 
ERIK SAELENS & KURT FRENIER

TWO MARKETING BUDDIES WALK INTO BUDDHA*

* THE BAR, NOT THE SAGE

" THE FIRST MARKETING BOOK THAT READS LIKE A NOVEL "  
SUSAN VERHAGEN, EDITOR

published by Brandhome at Smashwords  
copyright 2014 Brandhome
CONGRATULATIONS! IN FRONT OF YOU LIES THE FIRST MARKETING BOOK THAT READS LIKE A NOVEL.

A novel on marketing for your heart, your body and your soul.
Brandhome foundation vzw  
Falconplein 30 | 2000 Antwerp  
Belgium  
 **IBAN BE09 0682 4746 9457**  
 **BIC GKCC BE BB**

Two marketing buddies walk into Buddha  
by Erik Saelens & Kurt Frenier  
published by Brandhome at Smashwords

copyright 2014 Brandhome

All content in this book is copyrighted and protected by applicable copyright laws. Nothing may be published, reproduced, copied, modified, uploaded, transmitted, posted, transferred or distributed in any way without the prior written consent of Brandhome publishing.

All revenues of this book go to the Brandhome foundation.

www.brandhome.com/foundation

PS: please consider donating some of your wealth
HOW TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS BOOK: PART 1/2

HOW TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS BOOK: PART 2/2

There is no red thread throughout the book, no titles, no chapters. Discussions are random, driven by day-to-day jobs, worries, projects and discussions.

This book is not just a collection of ideas and points of view. It will also give insight into 'a day in the work and life of a marketer' ...actually 'a year in the lives of two marketing buddies'.

For every day we skipped, we donated money to SPARK, a charity for autistic children, and an initiative supported by Brandhome foundation. In total we donated $1.410 US, ES $650 and KF $760.

Last but not least, all opinions are personal and all the examples were chosen based on personal opinion only.
04.11.2012 / Dubai (AE) / 19:26 / KF

ONCE

UPON

A BRAND

•••
04.11.2012 / Dubai (AE) / 19:32 / ES

...called Buddha Bar,

Erik and Kurt, two motivated marketers, sat together and decided to write a book on brands.

It would not be a traditional brand marketing book.

It would be something new.

It would be a Brandbook co-creation...

or whatever they would call it...
04.11.2012 / Dubai / 20:00 / KF

On his way home, driving his overpriced, mid-life crisis style, boy's dream Porsche, Kurt was thinking...

WTF* is wrong with marketing today? It used to all be so simple. Now it feels like it's too complicated. The average marketer can't easily understand what I'm saying anymore.

What triggered him to contemplate this was a recent conversation with a few people about the history and future of marketing.

Guess what!?...

*[editor comment: WTF = What The Fuck]
05.11.2012 / Dubai / 11:57 / ES

... The world is a mess!

This is the pre-title of a book that will come out next week written by Erik.

But this mess opens up worlds of opportunities. Opportunities only to be seized if and when marketers behave like entrepreneurs. Get out there. Feel and sniff up consumer behavior and insights. Capture new ideas. Don't stay inside toggling on PC's.

F*ck PC's anyway! Their best time passed while their marketers were sleeping. Strange that the PC, the instrument creating and connecting the world through internet and applications, is digging its own grave by being successful.

Do successful marketers finally destroy themselves?
05.11.2012 / Dubai / 11:57 / KF

Or... can they reinvent themselves? And how do they do that? All changes in behavior start with a change in belief systems (dixit all psychologists). So reboot your mind. Throw away the old thinking and replace it by the new. If your line of thought is: "yes, but, this is how I've always done things, this is how I've made my career" or your doubt about marketing today is overwhelming, then you're on the way down!

So, plant a new seed. Maybe it's time to read a book about where marketing is going. Maybe you have to look at a successful, new, upcoming entrepreneurial company for inspiration. Maybe it's time you hired someone younger and different than you to spark new thinking. Take a marketing course to refresh your theories. Try something radical and out of your comfort zone. Why not take a look at global CMOs and the changes they implement in their approach to marketing? Wow! Doesn't that sound exciting?

That little seed can grow into a whole new world and...
06.11.2012 / Abu Dhabi (AE) / 05:32 / ES

...change your professional life forever. How many brands do marketers have that still 'matter' in the process and are older than 5O? I hardly know any. The ones I know are the ones who took themselves to HR and convinced them to 'keep investing' in a brand called 'Him'.

'Him' is an experienced marketer that has been around the company, the world and the business. 'Him' should not be put out with the garbage. 'Him' should be remarketed himself. 'Him' should be supporting and guiding the younger 'Hims' entering the company with new and dynamic ideas to ensure they can greatly perform.

One of my clients is a 'Him'. Let's call him a generic Belgian name: Jan. Jan is a senior marketing director with a leading Belgian brand and he is in his fifties. Jan's motto is: change what can be changed; keep what must be kept. So where will Jan be in 2O2O?
06.11.2012 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

_I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of old ones._

_John Cage._

I hope this is not true for Jan – LoL. He should enjoy retirement with a big bag of money. All jokes aside, the reason it is difficult for 'older' marketers to survive at the top is the fast-paced change of marketing in today's world. All around the world, CMOs are challenged with the dynamics of data explosion, the social media hurricane, growth of channels and device choices, shifting consumer demographics, financial hurdles and constraints, and decreasing brand loyalty.

You gotta have stamina as a marketer to want to understand what's going on, to reflect on your own strategy to cope with the changing marketing landscape, and most importantly to act upon it. And it might very well be that a younger marketing associate, fresh out of university and well in tune with the world, sees things clearer and grows in the marketing ranks because he can outpace the older generation.

Aside from that, guess what? Only the marketers in a company know about all of this! Most of the other departments in an organization (finance, operations, R&D etc) do not see these fundamental changes in society, in consumers, in brand stickiness. This puts extra pressure on CMOs to convince the rest of the company that change is needed and why and what the organization (the brands) needs to do to address it. If Jan is "a keeper", he will play that role. As with everything, the question to ask yourself as a marketer is: are you climbing or sliding?
07.11.2012 / Antwerp (BE) / 14:28 / ES

Or is your company climbing or sliding? And what can you do about it as a marketer? Let's be honest, few marketers make solid plans and underpin them with facts and insights.

Put this one forward: probably 50% of all marketers are communication managers instead of marketers. They communicate existing products and services, perhaps in an innovative and funny manner. But do they do marketing? I don't think so. Of course the truth well told is a unique way of putting your offer forward to consumers, but you have to keep thinking about this truth. About the real truth for your consumers. About the real truth for the company.

So if you are a true-blooded marketer and you understand the harsh financial times your company is facing, do you dare cancel 75% of your out of pocket budget and look for new ways to do things? Do you dare to tell all your agencies that next year, there will be no money? Do you dare to take an unknown step into an unknown future? Will you miss all the treats your agencies are feasting you with?
07.11.2012 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Let's pause here for a second, Erik. What we are saying is two things...

1.Marketers need to rewire themselves when it comes down to marketing knowledge.

2.Marketers need to pro-actively chase a better affinity with numbers, metrics, and business savvy. Those are great action points for those who want to step up and stand out from the average marketing crowd.

Rewiring is about looking outside and re-discovering what marketing today is really about. The other has more to do with looking internally and re-appreciating the financial models of the business. Easy. Right?
08.11.2012 / Brussels (BE) / 17:03 / ES

When you know how, then indeed things are easy. However, many marketers don't have these metrics and kpi's to guide them. Strangely enough it's mostly because the other departments cannot provide the data. And then, along comes the controller to cut the budget. And you know what they say about marketing budgets: half of it is waste, but you don't know which half. Marketers should demand data to enable them to direct their brands solidly towards results. They better make that clear at the start since, otherwise, at the end they are the ones to get the blame. Marketing is metrics, qualitative and quantitative. Whether we like that or not. Enough about metrics! What else have you got?
08.11.2012 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Let's talk about things going wrong in marketing. That seems like a fun subject. And it goes back to the uncertainty about which 50% of the budget works. Even in the best of circumstances, even with a well-prepared plan, even with research done to the max, marketing is about understanding a healthy mix of art and science.

Science is about metrics, numbers, deep consumer understanding, rigidity of process, alignment.

Art is an intrinsic part of marketing. Art is about gut feeling, risk-taking, deploying the experience you have as a marketer. Do you know any good examples of what was prepared to the max but went rogue after all?
09.11.2012 / Wilrijk (BE) / 05:51 / ES

You have a couple of hours, days? In essence my job as an executive strategic director of a company like Brandhome is mostly (unfortunately) about fixing things that went 'disaster'. Or just being there to keep it from happening in the first place. Let's start with something superficial this early in the morning: brand positioning lines or for laymen: 'pay-off'.

During its 1994 launch campaign in Northern Ireland, telecom company Orange had to change its campaign 'The future's bright ... the future's Orange.' In Northern Ireland the term Orange suggests the Orange Order. The implied message that the future is bright, the future is Protestant, loyalist... didn't sit well with the Catholic Irish population.

Scandinavian vacuum cleaner Electrolux used the following in the U.S.: 'Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.' No comments.

This is why we created the Brandhome method®, to ensure all the necessary checks; small and big, national and international are made. Let's talk about brand and product naming disasters tomorrow.

But first, a quick one for you. Is it true that Pepsi translated its slogan 'Pepsi Brings You Back to Life' literally in Chinese meaning 'Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave'?
09.11.2012 / Dubai / 21:24 / KF

No comment. Actually I never heard that one. What is true is that we translate our brands into slogans that make sense in Chinese, and other languages, as do most international brands.

But, let me talk about some of my personal marketing disasters. I've had a few. Good thing I have learned from them! Turn your failures into wisdom. Amen!

First ever disaster of sorts was a launch I did in Belgium, forgetting to put the French product name. Imagine the reaction of the Walloon sales force when they saw the product on the shelf with only a Dutch name. (In Belgium, half of the country speaks French. You can imagine how colossal that error was). Unforgiveable. Believe me, I've learned the hard way when it comes to translations, regulations, and expectations of what goes on the package!

Second one I'll mention was even worse. I once ran a football promotion with a card that had a scratch area. We asked consumers to scratch away a few hidden footballs so they would find the right path to the goal and win $$$? Little did I know that the winning path under the footballs could be found on the internet. And so we paid out a shitload of money because every smart teenager with a computer at home came knocking on our door as a winner. I only have one excuse for that one, the internet was in its infancy (I know, this is how old I actually am).

Last example is not mine, but actually happened to me, TODAY! I walked into an eyewear store here in Dubai and bought two pair of sunglasses for my kids. The shopkeeper tells me they are running a special promotion called 'loss coverage'. Believe it or not, this chain actually gives you 50% discount on your new pair of glasses in case your sunglasses get lost. No catch. Excuse me? Those idiots forgot to put in conditions!!

Anyhow, I have learned a lot when it comes to preventing disasters, however small or big...

1Make sure you don't work in isolation. An extra pair of eyes can do a lot. When you're in the midst of a project, it is easy to overlook something. And hey, we all make mistakes. So, ask for input and help!

2As a marketer, you have to be best friends with your legal counterparts. Not always a 'natural fit'. But believe me, it has helped me on many occasions in the last 15 odd years.

3SHOULD anything happen, act fast. Correct your mistake. Sit and think back to understand why it happened, AND most importantly, communicate what you learned. Let your peers and superiors know that you are looking for excellence but have just made a slip.

But Erik... I'm sure you've hit the wall a few times yourself?
10.11.2012 / Antwerp / 14:55 / ES

Yes! What doesn't kill you as a brand marketer... makes you stronger! I have a bucket full of f*ck ups. We'll discuss them tomorrow. I have deleted them in my memory, but I will force them out of denial during my flight to NYC tonight.

First, let's talk, as promised yesterday, about brand name disasters. Love them and also the urban legends about them. One false story is that Chevrolet could not sell its Nova in Latin America because 'no va' in Spanish means 'no go.' Not true, an excellent legend.

But there are brands that continuously keep making mistakes. The Japanese hold the world record. Mazda introduced the Mazda LaPuta. The idea was great. A Lilliputian car from the book Gulliver's Travels. Similar to the Nissan Moco and the Mitsubishi Pajero, the name is unfit for Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries. 'La puta' in Spanish means literally 'the whore', 'Moco' means "snot" or "booger'. 'Pajero' means either 'wanker' or 'liar' in some American and European countries. Nice! And you just paid a couple of hundred thousand to a sexy, international brand agency.

Today there are networks of independent copywriters you can turn to, and ask for their opinion on brand names. That's how we work at Brandhome to avoid these pitfalls.

I've got a request for you. Please visit www.boks.co. Last year we created a fake campaign together with a leading law firm in the Benelux. The idea was to create a campaign for a fictitious brand that holds more than 140 brand marketing mistakes. On the link www.boks.co you will find a little test. Can you do the test and send me your scores? Then I will reveal my personal disasters tomorrow. Enjoy!
10.11.2012 / Dubai / 22:04 / KF

HAHA! My results read: 'Well, well, well... Your lawful branding knowledge isn't awful, but it isn't as lawful as it could be... You'd better contact Brandhome for help to avoid brand blunders in the future.' Damn, I need to get in touch with you guys –LoL. Then again, I haven't worked in Belgium for over 10 years so I guess that's a valid excuse (not!). It proves my point as well: make friends with your legal counterparts. That's what I would do! But let me tell you that Mazda LaPuta is such a blatant f*up that it's not even funny anymore. You have to at least have a minimum feel for what you are cooking up as a marketer. Right?

When we talk about brand name disasters, we also need to talk about infringement per se, not just idiocies. I heard a recent case on the radio last week that's in the public eye right now. The famous fashion-icon Kardashian family is being sued left, right and center by cosmetics brands for their Khroma brand. Apparently, 'KROMA' and other similar names are already registered with other companies. Would they really be so ignorant as to not check the legal reach of Khroma? And...more than that, why did they choose Khroma in the first place. It seems to be risky in itself. Not distinctive. Not very specific. Not immediately clear what it stands for. Not linked to their name. How would you describe the ground rules for a strong, protectable brand name / trademark?
11.11.2012 / somewhere in the air on flight SN501 between Brussels & NYC / 10:32 NYC Time / ES

Within our Brandhome method® we created a 22-step model to create successful brand and product names. We include worldwide IP protection and online availability. You need more these days than only www.yourbrand.xt. You need all the social network and online peering addresses if you don't want to get financially undressed by Google.

Promise made, promise kept. Here are some of my f*ck ups in brand marketing. I had to squeeze them out of the deepest parts of my brain where I exiled them. Not because they trouble me, but because I have the Brandhome method® as a religion to re-enforce with new things learned from successes... and mess-ups.

When working with an amusement park called Walibi in the beginning of my career, I didn't like the disclaimers that much, so I replaced all of them with 'for more information, please visit our website'. The only one who really visited the website was the government and we had to pull back everything.

Here's another nice one. While making a campaign for a Belgian mobile operator, BASE, we put a cup of coffee on a billboard with the slogan 'calling with us is cheaper than a cup of coffee'. We had similar ones with bananas, croissants, etc. The campaign was the best campaign ever made in Belgian telco-land in terms of gross adds of post-paid customers. However, the last day of the campaign our client got a letter from the Italian coffee company, Illy, with a court order to withdraw all billboards. Brrrr. Lucky us, the campaign terminated that same day. The cup was a fake copy of a coffee cup for which the design rights were owned by Illy.

These examples show the importance of senior and experienced marketers like us (who f*cked up big time) to work closely not only with the legal departments, but also in depth and with full attention, with the juniors in our teams. That is the reason why we train all our staff at Brandhome with a Brandhome method® lite edition. We want a little, red light to start beeping when they see something they doubt.

Something else. Who designed the business class seats for Brussels Airlines? At the airport and in all the communications they put them in your face. But they are really the worst I have ever flown in. I was just speaking to the guy next to me, who's in marketing. Is this an example of marketers who are totally disconnected with their product and who create product for target groups that they don't even know (me?!). Let's talk about marketers that got lost. Any ideas?
11.11.2012 / Dubai / 23:17 / KF

Don't get me started! 'Miss-match-marketing' as I call it is one of my hot buttons. I severely hate it when I see marketers chained to their computer all day long, churning out numbers and making presentations. Too many marketers don't feel what the product is about, don't talk to the user, glorify the product too much and don't accept flaws, feedback or lessons learned. It starts with a very simple principle. As a good marketer, you have to use your brand/product yourself. You have to have a passion to get 'under the skin' of the consumer. Keep an open mind and go for the best you can offer your customer.

Let me clarify the point. I was once approached by a headhunter to work for P&G, on their Always brand (hygiene paper as they call it)... are you fucking kidding me? What guy truly understands women's monthly ordeal? I don't know whether they ultimately hired a guy, but if I were the marketing director there, I would feel embarrassed to see male team members work on what is undeniably a female-only brand. Right? It's the marketers that don't 'live the experience' themselves that make those horrendous business seats you just mentioned. They should buy a business class ticket themselves one day and go fly 8+ hours knowing that in the morning they have to go to a meeting alive and kicking. Bet they haven't done that! And what's more, even if they have, they might have not really compared what the competitor has to offer for the same price.

I always count myself lucky in this regard. I spent the first 5.5 years of my career working in a consumer research agency. Getting my hands dirty. Doing in-depth interviews, conducting long group discussions, getting deep into the consumer psyche, and from that base then building real, tangible brand benefits and stories. Loved every minute of it. And that critical experience still lingers on, to date. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't put myself in the shoes of the consumer and wonder what their experiences with the brand, the product, the communication, the on-ground event, etc would be. Every opportunity I get, I talk to consumers and retailers about what they think we should do better. Priceless feedback. Time and time again.
12.11.2012 / NYC (USA) / 05:22 / ES

I really love NYC. The BIG APPLE! Last night I had to hurry to the Apple flagship store on Fifth Avenue to buy a charger for my MacBook Air. I managed to bring the wrong one from my home office. Great experience that store. Open on Sunday! It's amazing that they hardly have any checkouts. All the guys and girls working there are cashiers, only armed with an iPod including credit card reader. What a store. What a feeling. Brand experience to the max! It is one of the best flagship stores I have ever visited.

Following what you said yesterday, it can only be because the Apple marketers feel their market. They 'get' their consumers. Marketing is about getting out there, identifying your consumer's needs and finding the best solution to satisfy those needs in the most efficient way. It is about making people want to buy your brand because no other brand will do. Often marketing is still too much about people who want to sell. No! That is called sales. Marketing is about people who want to buy. Brands like Hermes and Rolex learned and applied these insights a long time ago. When these brands decided to create fictitious scarcity marketing, they knew what they were doing. A Rolex Daytona in iron? 'Sorry Sir, 4 year waiting list.' A Hermes Birkin Bag in black? 'Sorry Madame, 3 year waiting list.' Not true! They have stock to deliver from, but they opt to create a pretend scarcity instead of being greedy for their cash. That's called brand marketing. Making choices and taking time. Not greedy jumping on all possible profits, but surely and slowly building an intangible asset for which you can always ask for more money.

My good friend, let's fold in a chapter on NYC and brands? What do you think? Any suggestions? Any questions?
12.11.2012 / Dubai / 22:32 / KF

New York... what a brand indeed. Apple, what a brand in the Big Apple...one of my favorites too. And yes, let's talk about brands that are not physical products. I live in one of those 'brands' as well: Dubai! We can talk about that later.

But first, back to Apple. Biggest company in the world...wow...they must be doing something right, right? I actually just wrote a blog post on it. Not just on Apple in particular but about brands that relentlessly search to dazzle their consumer, by giving them incremental, big, relevant, surprising experience, time and time again. I coined it NEQI (never ending quality improvement). You can read my article on www.redhotmarketingblender.com/2012/11/are-you-neqi-focused-never-ending-quality-improvement/. And I have experienced it on different occasions myself. It started a few years back when I bought an iMac. You take it out of the box...and...it works! God Damn. That never ever was the case with a PC. All the programs are loaded, it is user-friendly, has great design, is fast, has an interface that is fit for a creative mind. Brilliant. And now I have my 3rd iPad. Do I need them? No, but once you step into the Apple world, into the Apple experience, you are sucked in and you want to stay there. Quick lateral move: few years ago I bought a Porsche – same thing – once you get accustomed to a driving experience like that, nothing else can beat it. Isn't that what loyalty is all about? Whatever brand you work for, you need to learn from how those brands are doing things!
13.11.2012 / NYC / 06:01 / ES

Porsche?! Do you know that you just got 'brand victimized' because of hidden drivers they found in your self-image, in your sub-consciousness? Owning Porsche is all about showing the world that you are successful. And showing to yourself in your deeper self-image that you are... still a sexy man! Please mind the word 'owning' since most don't really drive their Porsche everyday.

Always fun to see how even thoroughbred marketers get caught by brands. And perhaps that is just what it takes to be a great brand marketer. That's what you were talking about on 11.11! You need to be taken by surprise by other brands, or even with consciousness to understand how brands work if you want to build and market them yourself. It is something that always amazes me in our agency world: most of the creatives have neither feeling nor engagement whatsoever with the brands they are working on. Can you believe that!

Yesterday I was visiting a friend of mine who has a small but successful agency here in NYC. They are 'specialized' in those boring 45" TV spots where a fat guy in a cheap but politically correct suit tries to sell you a mortgage or tries to convince you to sue your bank because their rates are too high. Creativity completely double-zero, but in terms of the impact of the ads they make double-bingo. He keeps telling me that he prefers to hire people with no advertising school background whatsoever!

Back to the topic at hand. Ok, I admit it. I am also often being bullied and seduced by brands that carry a way too high brand premium out of my wallet. Let's talk food. When I am in the US and nowadays also in Dubai, Dean & DeLuca, is my favourite spot to grab a bite in between meetings. Amazing how well their staff is trained... and how much they dare to charge you for 'just good quality food'. But the 'mental cost' of switching from Dean & DeLuca and turning to another brand is just too high for me. On their first shop on the corner of Broadway and Prince Street, I always meet interesting people when picking a coffee. The entire ambiance is also amazing. I was there Sunday and then I counted the number of employees. I firmly believe that they just hire people, good-looking people, to fill-up the place. Damn. 6:38. Gotta to run! Speak soon... tomorrow. Let's discuss something more business like tomorrow? Brand premium?
13.11.2012 / time unknown / no entry / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.11.2012 / time unknown / no entry / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
14.11.2012 / time unknown / no entry / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
14.11.2012 / time unknown / no entry / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
15.11.2012 / time unknown / no entry / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
15.11.2012 / time unknown / no entry / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
16.11.2012 / Dubai / 10:20 / KF

Erikmans! It took a few days to get back to you as you can see from the time stamp. The pressure of corporate life. Last week was 'the perfect storm'. One too many back-to-back meetings, lots of senior management presentations to deliver, pre-production meetings for TV commercials, misalignments corrections (yeah, that too, needs to happen in large quantities), bit of 'burning the midnight oil' to complete a business review for our sector CEO, and the list goes on. Like I said: the perfect storm. Happens a few times a year. Such is life in the marketing lane :-)

Back to brand premium. Good subject. Let's start with the basics...the very essence of branding is to command a premium, as compared to a non-branded product. Right? How high that premium can go is correlated with how strong your brand is. And those two need to be well balanced. That balancing act needs to happen along the 'fair value line' (so that the perceived value of your brand is in line with price/premium). Let me give you an example. I'm currently at Atlantis Hotel in Dubai on a family getaway (sort of a holiday in your own city to compensate for all the late nights and travels). These 3 days are costing me an arm and a leg. Why? Atlantis is an iconic fixture in Dubai and in the world, It's located on The Palm and has a fab view of Dubai. It is an exact replica of the famous Atlantis in the Bahamas - Premium #1. It offers a high standard when it comes to restaurants, entertainment, etc - Premium #2. It has unique entertainment offerings (Aquaventures; world's biggest fish tank; best spa in Dubai; Nisimi Beach ...) - Premium #3. All in all an exceptional "experience". - Premium #4. The price is in line with all of that, if you know what I mean. Same thing for a Porsche car, a pair of Louboutin shoes, an iPad, a L'Occitane bar of soap, a Justin Bieber or One Direction CD, a pair of kids' Crocks, a Philips light bulb, a ticket to a 3D movie, and Ray Ban sunglasses. You want some, you pay some.

Now the marketing side of it. All of that imagery around the brand needs to be (1) built, (2) protected, (3) measured. The 3 basic tasks of a marketer. It's about having genuine and relevant added value for consumers. A WOW element helps to give it all a big boost. Apple being a case in point.

What I find utterly fascinating to prove my point on brand premium are the commodities that rose above their category, through sheer branding. Brands like Andrex toilet paper, Trident Chewing gum, Pampers diapers, Oral B Toothbrushes. Think about it! They have been able to boost their brand through strong, relevant, breakthrough innovation combined with purposeful brand storytelling.

I always mention chewing gum as the ultimate example of what smart marketing and branding can do for a company. Remember the days, way-back-when, when chewing gum was no more than a thin, flat, rectangular, dry and tasteless piece of moulded petrol? That's what it was!! For decades!! Then along came some brilliant minds that figured you could actually build a story about healthy teeth around chewing gum. Bang! A few innovations on product and on packaging later and a whole category jumped out of the gutter. A bunch of powerbrands were born. All having benefits that add value and thus command premium. A powerful case, agreed?

Sometimes it's just luck that triggers the re-invention of a brand. A smart marketer capitalizes on luck. Think about hand sanitation. Man, that industry must have clapped their hands when pig diseases, bird flu and other global viruses struck. Look at where Dettol is now. It used to be a nerdy, environmentally freaky, hidden, no-good brand for the few that were hygienic maniacs. Now my wife doesn't leave the house without her hand sanitizer. Impressive!

Enough said. Want brand premium? Invest in building a brand the right way, for the right target group, with the right innovation and a powerful story. And with the best marketers on board, let's not forget that! Marketing is a people business!

So Erik, why don't you give us a few personal examples of brands that are good in getting that brand premium?
16.11.2012 / NYC / 17:37 / ES

Kurtmans! You FAKER for 14 and 15 November. Yeah. We know why. Nothing burning the mid-night oil. Burning the cash and being on holiday and no time for domino ;)

Brand premium. Ok, let's talk some serious brand strategy here so that readers can learn something instead of feeling pity on how your 3 ladies at home are ripping you off (I know, similar home situation).

Here we go. Brand premium is following the Brandhome method® definition. It's composed out of 4 components. One and/or the four together form the final brand premium clients are willing to pay.

First we have price premium. This is the extra price benchmarked against the cost leader in the category that a brand can charge. Nice example is Hermes. A black Birkin of Hermes, a similar size from Gucci or an unbranded have asymmetric premiums that show the price in-elasticity of a brand like Hermes, bending/raping your fair value line.

Second we have the service premium. This is the extra value that a brand can ask for because it has service leverage. BMW is a great example here. Their after sales service is so wonderful that they have a higher repeat buying pattern by consumers that had a problem with their car than consumers that did not have any problem.

Third: distribution premium. Simple: be where your consumers are, anytime, anywhere, anyhow. Coca-Cola? McDonalds? Many... Oh yeah, Pepsi Max! The best.

Fourth, the loyalty premium. This is a more complex one and holds a psychological aspect. This is the mental cost that consumers who want to earn from your brand need to 'pay' in respect to their peers. You have APPLE, you are cool. You have WINDOWS, you are nerdy.

It is clear that the final brand premium is ultimately valued in the price premium and the brand equity (financial value) calculation. I need to run now, give a final interview here on Triple-A, my latest book on building great brands. Let's continue tomorrow. Shall we discuss some aspects on identity?
17.11.2012 / Dubai / 09:42 / KF

Before we talk about identity, I feel we still need to wrap up brand premium. It is an important subject. I believe there is a need to share our thoughts on the strategic decision making around it.

The reason for that is that there are always a multitude of options in front of you to decide upon. You might have a great idea bringing in price, service, and distribution premium with an interested consumer willing to pay. But ... (1) can you give the go (2) can you put the money on the table (3) do you know the risks (4) can you execute to excellence?

Let me unpack this a bit further. Let's say you want to enter the SUV car segment as a reputable car manufacturer. Your decision on "WHERE to play" is set, based on company mission/vision, the size of the prize, and the strategic intent to win.

The 'HOW to play' in that particular segment when it comes to brand premium decisions depends on a lot of aspects within your control, such as:

-Company capabilities, often operational.

-Investments needed.

-Data available to decide on positioning and proposition.

Any decision you make has huge consequences, primarily financial, and therefore a well-informed situation is needed.

Let me draw from personal experience to demonstrate the difficulty of such decisions. In 2007, when I came to Dubai, I bought a SAAB 97x SUV for my wife. They had just launched it. First SUV ever for SAAB. First ever American-built SAAB. Phew - biggest mistake of my life! My thought was: SAAB is a trustworthy brand...they must know how to make a mid-size SUV...part of General Motors and all. But SAAB was clearly not equipped to get into that segment of the SUV market. The total experience with that car was catastrophic, all the way from the driving experience to the weak a/c system (quite crucial if you live in a country with an average 40C weather), the fairly average interior, to the ignorance of the technicians in the workshop. Clearly they jumped into a high-growth SUV market more unprepared than they should have been. Result? 3 years later that model is being discontinued. And one thing is for sure: I'll never ever buy another SAAB in my life. That little 'experiment' must have cost them some serious money. I'm telling you, management decisions on brand premium, and on how to execute and sustain it, are tough.

Question is, should SAAB have decided otherwise? Either make a different kind of car (non-SUV), or bring in more/better capabilities in the company before making the final jump, or go even bolder/better and invest more in design and quality against a higher premium.

Or stay out of this business all together? Cost to compete in many ways has gone up as well (unless you are a .com business).

Imagine building a new entertainment park. Competing with the Disneys and Six Flags of the world is tough. The bar is high. Very high. And that goes for a lot of businesses. On the consumer side, the bar is high as well. Consumers are smart and spoiled for choice these days. They know what they can get and where to get it at price they like.

Imagine building games, and you have to compete against Halo, Call of Duty (selling $500 million of their COD Black Ops II in just 24h), and Angry Birds. Phew!.

Imagine having a great idea and supply chain for coffee, and you have to compete with Starbucks and Costa, who have superb brand premium. Phew again! Imagine having a patent and wanting to compete in the leisure watch arena, against brands such as Swatch. Good luck. (Some do, by the way. But you have to bring a serious story to the party. Great example: Pebble. I'm sure you followed that story. Within two hours of going live at Kickstarter, the project had met its $100,000 Venture Capital funding goal. Within six days, the project had become the most funded project in the history of Kickstarter, raising over $4.7 million with 30 days left of the campaign. Story? Simple but strong: a watch that can display messages from a smartphone. Let's talk about that case on a later stage. I have mine on order already. You?)

It all used to be easier. I think. Don't you feel that consumers used to have a more linear relation to premium that made decisions on brand premium easier? Whereas now complex psychological aspects rule? Maybe because the world was simpler, and there were fewer offerings, and the speed of innovation was less. I don't have data on this, but as a marketer it sure feels like that. (Damn, I feel like an old fart saying that. Anyhow...) Consumers of today have been spoiled with choice, they are educated, and throw more complex considerations in the mix than ever before. And with that comes a higher risk for the business and marketing side. You can be seriously off-mark if you don't understand the psyche of your consumers well enough. And that in itself is something to discuss (maybe later). Research methodologies are still largely lab situations where ratio is probed. I feel that they are utterly inadequate to explain consumer's thought-processes well and thus inform well.

Back to SAAB. Did the urge to go to market win from 'doing things right?' Or did they look at consumer information the wrong way? Circling back to the beginning of my cameo here: (1) were they really ready to go, with all consumer data in hand, (2) did they really have the money on the table to build the right consumer experience, (3) did they have a good understanding of the risks of going in with a weak proposition against a big promise, and (4) did they really execute to excellence? (To the latter, my answer is clearly NO) What say you?
17.11.2012 / NYC / 16:07 / ES

I say you're damn right! Things got too complex. And I truly believe that most marketers, under financial pressure, start looking to get more out of their brand portfolio through brand and line extensions. I am wondering if and when Ferrari will start making a diesel car. Porsche already has one... the Cayenne. I believe that brands should stay real close to the ownable place they have in the heads of their consumers. And that they should focus on anchoring themselves in the hearts and minds of their targets groups. I know it is kicking in an open door, but think about how many brands just can't get enough and keep on pushing the same brand name into new product market combinations. You can't be all things to all people. SAAB should have known that. But as you said, things go so fast nowadays that sometimes the doing outruns the thinking. In many cases, anyway. That is why we created and are continuously working on our Brandhome method® to ensure that we have a planning model.

Did I ever tell you that we once created a brand in Belgium in 18 hours... and put 8 mil euros of campaign behind it. Fortunately it went well, but let's be honest. That is insane!

I am waiting for LVMH to hit the wall. I don't understand anything about their long-term strategy. The only thing I see is that they are losing out with their initial consumers. Louis Vuitton is losing the very essence of what it embodies: exclusivity. Not to mention the volume of fake ones out there - nicely called 'brand counterfeiting'. Why are all these marketers obsessed with these short time objectives? This 'milking-the-brand' strategy? One has to watch out when milking cows too much. In the end, they don't give you any milk at all.

I admire brands that take time to build themselves and that have a long-term horizon. It seems that as soon as brands become publicly listed and/or are taken over by private equity, the milking starts. From a pure financial perspective they are right, but from an asset management perspective I always wonder if that's the right thing to do. You can earn a lot of money the first year, but if you have raped the market and the brand so bad that it cannot grow anything a year later, then the question is whether you are doing well... or being stupid from an asset management perspective.

This brings me down to one of my boring wisdoms. I believe you can build brands in 2 ways: management driven or passion driven. The first one is what you and I do every day. We manage existing brands and try to grow them delivering value to all our stakeholders.

We manage an existing asset. The passion driven brands are brands that did not need any of our expertise to become famous and loved... and mostly financial disasters. But, from a brand perspective, I always envy these stubborn brands that change the way we do business. They are not interested and have no money to invest in the skills you and I have. Nonetheless they could benefit a great deal from it.

What do you think? Shall we each select 3 of those passionately driven brands, contact them, and invest our knowledge and some cash into them?

Gotta run. Flight 501SN is taking off!
18.11.2012 / Dubai / 08:09 / KF

You're reading my mind. That's exactly how I qualify marketers as well: business/marketing-driven and passion-driven. The passion-driven are interesting to learn from. That's why I sort of follow the so called "crowd funding" platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Fundable, RocketHub and AppStorie. It's impressive to see people follow their dreams. I mentioned Pebble as a case in point. A passion-brand in the making. And there's more where that came from. You should check it out.

I just wrote an article about Fisker cars and their new green/hybrid car, the Fisker Karma. A passion brand! An engineer who started his own car company (imagine the odds! See my previous domino), passionately wanting to change belief systems around hybrid cars. So he built a car that looks like a high end Mercedes SLS, has a massive number of horses under the hood and is hybrid. Not bad.

Next to passion, belief, determination, you gotta have (1) some sort of brilliance (an idea, a skill, a lot of money), in whatever way, (2) and... big balls - LoL !

Biggest passion brand ever? Facebook! Born out of love almost. I'm sure everyone has seen the movie "The Social Network" that tells the story of Facebook's inception. 1 billion users in 5 years. WOW! Zuckerberg had a gazillion reasons to give up, was blocked along the way, financially deprived, but kept going fuelled by his passion. And his passion is fueled by a dream: to make the whole world social. But...he has a strong skill. He's gifted. On top of that, he knows how to get his company in motion. Do you know they have a credo/slogan that says: 'If it ain't broke, break it'. That's the motto of a passion marketer, my friend! Similar to 'Screw it, let's do it!' (by Richard Branson)

Anyway. We were going to talk about identity. You start...
18.11.2012 / Antwerp / 17:39 / ES

Great. Identity driven brand building®! Mind the ® since we own that line. It is what Brandhome has been doing since its inception. Why? Because identity is the real thing. You cannot fake it. Identity is a brand's guide and compass. Forget all the complex brand positioning models. Use identity and you have what you need. I am so happy that we embark on this super-ultra-mega important item! Let's first look at some theory. Brandhome method® stuff. It's important that we speak the same language when addressing such an important aspect.

I once wrote a column in the professional press to describe what the world would look if the misunderstandings as we have them in branding would be similar in nuclear science. Got it??

Here we go. Identity is who you are. And holds 2 time dimensions. The IST is who you are today; the SOLL is who you want to be tomorrow. Identities evolve over time, while sticking to their initial core. Identities are similar to DNA of a human being.

It's like you Kurt. I remember you as a little kid with spiky hair. You still have your spiky hair, but it has actually turned grey. (I know... you colour it sometimes.)

When identity is who you are/want to be, then we come to image and reputation. Image and reputation are not the same. Image = content + direction + intensity. Reputation = direction + intensity. Let me explain. When you have an experience with a brand, then you have an image of that brand. You will tell your friends: guys, I worked with Brandhome (content) and let me tell you this: these guys are really (intensity) good (content).

