The Origin of Brands Blog

LinkedIn: Dull by Design

The way to build a powerful brand is not by emulating the leader and trying to be better. History proves time and again that the best strategy for going against the leader is to do the opposite.

 

Since the rise of MySpace we have seen hundreds of copycat social networking sites popup. They all target the same juicy younger demographic. A better idea is do the opposite. If MySpace is for younger, cool kids; make your brand for older, geeky adults. That is exactly what LinkedIn did.

 

But first let’s look back to see how the social network category started. MySpace got into the mind first by focusing on music. MySpace was the perfect place for independent artists to share music and for fans to congregate. It has been reported that 8 million artists have been discovered by MySpace. Young people with endless hours to waste decorating their MySpace pages made the site the place for online socializing.

 

The initial focus on music was the difference between MySpace and a host of other brands like Friendster, Multiply and others that were also vying to be the first social-networking site in the mind. Music gave people a reason to choose MySpace over the others.

 

At the beginning of any new category there are usually many players. It is like conception. After sex, you have millions of sperm racing to get to that egg to fertilize it. Some are too early, some are bad swimmers, some get lost, and some are lazy. Only one lucky and smart sperm makes it and bam the race is over. The winner is chosen; fertilization is complete. No more winners.

 

The same thing happens in branding. The sex is the exciting new technology, idea or service. The sperm are the initial companies that want to build a brand. The egg is the consumer’s mind. Conception occurs when one company comes up with the right strategy and the right name at the right time.

 

Eight years ago, Creative Technology was the first to launch a hard-drive MP3 player, the Creative Nomad Jukebox. Creative got onto the market first but never go into the mind. Today, of course, Creative is nowhere and Apple’s iPod dominates the market and is seen as the originator of the category.

 

Why did iPod win? iPod won because it had the better name and a focused product line and strategy. Creative made everything: flash-memory MP3 players, hard-drive MP3 players, speakers and a whole host of other electronic products. Apple’s iPod focused on the hard-drive MP3 player and hammered home the idea that it held over 1,000 songs. The iPod got into the mind first and the rest is history.

 

History is actually filled of stories like this. To succeed, brands don’t need to be in the marketplace first; they need to get in the mind first.

• Yuengling was the first beer on the marketplace, but Budweiser was first in the mind.
• Duryea was the first automobile on the road, but Ford was the first car in the mind.
• MITS Altair 8800 was the first microcomputer, but Apple was the first microcomputer in the mind.

In social networking, MySpace was first in the mind and like first-born children has been wildly successful. A recent study showed that first-born children are smarter than their siblings and more likely to become CEOs. But like in any family, there is always room for a few more kids.

 

The second-born brand in the mind was Facebook which was not simply a copycat of MySpace. Facebook narrowed its focus to a small and exclusive market: college students. In fact, if you weren’t a college student you weren’t allowed to be a Facebook member.

 

Good things happen when you narrow the focus. For one thing, a narrow focus gives you an opportunity to use a unique and distinctive name. Facebook is the word used to describe the handout given to most college freshman when they arrive at orientation.

 

New students are given a book filled with all the photos, names, hometowns and majors of the entering class. The analogy was the perfect way to describe the site and what it was meant for. Plus Facebook’s clean and simple design distinguished it from the cluttered look of MySpace. The opposite of any strategy usually works quite well.

 

Today, of course, Facebook is open to everybody. But not starting that way was a wise move. It is like exclusive distribution which is also very effective in establishing a brand. (Exclusive distribution gives a retailer a reason to stock and promote a brand.)

 

Now we have the third child, LinkedIn, who is growing up fast as younger siblings always seem to do. But LinkedIn is not your teenager’s social networking site. It is just the opposite. It is intentionally dull and boring with no video and just a few photos.

 

In terms of a brand with profit potential, I think LinkedIn has the best chance for success. It may not be sexy but it serves a function and appeals to a broad and distinctive market with deep pockets and who are not fickle in changing brands like teens.

 

LinkedIn is the first professional social networking site for businesspeople. The private company just raised an additional $53 million in capital which currently values the company at $1 billion. More valuable than MySpace which News Corporation paid $580 in 2005 but less than the $15 billion value assigned to Facebook last year.

 

More important than its current valuation is the fact that the LinkedIn brand is solid because it was built on solid branding principles. LinkedIn did the opposite. It’s a social network for the serious, professional white-collar worker who wants to get ahead by staying in touch. Getting a job usually comes down to who you know not always what you know.

 

In terms of size, both MySpace and Facebook are huge. Each has 115 million users worldwide, while LinkedIn has only 23 million. But in the end, LinkedIn could represent a much larger and far more lucrative market than the pimple-popping teens at MySpace and Facebook. These two sites attract younger people who have little money and move on to the next big thing much more quickly than us older folks.

