March 2008 E-NEWS from Steven Donaldson and Michael Zinke, the Brand Guys

Top Technology Brands of 2007; Building Brand Loyalty

Creating the Visible Brand in a multi-channel world—web, retail, print and electronic media. We send these brand "bites" monthly to give you insights and tips on building value, uniqueness and loyalty for your brand. Your brand's critical differentiation helps your customers find you, remember you and come back to you.

In this issue:

1. Top Technology Brands of 2007—Who Gained and Who Lost: Two lists named top technology brands, but are these really the best? And what's "technology" anyway?
2. Building Consumer Loyalty Through the Brand: Every business wants loyal customers, but how do you create it with your brand? What's the magic that will bring customers back?
3. On Lok Lifeways—Creating a Senior Healthcare Brand: This San Francisco organization invented a unique senior health care program. BGDi built a brand around it.

"TOP" TECHNOLOGY BRANDS OF 2007: Who Gained and Who Lost

Technology is becoming the connecting, dynamic force between customers, companies, and other customers. It has given customers the power of information and choice. Google and Apple are big winners in this new world order, riding the online revolution to the top. They are among the brands that create loyalty around experience. People don't buy search, they find what they want quickly. I'm not buying an iPod, I'm buying access to media, entertainment and the web.

It's fascinating to see how Interbrand and Millward Brown, rated companies in their Top Ten technology companies of 2007.

It's fascinating to note the differences between the two lists. Eight brands were on both lists but in different positions. Apple and SAP appeared only on the MB list and Samsung and Sony rounded out Interbrand's top ten. The most amazing change on the list is Google. It did not even appear on this list at all 5 years ago; now it tops one list and is number seven on the other.

What defines a technology or consumer brand? Apple and Sony are strong consumer brands with technology-based products, and Cisco Systems has announced the introduction of consumer desktop equipment to build the brand through a consumer experience. And, what's a "top" brand? Any attempt to objectify this is challenging, since brand equity is really a measure of loyalty that extends beyond current market share. How do you measure this when it's a fluid and long-term aspect of a brand?

The key to continuing brand dominance in technology is giving customers new and better choices over time within the territory staked out by the brand. Awareness of consistent brand value becomes key: the ultimate goal of any brand.

BUILDING CONSUMER LOYALTY THROUGH THE BRAND
Every business wants loyal customers. What's the magic that will bring customers back?

On line or off, building loyalty means connecting with the customer and reinforcing the connection between your products and your brand. As customers, we are all looking for information that will help us quickly define the value and relevance of a brand to us. Every touchpoint with the customer is an opportunity to reinforce that brand experience.

Key Brand Loyalty Strategies to bring customers back:

1. Define Your Brand Around Your Customer: "this brand gives me what I want."
2. Focus on 3 Simple Brand Elements That Reflect Your Unique Value to the Customer: "I keep hearing about how this product solves my problem"
3. Give the Customer Multiple and Consistent Positive Experiences of the Brand: "Wow, this brand means what it says."
4. Consistently Repeat the BrandŐs Visual Signature—Color, Logo, Typeface & Message: "Oh, there's that brand that gives me such good service!"
5. Give Customers the Same Positive Brand Experience at all Touchpoints—Web, Print, Phone: "This brand really does care about me—they know how I want to shop!"
6. Personalize Customer Relationships in Ways Unique to Your Brand: "Look at this, they're giving me this free information about..."

ON LOK LIFEWAYS: Creating a Senior Healthcare Brand
A revolutionary healthcare program that helps keep seniors at home

Challenge: On Lok is a leading provider of a unique healthcare model that helps keep frail elderly people in their own home. They wanted to expand their reach to communities outside the original market in San Francisco's North Beach and Chinatown. However, they knew that the name On Lok—meaning "safe abode" in Cantonese—was not relevant to this larger audience.

Solution: BGDi came in to help redefine and communicate the meaning of the brand. After extensive research and interviews with stakeholders inside and outside the organization, BGDi identified core attributes of the eldercare program that could be incorporated into new branding, and proposed options for a name change and new identity that would resonate with a wider audience. After several review sessions and presentations to the On Lok board, the name was chosen—Lifeways^TM. BGDi also developed a new tagline, All Inclusive Care for Seniors, supporting brand messages, visual branding and a consistent brand architecture for all the diverse entities that make up the On Lok family of eldercare services.

Result: A successful launch of the new brand and organizational branding with full support of the On Lok board of directors, which will support further expansion into new geographic markets.