Be like Tony.

I was cleaning out my desk this morning, sorting through the hundreds of business cards I've collected over the past year or so (yes, people do still hand them out and you should, too.) when I came across this one.

Tony Swan, who passed away last year, was a writer, driver, racer, editor, bon vivant, and curmudgeon. I'd met him early in my career when I was an intern at Car and Driver magazine but came to know him a bit better over the past few years as a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. Some who read this blog may know that when I'm not helping companies with marketing, communications, and new product development, I write about cars for several websites including my own, Rides & Drives.

Tony was famous for many things, one was his personal motto...

"Drive fast. Take chances."

While Tony applied it to his time on the track and work at the word processor, it's easy to see how this simple phrase is crucial in business today.

The "Take chances" half of the equation is a no brainer. Business is all about risk, taking it and managing it. Without taking chances, ignoring the doubters, pursuing a novel idea, there is no progress. At some level, every decision we make requires a leap of faith no matter how many consumers we talk to or how may prototypes we test. That's where the "Drive faster" part comes in.

As the pace of change continues to accelerate, moving faster is a necessity. But it's not how just quickly you can get your product to market. Accelerating your time to profitability is crucial in a day where disrupters can enter the market from any direction and change the game seemingly overnight. That means a different way of innovating. Moving quickly with minimal investment, using MVPs to test the market, make adjustments, and move on.

This takes a clarity of vision, a commitment to strategy, decisive leadership, and an agile team. If you're mired by stages and gates, waiting for executive review committees, and fielding massive quantitative studies before making decisions, the market will pass you by.

It's time to run your business as Tony lived. Drive fast. Take chances.

Made You Look Marketing

It's cheap. It's easy. It's virtually worthless. And it's happening far too often these days thanks in a large part to the proliferation of media and all the 24/7 platforms that unquenchable thirst for constant content.

I call it "Made You Look Marketing." Or in other terms, executions in search of a strategy.

The latest trend is auto manufacturers to get attention is to have someone make their cars out of Legos and seemingly everyone is doing it from Chevrolet to Bugatti to McLaren. For Chevy maybe it makes some sense because it's a tie-in to the Lego movie (we'll discuss the merits of that at a later date), but why are manufacturers of multimillion dollar cars that are already sold out doing it? And, how can a tactic that's right for a mainstream brand be appropriate for a niche manufacturer targeting the 1% of the 1% of the 1%?

It's not just Lego cars either. So much is happening in marketing right now that is both derivative and ephemeral, with no grounding in marketing strategy and no lasting impact on brand image.

This short-term thinking is leading marketers to follow the latest shiny new thing regardless of its effectiveness. In some cases, it's undermining the integrity of our entire business.

Marketing and branding is strategic and requires long-term vision from which short term tactics can be executed. The pressure to get clicks, views, likes, and follows as a proxy for awareness, preference, and sales has been going on for far too long. It's time for marketing leaders to thing about the future of their brands, not the next big thing in marketing.

What the uncommon have in common

There are a lot of lists of the best restaurants in the country. The food magazines have them. Zagat has one. 

And then there's this list from Yelp. 

Created by mining the data from their site using a combination of ratings and number of reviews, this list features everything from hot dog shacks to Michelin Star restaurants. It's so diverse that at first it's hard to make heads or tails of this list. 

But read a few of the reviews and you realize there are a few common threads in all of the eateries on the list. 

They're all remarkable.

They each have a point of view.

Their points of view extend beyond the food into everything they do.

They don't compromise.

If you want to create a business and a brand that customers rate as the very best, you could do worse than emulate these restauranteurs.

I think I might need to do some field "research" to gain a deeper understanding of this topic.

A marketing miracle

By now, we've all seen this video of the amazing stunt marketing event from the Canadian Airline, WestJet.



Actually 19 million people have viewed it directly on Youtube, more on social media channels and millions upon millions have read about it thanks to all the press its garnered in just the week since it was posted.

How did they achieve such success?

