Words with value Messaging in a downturn
Words with value: messaging in a downturn
Record-setting stock prices. Rocketing real estate values. A booming job market. Not very long ago, a global financial meltdown was the furthest thing from our minds. Buoyed by a positive outlook and money to spare, consumers were spending freely while businesses thrived in turn, bombarding the marketplace with a medley of messages intended to fuel the frenzy. Now that the economy has softened dramatically, however, every brand manager, marketing director, and CMO should be reevaluating his or her messaging strategy. Businesses that could get away with imperfect communications before are finding the current climate far less forgiving. Customers are scrutinizing purchase decisions more than ever, and brands must apply the same scrutiny to their messaging in order to stay relevant. Focusing on what matters In the days before the downturn, the businesses that excelled at messaging used their brand as a filter for their communications. GE used the power of “imagination” as an organizing principle for talking about everything from dishwashers to jet engines to sustainability. BMW ruthlessly excised all messages that strayed from its brand pillars. IBM found a way to turn every ad, web page, and collateral piece into a vehicle for expressing precisely what made it unique. If the notion of brand is that a singular, relevant, distinctive promise can position a business in the hearts and minds of collective audiences, these companies got it right, using messaging as a way to support that promise, establishing a lasting, unified impression as a result. Meanwhile, the majority of other brands, overwhelmed by the temptation to communicate everything and anything a consumer might possibly want to hear, struggled to focus their messaging, choosing instead to say it all. Rather than winning people over, this proliferation of disparate claims only served to fragment customers’ perceptions. By trying to say a bit of everything, most companies wound up relaying a whole lot of nothing. But that was then. As times have changed, so has the fundamental error that businesses make when it comes to messaging. Whereas most companies previously suffered from a lack of consistency and
Interbrand | Pg. 2
focus across a brand’s communications, today’s flaw is too much focus...specifically, on cost. There is no shortage of recent research to remind us that consumers’ and businesses’ number one priority is saving money. To deny this fact would be fatal, and every company should certainly address the current circumstances head on. But to blindly follow the research by putting price at the center of every communication, while abandoning brand as a result, is perhaps an even costlier mistake. Some companies get this. In the US, while most airliners have been dwelling almost exclusively on price, Continental Airlines has found a way to demonstrate customer value while remaining true to what distinguishes its brand. Sainsbury’s, one of the UK’s premier grocery chains, has managed to set itself apart from the unintelligible frenzy of cost-cutting that’s consumed most of the supermarket industry by staying focused on its brand promise of fairness. And in Japan, Yebisu has leveraged its reputation as a high-quality beer purveyor to define value in a way that’s still highly relevant for consumers given the current state of the economy. All three brands, each operating in a different region of the world, share one critical insight: a company’s messaging strategy and brand strategy are inseparable. (Read more about these brands in the Appendix at the end of the document.)
arehoemployagencE
Words with value messaging in a downturn
Keys to success Creating an effective messaging strategy has always been a complex undertaking, but there are a few questions every savvy marketer should consider in today’s economic climate in particular: 01 Are you getting beyond the dollar (or pound or yen) sign? Talking about price is important, and at times necessary. But if the message stops there, you’re not building a brand, you’re simply peddling products. 02 What does “value” really mean for your customers? Consumers may be seeking value, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re looking for the lowest price. Try focusing your messages on the value-adding benefits your brand can deliver, whether that’s quality, trust, or sustainability. After all, value is not how much you pay, but what you get—physically, intellectually, and emotionally—for what you spend. 03 What is your brand’s unique response to the downturn? At the heart of every brand is one differentiating idea or promise. Identify what’s at the exact heart of your brand, making sure that it’s still relevant and credible in these times. If it is, look for ways to reinforce that unique promise across all elements of your brand when addressing the current slump. If it’s not, it might be time to step back and reevaluate your strategy. 04 Are you tailoring your message? Some countries respond to crisis with optimism, others respond with pragmatism or fear. Some customer segments crave details, others want the takeaway. Some touchpoints call for information, others for affirmation. Make sure your messaging “matrix” addresses the specific needs of each audience, along every point of the customer journey, while accounting for regional differences. 05 How holistic is your messaging strategy? Messaging is more than what you say in an advertisement. Your website, speaking engagements, collateral, annual report, press releases, and even email exchanges with your customers…all represent vital opportunities to get your message across. Take full advantage, remembering the importance of consistency.
Interbrand | Pg. 3
What comes next? Perhaps the most important question of all is: What happens after the recession? This decline won’t last forever, and when it’s over, where will you stand? If you’ve systematically chipped away at your brand by making it secondary to price, then you’ve lost years or even decades worth of brand equity. Now more than ever, the inclination to put brand aside in favor of promotional messaging can be overpowering. But for those businesses that prioritize brand, the opportunity is huge. That’s because the vast majority of businesses are now neglecting the importance of their brand foundation. As a result, those few that strengthen their messaging while staying true to their brand will not only survive this downturn, but should thrive in its aftermath as well.