Image is about stakeholders that had an experience with you, in whatever stakeholder role, as a consumer, an employee, business partner, etc.

Reputation is different. Reputation is so-called hear-say. It is the image without content. Really important to manage with your first prospects. That is why reputation management today has become so important. If you have a negative reputation, it affects your trial behavior of potential engagers with your brand, be they employees, customers, etc. Identity, image and reputation have 4 different levels in the Brandhome method®.

The individual identity (= who are you as Kurt as an individual).

The corporate identity (what is the identity of PepsiCo?), this is at the same level as the identity level on which groups, political parties, destinations, etc is.

The brand concept identity (what is the identity of the brand Doritos).

The product identity (what is the identity of Doritos products).

You can put this down for cars, telco, fmcg, etc. It is important to understand that identity is the core of what brands can build.

Tomorrow we'll talk about models to pin down identity. The day after about strong identity driven brands. Since you are living in the AE, and to ensure our readers don't get bored, let me ask you: give me 3 ultra strong brands in Dubai that are identity driven, and why.

Speak tomorrow!
19.11.2012 / Dubai / 07:03 / KF

Fuck this! There has never been and there will never be color in my hair. My brand identity is amongst others about being genuine. I am who I am. Spiky is the hair, the personality and the power. Just like Samson. AMEN to that!

With that cleared up, let's get back to brand identity. 100% agree that this is vital. Not only is it the DNA, it is the "reason for being" for the brand! It's the love letter between the brand and the consumer. How about that for a metaphor? Let me ® that one! 'It's the love letter between the brand and the consumer'®Kurt Frenier. Voila!

Example: Harley Davidson. Identity: big, loud brand for macho guys (and macho wannabees like yourself) that want more freedom in their daily life and don't mind breaking the rules. Or something of that sort. That seems like a great identity description to me. It speaks to the imagination. You can see it, feel it, hear it, almost touch it. And they bring that identity to life in everything that they do, from the very tangible aspects (their bikes), to the visual identity (daring, bold, striking, hard/rough), and the communication slogans. Powerful! I would describe Harley's Brand Image: wild, fearless guys, and motorcycle gangs. 'Hell's Angels'. Or is that their reputation? Hmmmm... something to think about?

How about... Benetton? Their identity is about unity, bringing things together. Bright colors. Bright identity. I always liked that one. Their brand image however is more along the lines of rebelliousness, irreverence, being controversial. Those gel together for them through tone-of-voice: bold, daring, shaking the tree, criticizing, starting conversations and movements. And thus, bringing opposites together.

Now, for both Harley and Benetton, the identity and the image side are well synced. Great. That isn't always the case. Right? Look at banks ... BIG gap between their identity, their image, and their reputation, right?

I'm sure you've seen a lot of mishaps in your 20 years on the consulting side. Give us the dirt, man!

Let's talk about the creative ownership of the brand identity. Obviously the creation and ultimate ownership of the identity resides with the company/client. But the advertising agency has a tremendous role to play in my opinion, and that is often overlooked. What holds both entities together and on track is a very clear Brand Blueprint (brand positioning statement, brand philosophy, brand guardrails, or whatever else you want to call it). The agency needs to live and breathe the brand. And keep the 'client' honest, and ensure consistency. Too often there are changes in the brand leadership (new brand manager wants to put a 'stamp' on the brand he just inherited...). There is a certain responsibility with the agency to educate on the brand history. I'm happy to say that is often spontaneously the case. After all, the agency has created the brand and has the drive and passion to keep it intact.

How about your own identity, Mister Saelens? Time to 'evolve'? Or can you merge the entrepreneur-slash-marketing guru and the wannabe boxer-slash-playboy with the looks of a bank robber?
19.11.2012 / Antwerp / 07:35 / ES

Well. Seems I need to work on my image with you. I am a hard working father of 2 and happily married for over 7 years. Of course, it is true that I have long hair and that I am still boxing. Suffering is a better word since the young guys always kick my ass during training.

Let's take both your examples: Harley and Benetton. On Harley I agree. The entire brand has been built around one single identity value. At the same time their brand essence - liberation. The same way as Mini, when BMW upgraded the former product name of Rover into a new brand, stands for excitement.

We discussed complexity yesterday. What you see is that brands that hold a simple brand positioning description can more easily react and blend into changing situations. Brands that can capture their identity into one single value, and make that value at the same time their brand essence (such as Mini and Harley, or Disney/magic), have a step up.

You asked for some brand disasters. Let's talk Philips. Inside the company a very strong brand, making top quality products. If it's Philips, it's top. But on the outside, both with its existing customers (image) and prospects (reputation) a brand that stands for boring, boring and boring. I would love to go there tomorrow, drag your sorry marketing ass along, and turn this company with a huge heritage into a real success. Let's do it again. As we did with BASE in Belgium, remember?

Have to speed up. My right hand in the Belgian office is pulling my leg here. Need to go into strategic review. Frustrate some creatives. ;) I promised yesterday to discuss some models to describe identity. My preferred one is the brand identity prism, based on the 6 aspects of anthropology and created by Kapferer. Somewhat abstract but very handy to separate the wheat from the chaff. And taking the core brand identity out.

Last one before I move out. I totally agree with your example of the new brand manager that wants to put his/her stamp. Long time ago my mentor, Frans Cornelis, taught me the following: "Don't put your values into the brand you manage; but absorb the values of the brand into your own personality". I'll leave you with this wisdom!
20.11.2012 / Dubai airport / 07:21 / KF

Don't put your values into the brand you manage; but absorb the values of the brand into your own personality' and then, when the time is right, add to it (see the little addition here?). Awesome quote, but incomplete in my view. Absolutely agree that a brand manager needs to 'absorb' the brand (live it, feel it, express it, and embody it). I would say - from experience - that it takes a good 2 years to know all the ins and outs of a brand; to have a deep 'connection' with it. But after that, I want to see them add value, add new perspectives, think outside the box, challenge the norms. Agree? I'm sure you do. We are not the type of people that want to be surrounded with yes-people all the time. They can go kiss someone else's ass! We thrive on challenge, on pressure, on intriguing questions, on being kicked around ... it makes us sharper, better, faster...this is why we're here! Right?

Your Philips example is a true brand identity disaster. I would describe it as 'not walking the talk'. You want to project a contemporary brand that is part of daily life, but there are too many dinosaurs running the show.

I've seen it before, amongst others at Nutricia. Without going into much detail, the issue is as follows: you have a battery of brands that have been built a certain way by people who had success in the past and are now on top of the food chain in the company. They only look at one way of doing things: their way. 'We always used to do this', 'this is a proven model', 'remember the success we had with...', and so on. Sound familiar? A company needs to realize that it M-U-S-T rewind every 10 years or so, and re-assess the business they are in, validate the business model, and refresh how they do marketing. And then, more importantly, challenge and take action for change! Get the old goats out, and get fresh blood in! But how many companies are doing that really, and pro-actively? Result: 'Do what you've always done and you'll get what you've always got' (Einstein). Same thing with brand identity. Same with communication and media strategies. It takes courage though, as a CEO, to face reality (because your own ass is on the line!), but those who went through big change are in a better place. LEGO, one of my big inspirations, is one of them. We'll talk about them later. I guess Philips need to line up their strategies as well and start shaking the tree!

Gotta go myself. Jumping on a plane to Capetown for a ppm for a million-dollar TV commercial. Biggest production budget for one copy in my career. Yeehaaaaaa!
20.11.2012 / Ghent (BE) / 09:50 / ES

Wow. Capetown! Collecting air miles and sunny skies! While I am stuck in a cold and rainy Ghent. Interesting topic you touched on. The dinosaurs running the show. Social media, is that a union thing?? ;) Serious. I fully agree. Most companies and their brands should reinvent themselves at least every 5 years. That's how we run Brandhome. At least once every 5 years we change the entire setting, people and place, to respond to the altered demand. Back to your point on dinosaurs. I know them, but in my perspective it has much more to do with their mindset than with their age or gender. I know some who have been 'brand dinosaurs' since their late twenties and I know people that are in their late fifties and still passionate! And vice versa. The reasons why people get stuck in their thinking, and the brand with them, are many-fold, I guess. Based on my experience it is mostly because of their lack of multi-brand, multi-sector and multi-company experience. If you have only seen one company, then what you see and know will be your sole reference point. Or dissociation point in the worst case. That is why great multinationals need to pay extra additional attention to avoid this from happening. Sending your high-potentials around the world to experience other locations, other markets, send them off to international conferences and schools, etc. Make them MIX! With the Brandhome academy we do a lot of in company trainings, mostly when companies are rebranding and/or renaming.

The credo of the founder of VISA: 'The problem is not how to get the new thoughts in, it's how to get the old ones out.' That is what we are talking about. If your brand is an important asset, then it should have a seat at the board table. At that table the subject of keeping brand people 'sharp and fresh' should be discussed. Companies that I have met being very successful in keeping their sharp minds fresh and bright, were always companies where the brand had an important seat on the board and where that seat co-operated extremely closely with the human capital function. Human capital to create and grow brand capital.

Take the role of the CEO. I'll keep it short. Many companies have CEOs that are so busy sitting in meetings that they hardly get outside and connect with their markets... Some of the CEOs I know are even proud of that... For most of them their frame of reference grows and is influenced by the age of the kids they have at home, and by the opinion of their wife. That's not ok. I remember that once I took the board of a fmcg company to the Albert Heijn supermarket in Holland and we crawled on our knees across the supermarket to explain to them the way kids see and experience the supermarket ;-)

Gotta go too my friend. Have a brand strategy review. And some 2013 business planning. Have a safe trip and speak tomorrow.
21.11.2012 / Cape Town (SA) / 09:50 / KF

Let me pick up on the CEO comment. You hit the nail right on the head. In the sense that this is probably a frustration of many people 2 or 3 levels below the CEO... 'how the hell does he or she know what he is talking about?' I personally do see the challenges at hand, and the difficulty of being in touch with the consumers every day. Yes, there are lots of meetings. Yes, there is travel around the world. Yes, there is PR. Yes, there is Wall Street. etc etc etc. When do these guys really have time to go out and about and connect to consumers? There are only 24 hours in a day! But let me tell you what they should all do better is trust and empower their teams to be close to consumers...

TRUST. Since they don't have the time themselves, they need to entrust that job to others. Basically that means that they have to listen better to their directs and the directs of the direct. Because those should be the real consumer advocates.

EMPOWER. A CEO is in meetings a lot, often for the right reasons. But that doesn't mean they should project that onto the whole company. Actually, it's the opposite. They should realize that they need to free up others' time to have a good consumer connect.

Make sense? Or am I just rambling here?

Time to change subject!
21.11.2012 / Goes (NL) / 20:42 / ES

Enjoying the sun? How is Capetown? Totally agree with you, so we can move on.

Next subject: branding on social media. Had a frustrating discussion today on it with a digital media buying agency (do they still need to exist?) of a client. Statement: social media is not needed by all brands. Your statement is: if you are not on Facebook, you are not in marketing! Right? Right! (Another tic of yours – right?). That one I buy. It makes the point. But does it mean that when you go on FB as a consumer, you absolutely need to push your employer on Facebook for commercial branding?

Today I am in a meeting where a social media 'strategy' is presented for a company that is in waste business and holds the monopoly for that segment. In total it has 32 clients making 90% of its revenues. Why the f*ck do they want to go on FB? They called it a 'presence strategy'. If you would come up with a certain and specific interesting theme in relation to that brand that you want to bring forward, I can understand, but being there for 'social presence' reasons. Come on. Give me a break. I know who will write on their FB timeline. It's a brand with 1,5 mil friends: Greenpeace. I am curious what they will post on it. Why don't people understand that social media is another channel with its own characteristics as all (re)connection channels have. True marketers should think ahead and first understand what the purpose is of the things they do... and even more important don't do with their brand. Why pay 500K EUR for that. Angry. Please help me understand.

Hey, just crossed the Belgian border. There is police control to check for (soft) drugs coming from The Netherlands. Since I am wearing a suit and sitting in the back of a black limo typing on my MacBook Air we can just cross. Every time it's like that. I could smuggle 100 kg of cocaine in the car and won't get pulled over. That's perception. That's reality. Let's discuss that point also today or tomorrow.

Any plans to go home, or do you just want to stay in SA? Speak soon my friend.
22.11.2012 / Cape Town / 08:12 / KF

I simply love Cape Town. I want a house here so I can come in this period of time when the weather is awesome like now. Totally different lifestyle here...much more laid-back, easy-going, relaxed.

*BLING* BACK FROM THE DAYDREAM*

A waste management company on Facebook. Weird comparison but it as strange as having the mafia go on Facebook for 'social presence'. I guess you are right in saying that some companies (especially in the B2B space) have no need to be there... or even, better not go there. That begs the question 'why?'. Let's define that space.

Social media platforms are all about the recognition of the social aspect of the brand, any brand. It's the ultimate way to enable two-way communications between consumers and brands, in a space that is safe, entertaining, and accessible. People use social media to seek information, to research, to vent their opinion, to interact, and to play. Good. Companies use it in turn to listen, to talk, and... to influence behavior and attitudes towards the brand. Ultimately companies and brands want to change the relationship between brand and consumer, in a positive way.

If the intentions as described above are not there, then there is no point in going on social media. Is there anyone waking up in the morning thinking 'I really feel like engaging with this waste management company today'.

Let's talk about all the good stuff going on in social media, what good it can do to brands, and how to go about it in the right way! I am a social media fanatic, so lots of stories there.

First, the ground rules: (1) social media is an absolute must, for (almost) all consumer-centric brands ...
22.11.2012 / Brussels / 14:42 / ES

Great, I'll come and kick back in your house in SA when you are not around.

Rules. Let me think. Here some ideas.

(2)social media is an instrument; brands should have the know-how to manage it themselves so that they are not dependent on consultants

(3)social media should not become a commercial brand environment; it is a multi-brand and individual identity universe in which brands should behave modestly

(4)social media has its rules and laws; each brand and company acting in it should have those very clearly set out; it has to be clear who and how employees, management etc can speak/act on behalf of the brand

(5)social media is an important instrument for e-reputation; so it should fit within the reputation strategy of the company/brand

(6)brands on social media should make a clear distinction between their presence and place in social media, and the campaigns they run

Rules 7-10 + comments and sharpening up my rules is for you!

Tomorrow I will also speak about uniforms!
23.11.2012 / Dubai airport / 05:25 / KF

Just back from SA. Gosh I hate overnight flights. But it's going to be a nice weekend....it's my daughter's birthday.

Let me continue thinking about the rules.

(7)be clear WHERE social media fits in the entire consumer journey; it is ONE of the many touchpoints / contactpoints with consumers

(8)you have to be ENTERTAINING in some shape or form; being boring, conservative, corporate on social media is a killer; there is so much interesting choice; consumers will just lock out and move on if you don't capture their imagination

(9)SHORT and snappy is the only way! see my article on how social media is consumed: 'thin slicing': www.redhotmarketingblender.com/2012/04/how-people-consumer-media-these-days-thinslicing

(10)social media is the perfect vehicle for brand STORYTELLING; make sure you have great storytellers working on the content; be hard on your agencies to deliver that, in its entirety!

With those 'rules' clear in our minds, let's drill down with examples. Which brands do a good job and which ones don't. A wall of fame and a wall of shame (or should we call it 'wall of lame' -LoL)...

You start.
23.11.2012 / Antwerp / 15:59 / ES

I love overnight flights! Saves time! Extra long days, always comes in handy.

On 24.11 I will react on the social stuff. First, I promised to discuss uniforms. Remember that I crossed the dope-control earlier this week without being pulled over. I was wearing a suit, had a private driver and was working in the back of a black limo. Last week when I left NYC I was wearing red checked pants, a trashy t-shirt, my long hair loose, sneakers... and flying business class. Man! Customs in the USA are really unpolite! They are known for that. When you enter the country as well as when you leave. They are only polite when you wear a suit. Result - not a positive image of the USA. So I went to speak to some of the superiors, telling her about my project with you and my experience. And here is what she told me: they are all monkeys without any know-how, and when you put them into a uniform, they believe they are the President. Ah ha!

Speaking about identity. Me, Erik Saelens, male, 38 years young, married, hard working, paying taxes and contributing to society. When I wear a suit, I can do whatever I want. My long hair makes people believe I am a movie star. When I wear sneakers, people believe I am a criminal. So who says perception doesn't matter. The same identity. A different perception. Idem ditto for the US Customs. In their uniforms, they are someone. Out of their uniforms, they are no one. Any comments? If not, we continue on social media disasters. You start. You are the social media nerd.
23.11.2012 / Dubai / 21:41 / KF

I'm telling you, man! Time for a rebranding of Erik Saelens. Movie Star... come on! You project an image that is not in sync with what you want it to be ;-) Lose the hair, take a good look at your wardrobe, get that best suit out and buy 10 more, get into male grooming ;-) or...fight/box your way out of it (then again, that's going to get you in jail even faster –LMAO!)

Kotler is an idiot; excuse my French. He is one of the dinos we need to stop listening too. Have you ever seen the impact digital has on how Pepsi connects to and engages with consumers? That's what it's all about. We are in it for the long haul! Pepsi is much more part of the conversation than 'other' beverage brands.

Perfect Segway into social media again.

Look at HEINEKEN... brilliant brand, great global footprint, awesome advertising! They know a thing or two about social media, and how to deploy it in the right way. They had to because of all the legal restrictions on alcohol advertising. But what a brilliant way of making it happen... They have an e-commerce site and successful loyalty programs. They engage consumers through 'saving the planet' a.o. on YouTube. They beef up brand engagement with their Experience Stores. They have cool, branded, fashionable merchandising. They relate to their consumers with global sports and entertainment sponsorships. It all comes together in true 'holistic marketing'. They've always, as a brand, been head-to-head with Carlsberg. But Heineken's engagement is much deeper and much wider. More active fans on Facebook with more people 'talking about' them- you name it! All of it very much in sync with the very core essence of their brand. Did you see what they did to own the word 'Cheers' in every language around the world? Commendable. Result: people everywhere in the world ask for 'a Heineken', not just a beer'! Awesome, modern day marketing if you ask me. Agreed?
24.11.2012 / Brussels / 15:15 / ES

Agree? YES! I AGREE! I AGREE THAT HEINEKEN IS NOT BEER! It's sparkling water! Kurt, take a close look at your passport. You are Belgian, like me. Our wives are Dutch. But don't forget who you are. Only Belgians make real beer.

And yes! Kotler is passed it, for now, but not 100%. And let's give the guy who put guys like us on the organizational chart some credit! Right? Right!

Let's talk some interesting but questionable social media strategies. Let's start with the Dutch Police (<http://twitter.com/politie>). They twitter left, right and center. They use twitter to send short and concrete messages into the digital world. I like it. You know Twitterolics? It's my nickname for politicians that use twitter to make themselves interesting. STOP THIS NONSENSE! Did you know that we had a Minister some years ago that sent his erotic tweets to his audience? I don't mean his girlfriend who was supposed to get them. That's more than enough examples of this nonsense. But I want to embark on a new subject. All this social media gets boring.

I want to talk 'information overload'. Today an average Belgian consumer gets approx. 3.500 information messages fired at him a day! Emails, radio & TV content, internet, newspapers, billboards, POS, shop windows, stopper on the cash register. Based on an 8-hour sleep, that's 4 messages per minute! How can you process all that information? NO COMMUNICATION WITHOUT INFORMATION. I love brands that communicate to me in a straightforward and no-nonsense way. Some journalists should learn to write like that... and surely our Belgian government copywriters. If they write you a letter, then you know what you are up against. They cannot explain themselves in a normal and clear way. And many brands have that too. They want to tell too much to too many people in too little time. Last week I got a briefing from a client of 26 pages, excluding the annex.

Kurt, help me. Help me to understand why marketers can't make up their minds to take out a single message and put it across simply. Karmi Garcia once said: 'We don't get to choose what is true. We only get to choose what we do about it'. So my friend! What do you do about it when you want to sharpen your brand managers and they way the get their messages out?
24.11.2012 / Dubai / 20:32 / KF

Let me give you two nice statistics on information overload to support what you said: (1) by 2020 the data available in the world will grow 44 times (shit!); and; (2) the average internet-connected person consumes 35 gigabytes per day (shit again!). Will our heads explode? Nope, we will filter more! We will drop and delete as a part of dealing with this and avoid going totally mad. And we will turn to Google (remember, their quest is 'to organise the knowledge in the world').

That 26 page brief you got is a symptom of people not knowing how to manage and how to filter. I've seen this movie before. The brand manager that wrote it should get fired. If only to set an example. If you cannot express a brand challenge in a few sentences, then, as a marketer you should ask yourself: do I really know what the issue is? Or: am I strong enough to make a hard call on the strategy I'm after? If you can't answer that, then you should turn to more senior people. Seriously. Too many important briefs are left to too junior people as well. That's simply corporate stupidity and ignorance.

That brings me to the subject of education. We seriously need to re-evaluate at how we (re)educate the world. That goes for how we teach our children about managing data and turning it into information. That's how we must teach our employees about how they make sense of things. If, as a company, you assume that people will (re)educate themselves, then get your head out of the sand! Corporate and marketing training, continuously, is once too often seen as an extra. It is a necessity! Invest in decent training and productivity and efficiently will go up! Case in point: the brief that you got. What a waste of time writing it. What a waste of time discussing it with the agency. Finally, what a waste of time on the agency side trying to understand what the fuck the client is trying to say.

I hear what you're saying my friend. I've been stupid enough 10 odd years ago to write a 20 page brief, trying to impress everyone with how much I knew about the market, the brand, the issues, the creativity, the consumer, etc. No longer! It's useless. I realised that a long time ago. We need to speed up that 'awareness' piece with marketers a lot faster. Isn't that a role for BrandHome??
25.11.2012 / Antwerp / 20:03 / ES

Kurd ;-) it's Brandhome not BrandHome!

I think you are right that the main issues are (a) people have a natural tendency to show what they now and (b) people don't like to make choices. Surely not in our business, since it is believed that you have to give all the info so the agencies can choose for you. That's not true of course. On the contrary, clients should make a choice and make the so-called creative tile in our Brandhome method® as small as possible. Strategic, financial, operational, legal and creative criteria are the boundaries of that tile. The smaller the tile, the more surprising the outcome of any brand building will be. In the depth of the search within these borders, creative wisdom will be found. That is what briefings have to be all about. But let's not talk briefings here.

Let's talk how brand owners should transfer their in-depth knowledge and experience to agencies and third parties. I personally don't believe in pitches, chemistry-session-buzz meetings... and all those other bullshit names to keep people within and outside the company busy. I believe in 20 slides in which a solid business plan is drawn out from the top line down, and a couple of slides with the desired outcome of whatever commercial/corporate brand marketing initiatives you take.

How do you do it? Can we pin down 10 tips for briefings?

I'll start:

1.Think before you act.
25.11.2012 / on route to NYC / 06:52 / KF

Got it... Kurd instead of Kurt. Brandhome instead of BrandHome. Hahaha. It was an honest spelling mistake. But, you are right to correct me -let's not fiddle around with brand names!

Let me continue with the 10 briefing tips:

2.As short as possible, but maximum 2 pages. Ideally, it should fit on a beer coaster. Seriously. If you reach that level of focus, creative magic will happen. I agree with you. The creative tile should be as small as possible. Creativity works best when it's 'creativity in a box'. Creatives don't want to feel they are boxed in but, in the end, they work best when they are. I call it 'the pressure cooker approach': there's nowhere to go, so make the best of being in the cooker :-)

3.Make the core of the brief a source of inspiration. If not, no magic! Therefore, #4:

4.The core of the brief needs to be consumer-centric, not business-centric! When you have a key insight, or a strong consumer belief, you will have the right discussion about communication. There is nothing worse than half a financial or operational discourse in a brief, right?

5.Align the brief internally before it goes to the agency. Worst of the worst is to make changes to the brief in the middle of the process.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.A directional budget is a must. You can't do epic stuff for a peanuts budget. Better have clarity.

Overall, I have a way of evaluating whether you are saying the right thing. (And that goes for any type of communication, not just the brief): 'DO I REALLY HAVE TO SAY THIS?' Now, read this sentence back 7 times, stressing a different word each time. Get my drift? It helps think things through.

You can fill in the 6 to 9 blanks. Talk to you when I'm in The City. Cheerio mate!
25.11.2012 / Antwerp / 07:43 / ES

NYC! I'll quickly text Bloomies to tell him you're coming. Check out this hot place in the Big Apple: Beauty & Essex (www.beautyandessex.com). Reservation needed. Here we go.

6.If you cannot express the emotional effect/reaction of your brand communication on your targets group, then use a peer-positioning approach with real-life examples of other brands.

7.Build in interim reviews and strive for co-creation with your agency/ies. All of us are smarter than one of us.

8.Involve the legal department in time! Ensure you do not get involved in running legal cases and/or existing legal claims due to previous advertising campaigns etc.

9.Avoid 'creative price' winning mentality. Your agency needs to create campaigns that work for your brand. Not theirs. Give your agency a 'play-with' budget each year to distract their creative escapade needs.

Let's continue with another interesting topic: Pre-testing concepts & campaigns. Since you have a research background. Tell me, do you believe in this?
26.11.2012 / New York / 19:43 / KF

My God, man. You always really pick the pain-in-the-ass-points in marketing. Pre-testing concepts and campaigns, a nail in my coffin. Unfortunately it's a big part of my (corporate) life these days. We have talked in the past about art and science. And we covered the massive data overload a few pages earlier. Well, seems like all of that is put in a blender, and now few marketers know what the hell to do with it. Let me explain ...

1.We can measure, so we have a need to measure. Good thing. See how you are doing, and adapt along the way. Measuring everything to death up-front? Nope, I'm not a believer. Too many issues with that. (a) All research is essentially an opinion of a few people, extrapolated to the millions. Statistics, yes. But this is stretching the limits. (b) There are too many unknowns. You always research a very, very thin slice of reality. When a piece of communication hits the airwaves there is so much noise that the research is basically worthless.

2.Too many people LIVE the research results. Give-me-a-break. Get-a-life! Research is at best directional. You can't write a book and a strategy about every single number. And let me tell you, there are MAAAAANY people around doing just that. Ridiculous. Sorry - I'm getting aggravated here.

3.The balance between research investments and in-market-sales is pretty often gone. Let's take innovation as an example. An average piece of innovation takes 3 to 5 years to get to market. If you want to test each and every aspect of the proposition (ideas, positioning, product validation, brand fit, communication, packaging, etc etc etc) it'll cost you a few million $$ per market. Been there, done that. Add to that all product R&D costs, Go-to-Market development costs, consultant and agency fees along the way, and you will be writing cheques up to $10million, easily. You need to generate some seriously freakish revenues to get profit on the bottom line. Not the easiest thing if 90% of innovation fails! What I'm saying is: think like a small entrepreneur. Do you think they will be so stupid as to invest that much money trying to 'guess' their way to market. No way. You have to make sense of research.

Listen, sometimes research is good. Qualitative more than quantitative. Why? Because qualitative 'informs' more than quantitative (that seems to be mis-read as the bible). Qualitative research brings you in touch with the target group. But once more, it needs to be used in the right way. It is to inform, to inspire, to unfold small pieces of the puzzle, etc.

One of the worst pieces of testing is commercial pre-testing. Oh my God, where is the feel for marketing in that one. We are putting random people in front of a TV and then have them comment on each nano-second in the commercial, philosophize about it, rationalize on how it reflects, or not, on the brand. Are we all stupid? No one sitting in front of the TV, flipping the channels while enjoying a beer, is looking at the details of a commercial. They will get an overall 'feel' of the brand based on the entire 30 seconds (if you're lucking and they haven't zapped it away), and if you're really, really lucky, they will grasp a message out of it.

I can talk for days about research. Worked for more than 5 years in a research agency, early on in my career. Wonderful, to be close to 'the consumer', but it also taught me to be careful.

Unfortunately there are many people in companies whose careers depend on how intelligent and scientific they can make insights look. We have gone overboard let me tell you. I am still all for the right balance between art and science, with the balance tipping over to the art side. Why? It's the art side that will capture the attention, the imagination, and hopefully lead to your brand being part of the conversation.

Now. I do believe in post-testing campaigns. For one purpose only: to improve at the next generation of the campaign.

Trust your marketing expertise and guts up front, and check how good it was afterwards. You will win some and you will lose some. But let me tell you, you will win and lose as much with a few million dollars wasted on pre-testing!!

Where do you stand on this?
27.11.2012 / Antwerp / 07:15 / ES

Too damn right! Too many people hide themselves behind big packs of data they call 'research'. They are micro-marketing the company politics instead of the market. I am a firm believer in research, but then in a practical and applied way. Quali is an example. Pre-testing killed the cat. I don't believe in that for a simple reason: the predictive and facial value of advertising in the eyes of your average target consumer does not exist.

I'll give you an example. In 1989 people were asked if they would love to walk and talk (call mobile) one day everywhere they go. The answer was: 'No, we don't need that; my phone is at home'. I can give you tons of examples like this. The problem with research in general is that the outcome is taken for granted. And that's what killed the cat. I call it mediocratic marketing or umbrella marketing. It was a mess... but research said it wasn't. Do you think that when asking people if they would like to have a website that promises to find what they are looking for that they said: yes give me Google. Or when asking them if they want an online network to share their lives with their friends and dearest ones, then they said: give me Facebook. And so on. No, don't think so. Research and metrics are important, but are never leading.

Your view on 'small entrepreneurial approach', that's what we need. In addition I also find a lot of research is old-fashioned and not up-to-date. Research tools should be made to measure and not off-the-shelf. The fact that you research in a standardized way gives you the ability to benchmark against other similar research. That is valuable, but that should not become the reason. Since you wrote it all on research, we better stop here to avoid repetition.

Tomorrow I want to write about creative cost and lost creative cost.

Opening question to you: how do you value and calculate the cost of creative work? Enjoy NYC.
28.11.2012 / NYC / 06:33 / KF

How do I calculate creative cost? Damn. Good one. Tough one!! I'm sure when you look at it, sitting on the agency side, you say: it is invaluable! I'm often struggling with this. Big time. Let me tell you why. A lot of the agencies I have worked with over the years have a methodological, mathematical approach to costing creative. Man-hours x cost/h x seniority gives you the creative cost. Right? So, I, as a client, need to decide how much I am 'willing' to pay for good creativity. Logic, in this system, says: the more senior I go, the more hours you work, the better the creative. BULLSHIT. Creativity doesn't work that way. Sometimes it takes you a second to find a brilliant idea; sometimes it takes months. Depends on how difficult the task is, how clear the brief is, and how much 'luck' is in play. Hey, I'm a writer myself. I know the reality of creativity. Some ups, some downs.

I think we need to move to a whole new level of costing. And 'transparency' is the key word. I don't want to hear that the idea the agency gave me costs $15O,OOO! And that then, I need to pay $5OO,OOO to execute it. I often think when I see creative presentations: Hey, my grandma could have made this ...she just doesn't work in an agency :-)

Should we stir up the system and establish a link between the idea and what it will do against the objectives? For instance: you will get $5O,OOO per point increase in brand kpi X based on the new campaign you create for me. Jointly defined and agreed upon. Good? Hey, but it works both ways! If my KPIs drop, it's your fault my friend. Pay up :-)

What do you think?
28.11.2012 / Brussels / 13:15 / ES

Ah... the grandma feeling ;-) There are 2 things you touch on: one is the creative cost and the other one is performance related remuneration. Let me start with the first one. Creative cost defined by the Brandhome method® is the following formula = (all costs for creative work, pre/post test, consulting) / (all production and carrier costs e.g. media, print). This percentage depends on the phase of brand building your brand is at. In the beginning it can be alongside 35%, later on it goes to max. 10%. Then there is the lost creative cost. That's the same logic but the numerators are only those costs for creative, pre/post, consulting that did not make it into the market. The lost creative cost is always an interesting kpi to see whether a company and its partners understand what they are busy with. Of course, a company or marketing department need to put up a sort of system (analytical accounting) to keep track of this.

Creative cost and lost creative cost are interesting kpi's, and we use them with different brands we work with. It goes so far into accountability that we track and trace our own share in that cost. This being said we can jump to performance related remuneration. We love it. However, when you want to remunerate a partner in a performance related way, you need to give them a stake at the table where they can influence it.

Today, many brands talk about performance related remuneration, but it should not be a facade to pay less to your partners. We work performance related but in sync with the same criteria and kpi's as on which the bonuses of our clients are calculated. That way all noses point in the same direction. So yes, we love it. But it should be a significant upside. There is no point in getting the same amount afterwards as the reduction you give upfront. That makes no sense. But many brands and agencies are not ready to work like this.

So, what do we discuss next?
28.11.2012 / NYC / 12:35 / KF

DESIGN.

We need to talk about DESIGN and the importance of the visual language of a brand.

I personally believe that for many brands design is not utilized well enough. The big reason for that is the different language that marketers and designers speak. Question: how can we all do a better job at making design the embodiment of brand equity? Think about it...

Why the importance? Humans are visual beings. And design is about tapping into that insight. Too often however, design is just seen as the logo, the packaging, a beauty shot in a magazine ad, etc. But it is so much more than that!

I think there is a real need to be more precise in the visual language a brand should have, and to stay consistently 'on message'. I remember us partnering on building the light-blue design language for BASE in Belgium. Wasn't that awesome and striking in it simplicity? You guys brought in the right way to represent brand feeling, consumers, and technology. The brand was so consistent across all the touchpoints that it became a beacon of recognition and trust. The visual language played a huge role in that!

Now, you can actually take design to the next level, if you use design thinking to create user 'experiences' It just so happens that strong design thinkers are actually good marketers. Because they put the user and the user experience at the center of the brand concept. Alessi is a great example. Or B&O. But also Lego, Virgin, Whirlpool, Amazon. And obviously: Apple!!

Two questions for you:

1How do you create a 'design culture' in your company?

2What are the 'rules' to create great design, and great consumer experiences?
29.11.2012 / Antwerp / 18:26 / ES

Design. The most abused word in branding. I don't even dare to give a definition of what design is, other than something similar as what you touched on: it's something you can touch, feel and see. Visual, form, function... etc are all elements of design management. Selling tap water in a nice bottle and asking a premium price for it is a nice example of how empty design can be. On the other hand, design is without any doubt the most important element in brand building. How do you put a design culture in a company? Well, honestly I don't know. My experience is that just putting in a design manager (ha ha, that's hot nowadays) makes no sense if the company culture does not embrace or understand the power of design. How design makes customers enjoy the connection and consumption of your brand more.

If I look at our own company, we strengthen the importance of guidelines in our own behavior, as well in the way we dress up presentations as we dress up ourselves. Orange is Brandhome and Brandhome is orange. In terms of refinement we look for the best tools and gimmicks that fit into our visual identity values. This being said, I can tell you that it is very difficult for new people to adhere and align with these simple guidelines in terms of visual design. So looking for a 360-degree design attitude and culture, that's another thing.

Personally I believe the words of Churchill: first we shape our buildings, then we shape ourselves. We invest a lot in our offices to ensure that their design breathes our identity. Now, look around you. How many brands rent 'standardized offices' that can host today an accounting firm and tomorrow an ad agency? Loads! Why? Because this is where the problem starts. Some companies don't want to invest in the design of their buildings for various reasons. We can easily resell if standardized. We keep it cost effective, put up some posters and we are different etc.

The other day I heard a story from a brand that is building a new international HQ... but already taking into account possible bankruptcy or down-sizing the building should be rentable. That's what I mean with the importance of understanding the power of design. Your first question answered.

What do you mean with your second question? I am not sure I fully understand. Great design is an element in great experience. But great experience is more than just design. Can you sharpen up the question?
29.11.2012 / JFK airport / 22:41 / KF

What I meant with my second question is: how does design thinking help sharpen experiences that you can build for a brand? And this is beyond the visual/graphical elements. Design thinking expands to the physical and reaches the intellectual. Appliances are a good example.

Take Philips. Despite the critique you had in one of the earlier conversations, Philips, in my opinion, is exemplary when it comes to design. Their ambiance lights for instance are functionally innovative, visually appealing, strikingly modern, have badge/stature value, etc. That requires serious 'total design thinking' ... very user centric to get the maximum user experience effect. We need more of that! We need it in companies that are not necessarily prone to design as a reason to buy. e.g. detergents, beverages, food, commodities. It's like you are saying: if you are able to sell tap water at a premium by smart, nice-looking, ergonomically smart packaging, then WOW!

I'm just thinking: why is design so important? I guess it's a bit like art. Looking at something beautiful makes you feel good. Virgin Atlantic is a good example: the whole objective of that brand is to give travellers a unique, exceptional experience. And that goes in all that they do and stand for. That's why their lounge is a 'clubhouse' with contemporary, loungey, arty interior... a bit of magic, not business-like but a pleasurable 'journey'. Once more, THAT is total design thinking.

And isn't the world moving more to a visual world? Take Pinterest. Take Instagram...

