Co-branding or joint promotion of adjoining businesses

An interesting discussion over at http://www.BrandTrellis.com that discusses how or whether to co-promote two separately-branded restaurants that are adjoining and owned by the same owner.

http://www.brandtrellis.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=9cd9d57f67850d5d9162035127d216ca&topic=11.0

The cart and the horse

For heaven's sake, do not let your ad agency get back to you with several concepts from which to choose and then change your message to match the winning concept. This happens all too often when somebody thinks of a clever statement after seeing an image or photo.

Graphics, photos and images are there to support and reinforce your core message. Make sure your message is clear before you ask for creative concepts and then only choose concepts that stay directly on message.

A brand that is not crystal clear about what it is saying is not much of a brand at all. If your message can be swayed based upon graphic design, then you must re-examine the messages you are sending.

All advertising agency employees should read this article

Tom Collins has a great ad makeover and article in the current issue of Direct Magazine. Perhaps even more valuable than the article and makeover are his quotes of David Ogilvy like:

"Advertising agencies…are now infested with people who regard advertising as an avant-garde art form. They have never sold anything in their lives. Their ambition is to win awards at the Cannes Festival. They bamboozle their unfortunate clients into paying millions of dollars a year to exhibit their originality."

and

"On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar. The headline is the ‘ticket on the meat.’ Use it to flag down readers who are prospects for the kind of product you are advertising.

What you're really doing with your headline, then, is separating out the readers who would be interested in what you are selling from those who wouldn't.

If they aren't prospects for what you sell, you don't want them reading your ad. Period."

Anyone involved in creating ads should read this article.

Why do I blog?

I was recently interviewed and asked why I blog about marketing and branding.

Why do I do it?

I believe that the best way to improve the quality of all marketing is to help educate as many people as possible about marketing so not only will marketers get better at what they do but consumers will demand better marketing, recognize it when they see it and reward those marketers who get it right.

Therefore, blogging about marketing and branding is a very good way to help marketers and consumers alike benefit from better, more ethical and value-driven marketing tactics.

iPhone pricing scandal? Think different(ly)

Apple seems to have upset many of its customers by recently dropping the price of the iPhone by a couple hundred dollars a mere couple months after its introduction. Is this outrageous behavior on Apple's part?

Let's look a little deeper.

Price skimming is a well-known pricing strategy whereby a product is introduced and the company charges the highest possible price that buyers who most desire the product will pay. Demand for products tends to be inelastic during the introductory stage of the product life cycle--especially if the product is unique with little competition.

Not only does price skimming strategy help offset development costs that might not be recovered if the price is set too low, but it can also help companies keep demand in line with their initial production capabilities. Also, once competition enters the market, prices will be driven downward making it even more difficult to recover development costs.

Apple knows that it has a powerful brand whose loyal followers will rush out to purchase just about any product they launch (at just about any price). These loyal customers understand that they are not rushing out to buy the product out of absolute necessity, rather they are fulfilling a desire to be trendy and have bragging rights because they are one of the first to own the hot, trendy, new Apple product. Yes, they even understand they are paying a premium to own the product a few months before the rest of the masses.

To those iPhone users who now complain about the recent price drop I say this: You are not unhappy that you overpaid. I saw you standing in those long lines to happily plunk down your $600. You aren't upset that you had the phone before the masses either. You are simply unhappy because you think the masses will now catch up too soon.

Don't get upset with the Apple brand. Just examine what the brand means to you and be happy that you are able and willing to pay for that feeling that obviously makes you feel so good.

How to Build and Manage Your Brand (in sickness and in health)

My newly updated e-book, "How to Build and Manage Your Brand (in sickness and in health)" is now available. New sections include: How to uncover the warning signs of an unhealthy brand, The 13 warning signs of an unhealthy brand and When and how to kill or retire a brand.

In this work, I discuss image, identity, awareness, brand preference, brand equity and more critical-to-understand branding concepts while also describing the brand management process. Includes a thorough discussion of "The 10 Steps in Building a Powerhouse Brand", outlines the Brand Audit process, and reveals why you must educate people about your brand with both emotional and logical appeals. Two special bonus sections: Positioning Workshop and Integrated Marketing Communications are also included.

On customer-driven marketing...

"This may seem simple, but you need to give customers what they want, not what you think they want. And, if you do this, people will keep coming back."
- John Ilhan