Building Exciting Brands u From features to benefits and engagement
Mihai Bonca
Addictive-Strategy.com
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Brand Strategy Process
Unites the Brand with Customer and creates internal alignment 1. Business strategy
5. Experiences and communication
Competitive Advantages: - Market and competition assessment - Competitive advantages and weaknesses - Traps and nice things to have
2. Brand architecture – the relationship ladder Ideology: - Vision (Why?) - Key Values - Success KPIs - Artefacts
Positioning elements: - Emotional Benefits - Rational Benefits & Reason to Beliefs - Ecosystem
4. Brand & customer shared ambition Our story together: - Category & Value Proposition - Do we differentiate?
Narrative strategy: - Communication Big Idea - Key Touchpoints - Key Activities - Brand World - Consumer research 6. Commercial execution Strategic drivers of growth: - Link with innovation - Gap analysis & strategies to grow - Link with Trade and Sales Strategy - Trade research 7. Enhance team capabilities
3. Customer discovery Needstates (Who & Why): - Segmentation Diamond - Demographics and Psychographics - Dreams - Tensions, Problems, Pains & Insights Occasions (Where & When)
Marketing academy: - Build in depth marketing skills - Study best practices - Harmonize the marketing know-how across the team Feedback Loop
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Step 1: Business Strategy Competitive position
Creates superior Performance through Competitive Advantages.
Makes right choices through Differentiation. Avoids entering in a opened Battlefield, Traps or focusing on Nice to have. Minimize the effects of competitive disadvantages.
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Competitive Advantages: compelling benefits that make a company outperform competition. They are valuable, rare & defendable.
Customers Needs and Voids to be filled
Competitive Weaknesses: important benefits that your competition can offer and you cannot. Should you match them?
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Point of parity: equal with your competition. Playing on them will not help you win the war.
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Traps: can make you rival with competition for un-necessaire features.
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Nice 2 have: red herrings. Offerings that you can own, but customers do not need.
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Competitive Advantages
Nice to have
Company Offerings
Competitive Weaknesses Point of Parity
Traps
Nice to have
Competition Offerings
Same Context, competing for the same resources
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Cost Leadership or Equity (Differentiation/ Specialization) Choose one of the extreme. Avoid being stuck in the middle.
Equity Differentiation/ Specialization
Cost Leadership • •
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Business model: Low Margin, High Volumes Competitive advantages: Scale, Efficiency, Standardization
• •
Business model: High Margin, Low Volumes Competitive advantages: Reputation, Quality, Customization
Source: Michael Porter 5
Step 2: Brand Architecture Ideology and Relationship Ladder
Relationship Ladder
Connects the Brand with the outside World, through a mix of Performance (interaction) and Promise (imaginary). Brand DNA: the emotional – rational flow
Consumer Tensions & Cultural Canvas
Resonance, our tribe ideology that fuels motivation Shared Ambition Common Values A similar way to measure success
Customer tension Growth Contribution Love & connection Importance Diversity & novelty Safety
Makes customers feel well, creates positive connections Emotional benefits, experiences and memories
Š Mihai Bonca I Brand Architects
Cultural canvas Myths: love and fear Substance of contrast: cultural opportunities, conventions, biases and stereotypes that can be challenged. From conflict to symbiotic ideas that enhance our positioning.
