1) The document outlines a plan to transform Fiskars consumers into fans by building an emotional connection with them and creating "irrational loyalty". It aims to insert the Fiskars brand into passionate conversations among enthusiasts. 2) A brand is explained as a company's character and beliefs, not just its logo or products. In today's crowded marketplace, a strong brand is the best way to stand out. 3) The document advocates telling enthusiasts' stories in a compelling way to attract those who share the company's values and see the world similarly.

1. The Little
Orange Book

2. Introduction
Welcome Fiskars employees, friends and future brand evangelists.
You are holding the future of the Fiskars brand in your hands,
both literally and figuratively. On the pages that follow, you will
find a roadmap for the evolution of the Fiskars brand that is already
underway, one that will, over time, transform our consumers
into an army of fans. To get there, we have a lot of work to do.
So, let’s get started!

3. We’re attempting to build a powerful brand, one that
consistently strikes a deeply emotional chord with people.
If we can do that with everything we do, we will create
the holy grail of business: irrational loyalty. That’s when
people buy your brand and your products automatically
without thinking about it – even if it doesn’t make rational
sense for them to do so.
What is it we’re trying
to do here?1.
I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God
it would be in a garden at the cool of the day.
~F. Frankfort Moore

4. Our brand is not our logo, our product mix or even the color
orange, although those things are important symbols of our
brand. A brand is a company’s character, personality and, most
importantly, its belief system. Simply put, a brand explains
who you are and what you stand for. Having a strong brand is
critical because consumers today are awash in choice. There are
roughly 30 billion web pages on the internet. A customer can
select from over 19,000 ways to order a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
There are more than 50 different toothpastes that carry the
Crest brand name. All markets are rapidly commoditizing,
meaning that it’s basically impossible to stand out based on
rational considerations like features or benefits alone. This is
certainly true of our categories. Having a strong brand that
people have powerful associations with is the surest way
for them to pick our brand and products out of the crowd.
What is a brand and why
is having a strong brand
important?2.
“

5. It’s human nature to gravitate to people (and brands) who
think like we do. Think about your friends – for the most part,
don’t they see the world the same way you do? Our marketing
is a chance to tell people the story of what matters most to
us. If we tell that story in a smart, emotionally-compelling
way, our marketing will be like a heat-seeking missile
capable of chasing down those who share our values.
What kind of brand do we
want to build?3.

6. Our emotions play a crucial role in coding, storing and
retrieving memories. Memories determine the decisions we make.
We want to have influence over the decisions people make but,
if people are going to take action, they first have to care.
The goal of making messages emotional is to get people
to care. Feelings drive action. The strongest brands burrow
deep into peoples’ unconscious brains where emotions are
stored and 95% of all thinking (and decision making) happens.
Why is emotion so
important?4.

7. One thing we should always keep in mind: our basic consumer
needs were long ago satisfied through shopping. Does a crafter
really need that 10th pair of scissors? Probably not. Will we
be able to convince her to buy that 10th pair through a rational
explanation of features, benefits or attributes? Not likely.
Products today are bought, not sold. To get her to choose
us, an emotional appeal to her dreams and aspirations will
have far more impact than a rational one to the ‘needs’
she doesn’t really have.
5.
It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about
gardening. You have got to love your garden
whether you like it or not.
~W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman,
Won’t people just buy
our products when they
need them?

8. It’s simply not true that all consumers are created equal, at
least in our Enthusiast-oriented categories. Enthusiasts, the
10% most involved consumers, drive our markets. They tell
everyone else what to do, where to shop and what to buy.
The conversations they have make or break companies in our
industries. That’s why our top priority is to inject our brand
into those conversations. After all, if Enthusiasts aren’t talking
about us – hopefully positively – we’re in big trouble. On the other
hand, when they talk a lot about us, sales increases will follow.
6. Who is our target
audience?

