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Brand

Green – Not the Same to Everyone

green_brandingNew research from the Shelton Group tells us that the term ‘green’ can mean very different things to different people as it applies to consumer behavior.  The result — brands need to market to these consumers very differently.  In other words, the subsegments of consumers that make up the environmentally-conscious audience are diverse and highly nichey.  In other words, one message does not fit all when it comes to green branding and marketing.

Basically, the study reminds us of something we should already know.  Just because a person claims to be environmentally conscious doesn’t mean that every aspect of his life and buying behavior is guided by the green movement.  The truth is, only a subsegment of the environmentally-conscious audience will forego comfort to actually be more environmentally conscious.  According to the study, 77% of the 1,000 consumers surveyed reported that they purchase green products occasionally, but of that group, only 26% of them claimed they would reduce their energy consumption “to lessen their impacts on the environment” while 77% said they tried to reduce their energy consumption to “reduce their bills and control their costs.”

There also appears to be a gap in thinking when it comes to the terminology brands might use to market their products.  According to the study, 72% of respondents claimed to be interested in owning an energy-efficient home, but only 47% were interested in owning a green home. [Read more…] about Green – Not the Same to Everyone

Convenience Trumps Price for a Growing Group of Consumers

convenience_storeA new report from The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research sheds new light on a growing shift in what’s most important to consumers these days.  According to the study’s results, 28% of consumers surveyed in June 2009 admitted they are willing to pay more for products and to shop at stores that offer greater convenience, speed of service, and so on.  That’s up from 23% in May 2009.  While you might think that given the state of the economy, the opposite would be true, the report tells us there is a growing audience of consumers who are so busy that even during difficult financial times, they’ll pay more for convenience.

The statistics make sense.  Regardless of how tight consumers’ finances are, for many people, time constraints are far worse.  With that in mind, one-stop-shopping stores are again becoming the focus of consumers’ sites.  Speedy check out at retail locations, clean stores, and having the items consumers want are some of the top factors that make the 1,200 consumers surveyed in this study choose one store over another.

However, don’t be completely misled by these results.  60% of respondents still cite high price as being the reason why they opt not to shop at certain stores.  Interestingly though, stores not having what consumers need is nipping at the heels of high price with 59% of respondents citing that as a primary reason why they don’t shop at certain stores.

So what does this survey teach us in terms of branding and marketing trends?  First, there are opportunities to be leveraged in terms of luring consumers to your brands by making them convenient.  Think of how you can make your brand more convenient.  Could you offer it through more convenient distribution points or in more convenient sizes?  Can you speed up the purchase process?  Can you tie in installation or other services that will save consumers time?  Think out of the box and get creative!

Second, the first thing everyone tries to do when times are tough is lower prices.  Even if you aren’t the first brand to lower your price, soon your competitors will, and you’ll feel like you have to as well.  Don’t be pressured into lowering prices unless doing so is truly the only way to keep your brand competitive.  Instead of jumping to lower prices, consider other options.  For example, think of how you can make the convenience opportunity work for your brand.  According to this study, over 1 in 4 consumers are willing to pay more in exchange for added convenience.  Become the convenient brand!

Image: Flickr

A New Brand Shift – From Paper to Digital Coupons

sams-clubAccording to a study by Scarborough Research, consumers still rely on their Sunday newspapers to get most of their coupons.  That trend might change faster than you think as brands begin to get on the digital bandwagon.  Sure, we’ve all seen coupons online, but according to Scarborough’s study, only 7% of U.S. households surveyed actually get coupons from online sites.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the stats from the Scarborough Research study below:

The percentage of U.S. Households that obtain coupons from the following sources:

  1. Sunday newspaper = 51%
  2. In-store coupons = 35%
  3. Mail = 31%
  4. Preferred customer card/loyalty card = 21%
  5. In-store circulars = 20%
  6. Weekday newspaper = 17%
  7. Product packages = 16%
  8. Magazines = 15%
  9. Text Messages and/or Email = 8%
  10. Internet Sites = 7%

Looking at these statistics, I feel like I’ve stepped back in time, but apparently, they’re representative of U.S. household’s behaviors related to coupons.  Clearly, the digital opportunity for coupons is huge, and companies are starting to notice.  Just this month, Sam’s Club announced that it would stop distributing printed coupons entirely and instead announced its new eValues program that offers personalized coupons to shoppers digitally through their iPhones, Blackberrys, in-store kiosks, and so on.

Looks like this trend is about to pick up some serious steam as more companies look to distribute coupons through email, text messages, and online than ever before.  At a time in history when more people are looking to the Internet and their smart phones for information and content than traditional sources, the shift makes sense.  I suppose the only question really should be, “what took everyone so long?”

Your thoughts?

