(First published in Professional Marketing Magazine - February 2008)

Once upon a time in a land far far away lived a man named Sid (Siddhartha). Sid was born into wealth, yet at 29 after marrying and having a child he decided to leave his kingdom in search of a greater understanding of life. After 6 years, and despite almost starving to death, Sid changed his name and began to teach a way of living to all people. In doing so, Sid, now Buddha, started one of the first and oldest religions…and brands. Whether Krishna, Buddha, Abraham, Jesus or Muhammad, these people began something amazing. Millions of people talk about them, wear things that represent them, insist that their children also pledge allegiance to them, and unfortunately even kill other people in misconstrued faith for them. If a religion were a commercial brand, it would be blockbuster, making Coke or McDonalds look very average.

Through examining the way in which religion works, brands can learn how to attract, keep and promote in a way that builds brand equity and advocacy.

The Story

A brand must have a story behind it. Moses was found in the reeds and as a man parted a sea to help his followers escape. Henry Ford at 40 started a corporation that built the very first automobile. A brand story is critical in establishing brand roots and satisfying natural human curiosity and a desire of ‘proof’ before commitment.

Many brand don’t spend enough time developing and reciting the story of their birth. It is from this story that people build a deep sense of purpose and legitimacy. Imagine Microsoft without Bill Gates or Dick Smith’s PowerHouse without Dick. Have your story well documented and readily accessible to customers and shareholders.

Signs & Symbols

In the time it takes me to write this article, 2,000 people worldwide will have had a crucifix or yin yang tattooed on their body. Brand symbolism is an area of branding that receives much attention. From  ‘Logos for Dummies’ to Naomi Klein’s best seller ‘No Logo’, the visual identity of a brand is one of the first things that marketers think of…and rightly so. Over 65% of people respond best to visual stimulation. This figure is increasing due to new technologies and visual learning tools being used more and more in human infancy.

Interestingly, logo shape and colour biases have been found to be generation specific, which means whilst Baby Boomers love your new logo, Gen Y are referring to it as ‘pox’ on their personal anti-establishment Blog.

In recent years some organisations have spent literally millions on establishing their visual identity.  BHP Billiton reportedly spent 4 Million perfecting their ‘blobs’ and whilst BP (UK) paid almost double that for their ‘green sun’. No need to bankrupt your brand to fund a new logo, however do spend resources defining the logo that best resonates authentically with your market position.

Language & Jargon

The Buddhist talks about ‘enlightenment’ and rebirth, the Christian; ‘heaven purgatory and hell’, and ‘reincarnation’ is a central belief of those of the Hindu faith. All religion has proprietary language that helps unify members, or those with an allegiance.

Strong brands also have their own language. Everything that leaves the Apple warehouse is called ‘I’ something - iPhone, iPod, iMac. Furthermore when you use a Mac you must also learn new terms like ‘the dock’, ‘time machine’ and   ‘spaces’. When used correctly, brand jargon helps build credibility and gives people a sense of ownership and belonging. Advertising agencies cottoned on to this a long time ago and began labeling processes with highly creative names (e.g. WIP, Brand DNA, Conceptual target etc).

Promises & Faith

When Moses returned from Mount Sinai, he came with two tablets that detailed a way of living that would bode well for your chances of a desirable afterlife. Similarly, the Buddha offers us an eightfold path to enlightenment and Jesus gives many lessons as to inherit the kingdom of heaven. All of these acts and suggestions are a way of stating a brand promise; ‘if you interact with us you will get…’

Brand promises create desirable expectations in the mind of your customer and provide a clear motivation as to why someone should buy your story and therefore product or service.

Rituals & Ceremonies

Without exception all religions involve annual rituals and ceremonies. Everything from sacrificing animals, removing a young boy’s foreskin and starving, to eating chocolate bunnies can be the order of the day when it comes to demonstrating your advocacy for your faith.

Similarly, strong brands also incorporate various traditions. If you go to McDonalds on a particular weekend of the year, you will find Kyle Sandilands or some other quasi celebrity volunteering their time for ‘McHappy Day’. Virgin Blue offers specials at certain times that represent their ‘happy hour’. Rituals and ceremonies are another way that strong brands (and religion) interact with their market.

Propaganda & Promotion

Be it a fish sticker on a car window or a canvas sign outside the local church that reads “He died for your sins”, religion has been promoting itself since its creation. The early ‘prophets’ and current day Jehovah’s Witness door knock initiatives are based on promoting a philosophy or concept.  This is not really so different from television advertising or a brand’s latest outdoor ad, aside form the bells, whistles and creative quality.

