3 Questions to ask about Trump, Nenshi and your brand to have people believe you.

 I am going to break my self-imposed rule about not talking politics because I think that there are a couple of politicians that can illustrate some important principles about how you can enhance the authenticity of your brands.  Donald Trump has shattered conventional wisdom with his high level of authenticity to a broad section of Americans (despite some fibbing and flip-flopping). Before Trump, there was a total stunner here in Canada named Naheed Nenshi the mayor of Calgary. The anti-Trump.  Nenshi could be thought of as the smartest kid in the class, who is also happy to help you with your homework. He is beloved in that city, proving that the people of Calgary don’t care if you are bookish, inexperienced and Muslim. They want good government and a mayor they can trust.

 In Build Belief™ workshops we dig through brands to uncover Belief Assets that are available to a brand but are not being used effectively. Those same queries can help us understand how politicians like Trump and Nenshi develop remarkable credibility. Having people believe you is contextual and nuanced. It comes not just from what you do, but also who you are and what your motives are - in the eyes of your prospects.

Who are you?

A natural place to start is the Creation Narrative. Trump’s narrative is of a scrappy, successful, self-made, entrepreneur.  It has been bolstered by his reality TV show; people believe what they witness for themselves. His publicized story is crafted to ignore his generational wealth and privilege and certainly his many business failures.

Nenshi’s is a story of gratitude and sacrifice. It is an archetypal immigrant story in which his parents emigrated from Tanzania while his mother was pregnant so he could be born in Canada. He has remarked, “Had my family been just on the other side of the lake in Africa we might have arrived as refugees.” He has seemingly devoted his life to public service in gratitude.  That devotion included a Master’s degree in public policy at Harvard, a stint with McKinsey and consulting for the United Nations before he decided to run for mayor as an outsider.

What is your motive?

Many brands deliberately demonstrate shared values with their prospects as a way to convince their audience that they are worthy of trust and a deeper relationship. Some are credible (Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays), some fail (Starbucks wanted to “talk about race”), many are in the middle (Bell: “let’s talk”).  Regardless, people will consciously and unconsciously sense what the brand’s true motive is.

Trump is the “true outsider” whose motive is revolution to “make America great again”. What is critical in supporting his claim is his Belief Asset that he is “paying for his own campaign and not soliciting donations”. That is apparently how “entrepreneurs” do it and it allows him a measure of arrogance.

Nenshi’s motive is service.  His archetype is that of a humble servant leader. It is most evident in his ongoing demonstrations of respect for his citizens (and others). He oozes respect and it is irresistible. It allows him to be shockingly frank because he is not haughty.  A good example is how he spoke out on Stephen Harper’s anti-niqab election issue, “This is unbelievably dangerous stuff...this is disgusting” is how he described it to the media . Clearly not pulling punches but gaining credibility along the way.

What have you done?

We know that actions convince people but as marketers we sometimes become obsessed with copy far past its usefulness.  Instead we need to showcase demonstrations of what our brands are about rather than explanations. When you message Nenshi, he often messages you back. To which some respond “what the heck are you doing responding to messages?” To which he always quips “what is more important than responding to citizens. This IS my job.” In 2013 when council voted in a 6% pay raise, Nenshi publicly gave $20 000 to charity... and on and on.

Trump’s great demonstration was, of course, his TV show. To bolster that he points to: the plane, the hotels and the personal wealth as proof of his leadership acumen “I always win. I am very smart”. It is anti-intellectual, real world “intelligence” that he peddles. He is combative in ways rarely seen before. He will “pay your legal bills” to encourage you “take action”. He acts out his traditional common sense promise when he chants “get ‘em out!” at speeches and dissenters are manhandled and tossed out.  It all supports the belief that he is passionately committed to the mission far beyond the suave political rhetoric of most candidates.

These same queries and their extensions can be applied to brands for things and services. Frequently there are Belief Assets that have been overlooked or under-exploited. Only by asking and exploring are they uncovered, creating the opportunity to get consumer feedback and potentially be part of communication that Builds Belief™ and by extension, profitability.