Image: Flickr

Niche Brands are Hot

I’ve written before here on Corporate Eye about the need to focus your brand strategy, particularly these days when the economy and world around us are tenuous and consumers are looking for a sense of security.  Rather than trying to be all things to all people, the smart brands are contracting and focusing their efforts on their unique value propositions more than ever.

With focus comes a little thing called niche, and it’s hotter than ever. A niche brand is one that is extremely focused and often fills a gap that larger, broader brands don’t view as a threat or big enough opportunity to waste their time on.  A niche brand is likely to appeal to a highly targeted audience, which means two things:

  1. The potential consumer audience is much smaller.
  2. The economies of scale are greater.

In other words, naturally a niche brand is going to appeal to a smaller audience than a broad brand does.  However, within that concentrated target audience who wants and needs the niche brand, sales penetration should be higher, repeat purchases should be higher, and brand loyalty should be even higher.

The marketing world is all about niches these days.  The economy isn’t the only reason for this shift though.  The social Web also played a part in redefining brand strategy by providing a way for people to connect with others about the topics, products, and so on that matter to them most.  While there are millions of Web sites and blogs dedicated to broad topics, there are fewer devoted to specific niches, benefiting from long tail search engine optimization, and building relationships with consumers who are likely to have already expressed an interest in the brand’s message and promise based on their wants and needs.

History also dictates that brands will broaden and then contract, broaden and then retract, and so on — over and over again.  That’s because history is cyclical.  Think about the mergers and acquisitions of the 1990s, creating giant companies that found it nearly impossible to get out of their own way in the 21st century and therefore, cannot get anything done.  Unfortunately, there are far too many corporations that still fit that definition, but many have become victims of their own size and been forced to sell off businesses, declare bankruptcy, accept government bailouts, etc.

The bottom line is that the hot trend right now is niche branding and marketing.  Are you prepared to refocus your brand?  Have you already done so?  Leave a comment and share your story.

The Procter & Gamble Logo Then and Now

What would people think of the Procter and Gamble brand if the company still used its original logo created when the company launched in 1951?  Take a look at the original logo compared to the current logo below.

procter-and-gamble-logo

The original logo is about as antique-looking as a company can get as far as logo design goes, but would you be surprised to know that this logo was used until the 1980s?  That was when rumors started flying that the image in the logo of the man in the moon looking over 13 stars representing the original 13 colonies of the United States was actually wrought with satanic symbolism, including at least one hidden “666” in the curly beard.

Still, Procter & Gamble fought the satanic symbolism rumors until finally in the 1990s they removed the beard graphic and later moved from a graphic logo to a wordmark using just the P&G that the company has become known as in the 21st century.

Little did P&G know nearly two decades ago when the company finally changed its logo that it would be one of the best things it could do in terms of building its brand.  The P&G logo and brand name today are far stronger than the old name and logo were.  Of course, Procter & Gamble and P&G will always mean the same thing, but in a world of Web 2.0, when people are busy and looking for shortcuts everywhere, it’s great to see a brand story that could have been damaging turn out better than anyone could have hoped.

It just goes to show that rebranding can work, even when it’s not done by choice.  Sometimes a brand just needs to be updated or needs a kick in the pants, so to speak.

Banks Shift to a Brand Modesty Strategy

dom-perignonThere was a time in the not so distant past when financial companies flaunted their money like the latest ‘it’ celebrity in Hollywood.  They’d plaster their brand names all over event venues and pay to sponsor pricey dinners and parties in special tents at the hottest events in town.  Since the financial meltdown in the U.S., those days are over.  Or are they?

Despite a bill that sits in Congress that is intended to put an end to banks that received bailout money from sponsoring pricey events, the practice continues — but in a much more hush-hush fashion.

According to an article in The New York Times, banks aren’t steering clear of high price-tagged event sponsorships entirely.  Instead, the new cool thing to do is to pretend they don’t have money to spend on those events at all.  The new cool thing is for financial brands and the executives that represent them to pretend that they’re just like average consumers who can’t sell their homes, are in fear of losing their jobs, and have no health benefits and no money saved for their kids’ college tuitions or their own retirements.  Do you believe them?

Of course, the leaders of these newly modest brands know that no one is going to buy their feigned brand positioning strategy, and it’s hard to give up the pricey event sponsorships where they can schmooze with their friends clients over caviar and Dom Perignon.  So what are they doing to keep the modesty charade going?  They’re still sponsoring pricey events but they’re leaving their corporate and brand signage at home.  Sometimes they’re even going so far as to, dare I say it, share event space to appear more frugal.

So what does this new trend say about these brands?  At a time when consumers are looking for trust in brands, feigning modesty seems to fly in the face of everything consumers want and need, particularly from financial institutions.  What do you think?

I want my bailout money back.

Image: Flickr