Know why Steve Jobs is probably the greatest brand experts to ever live?  Because he understood that a great brand was something that needed to be bigger than the company itself.  The video below is from 1997 – very shortly after Jobs returned to Apple after a several-year hiatus.  Apple was in the tank.  A sinking brand. Unfocused product lines. A confused distribution system. The vultures were circling.

Jobs didn’t invent the iPhone or the iPod or even the Macbook Air in 1997.  What he did in 1997 had nothing to do with products and everything to do with vision.  He helped communicate to the entire Apple community that Apple wasn’t about computers.  It was about helping people change the world.  That was his brand vision in 1997.  Guess what.  It hasn’t changed in the 13 years since.  Everything the company has done since then – from reinventing how people purchase and listen to music to how they use their cell phones to communicate – has revolved around the idea of changing the world. Even his marketing campaign in 1997 didn’t tout new products.  It focused on creating a vision that applied to everyone from employees to media to the end consumer.  And you know what?  That vision was the basis for the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, the iTunes Store, the Apple Stores and whatever else Apple is dreaming up right now.

Check this out.  Maybe one of the best talks on creating a brand vision that I’ve ever seen.

Click this link to check out the most memorable radio spot I’ve heard in my life. Listen the whole way through. Brilliant, right? The thing I love about it is that I remembered the end jingle, the winning jingle, the one with the company name in it: “Bills White Wall, they got tires and s#!t.” – Simple. Easy to remember. Fun to sing.

So, too risky? I don’t think so. I mean, these guys sell tires and s#!t. See, it’s effective. What does a company that sells tires and s#!t really have to lose? We’re not talking about financial investments or renewable energy. We’re talking about tires and s#!t.

There was a movie in 1990 called “Crazy People” starring Dudley Moore as an ad executive. His approach was total honesty in advertising.

Buy Volvos: They’re boxy but they’re good, and Metamucil: It helps you go to the toilet. If you don’t use it, you’ll get cancer and die.

I’m not suggesting you drop profanity into your tagline, but some of you brands out there would benefit from taking a risk.

-Author: Josh Fleming
www.lessingflynn.com

Recently, Grace and I had a discussion, which completely reaffirmed my thoughts and intuitions about image branding. Last year when I heard the rumblings of Ben Roethlisberger’s alleged lawsuits I knew I was going to have to have a talk with Grace. Eventually she asked me about what was going on and why people were accusing “Big Ben” of all these bad things. I basically gave her the “G-rated” version of the Ben allegations and tried to explain why he was in trouble.

Shortly after, I notice Grace’s room is missing a few posters (Roethlisberger), a few football cards no longer in the frame (Roethlisberger) and I found an NFL jersey in the garage sale bag in the closet (Roethlisberger).

I have spent a great deal of time thinking through Grace’s decision to eliminate Big Ben from her list of NFL superstars.  I assured myself that it all comes down to character, which is a key attribute and fundamental foundation of business we all tend to underestimate, everyday. No matter what product you are trying to sell, what message you are trying to market or what promises you are trying to advertise to your customer base…at the end of the day what truly means the most to your customer, is the character of your company and your people. The people you put out in the field are the very ones who interact day to day with your customer base and therefore truly embody who you are as a brand and what you stand for.

Why do we do business with who we do? Cost is important, quality is important, performance is important…but we all ultimately make business and purchasing decisions based on the relationships we make…with people we can trust and with the very people who live by the same character and moral standards that we value ourselves. Without real brand integrity, you are simply marketing false messages to your customers….messages so transparent, that even a nine year old can see through.

Author: Jess Held
www.lessingflynn.com

During their time, Milli Vanilli rocked! They sold millions of albums. They could dance. We thought they could sing. Many will recall the news that Milli Vanilli was a sham. They were lip synching. We were all fooled. They became a punchline. They went from the next biggest thing to one of the biggest let downs the music industry had ever seen.

