A meme is a universal symbol that immediately conveys meaning no matter the culture or context of the symbol's origin.  It can be an icon, a word or phrase, a tune, a fashion, a color, etc..

It's actually an idea and its associated attributes, crystallized into a symbol that evokes a cultural response.

Several examples:

Red Cross for the organization and it's purpose

the military directive, "charge!"

The eagle representing the USA

Mortar & pestle standing for pharmacy

the circle/slash depicting "no".

The term was first coined by an English geneticist, Richard Dawkins, in the mid-seventies. It wasn't until the 1990's that the concept was adopted by several pioneers in the marketing communications business.

The use of memes, i.e., symbols, have been in use in marketing since the first craftsman carved his or her initials on the bottom of a pot and the trademark was born.

But the definition and study of memes in the marketing arena is recent. Two books, Geoff Ayling's Rapid Response Advertising and Jay Conrad Levinson's Guerrilla Creativity, speak to better marketing through memes. Primarily, they concentrate on messaging and marketing. (Levinson’s book draws heavily from Ayling’s.)

The implications for branding have not been isolated by either, nor by anyone else I'm aware of. So, here goes:

The first thought might be to adapt an existing meme to represent your own business. Lots of entrepreneurs do this, usually with the aid of an advertising media salesperson. They choose a piece of clipart that represents, say "pharmacy". In their directory ads, on their coupons, in their mailings, the RX symbol or the mortar & pestle becomes the dominant visual. This does identify the product category, but it does not differentiate the pharmacy from competitors.

So in general, familiar, frequently-used memes are not effective branding elements.

However, it is possible to adapt an existing meme with favorable attributes and associations that are not thought of in the context of your product category. This utilizes a definition of creativity: the combining of two or more disparate elements to make something new.

An example might be the use of the word "Doctor" in the context of auto repair - The Car Doctor.

You can claim the meme as your own in its new context, but beware of imitators. Once you've created the link between a meme and your product category, others will follow.

So you had better establish your meme-based brand quickly and forcefully.

More on memes in branding in future blogs.

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

In my last blog I wrote about memes as being symbols with universal meaning. And if not universal, at least cultural. They are sort of shorthand expressions that aid in communication at a very basic level.

I got to thinking about how memes can be used in creating a brand. The trouble is, a more vital attribute of a brand is uniqueness. Unique trumps familiar, and a meme usually represents the familiar.

So is there such a thing as a unique meme?

Yes, at least in the creative context in which you place that  meme. Making the familiar unique is quite a feat, but it has been done by some of the best brands. Here are a couple that come to mind:

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Fast Company

Gorilla Glue

Jolly Green Giant

Speaking of "Green Giants", remember that color can evoke images and create impressions. So colors can be memes, both the hue and the name of a color.

A light blue Tiffany box says expensive and elegant. With a name like "Red Bull", how can anyone not link the name with energy? Think of all the product names that utilize color to help define and differentiate: White Diamonds, Jet Blue, Green-Built, Silver Bullet, Mellow Yellow, Purple Cow and many, many more.

Besides colors, memes can also be found in the realms of scents, musical snippets, sound effects, animate & organic associations, and historic & mythical personalities & events.

So here's a reservoir of potential names, taglines and designs that can evoke a positive, familiar reaction while still retaining uniqueness.

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Last month, an entrepreneur  was telling me about a West Coast Design Studio who was promising her that the logos they designed would have a life of at least 15-years before it would begin to show signs of age.

That got me to wondering - how the hell will they know?

Today's big deal design trend will probably become old and tired more quickly than a tried and true design that's already stood the test of time. Fads boil up and then get discarded in cycles lots shorter than 15-years.

But here's the kicker. The design this West Coast hot-shot was touting as a long-lived design was a variation of a fad that's quickly dying in logo design (at least it should be dead by now). It's the arch or arc emanating from one "i" in the name to another "i" a couple of syllables to the right.

An awful lot of graphic designers are lemmings. They copy cool stuff.

I'd say following the latest trend won't produce a long-lasting logo. The logo, like all elements of branding, needs to emanate from the core of the company, product, service, event or project being branded.

