Opinionated Blog

By: Andrea Shillington
Whether you’re an entrepreneur working on your next big idea or the leader of a well established company, in today’s world of choice, I’m sure, at some point you’ve contemplated how to stand out. Now, we are not just talking about how to be better at this, or best at that; we are talking about boldly going where no brand, in your industry, has gone before.

We boil it down to three simple basics:
1. Start with a genuine purpose (other than to just make money).
2. Get specific about who will buy (even more specific than that).
3. Be truthful, courageous and consistent when you go to market- loose the hyperbole and marketing speak.

To illustrate this point, let’s talk about one of the most saturated markets on the planet: coffee. Vancouver based Ethical Bean delivers its promise boldly starting with its name right through to its charitable work on a local and global scale. In this case, the company is born from its desire to make a difference in the world of coffee. From freeing farmers of harmful pesticides to leaving a minimal impact on the environment. Ethical Bean is about much more than taste, roasting and the latest flavour shot. As a result of their ethical cause, they are capturing the hearts of coffee drinkers who actually care about what they put in their bodies, where things come from and how it impacts the planet. Furthermore, Ethical Bean expresses themselves by speaking the truth. It’s not just marketing speak existing on a few items, no one can remember or care about. Their Tagline “Just. Better” is a promise. A promise by which the company behaves, makes difficult decisions and chooses to live by everyday.

There are many other, bigger companies with far deeper pockets like Starbucks offering ethical, organic and environmentally friendly products. What makes Ethical Bean stand out: is that they have started with a genuine purpose; chosen a specific audience; and are delivering on their promise with every package, bean and QR code. They are doing it better because they are being bolder about their beliefs and backing up their claims with real actions. As customers, we have no reason not to believe them. No reason to think its yet another green washing parade.

Ethical Bean is a product that has and will continue to disrupt people's choices and attract like minded people. We give them an A+ on being a brave brand.

If this article peaked your curiosity you may also be interested reading…
Blue Ocean Strategy
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
Winning Without Pitching by Blair Enns

Or just speak to us!

By: Andrea Shillington
Without a meaningful purpose that is real to you, you can’t know how to be the leader you know you can be. But once you discover it, there will be no stopping you or the movement your purpose creates.

When we get started in our careers, few of us are fortunate to know our purpose, so instead we are driven by a lifestyle. To travel the world. A red sports car. A white picket fence. And so, we set out into the world to create the world we envision living. We choose an educational path. We apply for jobs. We work hard. We get promoted. Some of us are even brave enough to set up our own companies. But, as we climb Maslow’s mountain of needs, we inevitably get to the point where we want self-fulfillment from our work.

A desire to inspire people. To give back. To be remembered for something great. And that need, whatever it is, just won’t shut up.

In essence, it's our own purpose that we seek. Why are we here on this planet? Why do we work other than to make money? What drives us day after day? What is it about work that inspires you? Inspires others? Fills us with energy and passion?

Have you heard of Tom’s? It’s just a simple shoe company selling canvas flats. They are no Jimmy Choo that’s for sure. But, they sure are creating one hell of a movement! And it all started with the intention to help children around the world. Tom’s one for one policy assures that for every one pair of shoes purchased, a pair of shoes is provided to a child in need. In this case, Tom’s has created global success in the fashion industry by focusing on selling their purpose.
Without question, there are many successful and hugely profitable companies without a purpose other than to make money. But would they be missed if they were gone tomorrow? For those of you who know your purpose is bound for greatness, our world is starving for more inspirational stories like Tom’s. How can you turn your business into a cause?

By:  Dann llicic
Going through the rebranding process in your organization can be tough, even if everything goes smoothly. In our experience, there are six things that usually get in the way and we want you to be aware of them.

1- The CEO or leadership team is not involved

Too often we see the rebranding efforts beginning in the marketing department instead of with the CEO. Branding is a CEO level initiative because it deals with the fundamental definition and expression of the business. The brand consultant is the worst person to deliver the brand to the organization. It can ONLY be delivered by the CEO as an expression of their vision for the organization’s future

2- There is no budget allocated

Not having a budget for the rebrand usually means that the project has not been taken seriously yet. Yes, there will be strategy and design fees but the bigger costs come in the implementation and execution. How tragic it is to go through all the work and then to find out that there is no money to execute properly.

