Why Branding Matters Now More Than Ever

We are living through one of the greatest economic and social upheavals in history. 

The flow of goods and information around the world is increasing at a pace so dizzying and frenetic that it's no wonder the average attention span can now be measured in seconds. 

The sheer volume and variety of the endless stream of stuff that is presented for our consumption is beyond imagination. 

And as the old saying goes, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

The great industrial might of the U.S. is being dwarfed by the mind bogglingly immense production capabilities that are continuing to evolve in Asia and other parts of the world. 

And the tremendous investment in those huge facilities means that they must produce! 

The result is ever more variety, available ever more cheaply. But the flip side is that it's ever more difficult to make money selling it. With more and more sources for similar or identical goods driving prices down, profit margins start to be measured in fractions of a percent. 

Cue the dramatic music. 

The answer is branding. 

That is what differentiates otherwise identical products in today's marketplace. 

Why buy a plain old "no name" widget for $9.99 when you can own a premium, all plastic, genuine Nonpareil Millennium™ Widget for only $39.99?

The fact that it's virtually identical to the regular model (except for a few cosmetic touches) will not matter to that segment of the market for whom brand and image are important. 

Therefore the end result is that, in lieu of a revolutionary product, today's innovation the is in creating and building a brand that the public will identify with and become engaged in. 

Thus we see the huge investment in social media and the bated-breath rush to find the next great marketing gimmick. 

It was with more than a little amusement that I read an article after this year's Super Bowl. For those who are unaware, the Super Bowl has become the annual 'place to be' for companies with lots of money to burn.

This article was positively euphoric in describing the unbelievable success that was seen by the companies who ponied up and paid obscene amounts of money for their Super Bowl face time. 

But the kicker was that the article didn't reference any conventional yardstick for determining success; it measured clicks. As in website clicks. 

Incredibly, this article talked about how thrilled advertisers were with their astronomical click counts, yet not one reference was mentioned about sales or ROI or profitability. 

It's like the 90s all over again!

"We don't care if you buy our stuff. But please friend us on FaceBook!"

Don't worry about nasty stuff like making money. Just get more page views and clicks on YouTube and everybody's good!

But I digress. For those of us who have to do without the virtually bottomless pockets that these big players enjoy, the bottom line is still what's important. 

Branding is crucial to differentiate your product from your competitor's offering. 

For a brand to properly do its job it must foster feelings in your customers by association. 

They must want an Acme toothbrush simply because having one will satisfy them in a way that no other toothbrush can. 

I know a fellow who used to work for a popular caterer, which we'll call "Smith's." At one point he got permission from his boss (Mr. Smith) to handle some smaller affairs himself, with food prepared in the main commissary. 

I attended a couple of "his" affairs and it was fascinating to listen to the comments.

One guy was heard to say to his friend, "Yeah the food's pretty good, but it's not Smith's!"

It was the same food! Cooked in the same kitchen!

But Smith's branding and reputation imbued any food he served with something 'extra.' People actually perceived that the food tasted better because of the brand name. 

It's a common phenomenon. Nowadays savvy businesses will routinely market different lines of nearly identical goods with radically different branding to appeal to different markets. 

Near where I work in Manhattan, there are a number of Thai restaurants in close proximity to one another. They each have slightly different menus, different designs, different price points and appeal to different demographics. But guess what? They're all owned by the same person.

A brand's image is replete with intangibles. The look and feel and materials in the packaging convey things about you to your customer. Are they the things you want to convey? Are you trying to be aloof and formal? Warm and friendly? High-tech and forward thinking? It's all there in how you present your company and your wares. Make sure the image your brand presents is the one you want the world to perceive. 

What do you think? I’d love to hear!

Danny Kay is marketing and advertising professional as well as a designer and photographer with over 25 years of experience. He's worked with businesses and organizations of all sizes, up to Fortune 500.

He can be reached through his website, www.dannykaydesign.com, or at dannykay@outlook.com.

PS - This blog is now featured on http://Alltop.com, your source for all the top stories!

PPS - Follow me on TWITTER @dannykaydesign

© 2014 Danny Kay - All Rights Reserved

The Need to Be Me or Why You Need Creatives

In other posts I've discussed the differences between creative and business oriented people. Sometimes I've done it with humor, and sometimes not. But one idea that I haven't yet explored in depth is the need to be unique. 

It's something much more common among creatives. They find it anathema to put their name on anything that they haven't built from the ground up. 

Clip art? Hah! I'll make it myself in Adobe Illustrator. 

