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e3 insightsLeveraging Your Brand for Sales GrowthPerspectives, Procedures and Profundities
Global Insights Magazine
2 3 4 6Differentiation in a crowded marketplace
Revelations about “which comes first”
Proven techniques for a winning game plan
A little Facebook perspective
Hey! Look at me… over here!
A historic debate put to rest
A powerful brand needs a powerful strategy
I “like” your brand, but don’t want to commit
Issue 2 – Edited by Aloft Group July 2012
HEY!LOOK AT ME...OVER HERE!
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It’s crowded out there. And in today’s cluttered marketplace, if you don’t stand out, you stand down. No matter what your industry, you’re just one of many brands chasing after a number of finite prospects andpotential dollars. Now more than ever, differentiating your organization
from the crowd requires that you successfully develop
and communicate your unique brand story. Once
accomplished, bringing it to life across the appropriate
channels not only extends your brand, it gives your sales
force the ammunition they need to more effectively engage
prospects, customers and strategic partners. Armed with
a brand story only you can tell, your sales team has a
competitive advantage no one else can overcome.
As someone once said, It’s not your customers' job to
remember you. It’s your obligation and responsibility to
make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you.
Delivering your unique brand story is the best way to
ensure your brand will stand out and be remembered in
the marketplace.
Not long ago, British scientists settled the age-old
question that has perplexed mankind for centuries:
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? While
conventional thought had usually landed on the side of
the egg, Dr. Colin Freeman from Sheffield University’s
Department of Engineering Materials recently delivered
undeniable scientific proof revealing that, indeed, the
chicken preceded the egg. Exactly why Dr. Sheffield
had this amount of time on his hands, or why anyone
would have funded such a study is still unclear.
What is clear is that, in addition to being wildly
interesting, this groundbreaking poultry revelation is
an eloquent (perhaps not all that eloquent) segue into
a much more important debate that has turned more
than one company meeting into a melee: What comes
first, your brand focus or your sales focus?
The common internal disagreement usually goes
something like this:
Troubled by this all-too-common and unpleasant
scenario, experts have undertaken considerable research
over the last few years and have presented the following
findings: like the chicken, it is your organization’s brand
story that should precede your sales objectives.
By answering questions like ... How and why are you
different from your competition? Why should any prospect
choose you? Is your sales team telling a consistent
story? … you’ll develop and leverage a strong brand
image that’s an incomparable asset to your sales team.
When your internal functions are aligned, when you’ve
differentiated your company from the competition, your 3
A Historic Debate Put to Rest
Sales Exec: “We don’t have time to engage in branding exercises… we have sales goals to meet!”
Marketing Exec: “We can’t meet your sales goals if we don’t first get the brand story right!”
Sales Exec: “That’s ridiculous…sales come first!!”
Marketing Exec: “You’re an idiot!
Sales Exec: “I’m an idiot? I’ll show you who’s an idiot….”
brand becomes more than a logo or a color
palette carried out over your communications
materials. It will actually become your sales force’s
ultimate weapon, delivering an advantage that no
competitor will be able to leverage.
And now that we can finally put to rest any
disagreement regarding the chicken coming
before the egg, scientists can now move on to
the truly pressing issue of figuring out exactly why
he crossed the road.
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A POWERFUL BRAND NEEDS A POWERFUL BRAND STRATEGY///
1_research
2_brand story
Successful brand differentiation is no accident, and in-depth qualitative and quantitative research are key components of any good strategic planning process. You’ve got to know what your competitors are doing—and what kind of threat they pose to your brand, and you’ve got to know what potential customers are looking for.
Through focus groups, interviews, surveys and more, you’ll be able to get into the minds of your customers, unearthing insights that open the doors to opportunity.
Your brand is your essence, your culture, your identity. Effectively communicating what’s unique about it is vital, but not always easy to accomplish. A great first step is to develop a brand matrix, which presents your organization’s points of differentiation (PODs) and points of parity (POPs).
