Brandwerks3

People want to know what makes your organization unique.

Bob Gagauf — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:45:50 +0000

Very often when I ask hospital and health services marketers what separates their facility from the competition they tell me their organization really cares, or that their docs are very good, the facility is very clean, or that the staff works as a team. My response usually is “don’t you think people assume all those things about any hospital?”

I tell them that people in the community expect their hospital to have good physicians and nurses, for it to meet certain safety standards, and that they care about patients’ outcomes. If those are the messages that the hospital is marketing, they will fall on deaf ears.

People need to know what’s unique about the organization and why they should choose you over the competition. I refuse to believe that there isn’t something special, unique and unexpected that can be communicated about every hospital brand. Whether it’s innovative treatments, the nurse to patient ratio, patient outcomes, or new technology, your target audience will notice and remember the things that set you apart far more than the things they expect from every hospital.

brandwerk3’s Brand Discovery Workshops help organizations uncover the brand assets that make them unique, and does so in a setting that builds a consensus between all those responsible for the marketing of the organization. http://www.brandwerks3.com/what-you-can-expect/

Whether you use our services or contract with another branding firm, you’ll benefit greatly from developing a marketing strategy that goes beyond the expected and communicates the unique benefits that you offer your community.

There are many paths to marketing bliss (Or) I’ve got sand in my shoes

Bob Gagauf — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:51:40 +0000

Our early Spring and the numerous hints of Summer have many of us thinking about the first time our toes hit the sands of the Jersey shore, or whatever other shore you frequent. Just like this image, there are many paths that can take you there, but clearly the best is the path of least resistance.

If you’ve been at the marketing game for some time, you know that the path of least resistance is the one where you have buy-in from all those on your team for the branding or marketing effort that you are about to undertake. How many times have we heard and cringed at the words “Why didn’t you ask me first?” Or, “Why are you asking my opinion on the creative you’ve already developed when you didn’t care enough to ask before you started?”

Too often marketers leave key decision-makers out of the brand development process and then wonder why they don’t embrace what their agency has done. In many cases, this has nothing to do with the quality of the work, the brand direction or marketing strategy. It’s about not creating advocates for what they are doing. People tend to believe in and support the creative and strategic approaches that they have been involved in developing. If key members of your team are left out of the process, they often get suspicious of the reasons they are brought in at the end. In these cases, a rubber stamp approval is hard to come by.

Your agency will appreciate the input from all of those who will ultimately approve their work. They’d rather be in the position to reference someone’s input than argue a point they didn’t hear about until it was too late.

And, if you are the team leader on the branding or marketing effort, getting input doesn’t mean giving up your leadership role in the process, even if you are involving a president or CEO. Believe me, agencies love working with a strong team leader who doesn’t do things by committee, gathers valuable input, defines roles and works in partnership with the agency.

Ok, enough preaching. I’ve got to get the sand out of my shoes.

About the painting:

Beach Paths was created in mixed media – photography and oils – by brandwerks3’s Bob Gagauf

Should you be reaching for a new brand direction?

Bob Gagauf — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:05:45 +0000

Are you starting to think that your current brand positioning and communication direction have taken you about as far as they can? Perhaps when your brand position was developed, you envisioned it having a far longer shelf life and didn’t imagine that just a year or two in, you’d be thinking that you need to adjust things.

Perhaps you have already met with your agency and told them that you want a brand refresh – not a complete overhaul, but just some tweaks. What happens if as you go through this process you determine that in fact a complete overhaul is warranted? That’s a tough pill to swallow for most marketers. But, if you and your agency have a pretty easy time shooting holes in your current branding or on the other hand, can develop far better alternatives, then you may have a tough choice to make. Or, maybe not.

The answer to your dilemma may not lie with your agency or internal marketing department, but within the marketplace. Does your current branding resonate with your target market? Is it understandable? Does it reflect what you do best and why you should be selected over the competition? Your sales numbers should give you an indication if your branding is getting traction, but if not, some market research may be in order. And, you may be able to get the information you are looking for without a huge expenditure, especially if you are a local or regional business.

