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Jun 15th, 2010 by Piers Guilar

A New Dawn: The Sun Rises in the East

There are exciting times afoot for the world of brands. Whether you are a global brand with an existing presence in Eastern marketplaces, a dynamic, growing brand that is looking to globalise in the near future or a small Eastern manufacturer looking to build a brand—this white paper is a wake-up call—a nudge to acknowledge the emergence of a new landscape for brands in the East.

As it stands, the proportion of the world’s population located in Asia is a mammoth 60 percent. Within this diverse and evolving continent, two countries stand out: China and India. When we mention ‘The East’, we’re alluding predominantly to these two
powerhouses of Eastern economic potential.

The baffling and somewhat inconceivable reality is that if you combine the populations of North America and Europe, numbers in Asia would still be four times as great. Even with the entire population of Africa joining the mix, Asia would still prevail at a ratio of 2:1.

And the figures don’t stop there. While most developed economies have clawed their way through the toughest economic climate in a century, China saw GDP growth of 8.5 percent, (Financial Times), and this growth rate is expected to continue. According to Goldman Sachs, by 2050 the combined nominal GDP of China and India will be an estimated US$1.1 trillion. In fact, China’s GDP alone is predicted to be greater than that of the United States and Europe combined—truly astonishing. Eastern markets like China and India are quickly becoming dominant, global economic forces. The economic landscape has fundamentally changed; the latent opportunity is there for all to see. Recognising the importance of creating brands will catalyse this dormant opportunity, bringing this massive marketplace to life. To achieve this, there are three key steps that Eastern manufacturers must follow to evolve into powerful brands.

1. Leverage competitive advantages

The East, particularly China and India, are economies driven by their manufacturing skills, and this has been the source of their economic explosion and sustained growth. Why? First, the vast, driven and highly skilled workforce is at their fingertips; and second,
at the heart of Eastern manufacturing economies are the latest technologies.

The technological and manufacturing resources in the East are already being harnessed by global brands. Dell, for example, currently spends an estimated US$25 billion on components from China, and their Chief Executive Officer, Michael Dell, believes India is poised to become a technology manufacturing centre. Products and components manufactured in the East sit at the top of the quality ladder, and the bottom of the price point.

However, Eastern strengths in global manufacturing have been largely focused on the production of components—’ingredients’ for other brands. What will happen when these manufacturers realise the power of branding? What will happen when these manufacturers become brands themselves, not only producing components for other global brands, but harnessing their own manufacturing prowess, technological leadership and skilled workforce to create powerful consumer brands? The answer is simple, but powerful: the East will begin to produce branded products that are high in quality and low in cost—prime factors for creating a very competitive marketplace.

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May 26th, 2010 by Brian Rafferty

A Point of View on Logo + Identity Evaluation

Evaluating the creative output of a corporate identity project can be an arduous process, where personal taste is hard to isolate from other influencing factors. While research is not an all-in-one solution, if undertaken properly, it can provide valuable direction and contextualize internal opinions and decisions.

Why research identity?

Getting an external read on a proposed new logo and identity direction is an important reality check to ensure:

The relevance to the marketplace
The “own-ability” of visual elements
The support of a desired brand positioning

What does it inform?

An external, primary research study can provide an evaluation of proposed logo(s) and identity(ies) under consideration in context of:

Fit to the company/product category
Fit to the desired positioning attributes for the brand
Fit to the existing perceived brand equity (if a redesign for an existing brand)
- Stretch to capturing new equity
Impact on perceptions of branded products/services
Differentiation versus competitors

How can it go wrong?

However, it is also important to know that the marketplace is not aware of a brand’s business strategy or of its future potential. These elements are key factors for a new logo and identity and are the prime reasons why external research should not be used to:

Exclusively pick a winning design
Art direct (such as pick a color; blue is always the favorite)
Judge likes/dislikes
Make detailed head-to-head comparisons between new and old