Let's start with the concept. It's big. No, not just big, huge. I can barely get the shopping done for my family in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Buying Christmas gifts for 250 people in just a few hours is a massive undertaking.

It was executed perfectly.

Starting with Santa on video gathering wishes, to the army of employees who were sent to do the shopping to the decorations around the baggage carousel, they nailed every detail. It was magical from start to finish.

This effort was clearly genuine, heartfelt and relevant, promoting the company's real differentiator, service.

The result is that for less than the cost of producing a national TV commercial, WestJet was able to create international fame. This is an incredible marketing achievement that is sure to be honored at Cannes and every other advertising festival next year.

The question is, how can they take the momentum from this event and use it to build their business in the coming year? Their brand now stands for 'miracles' and they have to deliver on that promise on a regular basis, maybe not with grand stunts like this, but little gestures that demonstrate how much they care about their passengers. Otherwise, this big event is just marketing and all the energy it created will be drained as quickly as the batteries in a child's toy on Christmas morning.

I'm assuming that a company smart enough to create and execute this event knows that. So I'm looking forward to seeing what they do next.

Who are you for?

Back in 1969 John Lennon and Paul McCartney penned the lyric, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

I doubt they were thinking about branding when they they sang it on Abbey Road, but great companies understand the reciprocal nature of their relationships with their customers.

If you want to create advocates for your brands, you have to advocate for them first. So the question you must ask is, "Who are you for?"

Now let me be clear, that is not "Who would you like to sell to?"

That's "Who are you supporting, rooting for, fighting for?"

P & G doesn't just make diapers, wipes, toothpaste, soap, beauty products and detergents. They are for moms.



Harley Davidson doesn't just make motorcycles. They are there for riders.



Organic Valley doesn't just sell food. They are for farmers.

Want to create passionate, loyal fans who are willing to pay more and advocate for your brand?

Then ask yourself one question, "Who are you for?"

Time waits for no brand

Just because your brand is relevant today, doesn't guarantee it will matter to people tomorrow.

Technologies change. Tastes change. Your competitors change. If you don't adapt your brand to keep up with the changes, it will die.

Indy racing thrived as a series where manufacturers proved the durability of their products by pushing them hard for 500 miles. But now that even the cheapest cars are expected to run for 100,000 miles with barely a tune up, the series has little relevance to everyday drivers and the stands are empty.

Flip phones were all the rage when portability and style were the relevant benefits in mobile technology. But with the introduction of mobile email, web browsing, video and other location based services, smart phones have taken over, and today a flip phone is about as relevant as a land line.

Light lagers from a handful of brewers dominated the market until beer drinkers discovered that beer actually could have flavor and their long steady decline began.

People may love you today, but don't get too comfortable. Someone or something will come along soon and that easy chair you're sitting in will become a hot seat.

You can't build value on features alone

You may have all the features people want. You may have excellent distribution. You may have a healthy advertising budget. You may have a nice share of the market.

But if you don't have a brand, you have nothing.

A product without a brand is a commodity.

Samsung is quickly finding this out.

Despite a relentless drive for innovation, increasing their ad budget by 58%, launching high profile promotions and partnerships with every major carrier, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will miss sales projections by 20 million units. One investor said the reason was "Galaxy Fatigue."

I think it's more like Galaxy Apathy.

Why?

Because neither Samsung nor Galaxy stand for anything other than a collection of features.

What is the benefit of owning a Galaxy over an iPhone, HTC, LG or Motorola?

A bigger screen? A higher definition camera? More memory? Hands-free answering? All features that are easily copied.

Brands must offer value beyond the product otherwise the minute a competitor offers better features or the same features for less money, you're toast.

Nike continues to dominate the market not just because it makes products with features that people want, but because it makes those who own its products feel like athletes every time they lace them on.

Toyota was able to survive a slew of recalls and its unintended acceleration scare because they built a reputation for reliability that allowed them to ride out those dark days.

