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Leadership Branding

When we speak of leaders, do we mean presidents of countries, CEO’s of multinationals or billionaires? Or do we really mean those people that inspire greatness in someone else?

For me is the latter. The following video from an Apple Advertising campaign, makes a tribute to these leaders:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM8GiNGcXuM

  Here's to the Crazy Ones, the ones that really change the way we see things, the ones that change the way we do our work, the ones that change the way we live our lives, the ones that change the world. For me these are the true leadership and through their branding, their image we reinvent ourselves.

  It is their exposure to us that makes us get inspired by their work or their cause. They do not need to have power or hold a political position to get into the mass media, they are able to get into our world because their leadership is so extraordinary that everybody recognizes it and talks about it.  

  These leaders walk the difficult path, it is their commitment and their perseverance what makes them leaders; and through their unique vision they are able to change things and not settle for the status quo. This is for me the definition of leadership and a true example of how making the right decision comes from listening to ourselves. 

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The big investment in the customer

It seems that the traditional marketing campaigns are changing and now companies acquire new customers through different media. But that doesn't mean that companies are just switching to advertising in social media.

If you put in Google I love Zappos you would get 40.8 million links, whereas if you put I love Pepsi you get 63 million links. Is 50% the only difference in their advertising campaigns? What happens with customers? Are they not attracted by Pepsi marketing campaign? What is the power of Zappos?

Zappos decided to make it’s solely goal to deliver happiness and has built an entire company around that basic promise: making the customer happy. The strategy of making its customers happy has provided Zappos with a loyal customer base that makes repeated purchases; Translating into reduced advertising needs and higher margins.

Is this the only reason that Zappos has such a loyal customer? YES. A happy customer is incentivized to do repeated purchases and also likes to talk about the great experience. That is the secret behind Zappos.

Zappos management decided that to motivates its own employees, it had to be fun and challenging and that is why they created a unique culture. Every employee is trained to help any customer, and starts its career as a customer loyalty team member, this way Zappos ensure that every employee could experience firsthand the uniqueness of Zappos customer service and better get a grip on the culture. The new hires even take phone calls. But this is not the only training that a Zappos employee would get. Zappos offered its employees the opportunity of continue learning through different courses that ranged from finance to communications and even Happiness (i.e. Science of Happiness 101)

  Zappos knew no boundaries in the empowerment of its employees and its openness to their comments and advises. One clear example of this is twitter and the corporate blog: Zappos is not only open to employees’ blogging or twitting about the company but encourage it. Zappos didn't have any guidelines for employees’ comments and didn't censure any of them; the only policy was to “use your best judgment”. The company interpreted that it was a good way of identifying areas of opportunities. 

Zappos use its blog to broadcast videos that show the lifestyle at Zappos and show a glimpse of the company culture and its employees. This created a culture of comradeship where employees had fun laughing at themselves and each other and customers learn the human factor of Zappos. 

http://www.zapposinsights.com/

Pedro Freixas

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The power of needing something!

I don’t know how many of us know exactly what the Intel microprocessor does for our PC or laptop, but we do know that we need the latest version. We know it is needed to have a faster and better computer performance.

That is the power of Intel advertising campaign, even though Intel doesn’t produce the sexy product (the laptop or the cellphone) it is top of mind in every computer customer and more importantly it is part of the decision factor.

Intel has been able to pursue this legacy for more than a decade not only because of great marketing campaign, but because they have the product to support it. Intel resembles cutting edge technology and has always been the best at what they do. This has assured them the capability of advertising as the best and delivering on that promise.

Intel is truly committed to continue its invention strike and for that matter hugely invests in R&D. Intel knows that in order to keep its leadership needs to continue in a revolutionary path in order to deliver the best products. In addition, Intel has also identified that to keep in the top of mind of every customer it needs to communicate that the latest chip and technology will enhance the best performance and therefore is worth the investment. The following add, shows how the Intel microprocessor helps the everyday customer to have a better experience in their common tasks: games, social media, navigating on the internet, chatting, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c91NQ2kL8g

  What should Intel do regarding new products or markets? Should it extend the umbrella and lever on the brand? I believe that the only scenario where this could be taken as an option is if Intel has the confidence of becoming the best supplier in this new market. Only if Intel is able to deliver the promise of being THE BEST should it lever on the brand. However, if they are not sure of their performance they should not be labeling with the “Intel Inside” logotype, it would only affect the brand. This could resemble the adversity that Burberry was facing in 1997 with their licensing quality controls.

