[Design] Fwd: [Fwd: Good Experience: September 28, 2005]

Mimi Yin mimi at osafoundation.org
Wed Sep 28 13:55:31 PDT 2005 

Interesting article about the philosophy behind Branding, forwarded  
along from Alec Flett of Apps-Team Fame.

Mimi

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Sheila Mooney <sheila at osafoundation.org>
> Date: September 28, 2005 12:08:07 PM PDT
> To: Mimi Yin <mimi at osafoundation.org>
> Subject: Fwd: [Fwd: Good Experience: September 28, 2005]
>
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Alec Flett <alecf at osafoundation.org>
>> Date: September 28, 2005 11:06:18 AM PDT
>> To: Sheila Mooney <sheila at osafoundation.org>
>> Subject: [Fwd: Good Experience: September 28, 2005]
>>
>>
>> I thought I overheard you talking about OSAF branding with Bryan  
>> yesterday.. here's an interesting article on branding...
>>
>> Alec
>>
>> From: "Good Experience" <news at goodexperience.com>
>> Date: September 28, 2005 7:07:19 AM PDT
>> To: alecf at osafoundation.org <alecf at osafoundation.org>
>> Subject: Good Experience: September 28, 2005
>>
>>
>> ================== Good Experience - 28 Sep 05 =====================
>>                            By Mark Hurst
>>        Subscribe: http://www.goodexperience.com/signup.php
>> ====================================================================
>>
>> Wednesday, September 28, 2005
>>
>> - Defining "Branding"
>> - Job Opening: Zaaz
>> - Job Opening: Atlassian Software
>> - Job Opening: Cablevision (Web Designer)
>> - Job Opening: Cablevision (Manager, Content Strategy)
>> - All recent job openings...
>> - This Is Broken: recent entries
>> - Worth a Look
>> - Fun Stuff
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>                           Defining "Branding"
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> While speaking at a "branding summit" recently at a major tech
>> company in Silicon Valley, I heard several different definitions
>> of "branding". Depending on the speaker's background, a company's
>> brand could be explained from a number of angles:
>>
>> - It's an aesthetic style that consumers should recognize. (The
>> visual approach)
>>
>> - It's a consistent message that must be pushed out to consumers as
>> frequently as possible. (The big-advertising approach)
>>
>> - It's a story that we tell ourselves and each other. (The narrative
>> approach)
>>
>> - It's a reasonable amount of value that consumers should be willing
>> to pay a reasonable amount for. (The classic marketer's approach)
>>
>> - It's a culture.
>>
>> - It's a promise.
>>
>> - It's the iPod.
>>
>> - It's whatever we can do to be like Nike/Starbucks/Coke.
>>
>> While I think that each of those statements is accurate to some
>> degree, the reality is different for every company. After all,
>> different companies have different customers, services, and business
>> goals! Not every company sells a famous logo printed on a container
>> of sugar water; thus, not every company should try to be Coke. Every
>> company should try to find its own path in crafting a brand.
>>
>> But if I had to give one definition to apply in all cases, it would
>> be something like this:
>>
>> - The brand is what you tell your friends about afterwards.
>>
>> Think about it. When you have a great (or bad) experience with a
>> restaurant/airline/hospital/website, what do you tell your friends
>> about? Do you echo the messaging from their advertising? Do you say,
>> "Hey, try them, because they had the coolest logo"?
>>
>> Of course not: you tell your friends what was important to you - the
>> details about your *particular* experience. And that's the brand.
>> Nothing more, and nothing less, than the sum total of all the
>> customer experiences served up by that company.
>>
>> Here's an example. As I sat on the plane last week from New York to
>> San Francisco, I heard the traveler in the seat behind me telling
>> his row-mate, who he had just met, why he loves JetBlue. More
>> legroom, lower fares, on-time departures, DirecTV - all the things
>> that he has valued in his *personal experiences* with JetBlue. This
>> was the most accurate description of the brand he could give, and
>> the most effective that his row-mate could hear - better than a
>> dozen TV commercials. JetBlue couldn't control what the guy said,
>> but they could - and did - control the experiences he had as a
>> customer. And thus the brand got built.
>>
>> (I should also note that this exchange took place in the back of an
>> American Airlines plane. Why did JetBlue come up in the first place?
>> Both travelers noted when they sat down that American doesn't provide