This is however not one for most religion’s strengths, in fact for some it is off-brand to overtly promote itself. We marketers would probably refer to this a viral approach.

Brand Behaviour  - Code of Conduct

My grandmother kept her “Sunday best’ is a special section of the wardrobe. Every Sunday she got dressed up and drove up to the local church with my grandfather.  When they got to church people smiled pleasantly at one another with an air of dignity, mutual respect intertwined with hushed tones. It was as if ‘politeness’ was the basis of the faith.  Conversely, go to a Jewish wedding and expect to suffer an injury as the groom enters, gets thrown onto a chair and tossed around the room, often belting unsuspecting patrons in the face with the odd limb. All religions have an unspoken code of conduct that defines the ‘feel’ of membership.

Strong brands also have a very subtle ‘feel’ to them that is often a result of organics interaction rather than a stated brand behaviour. Starbucks encourages casual discussion, checked shirts and old jeans, and if you don’t throw a pickle on the window at McDonalds, then you are off-brand.

Visual Language
Wear a small round hat on your head, dress in a burqa or don’t cut your hair ever and wear it in a turban. All of these things represent the visual language of particular religions. They are distinct and clearly distinguish one religion from another, much like a branded T-shirt or the style guide of a brand.

Distinction and unique appeal are what a brand lives and dies by. Visual language / brand recognition is the first stop on the way to brand advocacy.

Ambassadors
Its 8am, you are on a train when a man approaches you and tell you that he will ‘save’ you. You wonder which pub opened early and get off at the next station. Despite this being your safest bet, you may have missed out on hearing from a Christian ambassador looking to save you from your life of sin and future as Satan’s play toy.

All religions have ambassadors. People dedicated to recruiting new members. Strong brands also have ambassadors. Some of the better ones include John Travolta for Qantas. Some of the lesser ambassadors can be found behind the Citibank stand at the domestic terminal…and Tom Cruise…enough said.

Word of Mouth
According to basically everyone, the best kind of promotion is word-of-mouth and customer advocacy. Well look no further than religion to show you how this is done. If you are born from a Jewish mother, then by default, you become Jewish. What an awesome ‘dob in a friend promotion’. If you are from a Christian family your first name is referred to as your ‘Christian name’ …sneaky, and if you are a Scientologist, you can make a few bucks by recruiting people. Some of the best brand recruitment schemes come from religion. In fact in many cases, religion makes above the line advertising appear very unsophisticated. There is nothing more persuasive than the intimacy of a friend or family member sharing their heart-felt belief about something.

Exclusivity (to exclude others)
You must learn the ceremonial practices and protocol, profess your faith, and in most instances commit your soul to a religion before you can be part of it. In some cases you are not allowed in if you were born in a particular part of the world.

Brand and religion share a high degree of Exclusivity. The more exclusive, the more desirable to either involve oneself or oppose oneself.

The Wrap
In conclusion, this year when you sit down to review your brand and marketing plans, think Jesus, Moses, Mohammed and Buddha. Consider the way in which they have built mass followings and unwavering advocacy.

The main lesson from upstairs is, in order to build brand equity and advocacy, help people feel like your brand is part of their personal identity. History suggest that religion has mastered this, now it’s your turn.

(Published - Professional Marketing 2007)

The lack of brand understanding by employees is costing big brands millions and small brands everything. Karl Treacher looks at a fundamental flaw behind the demise and underachievement of many brands.

Our biggest challenges in effective branding don’t come from the W or T in a SWOT matrix, they come from U and I in the marketing department. Marketers are continuing to make fundamental brand consistency flaws while the brands that get it right disappear into the distance.

Someone once said that to be a good marketer you need to have the presence of mind and ability to communicate a solution that quickly gains acceptance and meets success. However to be great marketer, this solution needs to influence market behaviour both in the short and long term. The way to do this is often complicated and will involve a combination of sound analytical thinking, creativity and probably risk taking. From the important perspective of the customer, behavioural change only ever happens if the messages received are somewhat inspiring and altogether consistent.

‘Inspiring’ and ‘consistent’. Who would have thought it would be that easy? Well it isn’t, and companies are losing market share this very minute by being uninspiring or even inspiring, yet inconsistent.