A POD conveys what’s truly unique about your brand. POPs aren’t unique to your brand, but showing four or five areas where you’re comparable to your competition is also important. Now clearly define how you deliver on each, illustrating what the benefits mean to your clients and prospects from their perspective.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
DEVELOP YOUR BRAND STORY/POSITIONING
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A POWERFUL BRAND NEEDS A POWERFUL BRAND STRATEGY///
Well-positioned, brand-connected organizations will remain ahead of their competitors, in good times and in bad, by
providing a vision and product or service offering that is in lock step with customer values and needs. But developing a
successful brand is no accident. It requires a solid, business-focused approach that carefully aligns brand strategy with
internal operations.
There are several key steps to developing a winning strategy, one that differentiates your brand from your competition.
Here’s a quick look at some of them.
internal culture_3
visual identity_4
Though often overlooked, successful brands know they must connect with their internal customers as well as their external customers. Focusing on both will help build lifelong customer relationships that are enabled by employees who live the brand.
Make sure your newly developed brand strategy aligns with your organizational design. Create internal strategies for delivering on your new positioning, and a tactical plan for getting your team on the same page.
There’s a difference between talking at your customers and speaking with them. For competitive advantage, you’ve got to figure out how to do the latter effectively—and cost-effectively.
Developing consistent, quality visuals and messaging will help, supporting and enhancing your brand as you move forward. Create a brand bible that spells out how assets should be treated visually, and a strong messaging platform that delivers across every channel, from print to digital, PR to social media and beyond.
ALIGN YOUR INTERNAL ORGANIZATION & CULTURE
DEVELOP YOUR VISUAL IDENTITY & MESSAGING
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I “like” your brand, but don’t want to commitA little Facebook perspective
As we stated previously, there’s a difference between
“talking at” and “speaking with” your customers. And
while today’s new marketing landscape of blogs, social
networking, SEO, pay-per-click and a host of other digital
media may seem confusing, the opportunities for you to
truly connect with your customers and extend your brand
in the right way, at exactly the right moment,
are unprecedented.
It’s no secret that Facebook has become the social
networking site of choice for many of today’s leading
brands, and understandably so, for it can be an incredibly
effective tool. But using Facebook effectively requires a
clear strategy and comprehension of the medium.
Let’s be friends
Many organizations focus on the number of “friends” their
page may have, and having a lot of friends is, on the face of
it, a good thing, right? Well, the truth is that the number of
Facebook fans your page may have is pretty much useless
for anything other than bragging rights.
It’s not much of a challenge to get someone to “like” your
page. People will fan you because they like you, because
a friend likes you, or just to announce to the world, "Hey
I like [blank]." A person can be a fan of FB pages such as
Mushrooms, Laughing When Someone Falls, or Dr.
Who's Arch Nemesis, Daleks, but is that person worth
anything to those pages? Not necessarily. He or she
may have liked them at the spur of the moment or
because a friend liked them, but it’s meaningless if
there’s no continuous engagement.
On the other hand, let’s say a musician is a fan of several
music pages and engages regularly. As a full member
of that community who comments, shares and posts
often, inviting others to participate, etc., that person is of
considerable value. Some of these Facebook pages may
not have a massive amount of fans, but they do have a lot
of fan engagement. And isn't the purpose of social media
to open a two-way communication channel with
the audience?
What's under the hood?
Having a million fans without engaging them is like having a
Porsche with no engine sitting in your driveway; passersby
may be impressed, but a Porsche that won’t get you
anywhere is little more than a yard ornament. The same
is true with Facebook fans: If you aren't actively working
to engage them, opening two-way communication or
providing a meaningful experience for them, then how
much are they really worth?
The most colorful corporate presentations and the most
original product brochures are worth nothing if they are
not popularly used or understood by the sales force.