   Intel has travel a long path of innovation; the following video is a summary of some of these inventions from 1990 to 2012:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEDpqFHTSVM

Pedro Freixas

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How old can be the NEW cool!

Burberry is the perfect example of brands that seem lost for decades but are getting back to their previous glory. And it seems that the Brits are taking advantage of this trend. Jaguar and Land Rover are other examples of British brands that seem to have lost focus to regain presence in the luxury scene.

The Brits are not the only ones playing this game; we can see this happen also in watches. Officine Panerai the old company that fabricated watches for the Italian Marina Militare is one big player in the luxury watch scene.

But what is the magic behind all this?

It seems that the brands that have been able to complete this transformation contain a myth and a classic aspect. They are all aspirational brands and tend to target the luxury segment.  Burberry clearly regained focus on their primary target and decided to eliminate any license or quality issues that could damage the brand.

Land Rover followed a similar path, by focusing on producing an SUV with exceptional off-road characteristics maintaining the myth of the great SUV while creating a new aura of luxury in this segment.

Lastly, Jaguar seemed to be lost for a decade but is trying to compete in the ultra-segment. In their new advertisement campaign they appeal to the myth of the villain car and its British heritage.

<iframe width="940" height="559" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ZFqaFu2maDg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFqaFu2maDg

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what were they thinking?

I don't really know who to blame for the disaster of the Pontiac Aztec; but it could represent the downfall of a huge brand. I know that Pontiac was never an iconic brand like Ferrari, but it was a brand that had had some great successes during the 50's and 60's. 

So who is to blame? was it the designers? the managers? the engineers? or the marketing/branding guys that allow this product into the market? or everybody?

I have to say that the Pontiac Aztec marks the top 3 list of ugly cars in any publication. It is then comprehensible that the 

hit to the brand  was huge! how can you recover from this type of PR? is it possible? The answer might be in evaluating and mitigating the risks of changing radically the concept of the brand. 

When Porsche launched their Cayenne model, there was a lot of skepticism if this could be a debacle for the brand. Porsche was known as a premium sports car brand with it's flagship 911. Why would Porsche want to compete on the SUV segment?Well however they decided to go ahead, it has proven a huge success and the road to profitability. 

It is a contest of the beauty and the beast: 

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Is the Singapore girl prepared for everything?

Singapore Airlines have made service its competitive advantage. SIA has not only announce it in mass marketing campaigns but actually has develop a concept around it and has created a multi-million investment in continuous training and commitment to service.

For this matter SIA created the Singapore girl; the vivid image of service and the brand for the exceptional service provided on SIA flights. But what happens when airlines are under financial pressure and have to reduce perks or personnel costs? Is it possible to maintain the Singapore girl image without investing heavily in training? How does the Singapore girl fights with cheap airline tickets or reduced business class fares from competitors.  

All airlines depend a lot in the percentage of tickets sold to break even. However, in difference with other industries, on the airline industry there are some outside factors that could create a huge crisis for the sales of tickets (i.e. 9/11, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, economic factors, etc.)  

SIA and other airlines have to accommodate for these changes in demand and reduce costs to be able to maintain profitability. When reducing costs on an airline, there is no much to choose from, and it is common to reduce the personnel or the investment on training them. Here is when SIA has to make the tough choices; you can only maintain the Singapore girl alive if she survives these reductions. The Singapore girl cannot suffer even under these circumstances, if the service level drops so does the Singapore girl and this fall could be one hard to recover from.  

Learn more about Singapore girl: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5sGKR6NJBw

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/P5sGKR6NJBw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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The golden son of phyloloxera! Chile

"Water separates the people of the world, but wine unites them and makes life divine" 

Thomas Jefferson

Perception seems to be everything in the new life of wine. I come from a family were wine has always been present and recently some of my family had become distributors in Mexico. Everyday you hear about a new wine that tries to position in the mind of the customers; but are we really judging the wine? the brand? the producer? the country where it was developed? or even the presentation of the bottle? or is it a mixture of everything?   