>> very much legroom in coach. So a less-than-ideal customer experience
>> in one context created the opportunity for another company to extend
>> its brand.)
>>
>> With this in mind, let's simplify that definition:
>>
>> - The brand is the customer experience.
>>
>> And that's all it is. It's not primarily a story, or a logo, or a
>> style, or even a value proposition. Primarily the brand is just what
>> customers tell each other about: their experience.
>>
>> So if you want to create a good brand, the best - perhaps the only -
>> investment to make is in the customer experience. This means
>> learning from customers through direct observation, and crafting a
>> strategy built from that customer input.
>>
>> I'm not suggesting the death of advertising; nor am I suggesting
>> that companies avoid mission/vision statements or logos or color
>> palettes. However, I am suggesting that all of those things are
>> *secondary*. The primary job of any brand executive is to create an
>> outstanding customer experience.
>>
>> Once the customer experience is set, the other elements - aesthetic
>> style, consistent messaging, value proposition, iPod-ness,
>> Coke-ality, all of those wonderful ideas will take care of
>> themselves. I promise.
>>
>> Discuss this column here:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/scgi-bin/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=335
>>
>> Link to this column:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/000335.php
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>                        Job Opening: Zaaz
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Company: Zaaz
>>    Title: Project Manager
>> Location: Seattle, WA and Portland, OR
>>
>> Responsible for client satisfaction, quality of work and project
>> profitability. Ideal candidate must have four plus years experience
>> in advertising/marketing communications with at least five years of
>> hands-on experience managing websites and other interactive media.
>> www.zaaz.com
>>
>> To respond, e-mail your resume to jobs at zaaz.com
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>                    Job Opening: Atlassian Software
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Company: Atlassian Software
>>    Title: Director Online Marketing
>> Location: San Francisco
>>
>> Join a refreshingly unconventional software co that has 2500
>> customers, is highly profitable, has no sales force, has no VCs, is
>> a leader in wiki and issue-tracking software, and has a great
>> reputation. Manage our most important marketing: on-line.  Help us
>> redefine what a software co should be.
>>
>> See www.atlassian.com and e-mail jobs at atlassian.com
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>               Job Opening: Cablevision (Web Designer)
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Company: Cablevision
>>    Title: Web Designer
>> Location: Bethpage, New York
>>
>> Description:  Conceptualize, design and produce overall layout and
>> appearance ("look and feel") for OptOnline.net prototyping and
>> production projects. Qualification: Graphic Design, Interactive
>> Media or related a 4 year degree or equivalent work experience
>> required. A min. of 3 years experience in Website design.
>>
>> To respond, e-mail your resume to ccresumes at cablevision.com
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>       Job Opening: Cablevision (Manager, Content Strategy)
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Company: Cablevision
>>    Title: Manager, Content Strategy
>> Location: Bethpage, New York
>>
>> Description:  Responsible for the overall editorial voice of the
>> OptOnline.net site. Find and select content that will serve the
>> site's users & drive increased registrations and visit rates.
>> Qualification:  Minimum 5 years Internet exp. in content management
>> or content licensing position at a Web Port or website.
>>
>> To respond, e-mail your resume to ccresumes at cablevision.com
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>                        All recent job openings...
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> See all recent job openings here:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/cat_job_openings.php
>>
>> To post a job opening:
>> https://www.goodexperience.com/jobpost
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>                   This Is Broken: recent entries
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Recently in This Is Broken...
>>
>> - Apple sauce label
>> - Continental lost luggage service
>> - Bank phone message
>> - USPS online Zip Code finder
