GO AHEAD, PUT THE NAME ANGUS ON THAT COW

By Shu Manalo

It’s easy to think that branding is simply naming something, or claiming it. Just because you’ve done the first step of designing a logo and slapping it on the packaging and business card doesn’t mean the product you’re selling is now a Brand.

Brands are not created on a flat surface, or in a conference room. While you can build equities on the products you sell, a brand is developed through a consumer filtration device we at TeamAsia call EXPERIENCE.

“Another ECQ. I deserve some Angus steak this weekend.”

“Angus beef is too expensive, my kids can’t even tell the diff”

“Angus beef makes me feel special.”

“That Angus beef just upped my chef rating!”

Every good, bad and ugly experience the consumer has with a product or service becomes part of its brand. Fortunately, there are ways to curate this experience through 5 steps. Many brands take years to get these 5 steps right, but they are always a good place to start.

1 IDENTIFY THE TARGET AUDIENCE.

The operative word here is TARGET and not audience. Many product and service companies want to talk to everyone: all mothers and all millennials. The problem with this tact is that few companies can afford that kind of reach. Think about it, everyone can have rice and beef; those are commodities. But if you want to attach a price premium to that product by branding it, you need to find a market who find value in exclusivity, rarity, excellence. It might be a smaller market, but you will have less negative reaction to the price tag. Starbucks, Apple, Grab have very different audiences from Nescafe, Samsung and Angkas. All are strong brands; all know who they’re talking to and whom they are not.

2 FIND A UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION.

FACT:  Product uniqueness is rare. Just because you put BEST in your Mission/Vision statement doesn’t mean the audience will belive it. Knowing your competition well is key to finding out what is unique about you. Sometimes you don’t need to be the best, sometimes you simply need to be the first. Sometimes you don’t even need to be first. Avis famously used being Number 2 as an edge, “We’re Number 2. We try harder.” The VW played up being small against GM gas-guzzlers. Kobe beef farmers claim that their cows are given beer and massages making them the standard for tenderness and luxury. In many cases, the uniqueness is in the packaging, or the communication. If you can’t find it in the product, find it in the other marketing Ps.

3 GIVE YOUR BRAND A PERSONALITY

Brands are built on relationships. Unless you can ascribe human characteristics to your brand, most consumers will see it as nothing but an inanimate object or a utilitarian service. Airlines are particularly clever about this. While many airlines provide the same routes and services, the personality makes the differentiation. Singapore Airlines takes off from the quiet grace of the Singapore girl. Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, brings its fun and games attitude through is barker hosts. Haagen Dazs has always used “sensuousness” as its character, making it vastly different from the children’s party personality of Baskin Robbins.

4 CRAFT A POSITIONING STATEMENT.

A positioning statement identifies the specific role you play in your consumer’s life. It clearly states the solution that you provide best for your target consumer. “Angus beef is the most luxurious beef you can find. It is aged, it’s rare, it’s expensive. Because right now, you deserve nothing less.” This is a good positioning statement because it tells you what Angus beef is as much as what it is NOT. It cleverly qualifies that it’s not for every day, but perhaps today. It is not for every one either. There is always a temptation to be everything for everyone.  Remember, if you are everywhere, you are nowhere.

5 CREATE A NARRATIVE.

BRANDS are relationship journeys. They go through challenges, plot twists and redirection, failures and successes. Part of our role as your brand partner is to help write that story. The story is usually hopeful and filled with the right intentions. Sometimes it reads like a manifesto, sometimes it’s a pledge, sometimes it’s an internal prayer. The Brand discovery that we go through in our audits and workshops leads towards that narrative. But it is not the end-all and be-all. It is simply the prologue.

The true success of the Brand is when it lands on a consumer’s plate, he takes it to his lips for a bite and says. “Yes. That Brand is me. And I am that Brand.”

TeamAsia partners with you in developing your Brand Architecture through Brand Audits and Branding Workshops that dive deeply into what makes a brand. Our workshops inspire you with global and local examples to help you map out your own Brand journey, identify growth markets, find your uniqueness and positioning, and write the first chapters of your Brand narrative. Interested? Send us a message at info@teamasia.com.