Some key things that you’d want to find out include:

Has your audience seen your marketing?
What do they remember?
What do they think of your organization and the products and services you offer?
Do they have a favorable impression?
Have they utilized your services or bought your products?

If you get a positive response to this line of questioning, then your branding is most likely doing its job, and even a small tweak may not be necessary. Big sigh of relief! If not, then a bigger overhaul may be required. Justifying the expense of a brand redo is not easy, but if you have information from the marketplace, it is far easier to rationalize the expense.

Moving forward in the rebranding process, it’s important that your agency is able to demonstrate how their new approach can have a longer shelf life. Make sure they effectively show that it can be adapted to all the media you’ll deploy. If you market more than one product or service, ensure that the brand can speak to those target markets as well. The broader and more adaptable your branding the longer life it will have.

About the painting:

The Reach was created in mixed media – photography and oils – by brandwerks3’s Bob Gagauf

New slants on old ads fail to open new doors.

Bob Gagauf — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:13:56 +0000

How many times have you wondered where you saw an ad before? Or, why a headline looked so familiar? Do you think many of the ads you are seeing appear to be retreads? I’m not implying that advertisers are reusing ideas or that agencies don’t have the ability to develop unique creative concepts.

What I’m suggesting is that when agencies don’t have a lot to go on, they are often forced to develop ideas that are simply a familiar play on words, part of the vernacular, or a variation on a common phrase or theme. While many of these ideas may be clever or catchy, they usually don’t reflect what’s unique about the product or service that is being marketing. Agencies can only do so much. They have to rely on the client to make available the necessary information they need to dig deep to uncover why someone should buy from them.

Have you fallen victim to marketing that doesn’t communicate your key brand assets? An easy way to tell is to view 3 or 4 of your current marketing initiatives – digital, print, broadcast, etc., and ask yourself if each clearly reflects why you should be selected over your competition.

Does the creative direction reflect and communicate your brand assets?
Does the copy and imagery clearly communicate what you do best?
Are your key market advantages being delivered effectively?

If so, great! If not, a suggestion would be to revisit your marketing efforts with your agency and determine what they will need to develop an approach that differentiates you. One that is not only creative and thought provoking, but is a clear reflection of WHY YOU! Devoting the time to providing them which as much background and insight as possible will pay huge benefits, and you’ll have a creative direction that you can truly call your own.

About the painting:

A New Slant was created in mixed media – photography and oils – by brandwerks3’s Bob Gagauf

What do you mean you don’t like red?

Bob Gagauf — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:26:53 +0000

You’ve taken all the right steps to develop your brand positioning and messaging platform, and now it’s time for you and your agency to undertake the development of the creative expression of that positioning.

What’s that process going to be like? Are you the only decision maker? Are representatives from sales, business development or product marketing going to have a say? Is there a review or marketing committee?

Most likely you are not making the decision on your creative approach on your own. That being the case, how do you avoid a process where purely subjective input gets in the way of selecting the best direction? There is no way to totally eliminate subjective opinions, but there is a step you can take to ensure that your new creative direction will generate the highest degree of success.

Start with a check list of questions that all participants need to address as they review the submitted creative.

Does the direction reflect and communicate your brand assets?

Does it clearly communicate what you do best and why you should be selected over your competition?

Are your key market advantages apparent?

Does the creative approach reflect your culture?

Is the look unique to your organization and within your market?

Can the approach be effectively applied to all your media?

Can you see the organization living with the creative direction for an extended period of time?

Each time a comment like “I don’t like red” comes up you can refer back to the list of questions developed. If the creative approach effectively addressed those points, then subjective issues can be easily (and respectively) put aside. And, in the end you’ll not only have built an internal consensus but a brand that will resonate in the marketplace.

About the painting:

You Don’t Like Red was created in oils on canvas by brandwerks3’s Robert Gagauf.

Top Nine Business Quotes of 2011

Bob Gagauf — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:49:05 +0000

How can it possibly be December already? I don’t know about you, but for me this year just flew by. One of the promises I made to myself at the start of the year was that I’d keep track of the more interesting things said to me during some of my business development efforts this year. I thought I’d pass a few choice ones by you – in no particular order.

