Three flags on la Mairie

Fresh back from a short holiday in Normandy I am troubled by a thought about national branding. In every single town and larger village that I happened upon in Normandy, at least in every place large enough to have a town hall or council office of some kind, that building displayed at least one flag, and frequently two or three, as follows.

The French tricolour flew from every single Mairie. Others flew both the tricolour and the flag of Brittany bearing two gold lions on a red background. Just as common were those also flying the European flag of thirteen gold stars on a blue ground.

Two what extent this governmental display of regional, national and even supra-regional pride reflects that of the individual French citizen I don’t know for sure: but I suspect it is broadly indicative of a quite different attitude to nationhood from ours in the UK.

My sense (and I would welcome your views on this) is that the French are simply much more comfortable with their sense of national pride than are we. I am not lionising France or the French: but I would say that Britain as a brand has something to learn from them. Would it really be too un-British to fly a county flag, the Union flag, and (dare I say it) the flag of Europe from our town halls?

The fact is that extensive and robust research indicates that Great Britain is the most highly regarded nation brand in the world, by people all over the world. There’s no shame in celebrating brand success.

It’s all in the name: or is it?

I am frequently approached by small business owners asking me to give an opinion or advice about their brand name. People usually offer two or three choices of name and ask me to help them decide which one to go with.

Interestingly the name choices are not usually small variations on a theme but are instead quite different in nature. They tend to fall into the following categories.

1. Does what it says on the tin names (which are generally trying to communicate something about the product or service benefit to the prospective customer).
2. Charming/wacky/weird/enigmatic names (which are trying in one way or another to make an emotional connection).
3. Straightforward labelling names (which tend to stem from the names of the founder or the origins of the business, using family names, initials etc).
4. Made-up words (which might also be trying for some kind of emotional connection but are generally more concerned with distinctiveness and memorability, and of course on-line uniqueness and trademark-ability).

None of these categories is any better than any other. And many successful brand names cross over two or more categories. The short answer is that there is no single right way to name your business/brand. There is a wrong way though: and that is to be boring, to lack distinctiveness, and to be so inwardly focused that you don’t trouble to imagine your brand name inside the heads and hearts, and on the tongues, of others.

Your brand name is not the be all and end all of your brand. Far from it. A great brand experience can overcome a dodgy name. But a strong name helps. But how to find the name? My advice is always to go back to the purpose of your brand. What’s it for? How will it benefit customers? What positive impact do you want to make on the world. Then think about the meaning of your brand: what do you want people to think and feel when they encounter it?

Imitation: the sincerest form of underselling your brand

It is so tempting, for all kinds of perfectly understandable reasons, when embarking on the creation of a brand, to fall into the imitation trap. You see a brand that you admire, apparently enjoying a degree of success to which you aspire. Perhaps you can enjoy some of that success by imitating aspects of that brand, either in name, or in some aspect of design, or in the very attitude of your brand.

It’s a mistake. Don’t do it. Rule number one of branding is to be different (rule number two by the way is to be interesting). By all means learn from the best practitioners in your market place. Experience what they do, analyse what they do: but then do something different, something better. And whatever else you do, DON’T come up with a brand (name, visual identity, behaviour etc..) that looks like a pale imitation of something that’s already out there. Because if it looks and feels like a pale imitation then that’s exactly how it will be perceived.

Hemsby’s bold customer-feedback move shows dividends

Just a couple of weeks into their new customer feedback scheme, the traders of the little Norfolk seaside resort of Hemsby & Newport are seeing the impact of communicating openly with customers.

About 20 of the resort’s businesses (from shops and cafes to amusement arcades and other attractions) are taking part in the scheme, which invites customers and visitors to give instant feedback via text or online about their experience.

I have been privileged to see the feedback and it is wonderfully positive. Visitors are full of praise for the friendly service in so many businesses, as well as for the resort’s general atmosphere, and of course for the super sandy beach.

The scheme was set-up for Hemsby & Newport by Martin Kentish of www.freerangepeople.co.uk. Image © Ian Aitken.

Great brands that have crossed my desk

This will be an occasional feature only: depending on what happens in any given month. I thought it would be nice to share some brands which have made a positive impact on me recently. I hope you find them of interest.

Mr Site is a nifty little website-in-a-box product. I have to confess to having not used the product yet, so I’m not vouching for it technically… but I love their attitude and style which is warm, informative, informal but also very professional. They do a nice monthly newsletter too (which is how I discovered them because they invited me to contribute some branding tips). You can see that edition of the Mr Site August Newsletter here.

