Yesterday, Briana Marrah and Jen Travis delivered the following presentation at the Washington State Nonprofit Conference in Bellevue, WA. Enjoy!

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In a hyper-connected, over-communicative world, the simplest ideas are often the most compelling, which GoTime.Com discovered with a website that began as an online event, club and restaurant directory.

The happy hour tab, initially a minor aspect of the site, quickly became the most popular section—no surprise given the economic climate at the time.  And the creators quickly saw and acted on that trend in the right way by taking happy hours to the nth degree and making it the site’s focus.

Thus, an ingenious happy hour directory was born (accessible via the web or iPhone/Android app) that puts the city’s drinking deals at your fingertips.  Check it out and you’ll find all the happy hours within your geographic radius with detailed info regarding prices, times, reviews, and additional features like “water view” or “cute staff.”  And, it’s just been launched nationwide in 35 cities and counting.

But the best part? Their brand’s key strength lies in how they’ve thought critically about deepening their user relationship well beyond their level of technological prowess. “Some people ask us why we don’t charge for our app, but that feels like an oxymoron.  It’s our mission to save people money and it just doesn’t feel right to charge $2 for an app when people are on a budget. We’d rather you take that money and put it toward buying another round,” says co-founder Jeff Khadavi.

It’s clear these guys are serious about putting the “happy” in happy hour, but how do they go about delivering on that goal?

1. By looking at what’s happening in the market and responding to it in their unique way.
2. Getting focused.  Like GoTime.com learned, it’s better to excel at the one thing people care most about, versus being mediocre at a lot of things that aren’t relevant.
3. Making it simple. If it’s not simple, it won’t stick.
4. Being flexible.  As Jeff Khadavi puts it, “Early stage companies have to adapt to navigate the waters and make something out of whatever arises.”

- Bianca Abate

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For my hometown Red Sox, 86 years of Wait-Till-Next-Year ended in 2004 with the team’s first championship since 1918.  However, the Red Sox brand renaissance started long before three-plus million jammed the streets of Boston for that celebratory Rolling Rally.  In fact, Fenway Park hasn’t had an open seat since May 2003, a record streak currently standing at 551 consecutive sellouts. 

While a hundred years of brand history can’t be dismissed, much of the credit can be given to the fresh blood that bought the team from a family trust in 2002.  With a renewed focus on the customer (and organizational success on the field), the Red Sox have marketed themselves into a place in baseball – and business – history. 

Here are five lessons from Brand Red Sox you can use to hit your own branding home run:

LESSON 1:  Develop your brand around something you can control.

After 2004, experts were predicting the end of the Red Sox brand.  How could the ‘lovable losers’ ever overcome their greatest success?  How could the team replace the shared purpose that 86 years of losing had lent the fan base?

Simple – they built their brand around things they could control: history and tradition.  Some traditions are old (such as Friendly Fenway) and some are new (“Sweet Caroline” during the 8^th inning).  Today’s uniforms have been largely the same since 1933; ditto for Fenway’s unique shade of green.  These elements carry the weight of brand continuity regardless of who is playing (and whether or not they win).  The brand does not strive for relevancy; instead, it has defined what is relevant and what is not.

The lesson? Establish who you are as a brand and make that your own.  Just make sure that your associations are valued by your customers, are able to be owned over time and in the competitive marketplace, and are things you do well as a business.

LESSON 2:  Sell a customer experience.

Baseball is an emotional sell.  ‘America’s pastime’ has strong associations with a shared national history.  Consumers of baseball are not just looking for a winning team, they are looking for a story, a connection – and an experience.  Red Sox Nation (a team-sponsored fan club) was launched in 2004 and offers a selection of benefits including a ‘citizenship card’ and a variety of behind-the-scenes benefits.  But most importantly, it gives fans a deeper experience and a ‘card carrying’ identification with the brand.

Even if you sell emotionless widgets, you are still in the end dealing with customers who buy (or balk) on emotion and justify with their brain.  Examine your customer touchpoints for ways you can add and improve emotional experiences.  If, like the Red Sox, you have a subcontractor (their concessionaire is Aramark) remember that your customers don’t see that distinction.  If the beer’s warm, or the service’s rude, you’re still to blame.

LESSON 3:  “Yankees Suck!”

Other than the obvious lesson here, remember that competitive differentiation is important in every industry and that a little rivalry rarely hurts.

LESSON 4:  Make a commitment to yourselves and your customers.

Your brand is your promise to your customers.  What exactly is the level of service you provide?  Is your organization aligned and incented towards achieving these goals?

The Red Sox management team has succeeded in clearly identifying what they provide.  GM Theo Epstein has openly committed to building a team to win 95 games each year.  Similarly, new ownership quelled Bostonians’ fears shortly after taking over the team by committing to renovating Fenway Park rather than a tear-down-and-rebuild scheme that had been on the table.  Eight years later, Fenway is larger, cleaner, more accessible, and every bit as characteristic as it ever was (and is still the centerpiece of the brand).

LESSON 5: Have fun.

Beyond giving you a reason to get out of bed in the morning, bringing fun into your business will come through in your brand.  There are times to be serious, of course, but the more often you can say ‘Play Ball!’ with yourself, your customers, and your employees, the stronger and more resilient your business can become.  Be your brand – but be yourself as well.

–Dan Liska

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The Best Business Show will interview Lynn Parker about our naming process this Sunday (4/4) at 7pm PST. Just go to www.kvor.com and click the “listen live” icon on the top right-hand corner.

And to read about our naming process, check out Lynn’s article on WomenEntrepreneur.com, “Accomplish the Impossible: Choose a Name.”

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Briana Marrah and Jen Travis have been selected to speak at the 2010 Washington State Nonprofit Conference to be held April 29th. Briana and Jen will be talking about how nonprofits can leverage their online presence to increase awareness and connect with donors.

For more information on the 2010 Washington State Nonprofit Conference, click here.

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