Great brands own a relevant word, concept or phrase that makes them distinctive to such a degree that when that brand's name in mentioned that word or phrase comes immediately to mind.

What does Samsung stand for? Anyone... Anyone...

That's what I thought.

That's the reason Samsung will continue to suffer wild swings in demand as other companies match features, prices and other functional factors in a highly competitive market.

The value of profit

In the world of business, nothing is more important than profit.

If a company isn't profitable it won't be around very long.

So it's not surprising that companies work hard to manage their bottom lines, leverage resources and look for opportunities to make their businesses more efficient.

It's a pretty simple equation: value – cost = profit

The problems arise when companies believe that the only way to increase profitability is by managing the second half of the operation.

You can cut costs all you want, long-term profitability, however, is the result of building value. 

Here's why:

Someone will always make it cheaper. Someone will always offer a lower rate. Someone will always be willing to shave a few points off the margin.

Companies that last focus on profitability through value. They deliver what's important to the customer in a way that's remarkable. They invest in their systems, their people, their research and development, their infrastructure, their communities, their brands.

They know the cheapest way isn't always the best way.

Because while you can always cut your way to a quarterly profit, you can't cut your way to greatness.

Fail forward

Yesterday during an online conversation I was taking part in, someone asked the question to the group, "What would be the topic of your TED Talk?"

For those not familiar with TED, it is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, Design – and an organization that hosts conferences which feature inspiring talks by people from all walks of life. Here's a brief one from Richard St. John.



There were a lot of interesting suggestions from the altruistic, "How to harness Africa's potential" to the more educational "A history of Visual Communications."

After a little thought, I chimed in with an idea for a talk titled, "The power of failure."

I wasn't too surprised by the number of people who reacted positively to the topic. As one participant said, "I'm an expert in that myself." to which my reaction was "Every successful person is."

It's not about whether or not one fails – we all fail at one time or another in many parts of our lives – but how one handles failure that matters.

The thing I've learned most from the failures in my life (and there have been many) is that it's never as bad as you think. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off and move forward putting whatever lesson you've learned in your bag to carry along with you on the road ahead.

Being comfortable with failure – notice I didn't say "accepting failure" – allows you to take the risks you'll ultimately need to succeed.

So even knowing that it'll probably be rejected, it's time for me to start work on that TED Talk.

The simple truth of branding

When this article appeared in my Linked In news feed yesterday, of course I had to read it.

While it's nice that they did the legwork, there's nothing new here.

If you've read the works of David Ogilvy, Reis & Trout, David Aaker, and Seth Godin, you know that strong brands are not built upon functional benefits alone.

If you've observed how Nike, Apple and Harley-Davidson have created cult-like communities around their brands, you know that you have to go deeper than just a "like."

Great brands not only connect emotionally with their users, they say something important about them as well.

I may be a 53-year old desk jockey, but when I lace up my Nike's, I'm an athlete.

I don't know a thing about computers, but Apple lets me create things and connect in ways I never dreamed possible by creating technology I can use.

I don't have a single tattoo, but when I ride a Harley people wonder just a bit if there isn't something a little dangerous about me.

That's how you build a brand to last; on a foundation of deep human truths and desires. Then delivering consistently, first in the product, continuing all the way through communications and experiences. 

Obviously, it's not easy. But the path to great branding is not a new one. Even with all the new media available to us, we don't need to waste our time reinventing our craft. 

We only need to get better at it.

ESPN can't ignore the competition

Last Thursday, Disney CFO Jay Rasulo had this to say about the emerging competition ESPN faces from the new 24-hour sports networks from Fox, NBC, and CBS.

"People are going to spend a lot of money, they're going to step up to bid on a lot of rights, and they're going to wind up a distant No. 2. So I feel pretty confident about our hand there."

Great leaders don't dismiss their challengers, no matter how insignificant and undermanned they seem to be. American industry is littered with examples of shattered companies who took their competition too lightly. GM ignored Toyota. RCA was too busy diversifying to worry about Sony. And Blockbuster scoffed at Netflix.