Things to keep in mind

Confidentiality: A large quantitative study runs the risk of news of your identity change leaking to the press and competitors.
Qualitative deliverables: Qualitative methods will provide explanation of perceptions and associations as well as direction for refinement.
Quantitative deliverables: Quantitative methods will provide statistically valid measurement but no/very limited design direction.
Realistic situations: Logos should be evaluated within the context customers and prospects will experience them. If it’s a B2B corporate logo, the full new look and feel should be shown. If applied to products that will be on-shelf, logos on-package with shelf stand-out and brand recall exercises are also recommended (with the understanding and expectation that recall of a new design will most likely not outperform that of a high-awareness existing design).
Global check: It is important to ensure that there are no local or cultural-specific issues with designs.
Controls: It is important to plan research methodologies rigorously to reduce bias and unnatural situations.
- In qualitative studies, concepts should be rotated. New concepts should be fully explored before exposure to existing designs.
- In quantitative studies, monadic sample cells should be used, with an individual respondent rating only one new design direction fully, enabling unbiased side-by-side comparison of results. Only at the end of the survey should respondents make head-on comparisons.

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May 12th, 2010 by Justin Peters

The End of Branding as Usual in the
Middle East

For all the talk about the power of branding to drive progressive corporate culture, innovative product development, and unwavering customer loyalty in the Middle East—there are precious, few examples of brands that have committed much beyond a logo and tagline—and as a result, few are reaping any real benefit from their investment other than a bit of visual recognition.

So why, with the increasing presence of world-class branding agencies, more and more managers and junior executives earning advanced degrees in marketing, and the imperative to brand more strategically in the wake of financial crisis, is the lack of commitment to more strategic branding initiatives considered acceptable?

Why is the bar set so low? Why isn’t the intent to build more differentiated, relevant, and credible brand experiences realized? Who, or what is responsible for the flatness of the Middle East’s brandscape?

Are the agencies at fault?

One phenomenon that has led to considerable confusion, specifically in the Gulf, has been perpetuated by advertising agencies that diligently provided campaigns for regional clients during the formative years and, in some cases, have since broadened their capabilities to include brand consulting.

All too often clients will add “branding” to an ad agency’s deliverables due to perceived efficiencies, cost savings, or just genuine naiveté. The differences between a product brand that fights for attention on a store shelf supported by a few months of campaign messages and a strategic corporate brand platform that guides everything an organization says and does has not always been communicated effectively or been clearly understood by either clients or the agencies themselves.

Even when a branding brief escapes the clutches of the “Ad Men” and finds its way to an actual branding firm, results can still get diluted. Depending on how long a given brand agency has been active in the region and how embattled its client relationships have been in the pursuit of regionally relevant world-class solutions, the energy to fight the good fight in support of good work can wane in even the most seasoned brand strategist, creative director, or relationship manager.

Succumbing to this agency fatigue is often rationalized with an attitude of submission, believing that if the client wants to pay for compromised work—so be it. This is usually accompanied by denial based on the notion that the work, though not adequately positioned to perpetuate the brand’s potential, is “good enough” for the Middle East market. This creative complacency moves neither the client nor the agency forward.

Is the Client the culprit?

Upon receiving a Request for Proposal or project brief in the Middle East, agencies can often assume that it has been sent to, not two or three carefully vetted brand consultancies, but rather six or eight candidates with varying capabilities. It would not be unreasonable to expect that in addition to some high-profile brand firms there might be an ad agency, an events specialist, a web developer and a print production house…all being asked to provide a branding proposal.

The fundamental misunderstanding of how to tender a branding initiative can obviously lead to imperfect partnerships. This, combined with the unfortunate perception of a brand consultant as a vendor, can also compromise the focus and productivity of a working relationship.

For example, when a procurement manager is charged with evaluating branding proposals solely on price and with little understanding of the branding process, it can make for a slippery slope just getting a project to the starting line.

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May 12th, 2010 by McNeal Maddox

Working for Free: Applying Content Strategy to the Freemium Gaming Model

As casual gaming titles continue to proliferate, the “freemium” business model is rapidly gaining traction among game developers and publishers. The Freemium Blog defines “freemium” as a business model in which a company gives away a core product for free and generates revenue by selling premium products to a small percentage of users. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Wired magazine’s Chris Anderson elaborates, “If a small group of customers is willing to pay for premium content, that’s enough cash to support everyone.” In the digital world, consumers have shown that they are willing to make direct payments for the content they like, creating increased engagement for brands and a much more sustainable business model than advertising. The trick, of course, is knowing which content to offer for free and which to offer at a premium.

