looking to sell off the troubled social network. “News Corp is assessing a number of possibilities including a sale, a merger and a spinout [sic]. The process has just started,” Tao said in a recent interview.
In the meanwhile…we’d love to hear your thoughts about the best strategies and tactics for keeping a brand fresh, transforming relationships with consumers, and creating experiences that build relevance and loyalty.
Your thoughts and ideas are welcome.
1 commentOrganic Drivetrain
In a survey by Liquid Agency (formerly Neutron) and Stanford University, 1500 business leaders were asked to rank their top ten biggest problems. Their number-one problem? “Balancing long-term goals with short-term demands.” In large corporations, the phrase “short-term demands” is code for “shareholder demands.”
The solution to this conundrum is sustainable earnings. A CEO who can deliver solid shareholder returns quarter after quarter can afford the luxury of pursuing a long-term vision.
When you ask any CEO what keeps him or her up at night, the answer is usually shareholder value. And when you ask what drives shareholder value, the answer is usually earnings growth. But what drives earnings growth? Innovation, of course! Okay, but what drives innovation? Working backwards, the engine for non-stop innovation is company culture. It takes a culture of innovation to turn innovation into a core competency, so that successful new businesses, products, and services, are more than a matter of chance. But what drives culture? The answer here is company vision.
Without a bold, beguiling vision, there’s no rallying point for culture.
These links represent a drivetrain for organic growth. If you want sustainable earnings at the back end, you need to invest in the links at the front end—vision, culture, and innovation. These are the investments that can generate profits year after year, not just quarter after quarter. Download slide set.
Liquid helps launch Comcast’s new social media venture:Tunerfish
New brand identity for Tunerfish has lots of personality!
According to John McCrea, General Manager of Tunerfish, the company “lives at the intersection of social and TV”. Tunerfish is a new social media application that lets users share what they’re watching on TV so that people can discover new shows and see what’s popular with their friends….while earning rewards for being active. The site is still on its “beta” phase, but we love it already…and you will too. Be sure to download the iPhone app…and get ready to get hooked! Sign up now!
Tunerfish was developed while John McCrea was VP of Marketing at Plaxo (which became part of Comcast in 2008). BTW: Check out John’s blog …lots of cool insight into the workings of Silicon Valley and Social Media. Working with Nida Zada, Plaxo’s Director of User Experience, John championed the idea that there were opportunities for Comcast to leverage its network and join the social media conversation…and from this concept emerged Tunerfish – which was officially launched in June at TechCrunch Disrupt. Altough still in its infancy, the company has started to generate buzz with mentions in AdVenture and the NY Times.
Having worked with John in the past, we were very happy that he called upon us to help him and Nida develop a brand identity for their new venture. It was a pleasure working with both of them, since they are smart, experienced and have a great sense of humor. Yet, this does not mean that the project did not have its challenges. John knew he wanted an identity that had lots of “personality” and he pushed us to continue exploring until we landed on the friendly character that now represents the brand. He was very encouraging and patient along the way…but did not want to settle until we came up with something special.
The real breakthrough came when we decided to “dress up” the little “Tunerfish” in clothes that represented the types of shows that someone might be watching. Holding on to a martini glass helped represent “MadMen”, and sporting fangs was perfect for “TrueBlood”, while a hat and cigar suggested the gangsters from “Boardwalk Empire”. These icons become part of the reward ecosystem by which you get recognized for being a fan…or being an influencer…and now we have created a whole library of these quirky and fun little characters.
By the way, one last little secret about what happened behind the scenes: At some point we had to “sell” other people on the team. That’s when we mocked up the Tunerfish “plushie”. As anyone in Silicon Valley knows, these days if your brand can’t be a great “plushie”, it simply will not measure up!
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Celebrity endorsement: The road to fame or the road to shame?
Sometimes celebrity partnerships work out very well. And sometimes they can be a disaster.