The success story of the fully active four-wheel drive
DYNAMAX™ by Magna Powertrain, shows how to do it
right. Unlike other all-wheel systems DYNAMAX has an
intelligent control strategy and can adjust early to chang-
ing conditions. The all-wheel drive system has been ini-
tially deployed in the new Kia Sportage, and E3 member
SPS MARKETING has been challenged with the task of
developing a communication strategy that presents
DYNAMAX as a sub-brand under the Kia Sportage,
and also significantly contributes to the promotion.
The Communication Strategy: The quality and perfor-
mance of the four-wheel drive system should on
one hand be conveyed together with the new Kia
Sportage through targeted ingredient branding with
a pull strategy, and on the other hand the corporate
brand of the MAGNA Powertrain strengthened through
global communication.
The creative main idea: DYNAMAX™ is the first all-wheel
drive that thinks ahead for the driver. Suitable to this end,
the product slogan “True AWD. Continuously thinking
forward” has been developed. In most communication
media the idea is also a visually lived experience: The
powertrain detaches itself from the vehicle shell, and is
as such one step ahead from the rest of the vehicle. In
addition to an appropriate product folder as well as a
mailing, an image film was also developed that communi-
cates the advantages of DYNAMAX in conjunction with the
new Kia Sportage. Text and graphics modules have also
been developed that Kia uses in its various communication
channels, as well as in public relations work.
The results: With a five-digit Euro marketing budget, a
media response with a value amounting to well over
€ 500,000 has been achieved that has entailed report
coverage in 17 international print media such as The Wall
Street Journal and AutoBild. MAGNA Powertrain has
simultaneously increased its global market share in the
AWD Segment from 8 to 14%. And due to the rapidly
increasing demand from well-known automobile manufac-
turers, this unique success story is far from over ...
Sales SupportThe success story of DYNAMAX™
From 8 to 14% market sharewith targeted ingredient branding
Target group • Kia dealers and Kia customers
• Opinion leaders in the technical sector• Technical journalists
Target group • Decision makers from OEMs worldwide• Opinion leaders in the technical sector
Kia + MAGNA Powertrain Marketing Cooperation
MAGNA Powertrain Sales
Pull strategyDYNAMAX by MAGNA Powertrain is
presented together with Kia.
Push strategyDYNAMAX by MAGNA Powertrain is
optionally presented together with Kia.
Push / pull strategy: the communication strategy
MAGNA Powertrain Kia Motors & MAGNA Powertrain
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coalition of independent brand strategy and
marketing communications firms from around the
world. With access to this wide pool of talent,
E3 agencies give clients a real chance to make an
impact nationally and internationally.
Find out how the E3 perspective can help you.
www.e3network.com
Administration: [email protected]
Brand SuccessWithin the E3 network of agencies there exists
a broad range of global brand expertise. If
you’re looking for brand success in your local
market or on a worldwide scale, please contact
Aloft GroupThis issue of E3 Global Insight
Magazine was edited by Aloft
Group. For more information, please
contact [email protected] or
Aloft Group
26 Parker Street
Newburyport, MA 01950
Tel. +1.978.462.0002 x 117
Adsmith / ChinaAdvertigo / RomaniaAloft Group / USAAnsel-Möllers / GermanyAudacity / USABase One / UKBBC / BelgiumBernstein / GermanyBMLab / RussiaBruketa&Žinic / CroatiaC&COM / Czech RepublicCafé Design / HungaryEpoka / PolandIgriega / SpainKimauskis 2.0 / FinlandMaitri Advertising Works / IndiaMandate / SingaporeMedia Consulting / PortugalNetural / AustriaPreferendum / FranceQuarry / CanadaRecommended / FinlandRecommended / SwedenS’P’S Marketing / AustriaSanderWerbung / GermanySchindler Parent / GermanyTANGRAM / LiechtensteinTANGRAM / SwitzerlandTruly Deeply / AustraliaVan Heertum Design / Netherlands