Brand Management Archives

November 27, 2020February 8, 2024

“We Hired Your Brain, Not Your Ass”

(Reading Time: 2 minutes)

“We hired your brain, not your ass.”

I received these words of wisdom from one of my first bosses, half a lifetime ago.

It’s one of my all-time favorite quotes. It (usually) brings a chuckle, but it also delivers a solid point in only seven words.

It’s a reminder that whatever it is you’re being paid to do, it’s not to just fill a chair. So bring your best every day. Own your area fully. Be a reliable contributor to the conversations happening a level or two up. Challenge the orthodoxy when it needs to be challenged. And engage the most powerful asset you have: The point of view created by your unique collection of experiences.

And if you’re managing others: Make room for the above to happen. Remove obstacles wherever you can. Let your team know that you want more from them than to merely parrot your opinions. Don’t punish them for challenging sacred cows. Seek to develop your people into not just doers, but thinkers.

The longer I do this branding & business thing, the more I realize: Surrounding yourself with the right hearts & minds makes all the difference. And there’s no substitute for a team of people who are truly invested.

If you enjoyed this post, please:

1. Share with at least one person (or use the share buttons)
2. Sign up for our newsletter, That Branding Thing
3. Find me on Twitter or LinkedIn

About Matthew Fenton: Matthew is a former CMO who helps brands to focus, stand out and grow. Since founding his consultancy, Three Deuce Branding, in 1997, he’s helped hundreds of brands to achieve “brand clarity.” His consulting services and speaking engagements help brands to focus on what matters through positioning, strategy and ideation. Contact Matthew here. He’s based near Portland, in Oregon wine country.

July 29, 2020February 8, 2024

P.S. I Didn’t Take the Gig.

(Reading Time: 2 minutes)

A few years back, I received an inquiry from a large company – one that’s advertised in the Super Bowl.

They wanted me to…

May 10, 2020February 28, 2024

The Thing About Goliath

(Reading Time: < 1 minute)

Walmart is the largest bricks-and-mortar retailer in the history of the world. This has been the case since 1989.

But think about how many other retailers have grown successfully since then. Here’s a partial list:

Target. Nordstrom. Costco. Amazon. Zappos. Alibaba.

January 28, 2020February 28, 2024

The Super Bowl Ads: A Guide for the Rest of Us

(Reading Time: 11 minutes)

Friends, the Super Bowl is just a few days away. That means the Super Bowl ads are just a few days away. And that means the advertising media, and a few pundits, are working themselves into a lather right about now.

Take Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s on record as saying:

“Super Bowl ads are underpriced. Yeah, I said it.”
Medium.com, Jan. 29, 2015

And:

“When I buy my first brand, the first thing I’m gonna do is run multiple Super Bowl ads.”
ANA Masters of Marketing Conference, 2016

See that? Gary Vee doesn’t even know what his product or service will be, let alone anything about its market or competitive situation, and he’s already committed to a tactical decision on its behalf. This is obviously a problem, and we’ll come back to it.

March 13, 2019February 28, 2024

The Birth of White Mystery Airheads (and What It Taught Me)

(Reading Time: 7 minutes)

It was early 1993. I was less than a year out of college, and the Assistant Brand Manager of Airheads candy. (A title that no doubt made my parents very proud.)

After the successful launch of Blue Raspberry Airheads in August 1992, we were searching for the next new flavor to add to our lineup.

We took all the standard steps – reviewing category sales data, reading trade magazines, meeting with flavor suppliers, etc.

And taking the standard steps, unsurprisingly, resulted in a list of the usual suspects.

February 3, 2019February 28, 2024

The 2019 Super Bowl Ads: Who Unleveled the Playing Field?

(Reading Time: 6 minutes)By now, we’re at the point where we know what to expect from the Super Bowl ads.

Before the game, you could have jotted down a list of what you thought you would see, based on history. That list probably would have included:

Celebrities galore!
Animals (especially dogs) at their most undeniably adorable
People or animals doing silly dances
Inspiring Statements of High-Minded Purpose
The unusual, the surreal, the flat-out bizarre (with or without reason)
Production values to rival a summer blockbuster film

You can make this kind of list for almost any category. Sometimes, it’s comically easy to do. And the more “tried, true and expected” the items on that list, the more ripe that category is for some rule-breaking.

So who broke the rules with this year’s Super Bowl ads? Continue reading “The 2019 Super Bowl Ads: Who Unleveled the Playing Field?”

February 4, 2018March 9, 2024

Six Important Questions for This Year’s Super Bowl Advertisers

(Reading Time: 7 minutes)Quick show of hands: Do you have a marketing budget of five million dollars?

And if you did, how would you feel about spending it in 30 seconds? Because that’s exactly what last night’s Super Bowl advertisers did. Repeatedly.

That’s nearly $167,000 per second – more than most Americans earn in an entire year.

So I trust you’ll forgive me if I approach the Super Bowl ads, and the surrounding fanfare, with a healthy degree of scrutiny. I’m a brand guy – always have been – but I also know this: If it doesn’t sell, it’s bad branding.

And, based on history, most of last night’s ads did not sell. Continue reading “Six Important Questions for This Year’s Super Bowl Advertisers”

January 23, 2018March 9, 2024

Here’s How One Business Quadrupled Its Sales in a Flat Market

(Reading Time: 6 minutes)

For many leaders of smaller businesses, sustainable growth can be difficult to conjure up. If that sounds like you, I’d like to introduce you to a company that should give you hope.

Consider these results:

This company has averaged 19% compounded annual growth over the last 8 years.
This company doubled sales in one five-year period, and nearly quadrupled sales in eight years.
Notably, this growth was earned in a mature segment, not an emerging or high-growth segment.

And they did it without relying on any “secrets,” gimmicks or silver bullets.

Intrigued? Let’s get to know them a little better.

January 11, 2018March 9, 2024

In a Crowded Market, How Do I Create Brand Differentiation?

(Reading Time: 5 minutes)

“We’re in a crowded market. We have no meaningful advantage, and if we did, someone would copy it by next Tuesday. So how do we create brand differentiation?”

This question, or some version of it, is one I’ve been asked most often in my 20 years of brand strategy consulting.

The good news: There’s always an answer, and I’ll point you to several areas of exploration. The bad news: It won’t be easy.

December 7, 2017March 9, 2024

Why Is Brand Awareness Such a Weak Objective?

(Reading Time: 4 minutes)

At some point in the history of marketing and sales, the “purchase funnel” was created.

At the top of every funnel is the first step – awareness. We then proceed down the funnel to consideration, evaluation and purchase (though the exact steps vary from model to model).

One of several versions of the “purchase funnel.”

And so some marketers began to believe that brand awareness was a reasonable objective of their efforts. How can we stuff consumers into our imaginary funnel if we don’t start with awareness?