Archive for the 'Brand Positioning' Category
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.
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 commentCelebrity 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 commentsTurning 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!!!
12 commentsRebranding… Let’s hope it’s more than cosmetic
Is it just me or is 2009 going to be the Year of the Rebrand? From political parties to Pepsi, from banks to bailout programs - every day companies, countries and entire industries are trying to transform themselves. Some rebranding efforts, like those coming from beverage giant PepsiCo seem purely cosmetic with not much changed besides the exterior package.
More interesting to watch will be those coming from the troubled financial industry where Wall Street and Main Street banks must rebuild trust in their brands while simultaneously grappling with how to integrate acquisitions or spin off once powerful brands. These financial industry rebrands will be challenging which makes them fun to watch. Here are a few rebrand moves that brand marketers will find interesting.
Bank of America deals with the Bull
Over the years, Bank America has abandoned dozens of acquired institutions brand names opting to bring them into the B of A fold. Now the bank is breaking with tradition as it combines operations with its latest $24 billion dollar purchase – Merrill Lynch. This time, both the Merrill Lynch name and iconic bull logo will survive.
Here’s how they plan to manage the two brands:Bank of America Merrill Lynch will be the name of the new corporate and investor bank. It will fly under the Bank of America flag identity. Merrill Lynch Wealth Management will be the combined firms’ financial advisory, brokerage business – this group will retain the iconic bull logo.I’ll be curious to see how this dual brand strategy plays out over time – provided B of A gets through its latest public relations disaster. AIG subsidiary runs away from homeAIG Financial Advisors, a subsidiary of bailout poster child AIG is changing its name in an effort to distance itself from its continually troubled parent. But rebranding itself as SagePoint Financial – seems a bit hard to swallow. I have a hard time associating wisdom and knowledge to anything ever connected with AIG. Perhaps this rebrand should be put on pause – allowing the company to rethink how it should move forward – keeping in mind that a brand is not what you say it is – it’s what customers say it is. They’ve got a difficult and maybe impossible task ahead – but this rebrand went too far.Watch for more posts coming on the financial industry’s rebranding efforts – I’ve got to think this is only the beginning.
2 commentsGoogle and Dell co-brand TV advertising
In a prior post, I made an observation about some Google banner ads I had seen in an online forum, and an assertion that it might be the beginning of the end to google’s reputed aversion to traditional advertising. Since that observation I have seen the new TV spot cobranded between Dell and Google. The Ad features the unique looking Google Search appliance as part of a server rack. The appliance is built by Dell, but branded by Google, the story and video can be found here.
Wonder what we’ll see next……
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