Casual Articles - Business

How to Escape the Normality Trap
Nobody notices normal.Not anymore, at least.Fifty years ago? Maybe.But this is 2007. Our culture is crowded. It is cluttered. It is LOUD!Creating products, ideas, philosophies and brands that are normal is like asking customers to find a needle in a stack of needles.Here’s why this is happening:1. The Time-Choice Paradox. There’s entirely too much stuff out there. Too many products. Too many blogs. Too many service providers. Too many options. Too many choices. And this trend creates the ultimate irony: with every new choice comes less time in which customers have to make it.See, several decades ago, people weren’t as rushed. But then ag

od. Lacking any REAL brand DNA, P&G sold its low-suds detergent with the same dramatic dynamic that worked so well in the UK. Here is the plot:

The Commercial

YOUNG WIFE: Wife has switched to Ariel.

NOSEY MOTHER-IN-LAW: Mother-in-law barges in and chastises the young wife for the choice saying, "I always use (insert generic brand here)."

YOUNG WIFE: Wife washes two loads, one using Ariel, and the other using "N

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Grab Opportunity
Many well established national and regional brands see global expansion as the golden egg. The promise of new emerging consumer markets in many of the world’s burgeoning economic regions is a great lure for these brands. China and India, for example, have emerging middle class consumer markets that look to provide many consumer brands (US and European) with the opportunity to grow market share.
To navigate these fertile markets and increase your market share it is important that you understand brand dynamics. Sadly, many manufactures do not. They will plow these new waters with the same reckless brand management that has led them to believe that their domestic success is a result of something other than heavy advertising spending. Understanding how a brand’s permission sets the stage for future success in the market is essential, and the lessons are even more telling when you move the brand into a different culture.
Global Brand Strategy
The root of your brand essence and strategy is found in the belief system of the target audience you are trying to influence. It is not an amalgam of product benefits, category descriptors, or “branded colors.” When customers choose a particular brand, within a category of offerings, they choose to purchase a brand that seems connected to their own sense of self. The more closely the DNA of the brand resembles the genetic makeup of the target, the more apt they are to prefer it, the greater that attraction, and the greater are your margins. When you think about a foreign culture (foreign to your own current success) you can quickly see why understanding the preceptive underpinnings of that culture are the keys to your success.
Case In Point
Here is a prime example. When P&G launched its low suds Ariel soap detergent (its high-end European brand) in Egypt many years ago, they believed that their brand was tied up in efficacy (in other words, they had no brand at all). Worse still, they simply cloned the advertising from successful European (read British) commercials from the period. Lacking any REAL brand DNA, P&G sold its low-suds detergent with the same dramatic dynamic that worked so well in the UK. Here is the plot:
The Commercial
YOUNG WIFE: Wife has switched to Ariel.
NOSEY MOTHER-IN-LAW: Mother-in-law barges in and chastises the young wife for the choice saying, "I always use (insert generic brand here)."
YOUNG WIFE: Wife washes two loads, one using Ariel, and the other using "NO
The Story Behind Blue Cross Blue Shield
Developed in 1929 by a man named Justin Ford Kimball, Blue Cross was an association of health insurance plans. It was in 1982, after Blue Cross had originally lost its affiliation with the American Hospital Association, that they merged with National Association of Blue Shield Plans to form Blue Cross Blue Shield.Technically, Blue Cross Blue Shield is a trade association for a series of locally operated plans. There are 40 local member companies of Blue Cross Blue Shiled that operate under the umbrella. In addition, the company, or rather its local affiliates, act as Social Security administrators. Many would say, in fact, that managed health care in the United States is very closely linked to the
rstand brand dynamics. Sadly, many manufactures do not. They will plow these new waters with the same reckless brand management that has led them to believe that their domestic success is a result of something other than heavy advertising spending. Understanding how a brand’s permission sets the stage for future success in the market is essential, and the lessons are even more telling when you move the brand into a different culture.
Global Brand Strategy
The root of your brand essence and strategy is found in the belief system of the target audience you are trying to influence. It is not an amalgam of product benefits, category descriptors, or “branded colors.” When customers choose a particular brand, within a category of offerings, they choose to purchase a brand that seems connected to their own sense of self. The more closely the DNA of the brand resembles the genetic makeup of the target, the more apt they are to prefer it, the greater that attraction, and the greater are your margins. When you think about a foreign culture (foreign to your own current success) you can quickly see why understanding the preceptive underpinnings of that culture are the keys to your success.
Case In Point
Here is a prime example. When P&G launched its low suds Ariel soap detergent (its high-end European brand) in Egypt many years ago, they believed that their brand was tied up in efficacy (in other words, they had no brand at all). Worse still, they simply cloned the advertising from successful European (read British) commercials from the period. Lacking any REAL brand DNA, P&G sold its low-suds detergent with the same dramatic dynamic that worked so well in the UK. Here is the plot:
The Commercial
YOUNG WIFE: Wife has switched to Ariel.
NOSEY MOTHER-IN-LAW: Mother-in-law barges in and chastises the young wife for the choice saying, "I always use (insert generic brand here)."
YOUNG WIFE: Wife washes two loads, one using Ariel, and the other using "N
3 Simple Steps to Utilize the Power of the Internet in Your Marketing