And what’s more, the icon should evoke a deep-rooted emotion, an elemental image with meaning to the prospect. It’s called a “meme” , and I’ll address the meme in my next blog.

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

This past summer my wife and I moved.

We had a ton of valuable stuff to move. So we went with a "world-class" moving company - the one with the slogan, "The Careful Movers".

Only they weren't. Careful, that is.

The "trained and experienced" staff weren't trained in a least two areas: what it means to be careful, and how to be careful.

Another way to put this: the crew (and by inference and practice the company management) did not embrace the brand.

They were not prepared to deliver what the brand promised - careful moves. We see this happening in all sorts of businesses. The founder or the sales manager or the ad agency develops a tagline and pastes it on all promotional and corporate materials. They believe they've differentiated their brand - made it unique.

But the brand is more than the words of a slogan. The brand is the promise and the fulfillment of the promise. Hence, all employees, agents and associates should understand what the promise is and what part they play in fulfilling it. If "careful" is the by-word, then just telling employees to "be careful" isn't enough. They must be trained and measured on how careful they are.

The brand is only as strong as the implementation of the promise behind the brand.

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Colin Bates, a branding Guru from the U.K., has a weekly e-letter and a website called Building Brands. (www.buildingbrands.com) In a recent issue he introduces us to a concept, complete with book, whose premise is that passion is required by a company before it can sire a successful brand.

The book is called Creating Passion Brands by Helen Edwards & Derek Day. From it, Colin extracted this idea: Passion Brands are created by those with "a passion that comes from inside and the courage to live by their beliefs.

"The five big factors that make them different?

·        The have something important to say about modern life

·        They act out of deeply-held beliefs, not the latest focus group findings

·        They are good at something that's good for people - and stick to it

·        They have a moral integrity that penetrates every fiber of the business

·        For all that, they are never sanctimonious, boastful or dull".

This sounds a lot like the kind of passion that gets spread among the members and visitors to The Connectory.

I now believe that passion may just be the ultimate differentiator. It's certainly a strong contender.

Martin Jelsema

303-242-5975

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Well, here we are Step 10. We're sliding home.

Now's the time to check alignment.

I'm assuming you haven't "launched" as yet, but that you're on the verge. So if need be, it's not too late for an early-course correction.

Now you need to step back several paces and see just what you've done. In the heat of hands-on sculpting of the various brand elements, and overcoming particular obstacles and impediments you've encountered, you might have compromised a bit and strayed off course.

So begin by reviewing your original branding documents. See if on the whole, and individually, the elements convey the tenor and content you had intended for the brand. Look for disconnects and contradictions.

Review the elements as presented in the graphics standards for consistency.

Once you're satisfied your brand is integrated, coherent and powerful, launch with confidence and enthusiasm.

One more point: I assume during this process you've asked associates and mentors to review and comment upon you brand.

Well, don't listen to them.

OK, go ahead and listen. Then remember that almost all advice you'll receive from non-experts will tend toward the conventional and conservative. Their opinions reflect middle-of-the-road thinking.

Your brand should not be conservative. It must demand attention, at least from those you most want to influence by the brand. It must be out-of-the-box even in a very conservative product category. (Everything being relative, an out-of-the-box brand for a bank may be stodgy in the Hip-Hop music category.)

If you've hired bright, professional branders to help you with the brand, and the brand fulfills your brand strategy, and you feel comfortable with the brand representing you and the way you do business, go with it. This is no time for buyers remorse or second guessing. Do not hesitate. Launch!

Martin Jelsema

http://www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

http://www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

http://www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

http://www.signaturestrategies.biz

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Just as I wound up two blogs on naming, I ran across a blog that complemented and expanded on the basics of naming. At the risk of sending you to a competitor, here's the blog address of Brand Express that pretty much summarizes the creative basics of naming.

http://brandxpress.blogspot.com/2005/11/brand-naming-5-tips.html

Please, though keep coming back to Brand Smart.

Martin Jelsema

http://www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

So now you have one or two names you believe are absolutely perfect for the business. Now comes the frustration.

You search the USPTO (that's U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) on-line database (http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm) only to find someone else already owns the precise set of characters you've chosen for your name, and they are competing in the same industry category.

Or you may find by searching the Department of State databases in the states you plan to do business that there's a competitor using the name.