For example, In 2004 Glaceau VitaminWater recruited the rapper 50 Cent to help promote the brand. He created his own VitaminWater flavor and sales of the brand skyrocketed among young consumers. Nike’s relationship with Michael Jordan is the stuff of legend. And Priceline has done well with William Shatner for over a decade; and lately Dr. Dre is using his own brand to help promote HP’s Envy notebooks. These partnerships have worked out very well.
Of course, that’s not always the case. Tiger Woods’ personal issues became a fiasco for several brands – while allegations of drug use by Kate Moss led to Chanel, Burberry and H&M terminating their relationship with the model.
Do the benefits of working with celebrities outweigh the risks? Can a troubled celebrity seriously damage a brand that is being endorsed by them? What can brands do to protect themselves from negative publicity generated by celebrities associated with the brand? What’s the best way to structure such relationships? Which brands have done this well? When do brands drop the relationship and how?
We’d love to hear your thoughts. Please post your comments!!!
3 commentsBrand ManageCamp 2010: Fresh thinking starts here.
Last week a few of us went to Las Vegas to attend Brand ManageCamp, where Marty Neumeier, our Director of Transformation was one of the featured speakers. The event was very well attended, with over 300 branding professionals who came from cities across the country – and also quite a few from outside the US (We met one attendee that flew in all the way from Qatar!). I wanted to compliment Len Herstein for putting together an extremely well organized, inspirational and very successful event. The line up of speakers was outstanding and the topics extremely relevant. It was a pleasure being there as an attendee – and Marty was also very pleased in terms of his experience as a presenter.
Here are some highlights from the presentations we were able to attend:
Andy Stefanovich
Andy, who has co-authored more than 24 books on branding an marketing, started the day and “woke” everybody up with an energetic presentation on “Inspiration” as a brand differentiator. Andy encourages people to take risks, be provocative in a positive context, be passionate, and create an inspirational culture within the work environment.
David Meerman Scott
David presented ideas from his book “New Rules of Marketing and PR”. According to David, “It’s all happening in real time…bloggers pick up stories and then the machinery starts and it has a life of its own.” He recommends having a “real time mindset” and using the same media form to respond, so you have a chance to stay on top and put out the fire. David believes that companies need to start planning in much faster cycles – and make decision in real-time or they will not have any chance at shaping the buzz.
David Aaker
Without question one of the most respected authorities in branding, David explained that first movers define a category and subsequently have an opportunity to “own it” – giving them a huge advantage. According to David, the first mover is not always the pioneer, it’s more important that the brand is authentic and sets up barriers to the competition with a set of clear brand/ product values. According to his research, first movers “own” a market for a very long time and profit highly. One of his most memorable examples was the Chrysler minivan, first introduced in 1983 as a new product segment, it dominated the market (45%) for a long time. Finding a neglected customer base can also be a great entry into new and highly profitable markets for products and services.
Bob Gilbreath
The author of “The Next Evolution of Marketing”, touched upon some of the same points made by David Aaker – but he had a slightly different approach. Bob suggested that brands should consider “unique actions” to create special relationships with their customers – he called this practice “Makerting Meaning”. For example, during the recession Hyundai started a campaign where they would take the car back if the buyer lost their job – no questions asked. Sales rose 20%. Another example involved the “Samsung power stations” at airports – and we all know how helpful that can be for all of our gadgets. Bob suggests that with these “unique actions” a brand can create special relationships – and that creates strong brands.
Jackie Huba
Jackie is a noted author and consultant, and she delivered one of the best presentations of the day (at least, in my opinion). We all know the 4 Ps of Marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Jackie spoke about the “5th P”: Participation. She shared the story of “Makers Mark” (www.makersmark.com), describing how they are creating their own evangelists. She also mentioned Harley Davidson (www.harley-davidson.com), of course. Both of these brands have created once-a-year events bringing together their entire evangelist tribe…so they can all celebrate the brand while doing something good for a worthwhile cause. She also pointed out how these brand fans create their own shared symbols. Take the hand claw symbol used by Lady Gaga fans, for example. Lady Gaga calls her fans “little monsters” (therefore the little monster claw).