Gotta go. Boarding on the A380. It's a night flight. (I'm learning!)
30.11.2012 / Bruges (BE) / 18:42 / ES

Home? Back in your Dubai mansion?

Let's not discuss Philips. I love the potential of that brand, but that's because I know many people there and hear the inside stories. But let's be serious. They are always too late to take credit for their innovations. And their brand comms is really bad. Product thinkers. Engineers.

I agree that the world is turning visual. And tangible. With the latter I mean that with tablets etc people are getting used to doing everything with their hands again. Who will still use a computer mouse 2 years from now? So design will become the crucial element of what I call 'brand senses', even more than before. Not only seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, tasting... but the sum of all that. It's the entire feeling that will drive the experience. So I agree!

Visualization. It is a strange word. It is true that some of the world's most intelligent people understand what you mean with simple brand marketing strategies... when they see an image. One image says more than a thousand words.

Now coming back to your question how brands should manage their 'visual experience'. I believe that a lot of brands haven't defined clearly how they wanna be seen, and then I mean 'really SEEn'. I think that in the future marketers will also be art directors. They should teach Creative Suite (designer program software) at universities too. You and me, we have the power to think conceptually. We can put in front of our brains the visualization of what we mean. But we cannot draw, nor work on design software. Fortunately we can write (a bit).

Do you remember how we sketched in a really BAD way our ideas on the whiteboard at BASE? We were sitting on the seat of the art director and then he just had to execute what we wanted.

Now, enough design talk. Let's cover 'housestyle'. No, it's not just stationery. Let's look at the definition of Oskar Schlemmer (Bauhaus 1925). 'When people think deeply about the identity of an organisation, and then as a result they create a visual style that is called housestyle.'

When I was at JFK 2 weeks ago, I thought that I saw a brand extension of Pepsi, an airline company.... but it was Korean Air. Do you think that the definition of Bauhaus is correct? In general? And, in particular, in the case of Korean Air/Pepsi. Please give some examples.
01.12.2012 / Dubai / 10:23 / KF

Just got here. DOA! Dead on arrival. Again.

Enough on design, indeed. And I definitely will not talk about Pepsi vs Korean Air. I do have an opinion on that, but I'm sure you'll appreciate that I can't comment.

Let's talk about SUPERIORITY and details. Triggered by my recent flight...

Emirates Airlines is a superior airline. Anyone who's flown with them will agree. I am a Gold member of their frequent flyer program. I have flow virtually every airline in the world (yes, even Polish airlines and Russian Aeroflot...). Emirates is by far the best. Superior across the board: service mentality, great lounge, rewarding loyalty program (with real upgrades and other worthwhile stuff), and a great brand image. BUT (you could feel that coming, right?): the devil is in the details. I was shocked that on my flight to and from NY, the cabin crew filled the bottle of water in the business compartments with whatever brand of water they have. Picture this: you're sitting high-end business class, paying a super premium and you get rewarded with a VOSS bottle of water. But to then see that the airhostesses refill it with 'normal' water...hmmm.... Those are the details that kill your image. Being a superior band means you have to do it EVERYWHERE, EVERY TIME, FOR EVERYONE. I'm sure you agree! Same goes for a mobile phone company that has the best phones, best talk plans, nicest shops, but that have a call center that sucks. Or a restaurant with an enormous reputation, freshest ingredients, a wonderful interior but where you find a hair in your soup! Every single person in the company needs to be convinced of the philosophy of the brand/company and then maximize anything that will end up as consumer-facing stuff. What else?
01.12.2012 / Ghent / 16:43 / ES

Man, bad experience with Emirates. Did you speak to her? I always make remarks wherever I see things that are not 'on brand'. Does not matter whether I am in a hotel, a supermarket, a train, a bank, a shop. I always do it in a correct and friendly way. The reaction of the employee is always interesting. Some respond rudely. Some you see they don't understand that they cannot not deliver on brand. Some treat you as an idiot. Some start explaining. I learn a lot. And you get great examples to use in business cases, with clients and colleagues, or in training sessions with Brandhome academy!

Back to superiority. In our Brandhome method® we call it 'on brand' and 'brand performance'. Most brands that are strong and superior in delivering on all levels, are brands where everyone believes it! As you correctly stated, all the involved parties, from management to employees to partners must understand the brand promise and completely believe in it.

In my recent book on Triple-A brands I extensively talk about that. But how many companies invest in a focused and consistent way in their staff to ensure that they know what the brand is about. Let's be honest, not too many. And that is why lot of brands fail. Internal branding, integrated brand communications, employee brand immersing... I have written it many times in lots of plans, but it passed the 'investment committee' only a few times e.g. HR prefers to work with complex psycho-analytical projects for employees (that nobody understands). It's better for everyone to share in the brand, from CEO across the company and into the market.

To make a long story short without being boring: true superiority starts from the inside.

Now, let's talk about something else. Something more relaxing. Humor in advertising. You start.
01.12.2012 / Dubai / 22:53 / KF

Something funny? I thought everything was funny so far. All that bitching and moaning about things going wrong everywhere, pretending we know best ...that's pretty funny! LMAO.

Let's not talk about humor in advertising, but about 'funny advertising'. Some ads are funny...AND...on brand. How about that?

For some odd reason, first one that comes to mind is a condom brand: Zazoo. The one with the kid having a tantrum and screaming at his dad who looks like Jon Bon Jovi. It won all the awards a few year back. Brilliant. Recognizable. Relevant. And therefore hilariously funny. That requires some great creative thinking.

Miller Lite also comes to mind. They always have funny and enjoyable ads! It's part of their DNA. But part of a lot of their competitors DNA as well (Heineken, Budweiser, etc) ...dangerous game...lots of brand confusion around if you play that card.

I'd contradict that with Old Spice. Those guys have been able to reframe advertising and the viral effect thereof in a great way, but I'd label it as quirky and witty, not 'funny'. Do you?

Why do funny ads work? Psychology. Always comes down to that. Fun/humor lowers our defence mechanisms and our sense for critique. That gets the message in better and quicker. That's what I get from my experience. Not sure whether there is proven study around about that. If there is, I'd love to see it.

How about crowdsourcing to get the right level of humor and fun? We know a thing or two about that here in PepsiCo. Just watch the last 5 years of our Super Bowl ads. Doritos Sling Baby and Pepsi Max job interview as a case in point.

I know you guys made some awesome and funny ads at Brandhome (guess what, I spelled it right!). Lately, those BNP Paribas ones you showed me. Fab! Tell us about how you got to those, and what the results are.
02.12.2012 / Antwerp / 10:01 / ES

The BNP Paribas ones. Yeah, they are great. Cannot give the exact numbers, but I can confirm that they double digit passed the already high set targets.

BNP Paribas is the largest bank in Belgium with over 30% market share, and in some segments even more. Seen as a serious and professional bank, part of the French group BNP Paribas, one of the strongest and most powerful banks in Europe at the moment. Not boring, not sexy, but not very cool as a brand. So how to attract young people with top talent that are coming on the job market? In their eyes BNP Paribas is a serious bank, something for their parents.

We decided to focus on what's the biggest assignment for these young people: get that first job! And we built an online campaign with lots of funny videos to bring that insight to life. Thanks to focussed seeding, it was picked up by the press, blogs. But, also by more important people. Young people started putting little videos of their own errors in job interviews on the site. Result: top campaign, top results, example of how creativity and strategy go hand in hand.

Coming back to your 'witty' thing. Yep.

I believe that just having 'witty' communication can position a brand. If you look at Hoegaarden 20 years ago, their witty brand character was created thanks to their campaigns with silly slogans on beer tabs, stand-up comedian shows in bars, etc. They never spoke about themselves. Witty can become an advertising property, but then you definitely need strong and consistent creative direction, and no interference of 'un-hot and un-connected' people within the company who decide what's good and bad. That's my biggest frustration: companies that employ people who need to decide on creative work but that are not in social media, never go out, always stay in their little commune. How can these types of people manage a brand?

Coming back to humor. Indeed, it has been proven that when advertising that is too humorous, the ad recognition is high, but the brand recognition is low. It has even been proven that in such a case you are making advertising for the market leader since people remember the funny ad and the product. And if they cannot recall the real brand sender, they attribute it to the market leader. So indeed, always watch out for this. Another truth of course is that traditional ad companies push this kind of concept through because they want to score creative points with it.

Let's switch to something new. Testimonials.
02.12.2012 / Dubai / 17:44 / KF

Yuk. Testimonials. Just puked in my mouth ;-) No. No. And no again.

All jokes aside, testimonials have a bad reputation. It immediately takes me back to the typical straight-in-your-face 80s P&G and Unilever testimonial ads, where expert professor X explained why the hell you would need to use product Y. Effective advertising at the time, I'm sure. But terribly boring, focused on the sale only, and not at all on brand equity. And very much done and dusted in my book.

Testimonials in the non-pure sense of the word are still being used in another way, to a large extent: endorsements. Using a famous actor, football player, musician, artist, is a testimonial in some sense. But it works in a more subtle way. In a way the consumer relates to a lot more, and that is more relevant because product/brand matches celebrity matches interest sphere of the user group, and thus from an aspirational point of view can add to the equity. There is a high 'coolness' factor if you can sign up the right celebrity, matching exactly the brand persona.

My personal belief however is that this will come to an end too, any time soon.

First of all, because consumers see through that. They know how advertising works, they see celebrities in too many ads and therefore don't believe them any more.

Secondly, because celebs fuck up all the time, diminishing the endorsement effect. I mean, good luck if you signed up Tiger Woods or Lance Armstrong as a brand, right?

There is a good, more contemporary 'alternative' to testimonials that I've been using effectively in the past few years. Vox pop - basically replacing the professor with the consumer, in an unscripted, natural/organic way. That is believable. It's believable because is just shows referral, on a broader scale. If you deploy it in social media, then it's even better. It's closer to consumer lifestyle. When, as a consumer/user, you see your peers judge a product, you will take their advice. Throw in a few 'bad' experience testimonials here and there, and believability even goes up.

Lateral move, but something comparable in the travel sector is TripAdvisor. I love TripAdvisor! Check it out every time I go on holiday or travel for work. The 'testimonials' on there are real, straight from the heart. Half of the testimonials are negative, but it's the ones that are positive that do the trick. As long as the positive/negative balance is right, then all is good for the brand/company.

Back to commercials. My premise: testimonials in advertising don't work anymore. Unless, maybe, it is for high-end scientific products that only a 'professor' can explain. But for skin care product, toothpaste, detergents, shoes, clothes... no thanks!

What do you think of testimonials?
03.12.2012 / Middelburg (NL) / 11:45 / ES

Well. I have nothing to add. I totally agree. Let's talk something else.

TV advertising. Does it still work? Perhaps an open door, but I honestly ask myself whether you should still invest in it, unless you have HUGE budgets. I have been asking many people in the last few months about their attitude when they have digital and interactive TV. They all say the same thing: during commercial breaks I take a drink, make a call, go to the toilet... or just forward at 64x the commercial break. For news programs I go onto the internet or replay TV. Most content is for free anyway (in Western-Europe) if it's talk shows and new programs.

How does it work in the MENA region where you operate? If TV commercials would also be produced with interactivity then perhaps people would watch them. Or just with silly things in between the TV commercials like the new TV brand in Belgium, VIER, is doing. In between each commercial they are putting a silly/witty thing of their own brand.

VIER (a Belgian TV channel) is a brand to watch. They are owned by Woestijnvis, a production company that created some of the most successful formats in Belgium.

Talking about interactivity, do you remember the TV spots we made together when you were at BASE? Triggering people to contact our call center within 5 minutes after seeing the ad to claim a promo? Why is there not more of that? Is it because the ad companies don't think further? Is it because the client does not dare? Is it because it will not work? What do you think?
04.12.2012 / Dubai / 16:52 / KF

Thanks for that pass. That is my favourite topics these days, and if you read my blog you'll see a lot of perspectives on that.

I have very clear POV: 'TV is dead'. Let me explain:

The TV model is built on 1-way communication and starts from the premise that the brand owns the message. Actually, this is where it goes wrong already. The brand never 'owned' the story. The consumer owns it. The consumer decides on how to interpret the brand and how to play it back, how to talk about it to peers.

Fact of the matter is, brands that just 'talk' and don't 'walk' in this day and age are NOT DOING ENOUGH anymore. Here's a few reasons why, in my opinion and experience:

-The TV 'model' is not consumer-centric, it is company-centric. As an authentic brand, you can't afford such a myopic starting point anymore.

-The consumer these days is everywhere, and it is not on TV.

-On top of that, there are a lot of tools and devices that allow you to block out commercials.

-TV ads are the most expensive content around and they have a pretty unknown effect on equity.

The task at hand these days is: how do you DRAW consumers IN? TV may be a part of that, but it needs a more reduced and finite role.

What else on this topic (before I start bitching about advertising agencies still living in the stone age and pushing TV instead of brand experiences)?
04.12.2012 / Antwerp / 19:05 / ES

YES! OLD TV IS DEAD. LONG LIVE NEW TV!

I strongly believe in new ways of delivering brand content through new forms of branded formats. And I am not talking about a cooking-margarine brand that is sponsoring a TV cook show. No! I am talking about new ways of handling the abilities of interactive and IP based audio-visual communication tools, amongst which is interactive TV. But let's touch on that tomorrow.

Let's annoy the second medium first: radio. Radio is still doing well in Belgium. But for how long? I listen more to plug plays and podcasts than to radiospots. Radio shows are interesting, but I pick them from the podcasts or stream them with IP and skip all the advertising. Well, no, I make myself to listen to it since it's my job to do so. But is it worth the money? I give radio double the value score as old TV, at least in the Benelux market. What do you think?
05.12.2012 / Dubai / 00:35 / KF

Actually, on radio I have a different opinion. It is undervalued medium I would say. But ...same rule applies. Radio has moved from stationary to mobile/online. So you have to find ways to penetrate both traditional radio (that has specific audiences) and new radio channels.

But it is a medium that, when used well, can complement media. It actually has awesome possibilities... there are ways to make it funny, it is well integrated with music, it's efficient for a call to action. The advantage in my view: it's not as intrusive.

BUT

-you have to go all out on creativity

-you need to set a high execution standard

-the message must be adapted to each specific radio channel or even specific program in that channel, esp in terms of tone-of-voice!

Now, I don't want to say I'm a fan of radio. I mean, it still has all the traits of one-way communication. It is not really 'building' the brand. But hey, you can't have it all, all the time. Hence the importance of holistic communication. If radio is one, pin-pointed, cost-efficient part of the puzzle and it accidentally fits the brand story, then hey...why not?
05.12.2012 / Antwerp / 15:20 / ES

What I would love is a radio station that tracks the total time I listened to them, including their advertising, and then gives me credits for iTunes. Yes, a form of paid for advertising. Never worked before but I still believe that there is a possibility to do that. Could do it on all media by the way. Let's talk banners. Or even better: online advertising.

I f*cking hate those banners that jump in my YouTube stuff I am watching, or those 'in 15 secs you can watch the news'... HATE IT. I don't understand why brands want to be there. They are not asked to be there. By now one would expect that media companies know this... and advertisers too.

Retargeting in other and less intrusive ways is a technique I like, as long as you are transparent with visitors/clients that they know that you track them and their preferences. Retargeting comes down to turning the entire internet, the entire online world, into one BIG AMAZON.com.

I love it that Amazon knows me by now so well that they offer me things I like, love and need. And on the right occasions help me out by remind me that my little kids birthdays are coming up, and those of my dear ones. Classic banners (streamboards, leaderboards, etc)... GO AWAY! They are 'dirt' on the screen. What do you think about online advertising?

Tomorrow I want to share with you my new BIG QUESTION I am trying to solve: 'making customers come and look for your advertising instead of push it in their face advertising'.

How's the weather in Dubai btw? It' snowing here!
06.12.2012 / Dubai / 10:41 / KF

Weather in Dubai is awesome these days. A smooth 25°C to 30°C going down to 17°C at night. Beautiful. Best time of the year. And it stays like that for another 3 months.

Let me tell you: a radio station that tracks listening time and gives credits for iTunes ... I-JUST-LOVE-IT!!!!! I would absolutely stream that in my office all day. That is a brilliant idea man. Just start it up! You are the type of guy that can pull it off, make it big. Just remember me when you are a billionaire ;-)

Online advertising ... the story here is simple, in my opinion: the whole online advertising approach needs to change soon. You are absolutely right about the traditional online advertising inserts, banners being one of them. Some sites even have no regard for targeting, lifestyle, interest, religion or other. Example: when you use piratebay.se (ok, not the most 'legit' out there), a p2p download portal, all you get are Russian women offering... whatever.... Not really what you want to return to. It is shameful that they do that.

The problem with online advertising is the unsolicited approach. There should be some sort of opt-in button/algorithm, making sure that you are prone or ok to see advertising when you switch on your computer or enter a certain site.

Now, the above is a big ask, and the issue is: there is no 'internet' or 'cyber' overseer, no entity that can even organize a global solution.

So, for the time being it's about being 'gentle' and non-intrusive. And... creative. In the end, if a banner is relevant + creatively appealing + not disturbing, it might just get that click you want. Not easy, but doable. Responsibility falls on creatives and media buyers to place banners in the right place with the right content. It can be effective if it's done well.

By the way, remember that biggest-ever-digital campaign we ran for BASE in 2003. Ground-breaking at the time, and it won all the awards and drove people to our website and stores. BUT...it was controversial because we went overboard. Being spread out wide and deep is good, but being everywhere is bad. I remember we got a lot of complaints from people when we did site take-overs, banners left right and center of screen, etc. It was too much.

Let me address your BIG QUESTION. First by saying it is the wrong question. The solution is not about how to make consumers come and look for your advertising. It is in fact not about advertising at all. The big question should be: how do you build engagement for your brand? Engagement that can truly drive brand KPI's and ultimately sales. The means to get there might be multi-fold.
06.12.2012 / Antwerp / 18:35 / ES

O.K. Here I'm gonna play my first JOKER/DOMINOKER. Need to think about a smart answer other than saying: sales! And in addition, we have Sinterklaas who is at the office just now and pulling my leg. Let's not start on the fact that Sinterklaas does not exist. That I know ;) There's an idea: telling lies in advertising. Or even better: brands that lie.

Most brands that are not Triple-A lie. In the past I have had countless brands coming to our office asking us to lie, in a smart way of course, to customers. Nowadays we ask them in the briefing meeting if they have heard about the financial crisis. And then they get it. It is not smart to lie. It is much smarter to be pro-active about the truth. It has been proven, and also by my own experience that pro-active truth-telling brands engage faster and deeper. In essence the true power of seeding and grass-roots is based on this. Ok. Need to go now. Must speak to Sinterklaas and see if I have been a good brand builder this past year. Let me think about your main question. Did Sinterklaas get to Dubai Casa Kurt yet?
07.12.2012 / Dubai / 18:35 / KF

Sinterklaas did get to Dubai. He does every year. Funny story, his boat broke down (the Dutch organization that makes this happen every year didn't get the sponsorship for that), so 'he came with a KLM flight' (nice branding for Sinterklaas, don't you think). It's a big deal here, with a good 3OOO Dutch people in the AE.

With regard to the 'lie factor', I am actually shocked to hear that you have clients asking you to lie. That seems not only unreal; it is not going to do any good for the brand, is it? Any decent marketer knows that. It is the first law of brand management: deliver against your promise – if you don't, consumers will give up on you, lock out, or worse in current times: take it to the public.

The current 'power to the people' movement is big. Everyone has the tools to find out whether a brand is speaking the truth, and everyone has the tools to speak up in case they feel something is wrong or fishy.

You have to give me some examples, because I find it hard to believe. Apart from the banking sector, that might hide facts behind complicated systems and legalities, I can't see who on earth would want lies to be told about their brand or product. The only thing I can understand is ignorance. By which I mean: the weaker marketers might not think everything through and might have overlooked some competitive or legal aspect and therefore fall into a trap. But companies willingly wanting to lie...no...I can't believe that. For sure I couldn't support that!

So: enlighten me.
07.12.2012 / Antwerp / 20:55 / ES

I will not give any brand names since that might end up in legal problems when our book comes out, and more important, it is not professional. But I will give the sectors. One is a food product of a Dutch company, one is a niche insurance company. But both are big brands. That is what surprised me! For these marketing managers it's all about short time. Just play the rat race up! Imagine the day they become CEO... On the other hand, their direct line managers are or aware of it, or stupid. In both case they should be fired.

But now we touch on something important in branding, corporate branding, and that is a company's culture. I will give you an example. When you work at Brandhome, we have some simple rules you obey. Confidentiality is one of them. Translated into a number of sub-rules of which one is about stock sensitive information. You are not allowed in any case to have, buy or hold any financial instrument in whatever form of clients we work for. The same accounts for your direct relatives. As you can imagine we are in many projects in possession of information of which you could take benefit if you would use this info on the stock market.

Now, here is one of our own experiences. A few years ago a senior strategy director abused information about a merger that we were advising on brand strategy between a Dutch and USA publically listed company. He bought both sides since both sides were going to go up. By a coincidence - as it always goes - I found out. I fired the guy on the spot, and informed both the client and the FSMA & SEC, the stock watchdogs. His lawyers came back and sued the company. To make a long story short: we had to pay him indemnity of 160.000 euros. The infraction was, in the eyes of the Belgian law, not a problem and we should not have fired him for 'such as small error'... on which this guy made a tidy profit?! To make the things even worse we found out that he had been going to sessions of scientology for some time. He nor his lawyers ever agreed to confirm that he had not given any information to third parties. The watchdogs referred to each other and the Belgian (lazy) one called CBFA at that time "was short l in staff" to follow up... In addition we lost the client of course. But can you imagine. I hope you are enlightened now why Belgium is a truly fucked up and corrupt place where left wing politicians consider these things as 'normal'. So add that to the culture that has been breeding here in the Belgian society over the past decade.

I will come back to the engagement question tomorrow. I have to go and throw up now thinking back about his incident :-( Enlightened? Or do you want me to tell you about Belgian prospects that expect you to take them to the prostitutes if you want to do business. There are some large ad companies in Belgium that grow big with these kinds of 'client engagement techniques'.
08.12.2012 / Dubai / 19:51 / KF

What a story. I can absolutely NOT believe it. Never had an incident like that in my life. The only thing I can say is: you did the right thing. If you find something like that out, then yes, taking action is the only way. Firing seems right to me.

Today being the birthday of Nicki Minaj (yes, I'm a fan, so I know), let's move the conversation to celebrities and their value to the brand. We talked about endorsement, and this is a kind of endorsement, but I want to be more specific. When is it appropriate to use a celebrity? When absolutely not? What are the risks of the brand being overruled by the image of the endorser?

I've had a lot of these questions in my career, working for a company where celebrities are almost part of the family, if you know what I mean. But let me tell you, in all instances where I 'borrowed' another brand, the effects have been positive. Even in tougher situations.

Let's break it down.

Why would you use another 'brand' to endorse you?

There are 2 main reasons in my opinion: (1) because that brand sits in the interest sphere of your target group and (2) because it will help lift the image of your own brand, even if only temporarily.

Absolute DO's:

For starters, the celebrity needs to be 'attractive' to the target group. I obviously don't mean physically (although that might help), but in terms of the total package. Performance, image, rumors, ...

Secondly, and just as important, there needs to be a high level of credibility. That is always a tough one, but a good background check reveals a lot. And, yes, credibility can change, but then again you can't control everything.

Third, you need to nail down a really, really solid contract. If shit hits the fan, that'll make a big difference, believe me. Better get those lawyers working!

Go long or go short?

My take: always try to go long. Long term partnerships work better. Why? It overcomes the idea of 'commercial prostitution'. If you are in bed for a long time, it means there is a genuine image transfer, from both parties actually. Think Nike. With Michael Jordan they had years and years of collaboration, and it has done both brands good if you ask me.

Now I leave it up to you to fill in the following:

-What are the negatives and watch-outs?

-ROI?

-Great examples.
08.12.2012 / Antwerp / 20:01 / ES

**Negatives and watch-outs: it is ALL about association, so...**

-no clear and strict contract with them, and then...

-have been used too often by other brands before and/or during the collaboration with your brand (this really KILLS the credibility with consumers)

-is acting in his/her professional career as a celebrity in a way that is not acceptable for your brand (e.g. in case of a movie star he/she suddenly pops up in a porn movie of the past, or plays into a movie that creates lots of controversy and issues e.g. in a religion related thing)

-is acting in his/her professional life: drunk, drug problems, violence, politics, statements on delicate matters...

-consumer scepticism; consumers might not believe that the endorsers really consume the product that they endorse (e.g. they promote a Breitling but always wear a Rolex)

-scalability of the concept of celebrities: on the one hand, single endorser for one product might be seen as boredom; on the other hand, consumers might get confused by using multiple celebrity endorsement

-risk of 'vampire effect' or 'celebrity vamping' can be perceived, when endorsing celebrity is too attractive, drawing attention away from the product; in that case celebrities are using your budget to build their brand

-there is no fit between the endorsing person and the product

-...

I can give you many more negatives, both from my own experience and from the hundreds of studies that have been done on this subject.

**ROI?**

- depends on what the target was. If your agency is so bad and stuck in the past that it cannot come up with another idea than celebrities... then perhaps high ROI if your consider the hourly rates network agencies charge...

- I think you know better than me what the ROI is of celebrities

**Great Examples**

- can't think of one that has convinced me as a consumer to really go for a brand

- can think of many names of celebrities that have done many brands: Beckham, Woods, Ali, Michael Jackson, etc

Honestly, I don't like using celebrities for your brand. It is not because I don't believe it works, because it does. But because I consider it a too easy way-out for a marketer to just tackle a celebrity and then shoot a TV spot, ask for 50 tweets about your brand, give him/her a basement full of your products etc. But that is me ;) In addition most of them behave very badly during shootings and events.

For me using celebrities to drive your brand becomes interesting if you can use them to penetrate your target audience INdirectly. e.g. you pay them but nobody knows. Or even better: you don't pay them and they build your brand.

'Celebrities' is one of 20 advertising fill-in forms that we defined in our Brandhome method® creative matrix concept. I prefer the other 19.

Let me ask you: ROI + best ever?
09.12.2012 / Dubai / 13:35 / KF

Ah. So you're keeping the difficult pieces for me?

ROI. Well, I guess there is no ROI 'number' per se for celebrity endorsement. What's the value of having Beckham in your TV commercial? Is it $1million or $2million ... who knows? But one thing is for sure, and that's why the system keeps going I guess: the 'earned media' and the 'engagement' you get in return for using the right celeb for your brand can be really big. Hence, a million dollars is easily paid back if you have a truly global campaign with a global celebrity. On the flipside of that, what doesn't work is doing it half-way. You cannot have a top-notch celebrity and only pay them peanuts money. I guess that's where it often goes wrong.

Celebrity usage is not for all brands, not for everywhere. If you keep that in mind as a rule of thumb, then I guess you'll get your payback. Anyone who has a robust celebrity-ROI model can show it to me; I'd be very interested to see what that looks like.

BEST-EVER?

Related to the above, I think that certain categories benefit a lot from celebrities, and hence they have built a great way of using them. Think about fashion brands, think about perfumes, think about watches. Those are sort of logical endorsements, because of the believability factor –you can really believe that the rich and famous do consume/use/wear those products! It really does make a difference if Kim Kardashian or Eva Longoria promote/present a brand.

To be honest, Tiger Woods endorsing NIKE is still one of the greatest deals ever. I believe they were paying him a good $10million a year. But they leveraged it to the max. Until he screwed up, yes. But for years, they have benefited from that.

I personally like the Nespresso link to George Clooney. The match between the brand and Clooney's personality (as the Bond-type smooth operator boosting the prestige and elegance of the brand) is perfect.

THE BLACK HOLE

Let me close with a challenge... I guess that for a lot of successful celebrity/brand-partnerships, there is always a question on the brand manager's mind: what do we do AFTER our partnership/contract ends? Do you continue with the celeb, or has it been enough? I've seen some brands fall into a black hole and then return to celebrity marketing, because they didn't know how to manage the brand without one. I guess that is a really, really bad thing. If you come to that point, then yes, you are 'addicted' to the celebrity; the celebrity takes over from the brand. A no-go area!
09.12.2012 / Antwerp / 18:01 / ES

Let me know when you get that ROI model. Want to talk about something that touches the 'engagement effect' as deducted from pooling your brand with a celebrity. Let's talk BRANDSCAPING. No, in contrary with the usual plagiarism as often demonstrated in the advertising world, I SCREAM OUT LOUD: I did not invent it! It was Professor Biel who defined the brand(land)scape theory in 1991 in an Admap article. The brandscape is defined as the totality of brands across the sum of all categories carried in a consumer's mind. It is an interesting theory for the reasons below.

You will see that it has a broader and more interesting ground than the HALO effect of using celebrity endorsement. Here we go.

1>brands are fighting for a piece of consumer attention

2>consumers have only 100% attention to share

3>brands want to be part of that 100%; your brand wants it so it can engage with that consumer

When you know your customer's brandscape, then you know which brands he relates to, and how these brands relate to each other. In psychological terms you could call this a 'branded evoked set' or something. When you know your consumer's brandscape, you not only know which brands he/she consumes, but thanks to the brandscape you can also know how the consumer puts brands in relationships with one another. And that is very interesting in a marketing era where partnerships will define who will be successful and who will fail.

In essence the brandscape tells you who, what, why:

•who your customers like more than you

•who your customers like less than you

•who gets more attention than you

•who gets less attention that you

•what your customers' daily/weekly/monthly/yearly brand journey is

•why and how they do it

In a world dominated by brands, brandscaping tells you who your customers really are. It tells you with whom and how, you should work together. I call the brandscape a mediated social structure where consumers perform brand-building labour.

We took this brandscape theory further, and developed it at Brandhome into a new tool. A tool that can replace bad or overloaded marketers.

First we defined an active and passive brandscape:

1.active brandscape: this is the landscape of all brands the consumer is aware of

2.passive brandscape: this is the landscape of all brands that are relevant and have the potential to move into the consumers' consideration set

The research tool we developed to analyze the brandscape is doing very well, and many of the brands we work for have already implemented it. It does not replace your marketers, but it empowers them and broadens their scope in a world that gets more complex everyday... or simple. Depends how you look at it. For all the brands we work for, we know the top 10 brands that are top of mind in the brandscape of the target groups. With those brands we do a lot of partnerships and use each others communication channels to reach out and engage with the consumers. Does Pepsi have something like this? Or am I Business Pitching here?
10.12.2012 / Dubai / 22:32 / KF

Stop pitching, man! It's too obvious. Ok, ok, I get it, you are an entrepreneur. It's your job to pitch.

We don't have the 'pure' brandscape model/research, but we have modelled similar brand webs through a combination of sophisticated U&As and continuous brand tracking studies. These always take a very wide category into account. Cannot share details because this falls within what we would call our trade secrets. What we don't have is our brand's relation against non-food and beverage categories.

So, before we go on, give me your KILLER arguments on why a big corporation like ours, that has a massive amount of research running across the world and across many categories, would need what you have to offer.

Go!
10.12.2012 / Antwerp / 20:37 / ES

O.k. since this is gonna be a very short domino too I'll be also very short: because we will otherwise work for Coca-Cola ;).

Let's be honest. Indeed, big multi-nationals have massive information and know a lot. In my experience they can only use agencies to either provide them with a working structure (these are the large advertising groups that have become "part" of these big multinationals), or sharpen their already bright minds (that's the game we are in). With the latter I mean that we run around the company and the globe, like little bees and pick up information, even within the same group, and splash it around. But we also come up with new ideas and questions. We are a sparring partner. We ask critical questions that the large agencies don't ask because of 'large agency company politics and policies'...

So, if you want some honest, sharp and straightforward guys, please contact us on info@brandhome.com ;)

Let's talk celebrities. Saw that you, well Pepsi, seduced Beyonce today! Great. Fits well with Pepsi's plan to engage through music etc. Congrats. Let's talk about something else. Back to the media table. I love those football field size Pepsi billboards that you find in the AE. Nice. Impressive. But what do you think about all these 8 and 20 m2 billboards that are attached to almost all and everything in Western-Europe? Do you believe this still works?
11.12.2012 / Dubai / 18:53 / KF

I personally believe in outdoor if and when used in the right way. Outdoor is a great complementary medium for a fast boost, selectively. There are watch-outs on deployment and on creative...

On deployment: you have to select areas, carefully. What I don't believe in is using it as a blast-the-country approach. But if you select high-traffic and high-prestige areas, then great.

On creative: this is where it often goes wrong. I see a lot of companies using their print visuals and blowing them up. Dead wrong! You really need to develop outdoor-specific creative, taking into account the dynamics of the medium. Amongst others the exposure time...people see an outdoor for 1 or 2 seconds. If you don't get your pack, brand, or message across, then you wasted a whole bunch of money. Forget details, forget things that look small. It's a HUGE board...make sure everything you put on is huge! Don't clutter. Simplicity is a must in outdoor.

I think it can be used in a highly engaging, impactful way that can create wow impact and therefore talk value! But you need to be bold, daring, unique, and loud to make it work!

What are best practices, and what are big failures???
11.12.2012 / Antwerp / 20:13 / ES

Agree. But as you correctly state, some brands really want to put it all on a billboard, small, big and huge ones. I remember that we did some eyeball tracking some years ago with a video in which billboards had been mounted. Interesting. People cannot retain/read more than 3 to 4 words. Big players such as Decaux and Clear Channel also have a lot of tools you can take your creative concept to, and discuss what would work best. Then again, first of all creatives don't like this, nor do stubborn clients. Secondly, it is important to retain that one cannot test what has never been done before. The latter is the real challenge: invent & create! On the other hand I find lot of work on billboards really destroying the sight and consider it as visual pollution. I have the best experiences to use billboards (20m2 plus) to launch new brands, logos and teasing (if you have the time and budget). BASE, Vedior, BNP Paribas Fortis, DELTA... etc all have great results with that.

A friend of mine who spent a couple of years at various NGO's once told me that billboards are the most polluting media that exist. I asked him why? He told me that on top of visual pollution, the ink, paper and glue used, are so tough and toxic because of the sun, the rain, the cold and heat... that the billboards need to resist. He told me it took over a hundred years to get a billboard campaign restored into the ecological system if you look at it from a cradle-to-cradle perspective. I don't know if it's true, and 100 years seems like a long time. But on the other hand it makes some kind of sense.

For that reason (or perhaps hoax) I have advised in the past some brands that really wanted 360 degrees GREEN, not to do billboards. Anyway, I believe that digital bill boarding will create LOADS of new opportunities, but it is hard to convince clients to move into that area. Surprisingly enough, today I had a discussion with one of my clients about narrow-casting. They bought (on the advice of their classical thinking margin-horny media agency) lots of space. However, just to display their logos!? But nobody came up with the idea of doing some interaction and stuff. Even smart promo!

So be it, let's discuss something else. One of my fave's: product placement. You start! ps: last thing on bill boards: if not digital, make sure that legally you are ok since a so-called 'peel-off' if you have an infraction and you need to take a couple of thousends bill boards off, can cost you LOADS of money!!
12.12.12 / Dubai / 09:30 / KF *

Before we move off this topic... interesting information about this environmental impact of billboards. I never realized that. But it sort of makes sense. So, for a Decaux and others, GREEN BILLBOARDS might be a good business call.

New topic indeed: Christmas! And not only that, but the 'commercial prostitution' of special occasions. I mean, come on... it's gone too far. Too far. We have Super Bowl, Valentine's, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, 4th of July, Ramadan, Eid, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, NYE ... and soon we'll celebrate to the same extent the new kids on the block: Earth day, no-smoking day,... no-sex day? What next?

Should you jump on it as a brand, or should you be cautious? Is the consumer ok with all this, or is there overkill?

I personally think people are fed up with it. I know I am. Every month there is a special thing going on and you have to take out your wallet and buy presents for everyone. Hey, I like to celebrate and have nothing against showing love to some people. But it is becoming too much, and therefore the genuine reason for these occasions is gone. That's why I call it commercial prostitution. And I believe that I'm not the only one who thinks so.

From a brand point of view, it sort of only makes sense when you have a logical brand link with that occasion. It's obvious when you sell lingerie (for Valentine and Christmas), chocolates and sweets (for any occasion really), flowers (for Mother's Day), etc. And I do see a good fit for a brand like Starbucks that brings a little bit of homely warmth in the holiday season, and for Albert Heijn to boost the idea of 'we have the best presents in town' or whatever. But what does Persil have to do with any of these (apart from for Halloween they should launch a blood-stain solution product....hahaha...get it? Blood... vampires... teeth...Halloween...)? Or cars??? Or computers????

* (See that date? This is the last time you will see repetition of this kind, ever, ever, in your life! Enjoy)
12.12.2012 / Antwerp / 12:12 / ES *

Hmmmm... The new topic was product placement, and you start on 'marketing moments' with Santa, Cupid, turkeys... and others. I am talking how James Bond drives an Aston Martin, or... how the Expendables II show of massive product placement: Panerai, Mentos, SMART, M.I.T. and other brands that pop-up and dissolve in the scripts of the movie. But okay. Let's discuss product placement tomorrow.