 

There’s a big reason why everyone over 30 should be on LinkedIn instead of MySpace or Facebook. Using Facebook at work is likely to get you fired. Using LinkedIn could land you in the corner office. It’s the revenge of the nerds at its finest.

 

 

Join my LinkedIn network today!

 

Laura's Best Baby Brands

Babies bring joy to our lives and many new brands into our homes. I've had a lot of experience with baby brands in the last six years. As a Mom and a marketer it has been fun to evaluate them on both levels. I have watched the rise of lots of exciting new brands first hand. Here are my picks of the best brands.

You will notice that all the best new brands have several similar elements in common:

1. First in a new category.
2. Great name.
3. Tons of PR.

Boppy
$35.00 at Babies R Us

The most popular shower gift in America, Boppy is the must-have tool for all new Moms. The breast is best, say most Doctors, and Boppy makes it possible. I had one in every room I fed my baby. So I never had to reach too far when I heard a scream.

Designed with ergonomics in mind, Boppy provides support to reduce strain on your arms, shoulders and neck. It also can be used for propping a baby and allowing for tummy time. But its main focus is helping Mom’s feed their babies comfortably.

Dr. Brown’s
3 pack is $14.00 at Wal-Mart

For working Moms that breastfeed, a good pump and good bottles are a must. So I lugged my Medela “pump in style” breast pump all over the world from South Africa to India. But Medela doesn’t make my list because while it is a perfect pump it is a terrible brand. The name alone gives it little chance for success. I still can never remember it or how to say it.

While Medela did a lousy job of branding, the opposite is true of Dr. Brown’s. Dr. Brown’s initially focused on helping babies with colic. The bottle’s patented design helps with reduce air in-take a main cause of colic. Of course, what parent even wants to take a chance with colic. Like many parents, I used these just in case. And once you and your baby get attached to a bottle you seldom change.

Dr. Brown’s started as a narrowly focused specialty product but is now mainstream, not because the product expanded but because the consumer upgraded.

Dr. Brown’s is great example of using personalization in a name, like Papa John’s Pizza or Dell Computer. The name really gives credibility with this product, reinforcing the advantage of having the bottle designed by a doctor. (A kindly grey haired Dr. Brown comes to mind immediately.)

Bugaboo
$899 at BabyStyle

Best known for tulips Holland is also the home of great design. Bugaboo innovative strollers from the Netherlands are both functional as well as beautiful. Many times a hot brand will upgrade the whole category.

What Dyson did for vacuum cleaners, Bugaboo has done for strollers. While every other manufacturer was trying to make a stroller/car-seat combination, Bugaboo made a streamlined stroller with a look that appealed to parents not kids.

Seeing a Bugaboo for the first time certainly makes a lasting impression. When I first got mine, people would stop me all the time.

Robeez
$33.00 at Zappos

While most baby shoes are cute tiny versions of adult/kid shoes, Robeez are different. Robeez are designed especially for babies and toddlers. Barefoot is best for growing feet (according to most doctors and podiatrists) but babies’ feet also need protection and warmth. Robeez have thin soles, stay in place, are flexible and lightweight. As a result they are durable, breathable, skid-resistant and safe. Robeez is the doctor-recommended perfect first shoe. And with all the unbelievably cute designs, you hope your baby stays little just a little bit longer so you can buy more.

Bumbo
$40.00 at Babies R Us

A huge problem is that babies can’t sit up. Having to lie on your back or stomach all day is tough. New parents don’t realize how long it takes (at least 8 months) before a baby has the muscle strength to sit up. Bumbo offers a revolutionary seat that enables babies to sit upright all by themselves as soon as they can support their own head (around 6-8 weeks.) Bumbo is a brand are built by taking branding risks (not safety risks) and doing what nobody else has done or even thought of before.

Webkinz
$8-$15 at Amazon

Webkinz are not the same as your older sister’s Beanie Babies or your mother’s Cabbage Patch Dolls. Webkinz aren’t just a copy of the last toy craze they are something totally new and different.

The key to success is being first in a new category. Webkinz are the first stuffed animal that also lives in an exclusive virtual world. After ripping the code off the leg that allows online access for the pet on Webkinz.com kids basically throw the animal in the corner hardly to be played with again.

While many adults have checked out Second Life, millions of kids have stampeded to Webkinz World.