As the freemium business model matures, so will the strategies and best practices associated with monetizing content, making a comprehensive content strategy arguably as important as engineering the game itself. Developers and publishers that factor key criteria such as audience, the gaming context, and monetizable assets into their marketing and communications strategy can create a more engaging brand experience from the initial trial to an eventual purchase.

A look at recent developments in the freemium gaming model shows how content strategy can help developers and publishers master the marketplace.

Casual Gaming Is on the Rise

Farmville. Mobsters. Bejeweled. Casual games are a billion-dollar industry creating huge brand awareness in the pop culture consciousness. A recent PopCap Games study estimated the social gaming population at approximately 100 million in the US and UK alone. Out of 5,000 gamers studied, 95 percent reported playing games like these multiple times per week and, in the US, 68 percent of respondents reported playing daily.

Unlike console gaming, the casual gaming footprint extends across several platforms. Growth in mobile gaming on smartphones, and specifically the iPhone platform, has created a gaming gold rush as developers seek to monetize their games through mobile apps. Gaming market research firm DFC Intelligence projects the iPhone gaming industry to be worth $2.8 billion by 2014, representing nearly a quarter of the portable games market.

With so many users, casual games have the potential to net huge profits for publishers and developers who can appeal to users’ interests. Gaming brands need to clearly, consistently, and continuously communicate their value to their most receptive audience to stand out from the competition. At the same time, developers and publishers need to ensure they are attracting and engaging high-value consumers with their games.

Content strategy offers a structured approach to connecting the gaming brand experience with target audiences in a compelling way. But what is content strategy?

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Apr 21st, 2010 by Matthew Huss

Be Truthful About Your Brand

In a world of big promises and increasing skepticism, building a strong corporate brand starts with understanding the truth about your organization.

Ever feel like the world of marketing and advertising has become one big, steroid-infused cheerleading competition? Whether you’re in the airport, in front of the TV, or driving to work, high-powered taglines and marketing messages seem to be everywhere. Just recently, I came across the following chest-beating lines in the span of about one hour: “Unlike any other” (Mercedes), “Experience success” (Salesforce.com), “High performance. Delivered” (Accenture), and “Going beyond expectations” (Malaysia Airlines).

All good, you might say. As branding and marketing professionals, our job is to build brands that create connections with our buyers and help them express themselves, accelerate their careers, and live more exciting and fulfilling lives. Taglines and marketing messages help create the image we want customers to associate with our products consciously and sub-consciously. And, there’s no doubt that the companies using the lines I just listed have had a great deal of business success. Fair enough.

But, with the continued growth of the online world, the marketplace for most products and services is becoming more transparent. Customers are more informed and empowered than ever. They’re sharing information. They have higher expectations for what they buy and the buying experience. They’re getting savvier. And, they’re increasingly skeptical of messages that tell them about the next great thing.

Meanwhile, a similar phenomenon is taking place inside of companies. Employees are sharing more information, expecting more from their employers and from their workplace experience, and becoming more skeptical of big promises from executive management. Many employees have been through corporate initiatives and re-brandings, and have seen enough flavor-of-the-month programs to leave them thinking “yeah, right” when they hear about anything new. This is a big deal. Employees are the tip of the spear when it comes to delivering a great customer experience.

So, the question is—what can your organization do to build a strong brand that connects with both your customers AND your employees, given the evolution of today’s market and workplace? At Siegel+Gale, our answer is simple. Look within and start with the truth.

1. Tap into your company’s culture
Many companies do little to really understand what makes their people tick. In today’s world, knowledge about your culture can be translated into a powerful competitive advantage. Make a concerted effort to truly understand which traits, talents, aspirations, and idiosyncrasies your employees share. Dig down deep into your culture, and use it as a springboard for developing innovative products and serving customers in interesting, new ways.

Take the fast-moving online retailer Zappos as a best-practice example. The company’s CEO, Tony Hsieh, sees culture and the brand as one and the same thing: “At Zappos, our belief is that if you get the culture right, most of the other stuff—like great customer service, or building a great long-term brand, or passionate employees and customers—will happen naturally on its own.”¹

Zappos has 10 core values, including “Deliver WOW Through Service,” “Create Fun and A Little Weirdness,” and “Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded.” The company celebrates its off-beat culture and has built its hiring practices around its distinctive set of values. Potential hires must go through an hour-long “culture interview” before they even interview for their position, and they’re eliminated straightaway if there isn’t a strong cultural fit.²

By finding the right people and giving them the freedom to be themselves and think independently, Zappos empowers its employees to deliver an exceptional customer experience. Customer service representatives go above and beyond on a regular basis—from throwing in free socks with shoe orders to sending flowers to customers. At Zappos, employees do whatever it takes, every day.