It may be desirable that your name also be available as a domain name. (There may be a better domain name for your website than you company name depending upon how people will reach your website. You may want a domain name that speaks more directly to how your prospects think about your product category or keywords.)

Creating a name that is available for trademark, domain name and state(s) ocorporation registration can be frustrating and time-consuming.

I get more naming business from entrepreneurs who have fallen in love with a name they can't own, and can't move past it. They get stuck and just can't generate any more adequate candidates. Since I'm not emotionally involved, I can continue generating appropriate candidates 'til one meets the criteria and is available. It sometimes takes multiple iterations.

But even if you've performed a successful preliminary search doesn't mean there's an end to it. You would do well to then go to a trademark attorney or one of several firms specializing in making comprehensive name searches. They will first search every state and territory. They will search databases with alternatively-spelled configurations for phonic infringement. They will review international trademark databases if neccessary.

You may be able to adopt a name that someone else is using if it's in a different industry classification, or you may be able to buy a name from a registered owner if neccessary.

Once you've found a name that you can legally use that meets all the branding criteria, it would be a wise move to trademark it, and to register it with the Departments of State in the states you will have a physical presence.

Developing and protecting a viable name is probably the single most important branding activity you will face. That name will represent your company for many, many years. It will develop into an asset of great value over time - assuming it lives up to your promise.

So here again, I admonish you to brand smart from the start.

Martin Jelsema 

http://www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

303-242-5975

http://www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

OK, you've identified the market. You've scoped out your competition. You've found a niche - or a position - you feel you can occupy and defend. And now you're ready for Step 4.

Step four involves expressing the essence of your brand and the ways it differs from competitors. There are several vehicles used by branding experts to perform this last foundation step.

One that has gained popularity in recent years is to develop the brand "story".

The brand story speaks to the corporate vision for the brand, but usually in more personal terms than is expressed in a conventianal business plan. It might contain a history if applicable. It might describe the "spark" or idea from which the product sprang. It will certainly be written from a customer's point of view (assuming customers and prospects are the major stakeholders in the brand). It will likely paint a picture of the features and benefits in a way to differentiate the product from competitive offerings. It might only be a page in length and usually no more than three.

Another approach to expressing brand essence is to describe the product in terms the customer would probably use. This may come from focus group research or just informal discussions with customers. But the idea is to express brand from the customers point of view.

Then there are some "fun" techniques that may be appropriate for some brands. These are scenerios developed after asking the question, "If this brand where a wild animal, which one would it be and why?" Variations include "if this brand where a celebrity..." or "if the brand were a city...". Once there's some concensus, the scenerio is put to paper.

The purpose of setting the brand essence on paper, no matter the technique in arriving at it, is to provide a foundation and guidelines to help in developing a consistent and on-target expression of the brand.  

Now, after performing these four foundation steps, you're where most entrepreneurs begin the branding effort: creating a name. Yes, naming is Step 5, and I'll share some observations about names next time.

Martin Jelsema

http://www.signaturestrategies.biz

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Step 3 has to do with positioning.

Positioning is a term invented by Al Reis and Jack Trout and presented in their 1981 book, Positioning: The Battlefield for Your Mind (I own a first edition).

The main idea is that the collective mind of the marketplace actually positions a product or service, not the provider of the service. Now a provider can certainly influence and persuade people that their product ought to occupy a certain position (number one, the first, the least expensive, the most responsive, etc.). However, if a competitor is there first making - and backing up - that claim, you'll most likely never dislodge the competitor from the position you'd like.

It's therefore vitally important that you find a positive, unoccupied position in which to compete.

The first part of this process is to find out what attributes are really important to your prospects. That is, what motivates them to buy and recommend that others buy. Then determine how your prospects now position your competition within the product category. I've referenced an example of the research in my last blog that can be used to determine both the important attributes and the placement on competitors within the attribute grids. Go to  http://www.signaturestrategies.com/Positioning/Positioning research/positioning research example / to review that process.

Anyway, based on the research, whether a formal study or a "seat-of-the-pants" analysis, you search for unoccupied positions with potential appeal and velocity. Now you are ready to establish the groundwork of product/service tailored to that position, and to begin the alignment of marketing factors to support the position.