For now: marketing moments! Well, the challenge for every marketer is to create a unique consumption moment for the brand he/she manages. Preferably a moment that can be owned, that you can 'storyfy' with your brand. A great example is 4PM Cup-a-Soup time! Another nice one is when we all get home from a hard work day and 'It's Miller time!'. The beer managed to give you the idea of really taking a moment for yourself and friends and a beer. You would feel refreshed and ready to go do the next cool thing in your life! Or Adecco that created National Personal Assistant Day. Smart move! It takes courage and marketing power (brains & cash) to create this. And of course, you can always hook up with marketing moments that get created for you, from Dad's day, back to school or Valentine's to specials such as 12.12.12.

We had a campaign running for our client scarlet (telco) that when ordering online before 12:12 on 12/12/12 you got the 12th month for free. BIG success that we just decided to stretch it into a new one 24.12.12 ;) Ca$h Ca$h amigo! Leveraging the platform. In addition to these more classical marketing moments, and the unique ones that brands create themselves there are also these 'strange' ones, such as 'warm shirt day', 'day of the smile' and so on. In essence it comes down to understanding the world your clients are living in. If your target group are 16 year old guys, don't annoy them with the 'day of smile'; they prefer the 'no SOA day'. So be it. Planning by the calendar and taking it into hand, that's the only way to get the most out of both existing and self-incited marketing moments.

Shall we talk product placement now? You start (again).

* (see the date and time?)
13.12.2012 / Dubai / 05:36 / KF

Nice cameo on ownable moments.

Product placement is a big deal already and will become a HUGE deal in the future. Let me explain...

...IT'S A BIG DEAL ALREADY

A lot of money is being thrown at getting brands into the right brand context, whether it's movies, games, social platforms, etc. Why? It's a fantastic way to make brands and products aspirational with the right audience. Having your brand in the new Call of Duty release is a big deal, knowing the huge reach that game has within its target group. Same for the Bonds, Batmans, and Hangovers of the world. Now, budget for these things is no small feat. So, to do that well, you need resources. You need people in the company/agency that know what they are talking about, and have money to do this properly. Most importantly, there needs to be a 'natural fit' between brand and where it is being integrated. If Callaway golf clubs are featured in a movie with Tiger Woods: spot on! Cheerios on a breakfast table: smart. Harley Davidson in Wild Hogs...cool! Oh my God, that reminds me: Taco Bell in Demolition Man a good 10 years back (Wow. It has been that long. I'm getting old) - how cool was that? Memorable. Aston Martin and Bond is probably the ultimate best-practice. The image-boost a brand like that gets is enormous. Another, similar example was the use of Mini in The Italian Job. Fabulous! Have you seen the fantastic Pepsi integration in Minority Report? The trick, as with everything in marketing, is: 'go BIG or go home'...if you don't 'own' the brand/product placement, it'll not be noticed and your money will be waited! Take X-Factor: the judges have a massive Pepsi cup in front of their nose! (And I have an exact replica in my office -yihaaa).

...WILL BECOME A HUGE DEAL

In the not too distant future, with modern technology evolving, natural integration of product placement will become a 'normal' thing. Imagine the following: you are watching a movie, and you see an actor wearing a pair of cool Ray Ban glasses. 2nd screen is on your lap. Obviously a lot of people have their iPhone/iPad at hand when watching TV. You will be able to point to the screen, flip the image of the glasses into a search engine, which in turn will tell you the brand, where to find it in a store near you, at what price, and what not. Or you'll see someone sitting on a cool couch and will find out it's only IKEA, looking like Armani Design. How awesome is that. Awesome for the consumer experience. And this is awesome for the brands that will actively do something with that to become the #1 search result given. That is nearly possible. Mark my words!
13.12.2012 / Antwerp / 08:56 / ES

Wow! Great idea that placement / instant shopping concept. Reminds me of the following. One of my colleagues has a very niche fashion blog, visited by lots of fashionistas. Some weeks ago they got a call from Timberland to ask them where they bought a pair of designer or something Timberlands. Guess what: Rihanna called Timberland because she saw it on his site, but at Timberland they did not know where they could find these Timberlands. Fun! And could be easily resolved with your concept! That's it for product placement.

Let's talk something really different: PRIZES/AWARDS. I am heading towards the 'Advertising Personality of the Year'-event this afternoon. Branding & Comms director of BNP Paribas Fortis, client of us, is one of the 3 nominees. And our work for them has been nominated too! My first time to such an event. In principal, I am normally opposed to these kind of things. In Belgium my feeling is always that it is dominated by the 'old boys network' who send the trophies around the table to themselves. And since some of them die, the circle always gets smaller. But this guy, Walter Torfs, really deserves to get this prize. What he did with Fortis during and after the financial crisis is top. A nice detail is that the guy had no marketing, branding nor comms background before! Will let you know if he won, or if it has been again 'the old-boys-network-floating-trophy' thing. Anyway, our creative guys also have some nominations out I heard in the office. Don't ask me what and why, since I consider all these prizes as a de-focus of what Brandhome is paid for by her clients. To get the job done, not to get prizes paid by them... What is your opinion about prizes and awards?
14.12.2012 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Listen, awards are 'nice-to-have'... but by no means are they a must-have. Obviously, they will boost egos and are a recognition tool, whether inside a company or inside an ad agency or whatever. Who doesn't want to be recognized by his peers? And here is where the problem lies. I am with you. I don't like awards per se: it's mostly the same old guys talking about the same old guys, appreciating the same old guys. You scratch my back, I scratch your back.

I do like awards that are consumer-selected, independently researched recognition awards. Happens only in a few countries. But that's nice, because that's REAL!!!

What is fun about awards are the ceremonies, gala dinners, and parties ;-) We all want more of these ;-)
14.12.2012 / over Frankfurt (DE) / 22:15 / ES ... from the air!

Yep. The guy from BNP Paribas Fortis did not win yesterday ;-( It was cold at that event by the way! No, no prizes for me.

I am in the air now, on my way to Dubai; hanging somewhere in the sky above Frankfurt. Enjoying the true Etihad hospitality. Nice airline, great brand. They have amazingly friendly staff! European airlines could learn from them!

Tell me more about their consumer-selected awards. What do you mean? These kind of awards where the TV stations ask the public to vote? They are serving my cod now, and I am exhausted. Still some work to prep for the meetings tomorrow.

Speak to you tomorrow. Let's talk PR as an important instrument in brand building. You start!
15.12.2012 / Dubai / 16:00 / KF

Ah. The joy of WiFi in the air. Good stuff.

PR: public relations. First thing I'm thinking is: what an outdated term and concept. The practice of maintaining relationships with key stakeholders in press-land and sending out (one-way // yak) press-releases is a total dinosaur practice from my point of view.

Now, I'm not implying that PR is useless. Absolutely not! Getting exposure in traditional print is important, and qualifies as 'earned media'. And when it's done right PR shields the company from attacks based on ignorance (although that would probably qualify as corporate communication).

I'm just wondering what would qualify as a great example for all of us to learn from. PR utilized/deployed in a contemporary way. I don't have examples. Do you?

Big change is needed I guess: targeting needs to widen. These days everyone is a reporter, a journalist, an opinion leader of some kind. How do you deal with that from a PR pov? And how do you monitor, activate, contain blogs, social networks, forums, videos, RSS feeds??

Help me out, here:

•How can we bring PR more into the 21st century?

•How can we have PR play an essential, well-defined role in the marketing mix?

•What best examples are around to learn from?
15.12.2012 / Dubai / 21:37 / ES

Let's start with a definition of public relations as defined by the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) - update 2012: Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. I think public relations is part of corporate communications. Corporate communications do not primarily aim to change a commercial habit of a target group, whereas marketing communications directly aim at changing a commercial habit. This being said, and in sync with your insights above, I always define PR as Public Relevance. It has become wider and more hybrid.

Public relations has become an instrument not solely owned by the brand owner anymore. But indeed each and every involved stakeholder can take that role up, expected or unexpected. Needless to say that PR techniques are still valid and interesting to have in place. In the case of public conflict it is important to have a PR plan at hand in sync with governmental and corporate affairs of course. What I find very interesting, is issue management and issue advocacy.

The latter was born out of the know-how developed with electoral campaigns. Example is the campaign some of the larger soda pops put together after NYC had expressed the intention to ban soda pops from the city. The grassroots approach in issue advocacy is also an interesting one for another reason. The power and deepness of the research that gets conducted upfront before any advocacy (protest) gets launched.

Last but not least: you asked for good examples of brands that have been built through PR. Well... it's very close to you... the best examples are the (more classical) ad agencies. They create work with the sole objective to win creative prizes. Some of them did very well... and the customer brand paid for it.
16.12.2012 / time unknown / content missing: KF is preparing a secret event / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
16.12.2012 / Dubai / secret location / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
17.12.2012 / time unknown / content missing: KF is attending a secret event / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
17.12.2012 / content missing / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
18.12.2012 / time unknown / content missing: KF is partying at a secret event / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
18.12.2012 / content missing / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
19.12.2012 / time unknown / content missing: KF is sleeping his event 'off' / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
19.12.2012 / content missing / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
20.12.2012 / time unknown / content missing: KF is sms'ing that he is back from his event / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
20.12.2012 / content missing / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
21.12.2012 / Dubai / 05:37 / KF

Yeah yeah, I know, I created a disturbance in The Force, made a space appear between the domino blocks, didn't deliver for a few days, and questioned the commitment on the book. bladibladibla... ALL BULLSHIT. I'm here. I'm back. Live with it :-)

Had a tiring but awesome week this past week! This was the week were we held our yearly Marketing Conference for PepsiCo in the Middle East and Africa, bringing together all of our 110 marketing people in Dubai. A good mix of business and pleasure, with the balance tipping on the pleasure side. You have to be able to work hard but also to play hard! And so we did. I was sort of orchestrating the event with some of my team members and therefore not just riding along but being more on the steering wheel. With such a big group of people there's always all sorts of stuff going on. Plus, I know all of them, so everyone wants a chat which is fabulous but also a bit draining. A bit? A lot! Good fun though!

I invited one of the top 10 Facebook leaders, Mark D'arcy, who came to speak for an hour then did a half hour Q&A. Man, this guy got us all fired up. Super content. Super speaker. Super examples. Super presentation. The roof came off. Our guys were so excited they kept hammering him with questions for, like, forever! He couldn't even answer some of them. I was really really proud of the team. Few years back, we were virgins in social media land - now I can say we are amongst the best. If not THE best, and pushing the envelope.

Big take-aways from this week that I can share are:

(1)The world is becoming seriously complex, and marketing with it. There is no place for loners and heroes. It all has to be team work, with everyone playing their part.

(2)Steal with pride. If you see something a colleague does well and that might work for your brand, then don't be stupid and try to reinvent the wheel. Take it. Amplify it. Make it better. And go fast.

(3)Create space/freedom for your team. I've seen, once more, that when you let people loose they go all out and deliver fabulous results, beating the expectations. Micro management kills – that's a fact!

(4)Experiment. Seen a few case studies that prove that sometimes you need little money to create big waves. But most of these things are out-of-the-box ideas. Believe. Test. Repeat if successful. Dump if it fails. End of story.

(5)Celebrate BIG. Nothing worse than working like a dog and not getting any fun and recognition in return.

Now I'm going to spend a few hours thinking back on the past year, and about what happened in marketing land. Want to turn that into a nice article for my blog. Did that last year and it got me some nice visibility and emails. Need to beat that! I'll share my thoughts on 2012 in a future domino.

I then need to clean my inbox. That's going to take me days. Must start today. I always strive to get to inbox zero on Jan 1, to start the year afresh. It's a mental thing.

And then I'll see you tonight for a few review of our book. Exciting!
21.12.2012 / time unknown / content missing: ES is meeting with KF to check his mental stability / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
22.12.2012 / time unknown / no entry / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
22.12.2012 / Dubai / 08:51 / ES

Yes. We're back for some real writing now that KF has mentally and physically survived his Pepsi party, camouflaged as a content event towards the internal audit ;-) Came out handy for me these past days. Had lots of things to wrap up in the AE. But now I can blame him, and he has to pay 6 JOKERDAYS!

Let's talk about 'brand blaming'. For me a bucket-word to be used for loads of issues arising in companies and projects when things go wrong in marketing.

Back in 2003, when KF and I were busy repositioning BASE in Belgium, we both got a nickname from the audit people. In Dutch there is a saying literally translated as 'one who has a hole in his hand' when he spends too much money (money leaks through your fingers). About KF the audit said: he has a hole in his hand. About myself the audit said: he has no hand. AUDIT WISDOM 1. 'Half of the money spent on marketing is wasted; the question is which half.' Marketers are just big spenders having fun. Another nice one is that marketing people just find out funny stuff (products/services) to add to the portfolio and that not all of that works. Yeah. Right. Here comes AUDIT WISDOM 2. Of course not everything can work. But it is not always the purpose to add things to a brand portfolio that become volume sellers. Porsche is not making the Spyder 918 Hybrid to sell as many as the Cayenne Diesel. Nor was the Ferrari ENZO meant to be a big seller for Ferrari. It is a star product a brand makes to consolidate all its know-how, show leadership and innovation, leverage the brand, get loads of free publicity, and so on! Another one is AUDIT WISDOM 3: you don't need marketing. Well, you don't need auditors neither, do you, if the market is a predictable place and you can plan everything 24 months ahead and no changes are needed. This latter one really pushes me to my limits. You probably don't need marketing if your people in other functions are sufficiently connected to their markets and can make difficult decisions. A sales person that does not want to make the sale, since in the back of his mind he understands that he better makes the sale next year, with a slightly adapted product, miss out his bonus for this year, take the risk a competitor closes the deal... yes! Perhaps this sales guy can also do the audit? How about that? Then you don't need auditing anymore. Kurt, can you come up with some additional AUDIT WISDOMs and wrap this up with some smart insights?
23.12.2012 / Dubai / 07:02 / KF

Dude. WTF. This wasn't a party camouflaged as a content event. This is serious business AND, yes, serious partying. We live in the era of AND...AND, not OR...OR. Wake up and smell the coffee. But hey, you're not the only one saying this. Marketing supposedly is all play no work. To the extent that people think you actually don't need a degree to work in marketing: AUDIT WISDOM 4!

I used to have a GM that said we were always playing around. 'Go back to your sand area and play', he would shout if he disagreed with what marketing suggested. Some people do think we are an ad agency indeed. If you'd ask them what marketing does, they would answer: they make commercials. AUDIT WISDOM 5!

Last one, AUDIT WISDOM 6: marketing is a cost center, not a profit center. Just look at where the A&M line sits in the P&L. Or see how difficult it is to value a brand...is it worth its sales? What the $value of its equity?

But hey, I genuinely think things are changing. All those audit wisdoms or myths used to be strong and common knowledge 10+ years ago. Today most people to grasp what marketing is. And if they don't, there is at least a basic understanding that marketing is needed to get the consumer to love and buy the brand. Good enough. I feel that marketing has moved from the sidelines to centre stage. But yes, the myths still go around, and do get used 'against us'. Then again, I always have a ready reply. Isn't IT a worthless department - switch on and off. LOL. And isn't finance just there to count - all day long, year in year out -like a kid playing with blocks trying to build a tower. Seems boring to me. LMAO. And what about R&D? That's where people work who wanted to become doctors, dentists, and pharmacists but weren't smart enough -right? HAHHA. You see, these things are ridiculous to the point where they don't make sense anymore. Let's be friends and work together ;-)

But here are some truths:

Yes, we manage large budgets and spend the money.

Yes, our job is creative in nature.

Yes, marketing is diverse - every day is different.

Yes, we are allowed to go out of the office (to meet the consumer and go in the trade)

Yes, we hate routine.

Yes, we have more fun.

AMEN!
23.12.2012 / Abu Dhabi / 13:52 / ES

These are great days for Brandhome foundation! Will be able to donate a lot to children in 2013 with KF playing so many joker days! But his bonus is BIG enough to cover that ;-)

Good to see all these WRONG WISDOMS listed. Indeed, I truly believe that large FMCG and/or companies that have been involved in contact with marketing for a longer period are getting a grip. However, a large portion of the players, and not the smallest ones, still are not really marketing-savvy. Probably also because they have not needed to, or still don't need to. We are mostly talking about CAPEX-heavy companies, such as utility companies, but even banks and telco's still need to reinvent their definition of marketing. Mostly it comes down in these companies to 'making nice ads' and ensuring that there are a lot of different brochures. Please note A LOT and DIFFERENT. That way the people working at these companies can make themselves indispensable. In the end, they are making these brochures probably just for themselves since (potential) customers don't read any of it. Incredible. In a era of sustainability.

Let's look at Electrabel, the Belgian energy incumbent. They have moved so slowly, that now they just lost half of their market share, and they are still going down. Last week they announced a price decrease of 15% to save the furniture, but I don't believe it will work if they don't change they way they think about customers. They should become customer focused. It is a classical incumbent problem company. With people working there that still believe they are the only provider in Belgium... Can you imagine? Let's not blame these people. They did not invent the Unions that have nutured this culture of arrogance and ignorance. Let's blame the management for not speaking up. Other nice examples are the European banks.

The financial crisis is hardly swallowed and many are back to their old tricks. What do we say about an old fox?

In the USA there is a new kind of front-end interface bank or something, called MINT. Great invention. Great marketing. All your bank things from all different banks in one place. Finished with all types of decoders, keys, calculators, etc and no excuse anymore for not spreading out your financial resources across multiple financial service providers, amongst which banks. Just have your MINT and all will be OK! This is great marketing.

In Europe, when speaking to the marketers of many large banks, they see the threat. But instead of taking the challenge on and being prepared to face and manage the consequences of these changes, they go around to see how the lobby at a EU level can block these kind of initiatives. Come on! Think broader.

These are just some examples of sectors that really need to change their vision on the role of marketing. To wrap these brainwaves up something totally different. Brands in sectors that are, due to (inter)national regulations, not allowed to freely use all the marketing tools at hand. Sectors such as medical drugs and tobacco. Or in a lesser way alcoholic beverages. The medical and tobacco marketers are used to working within lots of constraints, and are still innovative and smart.

Here is a statement for you, KF: I believe that marketers groomed in highly regulated environments are interesting profiles to drag into less, more free sectors in terms of marketing. They have a can-do attitude and can look at things in a different way. What do you think?
24.12.2012 / Dubai / 09:52 / KF

I think that is a great idea. And actually it works the other way around as well. The more cross-fertilization there is between industries, the better the marketing community will be. The better business will get and the more brands will flourish and not be destroyed. That brings me to the following: all our actions are based on beliefs and belief systems. Question is: do marketers have the right beliefs? To kick off that conversation, here are mine, compiled after having worked as a marketing professional for 20+ years:

MY 10 FUNDAMENTAL PERSONAL BELIEFS & VIEWS ON MARKETING [they are publically out there, on my blog]:

1Marketing is and should always be (about) fun!

2Marketing is fascinating and ever-changing. As a marketer, you need to keep up with the change.

3Consumers love brands and they love innovation. You are contributing to making them feel good.

4Imagine yourself in the shoes of the consumer - always! Don't sit in your ivory tower and imagine your consumer's life ... go out there and observe.

5I am not the consumer, nor is my wife or neighbour!

6The biggest consumer & inspiration lab is always around your corner; it's called the supermarket. Check it out, regularly.

7Be the GM for your brand. Your passion, your effort is the key to success for your brand! So is "doing things right". If you were an entrepreneur you would always avoid putting your business in jeopardy.

8It's all about earning the next repeat purchase! Sustainability is key.

9Look into the future, don't dwell on the past.

10Dazzle, charm, seduce, entertain...every day! Spread some brand love. That also means: experiment, try new things, create WOW impressions, don't rest on your laurels.

and...

If you're not on FB and twitter, find a new profession.
24.12.2012 / Abu Dhabi / 18:20 / ES

You nutcase with your Facebook marketing wisdom! I think about committing suicide; well, I mean e-suicide, getting rid of all this Facebook stuff. But will not do that on Christmas Eve. Just out of a meeting, and exhausted.

Tomorrow, I'm taking the red-eye flight to Brussels. What shall I touch on tonight? Yes, Christmas here in Abu Dhabi. Strange to see how in a Muslim country there is so much invested in Christmas. Really beautiful stuff they do here. I find the AE very hospitable. The Christmas mania here is all part of their unique marketing management! And to attract as many foreigners to come and spend their holidays (and money) in the AE as possible. Saying that there is no Christmas in the Muslim world is no excuse not to come to the AE!

Today I had an interesting chat with one of our business partners. I will not give his name here, but he is very well connected, very powerful and extremely intelligent. I spent 3 hours listening to him this afternoon. 180 minutes of top-end education. Always learn a lot. In the AE there are 8 mil people. Only 1 mil people are local Emiratis. The other 7 mil are expats, from overpaid fat cats such as Kurt, all the way to hotel workers and other labourers!  
Did you know that it has been calculated that these 7 mil people provide all together for another 70 mil people in their home countries. There is no place in the world like the AE in terms of what I would call 'non-resident-leverage' or something. Great insight. They should market it! Anyway, am going out for a bite now. Will not annoy you with marketing talk on Christmas Eve and that Santa is not real. Let's kick off tomorrow with real marketing talk. Here is a line to start you off: what marketing tips would we give to Qatar to turn themselves into a strong destination brand?
25.12.2012 / Kortrijk (BE) / 11:42 / KF

Facebook is my life, amigo. As it is for many people on the planet. If FB gets to their average penetration, they'll have 2.5bn users, do you know that? That means that almost everyone is connected (excluding kids and 5O+ers).

Anyway. Qatar as destination brand. They have a ways to go. So here is my advice (and this will cost you, man, because you will steal it and pass it to them, charging top dollar):

First, for context: Qatar has the highest GDP/cap in the Mideast, and I'm not quite sure but I think they are amongst the highest in the world, if not the highest. But their country is kind of... boring, and vastly unknown. Key is to turn that around in my opinion. So:

#1.Learn from Dubai! Dubai has put itself on the map in less than ten years! Learn from how they've developed. Where have they invested in the country. How they have promoted and advertised it.

#2.Go full-on. Half-assed work will kill everything. You need the best hotels, most flashy entertainment, greatest sport facilities, etc

#3.Attract big names as residents, investors, ambassadors, ... Create a network of people talking about Qatar - fast.

#4.Make accessibility a top priority. Roads, airports, visa applications...keep it all simple, easy. Offer maximum help to show you genuinely care and get recognised for being hospitable.

#5.Sample the country! Create first consumer experiences, stories that can go around, that are PR-able,...

#6.Hire the best marketers, and do as they say ;-) the job is pure brand (experience) building -focus on that and nothing else!

What else, Mr Brandhome?
25.12.2012 / Antwerp / 17:22 / ES

Nutcase! I am back in Belgium too. Back from AE. Bumpy flight today so I feel somewhat shaken up. What the H are you doing in West-Flanders - Kortrijk - of all places? Remember the saying: if they did not steal from you in West-Flanders, then it is because they forgot. To you a Merry X-mas too!

Qatar: bit superficial those tips in my opinion. Think you should work deeper. Get the fundamentals of the destination brand together. Dig deep and find some pearls to explore. I strongly believe that in every situation future building blocks are buried in the past.

Whenever I get into a company, I dive in its past. And - strangely - mostly I come up with new insights that no one saw before, or that have been forgotten. Anyway, that is for me RULE NR 1 for Qatar. Look at Dubai. Today, on the flight home, I had another very interesting discussion with the Emirati leader I wrote about some days ago. He explained to me how the public transportation system, the banking, the tourism... has been built in Dubai. It's always based in line with the values of the United Arab Emirates as a Federal System, as well as the rooted identities of each of the Emirates forming the AE. Dubai is not about just building big landmarks. It is about showing that the impossible can be done; it is about innovation. For over many hundreds of years the Emirati communities have had to find ways of surviving and taking care of their people. Why? Because they have always been sub-scale in relation to the countries/entities surrounding them.

I believe Qatar also holds some kind of personal identity that we need to dig up and explore. So think again and give me some HARD insights my respectful and trusted friend. To wrap up here is a nice example of how we go around finding the future in the past. Some 3 years ago, a year before the uprising, we were sent on a mission into Tunisia to fix a telecom company, Tunisie Telecom, the incumbent. They had massive outflow towards a mobile operator called Tunisiana, owned by Orascom. Mostly the younger population and more hip people switched. In regard to the age spread in Tunis (lots of young people), this was a disaster for the incumbent. So they asked us to rejuvenate Tunisie Telecom. We advised them not to do that, since in that case they would risk losing the older generations that were still using heavily the fixed telco solutions and decided on the internet in the house. It would be too risky to get stuck in between 2 generations. Anyway, we came up with the idea to build a challenger youth-only brand. Inspired by all we did here in Belgium with MTV, TMF and JIM Mobile (you remember, or did you have too much to drink today?). Of course, the name was, as always, a challenge. At that time the former President, his son-in-law, was preparing the entrance of a third player in the market, Orange. Will come to that right away. Here is what we did: we created a brand called ELISSA. We found out that Elissa was the name of the Princess that founded Carthage. She did that in a very clever way. Will not get into all the details, but mind this one: she escaped her tyrannical brother and arrived at the coasts of what was later to become Tunis. There she bartered with the locals, offering a substantial amount of wealth in exchange for what she could contain within the skin of a bull. When they agreed to what seemed an exchange greatly to their advantage, Elissa showed how clever she really was. She cut the hide into strips and laid it out in a semi-circle with the sea forming the other side. Elissa then ruled Carthage as queen ;) Please note that this Elissa is also known as Dido. It was also one of our proposed names. But we couldn't secure the legal protection since at that time Tunisia was managing its own national intellectual property rights protection system. Please pay attention to this. ELISSA when you turn it around is ASSILE, which is in French asylum. So when you read the Arab logo... It was no problem. Another thing we did - now that we understood the legal protection system for IP - was paint Elissa orange, and make a square logo ;) pre-emptive marketing this is called. So much for Orange... Many other stories to tell about this unique case. Perhaps later, when we discuss ethnical marketing. Let me offer you this wisdom by George Bernard Shaw: 'The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.'

Good night my friend and speak tomorrow. If you are around the Antwerp HQ of Brandhome tomorrow, drop in! And give me a real MARKETING SHOT on Qatar!

Show me what you are made of!
26.12.2012 / near Brussels / 09:12 / KF

Sorry mate. Don't buy into the BS of you accusing me of being superficial. What's that? I thought you were my biggest fan?! Read the previous section again..and...think about it this time :-)

Rich culture is 'interesting' if and when rich culture exists. China. Egypt. Belgium/Brugge. India. Yes. Qatar. No.

Do you think Qatar can charm people to go to middle east and explore an unknown, 'empty' country that has 1.5 million inhabitants only? Think again! The competitive set in the region itself is too big, let alone what exists outside. Dubai. Baku. Beirut (the Paris of the Mideast). Cairo.

So, I think what Qatar needs to do is CREATE A NEW, COMPELLING, FUTURE. NOW. Although I really like the Tunisia example you gave, I wouldn't replicate it as a model for Qatar. Keep 2022 World Cup in mind and bring 2022 into the now! They have 10 years and need a detailed plan. It would surprise me if they don't have that actually. Goal: make Qatar the prime country of the future, NOW. Make it the only you 'must-have been to', now (FoMo!). They've got the money to make that happen! Let them build cities, exceptional architecture, unique experiences that have never been offered before, a business hub unlike others, and next to that let them create the most beautiful beaches and resorts in the world. Attract business and leisure alike.

Let them build an almost 'Olympic-class sports spirit' ahead of time. Now, that is sexy! Imagine they can create the most wanted, must-be, aspirational place in terms of WC, even BEFORE the 2022 cup takes place. (On top of that, I would say, their goal needs to be to get another major event to Qatar in the next 5 years, just to set the pace, and not to wait for 2022)

And believe me, it IS a brand exercise: that means solid campaign planning, sexy TV commercials, a social media plan, a city-sampling plan, and ambassadors!

And by the way, small detail, they'd better start allowing alcohol if they want to get football fans from over the world to Qatar (here you have it mate; my DEEP insight -LoL. It's Christmas...not a lot of deep insights these days!).

Over to you, smarty pants. I'm sure you have a 10 year plan for brand Qatar in mind. Then let's change gear and talk about 2013...what will be the biggest thing on the marketing agenda next year??
26.12.2012 / Antwerp / 13:33 / ES

I am a FAN! I am a Fan. Autograph please ;)

Near Brussels? Where are you hiding? Qatar. Let me touch base about it with some friends over there. No worries, will gladly share with them your insights and mine. At least we agree that there is a lot to be done.

Biggest challenge for 2013? It depends where you look.

First of all Accountability will be THE CHALLENGE for 2013. However, how it will be filled in will depend where you look. Smaller Western-European countries such as Belgium and The Netherlands will suffer major budget cutbacks and lay-offs in the marketing & comms departments. These markets are so small in regard to global scale that they can easily be piggybacked onto marketing programs from larger EU regions. Personally I doubt that, but the truth shows that marketing decision power is shifting away from smaller countries, certainly if they do not have any international HQ function, as is the case in Belgium. So, convincing the management to keep investing in smaller markets too, and in a way that is tailored to these smaller markets, that will be a huge challenge. In a larger perspective you can look at it that marketing will have to get more out of smaller budgets. Let's call this CHALLENGE 1.

CHALLENGE 2 will be how to deal with the increased complexity of marketing; as you explained some days ago. Many marketers are struggling with this, and when you look at the agency side it is even a bigger problem. That is why we started changing our teams 2 years ago. An art director who has made 'print ads' for 20 years does not change easily... nor opens up for new opportunities. We cannot generalize, but the agencies should face this tremendous challenge. Happy we did it, in time.

CHALLENGE 3 will be re-focus (and perhaps redefinition) of so-called brand premium. Many marketers have forgotten the true essence of brand marketing: getting customers/employees/investors/... to gladly pay a sort of premium for a brand. It is only a brand if it has a premium. As well a high-end positive price premium you pay for Hermes, as well as accepting a negative service premium when flying Ryanair.

CHALLENGE 4 will be managing the Law of the handicap of a head start. Many internal and external partners involved in the marketing execution process, from your own CEO to agencies and media companies will have or at least give you a hard time trying to change things. Why? Because it is human nature. And also because they economically need to oppose change. Take media buying companies for example. They keep on displaying the definition of insanity (Einstein) by trying to slow down the media spending switchings. You have no idea how much BS I see passing by with almost fake research they come up with to lock-in and scare brand owners. Now I am getting angry. So I stop and hand the next 4 challenges over to you-wherever you are!
27.12.2012 / Lieshout (NL) / 08:51 / KF

Amigo. Been on the move, yes. Christmas eve at my sister's, with parents, and all the kids. Also seen some friends I haven't seen in a while, and now I am in the beautiful forest of Lieshout (the small city in Holland where van Gogh lived for many years). Fun times!

Let me continue with what I see as the 2013 challenges, with a focus on marketing...

CHALLENGE 5: (continued) 'clean up'. Since '08 corporations have been put under pressure, and therefore re-orgs, lay offs, changes in strategies, missions and values played their parts. I think we are only at the midpoint, and so I think this will continue next year, with greater force/intensity and speed. I believe that will impact the marketing community in particular. Companies have to decide how they value their marketing: centre-stage or sideline? Worth keeping or better to slim down and throw out?

CHALLENGE 6: the general brand gap will widen. By that I mean the gap between A-brands (or triple-A brands!) and their smaller competitors. You are either big, in a good position, powerful, growing ... or not, in which case your position will probably weaken even more.

CHALLENGE 7: cloud and open source is it! The world will go more and more Gangnam Style (noteworthy: PSY gave his song, idea, platform 'away' to the world; look where it got him). Connections will explode next year. Everything and everyone connected to everything and everyone. Big challenge for marketing: make sure brands are connected to as many relevant touch points and consumers as possible. That means a very complex communication plan, dispersed budgets, de-focus risk-areas. Marketers will have to double up to keep control of what's going on. Linked to that marketing organizations need to be re-crafted ...time to hire a content specialist? a social media manager? social media infrastructure set-up? re-design media-buying? kick out the traditional ad agency? ...

CHALLENGE 8: the privacy game! With all the turbulence around Facebook, Instagram, and Google+ privacy declaration, a further acceleration of the 'cookie-law', I think 2013 might be the year where privacy might be re-thought. And that might put up some serious barriers for brands and marketers in terms of what they can do. So better watch that space!

Next to these challenges, I think it will be a year of opportunities. As the world slowly crawls out of its economic troubles, opportunity will, no doubt, present itself. Here's what I observe:

OPP.1: new technology becoming 'mainstream' technology: Google glasses and Apple iGLass next?, AR, QR, ID-tag, 3D-TV, apps, tablets, holograms, ... the experimentation phase is over! Next year will be the first year where these will be implemented in marketing land. 'Augmentation' will go to new levels. The bridge between the real and the virtual world is almost completed. So, marketers of the world: play along! For real.

OPP.2: e-shopping. Shopping online has become so convenient that I think next year will see a big boost. Big opportunity for those brands that make a move in that direction, especially in the Western world.

OPP.3: iEntrepreneur (r) Kurt Frenier :-) by that I mean, there are so many ways to be entrepreneurial and get funding for it in a crowdsourced way. Explosion of these is coming next year -mark my words.

OPP.4: 2013 will be year of the picture. Pinterest, Keek, Instagram will all mature and revamp the way we tell stories!

OPP.5: it'll be the year of the story. Following earlier conversations, marketers realize that TV is out, and 360-storytelling is the way to go for brands. Integrated brand communications will become standard, and will lift interest and attraction for many brands.

I personally think 2013 will be a tipping point for many things. And therefore ultra exciting. It is the year of snake in Chinese terms. What would that mean??

And let's not the forget the BIGGEST event of the year... a tsunami in marketing land...a ripple effect in how mankind looks at marketing...the launch of this book!! LoL!!
27.12.2012 / Antwerp / 18:29 / ES

Interesting insight you put down. The one on the marketing function. You are right that companies will need to make hard choices about how they want to reinvent how they manage their marketing. However, I question that the leadership is really conscious about this. The impact of such a decision is harsh as I stated already yesterday. It also means that you need to take unpopular decisions towards people, teams, partners, and so on.

I read your piece this morning on the way to a review meeting with a client this morning and touched base on it with the CEO. They understand the importance of making such a decision, but they are hesitant about making an investment choice for marketing. In essence that is what it comes down to. What he told me is that he is more eager to review his agencies (!) than reviewing his own vision on marketing and where the company has to take it. Needless to say that this is not what I expected. For Brandhome no stress, since we are their strategic agency, but in essence is the world turned on its head!?

How can you decide with whom you want to work, if you cannot decide on how you want marketing to be structured in your own company. Strange. But it puts me (and you) with our 2 feet on the ground. One should not generalize, but I am afraid that indeed many companies will react like this instead of looking inside themselves and deciding what they want and expect with marketing in their organizations. Before we move on, think about the following: how do you think I should tell to the clients I advise about the insight that you laid down? Read: how would you put forward such an existential question on marketing as stated in your insights? I want to prop the statement with some of our relations to see how they react.
28.12.2012 / Somewhere between Belgium and Holland / 11:29 / KF

Was in Brussels last night, in the newly opened Hard Rock Cafe, in the central Grand Place. Nice brand that is. Consistent around the world in terms of the experience they offer. Worth thinking about as a best practice in branding.

Back to your question; or request. I swear to God, dude, I'm going to start charging for all that free advice :-) Here's what you do: ask your clients 'how do you assess your readiness for marketing in 2015??'. Shocking since that is 2 years away. The thinking is as follows: if you need structural changes to your internal and external setup it will take 2 years! And you'd better be ready in 2015. Sub-questions are:

How would you rate marketers in your team and your agencies on ability to build world class brands, engagement marketing, strategic growth planning, digital and social media, marketing productivity, loyalty mgt, managing the consumer feedback loop, innovation, world-class modern insight and data management, design thinking, media buying, and last but not least leadership & coaching?

The biggest innovation investment a company can make is in reinventing how it does marketing! I don't think a lot of companies assess their marketing capabilities, from the outside-in. So, make a plan for how you want your department to look two years down the line and start the change journey now.

Go shake that tree, Saelens! You've got my (moral) support.
28.12.2012 / Antwerp / 17:00 / ES

Thanks my friend for your support. Morituri Te Salutant! Will let you know how they react. If you do not hear about me for more than 48 hours, please contact the police! I have probably been assassinated by a 'thanks-to-the-marketing-dept' depressed CEO!

Let's talk about something different today. Let's move into the dark side of brand building: building brands in the dark markets.

Let's talk about 'communication shutdowns' first. What happens when the government shuts your marketing down? As is about to happen in the Russian beer market with e.g. Carlsberg. But what has already been going on in dark markets such as tobacco, pharmaceuticals, weapons and so on (let's discuss some of the next days 'lethal branding' about guns... and so). So, there you are as a marketer and suddenly they cut off most of your 'media & comms' limbs. How do you tackle this?