3- No internal point person to drive the rebranding implementation from the inside

Most brand consultants and designers are wonderful people but they cannot successfully govern the intricacies and politics of your organization alone. Either the CEO or someone closely linked and authorized by the CEO must drive the process for it to be taken seriously.

4- No visual evidence of change

If you’re going to go through the effort of rebranding then it must be as conspicuous as possible. The brand does not exist in the words in a policy manual (of course you do need one of those too) it must exist where people will notice and feel it. New paint, new logo, rearranging furniture, new signage and a host of other tangible changes let people know that the rebrand is real and alive.

5- Not having a roll-out plan

When will the rebrand be complete? How and when will we tell our staff?How and when will we tell our customers and clients? How will we tell the public? If these questions are not answered from the beginning then all kinds of hell can break loose. If the roll-out needs to happen over time then that must be communicated clearly to all involved. Having a plan and somebody accountable for executing it will give all stakeholders comfort that the rebranding efforts will stick and be meaningful.

6- Not enforcing the company values

If the hiring, firing and overall operations are not rooted in the company’s core values then it is unlikely that anyone inside will take it seriously. The values must be conspicuously displayed for everyone to see (not just in the employee welcome handbook or policy manual). It is not uncommon for some people to quit once the company’s values have clearly been articulated - but in general these people quit a long time ago - they just still happen to be drawing a paycheck though. The best companies make a big deal about their values and look for those traits and evidence in the people that work for them. Remember that it is your people that deliver the brand experience of your company and that experience, if it is to be consistent, must be based on the core values of your organization.

I just had one of those great customer experiences that are worthy of a blog post. The interesting part is that I actually never spoke to a live person at any point and I am still blown away.

I bought a pair of soccer cleats for my ever growing 10yr old son from SoccerPro, an online retailer based in Missouri. The prices were fair and the site was easy to use but that's not what compelled me to write this. This company is full of personality and it is clear to me that they have made a decision to make every possible interaction surprisingly great.

I'm always grateful to get acknowledgement that my order was received and shipped, but check out this order confirmation excerpt:

Dann,

Your order #xxxxx , has been fully shipped. Shout out loud! Give someone a hug! Or, get back to work...your call. Either way, we don't judge.

This gear is important and you probably want an official-sounding shipping summary. Hold onto your mouse pad cause here comes the fancy stuff.

Shipment Details:

Your order is being shipped to:

Dann Ilicic
XXXXXX
XXXXXX

We absolutely love having you as a customer!

Talk Soon,

Sergio

I actually believe that they "love having me as a customer" and I am generally cynical about these types of statements. Even when the package arrived, there was an "unofficial envelope" inside the box with a lollipop and the best "terms and conditions" policy I've ever seen - soccerpro.pdf.



How can you not love a company that has a Department of Surprise and Delight? I've already told everyone on my son's team about how great it is to deal with SoccerPro and I'll definitely be buying there again. 

Sometimes clients think that better branding is the answer to their business problems, but let me say that branding is really about turning your truth (what's already real and great about you) into your competitive advantage. If your service or product sucks, then branding is the last place you should spend your money. 

One of the greatest enjoyments I get out of the work we do for clients is to get their delivery aligned with their brand promise. It is the single biggest impact I think the branding process can have. Do you believe enough in your own brand promise to fully take on the risk of of the promise? Does your brand have a personality that comes through in every interaction? Are you hiring people that "are" that personality? Now, go deliver. 

Recently after being in a long-term relationship I found myself to be fabulously free and single. As an out-going, independent, modern gal my first instinct to meet new people was to go through the inconspicuous, the “be-who-I-want-to-be” route of on-line dating.  Through this experience I became acutely aware of all the branding involved in this modern world of dating.

At my disposal the three dating services that popped out at me were Plenty of Fish, Lavalife and E-harmony. In short, Plenty of Fish resembles the traditional night club of the dating scene, Lavalife’s positioned as a urban online lounge or a trendy coffee shop and E-harmony has replaced the traditional “meeting through friends” scene. Not only are the on-line dating companies specialized and target specific, I too was becoming a commodity.

