Brand Warfare Presentation

Brand Warfare David F. D’Alessandro 10 rules for building the killer brand Michaël huyghens, Gert Maes, Joey Van Locke, Anneke Schack, Lowie Van Holme and Gert-Jan Jeddens

BRAND WARFARE (2001) David F. D’Alessandro CAREER WARFARE (2004) 100 Most Powerful People in Sports ’02 (Sporting News) Four Best New CEOs ‘01 (Money) 50 Best CEOs ‘01 (Worth) EXECUTIVE WARFARE (2008) Marketeer of the Year ‘86 (Ad week)

It’s the brand, stupid

THE EARLIERS NOW The number-one brand simply No longer the biggest guy stayed the number-one who wins, but the fastest, brand smartest guy with the best command of new technologies

3 events toppled the number-one brands: 1. Consumers’ attitudes changed 2. It costs less to enter a business and create brand 3. The unlimited access to information that consumers now have

Customers have infinite knowledge and choice Sell an experience!

Codependency can be beautiful

Paradox The more brands consumers have to choose from, the more they need to cling to one good brand

Good brands do 3 things for stressed-out consumers: 1. Saving time 2. Projecting the right message 3. Providing an identity

The brands: comfort, trust, convenience and identity. Consumers: promise Consumers need good brands as much as good brands need them

Rule 3: A great brand message is like a bucking bronco - Once you’re on, don’t let go

• Brand message = most important • New brand Established brand

• No need vast advertising budgets – First wave e-commerce • Back to old media – Second wave e-commerce

Then why are so many ads so obscure? Engineers not marketeers Perpetual spinelessness Apple (1984) Legitimacy

It was no

Only established brands are allowed to be obscure Communicate, do not celebrate A brand message has to speak to consumers

and Knowledge •Self-knowledge Discipline •Self-awareness

Keep it relevant – A brand message • Never ending • Cannot stand still • Can be remade Keep it consistent – Virgin example

If you want great advertising, be prepared to fight for it. Rule 4

• Brand = Know where it stands for = To give a voice through advertising • NOT Personality-free clichés

Advertising Agencies don’t want to help ! – Flatter the client and win the account – Generate the greatest revenue

The key to great advertising “A lot of people who know nothing somehow feel completely qualified to override the ideas of people who spend their lives writing, designing, casting and directing advertising.” I’m not a creative person, but …

BE MEMORABLE • Most companies are afraid to produce advertisings that suggests anything unpleasant. • DON’T BE AFRAID OF CONTROVERSY.

• Don’t change the advertising because you’re bored with it It doesn’t mean that the public is tired of it • Tell the story of your brand

1. Know what your brand stands for 2. Let the creative people write and design 3. Protect the creatives Great work will follow its own accord

Make use of the HALO effect Transferring emotion from an event or person to the sponsoring brand

Halo Effect Positive Effect

But do not forget that sponsorships are risky Halo effect Horn effect

Horn Effect

Negative Effect

Get in for the right reasons Think twice before spending millions of marketing dollars

Understand your players Know what to expect from the sharks

The Event Organiser • Do not allow your exclusiveness to be attacked. • Get it in writing Be tough, or be prepared to be gouged

The Television Networks • The network probably overpaid for the sports property. • Buy only the commercial time you need to buy Any more is wasted.

The athletes and their entourages • Olympic games sponsored by REEBOK – The Event REEBOK – Athletes NIKE • Who do you think was remembered? So don’t waste money

Look for a balance of power Event organizer Athletes Sponsor Television networks

DO NOT CONFUSE SPONSORSHIP WITH A SPECTATORSHIP

HALO

Reaching millions 85% Industry leaders 80% excellence & quality Good Cause

Use your sponsorship

1. Check the moment 2.Win goodwill 3. Appreciation

Right Expectations

Right Expectations This is not Halo!! 15%: More likely to buy 50%: actively hostile Inkind Marketing

Real Measurable

Sponsorship = Investment Not working? GET OUT!

DO NOT ALLOW SCANDAL TO DESTROY IN 30 DAYS A BRAND THAT TOOK 100 YEARS TO BUILD.

Scandals DOVE AXE UNILEVER

Brand is destiny Are you really as greedy as you are portrayed?

You need a basis of trust

Define YOURSELF Key rule of marketing: Do not allow your enemy to define you

1 You can be better

2 You can be cheaper

3 You can attack

Failure to answer, makes you look weak

Do not stall You can run, but you can not hide

The Perrier benzene scandal

MAKE YOUR DISTRIBUTORS SLAVES TO YOUR BRAND

Internet: liberated consumer

Death of the salesman 1. Willingness of manufacturers 2. Ignorance of consumers

Smart brand do not frustrate their consumers! Face up to your limitations

Beat your distributors into submission by creating demand for your brand

USE YOUR BRAND TO LEAD YOUR PEOPLE TO THE PROMISED LAND

“What do you do?” Your identity = What you accomplish

Looking for a job The pay The position Character of the work environment Those are sacrificed

The best people want to work for the best brands

Why? • Status • Personality of the workplace • Big names: magic on a résumé

A strong brand makes a tough decison easier See the various points of view through the prism of the brand. The Brand What do I have to do to support the brand?

A strong brand will inspire the people on the inside The greatest motivator: the brand => a greater purpose => let your people live the brand

Ultimately, the brand is the CEO’s responsibility – and everyone else’s, too

1. Convince your employees to worry about the brand 2. Keep the brand front and center in all decisions

3.Do not forget what the brand means 4. A healthy respect for the brand is contagious

Conclusion “Will the decision hurt or help the brand?” A business focused on its brand is a business primed for success!