I got a call for an interview about this today from the Financial Times in Belgium. In the last few months, all kinds of bans in the dark markets are coming into play and marketers are facing plain-packaging threats to alcohol, tobacco and so on. My belief, backed by my experience in such markets (e.g. tobacco) are that the intentions of a government are good, but the effect is minimal most of the time. I believe that real marketers are guys that have visited 'Checkpoint Charlie' in Berlin. There is a museum where you can see all kid of things that people invented to escape from Eastern-Germany.

I believe that the impact of these kind of shut downs have become less impactful than before because of online, and with new techniques (such as grass rooting and seeding) gives us marketers 'wings' to fly out and deliver anyway.

What do you think?
29.12.2012 / Eindhoven (NL) / 19:40 / KF

Diamonds are made under pressure! The more pressure, the more creativity will be sparked. So, yes, I agree, the intent might be good, but will the effect be there? In the end, governments are creating scarcity, and scarcity is attractive in itself. Drugs, guns, alcohol, diamonds, opium - the scarcer, the nicer, the more expensive. Look at where I live, the Middle East. Take Saudi Arabia: 100% ban on alcohol; but don't think for a minute that alcohol is not there! Apart from illegal brewing, there are many 'underground' import systems alive and kicking. Think back to Prohibition in the USA in the early 1900s. That's how the Kennedy family made their fortune. Bootlegging!

Now, the marketing side of this ...

#1.Hooray for the internet. Boundaries are gone. Governments are lost. So, you can do a lot these days. The trick is to stay authentic and don't go off on a tangent.

#2.Global brands thrive. Boundaries and laws have less impact on global brands. They still have some impact on small and local brands.

#3.Habits are hard to break. Hey, however hard governments have been pushing the last 10+ years, it hasn't done that much.

#4.Subliminal branding works?! Good to realize that you don't need 'product messaging' on cigarettes. Subliminal ads can go a long way. So can digital entertainment with the necessary brand association.

#5.Alternative selling methods. Guess what? My bet is that a lot of money goes to retail margins, to make sure product placement is done right, and retailers push certain brands.

I don't think it's particularly nice though, working on a brand that has a lot of regulatory limitations. But it's not impossible. What do YOU think??
29.12.2012 / Ghent / 23:42 / ES

As I said yesterday, I believe people always find a way out when facing constraints that they need to overcome. Marketers are people too. Great marketers will lay down their targets, and will work around the constraints put up by governments. However, I think it will be different when working for a market leader/global brand, than working for a small or local brand. This is an economic reality that has been seen many times before in pharmaceuticals and tobacco. From that point of view governments are perhaps real good marketers if their hidden intention is to kill your product/segment. Newcomers have a difficult time, and large players are isolated.

Anyway, to make a long story short, and to answer your question: I believe governments should rethink the way they want to change behavior. Not by a classic 'banning policy', but through awareness raising campaigns that in a straightforward way carry the message the government wants to put across. But, have you recently met some marketers and communicators working for a government? I can tell you this: we don't want to work for the Belgian government. 80% of the people working there in marketing and comms are so far from reality (and incompetent) that you understand why the Ministers better ban and block everything. With those people they are not going to change the habits on alcohol, tobacco, drugs... and not even on the appreciation of the need to pay taxes.

Another interesting insight is to see how large and small brands get together after so-called 'issue-advocacy' campaigns. As we see today in NYC, where they propose to ban the 16 oz. cup for soda pop. It is a nice example of how the soda pop brands, distributors, consumer freedom organizations, and consumers themselves organize to oppose to this kind of madness. Madness, that seems to me more a campaign by the New York Health Board and Mayor Bloomberg, than one aimed at fixing obesity. The technique of issue-advocacy was born in the US political campaigning strategies many years ago. It is a nice example how marketing adapts existing techniques to 'get the job done'. In the slipstream of all these kinds of government bans and limitations, the online world is a GREAT ally in leveraging grass-roots and seeding approaches.

Let's talk about the darkest marketing now. KF, you have just been named CMO of Smith&Wesson worldwide. Your assignment - if you choose to accept it - is to market more handguns to end consumers in the USA. So, how would you go about doing that?
30.12.2012 / Eindhoven / 12:57 / KF

Very simple: I will NOT accept the assignment! Seriously. I would never work for the weapons industry. If there is 1 industry that shouldn't be allowed to have a marketing department it is the weapons industry. Right!? I would not be able to justify talking about 'safety and security' to promote guns. Too dark a side of marketing for me. I mean, the world once more came just out of a traumatic experience in Newton, Connecticut on Dec 15th. That's the downside of easy access to guns.

Anyway, let me not get into a moral debate. I shot some pretty serious ammunition when I was in the army (yes, this is how old I am. I was one of the last ones to do an 11-months mandatory military service in Belgium). But, let me tell you: I am against weapons in hands of civilians.

For anyone who works in that industry, I say: you actually should not 'promote' your product. I understand that some weapons have different features than others when it comes to use by the military, the police, and security companies. Explain those, with no fringes. No further comment. Terrible topic. Make me CMO for Disney, man. Much more my kind of company!

Would you take the assignment? Actually, would you work for them as Brandhome?
30.12.2012 / Antwerp / 15:25 / ES

Well, I win. Yesterday I wrote my little daily contribution at 23:42 on my way home in the car with my wife. I told her: KF will not accept; you'll see! :-0 You are really one of my best friends, and I know you very well. And you know me too. You know that my answer to your question is: YES, I am a strategic gun for hire. I will not work for brands or companies that I cannot ethically comply with, but arms is not one of them.

Personally, I have a bigger problem with clothing brands that buy their stuff in countries where kids of the age of my oldest daughter are abused in production facilities, than I have with the marketing of arms. Coming back to arms marketing. As you know, I am a sport shooter. I have firearms from brands such as Remington, Beretta and Glock. Let's talk some morals first, since morals are important for companies. I adhere to the logic that guns are not dangerous, but the people who have guns can be dangerous. And here comes the marketing insight. Since lots of governments have a bad way of regulating the possession of guns, I believe that there is a place in the market for a firearms brand that positions itself by demanding a license or something like that before you can buy one. Let me explain. In essence there is no difference between some states in the USA and Belgium for example. When I see how easy it is to get permits in Belgium, how 'stupid' the tests are that you need to pass, how easily you can buy illegal or even worse high-impact ammunition in the shooting clubs, then one should ask oneself if we have a good policy over here. Honestly, sometimes I meet people on the shooting range who are so stupid that you should not even give them a driver's license, let alone give them a firearm. Why do I start on this? I know that by now you are already turning from KF into Spiky and starting to tell your wife that I am pissing you off! Yeah. Right. But here is the reason why...

If I would become the CMO of a large firearm conglomerate, then I would decide in which segments I want to be successful: end consumers, military, police, security, etc. Of course, and that has been proven in the past when looking at large military deals on handguns. Big military decisions on which brands to buy are influenced by the total image of a brand. Not different than in other sectors. The police officers who test the guns, are consumers themselves too. As well as all the purchasing people involved. But, I would limit the ability of having my brand in the consumer market. Read: I would put a marketing model together in which I, as a brand, can decide, aside, from of the local regulations, who can buy and own one of my guns. I believe that a brand that positions itself like that can create a new kind of scarcity within regulatory scarcity. And you know what that means: more brand premium!! Let's move out of this darkest side and move into something less dark, but dark.

You probably remember that years ago Brandhome did some research on the branding of the narcotic drug XTC. Read: we researched the brand names that are being 'hi-jacked' in the narcotic circuit to brand XTC pills. XTC pills that are heavy and more expensive were brand 'Louis Vuitton', but you also had 'Playboy' that pushed your sexual interests and other stuff.

Just an opening to discuss a new topic: Brandjacking. You start.
31.12.2012 / Lieshoutse bossen (NL) / 08:44 / KF

Brandjacking?! Brandcracking! Brandmocking! Brandtheft! Last year, during the BP oil spill, I heard about brandjacking for the first time. At that time, a fake twitter account called "BP P.R." or something was created, tweeting all sort of crap about BP. Social media has opened a can of worms when it comes to brandjacking that much is clear. It's the modern version of pressure and lobby groups. I have it from a good source that Facebook for instance puts a lot of effort in fighting this phenomenon.

Brandjacking actually has two sides: positive brandjacking (e.g. fans starting a Facebook fan page for your brand and play the role of real brand evangelists) and negative brandjacking (your brand sort of gets turned against you).

In the Middle East, brandjacking is growing big time. In some countries like Egypt it is becoming a national sport. Many Facebook and twitter accounts of brands get hijacked. Dummy accounts get created to impersonate companies (including PepsiCo's brands I'm afraid) with the intent to mislead consumers, turn their belief, boycott, and what not. Disgusting. Unfair. And illegal. You can shut 'em down, but it costs time. And guess what: they pop up again and again.

Did you know that during the London Olympics, the number of brand 'scams' because of brandjacking were at a record high? All the way from brandjacked hotels offering special free nights, to lotteries of sorts, and everything in between.

What to do? Apart from staying on brand, pro-actively letting consumers know you are the real deal, and having 'verified' accounts, it's a difficult one to fight. Right?

Dude - do you realize that we made it through the end of the year with our daily conversations? Our small idea of 6 weeks back or so has grown into something serious. I'm just re-reading our first 100 pages and feel happy about what we covered so far. Happy end of the year, buddy. Go crazy! Talk to you in 2013.
31.12.2012 / Antwerp / 12:07 / ES

Interesting insight you've put down on the 2 sides of brandjacking. You're right to put it that simply. There is no point in trying to avoid it, you need to manage it. And if you do it right, it can work for you. Again, it shows the importance of looking 360 circular degrees into brand marketing. We should be looking at brand marketing in 360 degrees 3D. Great insight! Thanks. Will give you an example that happened not that long ago to illustrate how brands still need to manage this positive brandjacking. A day-care centre for kids painted Mickey Mouse on their walls. Nice and correctly done. Disney sued them and made them remove all the images. Can you believe that? What a stupid marketing decision. This example needs no further explanation. So, the day you become CMO at Disney, change this please. I am really excited to see how we could put a model, or approach together to stimulate positive brandjacking, and limit or block negative brandjacking. Just to make it clear: customers and stakeholders who are critical and want to point out that you as a brand need to fix something are not negative brandjacking.

Have to run away from the office.

Came in this morning just to discuss a new project with a potential client in the Middle-East through Skype, and promised my wife to be home 33 minutes ago, so will make it short today.

1.Am very happy too with this unique brand domino project; have learned a lot from it; and will learn even more in the next 10 months to come

2.As always big fun to daily stalk each other; makes me think of the good old times

3.2013 will be a challenging year, with loads of projects ahead and I really ask myself what I will write to you next year on December 31st 2013; by that time the book will already be out

4.I wish you and your family all the best for 2013!

Let's start on the following subject tomorrow: the quest to look for old brand names and revive them. The difference between brands that have been created by passion perhaps decades ago, versus brands that have been created by management. Telco brands are nice examples for the latter. Give me some insights. And perhaps sharpen it up: is Pepsi created by passion, or by management?
01.01.2013 / Lieshout (NL) / 13:13 / KF

Pepsi. Created by passion? Yes! And still maintained by passion I'd say, Yes. Yes!

Now, the question: who gives a f---? Whether a brand is created by passion or not doesn't really make a difference as long as the brand does what it has to do to connect to its audience, is relevant, has appeal that can sustain, and all the other good stuff we've been babbling on about in the last 100 or so pages. Right?

Now, passion by the creator, inventor or owner, or certain management might give a nice boost. Look at the Bransons of the world. This guy drives an entire company on passion. So did Steve Jobs. So did Ferdinand Porsche. So do RedBull, Sony, Wholefoods, De Beers diamonds, and many, many others.

Whether or not the brand is created out of passion or a more scientific/designed/purposeful objective, passion is an essential ingredient for a meaningful brand. We talked about that. Passion by its brand managers trickles through in the brands performance. My belief.

Let's tackle something else. I read that the pope is on twitter since last week. Significant? Cool? Stupid? What do you think of that, and of The Church and Catholic Faith as a brand? A passion brand!? Seems like a good question to ponder upon in the first day of the year.

Have fun, ye unfaithful man :-)
01.01.2013 / Antwerp / 18:43 / ES

Uh. You're confusing me old friend. If you can convince them, you confuse them? Of course, passion needs to be in the job, but I meant the historic passion (e.g. as part of authenticity). Brands that have been created by 'obsessed' people. Brands with a heritage that goes back hundreds of years; that survived the top... and the way down; that have been taken over, and went back; names such as Ferrari, but also Cartier, Hermes, and so on. Just to illustrate that the real 'brand story' is always more authentic than the one created by sharp minds. Rethink it and then we continue.

Let me first answer your question: the Pope. Well, it has been shown in the USA that there are more youngsters that know Coca-Cola (sorry for that) than Jesus Christ. So, I believe that they should do a better job ;) Anyway, I believe that the Catholic Church and the Pope as tangible assets of the Catholic Faith have some serious positioning issues. After all the child and other abuses, and the one after other the stupidities told by the many 'far from reality' Bishops, they have lost a lot of street cred. I believe that they are even disconnecting now from a group of people that visited their 'assets' by habit, like when there is a funeral or wedding. Many people nowadays even don't go into a church for those reasons anymore. So don't pay attention to the fact that they would not be loyal brand ambassadors and visit the church every Sunday.

But what a strange organization, the Catholic Church. In my view, it is opaque and old-fashioned. They should perhaps open up their organization, make room for some fresh ideas and let go of some old ones. Let me tell you a story. Some years ago, we came up with the idea to launch a mobile virtual network operator called CHURCH MOBILE (Kerk Mobiel in Dutch). The idea was to launch it targeted at the elderly in Belgium (the only ones still going to church). Through CHURCH MOBILE they would be able to get 'greetings' (voicemail drops) by the Pope. Centrally recorded and then popped into all the voicemails. To call into their local church to follow the worship in case they weren't able to physically go there. Make confessions by SMS. etc. Anyway, we got them interested, and even some of the Archbishops, amongst whom was one who was named as one of the potential successors to the late Pope Johannes Paulus II. In essence we agreed to launch this product, for the

simple reason that it could contribute to the interaction and closeness the Church was looking for with believers. And, on the side, it could generate some additional cash to put into the local religious communities. They are always short in cash for the simple reason that small communities need to support the enormous real estate of their massive churches. Finally, the Vatican denounced the deal since they considered it to be too commercial! Can you believe that!?

Wanna hear a joke? ;)- I asked our contact person what was wrong with a little commercial thinking. That I did not understand since the Catholic Church as an institution is just a master franchise they created themselves to establish a huge worldwide institution. There are Protestant Churches that have faith in the same God, but don't need an international 'master franchise and operator' as the Catholic Church. The guy could see the humor of the question, but not his colleagues ;)

Coming back to your question. YES, I definitely think they should get some real help to move them forward. I am atheist myself, but I have seen the beauty and power of all different faiths and beliefs around the world. It helps people to engage, come together, get through life changing moments such as losing a dear one, looking towards the end of life, etc.

When you look at the strength of these so-called new or newly positioned faiths such as Scientology or Kaballah; they use or at least benefit from the Hollywood stars who promote them! So, celebrity endorsement ;) Who's talking marketing here? Which celebrity does the Catholic Church have other than paedophile priests and Bishops who they have helped for decades to cover up these unforgiveable sins! They should burn in Hell for what they did to these little children. They should be branded 'bad' with a the red-hot branding iron of Satan. They will 'brand' (brand is Dutch for burn) in hell for this and can discuss the rest with Satan. Bah. Enough.

You really found a way to piss me off on this first day of the New Year 2013 ;) Have loads of work to do for start tomorrow. When are you heading back to the Mid-East?

Let's talk brand extensions. Always fun. You start.
02.01.2013 / Lieshout / 11:10 / KF

YES! I did it! I pissed off Erik Saelens. Hallelujah (to stay within topic). Gotcha! The Church, the pope, church mobiles...get-a-f***in-life. I guess the world needs some kind of faith system, but to have 20 different ones...nonsense. Living in a Muslim country I've come to realize that Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism....all have pretty much the same ideologies and principles. Just variations of the same theme. So, people of the world: get-a-f***in-life, stop fighting, unite, move on...the world is not your personal oyster. It's our oyster too!. End of preach.

On to more 'meaty' topics: brand extensions, brand stretch. Yeah. One of my favorites. Much debated... can we? Can we not? Where and how to stretch? How much to invest?

Before I give you my 'official' perspectives, let me tell you my overall feeling about stretches: most brands are much more resilient than most marketers think. I've seen a lot of nice brand stretch ideas go to waste because of conservatism, fear, and incompetence. So, at the end of the day: 'stretch your mind first, then stretch your brand!' (R) Kurt Frenier.

I tend to break down brand stretch in the following 5 subs:

#1.Stretch foundation

Determine the brand DNA, its soul, its reason for being, as WIDE as possible. e.g. If Starbucks stands for 'awakening the senses' there is a lot of stretch foundation. If it is coffee, game over quickly.

#2.Stretch direction

Determine logical stretch paths. I believe you need to take people by the hand. Virgin did not go from music to insurance in one go. First Virgin established senses of trust, service, youthfulness, differentiation.

#3.Stretch reach

How far and how deep you want to go must be laid out. There are boundaries. There is an endpoint. Some brands, despite a healthy mix of DNA, cannot go everywhere.

#4.Stretch, ability

By ability I mean available resources. Once too often stretches go wrong because companies believe that a brand can 'carry' an extension without support. DEAD WRONG! A stretch is a new launch. It just leverages an existing brand so awareness is built-up and trials goes quicker. But the rest of the effort remains the same as launching a new concept.

#5.Stretch aptitude

Related to the previous point as well as to the mental state of mind of the company. Don't waste your time working out brand stretch options if senior management hasn't bought into it.

What else, your Excellency?
02.01.2013 / Antwerp / 20:37 / ES

I like it: stretch your mind first, then stretch your brand! You can use this one for much more than only brand questions in companies!! It pretty much holds the truth about the ability of an organization to change. Hock, at VISA, once said: 'the problem is not how to get the new thoughts in, it is how to get the old ones out.' Also a nice one.

For the rest: I agree.

Let's continue with the topic of brand extensions. First some theory-speak. Sorry.

Brand extensions = using an existing brand name with a well-developed image in a different category to create a so-called 'branded spin-off'. e.g. BMW (category = cars/mobility) puts its brand name on jackets (category = clothing). Marketers use this strategy to increase and leverage brand equity.

Line extensions = using the brand name on a product/service that fits the current category of the brand name. e.g. BMW motorcycles if the category for BMW is 'mobility'.

Here comes the fun part. How do you decide which category your brand is in, in a world where the substitution degree of products/services is very high? How do you decide especially in over-regulated markets such as the West - with the benefits and downsides of regulatory power - where regulation amplifies this high substitution degree.

Categorization is the science (well, science?). To put it simply: it is the theory about the process of how people group ideas and products (and even people) into logical groups. Fun. Since I think these theories have gone with the wind in today's world. I see all these researchers getting confused when they try to put people and ideas in little boxes... instead of going outside and exploring the world and the markets.

You know that there is a book on brand failures (Matt Haig, 2003)? Nice part about brand extension disasters in there. But my thoughts are the following: it is more than only the P&L that defines the success of brand extensions. I believe that many brands could use brand extension for another reason than getting cash. They can use it to position themselves. Brand extensions become brand advertising property!

A nice example is Samsonite Black Label. The former CEO explained to me (see my book Brandhome Platform I) how they used the extension (and PR created) of Samsonite going to make 'designer travel clothing and shoes' to leverage the brand. They launched these extensions on the Milan fashion show, and got HUGE attention. Fashion press thought they had lost their minds and wrote about it... a LOT! Samsonite was far ahead of its time! At present we are also working on some brand extensions ;) Will talk about them in due course.

Brand extension. Great stuff. As long as you respect the topics that you pointed out, so you don't harm the brand.

Now. Since you always say: if you are not on Facebook, you are not in marketing. Tell me about the brand extension potential of Facebook.

Btw. Already back in Dubai?
03.01.2013 / Lieshout / 11:59 / KF

Nope. Still in Holland. Flying back on Saturday. One day in the office and then onwards to... Vegas, baby ;-) more about that later (just to keep you in suspense).

Let's take a "sexy" topic for a brand extension: Playboy. Starting off as a vaguely legit way to show naked women in the 60s (and immediate male reaction of the 'great quality of the articles' –my ass), Playboy is now a big brand that has a merchandising business, a TV station, all sorts of online and offline clubs. All of this with the centrefold playmate concept still front and centre in the brand DNA. Talk about a powerbrand that can go places. A great example of brand stretch. Well done, Hef!

And, let's not forget to mention the King of Stretch, Mr. Branson. VIRGIN has really gone places. Just checked the '<http://www.virgin.com/company>' tab on their website, and got flabbergasted again by the sheer number of subbrands and services they have under Virgin. Uber-stretch?

But hey, great question on Facebook's ability to brand stretch. Can they? Should they? YES. YES. YES. YES. Facebook is such an iconic brand already that I do see a lot of stretch options. Logical one: search (and they are working on this), to become a big competitor to Google. Second one (and they are working on this): mobile and/or cameras –with mobile being so big and visual/photography being core to what people share. These are logical extensions.

But I think they can go way beyond that. First, let me put forward a positioning statement, short and sharp (I actually don't know how far that is from reality): 'Facebook Is The World's Social Glue' –how about that. Pay up, Zuck ;-) If that were the positioning, then imagine the places they could go when it comes to being the biggest global social catalyst. All the way from events, to dating sites, to computers, ...you name it. With a big global footprint like they have, that IS possible. BUT... it comes with responsibility too (as always): go big or go home!

What say you?
03.01.2013 / Antwerp / 20:31 / ES

I say: interesting thought! If it would be their brand essence, brand promise, then they could indeed really go places. More it could take them out of the virtual network they are now. Let's throw out some crazy thoughts: parties, bars, airlines, well-fare foundations, etc. I can think of 100 ideas like that. Even FB could be their label under Facebook as an entire brand.

But, then, Zuck should first read the previous pages of this book so he knows that his extensions should be BINGO and create a self-fulfilling effect. I can imagine that if FB creates an extension tomorrow and it is a flop, it would be terrible for their stock price. In case of success it would be TOP for their stock price performance.

Some theory from our Brandhome method® - What else!? The brand extension circles around the approach. Bear with me. When you put a brand, its historic core product in the centre, then that is the primary circle. e.g. Belgacom (Belgian telco operator) that brands its internet connection. Secondary circle is Belgacam branding a TV decoder box, or a flatcreen or tablet. Tertiary: Belgacom branding an online newspaper (content). Quaternary: the Belgacom SPA or clothing line (relaxation). This was just a quick theoretical framework for the following paragraph.

Looking at the extension circles I believe that Facebook should put its first brand extension into the fourth circle. So that it can benefit as well from the 'coinciding effect' (Orange (telco), it's not an orange and it's square) so gets loads of attention. If it's a disaster the impact will be less. Since you have been on holiday again all day, and me working in creative sessions, my brain is dead now, so you come up with an FB example for Circle Four. Porn? No, that's what you always think of, and, it's more extension circle 2, I guess. Or circle 1? Today there was a big scandal in Belgian press about Facebook pages that have been put up with girls being hookers etc. You probably read about it. Why not a prison? Facebook prison. A detention center for people who misbehave on social media.

What are you going to do in Vegas? I know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but come on. By the time this books gets out, you are back, or dead, or both. So tell me, otherwise I will not know, neither will the 1 million readers of our great book.

Help me out with this one. I have a meeting on it on Monday with a client. All this eco-branding stuff. Eco-friendly shit!? What's your point on that? I believe that today most brands should be responsible anyway, and of course being eco is part of that.
04.01.2013 / Lieshout / 09:50 / KF

The first thing you think of for FB is porn. Twisted mind, dude! Here are some brand extension circle ideas of mine for Facebook (with brand architecture! And I'm making "Zuck" the mother brand)

Circle 1-online connections: Zuck's Facebook

Circle 2-real-life connections: events, parties, et al branded Zuck's Face2face

Circle 3-an all-round entertainment company: Zuck's FaceLive

Circle 4-a peace foundation (ala Bill Gates Foundation, but then wider and more global): Zuck's Face4life

Vegas: will keep you in suspense for a little longer :-) ...guess. There's a BIG yearly event going on. No - it's not a poker convention. Actually, if there is one thing I won't do (much of) in Vegas, it's gambling. Not a fan.

Eco. Environmentally friendly. Green. And all the rest of it. It's the future. Unavoidable. Better start liking it. Don't forget what I taught you :-) ...stretch your mind first! Eco needs a big REFRAME! Green solutions and concepts need to move from technical and functional to the mainstream: they need to swing to cool, modern, funky, and most importantly: 'sexy' (nice looking, design-ish, contemporary, convenient, with high value-added features). And the communication around it needs to follow that path. Drop the geek-factor and make it cool! Those who will crack that will WIN, big time, believe me.
04.01.2013 / Brussels / 19:51 / ES

Vegas?? You're probably going to CES. Thinking of making a Pepsi bottle that you can also call with? Like the Samsung phone in the camera that they are promoting now? Or do you really want to get tech-savvy and start working with digital ink so the Pepsi bottle can talk to you.

Anyway, a quick one on the brand extension of FB. Little soft, your ideas, to be honest. But let's keep it here for now. The idea to turn Zuck into a brand and/or label that, on the other hand is a smart thing!!

Green stuff. What I meant is the following. I should have explained it better. I believe that you should not say you are greenish, you should be sustainable, in all dimensions. Just be it. No need to talk about it. That marketing train left 5 years ago already. When you start telling your consumers 'Hi, I'm green' they go like 'who's that asshole; did he lose his mind'. Anyway, I will tell the CEO this coming Monday that I believe that they missed the train, and should now work along and further some situations so that they are ahead in sustainability, and then say it. Otherwise it will have the opposite effect. You can imagine that the 'folder-TV-commercial-radiospot-horny-just-on-doing-stuff' oriented communications department (and our account teams) will not be happy me telling that they should put their cash inside instead into stupid ads. ;)

Something else. Service. Let's talk about the importance of service to create a strong brand. Service is an important driver of brand premium. (The 4 premium drivers are service, price, loyalty and distribution premium). Every time I come back from the Middle and Far East, and even from the USA, then I notice the difference in service mindedness. I created a line for it: the best service you can get in Europe is self-service! It is amazing how low the service mindedness in Europe is when you look into different parts of the world. In Europe we got stuck with what I call a 'service-communism' problem. Giving service is considered here to be as if you are below the person you serve. People, and without any doubt Western-born Europeans (including also other ethnical groups born in Western-Europe), find themselves too good to give you a service. Let's not generalize, but it is the truth. All companies and governments talk about service, and put big copper boards at the entrances of their building about service, client is king, etc, but, in the end, it's a lot of bullshit.

The Belgian government is perceptually one of the largest in the world, with more Ministers than subjects, but has a service degree that is lower than the deepest carbon mines we have had here... Anyway, here we go: tell me about the (a) different forms of service for a brand, and (b) why it is so important.

Teach us, don't tease us grand master Spiky!!
05.01.2013 / Düsseldorf airport (DE) / 13:00 / KF

Erikman. How dare you criticize my slim and athletic appearance! Shame on you! And you: losing brain weight. hahaha - Gimme a break- they have special hospitals for that. :-)

Anyhow. Service. Interesting topic. But I am far from an expert on this, having worked most of my career in a very service-light industry.

Let's map it out first. In my own, lame and lazy way (as I'm sure you'll say), my classification would be: some brands are service-dependent (airlines, hotels, restaurants; consultancy; an ad agency), some are service-heavy (telco, a jewelry, your local butcher), some are not into service at all (a lot of the fmcg's for instance). Where you are on the equilibrium largely determines the importance of service in the value equation, and hence how you organize for and invest in it. Make sense?

Now, the impact on the brand perception and brand value is 'critically high' for the service-dependent brands, 'important' for service-heavy, and my guess would be: 'a plus' or value-add for the service-light brands.

For any service-prone brand, my strategic approach to service would be: HOW CAN I BEAT CONSUMER EXPECTATION? How can I 'delight' my consumers so my level of service is seen as a point of differentiation? And most importantly: what EXPERIENCE do I create (i.e. what shadow do I cast after the service is 'consumed'). See Emirates and Virgin Airlines have this pretty much figured out. Right?

Service is complicated, goes deep and far. I travel a lot. And how I compare hotels these days, and their level of service almost comes down to infinite details: from how I'm being treated in the lobby, how easy it is to connect to WiFi, how clean the room is, how helpful the concierge is to help arrange dinners and stuff, how fast the check-out goes, ...and many, many more factors. The key thing: 1 single thing can screw up the WHOLE experience!

Vegas: yes, CES! More on that later. And yes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. So the rest of the story is for 'The Hangover 4: Spiky in Vegas!' A sure hit.

First stop: Dubai. Flying now. Ciao.
05.01.2013 / Antwerp / 16:03 / ES

Damn right: one single service issue can blow up the entire experience. I perfectly understand what you mean with how you start being more critical or just on the contrary more apathetic when travelling a lot. I stay in a lot of hotels where there are small service issues; some years ago I took the time to comment to the management in a positive way, but since time is always getting shorter; bad service experience = I don't come back. Lot of people behave like that. I believe in the service experience of your customers you can learn a lot by using all the information sources at hand, online and offline, to read and feel what is going on between the lines. In essence that is what I am always doing for the brands I am responsible for. I try most of them out anonymously; from hotels, to cars, to banks and so on.

Banking is an interesting one. Especially private banking. We are currently repositioning a private bank here. Same story: a horny advertising agency made them put a lot of money into mass media!? The people working at that agency as well as the (currently being fired) marketing people at the bank; none of them had ever been involved themselves as a client of a private bank. So how can they know about how a private bank customer feels? Feels about communication, feels about anonymity, feels about how he is being treated, etc.

Sorry. I got carried away. Back to the subject: importance of service for branding. Read your piece on my iPhone earlier this afternoon. First thought of it as being too simple. Now, after re-reading and dipping somewhat in the Brandhome library at the office, it is interesting. You can put it as simple as that. Just one dimension: service-crucial to service-optional. Interesting. Imagine that we add a second dimension: the number of suppliers. That gives us a matrix with 6 boxes. e.g. the government = a service-crucial (dependent) product with only one supplier. In reality they can behave as service-optional since they decide and no one can go away from them.

What do you think of such a matrix

-Horizontal: from service crucial to service optional

-Vertical: from 1 provider to ∞ providers

Interesting matrix because you can show the desired evolution of where you want to take the service degree of your brand?

What you think? Did we just create a new model?
06.01.2013 / Dubai / 07:25 / KF

Yes! A new model. TM it (the Frenier-Saelens service paradigm -how does that sound). (PS: watch the movie Love Guru to see the fun in TM-ing ideas. Hilarious movie!!!!) And let's plot some airlines, hotels, banks, and telco's on it. But not now. Let's come back to models later. Way too tired for that. Day one after holiday - I always hate that esp since I only got home at 2am. Difficult to get started up. And with Vegas in mind, even more so.

I want to change to something else that caught my eye lately: the GEEK factor. Geek is in. Geek is cool. Losers are the new winners. Hero to zero is the biggest genre in the book world. There's TV hits like 'Beauty and the geek', 'The Big Bang Theory' (one of my personal favorites), 'The IT Crowd".

That's almost a problem for brands, at least in conventional thinking. Who wants to associate their brand with the nerds? How does that relate to the aspirational, cool badge almost all brands are after? (Apart from games and movies, that is.)

Question: would it be a breakthrough for a brand like KIA ...to focus on the geek target. Do you actually know of 'cool' brands that have the geeks amongst us as a key target (and...you can't name a computer brand!).
06.01.2013 / Antwerp / 16:26 / ES

Who says GEEK is UNCOOL? What does it mean by now?

The word geek comes from English dialect geek, geck: fool, freak; from Low German geck, from Middle Low German. The root geck still survives in Dutch and Afrikaans gek: crazy, as well as some German dialects, and in the Alsatian word Gickeleshut: geek's hat, used in carnivals. The word geek is a slang term for odd or non-mainstream people, with different connotations ranging from 'a computer expert or enthusiast' to 'a person heavily interested in a hobby', with a general pejorative meaning of 'a peculiar or otherwise dislikeable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual'. Although often considered as a pejorative, the term is also often used self-referentially without malice or as a source of pride.

Bill Gates is the Hugh Hefner of the geeks; he turned them sexy didn't he? What about our friend Zuck? He is a geek.

When looking at brands such as Star Wars, Batman, Star Trek, Lego... their most enthusiastic followers and fans dress up and go to events, buy all the merchandise to stuff in their homes, even have some plastic surgery (e.g. Spock ears) etc. But also when looking in the sport-shooting world: some dress up as real cowboys. Remember what Shaw said: 'the unreasonable man creates the future'; geeks could be such unreasonable men.

Of course you have a 'key consumer group' for your brand in mind, but in today's world marketers should stretch their minds on that one. Other than for marketing strategies where you place/donate/give your products to specific usage target groups, you should make sure that your brand communications are focused and differentiated enough to autoselect the buyers and users of your brand. Of course, the problem starts when you get involved in so-called branded steaming. Lonsdale, Fred Perry, Kappa, Marlboro... have fallen into that trap.

Even worse is when your brand is showing on the t-shirt of Anders Breivik; the nutcase was wearing a Lacoste sweater when he killed dozens of innocent children. Or when the Mexican druglord Villareal was arrested wearing a Marco Polo jersey; leveraging new hype: Narco Polo.

How does it happen? What can you do to avoid it? Nothing. You just had bad luck... But strong brands can stand that.

I am not convinced that brands need to be cool. It is a segment. Brands should be Triple-A, and if coolness is part of their identity, then they should reflect that. Otherwise, who cares!?
07.01.2013 / Dubai / %^:67 / KF

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07.01.2013 / Antwerp / 23:09 / ES

Dude! I always knew that you were highly intelligent, but to start writing in encrypted text, that is too much. For me, and for our readers. Plain English please ;)

Hope that Vegas did not turn you nuts already! You have probably just arrived.
08.01.2013 = unencrypted 07.01.2012 / in-air Dubai>NYC / confusing time / KF

I sort of disagree. Coolness needs to be part of your brand. And by coolness I do not mean the type of coolness that Diesel or Virgin or RedBull have. By coolness I mean that the consumer needs to have a high desire for the brand, needs to be able to identify himself or herself with it. Therefore, a boring object like a pair of round, dark, geeky glasses might be cool for a Harry Potter fan, in the same way as is a new Ferrari California for a multi-millionaire. I actually wonder whether we know enough about the emotions that surround coolness and desire.

Back to geeks. Are you a geek if you watch The Hobbit? That used to be the case at the end of the 70s when the story of Bilbo came out. I'm telling you there is a new thing coming up: geek is the new cool. I feel we need to understand that better. What can we do to get a good grasp of that? Or do we drop it and move on?

Time to talk about my Vegas adventure. So, I'm going for two reasons: to meet Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo! (at the invitation of Yahoo!) and in the meantime roam around CES (abbreviation for Consumer Electronics Show, although they don't want to have it called like that any more). Both very exciting. Also exciting: my first ever time in Vegas. Yeah baby (use Austin Powers voice).

I'd actually never heard of CES, despite having worked in the telco industry. Went to CEBIT once (were you there?), and Oh my God, do I have a story about that (that's a beer/bar story). Later. CES: sort of a big tradeshow for all consumer electronics, digital, TV, and related items, but nowadays also a platform where workshops are held about consumer engagement, social media, etc, etc. The latter is the reason why I'm interested. Next to that, getting to know the latest and greatest is nice. Geeky ;-) CES is supposedly a huge showcase of the technologies that will shape consumer activity over the next year.

So, I'll be 'reporting' any highlights I see for our book as well. First, I need to sit through a 14 hour flight to NY, then wait 4 hours in the airport and step on a Delta flight (Ouch! Worst airline in the world), in economy, for another 5 hours or so. Gonna be dead on arrival.
08.01.2013 / Antwerp / 22:22 / ES

You will love CES... and Vegas!! Visit W hotel. I am typing this one while watching a dvd from a boxing match of one of my club guys. ;) Fun. Little Vegas in my place. Need to type fast because MacBook Air is only 7% left, and left one of my chargers at the office and the other one in the car of a colleague... and my wife's MacBook Air uses another charger... APPLE!! Who said Apple was about simplicity. I have had over 7 different chargers for laptops here over the past 3 years. That p*sses me off. Is it a sales trick of Apple? Brings me to another interesting brand marketing topic I never quiet understood. Let's call it 'completeness'. How does it come about that when you order in Europe a European brand car you need to pay almost 45% of the value on top if you want all the options; whereas when you buy an American brand car its got full options, and an Asian brand it's also high in options? It's the same like computers and pre-installed software. I wonder how this will evolve in the future in different sectors where consumers are increasingly from one side becoming auto-selective, and from the other side more all-inclusive demanding. Software and technology, in combo with narrowcasting solutions could be a solution for this. Smart solutions like that can give a specific target group the idea that they have everything and selected it themselves. Keep your eyes open for that! Sorry but at 2% so need to stop to avoid that you get the same encrypted stuff as you sent me yesterday ;) Let's talk city branding: Las Vegas. You start. Give us your impressions!
09.01.2013 / Las Vegas (USA) / 03:15 / KF

Let me tell you something: 10 years from now Dubai will be the new Vegas. Seriously, I see a lot of similarities between the 2 cities, and that is not illogical. Dubai has copied a lot from Vegas...architecture...water shows...biggest...brightest. And they have topped it off. So add to that 10, maybe 20 years of real commercialization and you'll have the same. And Vegas has put itself on the map in a very particular way, as a 'destination', similar to what Dubai is doing as well in their awareness build up.