After a couple of weeks of sending smiles, “ping-ing” people, or checking profile photos and passing judgement, I found myself browsing and selecting potential candidates with no substance or merit. I was picking out my ideal man like I was shopping at the grocery store - looking for good colour, freshness and ideally, some firmness.

In the end I came to the conclusion that online dating only succeeds through our failure and desperation of finding the “happily ever after”. It does amaze me how consumed we - social interactive beings- have been trained to communicate with the least amount of effort ever. We have become a digitized generation, lowering our social skills through the use of social online networks.

After my experiences online this fabulous commodity has gone offline, appreciating the real life - with real people.

To be continued....

Anytime Microsoft does anything to challenge Google, it always makes for interesting news. Last week the New York Times did a story on Bing — the new name for Microsoft Live search. 

My favorite entrepreneurial stories are those in which an undying faith and belief are required to combat the ridicule of doing something different. Casting the right vision and purpose for a company has to come from somewhere deep inside if it is going to be completely authentic, meaningful and sustainable. 

I came across TomsShoes.com—a company founded by Blake Mycoskie and built on a very compelling brand promise. For every pair of shoes you buy, they will send a pair to a child in a developing country as part of their One for One movement. 

I came across an interesting article today on CanadaOne.com that I believe we all should read titled 7 things you need to know about why people buy. Although all the points hit home, the two that really struck me from a branding perspective were #5 Framing and #6 Too Many Choices.

I'm sure that most of you have seen the Susan Boyle/Britain's Got Talent video by now on YouTube. I saw it last week when the views were fewer than 10 million and it has already surpassed 40 million. If you haven't seen it yet, please check it out - it will make your day.

Low expectations are fertile ground for growing brand loyalty.

Companies spend a lot of money creating awareness and desire for their brands. Building positive expectations before the purchase. And so they should.

But here’s the catch, if the company fulfills its promise (price, service, quality, etc.) it merely lives up to what is already expected from its customer base. The customer is satisfied, but is not turned into a raving fan, passionately promoting the experience and the brand to anyone who cares to listen. There’s not a lot of brand equity to win by just doing what’s expected.

Now, at some point most products or services (if not all..) will fail in some area. Or, to put it in brand lingo terms, the product does not live up to its brand promise; the battery on your Mac laptop suddenly dies, the air-condition in your Toyota goes cold, the concierge at your hotel forgets to give you that wake-up call.

Not only is that annoying in itself, but the process of fixing the problem is in most cases the real pain in the...

For instance, your 14 month old vacuum cleaner sucks.. and not the way it’s supposed to. The mouth piece breaks in two and all you can do is vacuum small circular areas the size of a golf ball.
Now, subconsciously you’ve already gone through the scenario: Trying to find a relevant phone number on the manufacturer’s website, figuring out the specific part number, navigating through their phone maze, shipping the broken piece and finally getting the new part delivered straight to your front door - when you are not at home. In other words, you expect an experience you could do without.

And, this is where the opportunity is. The vacuum cleaner manufacturer has a perfect occasion to turn you into a raving fan of the brand by having a post-sales system in place that eliminates those steps mentioned above. Simply because you don’t expect to be wow’ed.

Here’s an example from my own world. I recently had a new faucet installed in my kitchen. About six months later the shower head (yes, it came with that..) didn’t work and I was immediately dreading an experience similar to the vacuum cleaner spiel. But to my great surprise, and relief, it turned out to be a completely hassle-free experience. No sending parts back and forth, no trying to find the receipt or arguing that it was covered by warranty. Just a quick phone call to a very nice sales person, and three days later the part was delivered to my home at a scheduled time.

I had never heard of this particular brand before, had no emotional connection to it, even though I use the faucet every day. But the fact that it broke down, or rather, the fact that Pegasus (for that is it’s name) had a system in place that completely wiped out my (negative) expectations, and transformed me from a brand ignorant to a brand evangelist for the company. No marketing dollars they could have spend, could have placed the brand so effectively on my short list as this post-sales system taking advantage of my pre-conceived, negative, expectations.

And next time I, or anyone I know, need a product within their range, you bet I’ll be a passionate Pegasus brand evangelist. The product failed, the brand prevailed.