Now, think about Milli Vanilli as you plan to put your brand in the social media space. Do your customers want to be fooled? Do your customer typically enjoy the bait and switch? Then why would you pay someone to blog, tweet, and update Facebook unless that message comes from your company, your mind, or someone who knows as much about your business as you do. The person hitting the submit and publish buttons has to be a true extension of your company.

The “I just want someone else to deal with all of it” excuse is a recipe for disaster. Sure, you can go that route, but when you’re found out, the bad will far outweigh any false good you’ve created.

First: Learn what you need to know.

Okay, so you don’t know how to get started or where to begin. That’s the kind of consulting you should pay for. You may need a tour guide. You should seek out the expertise of a firm that can coach you, teach you, put you on the right path and basically get you started.

Second: Have a strategy the works with your overall marketing plan.

All marketing strategies should be ongoing, regardless of the medium. Social media is no different.

We talk to a lot of companies about social media. Most of them are eager to get started. Most of them understand that an in-house approach to social media crucial. What a lot of these companies lack are the ideas to help make social media part of their ongoing marketing plan. These companies need help with strategy. Strategy goes beyond setting up social media platforms, training people on how to use social media tools and beyond monitoring. It’s one thing to blog, tweet and update Facebook. It’s quite another to do so with strategy and ideas that bring readers, followers and fans (likers) in droves.

Third: Do the rest of the work yourself.

Social Media – Do it yourself or don’t bother. Otherwise, you’re just providing lip service. Girl, you know it’s true.

Author: Josh Fleming
www.lessingflynn.com

Today is our summer intern, Ellen Held’s last day at Lessing-Flynn. We wish her luck as she goes back to Lincoln, Nebraska with her eyes on graduating in December.

Worse yet, Stivers has so many messages in their marketing efforts it’s hard to know what the consumer should believe is the most important.

Stick with me on this…

1. You’ve heard the radio spot, right? You know the guy with the good ol’ boy rhaspy voice that sings “I’m downright proud to drive a Stiver Ford.” My kids and I laugh and try to imitate the voice “Ooooooh…” and “It’s a Ford!” Here’s the spot. It’s memorable, clearly, and if the rest of their messaging was about being a “PROUD FORD OWNER” it’d probably work better.

2. They are celebrating a 30 year anniversary. That’s great, but it doesn’t mean anything to the customer. Sure, I think it’s great they’ve been in business that long. That’s commendable. But what does turning 30 mean for the customer? I turned 36 years old this year. My wife and kids cared. Make it mean something to someone other than Mr. Stiver.

3. They are on the “Waukee side of West Des Moines.” Probably the best thing they say, cause I know where to find them. But I think they still have a Merle Hay Road location. Do they? They do, but it’s confusing. Please don’t confuse the customer, they can easily drive somewhere else.

4. Price sells cars – they even have the URL: PriceSellsFords - NOT Stivers.com or StiversFord.com, they’ve got www.PriceSellsFords.com.  They even say, “Where Price Sells Cars! Period.” They’ve been saying this for a while, and while it’s recognizable, I still cringe at the thought of the negotiating process ahead of me. Price doesn’t sell cars, some guy trying to make commission and sell me a warranty plan sells cars. Period.

5. Current print add claims they are the used car super store and that their service department is open till midnight! They are also offering 0% financing for 66 months* (although, you’ll need to read the fine print yourself.)

6. They claim to be Iowa’s #1 Ford & Mercury Dealer. What about Charles Gabus Ford? What about Dewey Ford? Claims like these can rarely be backed up and often lead to lawsuits. Better to stay away from that.

7. They are on Twitter, telling you about all of these things. And while they seem pretty active on Twitter, there isn’t a single retweet or reply. So, Twitter is being used as a fax machine for marketing spam.

8. You can see some of their Proud TV spots on their Web site (scroll down on the right hand side).

That’s eight different messages!

So, now that you’ve seen and heard the Stivers marketing message, what stands out to you? What do you take away from all of this? Guessing, you came up with something about them selling cars. Great. Lots of people do that and the name Stivers Ford makes it pretty obvious they sell cars. What else did you come away with? What’s the most important thing about Stivers?

I couldn’t remember either.