Listen, it's a strange city: gambling, booze, girls, horny guys, and that mixed with business and vacations. Lethal. Good to roam around, take a taste of it, feel the vibe, and then leave it all behind. Definitely not a place I could live in. Then again, I have to say that in these 3 days I'm not really seeing much other than the convention center, my hotel, some nightclubs and a posh restaurant or 2. With all the booze in my body my sight is reduced anyway :-)

But all in all, good fun.

Here's my question to you: will Vegas still be around in a similar way 10 years from now or will it be 'worn out', and be defeated by Dubai, Kabu and others...

Gotta go now. Pepsi/Google-presentation and party going on 6/10pm, and then moving at 10 to a Yahoo!-dinner. Tough life.
09.01.2013 / Antwerp / 22:55 / ES

You ANIMAL!! Dubai same as Vegas in 10 years? I hope not. Last year I was in Vegas for a conference. Each time I go there I find it less interesting! Each time I visit Dubai I find it more interesting! Vegas hasn't got the same level of service (and Mafia money supporting it) and quality as Dubai in my opinion. In addition: how are you going to match the 'historic core proposition' of Vegas - (official) gambling - in a Muslim country?

The question we should ask ourselves is: will city/destination brands become worn out or not? And will brands with centuries of heritage like Paris or Athens withstand the wear out effect better than others. They have been around for a long, long time.

I believe - but I cannot predict the future (and don't want it to; too much fun to not know) - that the more people will start travelling, the more the substitution effect will flatten out differences between destination brands. I still remember that the Rue Neuve in Brussels had different shops than the Veldstraat in Ghent. Nowadays you see all the same big brands in the main shopping street across the globe. They even use one single price tag that states the price of the article in all the different European countries; the same price of course. It started with large retailers, and then came the food and drink concepts; Starbucks is a nice example; same for entertainment and so on.

Of course destinations will never be exactly the same; different climate, different geographic locations, different cultures... but even the latter will mix into something new. I believe Dubai is a nice and recent example of a melting pot of these things.

The investment power you need to attract and keep attracting crowds - and the right ones - to your destination is huge. A city like Pisa in Italy has its leaning tower, but I don't think it has the budget to build a Burj Kaifa... they probably already have budgetary issues to ensure that their tower doesn't fall over.

So for smaller destination brands with low investment power it will be difficult to stand out. Or you can choose to be 'blunt' and 'different'; a city like Amsterdam is a good example. I was speaking the other day to some real, local Amsterdammers, all approaching their seventies. They told me that they still remembered how Amsterdam was seen by the outside world as the Sodom and Gomorra, the sin city of The Netherlands. Drugs have always been legal, and prostitution too - the famous Walletjes have even become a tourist attraction.

The good news on the other hand is that the world population keeps growing, and keeps eating at the Earth, so within 100 years the entire globe will probably be occupied by humans. And beyond we will probably move to outer space and start putting up our Nike, Zara, Starbucks, etc outlets. And perhaps even find extra-terrestrial life so that we can sell to them!!

By now your head should be cleared out, and all the booze should be gone. Tell me: what did you see in Vegas, from a branding perspective I mean.
10.01.2013 / Las Vegas / 03:59 / KF

Brands in Vegas are linked to entertainment: hotels, restaurants, shows, nightclubs. Lots of money goes into that. Very much 'boosted' by celebs. Gordon Ramsey's restaurant, Cirque du Soleil, what have you. You can see and feel they live on tourism.

Honestly speaking, it's not that interesting. It's an American city with one very, very exceptional street, the Strip, where everything happens. Drive 2 miles outside and there is little left of the posh glamour, bling, neon experience Vegas is so 'fabulous' for.

And unlike NYC, I find Vegas pretty 'dead' during the day. It's a nightlife-town only. One trick pony.

There's also not a lot of innovation going on. Something that Dubai does well at the moment. Every time I have a visitor in Dubai that hasn't been in a while, there is a big 'discovery' phase. That's how you re-appreciate a city. And in analogy, how you re-appreciate a brand time and time again. I stayed in The Cosmopolitan, the latest hotel in Vegas. Latest meaning 2 years. That's old!

Gotta go. Meeting with Henrique De Castro, the new COO of Yahoo!
10.01.2013 / Antwerp / 06:55 / ES

And? When are you going to tell something about all the interesting stuff you learn there? I am in the car going to a meeting in The Netherlands with our executive creative director and one of my strategic planners. I asked them what they want to discuss. Kind of a variation on a theme. Let's consider them to be our first 'guest dominoes'. Here we go, their statement: BAD schooling. Yesterday we had some students from Belgian Art Academies at the studio to test. To see what they could come up with. They got a simple question... but came up with nothing fresh, nothing new, and nothing simple. Our point of view: teachers at the Art Academies keep these students busy with the past, both literally and figuratively speaking. They don't teach them about the future, about the unpredictability, about the outside world, in Belgium but more importantly abroad. They sicken the minds of these students by telling them that their creativity will be rewarded by creative prizes!? Incredible. They teach students nothing about basic branding at all, nor about the importance of good creative work for a brand. First and foremost it is to serve the marketing purpose of a company, a brand, a consumer. Then, perhaps, if appropriate, they can win a creative prize. Difficult because you need to get these naive thoughts out of their minds. Some weeks ago we had some young, Spanish people over to visit us. Needless to say that there are zero jobs at present for them in Spain. These young people were very well educated, open minded, creative, and business oriented.

Yesterday we explained to the students that it is easier to create award winning work with a concept that needs to serve 6 million Flemish people with, in general, one kind of culture, than 350 million people in the USA, that are a melting pot of multiple cultures.

Makes us very angry ;) and confirms the statement: Those who can, do. Those who cannot, teach. The latter really applies in our sector.

Anyway. Brings us to the question: if you would list the 10 criteria for the ideal creatives to work on your brands, what would they be?
11.01.2013 / time unknown / one day fine!! / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
11.01.2013 / time unknown / no entry / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
12.01.2013 / Los Angeles (USA) / 15:22 / KF

First of all...yes, dude, another Joker for a missed day. Had a 'tough' couple of days. Especially when it comes to sleep deprivation ;-) You know what, we'll add it all up during the year and then I'll donate to a charity of your choosing.

I like this question you talked about.

First, let's talk about the system issue a bit more...

1 Those who can't, teach. Solution: simple. Replace them by the experienced ones. Have experienced people share their knowledge. The issue that I see is around remuneration. See that myself with the speaking engagements I have done at universities. You never get paid. To be honest it's not about the money. It's about the principle. I am giving away my knowledge. That can't all be for free. There needs to be recognition that there is value in what I will share. Right? A 'token of appreciation' for that is the least they can do. If so, I'm sure I'd take more on. Other people probably would too.

2 Isolation. Mono-thinking. Solution: simple. Blur. Marketers teaching art. Artist teaching science. Psychologists teaching marketing.

3 Award focus. Solution: simple. Just kick it out of them :-)

On to your question. Criteria for creatives to work on my brand ..

•Deep interest in what the brand stands for. I mean real interest. A will to understand its positioning, image, positives, negatives, ...

•Have a brain. Half a brain is ok. But please: think. Creatives are not lame sheep. But they are also not nutcases that don't understand business.

•Passion. Passion. Passion. We talked about it before. I want to see high energy, eagerness to 'do', big interest, big questions.

•Challenging. Yes-I am the client, but I don't expect people on the brand to just take everything I say as the Bible. I don't hold the 'absolute' truth. I want to see a different point of view from time to time. Because that fuels good discussion and hence improves thinking and outcome.

•Out of the box. Related to the previous I guess. The ability to think outside of the set guidelines.

•Inside the box. Further to an earlier discussion, there is obviously and infliction point, after all is said and done and challenges were discussed, to stay within the confines of what was agreed.

That is superman/superwoman described. So it's not about having all these at 100% but at least you want to see a good showing ...these days there are a lot of these dimensions at (close to) zero!

What's your pov?
12.01.2013 / Antwerp / 10:16 / ES

My POV on ideal creative profiles. They are similar to yours, but since we work for a broad range of different brands, they are a little more general.

1.you want to make art; become an artist

2.you want to build brands; put creativity at the service of the brand

3.awards come by coincidence; they happen; don't look for them, they will find you

4.a great creative is a good partner to a great strategist

5.learn and learn more

6.no need to not shave; no need not to dress properly; no need to be rude to clients; no need to have colored glasses; no need to have a weird haircut; no need to... ; creativity is in you; not your package

7.the difference between a job and a creative career is similar to a 40 and 80 hours workweek; when you love what you do as a creative, then you always have your eyes open for the brands you work for; and you look around to see what their competitors do

8.switch hobbies all the time; personal interest stimulates creativity

9.invest personal time in the clients; you need a true interest in their brand, their company and them in order to make the best work

10.don't stay longer with us than 5 years

Voila. Point 10 is a very important one, and one we push around at Brandhome. Creative and account profiles are at their top in an agency when they have been around for 3 years. Then it goes down. Strangely, for strategic people is it the opposite. The longer they stay, the better they get. Never figured out what the reason of that is. I am a strategy guy myself...

What I wanted to discuss with you is branding using all the senses, and more specific sonic/auditory and olfactory branding. With the marketing world getting more complex and competitive, building brand universes around senses (see, hear, taste, touch, smell) could become a competitive edge. At present we are building (repositioning) a new Belgian Chocolate brand including international flagship stores and so on. And we are building a campaign around a song with a well-known Dutch band where the making of the song will become the commercial etc. (If the guy agrees). I believe that visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile and gustatory techniques should be used in marketing and branding. Have some ideas how we can build a positioning model for a brand on these sensory aspects. ;)

Let's discuss that the day after tomorrow.

But first, write to me about what you have seen, learned in Vegas?
13.01.2013 / Dubai / 07:38 / KF

Vegas trip was ...LEGENDARY. And intense. On many fronts :-). Aren't you following my Instagram, dude? I covered the whole freakin' event :-)

The ultimate biggest thing I've learned, or actually came to realize is: marketers need to be a lot more tech savvy. Technology is shaping our world, and changes are happening so fast that in a span of 3 to 5 years consumer habits are changing. You're either ready to capture that with your business or not!

Think about it: how as a brand will you give an experience BETTER than your competitor? Technology is the way.

Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of Salesforce.com and a tech and innovation genius, coined it well: "the world isn't changING, it has changED!". When you walk the floor on CES, you see what he means.

So these kind of events are worth going to. This year's CES was the largest in the show's 45+ year history. More than 3,250 exhibitors, 20,000 new products, more than 150,000 attendees, coming from more than 170 countries.

I met Henrique de Castro in a 'petit committee' session - he's the new COO of Yahoo! that they stole from Google for $56 million (WTF!!). He's only been with the company for a few months but, speaking with such force, conviction, and insight. I was very impressed. He talked about message distribution, shift of budget, mobile as a priority, text-image-video, digital display and it's long term viability, co-created content, complementarity of media, measurements and kpi's. Cool. Those guys are on top of their game and getting ready for the future, now. Let me tell you: no one knows the consumer better than Yahoo, Google, Facebook, YouTube! And they have a huge advantage over cable: capacity. On the pipe, there are limitations, but online that limitation is not there

AND it can be customized, AND they have a richer data set to target. That's the long term play of the online players. I guess.

Here are my top 5 take-aways:

1We need to talk more about a specific demographic, Generation M, born mobile. Even in AE, mobile penetration is 200%. Saudi has the highest YouTube penetration in the world (even on top of 5 hours TV viewing per day!). We need to understand media consumption outside of the traditional model better.

2Everything will (soon) be connected to everything. And your phone will be the central device controlling it all. Example: you will walk into the supermarket and will be able to check the inventory in your fridge on your mobile. That is big and not far off. And it will impact choice and buying decision!

3Everything is blurring. TVs get smart and look/act like giant computers, with apps pre-loaded, voice and gesture activation, etc.

4Augmented experiences. With quality of technology moving and improving fast, augmented experiences are the central idea. A 'flat' game, movie, TV commercial will not make it anymore in the future. It needs to be 3D, 4K, 4G, AR, etc!

5Everyone is a publisher. A camera and a video, and in the back of your garage you can build a YouTube channel and get 200 million hits. We've seen it. Even in developing markets as Saudi. And technology is helping make the mainstream consumer a pro. Semi-professional cameras for 200 dollars, a stereo mountain set for your iPhone pre-loaded with a movie app, 180 and 360 degree camera features. You name it. We need to watch this space and see who will make the news, who will spread messages, who will influence opinions, who will be an icon. It's surely won't remain the news anchors, celebrities, and newspapers...
13.01.2013 / Antwerp / 13:31 / ES

Cool!! Wish I would have visited this year. Next year I'll be heading to CES. Still need to visit Cebit and gsm world this year.

Read the manuscript from our 'little' book from start to now. AMAZING! Did not know we knew so much about brand marketing... and so much about scoffing.

Also made a list of topics we promised earlier to discuss but then forgot about. So pick one! Branding is all about trust ;)

-brands that are not physical products (12.11.2012-KF)

-models to pin down identity (18.11.2012-ES)

-3 ultra strong brands in Dubai (18.11.2012-KF)

-ideal briefing (25.11.2012-ES)

-advertising agencies living in the stone age (04.12.2012-KF)

-abilities of interactive and IP based audio-visual communication tools (04.12.2012-ES)

-consumer selected awards (14.12.2012-KF)

-revival of old brand names (31.12.2012-ES)

-sensory branding (13.01.2013-ES)

Let's first live up to our promises and work on topics we said we would discuss. You start with 'brands that are not physical products'.

Since the Brandhome foundation is in need of cash to subsidize new projects for young people and students, I also made a Jokerday Summary.

-Kurt: 7 jokerdays equals $ 70 to be donated to Brandhome foundation

-Erik: 1 jokerday equals $ 10 to be donated to Brandhome foundation

Please pay your debt to the Brandhome foundation vzw: IBAN BE09 0682 4746 9457

**Important message** to the readers: you can also contribute to youngsters' well-being by donating to the Brandhome foundation on the bank number mentioned above whether you use a jokerday or not.
14.01.2013 / Dubai / 15:26 / KF

So, I'm going to pick none of the subjects you wanted to me to pick from. Because that's what I do. Shake the tree :-)

What I want to talk about is triggered by what I saw on the plane: a documentary on Felix Baumgartner (and therefore, implicitly on RedBull). It's stuck in my mind. Wow stuff. So look at it next time you are flying Emirates.

So here is Felix Baumgartner, a new 'brand', coming out of nowhere until he base jumped from the sky.

Why is this interesting, I hear you think :-)

Well, I think we can draw some lessons from how he became a brand.

1Stick to your mission.

Clearly this Austrian guy has set a high goal for himself: to be the #1 base jumper in the world, whatever it takes. He set this goal as a kid and never let go of it.

2Your beliefs shape your success.

In the documentary, Baumgartner talks about preparation, the scientific side of his jumps. He believes that makes him a better jumper than others (and by the way, helps him not to drop dead, literally). And by the way, unlike other sky-divers and base-jumpers, he only does a jump once. He records it, does it perfectly and that's it. His belief is that the second and consequent jumps don't add value. Better to search for the next thing.

3Do exceptional things

Felix jumps building, caves, moving objects, statues and bridges that no one jumped before. Serious dare devil, risking his life at every jump kind of things. Obviously, the jump from space 'put him on the map'. It's a legacy thing going down in the books for eternity.

4Double down on success

Now Baumgartner is a motivational speaker, a TV personality, plays in commercials etc. He's reached the peak in his ROI. And milks it to the max. Why not? He is as old as I am, born in 1969 – the year that man set foot on the moon.

What a smart move of RedBull to invest in Baumgartner for years and years, and to associate themselves with an icon that personifies the notion of 'gives you wings'. That demonstrates great strategy, long - term thinking, and belief and trust.

I am a fan now. What do you think?
14.01.2013 / Antwerp / 19:31 / ES

Top. I was watching live when he made the jump. Anyway. Keep shaking that palm tree. I want to discuss what we told the readers twice already we were gonna talk about. I want to finish my little list, before starting on new stuff. Added Baumgartner to yours ;)

-brands that are not physical products (12.11.2012-KF)

-models to pin down identity (18.11.2012-ES)

-3 ultra strong brands in Dubai (18.11.2012-KF)

-ideal briefing (25.11.2012-ES)

-advertising agencies living in the stone age (04.12.2012-KF)

-abilities of interactive and IP based audio-visual communication tools (04.12.2012-ES)

-consumer selected awards (14.12.2012-KF)

-revival of old brand names (31.12.2012-ES)

-senses branding (13.01.2013-ES)

-Baumgartner (14.01.2013-KF)

Models to pin down identity.

As you know our pay-off at Brandhome is identity driven brand building. Yes, indeed, the easiest way to become market leader is to create and claim your own category. Don't want to be arrogant but as you know we have been putting identity at the heart of brand building since we started back in the last millennium.

Let's start with some definitions. Identity has 2 dimensions: who you are (ist), and who you want to be (soll). In our Brandhome method® we defined our Brandhome identity ladder. These are the 4 different levels of identity: the individual identity; the corporate identity; the brand concept identity; the product identity.

The individual identity is the highest level: who am I - Erik Saelens.

The corporate/group identity: what is the identity of Brandhome as a corporation. This is the level at which corporate branding is rooted. It is also the level for groups, destinations, etc.

The brand concept identity: correct, what is the identity of the brand concept. e.g. the brand concept of Mini (car brand) is excitement; in this case also their brand essence.

The product identity: what is the identity at product/service level. e.g. what characterizes the product/service: designs, quality, etc.

The corporate identity is the leading identity. The other 3 levels need to fit into this corporate identity.

See visuals on the next page.

the company identity steers the other three identity levels (individual, brand concept, product)

The company identity feeds the company's culture

As soon as you know at what level you are talking about identity, then you can describe it. There are many models to pin down identity, but my preferred one is our own interpretation of the identity prism as defined by Kapferer. See visual.

derivation to operational model: management and decision model to steer brand

all facets are interdependent, but each of them is leading a domain in identity driven brand building

Want to know more? Order the Brandhome method® lite edition book on www.brandhome.com.

Voila. One topic covered. And I did some free advertising for my book. 4 promised topics to go! By the end of the week I can wrap up the first quarter of this book with the feeling that I live up to my promises. ;) What about you? Come on, let's finish what we promised, then we can move onto the wrap up of this first quarter of Brand Domino, and we can move into a new quarter on 01.02.2013
15.01.2013 / Dubai / 06:49 / KF

Ha! I tricked you! The Baumgartner story fulfils item 1 'brands that are not physical products'. Gotcha! That's costing you some donation money :-)

But in the interest of the readers, let me wrap up that particular topic.

Brands that are not physical products:

•People

•Cities

•Services

•Ideas, notions, concepts

Thing is, sometimes we create brands unknowingly. Best example of all is US actually. Because brands act like people, people act like brands and vice versa (R)! There you go! It's useful for marketers to think like that so they don't forget what it's all about. And it actually ties in very well with your identity model. In the end, both people and brands have an 'identity'. Think people first then translate to brands:
15.01.2013 / Antwerp / 20:15 / ES

Yeah yeah. I have known for so many years now that you are best at post rationalization but, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I'll take the briefing 1 out.

-brands that are not physical products (12.11.2012-KF)

-models to pin down identity (18.11.2012-ES)

-3 ultra strong brands in Dubai (18.11.2012-KF)

-ideal briefing (25.11.2012-ES)

-advertising agencies living in the stone age (04.12.2012-KF)

-abilities of interactive and IP based audio-visual communication tools (04.12.2012-ES)

-consumer selected awards (14.12.2012-KF)

-revival of old brand names (31.12.2012-ES)

-senses branding (13.01.2013-ES)

-Baumgartner (14.01.2013-KF)

Briefings: a nail in my coffin.

What's a good briefing?

Well, it depends. In my experience there are different kinds of briefings, depending in which role and relation you work on together with a brand. Let me talk about my experience. Most brands that are not marketing-oriented companies, or companies that are just finding out about marketing, are not able to write good briefings, or even any briefing at all. However, some of them make better briefings than companies that have been in brand marketing forever.

Here is what I found out: young companies, 'in terms of marketing knowledge', have - generally speaking - no marketing planning at all. And mostly don't even have any commercial planning, so don't bother asking about the marketing, brand or commercial strategy... Basta! In such a situation, it is virtually impossible to write a briefing, since the cornerstones are not at hand for the people who need to write the brief. At least, they are not solid and what you often see, unfortunately, is that the briefing holds contradictions, is not complete, is superficial, lacks concreteness in term of where the particular project is embedded in the global commercial strategy, etc . You cannot write a proper brief if you don't have a proper plan.

Size. Fat Boys. That's another problem. Briefings need to be short and focused. And a briefing should have different layers. So you can dig deeper if you want to, but the top line should hold the sharp essence of the purpose of the briefing, on maximum 1 A4 page. People always want to give too much information. Remember Francis De Fenelon: The more you say, the less people will remember.

Twins!? Yes. No briefing without a debriefing. And if needed even a quadruplet. Until things are clear. Too often the briefing is just in, and there we go. Making budgets, starting to spend money. NO! Stop, take a deep breath, read the thing. DEBRIEF!

Speaking of briefings I have 2 pending in my mailbox so I need to hurry up before I get locked into the office.

Face it: there is no such thing as the perfect brief. The only reasonable truth is to make sure you understand before you start. And be brief.

Another one down! 3 to go!
16.01.2013 / Dubai / 06:55 / KF

Oh! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. For comparing me to Picasso :-) You are right, all great artists are good in post-rationalizing :-) they make a painting and then say, hey did you see such and such in it -that's what I intended to do. Isn't that what ad agencies do as well? Or marketers, in general? Awesome. Why would it be a bad thing?

Perfect segway into briefings if you ask me. LOL!

I want to hook into what you were saying on briefings.

My stance would be: the perfect briefing exists! It is the brief that is crisp and clear and understood by agency and client. A rare animal indeed, but not impossible. Here's how I've gotten to that situation on various accounts: write the bloody brief WITH your agency. In the end, it is a rendition of a business issue translated into a communication objective. If it is a joint effort, it is so much easier. Then you are speaking the same language, are looking at the same data, and agree on common objectives. No need for a brief/debrief (although I agree those are normally twins joined at the hip), because it is just one thing that can easily travel. The consequent creative phase is so much smoother, and faster.

There is one condition for getting to that ideal situation, and I guess that's where it might often go wrong: there needs to be TRUST and belief in each other on either side of the table. Great things happen when you 'partner' rather than just 'work together'. Anyway, that's what I think.

By the way, before diving into a new subject, just wrote a short blog post on CES last night (at 3am - jetlag is a BITCH!). Take a look: www.redhotmarketingblender.com/2O13/O1/the-world-isnt-changing-it-has-changed/

Cheerio amigo!
16.01.2013 / Antwerp / 22:22 / ES

Yep. But few brands truly 'partner' instead of 'work together' with their agencies. Then again, it's Spiky-Style of course!

Subject for today: abilities of interactive and IP based audio-visual communication tools (promise 04.12.2012-ES).

Somewhat boring? Or just the right timing, now that Facebook announced its plans with the social sociogram function yesterday? Mmm. Not really. I was more thinking of the ability to heavily interact with your target group.

Interesting what my colleague Nicoline mailed me today: I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interactions. The world will have a generation of idiots. (Einstein – was he an unreasonable or reasonable man?). Do we want all this technologically enabled interaction? A friend of mine has a Michelin restaurant in The Netherlands. The guy hardly has any technology. It is difficult to get a hold of him. You wouldn't believe such a guy is cut off from the world. However, he manages to always get more than his fair share of exclusive wines and other food stuff just by ringing the fixed line of the Chateau owners and farmers in France. No interactivity, old technology! [My phone is ringing (22:32). Off the hook (23:31). Problem with a campaign. Client's product seems not to be up to standard. Need to prepare a pull-back briefing.] SH*T! Got a little lost in my story now. It was not that easy to write down anyway. So much for interactivity. Bad excuse. Will pay for the day ;0

Tomorrow: revival of old brand names (promise 31.12.2012-ES). That's fun!
17.01.2013 / Dubai / 09:48 / KF

I want to intervene once more, deviating from our catch-up list, to complete a previous topic: PR. The reason for that is that I had a meeting with our PR-agency here in Dubai and it triggered some ideas worth sharing.

First, let me sketch the situation. I'm bringing these guys in to talk about what we will do this year. In all fairness, it's because we haven't leveraged PR as much as we should, and I want to change that. I connected them to our ad agency so they know the plans and we don't have a fluffy discussion that is a waste of everyone's time. All good so far.

So these guys come in, with a point of view and an action plan. Basically to create a big event that would galvanize the program and create a PR-able big bang. HANG ON A SECOND! This is not how I see PR. I don't need a PR agency to go create more stuff. I have stuff on the ground: stunts, events, concerts, etc in my plan already. So, and why I wanted to share, I gave them a role definition:

1-PR is there to AMPLIFY the brand story and the brand assets. Provided you have enough "sexy elements" in your brand program, like we do, PR should think through ways to instigate the conversation and keep it rolling.

2-PR needs to help create INCREMENTAL reach. I think this is where PR should really play a more core role. And come with a 'deliberate' approach on how to create consumer-facing reach beyond the fans, loyals, and lovers.

3-PR should keep stakeholders at bay and motivated. PR's core essence obviously is to manage media. Put their listening ears on. Make them understand why the brand/company does things. The result, hopefully, is a chance to be put in a positive spotlight.

4-PR needs to give me a substantially higher ROI than anything that I'm doing. It must be at a ration 8:1 or 10:1, through earned media. This is where dollars need to really pay off otherwise what's the value-add of PR?

Was this a useful addition to our previous take on this?
17.01.2013 / Antwerp / 21:48 / ES

Yes. I'm fine. It was hell of a day with this pull-back, but we managed it perfectly. Including keeping it out of the press/PR. Thank you for asking! ;)

PR.

Well let me tell you this. PR agencies will not exist anymore in a couple of years. At least not as we know them today. The times of whining and dining with journalists, lobbying researchers from pressure and influence groups, ... and then thinking that you can get PR: STOP. Bloggers, social media captains, celebrities... have all taken this kind of PR out of the value chain. Done. POES : Paid/Owned/Earned/Shared MEDIA. Nope. No PR in there. At least not at the top level. What you see now is that many of these agencies start changing their business into events, advertising, design... e.g. they start eating around them to be able to survive. But they should look for new markets. New solutions. Instead of just moving 'horizontally'. PR skills at a strategic level can be useful to bring these more actual techniques such as seeding and grass roots campaigns to a new dimension. But that means that you need to cut very deep into your agency in order to change. Believe me. Brandhome went through that already 2 times in the past 10 years. It is no easy job. But if you want to stay ahead of the curve, then you need to change fast.
18.01.2013 / Dubai / 22:22 / KF

Wise words my man. Wise words.

Hey, did you see Facebook's announcement on Graph Search? Now that's the kind of stuff that gets me excited, as a marketer, as a consumer, as a Facebook fanatic.

I signed up for the waiting list and tried the test version out immediately. Seems like Zuck and team are on to something cool that can give Google a run for their money and bring in some revenue.

This new search feature draws connections between people, their profile information and their interests on Facebook. In theory, it's a good way to find recommendations for movies, music, restaurants, doctors, businesses, products, or whatever. Peer-recommendation is not a new thing, but to have it within the Facebook world is pretty awesome. Who do you trust most when it comes to recommendations? Right, your friends.

By the time this book is out, Facebook Search is either a hot item or DOA-ed [DOA ~ Dead On Arrival]. I personally think it'll be a rockin' hit! And I'm sure this is just the start of a bigger thing. Once Facebook goes after something, they are good at constantly perfecting it along the way. Very NEQI

What do you think about Graph Search. Predictions?
18.01.2013 / Antwerp / 21:22 / ES

I think it's a good concept. It remains to be seen if it will work. But I think it will. What I would like to see is how they will also make this a commercial success. Will you also see the commercial consumption of the brands of your community/social network friends? Read: will these brands be visible to you, and will the brands be allowed to push stuff to you. I can imagine that the day FB comes up with a payment solution, and thus know what people spend on what, it will be easy for them to really make a kind of micro-narrow-casting solution.
19.01.2013 / Dubai / 12:17 / KF

Catching up on an open switch: 3 ultra strong brands in Dubai (18.11.2012-KF)...

Here are 3 remarkable brands, very active in Dubai, all in the service industry, that are often talk-of-the-town: Jumeira, Emaar, and Emirates. Jumeirah, and Emaar are real estate, hotels and events. Emirates Airlines we talked about.

Why are these ultra-strong brands? More importantly, what can we learn from what they do well:

1they have been through rapid growth, driven by their actions

2they are continuously innovating

3they have great brand identities, and exciting high-quality comms

4they are truly consumer-centric

5they do exceptional things (biggest, highest, newest, most expensive)

6they dwarf all their competitors

The above qualities don't need much explanation. Just Google them and you'll see. (And by the way, with this I'm opening a new subject for later: brands that became verbs - Google as case in point).

Emirates just embarked on a new campaign, called "Hello Tomorrow", Emaar evolved to "Now" and Jumeirah Group is conquering the world with their hotels. Let me tell you, if there is one take-away from these 3 brands, it's this: they THINK really, really, really BIG ! (Did I put enough reallys to make my point?)

Apart from the business/brand side of things, I personally like them because they are beautiful, embrace design, create an aspirational world, walk the talk. You should rate them against Triple-A!

What also makes them interesting is: they DEFINE Dubai, and have helped make what Dubai, in turn as a brand, stands for.

I wonder what marketing qualities and capabilities they have. Maybe you know?
19.01.2013 / Antwerp / 19:38 / ES

Yep. Know all of them. Western brands can learn a lot from the 'straight forwardness' of their success and 'can do' approach.

It was fun just now skyping with you. I love discussing the progress of the project, our Brand Domino book. We popped some good launch ideas. Great.

Still to be tackled:

-advertising agencies living in the stone age (04.12.2012-KF)

-consumer selected awards (14.12.2012-KF)

-sensory branding (13.01.2013-ES)

-Baumgartner (14.01.2013-KF)

-brands that became verbs (19.01.2013-KF)

Today I'll touch on revival of old brand names.

There are various reasons to look into revival strategies. Let me sum them up for you. They can be, or even better should be cumulative.

1.The old brand has equity with the target group you want to use it for e.g. from their childhood times, etc = the brand has the equity to activate a memory trace in the collective memory of your target group. It brings back memories to target group. You and I still remember that, when we were little, the milkman came with the Stassano-branded bottles (now Campina) and put them in front of the door. Still remember the sound they made? When he put the glass bottles down - how his little milk van sounded with the bottles tingling against each other.

2.The old brand name holds interesting intellectual property and/or other commercial rights. It has still brand trademark registration, or it has some kind of historic right with specific retailers etc. For example, some old heritage Belgian chocolate brand has such a right. Cannot disclose which one. Happy Brandhome client ;) one .

3.The old brand name holds the potential to be easily rejuvenated and used for new, younger, different target groups. Spyker car was a nice example. However, they messed it up. A good example here is Burberry.

I still remember some unique, international and local ones...

-Woolworths

-Commodore: still remember programming on my Commodore 16 and 32 and playing OutRun games on it

-Rijk der Vrouw (the women's magazine in Belgium): still remember my granny reading it

-PanAm: first flight to my aunt in US when I was 5 years old

-Chicklets: we got the candy for free at the SECA petrol stations – they came in big and tiny size (also a brand that got away).

In December 2010 there was an auction of over 150 old brand names in New York. Reason? It's hard to build a new brand nowadays in a world awash in them. Why bother when there are some great dormant brands out there? Interesting names were amongst them. Check the list on <http://www.trademarkauctioninfo.com/home.php>

I find brand equity revivals one of the most interesting and promising marketing tools for the future, where local marketing can get you scarcity value.

Makes me think of SAAB. We had a meeting planned 3 years ago with the new Dutch owner. Finally the meeting got cancelled. Mr. Saab's entire car empire went bankrupt. Pity for SAAB. Love the brand. Perhaps we should dig it up and bring it to life?

Hoho. Still one to go: sensory branding. Need to stop making those promises. Tomorrow's the last one!
20.01.2013 / Dubai / 08:31 / KF

Interesting subject, old-brand-resurrection. I've come across a few of these in my recent life here in the Middle East. With big debates on whether we would yes or no revive them.

Where you've put clear and compelling advantages, let me flag some caveats.

-Dusty?!

Although I agree there is latent awareness for some old brands, it's tucked away very well. Revival often means an investment as large as launching a new brand from scratch. Especially to 'do it right', given the points below.

-Baggage?!

There is a reason why a lot of these brands vanished. That brings a lot of negative associations that may be difficult to turn around.

-A dead target group?!

An old brand means an old audience. Once brands disappear there is no carry-over effect to new audiences. Commodore as a case in point. Who remembers this. Right, old buggers like us who grew up with it!

So, I'm often in the camp of giving birth to a new brand rather than reviving an old one. It's like life itself. Amen!

I'm in the process of writing an article about Burberry for my blog. Let me tell you: very different story there. That brand was not dead. Yes, their new CEO, Angela Ahrendts, turned it around and made it a global luxury icon, but I would qualify that as different than brand revival.
20.01.2013 / Antwerp / 17:48 / ES

I think you cannot decide whether you are always PRO or CONTRA resurrection. Besides perhaps some issues, lots of these brands still have a story to tell, a genuine one. Not one invented by marketers and agencies. If you would need to take a POV, then I am more pro than contra. In fact, when you look at some very successful brands of today: Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Panerai and so on, mostly life-style brands, they have been rescued, helped, taken over, revived by many third parties. Stricto senso you could even say that they have all been resurrected. I love old brands. It shows the strength of branding: people die, cloths wear out but, brands live on and on.

Let's talk about sensory branding, using each of the 5 senses: sight, hearing, smell, feel, taste. My wife studied psychology and just explained to me that your smell is the deepest and oldest one of your senses. Just checked it and seems she's right. Smart woman. ;0 It's because when you smell something it goes straight to your limbic system in your brain. It supports a variety of functions, including emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and olfaction. It appears to be primarily responsible for our emotional life, and has a great deal to do with the formation of memories. Interesting.

Did some research. According to a marketing professor at the University of Georgia the difference between your olfactory sense (smell) and the other senses (hearing, touch, taste, sight) is that when you smell something your brain reacts before you think. With the other senses you think first, and then you react.

That's nice to know, but why do we do so much less with the other senses than seeing and hearing? How would a telco brand smell? Would it smell like home? Or like apples? Or how would a bank smell? Dusty and boring? Or clean and energetic? How would Brandhome smell!?

Just came across loads of test cases in retail when you dig up some online papers of marketing students. The most straight-forward one is where they put 2 different smells into 2 similar shops. One smelled like a forest in summer; the other one smelled like a dusty city. The first one sold more of the same running shoes for a higher price!!

I've decided. One of our next strategic trainees at Brandhome will have to define the 'olfactory universe' of Belgian brands. Will let you know how that looks (smells) like!

Voila. List clean!! Promises made. Promises kept. Nice way to wrap-up my weekend. As of tomorrow I start dominoing on new things again.
21.01.2013 / Dubai / 07:19 / KF

'TODAY HAS BEEN CANCELLED. GO BACK TO BED!' – have you seen that visual going around on instagram? Man, that's precisely how I feel. I have a severe case of insomnia driven by a restless mind. There's a marketing tsunami in my head. 24/7. Where's the freakin' off button. You must have that as well?

I have a big presentation today about one of our brands in distress. More caused by our own expectations than the consumers' reaction, you know? So, to vent, let me put it here (without mentioning the brand in question). Let's talk about what I call "the wheel of brand death" (r) Kurt Frenier. Yep!

"the wheel of brand death":

Idea » concept » internal enthusiasm » super positive consumer validation » commercialization phase » oops, not enough money to go all the way » great results with half-baked A&M » pre-mortal sales enthusiasm » forecasting and supply issues » revenue drop » sales demotivation » more revenue drop » A&M cut » morbid nose dive.