The Problem

Consumers change their behaviour only when they believe in something. The most ingenious marketing idea on the planet won’t direct consumer behaviour if the values behind the idea or brand aren’t evident or even pronounced every time the consumer comes in contact with that brand. Concepts like ‘message consistent marketing’ and ‘channel marketing management programs’ have recently entered the every expanding marketing jargon dictionary to address this issue. Some of models introduced go far in coordinating and streamlining message consistency, however the one channel that continues to be the most difficult to communicate values through, is the channel with values of its own: ‘The forgotten channel’ - people.

As soon a consumer begins to believe in a brand, because of something they saw on the television, the net, or received in their mailbox, that brand has more to lose with that consumer than ever before. With every consumer belief, comes a set of consumer expectations around their experience with that brand. When a brand fails to meet one or more of those expectations, it risks consumer resentment and brand dissent. This is made significantly worse when the channel responsible is the brand’s people, as they are the only communication channel that consumers can form a reciprocal and meaningful relationship with. When the human face of a brand lets a consumer down, it all gets very personal. We only need to look at Australia’s financial institutions and our telecoms to see how devastating and irreversible this can be.

The Cause

Unaware

The nature of modern marketing focuses heavily on external communication (award winning TVC, results driven DM etc) and because of this, most marketers are either unaware or ill equipped to integrate brand values and behaviour into the people of an organisation. In fact most see that as the job of ‘someone’ in HR. Whilst dominant external marketing plans can work in industries like FMCG, where the brand (or relationship with the customer) involves influencing a customer without any real service element, most industries do have a face-to-face or interpersonal component that needs to understand and embrace promoted brand values.

Unqualified

Tertiary marketing qualifications don’t educate potential marketers about the techniques required to instill brand values and subsequent behaviour into a team of employees or client facing staff. By no fault of their own, marketing graduates and seasoned marketers alike have very little idea about what an ‘effective’ internal brand acceptance and brand behaviour program looks like.

Undervalued

Marketing budgets continue to place the ‘sexy stuff’ first. By this, I mean the conventional channel favorites; anything that a consumer can ‘see, hear or touch’. People development is often either absent or prioritised to the bottom of the resource management list regardless of its ability to be ‘felt’ by a consumer.

Uninspiring

Internal communication programs implemented by the more aware marketing teams often miss the mark. Unlike much marketing activity, the development of human capital doesn’t fit into a ‘campaign’ plan. Team ‘away days’ and particularly the all too common conference techniques currently used, serve at best as shallow motivation without scratching the surface of an individual’ value paradigm.

Uncooperative

If the marketing budget won’t accommodate people development, other department budgets may. However the conditioned understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the Sales and Human Resources function again rarely takes responsibility for brand specific people development. Further, HR departments universally are renowned for not understanding nor wanting to understand current business issues, and this includes brand imperatives.

The Solution

Achieving brand and message potency through consistency requires a great deal of collaborative effort and understanding. With regard to the brand’s ‘forgotten channel’ – its people, marketers may also be required to manage their egos and question their attachment to their more overt executions, or ‘the new ad campaign’ that is due next month. The solution to brand consistency is bigger than most marketers think and will call on skills and resources that most marketing teams are unlikely to possess.

So what can you do? The answers lie with brands that have got it right and demonstrate this everyday. Brands like Virgin Blue, Baker’s Delight and MBF. All of the organisations behind these brands practice some form of staff-based consistency model that involves five key requirements:

1. Support from above – Dedication to culture and human capital

The ‘feel’ of a brand is often sub-conscious impression of its culture. Not surprisingly, organisational culture development starts at the top. Internal lobbying, evidence-based persuasion and open communication with the Board or C level executives are the first steps to gaining genuine acceptance and ultimately integrated brand ownership from any organisation. On your own, you are doomed.

2. A well defined Brand Identity

Brand identity models are not only a ‘funky’ tool introduced by your advertising agency to justify expenditure. They also serve the very important purpose of illustrating elements of your brand, which can be in turn interpreted and applied to employee values and behaviours.

3. Behavioural and/or psychological understanding and expertise

The human psyche is more complex than any marketing plan or brand strategy ever created. Understanding the psychological relationship behind human image and personal identity is not a core skill of most marketers. The employment or engagement of behavioural specialists allows an organisation to stop guessing about what motivates people and ensures that defined brand values can be represented in a way that appeals to employee personal values – not just for a day, but everyday.

4. Interdepartmental cooperation and cohesion

Strengthening the relationship with those that develop your brand’s people has to be a priority. Some of the best results come from organisations that understand that the marketing function and that of learning and development are just two arms of the same body. Imagine how much more effective a communication skills workshop would be if it represented your brand’s values through the content and methodology, rather than merely addressing the generic skill component.