Brora is a Scottish cashmere clothing business, based around eight shops plus a strong online presence and a mail-order catalogue. Family run, Brora is a stylish, distinctive and very desirable brand. Visit their site to see how a small brand can behave with real panache, and check out their video which explains their ‘brand story’. Authentic, from the heart, and effective.

Bray’s Cottage Pork Pies is a Norfolk business which demonstrates that branding isn’t about what you look like: it’s about distinctiveness and story and authenticity of purpose. The Bray’s Cottage website isn’t very slick to be honest, and its URL (www.perfectpie.co.uk) doesn’t even tie up with the business name. I don’t care though, because they tell a convincing and engaging story and they clearly care deeply about their product and about the animals which provide the essential ingredient. I’m ordering some right now, and I hope you will too.

First Direct doesn’t need any introduction from me (and it’s hardly a ‘little’ brand) but I make no apologies for giving a small fanfare to a big bank brand which actually behaves like it cares about individual customers. As I am always explaining in my brand workshops, First Direct may only actually do one thing differently from other banks (i.e. answer the phone properly) but that makes the world of difference. If you don’t believe me, I challenge you to phone them up (it’s 08456 100100) and to find out for yourself. There’s none of that “choose from the following options” nonsense. Just a real person, and a friendly and professional one to boot, answering the phone. In this day and age! Marvellous. All other corporates please take note.

Please write to me with your favourite brands and I’ll try to feature them in future newsletters: news@brandstrategyguru.com

London calling

How do you come up with one unified brand and logo for a global city as diverse and complex as London? That’s the question that Mayor Boris Johnson has posed to design agencies, inviting them to tender for the big task of creating a unified brand for London that will set the vision for the city post-2012 and will help develop international promotion. One firm bidding for the work will be Moving Brands who have decided to make their process not just transparent but open to, and informed by, public opinion. You can follow the process here at A Brand for London.

An Apple a day…

According to a recent consumer satisfaction survey, Apple is still seen as near-flawless in the eyes of its customers so the large lead the brand has enjoyed for six straight years over Windows-based PC manufacturers looks set to continue. Despite the recession, Apple has posted strong financial results and sales of Mac computers have increased, while competitors' sales have shrunk. Commentators believe Apple’s success has been a result of innovation, integration of products (such as music and mobile phones), customer service and good marketing.
Expansion of Apple’s retail stores also continues apace with two new UK outlets opening this autumn in Cardiff and Norwich. Just the place to pick up one of new line of iPods expected to be unveiled next week ahead of the lucrative period before Christmas.

Sounds fishy

Pollack has entered Britain's seafood 'Top 10' for the first time after Sainsbury's changed its name earlier this year to Colin - the French word for hake, another member of the cod family. Research conducted by the supermarket found that that people were too embarrassed to ask for pollack because of the way it sounded. Along with the name change, both the credit crunch and environmental concerns have also boosted pollack’s popularity, with the fish being seen as a cheaper alternative to cod and also more sustainable.

Mob mentality

Guerrilla-style marketing is becoming an increasingly popular tactic to create a buzz for a brand by using the increasing connectivity of the internet - seen recently with a seemingly impromptu dance at London’s Liverpool Street train station for a T-Mobile advert. It was a classic example of a brand-orchestrated flash mob, where a large number of people gather in a public place for a preplanned event to entertain and generate some publicity. This viral marketing is a form of guerrilla advertising - it directly touches its participants and the spectators who witness the event live. The viewership then gets a chance to review the event via e-mail, text messaging, podcasts, blogs, forums, social networking sites and other Internet resources and forward the links on. Result? You have instant brand awareness that spreads like wildfire.

Losing the labels

Big brand packaged goods – including supposed ‘recession proof’ staples such as soap and toilet paper – are suffering in the downturn, according a recent report in The Economist. For most packaged-goods firms, recent earnings reports from the likes of Unilever, Kimberly Clark and Colgate-Palmolive have been grim. Falling sales are largely due to growing competition from retail stores’ own brands, which cost about a quarter less than branded ones. The quality of own-label goods has improved, making it harder for consumers to discern any difference. Retailers are also giving more shelf space to their own products that earn then better margins, further squeezing big brands by making them less visible.
In the past year own-label sales have grown by around 9 percent in America and 5 percent in Europe, gaining market share from branded goods in many categories. Furthermore, many analysts believe that the flight to own-labels could outlast the downturn and estimate that around half those who've recently switched to own-labels will stick to their frugal habits. Another example of how the recession could impact on brands and consumer behaviour in the longer-term…

Subscribe

If you've been forwarded this by a friend, you can subscribe here.