Words with value messaging in a downturn
Interbrand | Pg. 4
Appendix 01 Continental Airlines: Still flying right With corporate travel freezes, unstable gas prices, and fewer people springing for vacation getaways, the airline industry has been especially hard-hit these days. In response, many carriers across the globe are slashing ticket prices, each determined to win the battle for cost-conscious customers.
fun, discount airliner, is attempting to elevate its brand by focusing its recent advertisements around a concept it calls “jetting.” While both campaigns assert something unique about the two respective brands, it will be important that they remain highly attentive to the needs of the current environment, defining how their unique positioning translates into clear value for the customer.
In the United States, where competition has been particularly fierce, brands have increasingly begun to shift their messaging strategy to place greater emphasis on value. Some airliners seem to be neglecting their brand altogether, suddenly making price the sole focus of all communications. Others, however, are finding creative ways to leverage their existing brand identity while underscoring the value they provide.
02 Sainsbury’s: Food made fair In comparison to the United States, the atmosphere in the UK is downright depressing. With discount signs overcrowding storefronts across Great Britain, many chains are promoting radical price reductions at the exclusion of all other messages, cultivating a doomsday-like mania. Companies that have spent many years — and many millions — to develop a differentiated brand messaging platform are simply abandoning that platform in the name of price.
Take Continental Airlines: Rather than refocusing their messaging strategy to concentrate exclusively on price, the airline has worked instead to strengthen its reputation for quality service. In an advertising campaign launched in the middle of 2008, when fuel prices were reaching meteoric levels and signs of the sagging economy were first emerging, Continental took aim at rival airlines for rolling back standard amenities. One print advertisement reads: “Other airlines have cut back on the little things. Like service.” A television spot from the same campaign delivers the message even more memorably. In it, a competitor’s stewardess is shown sneaking around an airplane, filching pillows, blankets, and pretzels from unsuspecting passengers. While certainly a light-hearted spin on a rather dim economic reality, the point is loud and clear: Continental continues to deliver tangible value in an environment where others have started skimping on the essentials. The ad campaign isn’t necessarily supported by similar messaging on Continental’s website or in their corporate materials, but it’s certainly a good start. And while the advertising led focus on quality can be seen as a direct response to the current economic state, the overarching message hardly represents a new direction for the Continental brand. Dating back to the launch of its tagline “Work hard. Fly right.” in the late nineties, Continental Airlines has long positioned itself as the airline dedicated to delivering passengers a well-deserved, reliable flying experience — a level of quality now perhaps more differentiating than ever. By continuing to “fly right” amidst such volatility, Continental has found a way to effectively ride out the recession, remaining true to its brand while still addressing the immediate needs of value-focused customers, and doing so with a degree of optimism. And while the impact of a strong messaging strategy can be difficult to quantify in the short-term, it would appear that Continental is walking the talk: the airliner was recently named “Best Value for the Money” (International) among all airlines in Zagat’s 2008 Airline Survey. Other airliners are taking a different tack. With a recent advertising campaign entitled “We Know Why You Fly,” American Airlines has chosen to spotlight its emotional connection to customers as a critical point of difference. Similarly, JetBlue, known primarily as a
Admittedly, given the current climate in the UK, it would be a mistake for any British grocery store brand to ignore price entirely. Still, there are ways to highlight cost while still reinforcing a given brand’s foundation. Sainsbury’s, one of the country’s most prominent grocery stores, has adopted a messaging strategy that expresses value while remaining true to its brand. Building on its well-known tagline “Try something new today,” appealing to the customer’s inner chef, Sainsbury’s has recently introduced a new campaign entitled, “Feed your family for a fiver.” While the campaign is clearly intended first and foremost to underscore affordability, the nod toward “family” also serves to align the new offer with Sainsbury’s long-standing reputation as the ultimate wholesome market. In contrast to competing campaigns, which have tended to exhibit a sense of price hysteria, Sainsbury’s uses this offer to remind customers it hasn’t lost touch with what matters in life; it has simply discounted the ingredients on its shelves, making it easier for patrons to prepare a meal for their loved ones. Realizing it cannot win on price alone, Sainsbury’s has focused instead on delivering on its elegantly simple mission statement: “Great products at fair prices.” Sainsbury’s may not boast the absolute bottom prices, but it can offer something perhaps even more valuable: a fair, wholesome experience, every time. This messaging theme of fairness stretches beyond the simplicity of reasonable pricing. With a robust offering of organic foods, and emphasis on quality ingredients and the home-cooked family meal, Sainsbury’s wins customers by doing right by them, where fair prices are just one component of the overall picture. Defined as a core value on its website, Sainsbury’s declares: “We are working hard to offer customers products that are better all round – good for them, good for the environment, good for animal welfare, and good for farmers and suppliers.” When customers shop at Sainsbury’s, this multi-dimensional approach to quality is part of the overall value they know they can expect. While no supermarket is performing particularly well in the United Kingdom at the current moment, there are some indications that Sainsbury’s’ messaging strategy may be gaining traction. The