Fuck this! Once you 'paint the dream', the organization HAS to go all the way. It's such a difficult one for new brands. Why? The portfolio trade-off. Result? Small brands take the beating, whereas they should get the heaviest nvestments, with an eye to future long-term revenue. Take the iPod as a case in point. The iPod existed long before it got to its tipping point. Apple just decided to hang on, improve, find the right hardware/components, infrastructure to bind consumers (iTunes) and design (the white soap-bar look).

It breaks my heart as a marketer to see 'the wheel of (brand) death' spinning. It happens time and time again. The most destructive forces influencing the wheel's velocity: the CFO and the sales department. It breaks my heart because I know it could have gone differently. Now I have to go tell our CEO that, guess what, competition woke up, changed their game, invested and re-launched, snagged the consumers before we did. My proposition 'faded away' and is no longer strong enough to withstand the new situation so, gotta re-launch/rebrand. Phew. Again? Yes! No way around it.

Anyway, an average day in the corporate world...
21.01.2013 / Antwerp / 19:58 / ES

I know: welcome to the agency side of life. We start working when corporate life goes to bed ;) Including weekends and holidays. We feel the wheel of brand death spinning too often. It's a classic.

Please do much more, with much less. You cannot do that? You're fired! I'll look for another agency. One that can master the magic of doing it all with nothing. Nothing, meaning not even anything! Not even a marketing plan! Not even a basic quality product! Real magicians who can sell nothing at all... And so the brand went looking for years and years for the magic agency that could do a lot with nothing. In the mean time, the business faded away from underneath the brand's feet. But the brand marketer, under a little internal pressure, was successful. At least, he thought so, while he was wining and dining on the cost of the agencies, feasting his desires off their credit card. But in the mean time his colleagues from sales and other departments, being jealous of his exclusive agency-subsidized lifestyle, were forging a plan. Not just any plan...

The 3 envelope plan. He found 3 envelopes on his desk. The first envelope marked: Problems? open me first. The second envelope: open me second. And on the third one was printed: open me last. And so it went. Brand marketer was summoned to the management and was asked why the brand was still not contributing to the business. Marketer was in doubt. Marketer opened envelope 1: Blame it on the economy! And so marketer did. He blamed it all on the economy, and continued his exclusive agency profiteering. But the brand still did not do well. Top management summoned him again. Prior to going there he opened envelope 2. Blame it on the organization. And so he did. And he got away with it, again. And continued his life lavishing his needs on the credit cards of the agencies. But the brand's sales plummeted. Top management called for him once more. Marketer opened envelope 3: Prepare 3 envelopes.

Now, what's the moral of this story? Besides the fact that marketer has got what he deserved? Sometimes it is vital to make your point in time, and not promise yourself, nor make your partners promise what cannot be delivered. And of course you need to find the best way forward, for any brand, in whatever condition. But the main point is that even when you are confronted with the undoable as a marketer, then hook up with your agency. Discuss openly what should be done, what can be done. That way you will always find a solution. And then you have the support to move forward.

Well, I need to go into a meeting now with a production company. Remember the pull-back story of last week? We need to fix that. And believe it or not, the client is here too... at this unacceptable strange late hour ;)
22.01.2013 / Dubai / 06:36 / KF

From my cross-trainer. Doing my daily work out. Just need to make sure I don't fall off the machine while typing ;-)

New subject. We talked about passion early on in our conversations. I want to continue with a few thoughts on that fuelled by the following premise: passionate marketers are sometimes destructive to themselves, and others. Let me give some context...

Passion for marketing, for branding, for anything, comes with high energy. Those two are interlocked. The energy explosion is high when passion manifests itself and becomes visible to others. Couple that with high drive for results, and the eagerness to shine in a person and you get little dictators as leaders. Is that a factual thing? Don't know, but I've seen it on multiple occasions. Today, I'm having a feedback session with such a high-profiled marketer in my team. Need to straighten her out a bit before the bomb explodes. Tough talk, because the last thing you want is to deflate them!

So, here's my feedback and advice from a mentoring point of view. Thought it was worth sharing:

1.Self-awareness. Extreme passion is rare, and one has to understand that not everyone has the same level of energy, or drive, or intelligence. And that is ok. You need all sorts of people within a high performing team. As a passionate marketer, look around you and make sure you notice the difference. Don't try to compare and judge. And don't try to say that your approach is the only good one.

2.Passion doesn't have to be shown verbally. Weigh your words before you speak them. Balance your tone-of-voice. Don't go overboard.

3.Overcompensate. Soften up. When you get to a critical point in your career, you need to demonstrate that you can work seamlessly with people from various backgrounds, views and personalities. It often means that a readjustment is needed. Best thing to do: swing to the other side for a while (pretend that you have no passion and are willing to be told what to do – be a sheep and see what it's like): try a soft approach. It'll help get to that midpoint where you have passion in abundance but you are also capable of channeling it productively. That's my best advice based on my personal experience. I was one of those passion-aggressive ones early on in my career. You need to hit the wall a few times to realize it can also be damaging.

4.Check for feedback. This is general advice, to anyone, with any personality. But few people do it. And it's simple. Ask your colleagues, your boss, your mentor, at the most unofficial moment 'How am I doing, really?' 'I value your point of view, what do you think?'

I know, for a fact, that you've come into this situation a gazillion times. What do you do then?
22.01.2013 / Vlissingen (NL) / 22:23 / ES

Do you believe in fate? I just got into the car, checking my mail and reading your stuff. I have spent this entire day with the business unit director of a client where they have just the opposite problem. These guys have this brand and this brand has a strategy about which even I say "WOW"! This can change the business. However... they lack marketers in that company, so don't even bother looking for the passionate ones. I was just discussing during dinner with them where we can find them. 4,000 people are working in that group, and you can count the marketers among them on both hands. Me? No, did that few times. Not anymore. Why?

First of all because I believe that companies should not put their most important assets and competences, amongst which undoubtedly branding and marketing, into the hands of external people. Including myself.

Secondly, because I have experienced in the past that you can come in, do the job, fix the problem, but when you move out things fade away. So basically, what you do still amounts to a sticking plaster on a wooden leg. And in this case the company, and the brands, are under pressure, but not high (yet). It comes round to the other topics you correctly touched on. Is there a correlation between passion and empowerment? YES there is. This is basically what our business is all about. Since we operate in volatile and time-pressure situations, creativity can only breed and boil up when you find a way to 'manage' creativity. Please note that it is different from 'controlling' creativity. You cannot, and should not try to master it. You have to allow freedom and hand over control.

The keyword here is trust in every single meaning of the word. Trust is what many clients, and even colleagues at our company (account people), find difficult. Why? Because it is human nature to be suspicious. As you know I am afraid of flying, but I fly thousands of miles every year. Why? Because I have to fly to do my job. And every time I step onto that plane, I hand over my trust to the air and ground crew. I must trust them to get me to my destination alive. These days, passion is getting more and more scarce. Why? Look at the average college in Belgium. The last advice they give students going for higher education is NOT to follow their passion. They tell them instead WHICH are the best sectors for a well-paid job. And so law school, medical doctors and business economics are always filled up. I personally believe that people find their passion in very different ways. In essence, they bump around, and suddenly they pop against something they are passionate about.

In my case, I am passionate about my job. But I know many people who are passionate about their hobbies, and consider their job 'just a job'. At Brandhome I recruit and select only the most passionate profiles. Some of them outgrow us and outperform the company and move ahead. Other ones get stuck and you need to push them away. I had to do it yesterday. I fired a guy, a good guy. At 28 years old he had reached his limit of working with us. No, never an easy thing to do.

Anyway, 266 emails to go, so I'd better get started. I would love to have a brand, piece of software or something, that could filter as my brain does, all of these 266 black little lines awaiting me.
23.01.2013 / Dubai / 06:30 / KF

I'm going to swing the discussion once more...

Here's something to think about: "Is a TV commercial a reflection of the marketing manager on the brand?" My answer: yes; to a large extend.

For context: am just in the middle of a shoot for one of our big brands. Not to name a name, but it starts with a number ;-)

I had a major disagreement with our agency yesterday, on wardrobe. Not something I usually get involved in to be honest, but our brand guy was on a flight and I had to step in to make some calls and get on with it. Agency presented a clothing style I don't like. It doesn't qualify as contemporary and aspirational. I gave them a no-go. Big push-back from their side but I stay put. And actually, I get involved in similar calls such as cast, location, props. And every time decisions are being made my stamp, my signature, my belief is on it.

That got me thinking: is it because I am more experienced (having a good 30+ TVCs under my belt), or is that a general tendency? And thus, if you would look at 100 TV commercials would you be able to 'guess' broad personality strokes of the marketing manager behind the brand? That seems like a cool study to do - can't Brandhome do that????

More importantly: do you see that too? Or am I just smoking dope?
23.01.2013 / Antwerp / 18:57 / ES

Be honest! Do you have my office bugged or what? This cannot be a coincidence!! Today I got into a similar discussion at the office regarding a pre-production meeting (PPM) they are holding tomorrow on a product image TVC for one of our big brands.

To answer your question:

-First of all, there are too few clients and brand owners that actually get involved deeply into the PPM process. Why? Various reasons: not enough time, no interest, agency knows best attitude, etc. This is an attitude issue between both parties. I have to be honest, as a strategic director I'm not too fond about getting deep into PPM's. Why? Honestly, because I trust that my creative colleagues will keep on track.

-Second: an agency and creative issue that pops up over and over again. They tend to believe that when a concept, storyboard and script have been agreed, it is their decision all the way. I always explain it like this: even when moving into ops, you need to show to clients the various options. You should not hide them because you are afraid they will choose what you, as a creative, don't want. On the contrary, you need to put the options forward, indicate what you want and why. That way you have a point of reference to relate to in the discussion. It's not always an easy one.

-I believe that the previous 2 points influence each other. The broader and more open you put forward the options, the more chance you have that clients will be more deeply engaged, and follow your guidance. It will result in best outcome for everyone. The game of 'me-arrogant-creative-cool-know-all' is old stuff and useless anyway.

Something I want to discuss with you. We are in the middle of repositioning our own brand and company in the light of our 20-20-20 strategy. Acquisition is an important one in there. Tell me: how would you go about getting more of the right clients for Brandhome. You know us. Please help. ;)
24.01.2013 / Dubai / 10:00 / KF

Ah! You're on to me. Your house is bugged, your wife is my confidant, your employees my eyes and ears, your watch has a gps linked to my phone, and last time you were here in Dubai I put a sender/receiver-audio-device in your ponytail holder. That's why people call me "Spiky" ...international man of mystery. Hahahaha...

On to your 20-20-20 strategy and the question of acquisition. In the interest of informing the readers "20-20-20 strategy is: 20 places with 20 people by 2020" - very ambitious. I would first challenge the grounds for that vision, and the feasibility. But that's your problem.

First things first: 'Everything is doable with dedication and resources!' (r) Kurt Frenier. I've shouted that a lot. Give me people whose sole task is to do something and I will make it happen. So, do you have an EXPANSION TEAM? That would be 2 or 3 people that determine where to go, how to go, how to figure out the best business setup, who to recruit, what clients to hunt for? An experienced Business Development Manager with full responsibility and accountability that reports to you - founder and owner of the business?

Then, once you got feet on the ground, you need a "hook", a poster child. An event might be a great idea. Choose a challenging topic...invent a creme-de-la-creme...let the champagne flow (and the orange juice, given the environment we are in here in the ME)...bring in some of your satisfied clients to showcase your work for you...

This book might be it.

We've talked about how hard it is. Remember, as long as you don't have permanent feet on the ground, it will be a hit-and-miss approach. I know you can afford that because you have solid businesses in Europe. But if your vision is to have solid expansion, a substantial pre-investment will be needed.

Anyway, these are my first, rough-cut thoughts. Let's keep building...
24.01.2013 / Antwerp / 15:51 / ES

Spiky!! Let me start off to say that today I am really pissed off. Finally got to bed deep into the night, got up early and had a difficult morning getting going. I had to lay-off some people because they have no future anymore in our new strategy. They all reacted well and thankful since we take good care of them. We help them find new jobs. But honestly, I did not sleep well last night ;(.

Coming back to your questions. Yes. People power. We have the tools, the building blocks. We even have a role model. No. We haven't got all the people. Very strong Benelux core team. I'm still looking for the rest.

But you did not answer my question. How would you go about it?
25.01.2013 / Dubai / 08:33 / KF

What? Didn't give you an answer? Come-on! I gave you half a book, my friend. But I see what you're getting at. What if I were in your shoes, right?

First of all: stop laying off people! :-) Not a joke! Over the last few months it seems to me you've let go of a lot. It's ok to set high standards. But maintaining balance is also important. Let's put that on the discussion list.

Secondly, Dubai as an example. I'd do this.

1Put someone in charge for a year. High level. Ready to bite into the market. A "builder". Maybe a CMO from the region? No, don't ask me :-) You need someone with a strong Middle East network.

2Create one or two high visibility events to bring the marketing community together. C-level people, that can decide to take Brandhome under their wings. Show what you can do. Give free advice. Create a deeper network. It'll cost you but, it'll probably pay off with a few jobs.

3Activity leverage your contacts here. I know you are in touch with a lot of Sheikhs and CEO's in the region. Ask for their permission to use them as "door openers" for the market.

4Concentrate on where the need is highest and Brandhome value-add is biggest. I'd guess mid-size companies that have high/fast growth. Those mostly don't have the manpower to ramp up, are caught by their own success and need marketing help, etc.

Not enough? Call 800-what-the-fuck-i-gave-you-free-advice-dude.
25.01.2013 / Antwerp / 17:33 / ES

The issue is the following. We are doing very well as a company... but outside of Belgium. It is as if the Belgian market is not only dragging behind, but all brands seem to leave the market lying on their sides. From a business perspective, I understand that. You can get more business focussing your commercial assets on the Paris region than the whole of Belgium. Of course, this has an impact on the demand and thus on the offer. The quality of the demand goes down, so the quality of the offer goes down. This is nothing new. It has been going on for a while. Hey, you know the difference between a successful Belgian and a successful Dutch guy? The Belgian is successful the day he sells his business. The Dutch guy is successful the day he buys the Belgian's business. Got the picture? Different ways of thinking.

Now, the challenge is that you need smaller Belgian companies to fight back in difficult economic environments both in the home market as well as supporting them abroad. This calls for a different talent pool. Not only top talent, but also passionate talent. So, yes, we have reached our lay-off level earlier this week. We have behaved according our identity and told people honestly about their future (better or no future) in our company. Now we start growing. Of course, what you don't want is to start 'recruiting' clients that want to seek the future by going back in time. Why not? Because you will fail along with them. But even worse, they will eat and destroy your company and strategy. I know you understand what I am talking about. So the question about new business is to find those clients in Belgium that are open for new solutions. The future proof ones. Internationally, it is easier for us to find the ideal clients. They come and look for us because of our unique rebranding know-how. But this specialty is too small to cater in a Belgian market where just now and again re-brandings happen.

Let me think about it. Will come up with some suggestions and ask your opinion.
26.01.2013 / Dubai Mall / 09:53 / KF

I actually didn't know the situation in Belgium was this dire. And I understand the burden it must have on your business. So, let me add some more fuel to the fire. Do you try to change your Belgian situation or do you move outside? In the end, you shouldn't change your mission. You have to fish where the fish are. If that means refocussing efforts abroad, then so be it. That's the strategy large companies follow as well, why would it be different for a smaller one? There is a reason why everyone moves to India, China, Russia, Brazil, Nigeria and the Middle East. That's where the growth is. The middle class is growing and therefore companies are rediscovering their strategies. Most importantly GDP is on your side. Did you ever correlate GDP growth to your company growth in each of the countries you operate. It's always enlightening, and a good guide for the future. Anyway, I'm curious. Let me know how I can help.

One last thing, on the Belgian-Dutch joke: so true, you know. So don't be Belgian - don't sell Brandhome. If that would cross your mind. Maybe try being Dutch?
26.01.2013 / Antwerp / 11:53 / ES

You've been away too long from home my friend. Yesterday Arcelor-Mittal announced the closing of their factories in Liege. You can't even blame them with a government here who lies all the time. And makes people believe that Belgium is actually doing well. No, Belgium is not doing well. It's a major fuck-up because we have a socialist government that, despite the many politicians in there that hold major PhDs in economics (paid for by the tax payers of course), still thinks an economy can thrive on doing nothing, being unproductive and screwing multinational companies. The problem with these people is that they have never travelled outside of Belgium, except to take their mistresses on holidays with government planes and luxury bags paid by the taxpayer too. It's scandalous.

Anyway, coming back to both your questions:

1.NO, we will not change who we are. We will move more internationally while keeping our business here, but moving along with the changing needs. Ever read the book Who Moved my Cheese? Well, can tell you this: cheese as it was before is not coming back

2.NO, the company is not for sale. We want the young people to become partners. But that's not obvious in the Belgian legal system.

In essence we are repositioning our company to come out stronger after this crisis. The good thing is that it creates a lot of positive energy in the team. In essence, it is a restructured team, with people moving in and out. That's the fun part. The quality of output grows, and that's top. Gotta to run. I have a shooting in the snow (yes, it's snowing again) I want to attend to.

Speak to you tomorrow! Say hi to Sanne and tell her the Belgian/Dutch joke.
27.01.2013 / Dubai / 20:03 / KF

Let's move the conversation elsewhere while you figure out all of this existential stuff ;-)

I want to talk about targeting again. Starting with some existential questions:

- The words "target", "target groups", "targeting" come from the military scene. In the modern day and age where we talk about storytelling, listening strategies, and 2-way conversations for brands, isn't it high time we find a more appropriate terminology?

-Typically, and driven by what you can measure and buy as a brand, demographics have been leading targeting definitions and descriptions. Nowadays, brands that 'do' instead of 'say' need to re-strategize. How?

To give the first shot at this, I'm contemplating a lot the notion of target definition in terms of lifestyle, interests, mind-set, social similarity, and the like as an alternative to 'plain' socio-demos. Seems obvious. Nothing revolutionary or new. But it's quite a hassle to reframe all this and get brand teams, media buyers (internally and externally), and management with me. The issue is that people are so 'wired' in the old-fashioned school of thought that you have a lot of justifying to do. I'm looking for some best practices on that front. Do you know any? Sure you do!

Here's an example of old-style targeting I saw recently. Tata launches Tata Nano for the lower income group. Why not for the environment-lovers? Or for people that find miniature cars endearing? Just saying.

As marketers, we need to get better at understanding, and leveraging behavioral marketing and psychographics, don't you think? Why is that important? With traditional targeting you actually rule out all people that DO NOT belong to the target group. That's a big miss, especially now that consumers are all chameleon users anyway. They are spread out around what they like doing. They behave like this one minute and like that the minute after.

I'll take myself as an example. I like high-end stylish fashion as much as I like new-and-upcoming brands like Superdry, or Diesel, or Oakley. Right? My brain is not one sided. And I don't live in a black-and-white world where I only like 1 single thing/concept. I drive a Porsche but also like hybrid cars on principle. I listen to classical music as much as I love pumping the speakers of my iMac with some serious house-and-dance tunes I get from Soundhound. I enjoy a 3-star restaurant as much as a good Zinger Spicy chicken at KFC. I travel business class for work, but economy privately. And so on and so forth.

So, whereas brands are moving into the 'do' space, from a targeting point of view, we need to better understand how consumers 'think' and 'live'. Demographics explain only the WHO...psychographics explain the WHY!

My plea = change "target" into "audience". Guess what! Social media gives us an amazing insight into that.

By the way: who is the 'audience' for our book?

Enough for you to chew on.
27.01.2013 / Antwerp / 19:59 / ES

Interesting topic you touch upon. Let me first go and grab an Illy coffee from my Illy machine. Makes my mind flow better. [... I'm back] The topic you bring to our marketing domino table is twofold. You have set out (a) the redefinition of targeting and (b) changing marketing attitudes.

Let's start with (b), one of my favorites. Hock once said: 'the problem is not how to get the new thoughts in; it's how to get the old ones out'. That is exactly what you are fighting. Believe me, I know. I run into the same issue a couple of times a week.

Kotler is a great guy, and I am grateful for how he put marketing on the agenda Although some marketers think so, his is not the last and final word. But that's what you are facing. It is human nature to be resistant change. And that is exactly what you are asking from them. CHANGE. Change the ways they look at the marketing business. And thus change the way they look at their own roles. For them it is easier to talk about 'well-defined' target groups, than to talk about changing audiences where traditional segmentation aggregates are no longer useful. It scares them. Your example of the Tata car is spot on. Why did no one in the Tata marketing department push the reference frame aside and push the colleagues to see things from a different perspective. Perhaps then the Nano would have been the new Fiat 500 or Mini. By experience, I can only advise you to keep up the good work, breed followers and show results. Do things to take FEAR away. FEAR has been proved to drive both individual as well as organizational resistance. Change agents is a well-known and frequently used technique to fuel change. Put in external people and know-how to talk about the 'big blue sky' on the other side after the change. Another strategy is what you have to apply when a company is under siege and has virtually no time to go to a full change process. You create and fuel the fear to such an extent that people will take the risk to change, since they understand from being discomforted that it is their last chance.

Moving to (a): redefining the target. Here comes my kick. Any marketer who dares to go outside, and walk around, sniff up the air from the various markets in which his/her products are being offered or could be offered, has no problem 'targeting'. However, most of them stay inside and play marketer by Googling. Hey, why do you think I have long hair? When the Brioni suit and the bowtie go off, then I change from a successful professor-like businessman into a missed out, average student. But like this I can move around the various markets where I am supporting clients and brands.

So yes, I agree with your vision on 'knowing your audiences', but I want to take it a step further, to a more fundamental level. We, as brand marketers, have to accept that the only constant factor has become constant change. And that is what a lot of marketing people have a problem with because it pushes them into a passion, not into a job. It pushes and forces them into mixing their private and business careers.

It is from this same silly logic that 'if you're not on FB, you're not in marketing' comes. I argue the content, but I embrace the essence of the thinking behind that line. The other day we were discussing the quality of people to be recruited at Brandhome. Well, this is a nice example. They should be able to manage the overflow between both of the worlds they live in. They live in their own, and they have to constantly go and live in the multiple worlds the brands they work for live in. You remember we discussed brandscape some weeks ago (on 9.12.2012)? Well, knowing your audience comes from understanding their brandscapes. So it becomes a different way to look at your target groups. It becomes more a 'peel-off' exercise (who's not my audience) than a 'sum-up' exercise (who is my audience). If you want kpi's, you want to take their fears away. You want to move your teams forwards. Take this route and it will get them as close to facts as one still can get in today's world. The other option is to fire all of 'em. And re-recruit ;)

I have a Skype call now with our CD. So I need to leave you here. You tell me who will read our book? Who will be the audience? We know all the advertising and agency strategic directors and others will read it, or say they did. Strange thing in marketing. Marketers think they are brilliant, but they hardly read any books. Weird. Don't you agree?
28.01.2013 / Dubai / 08:24 / KF

Hohoho bro: no attacking my famous 'if you're not on Facebook, you shouldn't be in marketing' line. I'll tell you why. It's a parallel to the idea of your "going outside and sniffing" concept. Spot-on. For social media, going outside is staying inside. What? Stop sniffing dope, Spiky. Yeah yeah. You know what I mean. And believe me, time and again I get confronted with how important that is.

Extreme recent example yesterday! I went to the launch of twitter in MENA. Met the MENA GM and the Vice President International for twitter. The VP of twitter has fewer followers than me (I have about 3,2OO at this moment) and only a good 3OO tweets. That means he's not using his own platform. And it gets worse. At the party (yeah yeah, I have a tough life -LoL), I'm talking to media people, twitter employees, and peers in the industry. And as usual, social media freak that I am, I'm asking their twitter handle so I can follow them. Guess what?!? They don't have one. At a twitter event! Seriously, people in media buying sponsored accounts and sponsored tweets on twitter not being on twitter. How the fuck do you know what you buy, and how to do that? That's like a car salesman without a driver's license! WTF! I get very upset by this.

Anyway...

The audience of our book: the progressive marketer, the inquisitive ones, the controversial ones. I think it's the ones that want to know the latest and learn a trick or two. But also people that don't necessarily have a marketing background, but like to understand what's going on in those marketing eggheads' minds (e.g. finance people) but not in a boring textbook-style way. So, let's keep it broad so it lands broad!

Gotta go to work...
28.01.2013 / Brussels / 19:59 / ES

Unbelievable that twitter story. It is unfortunately so true that people don't know what they are selling, marketing, doing. But if you are in a young sector such as social media, then there is something seriously wrong with you. But also with the company that recruited you. I don't recruit people that have 'no opinion/no behavior' towards brands and branding.

Anyway. Did you cheat again? Look what I read on Think with Google today. Interview with CMO of GE, Beth Comstock: "To be an effective marketer, you have to go where things are. You have to see what's happening and be a translator. You have to immerse yourself and not be comfortable sometimes." Sounds like us! Did you tell her? Or is it just that great minds think alike?

The audience of our book is everyone who wants to read the first business novel of brand marketing. It's not only about things we discuss. It is about who we are, how we react, how we feel. So it's more a kind of dual-bio than just a book. I think you will probably engage more people that are not in marketing, but just people that want to read how we think. You remember when we started this in the Buddha Bar in Dubai? We first wanted to make a blog, and a social discussion platform. Well, in fact that is what Brand Domino is all about. It is a blog, and it is a social discussion platform. Well social... mmm... just the two of us.

I want to discuss the brand 'EU'. I was reading this weekend about Davos, and the speech of David Cameron, etc. Today I was in a qualitative research. One of my faves is to just ask about their opinions about EU. What? Why? How? This is really strange. No one really understands what this EU is actually doing other than talking a very complex and incomprehensible language. It is seen as a big monster in Brussels that eats billions of euro's but for what? I believe the EU could have a future. After all, the EU holds the world record of all strategic rebranding operations ever done. The biggest, widest, most successful... strategic rebranding operation ever! YES! The introduction of the EURO. They rebranded and renamed the most local asset - local currencies - into a new one. Ok, today the euro is not performing that well, but look at the impact that it had. Every single inhabitant in Europe, and even far outside, was aware and engaged in that project. But since then the brand EU did not show any relevance whatsoever with EuroJoe Sixpack. They spend in advertising over 500 million euros, and nobody understands what these people, this brand is doing for them. Love to hear your point of view.
29.01.2013 / Dubai / 20:12 / KF

You are so right. Never thought of the EURO (currency) as a rebranding operation. But it is. I'd qualify it as moderately successful. Worked well for the younger, well-educated, urban population but only slowly for the rest. I lived through that when I saw my grandparents still calculating euros into Belgian Franks for years after the transition. And they were not the only ones.

Fast forward 20 years and the overlay of the currency unification supposedly should have led to that brand 'EU'. Didn't happen. Why? Marketing mistake #1: the product didn't deliver. Sounds strange? Let me explain: the concept of a unified EU is to provide a nice safety blanket to all European inhabitants, in financial terms, in ease of movement/travel, in employment. The "United States of Europe" is the brand promise behind brand EU. Hooray! Nope! Big fuck-up. Because they never figured out the political alliances, never were able to have individual countries give in a little for the greater good of the EU, the system soon fell apart. And economic crises of the last few years are the final K.O. Brand failure at its best I'd say. It's going to take them tons more than 500 million euros to 'regain trust'. I personally think the EU is so ruptured now that it'll fall apart altogether. Anyway, I'm far too distant from the European situation these days to really feel wants going on. Enlighten me!

Maybe the EU-president needs to bring in the cavalry (i.e. Brandhome and me) :-)
29.01.2013 / Antwerp / 23:51 / ES

It's getting boring to discuss with you. We agree too much. Totally agree with your POV. I think it is going to become one big brand implosion. It can be compared to some blue chip companies-marketing behavior from the old days. Keep on hammering, and one day the audience will understand. Nope. EU should show that it can reposition itself by first closing down Strasbourg. Why do you need a dual HQ function, barely 200 miles from each other? Double housing, double traffic, double expense notes... double, double! Lead by example. Ask O'Leary from Ryanair to take a close look at the EU and where costs can be slashed. At least it will show that the brand has any meaning. I just pisses me off.

Back to passion. We have already spoken about it many times. Today it hit me again. At 7 am this morning I was already up and going, after a 45-minute run in our Brandhome gym. We are on the edge of launching a big campaign for a Dutch client. It's a nice one, but also a very important one. If it fails to meet the sales targets, then the company could get into trouble. But it's a great and unique proposition these guys have put together. There's also some big money involved. I see 3 parties at the table.

I call 'em the 3 usual suspects:

1.highly motivated operational management at client side

2.highly committed Brandhome team

3.passive operational team at the client side

1 and 2 are working day and night to get things done. To understand the importance. If things go well, everyone is happy. If things turn out bad: no client anymore, so no work for Brandhome anymore. But group 3 is outnumbering 1 and 2. They sit relaxed, hardly moving. What is wrong with these people? Don't they get it? Don't they understand how important it is, not only for the brand and the company, but for themselves? Should I blame the hr people at that company? I got out of the office at 23:00. I was talking on behalf of my creative peers. Even they don't get it! Our creative director told me: Erik, you live 3 lives in one. But these guys (group 3), are they even alive? That touched me. Not only that working 5,000 hours a year is perhaps too much, but that so few people in the marketing field have this passion, this ambition to move things around and get ahead.

Anyway, it's way after midnight. I gotta go to get to bed. My youngest one is keeping me awake at night. Hoping for a good night's rest. Speak tomorrow. Still chewing on the repositioning of Brandhome.
30.01.2013 / Dubai / 07:25 / KF

So now I'm boring you with bland statements eh? :-) Well, great minds think alike, so obviously there will be great convergence in our thinking!

I want to switch the subject and inject some new life-blood into the conversation.

Let's talk innovation.

We've used the word innovation a few times in our conversation but never actually talked in depth about the importance of it, how to make it work, how to optimize, etc. And it is an important topic, for any company. For an entire economy. If you have followed the latest WEF in Davos last week, you'd have seen how hot a topic it is to get countries back to a positive balance sheet, get employment going, attract investors, etc. Now, I don't want to take it to country-level. That's too abstract to me.

So let's keep it tangible: innovation for companies...the good, the bad, the ugly. A movie starring Spiky and ErikMAN...coming soon to a theatre near you :-)

Let's start with the million-dollar question first. What is innovation?

You know I always like to keep it simple. To me, any product or service that adds a new element of value to the consumer, is based on a need/insight for him/her, in a certain market, in a certain category. Those last additions are important. Something is innovative if in the eyes of the consumer it can be categorized as "new". I have often debated that in my innovation roles.

A company easily says: 'Hey, this or that has been done before either in country X or by company Y...That's not innovation!'. Wrong! To MY consumer it is, so it counts. And by the way, it's easy to confuse 'invention' with 'innovation'. An invention is something new to the world, that leads to new behavior...tablets, Amazon, Ebay, hybrid cars, solar energy, dental-health-chewing-gum. It's very different from innovation. Innovation brings incrementality to a brand, category and company.

Anyway, this is just the starting point of what will be a long, interesting conversation....
30.01.2013 / Middelburg / 18:25 / ES

Totally agree. It's the same logic as when asking: When is something a brand? Something is a brand the day your client considers it to be a brand and behaves accordingly. It is a brand when you get a brand premium franchise. I would like to add to your definition the uncopyable aspect. Innovation has more impact when the substitution degree, not only because of the first mover advantage, but because you have a perceived, but preferably long lasting point of differentiation.

Now, what is innovation?

Let's first go back to what you said some days ago about the Tata Nano. If they had communicated it right, then you would have had a true innovation. They would have invented their target audience: the environment lovers, miniature car people and important corporate ones. Perhaps they could have asked the Mayor of NYC to endorse the idea. Maybe they could have tried to get social interest groups to speak out for them. So innovation can be driven by communication.

Traditional product innovation. Yes. This is where it goes often wrong. Engineers and technical guys, sometimes with controllers looking at some complex slides made by a market research department that hired an external 'business opener' agency or other wizards. Please, no. Let marketing be in control. My experience is that innovation is scale driven, certainly in the service industry. Instead of sitting and trying to figure out some new kind of service in your Brussels office, fly around the world. Visit the cities and even distant areas in other parts of the world. Innovate with what is there. What do you see there? Some weeks ago when I was in Dubai I was speaking to the guy who had to put up Dubai Transport. Same story. Opened up to the world and created innovation by puzzling together best pieces of what was there.

Innovation. We can write a book about it. I'll continue tomorrow. What are other angles of innovation. Perhaps let's define 10 angles for innovation?
31.01.2013 / Dubai / 01:33 (insomnia strikes) / KF

10 angles of innovation:

1Innovation objective

2Types of innovation

3From inspiration to commercialization

4The innovation process

5Who's involved

6Importance of abstraction and synthesis

7Prototyping as must-have

8What's needed for success

9Organic growth vs acquisition.

10Financial returns

Ten is absolutely not enough. But it's a start.

Let me start with the first one: OBJECTIVE. Why innovate?

...In the end, there is only 1 objective: move the needle. You innovate to see 'something' happen; either in your business or on your brand or on a corporate level. It moves sentiments on Wall Street. How innovative a company is matters a lot. It can create faith in the future - the importance of an innovation 'pipeline'. It can attract and bring in money - people want to jump on the bandwagon. It can push the world into motion - like Facebook!

Mostly, innovation is there to deliver GROWTH. It must bring it in incrementally to the portfolio you already have, either by attracting new users, or by having current users buy/consume more. They will do this because they see opportunities for use and consumption are different and better than their current behavior patterns)

... It is also there to avoid brand blandness. Innovation brings news on brands. You have a new 'element' in the story. I often compare it to a book. Innovation is like bringing in a new character in a book. You want that character to really add value to the story, be liked, have an essential role on how the future of the story unfolds.

Related to the objective of innovation is the 'why' of innovation. That why must be answered first. Seems obvious. But not often done. You have to ask yourself 'is innovation the way to go here?'. For instance, say your brand is in serious trouble. Well, let me tell you, the spontaneous reaction in such cases is often let's throw some innovation in the market, and we'll be flying again. Wrong! Seen that movie before. You can't innovate yourself out of trouble!! If a brand has equity issues, then you need to address those (proposition, relevance, communication, activation) before you go to an innovation. Innovation adds an extra burden to the brand. The brand needs to carry more and more and more.

And thus, the fundamentals need to be strong.
31.01.2013 / Vlissingen / 16:25 / ES

Congratulations! Today we have reached our first quarter of Brand Domino! The first quarter of a new, and innovative way of writing a marketing book! ;)

I found this on the internet, <http://thegentleartofsmartstealing.wordpress.com/types-of-innovation/>. No academic reference, but it's an interesting overview of types of innovation. We should pare them down and then blend them with your angles of innovation?

1.Incremental Innovation: Incremental Innovation seeks to improve the systems that already exist, making them better, faster, cheaper.

2.Process Innovation: Process Innovation means the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or delivery method.

3.Red ocean innovation: ?

4.Service Innovation: Service Innovation can be defined as a new or considerably changed service concept, client interaction channel, service delivery system or technological concept that individually, but most likely in combination, leads to one or more (re)new(ed) service functions that are new to the firm.

5.Business Model Innovation: Business Model Innovation (BMI) refers to the creation, or reinvention, of a business itself.

6.Ecological Innovation: Eco-Innovation is a term used to describe products and processes that contribute to sustainable development.

7.Frugal Innovation: Frugal Innovation is about doing more with less.

8.Blue Ocean Innovation: Blue Oceans represent the unknown market space, i.e. all the industries not in existence today.

9.Radical Innovation: Radical Innovations (sometime referred to as breakthrough, discontinuous or disruptive innovations) provide something new to the world that we live in by uprooting industry conventions and by significantly changing customer expectations in a positive way. Ultimately, they often end up replacing existing methods / technologies.

10.Open Source Innovation / Crowdsourcing: In production and development, open source is a philosophy or pragmatic methodology that promotes free redistribution and access to an end product's design and implementation details.

11.Experience Innovation: Companies that try to create holistic experiences by emotionally engaging their consumers.

12.Disruptive Innovation: A Disruptive Innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology.

13.User Led Innovations: The user is king. It's a phrase that's repeated over and over again as a mantra. Companies must become user-centric. But there's a problem. It doesn't work. Here's the truth. Great brands lead users, not the other way around.

14.Supply Chain Innovation: Supply Chain Innovation is about applying best practices and technological innovations to your own supply chain in order to reduce such cycle and wait times and other waste (to use a lean term) in your in-house processes Remarkable Innovations combine different types! It's also interesting that combination itself is an innovation.

What do you think? Shall we look for examples first for each type of innovation? Then, let's see if we can define an ideal process that could be a generic innovation management process for all of these 14, and perhaps more, types?
01.02.13 / Dubai Mall / 08:23 / KF

That's a great list, and a great starting point. Let's go through it...

#1 Incremental innovation: to improve the systems that already exist, making them better, faster and cheaper".