As an example, let's say you sold replacement windows, and you determined that the market and the category had a gap in the high-end remodeling market. Here, your customers are the contractors, not the ultimate consumer. You would then provide the essential help a contractor would need to design in your windows. You would want to establish a reputation for being there when the contractor wanted you on the job site. You'd also provide the contractor with marketing aids to help him/her convince the home-owner that both the contractor and the window were of good value and prestige.

In other words, you would plan to do what is necessary to make that position yours.

Then, and only then, should you begin to think about the elements of the brand that we normally think of when we think of branding.

More on those in Step 4.

Martin Jelsema

303-242-5975 

http://www.signaturestrategies.biz

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

My last blog addressed defining target markets as the first step of establishing the foundation upon which the branding elements will be constructed.

Step 2 is also a foundation-building activity.

It has to do with identifying and evaluating your anticipated competition.

Now, I've been told by at least a dozen entrepreneurs that "They don't have any competitors". I say poppycock! I say that's a cop-out.

And I'm not speaking about the old saw that says you're competing for a piece of market members' limited resources. No, I suggest that your competition is probably the product, method or system market members are using today in order to cope with the need or desire your offering promises to address. So the horse and buggy competed with automobiles in the pioneering days of the auto. Bookkeepers compete with Quick Books. Faxes compete with e-mail. Fresh vegetables compete against packaged salads.

Yours may be a more speedy, cheaper, thorough and elegant solution to a problem. But because people in general are reluctant to change - they get comfortable with the way things are - the old ways need to be addressed and acknowledged as you develop your branding strategy.

No one has addressed this need better than Geoffrey A. Moore in his ground-breaking book, Crossing the Chasm. On page 154 of the soft-cover edition (click here for the book from Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060517123/103-3540889-7979040?v=glance) he presents a formula for a positioning statement, or elevator speech, to introduce a product that is going to replace a traditional product. Here it is:

For (target customers)...

Who are dissatisfied with (current market alternative)...

Our produce/service is a (new product category)...

That provides (key benefit/solution)...

Unlike (product alternative)...

We have assembled (key features addressing the application).

For new products in which you are inventing a new product category (as I advised a new dry cleaner who offered all type of clothing care products to do by introducing the company as a "Clothing Care Center" rather than a "dry cleaner".) and for products entering an established category, identify each major and each up-and-coming competitor and perform a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, threat) analysis.

This will allow you to position each competitor against the attributes important within the product category. I suggest you go to my web site and review the positioning research example I've presented there concerning the restaurant business in a hypothetical small town in southern Colorado. The link is: http://www.signaturestrategies.com/Positioning/Positioning_research/positioning_research_example_/

You may not need to actually poll people about the competition if you have other sources of market intelligence. The idea is to at least roughly place competitors in the "pecking order" for each important attribute. Now you've established a map of your playing field, and can better see where your offering will fit within it.

Now it's on to Step 3 in the next blog when I'll address the need for "classic" positioning.

Martin Jelsema
303-242-5975

 http://www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

I've been blogging under the banner, "Brand Smart from the Start". And I've even supplied some persuasive reasons for doing so.

But the question I haven't addressed, at least in a regimented way is: "How do you go about doing that?"

Well, over the next several blogs I'll write about some of the things to consider and the things you can do to begin the branding smart process even before you have a business plan. I believe (and so do many of the mentors at IBI) that branding is part of the fundimental strategic groundwork that dictates your business plan.

So the first question I usually ask is, "What does the market look like that you'll be serving?" 

I don't usually let someone get away with defining their market as, "anyone who (fill in the blank)". That's not specific enough. If it's a consumer product or service, speak to gender, age, income level, problem or desire addressed, their motivation, etc., etc. There may be more than one set of consumers, so define each group and their importance (group size, purchase frequency, probable lifetime value).

If you're serviing business-to-business customers and clients, describe the industry(s), organization size, buying cycles, organization structures, buying motives, buying influences by company size, etc., etc.

In other words, profile the buyers in the market or markets you will be serving.

Once you've defined your market(s) and their needs for your product or service, you have established the foundation of the market structure on which you will build your brand. It's also information that should influence your strategic plan as well as being a major section of the plan itself.