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Feb 26th, 2010 by Paul Louzado

MENA Private Equity focus: Unlocking the value of portfolio companies through strategic brand solutions

The rise of Private Equity (PE) in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region over the last four years has been nothing short of meteoric. By the end of 2008, there were more than 120 private equity houses present in the region having raised a combined $21 billion in total assets under management.

How quickly the world changes in 12 short months. The number of deals closed by MENA funds in the first nine months of 2009 fell by 65 percent to 12, coupled with a 75 percent fall in investments to $359 million compared to the same period in the year before. Industry observers estimate that there are now less than 40 PE houses remaining after a year that has witnessed the first contraction in the region’s total GDP in more than two decades¹.

But from the wreckage of the last year new opportunities are emerging. In this weakened economy, an increasing number of companies are looking to either prune their portfolios to raise cash or exit non-core businesses. Conditions are ripe for players with aggressive ambitions to strengthen their market share or make cross-region consolidation plays. Industry analysts predict there will be an estimated $5-6 billion in new capital flowing into the region during the next four years², and that cash will be looking for strong investment partners that can deliver solid returns.

Private equity’s entry into the MENA region was propelled by a period of unprecedented growth. As with any fast moving market, deal volume was the name of the game which naturally led to an emphasis on the acquisition side of the investment process. Any operational improvement activity within portfolio companies was primarily limited to financial restructuring and management transfer. However, in the current economic climate the market has changed, and correspondingly, so have the tactics of the leading PE players. Many firms are using the slowdown in deal activity to take the time to deepen their due diligence process and generally become more active in the operational aspects of value creation within their portfolio companies.

While it is heartening to observe this positive and much needed trend, we still frequently observe a neglected area—branding. It appears that when PE firms are considering the many potential improvement activities available within the value chain of a portfolio company, branding is often either ignored or relegated to a list of marketing to-do’s. It should be a priority action.

An intelligently aligned brand strategy will directly and positively impact financial returns. It is both a driver of operational change and a critical success factor in enhancing brand equity and elevating investments.

tags: whitepapers

Jan 25th, 2010 by Richard Pasqua

Yes, there’s an App for that, but is it right for the brand?

I’ve been diving deeper into mobile design and mobile brand strategy for clients and recently published my first iPhone app. I learned a lot about the mobile industry along the way—the technologies involved, new design standards, and now, mobile marketing. One thing has become very evident—and perhaps it doesn’t take a digital brand specialist to see it—most brands are making the same mistakes with apps that we all made with early websites.

We all rush to add a new platform without understanding how it works and what it means to our brands. As in the early ‘90s when every company raced to build a website because everyone else did, companies now race to publish mobile applications. And the same problems the industry had back then persist today with mobile.

Back in the ‘90s most websites weren’t websites as we know them today but more like brochures full of corporate information. Websites have come a long way since then, and now many of them are sophisticated web applications that have become branded software products unto themselves. Companies have learned to leverage their brands online in more intelligent ways.

Now we’re facing the same challenge with mobile.

Companies need to understand how mobile will best benefit their brand and what kind of technologies to invest in. Right now the most excitement is around apps, and with over 10k iPhone apps submitted to iTunes every day and over 3 billion (yes billion with a “B”) paid and free apps downloaded so far, it’s clear that building apps is a big, serious business.

According to Pinch Media, however, most mobile app usage drops off to nothing within one month, and many apps get deleted altogether. Mobile desktop space is prime real estate and with the right approach, a well crafted mobile app can function as a small part of a brand that becomes an integral part of a person’s daily life. But it has to stay on the users’ desktop to get the job done and to stay on the desktop; it’s got to be well planned.

Mobile devices have become the “Swiss Army Knives of the digital generation.” They go with us everywhere, they remind us of what we need to do, they get us where we need to go (most of the time), connect us to friends and family, and supply us with endless amounts of entertainment. Branded apps that figure out ways to add similar functionality—a bite-sized, anytime, anywhere extension of the desktop experience—have a good chance of staking a claim on a user’s personal real estate (i.e., their mobile desktop).

