Frito-Lay made a big splash the other week when they suspended a replica of their “Flavor Kitchen” over Times Square. The “Flavor Kitchen” is Frito-Lay’s newest tactic in its “naturally delicious” campaign.  They used the kitchen as a place to demonstrate their promise around, “all natural ingredients,” showing the Executive Chef chopping fresh veggies for the next batch of chips.  Why did they choose to do this versus the more traditional method of telling customers about their commitment? First, it’s more transparent and therefore more believable. There’s a big difference between a company like Frito-Lay saying they’re all natural versus showing it.

But what’s also genius about this is that it’s become a brand-defining experience. They’re not just the company who pays lip service to all natural, they’re doing it, and they doing it big. The old saying “actions speak louder than words” couldn’t be more true in today’s over-saturated consumer market. If you saw this on the news or if you were a lucky passer-by, chances are you won’t forget it. If you were going to create a brand defining experience for your business, what would it be?

- Evelyn Jones

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Time for a personal anecdote:

I live in Upper Queen Anne. There are 3 choices to grocery shop: I can go to Safeway, Metropolitan Market, or Trader Joe’s.  No matter what’s on my grocery list or the distance, I always go to Trader Joe’s, which in marketing speak makes me a “loyalist.”

If you ask me why I love TJ’s so much, I could list a hundred things… the food, the artwork, the vibe. The fact that the employees know my name and ask me how my last snowboarding trip went. They actually want to be my friend and I look forward to seeing them and chit chatting about their day, as well as mine. I feel like I belong there.

Brand is the sum of all of these things. It’s the overall experience from the first impression the website makes to the final invoice in the mail. We absorb all of these interactions to form an impression in our minds. To be successful, a company’s goal should be to establish connections that truly resonate or real relationships with people that build collective momentum.

Brands can have good or bad reputations just like people do and reputations travel by word of mouth, just like we gossip about real people. But as overwhelming as it may seem to please the masses, if you’re an organization you just need to take a step back and remember the individual.

Just ask, what is that one connection, that one thing you can do to connect with one person? What is the one experience that defines your brand?

- Bianca Abate

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Most likely, you’ve got something to say and most likely, you want people to listen. But what do you do if you’ve got a dull topic on your hands à la accounting systems or actuarial statistics—topics known to induce instant eye-glaze stupor?

There’s hope! Because how you craft your message is just as important as the message itself.

However unsexy the idea or product may be, careful information and presentation design can grab people’s attention and transform it into something interesting.

How to turn boring into impactful?

1. Make it novel by saying it in a new way. Is there a new analogy you can use?  A funny anecdote that brings it to life?
2. Simplify and make it brief. Our brains are little, we can only take in so much.
3. Give context and relevance. Make it very clear why we should care.

Skeptical? Check out this video about global health statistics. In the very first minute, Hans Rosling wisely says, “Having the data is not enough. I have to show it in ways people both enjoy and understand.”

Watch it. Does it pull you in? Did you ever think statistics could be so interesting?

- Bianca Abate

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The art of plain talk is critical for anyone who has a message that needs to be understood by someone else. Whether you’re a marketer, a teacher or even someone who emails a lot at work, your writing can either win someone over or just create confusion.

Google the topic and you’ll find a ton of rules like avoid euphemisms, bullet your points, make it short, only use words with 3 consonants or less, etc.

I simply say:  Picture an actual person from your target audience in front of you. If you wouldn’t say it out loud, don’t put it in writing.

The better you understand your target audience, the stronger your writing will be.  You might need to channel your inner 6^th grader to simplify the message or use the latest slang to build rapport—whatever techniques help you clarify it for them, do it.

- 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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How often does one market its products by not marketing them? When you are “murketing” them: murkily marketing. Pabst Blue Ribbon does it, Scion does it; even furniture makers are doing it . So is murketing the new viral marketing? Or is it a new beast?

I think it’s different. Murketing can only work a few times before people start looking for it, when it then becomes obvious marketing and loses its luster. Viral marketing, on the other hand, takes creativity or cleverness and uses that as the carrying meme; attention is the currency you pay for hearing the message, versus no message.

-Lynn Parker

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Everything most people need to know about branding, you can get in 156 marvelous pages in Branding Like the Big Boys, by Martin Thoma. One of the founders of Little Rock branding agency Thoma Thoma, Martin has written a succinct page-turner about one of the more confusing topics in marketing today. In clear language, filled with examples, he walks you through the whys and hows of successful branding, useful whether you’re a 10-person hair salon or a mega-corporation.

See more about Branding Like the Big Boys at http://www.brandinglikethebigboys.com/.

Watch my testimonial forBranding Like the Big Boys.

-Lynn Parker

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Social media is a channel. While a social brand is a way to be. Think about it as a cultural shift in the way you live your brand online and offline–as a business strategy (how do we deliver our customer service? or how do we develop new products/services?), as a people strategy (how do we find great talent? how do we train them and empower them to live our brand?), and as a communications strategy (how do we find new customers or audiences, what are they saying and how do we engage with them online?).

The line between your offline and online brand may be well segmented in your business internally (between departments and roles), but from a customer’s point of view they are non-existent. You are your brand no matter where they find you or interact with you. So, in other words, be the same brand you are on your website or Twitter that you are on the phone and on your product packaging.

Check back often for more on how to build and manage a social brand.

–Jen Travis

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