Crocs
$31.00 at Zappos

Looks aren’t everything. These funky-looking plastic shoes sure don’t look pretty, but wearing them is comfortable and contagious. When seeing a pair of Crocs for the first time, you think what are THOSE on your feet? The shock factor has greatly contributed to the Crocs craze. They are perfect shoes for kids since they are cheap, easy to wear and practical. Plus you can customize and decorate your Crocs to your heart’s content with Jibbitz (a nice second brand from Crocs). And at $2.50 a Jibbitz, that is money in the bank for Crocs.

Monkey Joe’s
Around $8 to play, Nationwide in the U.S.

In the 80’s every kid wanted to go to the fair to jump on the Moonwalk. In the 90’s every kid wanted to have an inflatable slide on their lawn for their birthday party. Now every kid wants to play every day at a Monkey Joe’s and have their birthday party there too.

Monkey Joe’s is the first chain (in the mind) of indoor inflatable playgrounds. Many companies have gotten into this emerging market, but Monkey Joe’s is the best because it has the best brand. Jump Zone? Way too generic. Too many companies that launch brands in new categories opt for a descriptive words when the best strategy is a new word (Bugaboo) or words used out of context (Monkey Joe’s).

As my kids move into school there are so many new brands to discover. We are all looking forward to the adverture of it.

5 Best Line Extensions of 2007

What is a line extension?

Taking a brand name in one category and using the same brand name in another category. Example: Tostitos are tortilla chips and now they make Tostitos salsa.

Top 5 Line Extensions of 2007

5. American Idol Camp

An extension of the hottest reality show on television. Now kids 10-15 can live their dream and learn about the music business from the pros.

4. Virgin America Airlines

An extension of Richard Branson’s successful Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Virgin America has a unique and focused position (low-fare, long-haul airline servicing the coasts) with a coolness factor of 10 and Sir Richard to boot.

3. Newman’s Own Wine

Paul Newman started with Newman’s Own salad dressing in 1982. And today Newman’s Own sells a wide variety of products that are focused on being better for you and better for others with 100% of the companies profits being donated to charities.

2. Curves Cereal

An extension of Curves the hottest brand in fitness and largest chain of gyms in the US. Many women include cereal in their diet plan. In a category with many small brands Curves on the box makes the position crystal clear.

1. PetSmart’s PetsHotel

The way to win is by being first. PetsHotel is not the first doggie hotel, but it is the first national brand. Budweiser was the first national brand of beer.

PetSmart has the brand savvy, operational expertise and real estate connections to make PetSmart a big success. If there is one thing we love more than our kids, it is our pets, and in some cases even more.

Why do some line extensions work and others fail?

Line extensions can work when a brand moves into a complementary category that has weak competition.

Virgin Cola didn’t work because Virgin is an airline and has no credibility in cola. And Coke and Pepsi are such dominant brands there is little room for anybody else even if Richard Branson will jump off a mountain naked to promote it. Same for Virgin vodka, Virgin wedding dresses and most of the crazy Virgin line extensions.

Many people assume we are against all line extensions. Not true. Most are foolish, faulty or forgetful. But some succeed and are savvy business moves. Sometimes a brand is so powerful it is OK to dilute it with expansion especially when the competition is weak.

Just remember, the real power in branding and business is in launching new brands.

Dancing her brand back into the mind

Can Heather Mills dance? Who cares? She entered the fourth season of ABC’s hit reality show Dancing with the Stars, not to show off her dance steps but to rebuild her brand.

Mills was made famous by marrying former Beatle Paul McCartney in 2002 and having his child in 2003. But the marriage hit the skids in 2006 and ever since Mills has taken a pounding by the British press.

The Sun newspaper has written that Mills was everything from a porn star and a hooker to a shoplifter and a gold digger. The Heather Mills brand had a hard time recovering from the PR damage caused by the ugly divorce. Unlike the U.S. public, U.K. people are less forgiving and less likely to give celebrities a second chance. Prince Charles, for example, has fought long and hard for his second chance.

Here in the U.S. and in most other places around the world, while the public loves to bring down a superstar, they also equally as love to see them rise to the top again. Some recent examples: Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Mel Gibson.

Heather Mills is a young, beautiful, courageous young woman and mother. Having survived a turbulent early life with a mother who left home and a father who went to prison, Mills has made a difference in the world. In the early 1990s, she modeled to raise funds for refugees of the Yugoslavian war. And more recently Mills has become a crusader for amputees after losing her own leg in a 1993 accident in which she was struck by a car.

But irregardless of this, Heather Mills is a person and a brand in trouble. The question is how does she get her brand back on track?

The answer is by following two basic steps.

The first step is to settle the big question of the divorce. This is the open, oozing wound of the Mills brand. An ugly divorce is bad enough, but in her case the ex-husband is honorary royalty who had a much-loved spouse who died and is worth a fortune.