5. A commitment to your people as a communication channel

A brand is an organisation’s attempt to form a relationship with people (consumers). These people are more likely to understand and believe in your brand if your people do. Only when human brand behaviour becomes an integral part of your marketing plan, can you be sure that your brand’s values will speak for themselves.

Brands communicate to their markets via a multi-supplier infrastructure. Meaning, if you aren’t launching your latest TVC, outdoor or direct mail piece, you are probably managing an internal brand communication project or activating an interactive campaign. Current day marketing responsibilities mean juggling many communication channels and working alongside a diverse plethora of expert communication channel suppliers.

Is that a typo, or did that just read ‘alongside’? Wouldn’t ‘alongside’ indicate that all parties including suppliers are working together towards a common goal? Well, in some instances they are; however, profits returned to a client are rarely shared with the respective supplier.

Agencies for instance may receive awards and the appointment of future business. In the short-term, however, like all businesses, suppliers have their eyes on one thing: their profit and loss statement.

So, do your suppliers really care about (a) the direction and long-term success of your brand? Or are they more interested in (b) selling you something that will benefit them directly? If you answered anything but ‘b’, you are very optimistic, trusting and unfortunately naïve. Suppliers have budgets just like you do. Suppliers need to make certain profits each month to meet running costs.

Does this mean that all suppliers are just in it for the cash? Yes and no. Supplier welfare will always figure ahead of a client’s brand performance. Most suppliers understand, however, that poor channel performance will result in a reallocation of resources away from them, so it is in everyone’s best interest for suppliers to perform well for their client’s brand.

OK, so now that you realise your channel suppliers are only your friends because you pay them, you also need to recognise that these friends often don’t play well with others. Particularly when these ‘others’ have the potential to starve one another’s P&L statements. For example, if your PR firm sells you a wonderful media campaign for the next three months that is outside of the designated budget, then you will naturally move resources away from another channel. Your channel suppliers know this and, consciously or not, are always competing against one another for your resources.

Your problem…

The implications of subliminal faction infighting and competition can be seriously damaging for any brand. The damage is most readily experienced by customers receiving a disjointed brand experience. The better performing brands have the correct weightings on the correct communication channels, and all are based on the optimal market brand interaction and experience. With so many parties naturally vested in their own interests, how can you safeguard the integrity of your brand?

A solution…

Some years ago, Microsoft tackled this issue by introducing a marketing procedure called ‘OneBrief’. OneBrief was the name given to a regular meeting of marketing staff and suppliers to discuss brand decisions. This multi-supplier WIP ensured that all marketing stakeholders were aware of and agreed on brand development pathways. Problem solved, I hear you say… maybe and maybe not.

The concept of OneBrief or ‘OneWIP’ (as named by some other brands that have followed Microsoft’s lead) has yielded some very positive brand consistency outcomes. The concept has also helped marketing and brand managers manage resources. The companies that are set to benefit most, however, are those who have taken this concept one step further and have established what is known as a ‘Brand Council’.

A Brand Council is a group of people, all of whom have responsibility to a particular brand. The most effective Brand Councils are made up of: the client-side marketing team along with representatives from the usual supplier arms: advertising, PR, interactive, environmental (marketing), HR and even L&D for the more intelligent brands.

Furthermore, the most efficient Brand Councils are facilitated by an independent brand custodian. This brand custodian is entrusted to work parallel with the marketing team in navigating a brand’s course. This independent must possess a unique blend of skills and knowledge around the brand in focus, the commercial interests of all parties and the human negotiation process.

Brand custodians are impervious to supplier influence, imposed obligation through wine and dine tactics, and ‘new’ inspiration from a change in staff at an appointed agency.

Holding the reins…

The fortune of a brand’s journey can often be told well before the wagon leaves town, by looking at who is holding the reins and those riding shotgun.

Ask yourself, “Am I truly leading or just steering?”, and have you chosen partners who are genuinely interested in your brand’s optimal passage, or are they more likely to shoot one another to gain greater spoils in the purse?

As cowboy folklore suggests: ‘Trust everybody, but make sure it’s you who cuts the deck and, whatever you do, never ask a barber whether you need a haircut.’

My November Blog can be found here

A leader must define their own personal brand. Regardless of how effective or experienced a leader may be, the impressions they create personally and through the media have a significant effect on the brand image of their organisation.