Feel free to add your own insights or additions in the comments below.

By: Marc Solby On Wednesday, February 14, 2018

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Consumer insights make marketing work.

I recently agreed to teach two marketing courses for “execs” at the University of Toronto, so in between shopping for a natty tweed with leather elbows and a burled walnut pipe I have been thinking about some brand fundamentals. One of the most challenging yet critically important concepts is the Consumer Insight. To keep our Marketing jobs we occasionally have to demonstrate that we can sell stuff by figuring out things about consumers that others have overlooked. Finding meaningful insight when you need it is a challenging task; a good first step is understanding what it is or is not.

It’s useful to make the distinction between THE Consumer Insight and Consumer Insights. THE insight is part of the Creative Brief (or sometimes a brand strategy document) as the link to the brand benefit to be conveyed. THE Consumer Insight might be: “Younger buyers still believe Cadillac stands for quality but are embarrassed by its lack of performance credentials”.  Consumer Insights, in general,  can happen at any level from merchandising to a great idea for a promotion. The principles are the same, but it is good to be clear on the context.

What’s your problem?

Consumer Insight is strategy work. Strategy is just a solution to a problem. Richard Rumelt one of my favorite strategy gurus says, “Unless you state what the problem is – and how to overcome it, then it’s not a strategy.”

A key component of any Consumer Insight is the definition of the problem (call it an “issue” or an “opportunity” if it fits better). The definition is not the preamble or just context. There is no Yin without a Yang.

In simple terms you can define the problem as a) target group plus b) action. As in, “get 19-24 year olds in Ontario to purchase Labatt Blue more often” Or, “get current Hall’s cough drop users to use the brand more frequently in the spring and summer”.  There may well be additional nuance that is useful in framing the problem. Go for it. In classic strategy work defining the problem, the depth of problem and the gains from solving the problem are essential parts of “insightful” planning.

Consumer observations

Having defined the problem, marketers can then set about looking for solutions by studying the target group in the context of the category. It’s obvious but the relationship between the consumer and our brand is only part of the story. You need to explore the buying process and the performance of competitors or substitutes.

It doesn’t matter HOW you do the research. Well, actually, it matters a great deal but the choice of methodology is idiosyncratic. Invariably, you will learn all sorts of things that, to a greater or lesser degree, shed light on your problem.  Some people call these learnings “insights”; I call them “observations”. You need to find the best solution to the problem at hand; that will be your Consumer Insight.

Choosing a Solution

Strategy is a solution to a problem. It is also matching opportunities to capabilities. Brands have limits to their effectiveness.  The limits, like the brands themselves, are a function of existing consumer perceptions. Having identified a particular problem the best solution will work with the “assets” of the brand in a way that is credible with consumers.

If Coca-Cola brand observes that it is losing consumers to beverages that are perceived to be more healthful, it strains credibility to pitch Coke as a healthful drink. This would likely be the case, even if they added vitamins and ginseng to it. While you may be chuckling at the absurdity of that example, the genuinely smart people at Amazon launched the Fire smartphone at $199 and are now flogging it for 99 cents.  Brand owners generally overestimate the capabilities of their brand. In my case on Labatt Blue in the nineties the problem was “Dad’s beer”, the DNA was as a fun/party brand and we had to figure out how to dip it in the Cocoon pool or market it to older drinkers. The Consumer Insight among the younger segment was that “the best kind of fun was spontaneous fun”. So, we chose to be the brand of spontaneous fun. Was it credible? Not so much.

The Consumer Insight is the observation about the consumer that solves the brand problem in a credible way. The insight is “leveraged” as a deliberate choice is made to follow a particular route. I suspect it is more of an “aha moment” only in the retelling of war stories years later. In practice, choosing a strategic path usually means rejecting a reasonably attractive alternative. They can be tough decisions.

