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Ave atque salve.
Well it seems that ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ could not be bettered and so if Anonymous reveals his or her identity then a wee prize may be forthcoming unless Cicero’s recognition is reward in itself which Cicero is sure will probably suffice. It was an inspired selection and does go to prove that the young can write fitting, motivating and inspiring autobiographies. And for all I know perhaps Ms Lewis’s autobiography may also meet these criteria.
And now for the greatest philosophical question of all time.
A question so big that many businesses have given up trying to answer it. But for those who stick the course and who do answer it, they find the elixir to everlasting wealth and prosperity. And today Cicero is going to try to provide an answer to this one simple question……what is a brand?
For many the brand is about advertising and becoming well known. It’s about having ads during Coronation St. Wrong. Did you know that until recently Marks and Spencer did not spend a penny on advertising? True. And yet no one would deny that M&S is not a great brand. And what about Google, Starbucks, Amazon? Does anyone think that these are not great brands? And yet, and I think this is true, these businesses have become successful and well known without advertising their wares. And think too about Marlboro and Viagra, both can’t advertise and yet both are well known brands. Anybody got an issue with this thesis?
Another school of thought is that a brand is a logo or a mark or a strap line of some sort. Wrong again. A brand is much more than that and the logo or mark or strap line should be an outcome from the brand communicating what it stands for and its values. It is not the brand. Think of a brand as a great big iceberg of the sort that sunk Kate Winslet and Leonardo di Caprio and should have sunk Celine Dion but missed. Now if we are to believe what the eco-mentalists tell us, our brand iceberg will be much reduced in size due to global warming or climate change or whatever wonky weather is called this week. However the basic physics remain the same and no matter the size of your iceberg 90% remains below the water line. The same can be said of a true brand. The logos, the marks, the visual design stuff which many see as the brand are only the tip of the iceberg with the substance of the brand hidden from view.
So now that I have told you some of the things that a brand is not, you are probably waiting impatiently for Cicero to spill the beans and to share with you the elixir of business success. Well if we are patient Cicero will do exactly that.
Traditionally a brand is described as ‘a promise’. A promise that is unique, compelling and which delivers rational and emotional benefit to meet customer needs. And because this promise is unique and compelling it is able to charge a price premium.
And so Disney offers ‘entertaining fun’, Coke offers ‘refreshment’, Apple offers ‘innovative design’. Now should be the brand manger of any of these great brands be around you might take exception to these descriptions of your brands but for the purposes of my musings these descriptions will suffice.
But Cicero being Cicero believes that this definition of a brand is too simplistic and does not go far enough. Anyone can make a promise. The trick is to deliver against it, to deliver an experience that fulfils that promise. And so for me a brand is a promise and an experience, an experience that lives up to the promise across all touch points consistently, day in and day out.
And yet it is more than that. Great brands stay in the mind. They are not dismissed from the memory banks. The experience lives up to and even exceeds the expectations set by the promise that they linger around among the old grey matter influencing future brand choice and making sure the brand, its promise and its experience are talked about with friends and family, producing word of mouth marketing.
And there you have it. A brand is a promise. An experience. A memory. No mention of price and price premiums (or should that be premia?)
And from this flows things like logos, visual identity, photographic style, tone of voice and the like.
Finally here’s a thought to leave you with and indeed is this week’s homework-given what has been said about brands so far in this rambling monologue, is Ryanair a brand? Answer next week but your thoughts welcome.
Is it only me?
Cicero had occasion recently to visit an exhibition. It was very interesting but the amount of floor space given over to various kinds of equality and minority units would amaze you as it did Cicero. And should you be perusing the job pages of any of our national newspapers, and especially the Guardian, the house magazine for taxpayer funded busy bodies, (though Cicero is sure that if you read these words you are so unlikely to read this organ) take careful note of all the positions advertised to promote equality and engagement. This is an important phrase among the tax spending classes, though hands up if you know what it means.
I came across a workshop held recently by an organisation which will remain nameless which was, and I quote, ‘designed to support senior job applications and is open to the following staff:
• women
• black and minority ethnic staff
• staff with disabilities
• lesbian, gay, bi-sexual staff
• transgender/ transsexual staff. ‘
Can anyone spot who is missing from this list?
Now don’t get me wrong. I am strongly in favour of equality, equality of opportunity that is. And I passionately loathe discrimination or prejudice anywhere it occurs. However is it only me who thinks that it is now about time we had equality for white, middle aged, middle class males? I see no units being established or funding provided to help support and give a hand up to this endangered species which is lingering and soldiering on despite the barriers being put in place to stop this group becoming as extinct as the Amazonian green cross snake. Does this group not have the right to progress their careers? Do they not require similar levels of help and support when applying for senior level jobs?
Let me know what you think. Perhaps now is the time to man, or should that be person, the barricades.
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
6 comments:
Hello Cicero and thank you once again for a most enlightening and interesting blog. It was I who suggested 'The Diary of Anne Frank'. I cannot log on as my 'real' self which is 'Gaudi', it won't accept my password. Let me assure you though, it is I. I also have another confession to make. I have attended similar workshops to that which you refer to, in fact I have also devised and run such workshops. I wholeheartedly agree that white middle class, middle aged men should be fully represented on these group. I also fervently believe that all those minority groups listed should be fully represented in the boardrooms peopled by white middle class, middle aged men. I assume when we see a balance in the latter we will also see one in the former. A little lesson for you. Don't assume things about your audience. That is very bad marketing!!!
Thank you so much for identifying yourself and congratulations on an inspiring choice of book. I would like to respond to your point about white middle class middled aged men dominating our boardrooms. You might be right on this point but most white middle aged middle class men are not in the boardroom. Most are in middle and lower management roles where this is a distinct lack of support for them as my workshop examples shows and grwowing levels of prejudice and discrimation against them and in favour of other groups. I do not expect this group to be given special rights only the same rights as everone else. This is becoming rare.
PS You are right about it being bad marketing to assume anything about your audience. And Cicero was wrong if this is what was done though it would be helpful if you could point out where an assumption was made.
Interested to read the discussion. I must say that on this occasion I do agree with Cicero and that is indeed a first. In my office we have diversity targets and to meet these we need to emply anyone who is basically non white or male though bizarrely if we employ Irish people this counts as diversity. Search me gov!!! Keep up the good work, Cicero, a voice of sanity in an insane world! And you make me laugh too!!!!
Thank you for a prompt response, however I disagree with your point. The assumption you made was that if one was a Guardian reader, they would not be reading your blog. I did try the Daily Mail but don't have a recording of the 'Horst Wessel' song which I am told is a compulsory accompaniment to reading this 'newspaper'.
Good on you, anonymous. It was white middle aged middle class men who got us into this mess. Do you think we would have had a credit cruch if women had been in charge? No we would not.
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