Great leaders use any and all challengers as a excuse to examine every potential weakness and sharpen their competitive edge.

ESPN would be wise to do the same.

Show us the money, please

Advertising is a game rigged in the clients' favor. They're the house and we're the marks.

They want pay-for-performance. Contracts always have a 90-day out clause. We work nights and weekends because the client will "know it when he sees it." And even when the work does produce results, that's still no guarantee we won't get fired.

Yet even as clients profess to want an agency that's a "partner," they go and do something like this...

I know that agencies aren't perfect. I know they sometimes miss the strategic mark. And when they produce ads like Innocean did for Hyundai, they deserve to be fired.

But I know one thing agencies aren't.

A bank.

P&G, InBev and the other corporate behemoths are stretching payments out 75, 90 and even 120 days to make more money with "their" money. In the meantime, agencies need to dip into cash reserves or borrow more money to make payroll and pay suppliers.

As an industry we're happy to give you are hearts, our souls, and even at times our dignity. The least you can do is pay us on time.

JCP is not Apple

When JC Penney went looking for someone to take over the reins of the venerable but struggling retailer, Ron Johnson seemed like the perfect savior. After all, oversaw the creation of the wildly successful Apple Stores. How could he not succeed at JCP?

Let's start with the fact that JCP doesn't sell iMacs, iBooks, iPhones, iPads and iPods. They sell Levis, Nike, Liz Claiborne, Disney, Cuisinart and Keurig.

Apple Stores were built to be the best place to buy the hottest products in the world.

JCP sells the same products as Kohl's, Target, Boston Stores, Macy's and WalMart.

Apple Stores have "Geniuses" who can help customers select the right products and provide expertise on how to use them.

JCP employees know how to use the cash register. 

I have no idea why I'd choose JCP over any of the other options I have to buy my 501s.

Consequently after just 17 months, Johnson is out as CEO of JCP and the strategies that made Apple stores successful are being replaced with sales, specials and other traditional retail tactics. 

In hindsight it is obvious that what worked for Apple wasn't going to work for JC Penney, because your marketing strategy is only as good as the products you're selling.

Geico gets it

I spend a fair amount of time – maybe too much – pointing out the inane, misguided attraction some marketers have to shiny new things and the ridiculous language they use to justify their infatuation.

Not today.

Because today I want to share an interview with you from a marketer who has thrived in the brave new worlds of interactive and social media without adding to the froth and blather.

Ted Ward is the CMO of Geico Insurance and a very smart marketer.

How do I know he's smart? Well, first of all, he agrees with me.

Actually, this interview in Advertising Age is one of the best examples I've read from someone who understands that the tools of new media are just that, new tools, and do not change the fundamental principles of marketing. This quotation really stood out to me.

There is a reason it is called social media and not business media. There is much less control over the inputs and outputs, and the metrics of success are not as closely tied to direct business results.

It's not that Geico doesn't use social media. It's not that they aren't heavily invested in online marketing. It's just that Mr. Ward and his team know that online and social media all part of a mix and without data proving the efficacy of their activities, all the buzz in the world doesn't matter; an attitude sorely missing in many marketing departments these days.

More of the same

Well, that was fast.

Commonwealth is no more. Goodby is leaving Detroit. And McCann now controls 100% of the Chevrolet business in the U.S. and around the world.

This news is not that surprising. In fact, it was inevitable once Joel Ewanick and GM parted ways.

The only question that needs to be answered now is, "Will the work get better?"

Chevrolet marketing and advertising has been suffering through a miserable dry spell. Nothing created by either agency was particularly effective or memorable. Even with a new Malibu, Sonic, Cruz and Spark, Chevrolet is selling fewer cars this year than both Toyota and Ford.

Will having all the work consolidated under McCann change that?

We shall see.

What I do know is that GM needs to settle its marketing and advertising issues quickly so it can concentrate on the business of selling cars.