“I’m not planning on any new branding or marketing initiatives right now because I am putting all my efforts into getting the hell out of here.”

“I see no value involving anyone in the sales department in our branding efforts because they have no idea what they are doing.”

“I need to increase sales of my product dramatically. I just wished the damn thing worked like it was supposed to. How would you address that?”

“I have no competition.”

“I want to undertake a new branding effort, but need to wait until I hire a new director of marketing. That should happen any time soon now because I have been looking for over two years.”

“Our revenues haven’t been affected by the economy at all. I need you to cut the prices in your proposal by at least 50%.”

“I’m currently putting together a committee to determine the process we will go through to select an agency. But we’re still trying to put together the committee that will select that committee.”

“I have to warn you that you won’t like dealing with anyone else in the company. They’re all nuts. But it’s a great place to work.”

“Sales this year have been horrible, so I’ve decided to take off the entire month of December.”

I’d like to get away for the entire month too!

As you can imagine, these folks didn’t turn out to be very viable new business opportunities. I try to recognize good opportunities as early on in the process as possible and not all are as easy to qualify as these. Or as entertaining.

If you’ve got some funny quotes to add to this list, please feel free to add them in the comment box. Maybe I’ll create a “Best Of” list in 2012.

Are you on a road to nowhere?

Bob Gagauf — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:55:10 +0000

When your sales force hits the road does the team have a good idea of your brand strengths and why their customers and prospects should buy from them? Effective marketing doesn’t end when you unveil your brand in your advertising and communications efforts. Your loudest voice in the field may be your sales force. When brandwerks3 undertakes any branding or marketing initiative we don’t forget the sales and business development teams.

You’d be amazed how many times we encounter organizations that have not provided their sales teams with a brand positioning or messaging platform. They aren’t provided with communication points that reflect the key assets of the product or service that they are trying to push. Just as potentially damaging are sales teams with fragmented and differing sales messaging. In many cases, it sounds like they have made it up as they go along, because that’s actually what’s happening. At a recent branding workshop half the sales team in attendance felt the organization was no different than any of its competitors. That was a result of a lack of good information and communication about the brand and positioning. How can anyone be expected to close a deal when they feel that way about the company and what it provides?

How do you avoid similar sales pitfalls? It’s actually pretty easy.

Ask your sales force what they think. Include key representatives of your sales team in the branding process. If they help shape the brand messaging and communications direction they are far better prepared to deliver that message.
Make a formal presentation of your brand position and messaging approach to the entire team. Don’t assume that they will get the information they need second hand.
Provide them with sales support tools that accurately reflect and communicate your brand.
Ask them how the market is reacting to the brand position and messaging that you have developed. Again, they are your eyes and ears and no one may have a better feel for the believability and accuracy of what your marketing is conveying.

Marketing and sales go hand-in-hand, but you have to ensure that they are linked by a common understanding of your competitive advantages, market differentiators, true brand assets, positioning and communications direction. Doing so should put you on a road to sales success.

How many of you sang Road to Nowhere in your head after reading the title of this newsletter?

About the painting:

The Road to Nowhere was created in mixed media – oils and photography – on canvas by brandwerks3’s Robert Gagauf.

Is your target audience turning a deaf ear?

Bob Gagauf — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:06:04 +0000

You’ve shifted more of your budget to digital initiatives. Your site is optimized to the hilt, you’ve been very aggressive with social media, and you are watching your online activity like a hawk.

So, how come visits to your site are short and not increasing? Why are your sales and business development people still hearing “who are you and what do you do?” during their sales calls? And most importantly, why haven’t you been able to develop relationships with more customers and increase sales as you had hoped?

Developing the right tactics and media approach is clearly critical to your success, but if the positioning and messaging that you are delivering is off track and not an accurate reflection of why someone should choose your company, products or services, chances are your target may be turning a deaf ear. It doesn’t matter how loud you shout your message if what you have to say isn’t believable, doesn’t make sense, isn’t the truth, or is simply not what the market place wants to hear.