>>
>> Find more here: http://www.thisisbroken.com
>>
>> Send in your entry: broken at goodexperience.com
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>                        Gel Speaker Update
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Until the official Gel 2006 conference announcement in a few weeks,
>> here are five news updates on previous Gel conference speakers.
>>
>> 1. Marissa Mayer '03 gets a long interview in Business Week:
>> http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_40/b3953093.htm
>>
>> 2. Charlie Todd '05 and Theo Jansen '05 are on Rolling Stone's  
>> "hot list":
>> http://www.improveverywhere.com/press_rs.jpg
>>
>> ...and Charlie is one of "The Ten Funniest New Yorkers You've Never
>> Heard Of":
>> http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/features/14576/index1.html
>>
>> 3. Bob Roberts '04, who runs Project Return in New Orleans,  
>> reports that
>> he's safe with family in north Louisiana, having avoided Katrina.
>>
>> 4. No word what Christo and Jeanne-Claude '04 think about "Floating
>> Island", recent conceptual art floating around Manhattan...
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/60399740@N00/46644314/
>>
>>   ...or the tiny "Gates" replica that two pranksters floated  
>> alongside:
>> http://tinyurl.com/b6cts
>>
>> 5. Ross Kauffman '05 reports that "Born Into Brothels" is now on DVD:
>> http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/bornintobrothels/dvd.php
>>
>> If you don't know what Gel is, check out...
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/gel
>> or  http://tinyurl.com/76ada
>>
>> Stay tuned for more news - and a big announcement - soon...
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>                            Worth a Look
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Wake-up call for the mobile industry: "Only 17% of those with a
>> mobile use their phone for anything other than to make calls or send
>> text messages on a daily basis."
>> http://blog.vanderbeeken.com/2005/09/few_people_use_.html
>>
>> Jim Stengel, P&G's global marketing officer, on "putting the
>> consumer at the center of all we do":
>> http://www.cmomagazine.com/read/090105/up_close_personal.html
>>
>> Responding to my "Lessons in listening to customers",...
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/000302.php
>> ...a good discussion here:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/scgi-bin/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=302
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>                             Fun Stuff
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Dogs in bee costumes:
>> http://beedogs.com/index_files/page0001.htm
>>
>> A must-see... the retro-encabulator! (Thanks to Ron Lichty.)
>> http://media.ebaumsworld.com/retro.wmv
>>
>> Matthew Baldwin scores again:
>> http://www.defectiveyeti.com/archives/001428.html
>>
>> Latest picks on Good Experience Games:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/games
>>
>> Remember, if you're planning a meeting or party, use...
>> http://www.goovite.com
>>
>> - - - - - - - - - - - -
>>
>> Until next time,
>>
>> - Mark Hurst
>> mark at goodexperience.com
>>
>> Tell your friends to subscribe. Point them here:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/signup.php
>>
>> Is your company hiring? Post a job on Good Experience:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/jobpost
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>                             contact info
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> ABOUT MARK HURST
>> Mark Hurst, founder of Creative Good and Good Experience, has been
>> advocating for good experiences for over ten years. He also writes
>> this newsletter.
>>
>> Mark Hurst's bio: http://www.goodexperience.com/about/mark.php
>> Contact Mark Hurst: mark at goodexperience.com
>>
>> Gel conference, May 4-5, 2006:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/gel/
>>
>> Uncle Mark 2005 Gift Guide and Almanac:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/unclemark/unclemark2005.pdf
>>
>> Managing Incoming E-mail report:
>> http://www.goodexperience.com/reports/e-mail/email-report- 
>> goodexperience.pdf
>>
>>
>> . . .
>>
>> If you want customer experience consulting, contact Creative Good:
>> http://www.creativegood.com
>>
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>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>> (c)2005 Good Experience, Inc. All rights reserved.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

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