Brands like Wired Product Reviews and NPR News are both great examples. Their mobile apps offer rich media content broken out into manageable pieces for different mobile devices. Essentially they’ve made their brand and content modular by repackaging it into discrete mobile apps. Tracking how mobile users consume media allows them to effectively port content out to this new platform and create an ongoing relationship through it. They’ve learned that tiny pieces of personal real estate can become a daily point of contact between brand and user.

Applications like Oakley Surf Report and REI Ski Report apps may not be used every day (unless you’re very lucky), but they’ve become a trusted source of information for iPhone users gearing up for outdoor adventures. These apps are great examples of how physical products/brands extend themselves in the mobile world. They may not be on the first or even the second page of a user’s desktop, but they still have a secure spot.

Of course, apps can also deliver clever, emotional brand connections that are meant to be fleeting or tied to a seasonal campaign or launch. In the world of luxury brands, some excellent examples come to mind. Bell&Ross has an iPhone app that allows users to try on their watches (virtually). Customers can select a watch from several models and colors, then hold their iPhone to their wrist, and check out the watch face details and the sweeping movement of the second hand. They might be done with the app once they’re done shopping for a new watch, but there’s no arguing the impact this app has on the Bell&Ross customer.

Mercedes Benz offers an iPhone app that creates the experience of the new C63 AMG. Users can watch videos, check out detailed specs, and peruse the AMG sound library where they can hear the cars, ignitions, engine revs and even a high-speed drive-by. And, once they’ve finished shopping, they’re likely done with the app but in that brief window of time, they’re probably opening it up several times a day as they think about their purchase decision.

Realistically, an app with a brief life span but high rate of daily usage is just as impactful as one that stays on the desktop and gets used once or twice a week—maybe even more.

Point being, when thinking about wading into this new space, it’s important to consider how to make a connection with it. This isn’t a banner ad or even a microsite. And it’s not —and should never be—a website. It’s a whole new way of interacting with the audience and if done right, the benefits will be huge. There are plenty of excellent examples out there—it just takes wading through a sea of poorly conceived ones to get to them or wait to hear about them from a friend.

Like other new industries, there is always excitement and a rush to be first to market, but it pays to listen to your brand followers and develop mobile products that fit their lives and go beyond the novel flavor of the week. For most brands right now, their apps are generating a lot of initial PR and not much else. The few that are doing their homework are successfully taking claim on users’ personal real estate—and are definitely the ones to watch.

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Nov 20th, 2009 by Tom Blackett

The Evolution of the Customer Experience in Financial Services

This white paper is based on comments made by Tom Blackett, Non-Executive Chairman, Siegel+Gale UK, for the Financial Services Forum on October 13, 2009.

Blackett discussed how to make the customer experience count, opening with thoughts on the long road the financial services industry has taken toward competitiveness and the acknowledgement that customers really matter. Blackett later addressed the concept of ‘touch points’–specifically the experience customers have at these touch points and how they affect brand loyalty and customers’ willingness to recommend products or service to others. He concluded with an introduction to simplicity – arguing that the more accessible companies make things like statements, application forms, customer agreements and contracts, the more likely they’ll have happy and trusting customers.

Click here to view the white paper.

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Mar 10th, 2009 by Siegel Gale

Winning with Simplicity: Examining Your Brand Portfolio in Recessionary Times

CMOs have become master jugglers as many have portfolios overflowing with brands created, acquired, and merged over the last decade—product brands, business line brands, and corporate brands. Some brands have a strong presence in the marketplace, but many of these brands lack real equity. In fact, what many organizations perceive as brands are in fact just names. Whether made up of “names” or real brands with strong equity, a portfolio of multiple brands drives complexity and cost—such as the costs for keeping a brand top of mind, continuously refreshing the creative, and protecting your trademark. Also, there is the cost of missed opportunities for unifying the organization around a single brand promise, increasing customer loyalty, cross-selling, or cultivating marketing synergies. In this recessionary climate, CMOs should examine their portfolio to determine if their brands have clear reasons for being. Killing the weak brands may be the right strategic choice. And, streamlining your portfolio down to a few strong brands, or possibly a single master brand, can have compelling benefits—focus, clarity, and efficiency.