9. At first glance, it can be incredibly difficult to pick Gardening
Enthusiasts out of a crowd of ordinary gardeners. That’s
because they are a very diverse group. However, there are some
important differences. They are much more committed to
gardening: they spend more time (6.8 hours per week vs. 2.8
for everyone else) and more money on gardening (nearly double).
They are more emotionally engaged: Enthusiasts are 3x more
likely to agree with the statement “Gardening makes me happy.”
Most importantly, they relish the role they have as influencers
that drive the marketplace: 68% of Enthusiasts agree with the
statement “I enjoy sharing my gardening knowledge with others
(vs. just 13% for all other gardeners). There are over
9,000,000 Gardening Enthusiasts just in the U.S. and
every one of them is exponentially more important to us
than any other gardener.
What does a gardening
enthusiast look like?7.

11. What kind of conversation
do we want to have with
Enthusiasts?
8.
Passionate conversations about crafting, cooking and gardening
are happening all the time. Organically inserting ourselves into
those conversations is essential, but it’s more likely to happen
if we aren’t always banging on about ourselves. We’ll get
much further if we talk to Enthusiasts about the things we
have in common, starting with our mutual love of crafting,
cooking and gardening. It may be true that it is human nature
to surround ourselves with people (and brands) who see the
world as we do, but the converse is also true: people tend to
avoid arrogant blowhards who only want to talk want to talk
about themselves.

12. So what’s the endgame?9.
What we need to do is develop an inside, peer-to-peer
relationship with Enthusiasts. They are the recognized experts
in their circle of friends and family. Every time we convert
an Enthusiast from consumer into fan, we create an
evangelist who is ready to spread the word about Fiskars.
If we create an army of evangelists, our marketing budgets
with work exponentially harder, our sales will go up and we’ll
be a lot happier.

13. Half the interest of a garden is the constant
exercise of the imagination.
~Mrs. C.W. Earle,
What is a brand promise
and why is it important?10.
When the word ‘brand’ comes up, the inevitable question
arises: What’s in it for me? That’s where the brand promise
comes in. It tells everyone that comes in contact with the
company what they should expect from them. It also sets a
standard that we, the keepers of the brand and all that it stands
for, need to live up to.

14. What is our brand
promise?11.
We exist to support the Enthusiasts’ innate
need to express themselves creatively.
That’s a big promise. It means that we have perspective­­­­­­–
we understand that, at best, we play only a secondary role
in the life of the scrapbooker, quilteer, cook or gardener.
It means that we are useful – we provide innovative
products that make their process easier, better or even
more enjoyable. It means that we’re inspiring – in celebrating
gardening, cooking or crafting as the best way we know to
spend 12 hours on a Saturday, we provide the kind
of encouragement and validation that all human
beings crave.

15. Being a Supporter means that we have to be active – we’re not
talking about passive cheering from the sidelines here. Playing
the role of Supporter requires us to do something– actually, lots
of somethings. Being a Supporter means that we make tools that
make the Enthusiasts’ activities simpler, faster or more enjoyable.
But doing that consistently over time gives us license to offer
other kinds of support as well. Being a Supporter means that
we champion the activities that Enthusiasts love so passionately
and that we respect and validate the commitment they make to
them. It may mean that we teach them something they didn’t
know. It may also mean, if we listen carefully, that they teach us
a thing or two. Each Enthusiast burns to make their imagination
tangible. We can help bring their dreams to life. If we do, we will
achieve irrational loyalty. We’re talking about much more than
just marketing here – we’re talking about adding meaning to
every element of our brand, starting with our products.
How do we make good
on our brand promise?12.

16. What can I do to make
this a success?13.
We – all of us – are the best evangelists for our brand. If
we want people to talk about us, we need to give them a
steady stream of things to talk about. In other words, if
we want to light the world on fire, we should take it upon
ourselves to supply the matches. As Gandhi once said, “You
must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Who
are we to argue with Gandhi? So, let’s get out there and
find creative ways to demonstrate our support for En-
thusiasts to do what they love so dearly. If we can do
that consistently, the Fiskars brand will be unstoppable!