Stock Photography? Feh! I have gorgeous shots from my vacation that are just what we need. If not, I'll go out and take some. 

I know that it sounds a lot like ego, but it's really not the same thing at all. It's a need to be distinct, a drive to be not-ordinary and to let the world know what they can do. 

Ego is wanting people to fawn on you and swoon over you and talk about how great you are. 

Creatives just want to be recognized for who they are and what they can do. They want to be validated. And more than that, they feel a need internally to create, even if no one notices. How many stories do you hear of artists who said they were “born” to dance, sing, paint, mime? It’s something that these people feel as a pressure inside themselves.

People who are in it only for money have no such considerations. They don't care whose widget they sell, or how good it is, as long as it's profitable. For the true Businessman, quality and innovation are nothing but marketing buzzwords. 

For the Creative, they're his primary considerations, since his product reflects the essence of who he is.

The Creative looks at the Businessman and asks, "Don't you want to create something? Don't you want to show the world what a cool, edgy, forward thinking company this is? So what if it costs money! Look at the payback!"

And with those last two sentences, his argument is lost. For the Businessman cares precisely and singularly about that cost. And any payback which isn't measured in near certain  immediate profit is simply irrelevant. Branding? Nah. Image? Who needs it! 

Of course there will always be mistakes and boondoggles. No business is immune. But certainly no money will be wasted on the frivolous word of some...artist. 

I actually spoke with someone a while ago whose firm tries to match up investors with startup ventures. He said that the hardest part of his job is that the creative people who come up with all the great ideas only know about their passion for their work and their product, and how it can “change the world,” whereas the investors are only interested in how it can make them some money. They’re not interested in the passion, and don’t really understand it. The creative people, on the other hand, can’t get away from it since it’’s an intrinsic part of who they are. In the Businessman’s eyes, the Creative becomes too emotionally attached to the cause (redefining an industry, feeding the poor, healing the sick, etc.), and isn’t focused enough (or at all) on the end game (making money).

I’ve had different versions of this conversation with many people over the years, and it’s usually ended off about here. Creative’s are hopeless dreamers who occasionally have inspired ideas that practical minded Businesspeople can then convert into viable enterprises.

But as I’ve gotten older and more experienced, I’ve begun to realize that there’s a piece missing in this picture.  The passion that drives so many Creatives, and that Businesspeople so cavalierly dismiss is far more relevant to the bottom line than most people seem to realize, at least for certain types of products.

In other words, possessing and understanding creative, artistic, innovative passion is not just a nice thing for the kid in your graphics department, it’s something that your senior marketing people need to have as well, for that is what will propel your business to true success. It is crucial to understand what makes people want to buy your products. And yet time after time I have seen Businesspeople dismiss and deride Creatives for suggesting business solutions based on their artistic insights. Or, worse yet, they take the kernel of a good idea and so dilute it with irrelevant puffery that the original concept is lost, which is then naturally blamed on the Creative who suggested it, and not the Businessguy who sandbagged it.

The Creative is the one who understands what compels people to innovate and create, and want that “next new thing,” and how to marry form and function into a product for which people are willing and happy to pay top dollar. The Creative understands the feeling deep in an artist’s gut that pushes him to compose a song or paint a painting or write a novel. And as mercenary as it sounds, it’s that same feeling that will motivate the artist to go out and buy a new guitar, or art supplies, or a new laptop. So it’s really important that there’s someone in the business world who “gets it.” That’s the Creative. 

I daresay that there are many fabulously profitable ideas that have never seen the light of day because of the language barrier between these two worlds, and it’s a real shame.

What do you think? I’d love to hear!

Danny Kay is marketing and advertising professional as well as a designer and photographer with over 25 years of experience. He's worked with businesses and organizations of all sizes, up to Fortune 500.

He can be reached through his website, www.dannykaydesign.com, or at dannykay@outlook.com.

PS - This blog is now featured on http://Alltop.com, your source for all the top stories!

PPS - Follow me on TWITTER @dannykaydesign

© 2014 Danny Kay - All Rights Reserved

Apple, Wall Street, the Press and You

I just finished reading another hatchet job from the AP after Apple announced its latest quarterly sales and earnings. 

Reading the AP, you'd think Apple was a few months away from some kind of crisis. The piece fairly drips with cognitive dissonance. On the one hand the Cupertino tech giant sold a record, massive 51 MILLION iPhones last quarter. And yet there was a sharp stock sell off because it wasn't 55 million, as some anonymous analysts predicted. 

Oh no! They only made 13 BILLION dollars this quarter! Quick! Time to sell every share we have before we lose our life savings!