I’m glad Stivers is out there spending money on marketing and they seem to be doing a great job of reaching people through multiple mediums. The problem is they are trying to do too much. Too many messages. Too many bullet points. When the message is “Price Sells Downright Proud Anniversary Cars #1 Waukee Side Service Follow Us on Twitter Superstore” the message is lost.

What are your thoughts?

Author: Josh Fleming
www.lessingflynn.com

We create video content and have talked about the power of online video. Some video we create for us (Lessing-Flynn), some for our clients. We use flip cams for almost everything that highlights Lessing-Flynn on this blog, or capturing guerrilla marketing tactics for an event like DSM: SUSHIBOMB.

We realize there are great professional firms in Iowa like Applied Art, Associate Producers, GrassHorse, Professional Video and Screenscape Studios for client related needs. There’s also great freelancers out there like Adam Beecher and countless others who made huge noise at the recent 48 Hour Film Project: Des Moines.

We recommend flip cams to our clients for blogging purposes. The YouTube generation doesn’t expect companies to spend $10,000 on some highly produced weekly video for a blog, YouTube or Facebook fodder. On the flip side, we’d never recommend flip cam usage for a new product announcement, a television spot or a major client event with the media.

For the most part the only criticism we get about our flip videos are from professional video production companies looking out for their own interest. I get it. You guys are stewards of the high production value video industry and any opportunity to promote the ability to produce high quality video is worth commenting on, whether it is positive or negative. Let me assure you folks that ad agencies will ALWAYS have a need for your services.

So, what do you think? When is it acceptable to use a flip cam? When is it not?

Author: Josh Fleming
www.lessingflynn.com

POET Energy launched several tv commercials this spring about cellulosic corn ethanol.  After watching them on YouTube, I appreciate  the three spots for a couple of reasons.

1. The creativity of the message is well done. These commercials feature pseudo employees dropped in New York City and each sign off similarly by saying ”Part-time farmer, full time POET” or “Part-time plant manager, full time POET.”  Each spot’s purpose is to inform us about the principles of POET and their impact on America.

2. The creative strategy of these spots are well thought out, planned and executed. POET has defined their market and are speaking to its different segments via American cable news networks CNN, Fox News, MSNBC as well as NBC’s Meet the Press.

While POET Energy is informing the American consumer about cellulosic ethanol, they must also market their message to the farmers that are the key to their success.  Farmers must harvest second pass bales and large volumes of corncobs in order to manufacture cellulosic ethanol.  A company like Vermeer (full disclosure, Vermeer is a Lessing-Flynn client) can help corn farmers collect both products to aid in the manufacture of cellulosic ethanol.

POET has a classic example of a push and pull strategy.  POET’s “push” is taking their product directly to the consumer by educating  them about their end product to create brand awareness at the point of purchase.  Conversely, POET’s “pull” strategy involves motivating another customer segment, the corn farmers to seek out their brand to provide corncobs for the manufacture of cellulosic ethanol.

I encourage you to keep an eye on POET Energy’s marketing as they are connecting the dots between traditional media of targeted print ads, tv commercials and the usage of social media.  You’ll find them on Twitter, Flickr, YouTUBE and Facebook.

Author: Bellana Putz
www.lessingflynn.com

Question Crew!

blueduder
Doug
spenceranderson
Peter Tubbs

See what Lessing-Flynn candidate is up next!

Here are the highlights:

Lesson #1: Your customers are your most important assets. Listen and engage with them.

Lesson #2: Give back to your customers and they’ll give you brand loyalty in return.

Lesson #3: Don’t be afraid to experiment.

The Grateful Dead allowed people to come to their concerts and record their shows. They even set up a special area for these fans called “Tapers Sections.” These tapes were dubbed and shared among fans, and for many people, it was their first introduction to the band. Think about your introduction to a company today. Did someone share that company’s content with you?

Finally , in Garcia’s own words, he said, “Our strong suit is what we do, and our audience.” – Is that your company’s mentality as well?

R.I.P. Jerry.

Author: Josh Fleming
www.lessingflynn.com