We are certainly big believers in the power of advertising to build brands. Of course, advertising alone won’t win the day when it comes to brand-building, but it is a helpful maneuver.  Advertising increases awareness and can seed meaningful points of difference for a product or company–but advertising alone will never build “belief”–the mark of every strong brand.

Ultimately, the most robust, lasting brands have a number of things in common:

1. A ravenous customer focus

2. A meaning-filled point of difference

3. Followers who personally identify with what the company or product represents

Have those three things and customers (internal and external) become fierce loyalists who not only “buy” what you have to sell (and say)–but who will don your “brand badge” and invest their social capital in evangelizing your cause.  Just consider what Apple has accomplished over the years..and what Toyota, Microsoft and Back of America are struggling to regain and you’ll get the picture.
So it killed me last night when I saw L.L. Bean and Keurig paying for prime time television spots. One might think that these commercials signified that Keurig and L.L. Bean were “players”…in the “big leagues” of go-to Christmas options.  To me, they signaled a marketing Hail Mary (or “Hail Merry”) for two belief brands perilously under pressure.

There is no doubt that L.L. Bean has had to transform itself into a better digital player.  That said, L.L. Bean is a beautiful company that has never lost its focus on providing its customers with a quality products they can trust.  L.L. Bean was rewarded with employees and customers who fiercely identified with the company and what it stood for. Generations of “believers” turned to L.L. Bean over the years to outfit their outdoor excursions, arm their children and grandchildren for back-to-school and solve their annual “holiday shopping predicament”.  In fact, long before the advent of the “Nordstrom Way“, L.L. Bean’s unwavering customer-focus made its Freeport, ME outpost a “Mecca” for Bean-believers.   When you’ve got  a system of believers as valuable and robust as the one L.L. Bean possesses–why advertise on television?  It is enough to make a believer wonder, no?

And then there’s Keurig–

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) acquired a breakthrough product in Keurig that was poised to feed the American coffee addiction that Starbucks initated–while “changing the game” via a new delivery mechanism perfectly aligned with American families’ “new normal” (a cash-strapped, time-pressed, indulgence-starved reality that created the need for a more customized, more convenient, less expensive, quality cup of joe).  With Keurig, GMCR had an innovative solution that was sharable, viral and so perfectly “razor and blade” that even Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks were compelled to fall in line.  Like any great brand, Keurig users are “Keurig-People” and they are the first ones to tell you so.  So why would GMCR feel compelled to turn to television advertising to fuel this fire?

It all feel a bit suspicious to me–and makes me wonder about these two belief-brands.  Is the strength of their belief systems waning?  Just sewing those seeds of doubt in the minds of their believers may make their investment in television advertising particularly expensive.

I just can’t help but think that investing in accessibility (via sampling or free one-day shipping) rather than awareness-building would have been far better strategic maneuver for both of these esteemed belief-brands.

In the cases of L.L. Bean and Keurig, prime-time advertising just makes them seem desperate…and reminds me of this classic song by the Hollies.  Listen closely to the lyrics and you will see what I mean.

Jeff Goodby’s rant in Adweek about “ghost ads” and Cannes Lions basically speaks for itself.

I understand his position…actually, I think that I kind of agree with it.

I suppose the bigger question for me is why clients don’t buy the “ghost ad” work? Why is the best work…the work that doesn’t run? Is is too edgy? Disruptive? Too risky?

Gaming the “Awards Game” doesn’t surprise me. Creative thinkers will always find a way to game the system.

The tragedy is that some of the best work…never gets to see the light of day.

From BING…to Hunch—interest in crowd-sourced decision-making is warming up.
We couldn’t be happier about that.

PS- You may also want to check out the Steelcase showroom. As always, there is some exciting stuff there too…and it is just beautiful.

A few weeks back I picked up a business card sized slip of paper while at Starbucks.  It challenged me “Have an idea for us?” and then pointed me to MyStarbucksIdea.com.  Part virtual suggestion box, part social network..I think that the concept has merit.  (Actually, Dell proved that it does…Perhaps Michael and Howard are golfing buddies?)  Far too many companies see their customers as an unintelligent herd and discount their wisdom accordingly.  Sure, there will be work involved shifting the grains of wheat from the chaff…but one grain can eventually yield a field of opportunity.  Also, Dell and Starbucks have to make sure that they respond to the community…otherwise the “wishes” will stop flowing and (even worse) Starbucks/Dell will be accused of not listening.

Of course it is no surprise that this concept resonates with us.  We are big believers in leveraging technology to increase customer feedback and open-source innovation.  After all, we have been creating Customer Cabinets (customer advisory communities) since 2004. Just click on the people figures in the scholar’s cabinet to learn more.  I know, I know…shameless plug….but WE ARE BIG BELIEVERS IN THIS KIND OF STUFF.  That said, we believe that the idea of a “suggestion box” just doesn’t take the concept far enough.

Some have roundly dismissed Starbuck’s idea-site–but I think that they are making progress in the right direction.  At the very least, mystarbucksidea.com is a great way to signal to the world that Starbucks is valuing its customers a bit more than it has in recent years.  Perceived hubris and “inside the beltway” thinking hurt Starbucks in recent years…refocusing on the beans and the customer experience will be key to its evolution in the years ahead.

No new idea is perfect.  That said, the fact that Starbucks conceived and launched MyStarbucksIdea so quickly should be lauded….it very easily could have existed on a silver platter, with rose petals and glitter…unexecuted.

BTW…This is an interesting piece by Forrester on the movement toward online customer feedback/innovation communities.

We are big believers in “movement making”…and how, one, beautifully simple idea can ignite the masses.

Our most recent find is Obama Baton.  This idea is a nice one.  Leverage the kinship that marathoners feel to spread the Obama-virus in a visually stirring, emotionally poignant and creative way.

What is even more impressive is the timeline for this project…from concept to community…in about ten days.  It is amazing what a shared passion and the courage to “just jump” can enable one to achieve.

Nice job El Gaffney, Clay Parker Jones, Kevin Panke & Hustlewood.

Kurt Perschke is creating a one man revolution about awareness, art…and how adding a bit of absurdity into our daily “public” lives can free us up to think about what it means to PLAY (and why we may be holding back).  Perschke’s 250 lb inflatable ball has made an impact on humans as far afield as Portland, OR and Sidney, Australia.  Well…(drumroll)……The RedBall project has come come to Chicago.  Check it out.

If you do search out the ball, play close attention to how others interact with it.  They tell me that kids tend to “dive in” and bound into, touch, squeeze and laugh about the piece…whereas  many adults seem to try to ignore it.  

 What does that say about our license to “play”?