With no prenuptial agreement between the two, much mudslinging has gone on in the media about what will happen to Paul’s millions. How much does Heather deserve and how much will she get? The more damaged her brand the less she will get. So lawyers on both sides went at it, in the courts and in the media.

Luckily this wound has been stitched up with a January 21st divorce agreement between Heather and Paul. Reports say the agreement gives Heather $62 million in cash and property and incorporates a gag order.

The ongoing money battle was the most damaging to Heather and her brand. With this issue over and the gag order forbidding any further discussion of the matter, Mills now has the opportunity to move on and to begin the healing process for her brand.

So what should Heather do next? Well, the second step to repairing her brand is using PR to build support and credibility again. This is the key reason celebrities have the ability to make a comeback, an advantage most of us don’t have. When Peter Bacanovic, Martha Stewart’s broker got out of jail, he had no money, no job and no future. Martha, on the other hand, left jail went on Larry King Live, starting filming her television show and quickly rebuilt her brand.

The public and the media are fascinated by celebrities, so much so that any celebrity has the opportunity to rebuild his or her damaged brand as long as they give the press a reason to interview them again. Stewart had a new show, Clinton had a new cause, Gibson had a new movie.

Astutely, Heather got herself out of the U.K. When you are losing the battle, change the battlefield. The U.S. is a much friendlier place for her to resurrect her brand. Once she is big here she can take that success back to the U.K. Just look at Sarah Ferguson (the former Duchess of Pork, as described by the British media.) Fergie did the same thing by coming to the U.S., losing weight and becoming the face of Weight Watchers.

Tonight, Heather will join the new season of the best TV show for reviving lost-cause careers, Dancing with the Stars. It is both brilliant and funny at the same time. What is funny is that the show is actually based on a BBC show, Strictly Come Dancing.

What is brilliant is that Dancing with the Stars has become an international franchise in 29 countries around the world. Dance Your Brand Back into the Mind is what I like to call the show. What American Idol is to building new stars, Dancing with the Stars is to reviving fallen stars. The U.S. version of Dancing has had such stars as Jerry Springer, George Hamilton, Tatum O’Neil, Jerry Rice, Drew Lachey and Mario Lopez. (All former losers working their way back up the ladder of success.)

So far, Heather Mills is the biggest heavyweight the show has booked, which makes her appearance even more newsworthy. Of course, there is also the fact that she has an artificial leg only, just look at USA Today’s cover story today. It gives Heather something important to talk about while dancing across the stage on such a campy show. The real reason many will be turning in, as one television reporter correctly pointed out is “Everyone will be watching to see if her leg falls off while dancing. We want to see her fall down, smile and then get back up again.”

That is what we all want isn’t it? To see people, especially celebrities, be human, make mistakes then get back up again and succeed. It is the American dream. And I think Heather Mills is well on her way to make her dreams come true with a little help from Dancing with the Stars.

Ries brand extension

Sorry I have not posted anything on my blog in a few weeks. But I have been very busy bringing a new Ries into the world. My son Brendan was born three weeks ago and I have been busy changing diapers, feeding and burping the little guy. Not to mention running after his older brother. I think working at Ries & Ries is easier than working at home.

Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow with a great post on a hot new diet book by a fitness guru who has used the advice of Ries & Ries and is about to become a branding superstar.

Bravo to Yellow Tail

“Makers of Best-Selling Wine Begin First Adverting Campaign,” was the headline of York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott’s In Advertising weekly email Tuesday.

Brilliant. Exactly how successful branding is accomplished today.

Yellow Tail arrived in America in 2001. The first year Yellow Tail sold 200,000 cases. The second year they sold 2.2 million cases. This year they are on track to sell 7 million cases.

How much did Yellow Tail spend on advertising to achieve this tremendous growth? Not one dollar. Instead strong word of mouth fueled by PR was responsible for their success.

Yellow Tail is not only the best-selling Australian wine in America, it is also the No.1 imported wine beating out over 6,500 rivals.

Is now the right time to advertise the brand? You bet.

When you are a leader, you should use advertising as a defensive strategy against competition. You use advertising to reinforce your brand message and leadership position.

One of the biggest mistakes many brands make is not using advertising when it is really needed. Anita Roddick built The Body Shop into a powerful brand. In the 80’s the brand had enormous buzz, word-of-mouth and power. The Body Shop experienced explosive growth. Then things hit a wall.

A brand can’t live on word-of-mouth and PR forever. At some point the brand loses its talk value. That is the time you need to jump in with advertising. And advertising is something the Body Shop has never done. Anita was morally opposed to it. The Body Shop eventually fired Anita, but it was probably not soon enough.

So, hurray to Yellow Tail! (The Shiraz is my favorite, by the way.)

Another brand building success story to add to our presentations.