The perception of the brand influences distributors and the final customers every day. That is why we are seeing rapid changes in the way wines are trying to distinct themselves; a good example could be Bodegas Riscal, that got  frank Gehry to be the architect for it's cellar in La Rioja.

It seems that Chile has a brand issue with it's wine. It might be considered as a fair or low price, but the quality is not considered outstanding enough to become a competitive advantage. It seems that the pricing strategy and architecture that they devised at the beginning is affecting its future growth. The low pricing is signaling a fair product, but is not helping to get into Premium and ultra premium segments.

I believe that the better option for Concha y Toro is to take a bottom-up approach  and invest in developing a higher end brand. Concha y Toro should make a clear distinction between the higher end and the mass market products, so the brand could be differentiated. It could also help to follow Bodegas Riscal's approach creating a signal of exclusivity by developing something extraordinary that could attract visitors to their cellars and promote themselves in distinctive ways. 

Salud! 

# Pedro Freixas 

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The next Big thing?

How to predict the next big thing?  is it always clear? is it important if it's a revolutionary idea or just an improvement of a product? who would have predicted that BBM would have been beaten by whatsapp a few years ago?

The following is a list of 4 products in order of likelihood of success:

1. The silver screen takes on germs.- 

In my perspective, this revolutionary technology has all the potential to grow into a profitable business. My first intake to select this option above the others is that the company started by answering the issues that any investor would have: 

- is it proven? Yes 

- could it get FDA approval? Yes, they have it. 

- Is it cost viable? Yes

The company should look for a commercial partner to trust the sales and marketing. The market is saturated with big players (J&J, 3M, etc.) if the company decides to go forward by itself it would create incentives for the other players to leapfrog the technology. Instead, if they form an alliance or patent the technology, it could be beneficial for both companies. 

2. The best thing since sliced bread.- It is true that Americans love peanut butter, but is there a big enough market? would the retailers buy in and help in the process? would Walmart, whole foods or trader Joe's be interested? 

I would recommend the company to conduct some field tests to understand the willingness to pay of the final customers and provide some hard proof of the interest in the product. 

if the product proves to be cost effective and with great quality it could have a big potential specially for its "readiness" feature.

  3. Satellite Radio's bet.-  in this case, I believe that the market is only big enough for 1 player. if the company tries to innovate on the content or competes for it with another company it seems that could be the HD vs. blue ray fight all over again. 

the one question I would love to have an answer is if there are any network externalities and how strong they are? 

I would recommend the company to form an alliance or joint venture with Spotify or Pandora to get into the "discovery" segment of the music; this way it could enter the market with a big database of customers that could help to achieve break-even before running out of cash. 

4. Scent of a kitchen.- i have to say that I doubted of the potential of the company, and where to put it in my list! if it proves to be of great quality at representing smells it could be the next BIG thing! however, I believe that the company is still at early stage and would need to invest millions to have a worthy prototype.

In contrast with music (Bose) or displays (HD tvs), if the smell is not perfect it can be confused with other things; so it is my belief that unless the company is able to deliver a great prototype the company is not going to be able to sell the product.

# pedro freixas

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Bienvenidos a Mexico! Corona's birthpalce

Corona has become a global and recognized beer that can be associated with relaxing, having fun and at the same time with luxury. 

Corona based it's international strategy with only one goal in mind: becoming the number 1 imported beer in every market they entered. It easier said than done, especially when facing excellent competitors such as Heineken.

Corona's international strategy is different than in Mexico, where it is not considered a premium beer brand. The consistent marketing strategy followed by a precise maintenance of the quality has allowed Grupo Modelo to expand rapidly and successfully. (Compilation of some ad campaigns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XToHkp3mVZ8&list=RDRU_J8YzN4Co)

Corona is the best ambassador of Mexico - Excellent quality with a relax and fun personality!

who wouldn't want to be here? (day or night) 

Pedro Freixas

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tradesmen vs. industrial vs. consumer

is there a difference? 

is the quality or color important? 

what is your preferred brand?

It seems that there are little differences between these brands and the products they make. They all want to promote high quality at affordable prices. However, the market shares in each segment tells us a different story. 

It seems that each brand has develop a niche and has found some strategic advantages that do not trespass to the other niches, even though we are still talking about tools. interesting!

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