Putting it into Practice

I often hear business leaders complaining that the Research team or Brand Management are failing to bring forward the “consumer insights” required for success. Assuming that the business is willing to do some studying of the consumer, the main cause of “no insights” is “no defined problems” to focus on. Use your planning process to figure out and define the important problems. Then allocate resources to studying the relevant consumer groups to reveal Consumer Insights that make marketing investment actually work.

By: Marc Solby On Friday, May 05, 2017

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Stop wasting money on market research

Everyone in business does Market Research. Some even pay for it.  Whether you are an experienced and sophisticated marketing manager or a startup trying to better meet your customers’ needs you need to make sure that you are asking the right questions.

My favorite story in this regard  comes from Sergio Zyman’s book “The End of Marketing as We Know It”. As you likely know, Mr. Zyman was, for many years, the Chief Marketing Officer of Coca-Cola Ltd. His tenure included that legendary marketing mistake, the New Coke fiasco when they “improved” the ninety year old Coke formula and “relaunched” the brand with the new product. Consumers, of course, were outraged, the company was humiliated and within the year they reversed course and returned to the original formulation.

Mr. Zyman explains in print how the marketing team did extensive market research to inform their business decision (no kidding!) and they felt certain that the new formulation was preferred by both competitive users and current users. He distills his mistake this way: “we asked them ‘what would you do if we gave you [this] product as Coke? They told us, ‘they would buy it’. We didn’t ask The Question…‘if we took away Coca-Cola and gave you New Coke, would you accept it?”

If those smart, experienced and well-resourced people in Atlanta can get it wrong…well, anyone can.  To get it right you need to do what I do at the outset of every research project, a Strategic Research Review.  By doing it you will a) save money by avoiding useless research that you don’t need b) ensure that your research is relevant and has a high value to the business c) enjoy the long term benefits of making smarter decisions.

Like most “problem definition” documents the SRR is neither easy to do nor easy to explain. It is not something you do perfectly; it is a continuous improvement thing. Experience helps. Despite the obvious challenges I want to give you a sense for how you can ensure that you have done your homework prior to implementing market research.

Why do we need research?

This is relevant background. It has to describe the business situation and category dynamics that have created the research need. It should demonstrate that you have identified what you think is the root cause of the business problem. To do that it usually breaks the problem down into its component parts.

Example: Brand X is getting squeezed in the yogurt category between a local brand with superior quality and a global brand with extensive innovation across flavours and formats. (and so on)

What relevant research has already been done?

What is that George Bush-ism about “known unknowns and unknown unknowns?” Previous research is a “known unknown”, that is, there is almost always something useful if you are willing to look carefully. Articulate a concise summary of what you learned and note the studies for future reference.

What are the business decisions to be made with the research?

Clear links to the decisions to be made are your security against useless research. Articulate realistic and accurate aims for the research. There may be multiple decisions to impact, but it is important to convey their priority. There is nothing wrong with having secondary decisions, they can be handled on a “nice to have” basis.

Some projects are suited to “decision choices” i.e. the brand needs to do A or B depending on if the research outcome is 1 or 2.  These decisions should relate to the components of the problem outlined earlier.

Example: Yogurt Brand X needs to choose  where  to focus investment and how best to position the brand to win in those segments versus competitors.

What are the research objectives?

What are the specific questions, the things you want to learn? What information would enable you to make the decisions? You can frame them as questions (How do consumers switch among the various brands?) or as information needs (Determine brand interaction). This section will also convey exactly whom you want information from. Again, it is important to convey the priority of the various objectives. “Self reported media habits” may be nice to have, but brand image perceptions would be critical. This is where the new Coke team failed to pull out the precise question that related to the specific business problem.

Example:

To understand yogurt consumer purchase habits in terms of frequency, location of purchase, formats, brands, container size.

To understand consumption behavior in terms of who consumes the product and  the type of occasion.

What is the expected use of the results?

This section articulates specifics of how will the research information help with the decisions? It may not be required for simple projects. For others, however articulating specific analyses and uses ensures that you are getting the right data.

Example:

To develop an in-depth profile of the yogurt purchaser, particularly the heavy purchaser both for the category overall and for the most profitable yogurt formats.

