This document discusses the difference between good and great branding. It notes that it has become difficult to distinguish ads from content. Marketers need to determine what separates novelty from truly great branding. While many brands jumped on trends like real-time marketing, that does not necessarily make the branding great. The document advocates building branding around a clear purpose and point of view. It also stresses the importance of community building and purposeful actions over traditional advertising. Successful branding examples are examined to identify lessons like building a brand around a shared purpose and connecting with communities around shared interests through remarkable content and actions.

1. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD & GREAT BRANDING
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2. IS THIS GOOD OR GREAT?
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3. IT USED TO BE EASY TO TELL
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AD FROM CONTENT

4. THE MARKETER CHALLENGE:
HOW TO DISCERN WHAT’S GOOD
VS. WHAT’S JUST NOVELTY
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5. ESPECIALLY SINCE:
THERE ARE SO MANY NEW FORMS
AND FADS
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6. IS THIS GOOD?
GREAT?
NOVELTY?
WHAT’S THE
DIFFERENCE?
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7. LOT’S OF BRANDS JUMPED ON
“REALTIME”
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8. REALTIME ≠ GREAT
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9. BUT A LOT OF MARKETERS GOT
FATIGUED AND CYNICAL
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10. 10

11. THE RISK:
YOU CAN MISS SOMETHING
IMPORTANT
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12. HAMBURG 1961
HACK COVER BAND?
NOVELTY?
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13. HAMBURG 1961
OR
THE FUTURE OF MUSIC?
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14. WE NEED A QUALITY FILTER:
MARKETERS SHOULD HAVE A
WORKING FRAMEWORK FOR WHAT
SEPARATES “GREAT” FROM “COOL”
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15. MILLIONS THOUGHT THIS WAS GREAT AND COOL
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16. WHY IS THIS GOOD?
BRAND
BRAND BUILDING CREATIVE
• PURPOSE LEAD
• ASPIRATIONAL STATEMENT
• CLEAR POV
• DESIGNED FOR SHARING
• VOICE
• PARTICIPATORY
• ACTIONS, NOT ADS
• REMARKABLE EXECUTION
• TIE TO PRODUCT
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17. PURPOSE LEAD
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18. POINT OF VIEW
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19. DISTINCTIVE VOICE
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20. PURPOSEFUL ACTIONS
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21. RESULTS?
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22. BACKLASH!
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23. IT’S GOOD (MAYBE GREAT)
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24. BUT WHY DID IT WORK?
BUILT-IN AUDIENCE
LITERALLY BOUGHT
INTO THE IDEA
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25. BUT WHY DID IT WORK?
SMART OUTREACH
SHARED PURPOSE
ADVOCACY
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26. BUT WHY DID IT WORK?
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
AWARENESS OF
PROBLEM
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27. BUT WHY DID IT WORK?
GREAT TIMING
• TIPPING POINT?
• OR, HOLIDAY
PROMOTIONAL PUSH?
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28. ALGORITHM
(
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(
READY
COMMUNITY
X
PURPOSE
& MISSION
X
REMARKABLE
CONTENT
)
PAID
PROMOTION
)
Luck

29. CHECKLIST FOR GOOD/GREAT
BRAND
BRAND BUILDING CREATIVE
• PURPOSE LEAD
• ASPIRATIONAL STATEMENT
• CLEAR POV
• DESIGNED FOR SHARING
• VOICE
• PARTICIPATORY
• ACTIONS, NOT ADS
• REMARKABLE EXECUTION
• TIE TO PRODUCT
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30. LESSONS FOR BRAND BUILDERS
• BUILD PURPOSE INTO YOUR BRAND
BUY INTO THE BRAND > BUYING THE BRAND
• BUILD AN ACTIVE COMMUNITY
CONNECT AROUND SHARED INTERESTS
BEYOND PRODUCT FEATURES
• MARKET WITH AND FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
CREATE OPPORTUNITIES TO ACT TOGETHER
TOWARDS YOUR PURPOSE
• ACTIONS > ADS
BROADCAST WHAT YOU AND THE
COMMUNITY ARE DOING
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31. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JIM CUENE
VP, MARKETING STRATEGY
A thought leader among modern marketers, Jim has been working on the internet
longer than you have and has the stories and swag to prove it. A man of diverse
passions and interests, Jim could open a restaurant, create its world-class brand, draft
the business plan, cook the food, brew the beer, and perform the music opening night.
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32. THANK YOU.
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33. WE GROW BUSINESSES
Dream big. Implement Small. Invent now.
Bet the garden, not the farm.