Building a brand requires reaching out to the right audience with the right message—one that's simple and defines the brand around the desires of your customers. It's that critical differentiation that creates CONNECTION to the market—to your customers who want to know you and come back to you.
In this issue:
- Branding Telecom Services: SBC to AT&T—Does it Mean Anything for the Brand?
What does it mean that SBC has become AT&T—again? Do consumers and businesses really receive the value represented by the AT&T brand?
- Connecting the Pieces of Your Brand
Many companies see their brand only as their identity, tagline and style guidelines. This is only the tip of the brand iceberg!
- BGDi Work: Pet Food Express
BRANDING TELECOM SERVICES: SBC to AT&T
Since SBC announced its acquisition of AT&T there has been much talk about what this means for the revered and long-lived AT&T brand. Would it disappear? Or would SBC take on the AT&T name and attempt to reinvigorate this brand?
What Goes Around Comes Around: AT&T to SBC to AT&T
We have a strange sense of déjà vu—the original breakup of AT&T in 1984 led to the creation of all the regional "Baby Bells" that carefully branded themselves for each market area. In California, remember Pacific Telesis, which became PacBell? Then, well, SBC (originally Southern Bell Communications) ate that. These mergers reflect dramatic changes in the telecom industry, which is now becoming the "telecom-internet-cable" industry. The services you get on your computer, landline phone, cell phone and cable television connection are now more connected and less separate than ever.
Brand Recognition is the Name of the Game
What does it mean for SBC when it takes on the AT&T brand name? It's about buying huge brand recognition in a broad market. SBC is very well known in the southwest and Texas but has only recently built some recognition in the rest of the US market. The equity of the AT&T brand, though, goes way back---over 100 years---and has global recognition (notice they kept the blue earth with stripes, although now strangely distorted). This brand recognition gives SBC a new, more recognized and historically connected brand. But what does it stand for?
Can SBC/AT&T live up to Brand's Perceived Value?
This is the REAL brand challenge. With the new "warped-world" logo, which, by the way, we think is weaker than the old A&T logo (and looks too much like Google Earth!), the new image campaign bolsters recognition but only promises vague value connected to new technologies ("Your World Delivered") This does not mean much. The real proof will be in what SBC and AT&T were already failing to do: providing real customer service around the branded products they provide. If customer service is lacking, innovation is irrelevant. The customer brand experience MUST improve; only then will the new AT&T mark take on real meaning.
SBC/AT&T is fighting against VOIP providers, customer-centric cable companies like Comcast and dozens of other companies and technologies competing for recognition and loyalty. Will AT&T be a newly nimble Goliath or an unwieldy dinosaur ready for extinction?
CONNECTING THE PIECES OF YOUR BRAND
Many companies think a brand is the new identity, tagline and brand standards they've created. This is only the surface of the brand.
The "brand experience"—yes, we mean the real experience of the brand—can reinforce your positive feelings about a product, service or company, cause you to write them off as meaningless to you, or leave you totally repulsed.
Here's what every company needs to focus on within their market to build consistent brand recognition:
CUSTOMER PROMISE: What are you really delivering beyond the product or service category? If you can't answer that you are a commodity. This consigns you to grinding price competition with the masses of other like products. However, if you are perceived as delivering service, unique quality, what only your company can do - you have a strong brand.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: When they come to buy what's their experience? Are they getting what they expected, and much more? It's simple—this is all about loyalty and reinforcing the promise. Think Trader Joe's, FedEx, and SouthWest.
VISUAL AND VERBAL EXPRESSION: This connects the parts. It's the sum total of logo, colors and verbal clues that let you know what the brand is. Think of the red-trimmed white metal box with black type: "Curiously Strong"—it could only be Altoids. Everything from this brand is recognizable—it has a personality.
COMPETITIVE REALITY: Where does your brand exist? This is what many companies forget. Consumers are awash in brands, sub-brands, companies and products. How do you stand out in this crowd? It can be as simple as not being like them or seen with them. Have your own unique sponsorship, location.
DEFINING CUSTOMER LOYALTY: Believe it or not many companies don't know what this means. If they come back they must be loyal. WRONG. You need to understand how and why they come back and make sure you let them know. Amazon tries to do this and could do it better. Every customer loss is a long-term loss in revenue.
OPERATIONAL REFLECTION OF THE BRAND PROMISE: Do the employees, web site, stores, shipping, trucks—everything you see or connect with around this brand—reinforce the brand? 99% of the customer experience of UPS is in the delivery person and their trucks. They better make darn sure these folks represent the absolute essence of the brand for their customers.
CUSTOMER TRUST: Can the service you provide give the customer what they want and be trusted over the long haul? Online banking is now considered the most important builder of customer loyalty. Wells Fargo knows this and focuses on growing this market.
BRAND STORY: And, what's the story? How do your customers talk about you? Think about you? Experience you?
MARKET TRENDS AND ADAPTABILITY: Can you really see where things are going? When consumer tastes change, so does customer loyalty. Levi's is a lost brand. Coke and Pepsi have both experienced major declines in sales, the first in over 30 years, since the advent of energy drinks, health drinks, teas and non-colas. The market does not stand still. Neither should your brand.
BGDi WORK: Branding A Unique Bay Area Chain of Pet Food Stores
BGDi has completely reworked the branding of Pet Food Express, a unique Bay Area pet supply resource, over the past year. BGDi's president, Steven Donaldson says "I spent a great deal of time with Pet Food Express's owners to really understand how they want people to see their stores. They really care about animals and delivering quality products for people's pets in the Bay Area." He strategized with BGDi designers to develop a new visual brand, tagline and unique look for signage and merchandising in all Pet Food Express stores. The tagline "Your Neighborhood Pet Experts" reflects the Pet Food Express commitment to local area neighborhoods, as well as a focus on hiring staff with a love for and understanding of animals.