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Gains confidence, shows advantages, evidences Presents rational benefits and jobs done Shows attributes & reason to believe (RTBs) Heroes or regular members of the tribe Attractivity & engagement Brand world: physical appearance, design artefacts, rituals, the 5 Senses Personality & vulnerabilities Narcissist identification: similarities - what I am, or inspiration - what I want to become (my best self)
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Michael Jordan The sportsmen that became a cultural icon
Customer tension, needs & voids to be filled. Growth Contribution Love & connection Importance Diversity & novelty Safety
Ideology: Purpose & ambition: become greatest basketball player of all time (GOAT) Values: work ethic, play each game as the last one, reputation Measure success: win each game, highest numbers of champion rings Emotional connections: Emotional benefits: an idol for a generation, helped people feel like small heroes themselves, each game became a lifelong memory Leadership style: based on vision and goals, pacesetting Gain confidence: Performance: one of the few sportsmen that became a global cultural icon Results: super-human skills, unique style, un-matched performances: (6 Championships, 6 Finales MVP, 5 NBA MVP, 2 Olympic Gold Medals), first “signature” shoe, most successful sport ambassador (Nike “Air Jordan”) Life story: proof of hard work - from a kid thrown out of the college basketball team, to greatest player ever Network effects: a press darling Shadow: obsessed by winning, alpha wolf in the team Attractivity: Personality: ultra-competitive, authentic, bold and courageous, smart, stylish Identification: from rags to riches, ultimate sport champion Brand world: the flying man logo, “Air Jordan”
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Revolut Hassle free money operations at your fingertips Ideology: Ambition: One app for every payment or money operations Values: resilience, perseverance and entrepreneurial mindset; continuous innovations; push employees and technology as far as possible
Customer tension Growth Contribution Love & connection Importance Diversity & novelty Safety
Makes customers feel well: Emotional benefits: hassle free, intuitive application Leadership style: pacesetting Gain confidence: Rational benefits: • Best exchange rates • Easiness: use of friend's phone numbers and phone contacts as “bank accounts”. IBAN goes in the back-end • Simplicity: send money with 5 touches Shadow: erratic behavior; cultural issues inside the organization surface the exterior RTBs: • Network effects: +10M customers, + 400 K companies, 35 countries, +35 currencies • Zero or very low fees or taxes compared with a traditional bank Attractivity: Personality: an ambitious, provocative and restless challenger Archetype: outlaw & idealist Brand world: refined customer experience (UX and UI);
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Mastercard Empowers people have their priceless moments
Ideology: Ambition: Build a world beyond cash Values: trust, partnership, agility, initiative
Customer tension Growth Contribution Love & connection Importance Diversity & novelty Safety
Makes customers feel well: Emotional benefits: empower customers have their priceless moments, everyday, everywhere Leadership style: affiliative – people first Gain confidence: Rational benefits: safe, simple and smart payments, everyday, everywhere Shadow: sugar-coating RTBs: • Technology and expertise • Adopted and endorsed by World’s leading banks • Presence in key hot-spots (e.g. airports) Attractivity: Personality: friendly, caring, joyful Archetype: magician Brand world: human centric “priceless moments”
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Relationship Ladder
Resonance (our tribe ideology): Shared ambition: Build a world beyond cash Values: Trust, Partnership, Agility, Initiative
Resonance (our tribe ideology): Shared ambition: enable consumers, businesses, banks and governments to use digital currency. Everyone everywhere. Values: (Payments), Innovation, Partnership
Makes customers feel well: Emotional benefits: empower customers have their priceless moments, everyday, everywhere Leadership style: affiliative – people first
Makes customers feel well: Emotional benefits: ? (engage, experience and collaborate with a broad range of partners) Leadership style: ?
Gain confidence: Rational benefits: safe, simple and smart payment solutions RTBs: well known brands, technology and expertise Social pressure: adopted and endorsed by World’s leading banks, presence in key hotspots (e.g. airports) Shadow: sugar-coating
Gain confidence: Rational benefits: reassurance, wide acceptance and usability RTBs: technology and innovations Social pressure: connect consumers, businesses, banks and governments in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide Shadow: boring, lack of inspiration
Attractivity: Personality: friendly, caring, joyful Archetype: magician
Attractivity: Personality: professional, rigorous Archetype: everyman
Customer tension: Love & Connection
Customer tension: Safety
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Step 3: Customer Discovery Your client is not you
The elephant in the room: the miss-alignment btw. brands and audience Brands are built on Power, Achievement and Hedonism (mirroring those who are in charge). People’s values are linked with Autonomy, Security, Universalism, Benevolence
Source: Research Solutions, Base: Modern Mainstream consumers (n = 1037) Addictive-Strategy.com
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Typologies of Power
Positional/ Managerial Power
Personal/ Leadership Power
Legitimate Power “The Boss”
The Country President, The Company GM, Police, Military.
Referent Power “I admire you ”
Uses sympathy and identification.
Reward Power “The recompense”
Positive: bonuses, Negatives: fines.
Expert Power “Special abilities”
Based on trust upon superior skills. E.g. doctors, lawyers, professors.
Coercive Power “Avoid punishment”
Threaten or fire someone.
Informational Power “You are what you know”
Most transitory, if the information is given away, the power is given away.
Resources Power “Controlling access”
Restrict or allow access.
Connection Power “You are who you do know”
Associated with influential and powerful people.
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Source: French & Raven – Basis of Power 14
Leadership Styles Pacesetting
Coercive
Authoritative
Coaching
Democratic
Affiliative
“Do as I do, now!”
“Do what I say”
“Come with me”
“Try this!”
“What do you think?”
“People first”
Sets high performance standards and exemplifies them by owns example. Has a very positive impact on employees who are self-motivated and highly competent.
Can be very effective in a turnaround situations, a natural disaster, or when working with problem employees.
States the overall goal but gives people the freedom to choose their own means of achieving it. Works especially well when a business is without direction.
