An epiphany is a sudden insight into reality—something you might have known all along, but simply didn’t see. It’s the big “aha!” moment clients have as a result of our work. One of our recent clients described it as, “Wow. It’s the first time I’m hearing it, but it’s like I’ve lived this all my life.”

How does the branding process uncover epiphanies?

Companies get entrenched in their thinking. They lose outsider perspective as cultural norms and groupthink take hold.

Branding, when you start with external research, brings in a new perspective about your organization’s value. There are all sorts of barriers keeping your brand from being its best: an organization’s bureaucracy, negative cultural norms, lack of focus. There’s something very elegant in how we help organizations make simple shifts to set them free.

That’s my favorite part about this job. Lifting the veil and delivering the epiphany to help organizations say, “Wow! That makes sense. A lot of sense.”

- Bianca Abate

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The brand that’s made me the happiest this year is Wolfgang’s Vault. I go there on a regular basis, often on Friday afternoons when I’m finishing up administrative tasks and need some ear candy. The more I listen, the more often I return. I’ve heard concerts by artists I wish I’d gone to and concerts from the same tours I saw “back in the day” by artists that hadn’t made it big yet. I started going to the site a couple of years ago to relive some great musical moments in my life—but now I’m getting much more.

I love that the Vault has branched out to newer artists and more recent concerts. Their A to Z list of performers is huge and inclusive, so I can experiment. There are artist interviews as well as concerts. There are lots of free downloads as well as ones you have to pay for. Plus concert listings in my area.

The website has improved steadily. It’s become increasingly easy to use and what Wolfgang’s Vault is adding, I’m enjoying. I must be in their target demographic—they’re hitting me in my soft spot and I love it!

What’s the brand lesson? Do one thing really well and build from there. Innovate around what you know and give your customers and fans an easy path to follow as you lead the way. If the substance is there and you demonstrate that you’re listening, you’ll keep your die-hards and win new ones.

Have a great 2010!

Beth Woolley

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Starbucks has built its brand on its ability to deliver a consistent customer experience. When you ask someone what they love about Starbucks, it’s always the same answer—“I know what to expect.”

Why then would a company with such a recognized brand promise veer away from the very thing customers value?

With its recent decision to open “locally-branded” coffee shops, Starbucks has completely abandoned its brand (and received much public criticism for the move). Aside from the fact that the new stores will not be named “Starbucks,” they bear almost no resemblance to the brand experience we’re all used to. Instead, they’ve taken on a Bohemian coffee-shop look and feel, adding alcohol to the menu and showcasing local artists from musicians to poets. To me, the move seems very off-brand and inauthentic—especially when you hear stories that Starbucks sent its employees to neighboring coffee hangouts, like Victrola, to jot down ideas and thoughts in notebooks labeled “observations.”

What are your thoughts on Starbucks’s new strategy? Do you agree with Adam Hanft of Fast Company (and me) that this is a poor and off-brand decision? Or do you, like John Moore of Brand Autopsy, believe it’s a brilliant learning opportunity to help Starbucks put its brand back on track?

-Hiley Spaet

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Sign up to attend PLP’s upcoming webcast on July 16th at 3:00 PM Pacific. Principal Briana Marrah will be hosting the webcast to discuss “Your brand booster: how to leverage every customer experience.”

Visit the BrightTalk website to sign up by clicking here.

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Check out Lynn’s presentation from the Ordnance Survey’s Location Conference!

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Thought leadership—where you use your intellectual approach to a problem or a challenge as the way to get people to pay attention to your company—is a great strategy for marketing—but it requires two things:

1) the discipline not to pitch your products/services while you’re thought leading, and
2) actual thought leadership .

If you meet those two requirements, then it’s time to bring it to the web. Online thought leadership is necessary today, because that’s where people get their information. These days, online means much more than a blog. Your brand promise now extends to how you show up in Twitter, email, Facebook, ebooks, Linked In, website, blog, podcasts, webinars, vlogs, wikis and wherever your target audiences are.

Overwhelming, right?

So start with an online strategy. Map out where your audience gets its information. Figure out where your brand will suffer if you don’t do it—and which social media or online distribution channels can best convey your message. And start with your own website—looking at how your thought leadership is represented there and how you can beef it up.

Once you have your strategy, create content once and repurpose it. Then, refresh it regularly. Think deeply and lead wisely.

-Lynn Parker

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