Skip to main content

Alignment

I've long been fascinated by the power of brand alignment. I'm not talking about consistency across media or sales channels, but alignment with the company's fundamental value proposition, alignment with its business model, alignment with how the company invests and makes its money. That kind of brand alignment.

Target is a great example of alignment. Years ago, when squeezed between Wal-Mart (low price) and Macy's (variety and selection), Target decided to differentiate and win on the strategy of offering affordable design. We all love the advertising, but that's not the real story. Target aligned its business strategy, product selection, pricing, store design, and, yes, advertising around the idea of affordable design. "Tarzhay" leaped from being a discounter to a pop-culture icon. (What other store makes it into lyrics in a YouTube music video? Kohls? Not so much.)

Enterprise Rent-a-Car is another successful example of brand alignment. Its business model is based on delivering replacement cars to customers who are suddenly without a car (in for service) or without the right car for the weekend (need bigger car to haul visiting family). Enterprise doesn't target business travelers nor leisure travelers, two sizable segments. Its decision to focus entirely on the replacement car market drives and aligns its real estate strategy, pricing, and message ("we'll pick you up.") True, the advertising can be soooo much better, but at least Enterprise has resisted the temptation to be all things to all people and, instead, has a brand proposition that is aligned with a differentiated business model.

While President of Saatchi & Saatchi LA we explored a range of positioning strategies to launch Toyota's full-size Tundra pick-up truck. Then one day we realized a very simple truth: Toyota invested considerable engineering capital to give this 1/2 ton pick-up truck the strength, power and capability of a larger 3/4 ton pick-up truck. The result? A strategy and launch campaign based on the idea that the Tundra is the 1/2 ton pick-up with 3/4 ton guts. True. Differentiating. And fully aligned with how the company invested its capital.

During my time as head of marketing communications at Aetna Healthcare I helped lead a new positioning strategy to reframe the brand as a source of empowering health information -- not just health insurance. This idea was aligned with Aetna's Intelihealth venture with Johns Hopkins, its increasing emphasis on eHealth initiatives and the need to empower more of its members to practice preventive medicine. Again, like the examples above, a strategy fully aligned with the company's fundamental value chain.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What makes a premium brand premium?

I was thinking the other day about the DNA of premium brands . One thing is certain -- it's a relative idea. For example, Hyatt is not a premium brand if you're used to staying at a W or a Ritz Carlton. But if your vacations to date have been holed up in a Holiday Inn, then by all means a stay in a Hyatt is a premium experience. Another thing is certain -- a brand is considered premium only when we believe it is worth the price. And that's where we can dig deeper. Why are we willing to pay more for a product when there are others that provide the same service or function at a lesser price? I have spent a good part of my marketing career developing strategies and ideas for a wide range of  premium brands, including American Express, Sony, Callaway Golf, Hilton, Jaguar, Land Rover – even the Toyota Prius.  Through these experiences I have come to believe that a premium brand is built upon specific tangible and intangible attributes that give it a sense wort

Super game. Dull ads

As a passionate Giants fan it is safe to say that I had a good time yesterday. But as an advertising professional I felt a bit underwhelmed by the caliber of the advertising . Many were entertaining. But few possessed that intangible Super Bowl-ness...big, pop-cultural, fun. Even fewer seemed to have anything relevant to say about the brand, such as the Planters "uni-brow" spot. I loved the Bridgestone "screaming animals" spot, but it would have been a much better spot for the Saab featured in the spot than the tires the car rode upon. As for Bud, good spots, but I've seen the dog and horse thing before. Tide's talking stain was funny, but did it have Super Bowl-ness? My fav? The Coke "balloon float" spot. It was classic Coke (for Coke Classic). Big. Entertaining. Unexpected twist. Utterly charming. And Charlie Brown finally won something. Coke is about smiles. And that spot was just that. The Audi spot that I wrote about last week liv

Marketing as a service.

What if we re-imagined marketing as a way to serve customers?  What if we designed it as a way to provide real-time value and utility to customers? Our SXSW panel at explored these issues and more.  Marketing as a service harnesses Big Data to provide more meaningful and helpful experiences for customers.  It is a principle born of the belief that the dynamics of customer loyalty have fundamentally changed.  Loyalty can no longer be solely defined by customers staying loyal to a brand.  Because the internet provides us with unlimited choice, the tables have turned – brands must now demonstrate their loyalty to customers by serving them.