To populate a scorecard of key measures that will evaluate the overall effectiveness of marketing programs.

Once those questions have been answered, only then can you  start designing a methodology. In general, there is far too much attention on innovative methodologies (MRI scanning? Sentiment monitoring?) and not enough focus on defining the research problem.  The issue is exacerbated by research suppliers who are selling off-the-shelf “products” that are standardized and easily executed by relatively junior staff.

What happened to poor Mr. Zyman? Well he had to leave in disgrace a year later…but he may have been out to prove something.  He wrote a bestselling book , started Zyman Group consulting, sold it seven years later to MDC for $64million  and was hired back at Coke as CMO for 3 years. It seems he did okay… once he learned to ask the right questions. Luckily, I have not sold out yet – just call or email.

By: Marc Solby On Monday, February 10, 2014

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Facilitation first aid - be ready.

I was at a client sales meeting for several days recently and participated in a planning exercise with breakout groups. It was all run by a third party that provided some planning tools and facilitators. While the exercise was good, it could have been better if the facilitation was a bit more skillful.

If everyone in Marketing Management should be able to write an effective presentation, I think they should also have some basic facilitation skills to actively lead a meeting.  Anyone can be a reasonably good facilitator with a little practice and few rules to keep them between the lines. Even if you are not the person holding the marker, you may well be a participant who can help out in a pinch if it’s not going well.

At the meeting there were two common mistakes worth pointing out. In the breakout, the facilitator acknowledged someone’s comment but did not write it down with the other notes on a flip chart. I thought that the contributor had made a good point, so I jumped in and said that.  I could also see that he was a bit miffed.  Despite my “piling on” the facilitator still failed write it down. She had a response in mind and was looking for someone to say THAT.

When all 150 of us came back together in the big room with each group’s top 3 ideas the facilitator put up several charts: Group 1 ideas, Group 2 ideas, and so on. Then she solicited the group to vote by clapping for the best overall ideas. “Hey” she exclaimed in the middle of it all “you can’t just vote for your own ideas!”  This breakdown happened precisely because she assigned the ideas to their originating group when she posted them.

Here are five simple rules to keep in mind when you have the “power of the pen”:

1. Write down the comments, in their own words. Ask people to “headline it” if it’s too long.
2. Write down all the comments, sort later.
3. Unless you have a good reason to do otherwise, once the comment goes up it belongs to the group. That way the group can delete it, elevate it or modify it without reference to its contributor.
4. Be completely neutral. You can’t be a referee and score a goal. If you have a bias you will lose the trust of the group. Game over.
5. Don’t let the ground rules of the session be violated without taking some action. They are not rules unless they are enforced.

If it all goes well, those simple guidelines will get you to your destination. If, however, there is conflict or dysfunction in the group it can be very challenging without a toolkit of practiced techniques. That is the next level and a good reason to seek out some expert training if you think you are going to use this skill set in your role. I learned facilitation from a pro named Michael Wilkinson in Atlanta who has literally written the book on it. If you are interested there are resources here. I use the learning all the time, particularly to get a group to a consensus.

There are many opportunities for Marketers to quickly get to better solutions through group problem solving. Leaders can actively facilitate sessions that last an hour not a day: ideation and selection,  rough planning, defining and agreeing to simple processes are a few examples.  It can create a much more purposeful and productive meeting.

Now, which ones are the whiteboard markers again?

By: Marc Solby On Wednesday, December 11, 2013

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How was the phenomenal Orange brand built?

The story is told on this 15 minute video describing Brand Building the Orange way.
It describes some unconventional gut-based decisions that were highly innovative at the time.
The idea was to create an optimistic, communal, aesthetically beautiful brand that people just wanted to be a part of. It was a wildly radical move at the time and has been widely copied since - think telus.
The presenters are both honest and self-serving, as it is part of an upcoming series from the UK-based IPA whose mission is to promote the value of communication agencies. So take it with a grain of salt but take it.

By: Marc Solby On Thursday, September 16, 2010

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