Our Leadership Branding work ensures that leaders communicate authentically, whilst echoeing their organisations’s brand values and identity. For further information, call our Sydney office on 02 9004 7484.

Brussels sprouts. The testes of the vegetable world. Who in their right mind likes Brussels sprouts? People generally like the concept of a Brussels sprout rather than the experience of eating one. A recent survey found that 43 percent of people who indicated an above average interest in Brussels sprouts were significantly dissatisfied following a consumption test. Furthermore, 14 percent changed their opinion completely and pledged never to eat another Brussels sprout ever again.

It is relatively easy for humans to buy the idea of a product or service in the absence of personal experience; in fact the success of most above-the-line advertising and promotion depends on us doing exactly that. However, poor personal experience can erase our cognitive purchase in a matter of seconds. Why? Because our experiences in life contribute to an emotional marking system that in combination with cognitive references, guide us and allow us to make decisions.

So “thanks for the psycho-babble and vegetable genetalia imagery” I hear you say. Well if you are a marketer and don’t fully understand the human decision making process, (beyond Buyer Behavior 101), then you are effectively guessing as to whether your brand concepts and communication will be received by your market as intended.

Some of the top performing brands are not there by chance. These brands have recognized that to affect human behavior, decision making and personal preference structures, brand communication must do more than just follow the tried, tested and very temporary communication procedures that appeal to that of the human ego.

Marketing to the human ego is called “egoic marketing,” and involves any message that appeals to a person’s sense of inadequacy or superficial desire. Maslow would have referred to this form of marketing, as communication appealing to “affiliation or esteem needs.” More recently, behavioral psychologist Robert Cialdini would, I imagine, liken this form of influence to “social proof.”

One of the most obvious examples of egoic marketing is seen in luxury car advertising: polished silver, shiny black leather and overt expressions of jealousy from the Jones’ or the couple next door. For decades now we have watched brands advertise concept after concept that are supposed to evoke feelings of inadequacy with our current lot in life and fuel our desire to have more or better in order to be more of better.

So why do so many brands appeal to this perceived sense of need, lack and competition? Go and find a 15-year-old girl and ask her about what is important to her. This should give you an insight into this particular marketing rationale. The values that are most prominent during our teenage years are all about projection of personal image. Teenagers care more about what other people think than they do about almost anything else. The development of personal identity and insatiable search for approval occupy the majority of a teenager’s time, resources and energy.

Eschewing more traditional marketing techniques, such as TV and print advertising and going for more theatrical in store demonstrations, Natalie Bloom has built her eponymous brand into an international household name for many women.

Bloom is not your average young entrepreneur. She didn’t plan on becoming a multi-millionaire when she started her hobby selling home-made cards and gift ideas to small stores. But 10 years later she’s juggling motherhood and a business empire.

The Bloom brand is probably best understood through the character ‘Miss Bloom’ who is printed across the packaging of the company’s various products. She is positioned as a sassy, fashion-forward, modern woman, perhaps much like her creator.

When people talk about the Bloom brand they often attribute its allure to its “funky”, “playful” and quality offering, which could explain its rise among the ranks of celebrity users such as Kylie Minogue, Liv Tyler and a string of supermodels.

Founder of brand consultancy Brand Behaviour, Karl Treacher, says the success of Bloom has a lot to do with the fact that its founder released a product before it even became a brand and offered characteristics that resembled her own personality.

“If you look at Richard Branson [Virgin] he has a great range of products and he’s known for his innovation. He’s a fun-loving guy who started a record company and turned it into a multi-million dollar empire. If you look at a lot of successful companies, they have a direct correlation with the founder and this is important, otherwise its life[span] would be short.”

Treacher adds that in Bloom’s case she has a “quirky and non-conventional” quality which means that there’s “really no effort required to continue her brand potency”.

“The brand has absolutely taken off. It sort of just happened, there appeared to be no warning… sometimes you’ve got to be in the right place at the right time, but you also have to be in the right frame of mind, and the outlook of Bloom is very timely,” Treacher says.

Bloom’s first foray into the world of business began in 1993 when at just 22 she approached Myer to sell her candle-making kit. It was distributed nationally and a year later launched into David Jones.

Now Bloom stocks both department stores with everything from cosmetics and lip gloss to bath gels and hand creams, with 70% of the company’s output exported to Asia, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and parts of Europe.

A turning point for the company occurred in 1997 when it developed a lip gloss and today 80% of its turnover comes from cosmetics.