Just an aside: So often an entrepreneur will name his startup even before thoughts of brand, market, competition or business model are addressed. Isn't that putting the cart before the oxen? That's branding "from the start", but not "branding SMART from the start.

I believe that the name - the foremost branding element - should be derived from the strategies developed and documented in the business plan.

Next: Competition and differentiation.

Martin Jelsema
303-242-5975

    http://www.signaturestrategies.com

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

Yesterday I blogged about how people remember bad experiences with a business and assume the experience will be just as bad the next time. I'll bet you've also had those kind of experiences when you swear you'll "never go back there again"" and mean it.

So JoyceM commented that the solution I recommended - starting over -  was pretty extreme. Indeed it is.

But there's another side of the coin: When you experience a positive encounter with a company, you tend to continue to favor that company for years and years, even to the point of overlooking more recent weaknesses.

Case in point: I once had purchased a go-go mutual fund, but they made a mistake in processing the paperwork. I wrote the CEO telling him their error had cost me several hundred dollars. By return mail, I got a letter of apology and a check for the amount I figured I had lost. Wow! That doesn't happen with many mutual funds! Anyway, the fund hit some bad times and lost much of its value, but I felt a great loyalty to the firm and did not liquidate.

So here's the point: long memories work against poor performing companies, and work for well-managed (and well branded) companies. This is the basis for the rebirth of some old-time product names that have been neglected by their owners until they discovered many people had fond memories of the brand.

I've even gone back to Vaseline Hair Tonic recently.

The moral is still, "Brand Smart from the Start". And then just be consistent.

Martin Jelsema

303-242-5975

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

People are continually classifying, and looking for ways to reinforce their already-in-cement opinions about the products and businesses they have been exposed to. They form and stick to their perceptions even as the years pass.

A company may have established a poor reputation some time ago. Then, realizing their image is impacting sales, management decides to change its ways and people's impression of the company.

Well, the original impression will linger with a large percentage of the target market no matter how good they become. Dislodging an impression borders on the futile.

They may decide to sell the business. The new owner may announce it's now "under new management". But if  the location, the decor, the offerings are the same or similar, the old brand impressions will linger and taint the new. That's just the way people are.

What to do? In many cases the smart thing to do is start over. Kill the original brand. Distance yourself from it. If you're in retail, find another location. This may sound drastic and expensive, but it's the most economical solution in the long run.

And this time, differentiate and position your business by "branding smart from the start".

Martin Jelsema
303-242-5975

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

It's been widely quoted that a typical buyer will need to be exposed to at least 17 impressions of a company before considering doing business with it.

So it stands to reason that those impressions had better be associated with the company in a consistent manner. Otherwise, it will take more than 17 impressions because prospects may associate some of those impressions with another company.

That means your advertising and promotional efforts aren't being as productive as they might. And with limited budgets, a company might never accumulate the required impressions before purchase.

To get the most from a promotional effort, the message, the "look", the tone, the terminology, and the offer should be consistent. Or as ad media like to voice it, repetition rules.

In branding, consistency can, and probably should, come from a brand standards guide so everyone, including the maverick running the Tucson branch, will be able to execute the brand consistently.

The manual should address intent of the brand as well as instructions on using the brand elements - name, logo, tagline, color palette, type styles, sizes, textures, terminology and any other attributes considered central to the brand.

Call it the "Brand Bible", and encourage all to read and use it.

It's vital to consistency and to the brand, even in a three-person business.

Martin Jelsema

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com

After performing a dozen or so name preference studies since 2000, we know people get exasperated with coined word names.

They don't like them because they're unfamiliar. They resent the fact that you are imposing yet another word they'll need to make room for in their memories.

As with everything unfamiliar, the coined name is suspect - until it has accumulated a "history". Once people get used to pronouncing the new word and get comfortable with its "surroundings", it becomes okay.

It may take a little time, but once established a coined name will carve its own notch. It's usually worth a period of adjustment to have a unique name. Because without one, there's little to convey  the difference between your offering and the next guy’s.

Martin Jelsema

Signature Strategies

Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding

http://www.signaturestrategies.biz

Martin Jelsema

www.signaturestrategies.com