Here is some awesome dialogue from Mark Oberkirch on the definition and function of “marketing”. For what it is worth, I agree with him. Although I’m not sure if “marketing” is the best term for the type of growth success that Mark is talking about. I prefer to call that “branding” - but that is just splitting hairs on my part.

Marketing Is Not A Tax You Pay For Being Unremarkable at Like It Matters

While watching the #1 North Carolina Tarhills fend off the #6 Duke Blue Devils this weekend in college basketball I got to thinking about the ranking system. Teams work so hard to get to #1. They train all off-season to prepare. They work hard throughout the season. Never give-up. Take one competitor at a time. And slowly rise to the top if they continue to do those things. And win of course.

But once they get to the top they are the easiest target for an upset.  And all of a sudden … now that you’re #1 in the world at what you do … you have people rooting for you to screw up and fall apart. They can’t believe that hard work and talent can get you that far. It must be luck.

Is it like that in business? Do people root for Under Armor a little bit more because they know Nike is the 800lb beast? Does that local coffee shop get a little more business then Starbucks just because they’re #2 or #3?

Or do companies fall under pressure like many #1 teams? Do they like being #2 or #3 because it means they can sit back and coast a little bit more? Do companies get tired and beat up as the #1 seed for weeks, months, years? Do business like to remain the underdog?

Just like with sports, building a good brand requires a lot of work. It’s a constant day-to-day grind. You have to always improve. Take each day as a new day that requires your full attention. And remember the reasons why you want to be at the top. Hopefully is has something to do with creating a Heroic Brand. Otherwise it’s going to be a hard battle and you will lose lots of people in the process.

Are you starting to think that you need a new look and feel? That you’re old logo, that was created in-house or by a family member at the start, might not fit your business today? Are you constantly trying to defend your logo with the statement “we’ve had this logo for ___ years”?

If any of these thoughts have entered your mind recently then you should continue reading. Especially if you are on the fence on the subject and are not sure whether or not changing your identity is a good move or a bad one.

First off I think it’s important to answer this question:

When is the right time to consider changing and upgrading your identity?

The simple answer is: when it doesn’t match your business any longer. An identity is meant to visually support, enhance, and most important represent your business accurately. The size, emotion, character, differentiators, industry, etc. all might need to be displayed accurately. Many times companies create their logo when they first start and are afraid to change it as they grow. This can be damaging to the brand because it doesn’t reflect the new growth, changed size, and relay the success to the audience.

There are several things you might be hearing that are key indicators that it might be time to fine tune that logo a little bit. You might be hearing people say … “oh I didn’t know that’s what you guys did!” or “wow … I didn’t realize you guys were that big.” Another popular one that I’ve heard is “they might not look good, but they really know what they are doing.”

If you’ve started to hear these things from outside perspectives it might be time to consider changing. Don’t be scared to improve your look and feel to represent your success. It’s expected. And many times your clients and fans want to be proud to show you off. So give them something exciting and professional for show and tell.

So once you think you are ready for a new identity the following question can steer you in the right direction:

What things do you need before starting the process of creating a new identity?

Often times when companies decide to upgrade their identity they start looking for a designer or design firm to work with. They assume that the better the designer or firm the better the logo will turn out. They choose someone to work with and rely on the talent to accurately represent the brand in a “fresh” new look.

Although good designers can create awesome looking identities, they are usually horrible at identifying the business messages that need to be represented in the logo. They will create something that has people saying “wow” and “cool,” but shortly after the same people will say “so what is it you do?”

So here is a list of things that you need to have identified to help create an identity that represents your brand correctly:

1. What makes you different?
2. Who is your audience?
3. What emotions do they experience thru your service?
4. What brands do they associate with other than yours?
5. What are the first three words that come into your mind when you think about your business?
6. How about the first three words from your customers?
7. What are the standards in your industry that people recognize quickly?

By answering these questions and doing a little homework you can give a designer (with talent) the things they need to create an identity that matches. And remember two important things. One … it’s good to change and improve your logo as you grow! Two … when you see that logo that represents the items above you will know it. It will resonate with you. With your employees. And your audience!

Malcolm Gladwell calls it “The Tipping Point”. Jim Collins calls “The Flywheel”. I simply call it “Inevitability”.