Words with value messaging in a downturn
supermarket chain recently reported underlying year-on-year sales growth over Christmas at two percentage points higher than Tesco, the country’s largest grocery chain. As a foil to Sainsbury’s, Tesco has opted for a more thinly veiled appeal to price-crazed customers. With its homepage overrun by value-driven headlines, such as “6 ways to spend less on your groceries” and “If you’re feeling the squeeze, we’ll deliver…,” Tesco has chosen to address the realities of the economic crisis rather overtly, promising value in the most direct way possible to meet the immediate concerns of cash-strapped customers. Still, it remains to be seen if this approach will be sufficient to differentiate them from the horde of groceries flocking to a price-based messaging strategy. 03 Yebisu: Luxury Home-Brewed Similar to the United Kingdom, the mood in Japan is also rather gloomy. According to a study conducted in January 2009 by the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research, a mere two percent of respondents from Japan believed that “the economic situation in their country” would “be better” in the next three months. (The United Kingdom tied Japan with two percent, while a relatively upbeat fourteen percent of respondents from the United States felt confident conditions would improve.) For all high-end brands in Asia, the current downturn clearly poses a significant challenge, but perhaps one of the more interesting categories to consider is the Japanese beer industry. With beer as the country’s most popular alcoholic beverage, and only a handful of domestic breweries dominating the market, competition runs very high. And because beer in Japan is taxed according to its malt content, a natural hierarchy emerges: low malt beers, referred to as “happoushu,” are the value players, while the higher malt alternatives carry significantly higher prices. Most Japanese breweries offer a broad spectrum of beers at different malt levels to appeal to the broadest range of customers. At the moment, sales of low malt beer are relatively strong. However, premium malt brands face a difficult messaging conundrum: How can they continue to justify their added expense to the customer given this pessimistic climate? A highly popular premium malt beer, Yebisu has used messaging effectively to solidify its position while still resonating with today’s consumer. First brewed in Tokyo during the late eighteen hundreds and one of Japan’s oldest brands, Yebisu is known throughout the country as a high-end beverage; its tagline, “A touch of class,” serves to reinforce that perception. In the past, its advertising and website content have positioned Yebisu as the refined choice one might select during an elegant excursion into town. In one commercial, a mother and daughter dressed in traditional garb are shown dining at a fancy restaurant, enjoying Yebisu. Now that there is less money to spend, however, and Japanese are dining out less frequently and less extravagantly, Yebisu has shifted the way it frames its message. Rather than abandoning its position as an established high-end beverage, it has managed to successfully
Interbrand | Pg. 5
maintain its focus on “class” while still staying current. Its website explains: “Yebisu makes anytime quality time. When you spend time with someone special, Yebisu makes the moment longer, richer and deeper.” Whereas previously Yebisu had defined “class” in terms of an expensive night out of the house, now it’s apparent that the same quality of experience can take place anywhere, even in the home, so long as Yebisu is included among the company. While the definition of “class” may have changed to more accurately reflect the current conditions of customers, it’s clear that Yebisu’s core messaging strategy has not wavered. With demand for premium malts largely flagging, Yebisu has certainly felt the impact of a shrinking market. Still, the brand has held its own against increasing competition, including The Premium Malt’s, a brew made by Suntory. In one advertisement produced near the new year, The Premium Malt’s addresses customers and credits them for their recent boost in sales, applauding the success of the previous year. But while its success is certainly impressive, customers will expect more than a thank you in the long-term— they will need to hear that their current needs are being recognized, and want to know the value they can expect as a result. ■
Jason Baer
Ben Purkert
Jason Baer is the Director of Interbrand’s New York Verbal Identity team. Combining his experience in communications, brand strategy, and ideation, Jason helps his clients harness the power of language in compelling new ways. Since joining Interbrand in 2002, Jason has managed several corporate and consumer engagements, working with business leaders in search of a bolder, more impassioned expression of their brands. He is a proud member of the New York office’s Green Team and author of the company’s Creativity Cookbook blog.
Ben Purkert is a Creative Writer within Interbrand’s Verbal Identity group. Since joining the team in September 2007, Ben has devoted himself to a wide range of client engagements including Thomson Reuters, AT&T, CSC, GMAC, Xerox, and AT Kearney. From the creation and refinement of brand stories, to the execution and delivery of voice and messaging, Ben has enjoyed broad exposure to the various ways words can touch a brand.
www.interbrand.com
Creating and managing brand value
TM