The long view

Most marketers are more interested in becoming a brand than building a brand. They trot out a new campaign every year hoping that the latest one will finally stick.

Branding doesn't happen overnight.

It's not the result of one great ad, product or charismatic executive.

Brands are built over time. They are the result of meticulous planning, flawless execution and a bit of luck.

I know we all want to get rich quick. We all want the stock market to reward last quarter's performance. We all want a big bonus this year. Unfortunately too often those things happen at the expense of the long-term health of the brand.

That promotion you're planning to reduce inventory will cheapen customers' perceptions of your brand, making it harder for you to charge full-price after it's over. Cutting your R&D budgets so you hit Wall Street's expectations will make it harder for your products to be competitive next year and the year after that. Staffing your front-line sales force with minimum wage temporary workers will ensure your guests have a mediocre experience at best, giving them little incentive to come back.

Every action has a consequence. Focusing on the long-term consequences of our actions is how great brands are built.

Kohl's gets caught

Somebody at Kohl's has some 'splaining to do.

On the right is the logo and poster for the indie band, Yacht.

On the left is a t-shirt Kohl's is selling.

This ain't no coincidence folks.

I have news for the designer who "created" this shirt, changing three words from the work of another doesn't make it original. It's time to start looking for a new job, if not a new career.

To the higher ups at Kohl's, if you want to do the right thing before the lawyers get involved, pay the band the profits from this shirt and a little something extra to show you're sincere. I'd recommend you do it in person in front of thousands of their fans at the Treefort Music Festival in Boise Idaho on the 23rd of this month at 7:00. 

It might be a good idea.

Branding versus fame

Building a well known company is not the same as building a brand.

Toshiba is an electronics company I am aware of. Apple is a brand.

JC Penney is a retail company that I am aware of. Walmart is a brand.

Atlantic City is a destination where I can gamble. Las Vegas is a brand.

Reebok is an athletic shoe company I am aware of. Nike is a brand.

Koss is a headphones company I am aware of. Beats is a brand.

Jim Beam is a whiskey I am aware of. Jack Daniel's is a brand.

A great brand is more than just a name I recognize. It's a name I know something about. A name I care about. A name that evokes images and associations that enhance the products to help lock its position in my brain and my heart.

Great brands stand for something and they deliver on it time and time again in their products, their policies, their actions and their communications.

That's why it's easy to become famous, but hard to become a brand.

Watered down advertising

While Anheuser-Busch fights charges in state courts across the country that it has been watering down its beer, it's waging a much more important battle in the court of public opinion.

If round one is any indication, they may want to pick a new strategy.

The ad on the right, which appeared this weekend in the New York Times and Houston Chronicle where stories appeared, is, ahem, weak tea.

The visual only reinforces the charges in the suit. Yes, the copy talks about all the water A-B donates to the American Red Cross, but we all know most people don't read the copy. If they do, however, it leaves so many unanswered questions – like why is A-B talking about water? – that people may actually go looking for the story.

Bud shouldn't ignore the story. In fact, on the PR side they're saying the right thing through their VP of brewing and supply: 

"The claims against Anheuser-Busch are completely false, and these lawsuits are groundless. We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers, which have made them the best-selling in the U.S. and the world."

It's easy to get too clever in ads like this. Now is not the time for clever. Now is the time to clearly state that nothing is more important to the company than the quality of its products and that you would never do anything to jeopardize that.

Unless, of course, you are.

A Groupon goodbye

If you haven't read Andrew Mason's resignation letter, you should.

It is the perfect mix of humility and hubris. It explains why Groupon became such a phenomenal success and misguided underachiever.

His ability to pinpoint his own failings in this moment of self-reflection are admirable. It's refreshing to see him accept responsibility and know that his presence will only prevent Groupon from moving forward.

The lesson here is that great idea people are not always great leaders. And, sometimes the noise of "experts" can cause you to lose sight of what got you to where you are.

Good luck in your quest to lose that Groupon 40. Pritikin has worked well for a few of my friends. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next.