Don Schultz
Don teaches Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University, and he opened up his presentation with 2 essential questions: How much should I invest in my brand? How much return will I get? The room got pretty quiet very fast. You’d think that someone would have known the answer, but the 300 people in attendance did not. He blasted out the follow up question: How the hell do you want to sell it to your CFO? The answer, according to Don, is to determine the customer’s financial value and to redefine Marketing Budgets as “Investments in Customers”. Getting everything to look the same is way less important than getting all the brand’s messages, opportunities and incentives aligned in order to reach the customers and impact the marketplace. Analyzing this will help answer how much should I spend, what media should I buy, and how long will it take for returns on investments. You are now ready for your CFO.
Jeffrey Hayzett
The former CMO of Eastman Kodak gave a very colorful presentation. He shared his insights on Kodak campaign that were successful and those that were not-so-successful. Jeffrey believes that “if you’re gonna fail, fail fast and cheap”. What has helped him succeed in his quest to turn Kodak around has been to “jump over corporate walls” and complexity, and simply taking the necessary risks if they are justifiable. Again, we heard the importance of real time marketing. Like others, Jeffrey emphasized that “no time can be lost – even if this means bending the rules to succeed”. He recommended a culture that promotes the idea that no one would be killed if they make a mistake. Be brave and be bold. I felt he truly represented this philosophy – and really enjoyed his presentation.
Marty Neumeier
Marty’s speech included highlights from both his bestsellers, ZAG as well as The Designful Company. He started his presentation mentioning the fact that during this economic downturn Apple has increased its profits 6-fold. Steve Jobs response to the recession was: “we intend to keep innovating.” This is exactly in line with one of Marty’s favorite mantras: “IF YOU WANNA INNOVATE, YOU GOTTA DESIGN”. According to Marty, the prevalent approach is to define a problem and start implementing a solution. To truly innovate, he believes that a crucial step is required: to design. Marty invites brands to experiment with possible solutions, be creative, work as a team from several parts of the company, implement small solutions, evaluate how well they work, improve and reflect results. In today’s highly competitive and cluttered market it is very tough to stand out. Marty suggests that in order to be successful, it is necessary to be radically different. In his language “when everybody Zigs, you should ZAG”. He mentioned the Aeron chair from Herman Miller. The Aeron chair took a radical new approach, creating more of a “sitting machine” than a chair. During tests, people did not respond positive to the looks at all, but once they sat on it, the overall response was “WOW”. A complete new chair category was born and the Aeron became the most successful product ever created by Herman Miller.
Aaron Magness
Aaron was the final speaker of the day, and he delivered a lot of interesting information about what made Zappos.com so successful (Amazon bought Zappos in 2009 for almost $1 Billion). Aaron talked about the huge growth that Zappos have had, and how it mainly happened through word of mouth, fueled by their outstanding customer service. He mentioned that one of the drivers for expanding their product range beyond shoes was that they noticed people searching for other product categories in their site search. Paying close attention to what is important to your customers is key to long term success. He also talked about the fact that “people make the company” and Aaron stressed how important it is to hire the right people and – the need to act quickly – if they don’t work out.
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Turning customers into brand advocates: What’s the secret?
Some brands create such strong customer communities that they are practically cults.
Apple, the Grateful Dead, and Harley Davidson are a few good examples. The customers for these brands become part of a tribe – with its own culture and sense of belonging. The brands that succeed in creating such a strong connection among its customers and employees benefit from exceptionally high levels of loyalty, to the extent their customers rarely practice brand-switching – instead, they actually promote the brand actively – and often try to convert others into becoming “brand believers”.
I am curious to see if anyone has any thoughts on how do companies create such strong affection for their brands that their customers are compelled to become active brand champions? Does this phenomenon happen on its own…or is there a secret to help it along? If so, what are the programs that are put in place? How are they run? What are the strategies and tactics that turn average customers into brand advocate superheroes? On the other hand, in your experience what have brands tried that simply does not work?
Your thoughts and ideas are welcome. We look forward to hearing from you!!!
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