Inevitability is the combination of many things: The sense of momentum with an idea or product; reaching a level of ubiquity; a place of assumption. Inevitability is beyond name recognition and brand awareness.

It is hard to compete with the shear weight of inevitability. Companies, sports teams, and politicians crave it because it just makes things easier. And easier means more profits/wins/votes. Inevitability happens in small circles like families (going to grandma’s house for Christmas every year), small businesses (becoming someone’s plumber of choice), and global brands (more on that below).

But how do you reach Inevitability? That is the hard part. I think there are 3 ways (for the sake of this post, I am primarily using  corporate brands as examples):

1. Own the Channel - If you are the only newspaper in a small town, you have reached Inevitability. It doesn’t mean you are the best option; you are just the only option. Microsoft would fall into this category, as would HP. They both “own the channel” - meaning they have distribution and partner relationships that lock them into the sales process. They also were first-to-market in the early days of technology. They seized momentum, got to the top position, and (mostly) have held that advantage. Today, this method is probably the most difficult unless you are in a very specific sector or niche. Distribution rules have changed - primarily because of the direct-to-consumer nature of eCommerce. I would also place WalMart, Walgreens, and McDonalds in this category. The channel they own is simply just being everywhere.
2. Be the Best - In a small town, the busiest pizza place is the one with the best pizza. To me, this is the best kind of Inevitability. Who wouldn’t want to be the best? Being the best use to mean just having the best product. But with the consumer revolution, “best” also is about the image, the shopping experience, and the customer experience. It also includes being the best place to work … and probably doesn’t hurt to have the best stock value. I would place Apple, Southwest, and FedEx in this category. They all have varying degrees of being the best - Apple is the best at creating cool products. Southwest is the best at being the low fair airline. FedEx is the best at overnight shipping. Being the best requires tremendous focus and discipline. It also isn’t something that is trumpeted via advertising; it has to be experienced.
3. Be First - I alluded to this with “owning the channel”, but think it is actually a different category. Being first can be brutal. It typically requires enormous cash reserves. It often involves educating the audience. In short, it is difficult for brands to quickly reach Inevitability by being first to market. They almost have to grow into it through the process of introducing/educating, nurturing early adopters, creating customer evangelists, etc. It can be a long, slow process but can lead to Inevitability. I would put eBay, Amazon, and Google in this category. These brands all took awhile to catch on, but now they are the leaders. If you have something to sell, you use eBay. Want to buy a book, it has to be Amazon. And Google just might be the most inevitable brand of our time.

Notice that I didn’t say Inevitability comes from advertising or marketing. While marketing is essential throughout the process of becoming Inevitable (a process that we refer to as The 1000 Year Brand), it is less of a factor than you would think. After all, Google became the #1 Brand in the world without spending any money on advertising. Marketing is best as a catalyst, but things like the customer experience, quality, and usability are at the root of Inevitability.

I also find interesting how view long-term brands are still inevitable.  Missing from the lists I have put together are Crest, Tide, Ford, Coke,  Levis, Wrigleys, Sears and dozens of other established companies.  Maybe this is because the hardest thing is to stay inevitable (just ask the Patriots!). I think of Dell, Starbucks, Nike, Disney and Red Bull. At one point, they had reached inevitability.

While these are all still successful brands, their place in the pecking order has slipped. And all are trying to get it back. They may say it is to “improve shareholder value” or to “adapt to a changing marketplace” - but I think is more simple than that. It is just good to be #1 - to be the Elvis/Tiger Woods/Harry Potter of the world.

CMOs and other top marketing executives are under more pressure than ever to produce results.  As such, I have developed a check-list of sorts to be used before you pull the trigger on that seven figure marketing campaign.

1. Is your message simple?
2. Did you stay true to your brand core?
3. Does your audience have a face and name?
4. How will you prove results?
5. Would you buy your product?
6. Are your promises true?
7. Are you employees excited?
8. Where are the gaps?
9. Will there be two-way communication with the audience?
10. Why should the audience care?

Depending on your industry and budget, you need to know at least 7 - 10 of the answers.  In a highly competitive environment, you better have all 10 nailed down.  Note that there was little to do with which tactics to implement or what agency to choose.  I am assuming that you have both of these figured out - and without knowing the answers to these questions, it really doesn’t matter.