Apple CEO Tim Cook was made to sound like some kind of errant schoolboy who simply can't get his lessons right. 

Doesn't he realize that people want cheaper smartphones with bigger screens? Anyone can see that Samsung and Google are cleaning Apple's RAM buffer!

Except that they're not. Just a couple of days ago there was a very quiet article about Samsung's dismal quarterly earnings. No one's talking about that, probably because it's not news. 

But to listen to the almighty press, you'd think it was Apple that was having a hard time. 

I've got a news flash for you. 

Apple is the most successful tech company in the world, 

whether you measure by profit or brand image. (I would also argue that their products are better, but that, at least, you may think is open to debate.)

So why do we have this constant drumbeat announcing Apple's demise? Well first of all it always makes good copy. It's like putting "man bites dog" on the cover of a tabloid. People know it's not true but they can't help wanting to read about it. 

The second reason is more sinister. Sadly, there are those sleazy individuals who engage in manipulation of the public's perception of Apple to affect its stock price, even if they have to make up bad news from thin air to do it. 

And that brings me to my next point.

In another post, I wrote a somewhat tongue-in-cheek comparison of creative people versus businessmen. I don't believe there is currently any more public venue in which to view this than the rivalry between Apple and the Samsung/Google-opoly. 

Steve Jobs, for all his well known flaws was someone who genuinely loved to create and innovate and inspire.

Apple has tried to remain faithful to that philosophy.

The other players in this drama are from an entirely different ethos. 

The beauty and elegance of Apple's products escapes them, as does the elemental appreciation of Apple’s blend of art and technology. 

They understand neither the feeling of accomplishment upon its creation nor the charm and satisfaction in its use. 

They understand only profit and functionality, or the lack thereof. 

Apple brought about a quantum leap in mobile phone and computing technology, introducing an entirely new set of standards, capabilities and expectations.

Samsung, by their own admission, analyzed and duplicated the iPhone as much as possible without giving any thought to innovating and creating their own distinctly different competing product. 

I know I prefer iOS devices because the overall experience is smoother and more polished than on Android or Windows. It simply appeals to my artistic nature.

You may ask, "So what's this got to do with me, and why should I care?”

Most people probably won't care any farther than it affects the price and features of their next smartphone. 

And hey, let's be honest. Apple is also in it for the money, too. Lots and lots and lots of money. And being creative and innovative doesn't make you some kind of Divine entity, immune to any and all criticism. 

And yet...

Maybe I'm just an idealistic dreamer, but I do think there is a quality and character about Apple's products and culture that speaks to me and reaches me on more than just a superficial level. 

And I'm obviously not the only one. 

And those cynical cold blooded individuals who trash Apple's - and other companies’ - images, bad mouth their products and spread malicious false information just to make a buck are doing it at the expense of something far better and nobler and more significant than they are. It's not all that different from the people who converge on natural disaster sites to pillage and rob the victims blind. Except that in this case they're actually creating the disaster first, and then doing their pillaging a la "Wolf of Wall Street."

And who are the victims? Well the most obvious ones are the shareholders who get clobbered. Then there are people who are turned off of purchasing Apple products due to the ceaseless negative publicity. (Yes they're out there. I've met some of them.) I classify them as victims since they are recipients of misinformation, which has formed the basis for some very strongly held biases. And of course Apple, and any other similarly victimized company suffers at least nominally from the bad PR. As successful as they are, there's no telling where they'd be without these miscreants nipping at their heels. 

So, again, why should you care?

Because I believe that when people are confronted with something that’s inherently, intrinsically, fundamentally wrong, and don’t react to it, it diminishes who they are as people. 

By reacting, I’m not talking about boycotts or letters to congressmen or demonstrations. I’m talking about reacting internally. You have to hold onto your internal barometer of what’s right and what’s wrong, no matter what ridiculous spin the media puts on things.

Otherwise each time it happens, a little bit of your humanity will be chipped away until we have a society in which this behavior is not just covertly allowed to happen, but openly flaunted and encouraged.

What do you think? I’d love to hear!

Danny Kay is marketing and advertising professional as well as a designer and photographer with over 25 years of experience. He's worked with businesses and organizations of all sizes, up to Fortune 500.

He can be reached through his website, www.dannykaydesign.com, or at dannykay@outlook.com.

PS - This blog is now featured on http://Alltop.com, your source for all the top stories!

PPS - Follow me on TWITTER @dannykaydesign

© 2014 Danny Kay - All Rights Reserved