Focus on personal development rather than on immediate work-related tasks. Works well when employees are already aware of their weaknesses and want to improve.
Gives people a voice in decisions, build organizational flexibility & responsibility. Helps generate fresh ideas.
Useful for building team harmony or increasing morale.
Other employees can feel overwhelmed by leader’s demands for excellence. Has a latent tendency to take over a situation.
In most situations, coercive leadership inhibits the organization’s flexibility and dampens motivation.
Less effective when the leader is working with a team of experts who are more experienced than he is.
Doesn’t have success when employees are resistant to changing their ways.
Leads to endless meetings and confused employees who feel leaderless.
Can allow poor performance to go uncorrected. Affiliative leaders rarely offer advice, which often leaves employees in a clueless.
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Source: Leadership that Gets Results, Daniel Goleman, HBR
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Leadership Impact on main Drivers of Climate Leadership style affected the working atmosphere.
Correlation between each leadership style and each aspect of climate Authoritative “Come with me”
Affiliative “People first”
Democratic “What do you think?”
Coaching “Try this!”
Coercive “Do what I say!”
Pacesetting “Do as I do, now!”
Flexibility
.32
.27
.28
.17
-.28
-.07
Responsibility
.21
.16
.23
.08
-.37
.04
Standards
.38
.31
.22
.39
.02
-.27
Rewards
.54
.48
.42
.43
-.18
-.29
Clarity
.44
.37
.35
.38
-.11
-.28
Commitment
.35
.34
.26
.27
-.13
-.20
Overall Impact
.54
.46
.43
.42
-.26
-.25
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Source: Leadership that Gets Results, Daniel Goleman, HBR
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Target Group
KOLs vs. Main Target vs. Overspill Best target: the most respected members of our customer tribe, which opinion is vital to validate the brand choices for the entire community: • They are the “stars” from our consumer base, innovators or early adopters; grouped in connectors, connoisseurs or persuaders* • They make our brand appealing, just by their consumption • Without them, we do not have a solid future to convince the other customers • Because they are more advanced vs. the rest of the tribe, we have to build a strategic pillar around them
Main target resonates with our values and noble purpose; accountable for the largest stake in our current profit; our main strategy is build for them: • We have common values and purpose • The created mainly for them • Our mass communication is designed for them
Volume overspill: they buy our brand just because they see the others; can be numerous, attracted by benefits, do not share same values; therefore, cannot be loyal: • Search for the group validation • Heavily influenced by social pressure • Attracted by good price and promotions
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Best target Key Opinion Leaders, the ambassadors that spread our message
Main target The ones that believe in what we believe, are loyal to our brand
Overspill Transactional relationship, shouldn’t be targeted in communication; cannot be loyalize
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Probability vs. Decision Weights vs. Adoption Curve Daniel Kahneman
* Source: Daniel Kahneman: Prospect Theory Addictive-Strategy.com
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Empathetic Customer Profile Walking in our customers’ shoes
Demographics. • Name • Description (age, social state) • Where does he lives and what he is doing? Life. • How is his life? • What is he thinking about? Values & beliefs. • What are his fundamental values and beliefs? Relationship with others. • Who are the people that he respects? • How is he influenced by social pressure? Happy moments & big successes. • What are the everyday moments that makes him happy? • What is making him go for another week? • What are his big achievements that make him proud? Dreams. • What are his dreams? What does he love? Tensions. • What are his fears? • What is he running from? What is the “job to be done” they are seeking from the brands in the category? Addictive-Strategy.com
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Results: build a loyal tribe Customer lifetime value
Cooperate through Storytelling and Common Beliefs & Myths* Difficulty lies in convincing people to out-pass their natural risk aversion. A mix of Fear Antagonists, Love Myths and Rational Rules.
Rational Rules: Identification, Laws, Codes
Love Myths: Dreams, Scope, Values, Beliefs Fear Antagonists: Common Enemies, Risk Aversion, Uncertainty * Source: Yuval Noah Harari: Sapiens, A brief history of humankind
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Keep the world free by defeating the Empire Use kindness, friendship, self-sacrifice, wisdom
Ideology
Heroes and Myths
Artifacts
Believers
Š Mihai Bonca I Brand Architects
Enslave the entire Universe Use force, terror, power, horrific weapons
Communication Archetypes
Stability & control
“Ego”: Independence & fulfilment
Feel safe
Enjoy a better life
“Together”: Belonging & enjoyment
Mastery & risk
Find love/ community
Stand out
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Source: Map & Fire (https://mapandfire.com)
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www.Addictive-Strategy.com Marketing Strategy and Brand Transformation
Mihai Bonca Mihai.Bonca@brandarchitects.ro 0725.347.475
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