Are you looking for an incredible Internet presence? Many people reading this may already have a web presence. Others have no site at all. Although not absolutely necessary, in most cases having a web site is an expected aspect of doing business. With the right use of a site, you can give incredible benefit to your customers and prospects.Before you start, decide how will you be using your web site. To provide company information? To promote or sell products and services? To build your contacts? How your web site works with your marketing efforts will determine how elaborate it will be and how much money and time you invest in it.Present a Professional Image on the Internet Many busines
und in the belief system of the target audience you are trying to influence. It is not an amalgam of product benefits, category descriptors, or “branded colors.” When customers choose a particular brand, within a category of offerings, they choose to purchase a brand that seems connected to their own sense of self. The more closely the DNA of the brand resembles the genetic makeup of the target, the more apt they are to prefer it, the greater that attraction, and the greater are your margins. When you think about a foreign culture (foreign to your own current success) you can quickly see why understanding the preceptive underpinnings of that culture are the keys to your success.
Case In Point
Here is a prime example. When P&G launched its low suds Ariel soap detergent (its high-end European brand) in Egypt many years ago, they believed that their brand was tied up in efficacy (in other words, they had no brand at all). Worse still, they simply cloned the advertising from successful European (read British) commercials from the period. Lacking any REAL brand DNA, P&G sold its low-suds detergent with the same dramatic dynamic that worked so well in the UK. Here is the plot:
The Commercial
YOUNG WIFE: Wife has switched to Ariel.
NOSEY MOTHER-IN-LAW: Mother-in-law barges in and chastises the young wife for the choice saying, "I always use (insert generic brand here)."
YOUNG WIFE: Wife washes two loads, one using Ariel, and the other using "N
What Does Your Brand Smell Like
Close your eyes for a moment and think of the smell of freshly baked bread – what does that wonderful warm smell remind you of? Perhaps it takes you back in time to your childhood, to Sunday mornings when you used to walk down to the corner bakery to buy a fresh loaf dusted with flour.In the same way that an everyday aroma can instantly take us to another place and time in our minds and remind us of people and places, so too is it possible to associate your brand with an aroma in the minds of your customers and clients.Aromas have the ability to build powerful brand recognition, quickly. In his book, Brand Sense, Martin Lindstroem says, ‘Seventy-five percent of the emotions we generate on a
(foreign to your own current success) you can quickly see why understanding the preceptive underpinnings of that culture are the keys to your success.
Case In Point
Here is a prime example. When P&G launched its low suds Ariel soap detergent (its high-end European brand) in Egypt many years ago, they believed that their brand was tied up in efficacy (in other words, they had no brand at all). Worse still, they simply cloned the advertising from successful European (read British) commercials from the period. Lacking any REAL brand DNA, P&G sold its low-suds detergent with the same dramatic dynamic that worked so well in the UK. Here is the plot:
The Commercial
YOUNG WIFE: Wife has switched to Ariel.
NOSEY MOTHER-IN-LAW: Mother-in-law barges in and chastises the young wife for the choice saying, "I always use (insert generic brand here)."
YOUNG WIFE: Wife washes two loads, one using Ariel, and the other using "N
A Guide To Warehouse
Warehousing is an important function of physical distribution, particularly when a manufacturer produces consumer goods. A commercial building for the storage of goods is known as a warehouse.Some inventory is kept at or near the plant, and the rest is in warehouses in other locations. A company can own private warehouses and also rent space in public warehouses. Strong warehouses store goods for moderate-to-longer time periods. Distribution warehouses receive goods from various company plants and suppliers, and move them out as soon as possible. Some warehouses provide facilities like cold storage. There are specialized warehouses for agricultural products.The older, multistoried warehouse
od. Lacking any REAL brand DNA, P&G sold its low-suds detergent with the same dramatic dynamic that worked so well in the UK. Here is the plot:
The Commercial
YOUNG WIFE: Wife has switched to Ariel.
NOSEY MOTHER-IN-LAW: Mother-in-law barges in and chastises the young wife for the choice saying, "I always use (insert generic brand here)."
YOUNG WIFE: Wife washes two loads, one using Ariel, and the other using "NOSEY MOTHER-IN-LAW ‘s detergent" and they compare the results.
The winner — Ariel out-cleans "NOSEY MOTHER-IN-LAW ‘s brand".
NOSEY MOTHER-IN-LAW: Mother-in-law retreats with her tail between her legs.
YOUNG WIFE: Wife is the hero.
It was too bad no one bothered to find out that in Egypt, mother-in-law is an honored person. She is seen as an authority and help — not the meddlesome stereotype that we find in Europe. The result… the launch was a major flop.
No REAL Brands
In the absence of REAL brand, the brand management team was forced to look for solutions based on efficacy and they failed miserably. The cleaning process in Egypt was amazingly complicated and time consuming. The wife, who’s been responsible for the washing, would spend hours each day cleaning the family wash. She would mix detergents, shred bars of soap, and mix a cacophony of ingredients that would baffle a scientist. She would boil the clothes, hand ring them, wash them in a machine, and put them through a host of other processes that took half a day. Finally, she would proudly hang the wash out on the back clothesline for the admiration of the neighbors. Her result— amazingly clean clothes and a full day of labor.
A Cultural Bias Will Lead You Awry
From the cultural bias of the European brand managers, it seemed like a great idea to "BRAND" Ariel as the laundry detergent that “saves you time” (for the same result). The idea was that busy WIFE would gladly forgo the complicated and time-consuming ordeal that she currently employed for faster results. Sounds like a no-brainer.
The problem is that no one looked at the preceptive underpinnings in the culture. They assumed that the values found in European and American culture were universal and that the Egyptian housewife coveted these same values. They were wrong.
Once again, the brand launch floundered. It turned out that difficulty of process and complicated chemistry was one of the ways in which the Egyptian housewife measured h

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