We advise our clients to make sure that they have clearly established why someone should buy from them or utilize their services before thinking about how to deliver that message. They must “uncover” and “define” the following before they communicate their message.

What do we do best?
What advantages do we have over the competition?
What are our key brand assets?
Who is our target market and what do they value?
Is our brand position the truth?
Is our messaging clear?
Is our brand communication strategy sound?
How do we want our prospects to respond?

If an organization establishes these valuable marketing facts first, there is a far better chance that their target market will take notice of their communications efforts, listen, and pay attention.

About the painting:

A Deaf Ear was created in oils on canvas by brandwerks3’s own Robert Gagauf.

It’s Time to Dry Out!

Bob Gagauf — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:43:34 +0000

What an end to the summer it’s been! First an earthquake hit a good portion of the east coast, and then Hurricane Irene left a large number of us pumping out basements, eating by candlelight or negotiating our way around one roadblock after another.

All I’ve been hearing from people is “enough already” and “can’t we just have a bit of normalcy in our lives?” That sounds a lot like what we were thinking several months ago as our never-ending winter was finally gasping its last breath. August is typically a slow month for businesses everywhere, but this particular August work took a back seat to Mother Nature. At the very least, the weather took our minds off the dip in the stock market – which I won’t even get into.

As the Labor Day Holiday drew to a close, most of us were once again faced with getting back to business and trying to ramp up sales in what still has been a slow economic recovery. What’s on your plate for the fall planning season? Will you be too drained to give your marketing efforts that extra push that could get 2012 off to a good start? Don’t feel guilty. It’s always hard to get in gear again and this year will be particularly tough.

But, the coming new season is the perfect time for a fresh look at your marketing and advertising efforts. We advise our clients to think about these key questions:

Has my brand positioning changed?
Do I have the same competitive advantages?
Has my competition gained any ground on me?
Are marketing tactics getting old and tired?
Has the market’s perception of my company and its products changed?
Am I building relationships with customers and prospects, or just promoting?
Am I accurately measuring the success of my marketing efforts?

That’s a lot to think about. But answering these questions and addressing those that need addressing will energize your marketing efforts. Best of all, you’ll enhance your chance of business development success.

You can make it a great fall.

About the painting:

Strung Out was created in mixed media – photography and oils - by brandwerks3′s Bob Gagauf.

Opening the right doors

Bob Gagauf — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:55:12 +0000

One of the key components of any branding or marketing campaign is whether or not your initiative is opening the right doors to business development and sales success. If you’ve done your due diligence and uncovered, defined and communicated your key brand assets and why you should be selected over your competition, you’re only part of the way home.

The creative developed as part of your branding program must be an accurate reflection of your positioning and brand value. At several recent industry gatherings the conversations often drifted to the perceived lack of great creative. The consensus seemed to be that the concentration on SEO, SEM, and social media has compromised the level of creativity being produced. Marketers seem to be having a hard time driving the implementation of new digital media and a high level of creative execution at the same time.

The best media plan will reap few rewards if the level of creativity is not allowing your advertising to garner the level of awareness and response that you’re looking for. The greater shift to digital media is no excuse for creative that fails to grab attention and inspire the audience to take action.

One of the solutions to maintaining a higher level of creative is nothing new – establishing up front, the expectations and desired results from your advertising campaign. One of the key advantages of digital media is the ability to measure your results and ROI. If your campaign is successful, look to both the media mix and the creative execution. If results aren’t what you are looking for, again, evaluate the creative as well as the media recommendations.

Just a few things to remember:

A different media approach doesn’t mean that your creative becomes a secondary consideration
It’s the client’s responsibility to push the agency to produce amazing creative
While creative can be subjective, if it’s on brand message, it’s done its job
Measure the effectiveness of your messaging as well as your strategy
The best response will come from the ideal blend of media and creative

Sometimes, developing the best campaign possible is simply having the right frame of mind. And, that is not just thinking about your new media tactics but the creative that they deliver.