Oops- I disagree. Good start :-) I disagree in the sense that ALL innovation needs to be incremental to the business. Otherwise it's a waste of time and resources. Right?

To me, incremental innovation has two dimensions:

1- efficiency.

2- new-to-the-business-concepts.

1-Incremental efficiency.

Efficiency is often about "sweating the assets" ; to get them to work harder for you. So, that means making them better, faster and cheaper. The downside of this is "business myopia", i.e. you are fully focused internally. Innovation will come out of this focus, that much is true. Whether it is changing the product, the product delivery (packaging or service), or message delivery. But, generally, it won't give you game-changing innovation. Therefore it limits the potential consumer magic that will drive change.

But, when you do it right, it works. Small example. Suppose you make and sell mints. You manufacture your mints in a certain way, put the product in a pack, and you've been successful at it. One small but effective incremental innovation is to make a smaller pack, at a premium price. By doing this you your core users buy more (e.g. for on the go, since the pack is easier to carry). That in turn might lead to new sales channels where you can distribute, and some 'news' around the brand. If you add it all up, you might have a "golden goose" in your hands.

2-Incremental new-to-the-business-concepts.

Incrementality is a tough thing to reach. It needs a good understanding of the dynamics between the business model and the cost of innovation (from product to go-to-market) to the working of the portfolio. In the end you need margin accretive concepts that get adopted by either more people or new people, leveraging where possible existing brands. New brand creation is possible, but drives costs up. To put it simply incremental new-to-the-business-concepts means adding new dollars to the current revenue stream of the company. How to get there is the trick and the task/objective of innovation.

A great example of totally incremental innovation is Caterpillar - known for heavy machinery, quality, resistance and a bold image, going into Timberland-like shoe manufacturing.

More tomorrow...
01.02.2013 / Antwerp / 19:45 / ES

Since we are talking business and money and so on, the Brandhome foundation still did not receive your Joker Days fine of $ 70 of the first quarter of Brand Domino. Show me the money!! Shopping and spending all those bonus dollars in Dubai Mall, the Walhalla of shopping, but forgetting about the little kids that the Brandhome foundation is helping! Shame on you. Send the cash quickly. Perhaps pay $ 200, then you buy yourself some credit days ;)

Back to innovation.

Interesting insights you are giving on being incremental. I agree. Also interesting to see that you are very skilled in this. I know, and the readers will know now too, that you have always been involved in lots of innovation projects. If I remember well you even had such a function with Pepsi? Anyway, marketing and branding is all about innovation. I am very curious about what I am going to learn here. Have the feeling I am finally going to learn something.

I have some questions to pop to you.

1.Sweating the assets is not comparable with sweating the competences or do you mean both? For me, competence is more holistic than assets. Your father can be very rich and leave you lots of assets. But, if you don't have the competence to manage them, you won't make 'em sweat.

2.The Caterpillar example is a pure brand licensing agreement; so you consider this to be a form of innovation? It's a brand extension, yes, but is it innovation?

3.Is the concept of being incremental being not outdated, in a way? If you look from a customer value perspective - Operational Excellence, Customer Intimacy and Product Leadership (Treacy en Wiersema) - then you could probably make small, incremental 'innovations' on all of them. To make a long story short: isn't all incremental innovation about efficiency? I have been doing some reading today about it. What amazed me is that most large corporations want innovation processes that they can measure very well. Only a few of them have the guts/possibility to go and learn-by-doing.

Can I get your views on this? Thank you for that ;-)

Just to add some kind of value to the discussion, I would like to try to define innovation. Yes, the idea of having a definition for a word like innovation is corrupt. But I'll give it a try anyway.

_"Innovation is the intangible process that brings to the light new ways of dealing with your audience."_
02.02.13 / Dubai / 06:37 / KF

Dude. I am saving up Joker days :-) I'll pay the SPARK foundation in one go. Let me give you a heads-up. I'm gonna have some Joker days while I'm in NYC next week :-) I'll pay up - no worries, mate.

To answer your question, yes, I know a thing or two about innovation. Been heavily involved in innovation for the past 10 odd years. And yes, I've even had some jobs that had "innovation" in the title, in Europe and in the Middle East. But more than that, I am passionate about it. There is something to it. Very different than brand marketing. Innovation poses interesting challenges for a marketer.

It is fascinating!

Now, let me first react to your definition, an 'intangible process'. Do you know what that means?? I do!! Innovation is nothing but good LEADERSHIP! Seems obvious, but even research amongst high versus low growth companies showed that. While you might think that lack of ideas or burden of capital investment might be the #1 driving factor for success or failure - it is in fact : (1) innovation leadership and (2) senior management buy-in that are key differentiators!

Good point on assets and competences. I meant 'assets' as in 'hard-core investments'. But you could indeed broaden it. Thing is, any CFO will look at the money, not the intangible components. And if there is one friend an innovator NEEDS, it's the CFO. Trust me! Keeping your finance counterparts in the loop, however unnatural that is for a marketer, (–LoL) it's crucial!

I have to agree with you on the aspect of learning-by-doing. That's not the approach of a big company. A big corporation is by nature risk averse. And there's a reason for it. Too many eyes are watching, Wall Street being two of them, so you HAVE to succeed. Having the process laid out before you start is essential. Learning-by-doing is THE ultimate approach but only works well when you are small, agile, flexible, and can work with limited cash, etc. But yes, there is a saying that you need to plant many seeds to grow great innovation. You know, 'you gotta to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince'. (Got that from a book, but forgot which one.

Leapfrog maybe?).

You struck a nerve there when you said 'Operational Excellence, Customer Intimacy and Product Leadership (Treacy en Wiersema)'. YES, YES, and YES again. Actually, it is ONLY about consumer intimacy. It's everything we do in marketing nowadays. And innovation fits in there. We no longer live in a world where companies broadcast what they can make and tell you that you can come to them if you are interested (my way or the highway). We now listen to them, get to know them, get close to them, become friends with them, feel them, and then...ask them what they want, and try to give it to them. That goes for brand experiences and for innovation. And we get rewarded for that effort by being paid...in brand love...and in money (the price for product or service). Read this back man, this is a million dollar 21st century marketing definition!! Anyways.

Back to assets deployment and leverage. Indeed, that's an old-fashioned concept but it will, I guess, be a reality for decades before we all discover a new business model.

Let's get to our own definition of innovation. But let's do that when we're done with this discussion. I feel we still have some ground to cover.

I'm getting tired of hearing myself think ;-) so more tomorrow!
02.02.2013 / Antwerp / 22:15 / ES

Interesting. Reading your domino of today gives me 3 insights and more topics to comment on.

1.Branding, marketing, passion, innovation. Key words.  
Words we live by every day. You and me.

For me, and this is very personal, brands that don't innovate bore me and my brand loyalty fades away. Some years ago one of my clients, an experienced retailer marketer, told me how he looked at the difference between 'brand loyalty' - customers being loyal to the brand - and 'habit loyalty' - customers being loyal to a habit of buying this, there, that, and so on. Now, I have a brand loyalty towards brands that are constantly working on moving ahead. Brands that have embraced the fact that the sole constant in things is change. When you want to be such a brand, a real brand that has brand loyalty above habit loyalty from its customers, isn't it then perhaps time to turn our marketers into innovators?. Perhaps even change their function title. In essence this is what makes Brandhome what we are today. The biggest part of our success is that we can't talk about it. Because what we execute in our advertising and design studio, is not even 20% of what we strategically invent in our consulting part. The latter projects are then re-briefed towards internal agencies, of current agencies of clients to execute. Brands such as Facebook are always reinventing themselves. LEGO, Barbie and Playmobil are good at it too. Do you think we could redefine the marketing function for brands?

2.The model of being incremental is outdated. But, we believe that it will be there for decades to come. I agree with this, by the way. Is this then an example of the 'Law Of The Handicap Of A Head Start'? Could we think of innovation-branding strategies to screw the markets and competition that are stuck in this outdated law? Now, this is a kind of philosophic approach. One of the greatest examples is IKEA. You know that until just some years ago they did not spent a single dime on market research? Look at a better routing for the store? Why not reroute the stores so we all go direct to sofas first instead desk chairs? Have some ideas on new products? Why not, put some in and see what it gives. And so on. Do you think it would be stupid or just fun to throw over such a form of innovation?

3.The Brandhome foundation is going to get rich. History shows that when you are in NYC, it always pays out !! ;)

Looking forward, shall we then move into process innovation Mr. Guru!
03.02.2013 / Dubai airport / 07:50 / KF

The Big Apple in sight again. Hooray. And yes, the Brandhome Foundation will get rich because I have a loaded morning-to-midnight agenda so chances of my writing falling through the cracks are high.

Working with the guys from Eat Big Fish this week. I do hope you read their book from a few years back on 'Lighthouse Identities'. It should be a great week challenging the norms. Let's make a note for a later topic: the advantages of stepping into the mind of a challenger.

Before we go to process innovation, a difficult and broad topic by the way, let's first talk about the process of innovation - given that leadership is so crucial.

First, the **4 stages of an innovation project: inspiration-exploration-validation-commercialisation**. However you want to call them it always falls into these buckets. Let's break 'em down:

0- stage zero: The where and the how.

I didn't include this in the innovation process because this is a stage much more related to business strategy. It's a vision-mission-plan, where you determine two things: where to play, and, how to win. Before starting any innovation, you have to have a good understanding of the market dynamics and the possible pockets of opportunity. It's still high level at this stage but you have to have DIRECTION. Related to that is the how to win or, better put, the right to succeed. There needs to be an articulated business belief that there is a win and a likelihood of succeeding in the marketplace in a certain areas. With those two elements covered, you can get started! Easier said than done, believe me. Stage zero is -obviously- the most important one. You don't want to play football on a tennis court :-)

1-inspiration. Where concepts are born.

We actually talked about creativity and inspiration before, and when it comes to innovation the dynamics are not different. Get your hands dirty, go into the field, talk to consumers, read about trends, go outside the box. All of that good stuff combined with your "marching orders" (where-to-play) will give you tons of inspiration. I have rarely been in this phase without at least 100 ideas on how to tackle a problem, get into a new market, etc. Powerful stuff when you start putting brainpower together.

2-exploration. Where ideas are brought to life.

After you sifted through your gazillion ideas, and you've made choices, you need to start nailing some down that have the most traction in your team/taskforce/working group. Most importantly, you have to come to a position where you are able to sell the dream. That means, tell people that are not involved in the story. We want to go in such and such a market, and we believe that XYZ will get us there. In this phase XYZ needs to be as tangible as possible. Essential: prototyping. You HAVE TO be able to touch, feel, see the solution, where you talk about a physical product (a rotating captain's chair in a car) or a service (new call centre script and tone of voice). Make that chair, and have people play out the service centre call. I've learned over the years that it is never effort wasted when you really put time and money in selling the dream. A powerpoint slide with numbers is nice, but nothing does the trick better than giving your most senior person in the company a prototype in hand, believe me. It's like a test drive of a car - you can look at the pretty pictures in the folder all you want. The moment you sit in the seat, hold the steering wheel, smell the new car smell - YOU GET IT, you see it, you feel it. Sold!

3-validation. Where a sense of success is determined.

Here's where the entrepreneurs differ from the big companies like ours. An entrepreneur finds an opportunity, crafts a solution, does the rough math, and goes for it. Not so for the big boys. The smallest innovation in our company costs millions of dollars. So it is logical that more due diligence is needed. We validate along every touchpoint with consumers. In my opinion, there is only 1 killer validation: when you have the final idea in your hand, you have to get a quantitative sense for the magnitude of success in the market. And that is not just to justify your investment. That's just one aspect of it. It is also to forecast properly. If you have a golden idea and you don't really know it, quantitatively, you run the risk of being out of stock very early on in the game. Thus disappointing consumers and creating damage to brand and company. Seen that before. Hell, I've made that mistake before! Let me tell you: golden rule of innovation in my books: always plan for success! I hate conservatism.

4-commercialization. When you get into action.

This is a book in itself, largely covered by what we have been talking about and what we will be talking about :-) Basically, this is where EVERYONE is being lined up to go! Getting your all ducks in a row is a hell of a job, as both you and I know. But this is the phase where "innovation" stops and 'real marketing' starts -if you know what I mean.

I went over this very quickly, to give a flavor of process before we talk specifics. All of these phases deserve a book in themselves of course. What we maybe should talk about is the issues we have crossed in each phase. You can start with that.

Now, from a leadership point of view, within these and across these you need to lay out many touchpoints with all stakeholders, top-down and peer-to-peer. That's also something we should cover.

About to step on the flight...
03.02.2013 / Antwerp / 17:15 / ES

NYC. Minus 7C. Hope you packed well. First, I need to tell you this one. I was shopping yesterday on the internet to buy a toy gift. Belgian company FUN is a big company for toys over here. You know them. Went to check out their website on www.FUN.BE. Then, wanted to check the price in Holland. Checked out www.FUN.NL. Had my daughter on my lap when a huge pornsite opens on this URL. Unbelieveable that they have not bought that! Anyway, thought it was big fun! Domain hacking is an interesting topic. Question is: which domain came first?...

Back to innovation. You think these 4 steps in the process are the logical ones. Can you indicate how long each of these steps can take? From my limited experience in these kind of projects, I always noted that small companies move too fast, and large ones too slow. No one has the optimal speed in my opinion. Small ones don't think enough. Big ones don't stop thinking.

Is there something like an optimal timing? Or can't you predict at all? And how do you handle it in an international markets context. For some parts of the world something is considered innovation whereas in the other part it's almost old-fashioned. Just sowing some thoughts.

STAGE ZERO

I think that too many companies skip this step.

I keep asking myself everyday what Brandhome has to contribute? And turn the question around. Better to know when you can be missed than to think about how people can't miss you. That's my experience. It's a very hard reality. It's also interesting when discussing it in all kinds of innovation and related projects. In essence all of them are replaceable. That's the idea you need to challenge in order to kickstart and go through a solid stage ZERO. Otherwise, there's no point -just my humble opinion.

I've just listed here the 13 other ones to discuss after we discussed the process steps.

1.Incremental innovation

2.Process innovation

3.Red ocean innovation

4.Service innovation

5.Business model innovation

6.Sustainable innovation

7.Frugal innovation

8.Blue ocean innovation

9.Radical innovation

10.Open source innovation / Crowdsourcing

11.Experience innovation

12.Disruptive innovation

13.User led innovations

14.Supply chain innovation

You talk now GURU. By the way. Have fun in NYC.!
04.02.2013 / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
04.02.2013 / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
05.02.2013 / NYC / 02:00 / KF

Yep, I skipped a day. So here goes the middle of the night jetlag writing...

NY is crisp minus 4C but feels great because the sun is shining. I love this city. The feel of it. The sound of it. People in the street. Buzz. We talked about it...

Ha! The FUN-incident. Yep, yep stupid of them not to buy that website. Then again no one in their right mind is going to attribute a porn site to them. It's like going to thewhitehouse.com (yes, porn) instead of thewhitehouse.org (political porn -haha).

SPEED OF AN INNOVATION PROJECT.

I agree that big companies always go too slow and small ones always go too fast. It's the nature of the beast. Thing is, each of the steps take time. You can't force creativity, internal alignment can take forever, consumer testing can be long, and prototyping could be a nightmare. From my experience, you need a good 12 to 18 months from the get-go to the start of the commercialization phase after you determine where you're going to play. I'm excluding commercialization-to-launch-phase because that can take a year...or two...or three, given the difficulty of lining up all internal stakeholders, plugging an innovation in your calendar, actually freeing up A&M, and producing the product and all the marketing tools. Then comes the geographical dimension. I'd say that there is a difference between 1 market, 10 markets, and globally. 1 market is easy and can go relatively quickly. 10 markets take as much time as 2 or 3. Going fully global makes it exponentially challenging. One thing is for sure, you can't rush certain things. A creative can't be more creative than he is, ordering a piece of machinery needs a certain physical time, and aligning agendas is just as painful in innovation as in any project.

Let me talk about point #2 on our list.

PROCESS INNOVATION.

Process innovation means the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or delivery method.

A brand that immediately comes to mind is Nespresso. Those guys have thought it through. From selling plain ground coffee to making, selling, delivering and marketing the perfect quality cup in your home. What a solution. What an innovation. What a brand. And the process was the start of it. How to do things differently. It must have taken them years and years to get that off the ground. But look at Nespresso now: big brand, probably profitable...

Second example is Starbucks partnering with Pepsi to manufacture and distribute coffee. Through a joint venture with PepsiCo, in 1996 Starbucks's bottled Frappuccino coffee drinks were born. It is innovation for Starbucks, going through a different manufacturing and distribution system, leveraging some strongholds of PepsiCo. What other ideas do you have?? I'm going back to sleep - it's 2:30 am.
05.02.2013 / Antwerp / 23:37 / ES

I know a lot of good ideas I've seen at companies and brands we've worked with. The real successes I saw following pure process innovation are rare. The entire self-help marketing wave could be considered a trans-sector process innovation, but few have succeeded. Remember how you and I tried to change the client-brand interface at BASE? That was more than 10 years ago... and they still don't have it. So yes, I fully agree with what you put forward. What I find more interesting is how external added-value partners add value to process innovation. Look at LMS, just bought by Siemens. It's the Belgian company that created the software solution for mechatronic simulation and testing. They can test all kinds of car parts etc without making prototypes. Now, here we are talking process innovation! Faster, cheaper, more effective, more measureable, etc. Another one which is for sure something of a process innovative is the brand MINT, Your financial life, all in one place. No more of that having all kinds of decoders, codes,... to access your various financial accounts. Mint puts them into one place, one single gateway.

Currently I am working for a client on a really new innovation. One that makes me very enthusiastic! They are adding to their historic telco proposition all kinds of new, sometimes 'distant' added-value services with partners from various different sectors: home care, universities, safety, media... creating a totally new solution and a new delivery process. Can't tell lot about it now since go to market will be only after launch of this book. But I find process innovation a difficult one to grasp. Most of the people involved are change resistant by nature, so it is against their 'mental' process to change things that go well. Remember, back in time when I was studying, JIT (Just In Time) was hot. That was a real breakthrough of Toyota in terms of process innovation at that time. Technology has given us lots of options to increase quality of processes and delivering better cmr experience. I personally find that most companies are not really embracing these opportunities. Anyway, it's far past midnight here too. Have to get to bed. Toggled this article with 1 finger since my youngest woke up 30mins ago and is sleeping on my left arm ;) Yep, that's me, the father who is only around at night. Speak soon my friend.
06.02.2013 / NYC / 04:15 / KF

Man. Way too tired to think straight and cover a subject on innovation. So, write me up for a joker or two :-)

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
06.02.2013 / Antwerp / 07:48 / ES

"Party or work? Or will Pepsi soon be launching a beer brand? Let me enjoy this moment to jump on you and say: WEAKIEEEEE! So here we are with the innovation process. Stuck for a day or 2!? Awaiting the return of the big guru of innovation who is doing field checks on the NYC nightclubs, bars and restaurants. Let me entertain the readers then with a silly marketing joke.

You go to a party and you see an attractive girl across the room, AND:

1.You go up to her and say: 'Hi, I'm great in bed, how about it?'(That's Direct Marketing)

2.You give your friend a buck. She goes up and says: 'Hi, my friend over there is great in bed, how about it?' (That's Advertising)

3.You somehow get her mobile number. You call and chat her up a while and then say: 'Hi, I am great in bed, how about it?' (That's Tele-Marketing)

4.You recognize her. You walk up to her, refresh her memory and get her to laugh and giggle and then suggest: 'Hi, I am great in bed, how about it?' (That's Customer Relationship Management)

5.You stand straight, you talk soft and smooth, you open the door for the ladies, you smile like a dream, you set an aura around you playing the Mr. Gentleman and then you move up to the girl and say: 'Hi, I am great in bed, how about it?' (That's Hard Selling)

6.SHE comes over and says: 'Hi, I hear you're great in bed, how about it?' (Now THAT is the power of Branding)."
07.02.2013 / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
07.02.2013 / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
08.02.2013 / Dubai / 18:50 / KF

"How many jokers in the pocket? Just landed in Dubai. So, I'll continue writing tomorrow."

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
08.02.2013 / Antwerp / 19:22 / ES

"3. So that makes it 13!!"

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
09.02.2013 / Dubai / 16:28 / KF

I just escaped New York in time. There is a massive storm there now. If I had left a few hours later I'd be stuck. Phew.

I was there for work, work and more work, dude. What do you think? I know I have my player-image, but the on-switch is not always on :-) No time for parties this time, I'm afraid. And I did badly from an organizational point of view, planning a lot of side-line meetings to the meetings I was there for. So my day looked like this: breakfast meeting, morning workshop, meeting over lunch, pm meeting, post-meeting-meeting, pre-dinner meeting, dinner, post-dinner-meeting-over-drinks. Crazy. Too much. I did two weeks in one. But never again!

Continuing the innovation topic, I suggest we shortcut that section a bit or we'll be boring our readers. We can do that talking about design thinking in innovation. That sort of covers all possible dimensions.

First of all let's define DESIGN THINKING. I'm not talking about design but design mindset and how it applies to innovation. Design thinking focuses on solving consumer/human problems by understanding needs and developing insights to solve them. Notice the word 'human' instead of business, category or product. Design thinking focuses more on the right questions to ask (and then synthesizing them) than on the quest for solutions. It incorporates observation as a key to unlock the question, rather than just asking consumers what issues they have. Catch my drift? Now combine Design Thinking with Open Innovation (to get out of the corporate myopia), and with Crowdsourcing and you've got gold in your hands! Still with me?

With that comes a whole new way of thinking about innovation, from how you look at the consumer from a human, usability angle, to how you make decisions. There are no linear processes between consumer feedback and solution. With an intersection of intelligent design interpretation, it's about how you build the experience holistically and not just a product with a pack.

Design thinking is not new but, unfortunately, it's confined too much to the design world, in my opinion. My plea would be to use design thinking throughout the business, especially when it comes to innovation. Involving designers in the process is helpful because they are used to thinking a certain way. Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer at PepsiCo, phrases the rationale behind that as follows: 'Don't ask a designer to build a bridge, but ask him how to best get you from point A to B.' I love that! Guess what, in a lot of companies, there is a jump-to-conclusions culture and people think of the bridges instead of the issue to solve.

The advantage of all the above is that you get what Steve Jobs calls 'insanely great' products. Think of Apple's intuitive iPad, Alessi's remarkable appliances, Ben & Jerry's irresistible ice cream, Nike running shoes or the OLPC, the One Laptop Per Child computer.

Businesses can't do without design thinking these days. The reason for that is simple. In the 60s and 70s the overriding way to business and competitive advantage was to make things cheaper (mass production, low cost production), in the 80s and 90s it was to make things better (iso, QA, JIT, automation), now, since 2000 it is to Make Better Things! Design thinking can get you there since it combines uniqueness, design, authenticity, aesthetics, and usability.

It's up to you to build on that!
09.02.2013 / Antwerp / 21:22 / ES

Just 2 weeks in one? What are you complaining about!? My colleague and creative director told me once: Erik, you live 3 lives in one.

Design thinking: the ability to combine empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions, and rationality to analyze and fit solutions to the context.

This is not new. It has been around since 1991. I agree, it brings all types of innovation together; meaning that it combines them, and much more. For me, design management is what we do at Brandhome everyday. From communication challenges, to business cases, to organizational structures for go to market, and so on. What you and I did at BASE some 10 years ago was design management. In essence design management is something like continuous repositioning.

In other words you could also call it 'empathic pragmatism'. And the more technological and performance management tools come at hand, as e.g. the LMS company I spoke about some days ago, the more successful design thinking will become. Why? Because your trial/error/success ratio will get better. More innovations can come through, faster, better and more accurate for market needs. On the other hand, the empathic thinking competencies of organizations, not only marketers, has to improve. And that's the weak spot of design thinking when you bring it into large corporations.

So not sure what you want to do with this now? Look at examples of brands and companies that are great examples of successfully using design thinking? Or do you want us to apply design thinking to the European Union as a failing system at present? Or the Catholic church?
10.02.2013 / Dubai / 21:43 / KF

So, that's your subtle way of saying that I should pick up where we left of on the innovation definitions list? For once I'll follow your lead. We were at Red Ocean Innovation.

RED OCEAN INNOVATION.

Without a doubt the most difficult type of innovation. Red oceans refer to oceans filled with sharks (read: competitors) where there's a lot of blood to spill. From an innovation point of view it means competing in an existing market space, with the aim of beating competition on its own turf. The difficulty lies in finding innovation that is truly unique and breaks through the clutter and creates a new value equation. Let me explain how I see the challenges: you want to compete in an established market, say the biscuit category.

Challenge one: differentiation: a lot of formats, recipes, etc, have been done before.

Challenge two: getting to decent levels of grps, countering competitors, will cost you dearly.

Challenge three: chances are that your competitors are close to a low-cost-model, that your supply chain is more expensive, etc.

These three will hike your cost, and therefore you have to be convinced that you have something strong to offer to command a premium, invest in the brand, and control your p&l. What else?

Give me some good red ocean innovation...
10.02.2013 / Antwerp / 21:22 / ES

Here's four: competitors will use their distribution influence, formal and informal, to keep you out.

In a way I love the red oceans approach. You go and fight and beat the hell out of competition.

Some examples.

Ryanair is a great example. In a saturated short-haul airline business, highly regulated, they focus on providing a low-cost no frills airline. Achieving low costs by cutting the red tape and adding things their competitors won't offer. Can you imagine British Airways landing at secondary and remote airports, miles away from the city? Can you imagine Air France allowing only online booking and check-in? Can you imagine Etihad requiring customers to pay for all extras? You get the idea. But they have created the most successful airline in Europe!

Another example is BASE. The Belgian telco we turned around together. We started as a red ocean by attacking Belgacom. We went for the fixed revenue stream of the incumbent operator to blow up their EBITDA just before they went public. We created internal conflicts at the company. And so on. A nice example that demonstrated that red ocean is also about utilizing different angles like legal and regulatory strategy.

Other examples are the franchise concepts that pop up left and right to weapon existing shops and small businesses against larger competitors, domestic and abroad. Being it concepts to cater as marketing partners for real estate brokers, pharmacies, opticians, and so on. Find it interesting how they try to compete against Goliath by pooling together, and hoping the 'storm' will fly over... instead of going Blue Ocean. Really re-innovate their business. Brings me to the Blue Ocean innovation part. Enlighten me my GURU!
11.02.2013 / Dubai / 09:02 / KF

I love blue. It's the Pepsi color :-)

You like beating the competition. I like making the competition irrelevant. That's what blue ocean players do. 'Real leaders win fights without fighting.' (Sun Tzu)

In the pursuit of being incremental, blue ocean innovation is often the default. Not that it is any easier than the red ocean strategy! I remember at university (a gazillion years ago), our professors were really educating us to find that ultimate white space, that Holy Grail. Holy crap, yeah. Changing the dynamics of an industry is bloody difficult, let me tell you. And so, before I go on, from a portfolio management point of view, a company better balance red ocean and blue ocean strategies. To the ratio of 8:2, red:blue I'd say. Whether you go red or blue has to do with many factors: appetite to invest, a short or long term focus, resources available, competitive pressure on the core business, whether you have the technology to crack blue ocean, Wall Street, CEO stamina, etc etc etc.

Back to the strategy. Blue ocean strategy aims at creating new markets. An important part of this is to get consumers not to have any price references, which enables a whole new way of commanding brand premium. The iPod is the pinnacle of red ocean innovation. Apple re-invented how consumers bought, carried and played music. With no price reference at all, they are asking top price for the device relative to its cost as well as for iTunes music. By bringing this to scale quickly, they have dwarfed the competition for the last 10 years.

Google is the blue ocean of search, Swatch is the blue ocean of watches.

A rather interesting, recent one, is Zygna. Let me start by saying that I HATE farmville. But I respect what they did. Here's a bit of perspective. Zygna started a few years ago trying to rethink gaming, using social platforms. I read an article recently they have a company valuation today of close to $10bn. That for sure makes them the biggest social gaming player. How did that happen? Farmville! With Farmville they left traditional console games behind. They aimed a social-based sharing game at kids, parents, teachers and professionals alike. Smart. With that utterly stupid game they created a whole new genre of gaming. Hats off to that!
11.02.2013 / Antwerp / 21:22 / ES

Let me stripe away what we already discussed.

1.Incremental innovation

2.Process innovation

3.Red ocean innovation

4.Service innovation

5.Business model innovation

6.Sustainable innovation

7.Frugal innovation

8.Blue ocean innovation

9.Radical innovation

10.Open source innovation / Crowdsourcing

11.Experience innovation

12.Disruptive innovation

13.User led innovations

14.Supply chain innovation

Let me put some examples forward in Disruptive and Radical innovation so we can speed up a little. Our readers are waiting!!

Go back to definitions.

Radical innovation: Radical innovations, sometimes referred to as breakthrough, discontinuous or disruptive innovations, provide something new to the world that we live in by uprooting industry conventions and by significantly changing customer expectations in a positive way. Ultimately, they often end up replacing existing methods/technologies.

Disruptive innovation: A disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology.

Radical innovations are aimed at driving the performance frontier. Disruptive innovations are aimed at serving under-served or un-served markets.

Examples of Radical innovation:

-the world wide web

-the email

-the credit card

-...

-currency

Examples of Disruptive innovation:

-the ever higher capacity to store data: floppy disk / ZIP drive / CD / DVD / USB / DataCloud /...

-from illuminated manuscript to type-setting

-from photocopies to 3D printing

-from transistor radio to digital 3D television

I've been reading a lot these last 2 weeks on innovation. It is a specialty in itself. I had no idea it was so profound. It is so similar to what we do. Honestly, I believe that many marketers are too far removed from the R&D and innovation teams. I know that's not the case at Pepsi, but I do believe it is still the case in many international companies. Also just ordered a book 'The Innovator's Dilemma' by Christensen. It's a book that pops up again and again. I think it's interesting that you tackled the innovation discussion in a pragmatic way by slicing it up with the design thinking approach. Good sharp thinking!

I am reminded of that discussion we had at the Buddha Bar in Dubai last year, when we decided to start this book. Don't you think that marketing today is in a difficult position because of the omnivalence it demands of marketers? That is where the passion discussion kicks in again. We need to discuss this further. Let's first close down on these theoretical innovation types. You're on: please cross out 4!"
12.02.2013 / Dubai / 05:17 / KF

Ah. So you've seen the light. Innovation is fascinating, has a lot of depth, and is a specialty. That's what I love about it. If you don't treat it as such, then it'll always be marginal. And, 'The Innovator's Dilemma': on my bookshelf. Great book!!

Let me talk about CROWDSOURCING. Not typical for innovation, but it has a great application there, and I've used it a lot myself in work/innovation/campaigns. The idea: empower the consumer to influence innovation. Doesn't go as far as 'user led innovation' where the user is at the steering wheel, but it's broader than just "co-creation" where a company works with a few consumers in parts of the innovation funnel to make sure that ideas and concepts are consumer need-based.

One of the great examples of crowdsourced innovation is what Ben & Jerry's does with their ice-cream flavors. Their wacky-creative-disruptive flavor strategy lends itself perfectly to go that route. Many of their best-sellers are fan-inspired. You've probably seen the massive campaign they ran last year where they ask the consumer for the next 2013 flavors. They'll roll that out now. Cool.

At PepsiCo, we have successfully done this on Lay's (it's the biggest food brand in the world by the way, not sure you know that), with a crowdsource campaign that ran in more than 10 markets called 'do us a flavor' (Maak De Smaak in Holland) where consumers decide on the next flavor Lay's will launch in a particular country. Not easy to execute because there are guiding principles you need to stick to in order to really hand over innovation power to consumers -but that's a book in itself!

Let me also quickly tackle 'BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION', because I've been doing lots of work on that as well. Yes, I am a marketer A-N-D innovator! It's the newest, hottest thing on the block. Every company wants to reinvent the business model and its value chain. Especially when you get into totally blue ocean areas, business model innovation is an absolute necessity, because you will be working outside the boundaries of your usual operating model.

First, what it is: business model innovation is there to create an entirely new business model from the realms of its current model. In essence, it's the revision of the value equation. It's how revenue is created, costs are made, resources are allocated, how the outside world relates to the inside world, etc. The best example, ever, is the Tata Nano that I talked about a few pages ago. Tata, who primarily make trucks, had to dramatically review how they do business to make a $1500 car. Seems like an impossible task, but they did it. Granted, Tata is an incredibly powerful company, with different branches in various industries. They had some experience driving costs out of their system when they made the lowest-cost-truck some 10 years back. But for Nano the whole operating structure, the entire supply chain, the distribution model, etc had to be reworked. Impressive! Maybe later in the book I can talk about the Grameen-Danone setup in Bangladesh. I did a whole study of that for one of my own projects.
12.02.2013 / Antwerp / 18:17 / ES

YES! I saw the light. But I see even more how few brands and companies are busy with innovation. Understandable since it demands lots of focus! But I am really excited!

You know me. Securing the process. What's left:

-Service innovation

-Sustainable innovation

-Frugal innovation

-Experience innovation

-Supply chain innovation

Come on! 5 to go.

We need to discuss affinity and community marketing techniques soon. I am in the middle of those.

Tell you what. You finish off these last 5 tomorrow, then you tell us about this Bangladesh thing. Then we start discussing how to INSERT/PUT BACK innovation into brands and companies. How to handle it. That's interesting for our readers.

Innovation GURU Kurt! Unleash your last thoughts!!
13.02.2013 / Dubai / 07:00 / KF

I agree. I don't think there are many red-blooded innovators in the average company. And maybe that's why a lot of companies struggle. My opinion, having been in the innovators'-circle-of-trust: the more innovation takes centre stage in a company, the faster the culture changes, the more people open up to the outside world and think consumer, the more they think about the business impact on the world, the more they talk about risks and trade-off, the more creative an organization gets. Amen!

Back to the list. Hey man, you're slackin'. You're not picking up any of these?! If so, let me tell you - SERVICE INNOVATION: not much discussion needed; sort of speaks for itself. How do you innovate your total service offering. Good example: Virgin Atlantic. Guess what, created with design thinking at the heart. Supply chain innovation: same thing. How to turn your supply chain upside down and find new ways of doing things. Happens a lot in automotive. So, these are done :-)

SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION is a weird one all together. All innovation HAS to aim for sustainability. There is no such thing as trying to be unsustainable. That said, many things ARE unsustainable. Lots of reasons for that. The few I can think of are: 1) the innovation is not based on a deep consumer insight or need, and hence might be a hit one day and a fad the next day... 2) the financial envelop doesn't work: if you don't generate enough gross profit you won't be able to secure money to invest in the brand...end of story ...3) impatience of the company: if you launch one thing and jump on the next thing the next day, then guess what happens? Right.

Now, let me throw in a thought that flashed through my mind. About 'INCREMENTAL INNOVATION'. We were saying earlier on that all innovation should be incremental. True. But the comparison is really with radical innovation. Let me explain. Incremental innovation is about finding that

consumer-connect and using design-thinking to give new meaning, a new interpretation to how you look at the solution, thus coming out with new products, services, etc. This contrasts radical innovation where you have to step back even more, sort of let go of the consumer/user and think out-of-the-box about how you can impact habits, communities, and the world at large.

EXPERIENCE INNOVATION is interesting. Innovation with the experience in mind. Think Zappos. Think Amazon. Think Nike Fuel Band. Think IMAX cinemas. Think Disneyland. Think Wii. Think Pepsi.

Last on the list: FRUGAL INNOVATION. It's a new thing. First of all: WTF does 'frugal' mean? Well, it's nothing else than saying 'careful', 'not wasting'. In essence, frugal innovation starts from the principle that resources are expensive and as such the task at hand is to completely rethink the business model with that in mind, stripping out all unnecessary costs. Frugal innovation is the ability to generate more business while reducing the use of scarce resources. "Doing more with less" so to speak. Very valid in today's economy! It has a tie-in with environmental thinking, and can lead to radical innovation. Think about it. If we continue consuming resources the way we do the entire planet will be drained by 2025. That's not too far off! Emerging markets such as Africa are a good breeding ground for frugal thinking. Innovation in resource-constrained circumstances needs a frugal approach to deliver more value to customers at lower cost.

Last but not least on innovation. We talked a lot about design-thinking and that's great, but design-thinking is meaningless without design-doing! Case closed!

Got an exciting day today. Judging at a university for students hoping to get their MBA. They will present their approach/strategy on a HBR-Pepsi-Case-Study. Good luck to 'em!"
13.02.2013 / Antwerp / 22:17 / ES

Very inspiring couple of days behind me with taking this innovation course with you. For free! Have been reading a lot about it, and I have to say: it is a field that is so wide, and that is perhaps the sole reason and core of long lasting companies and brands - real 'sustainable' ones. I have been talking about it to many of my colleagues, clients, students... and you notice that they grab the importance of innovation, but see it in most cases as a 'thing', an element; where innovation is more a way of working, undertaking and so on.

I am part of a project for a large Belgian company. In that project 2 international agency groups are involved too. I was in a meeting including the other 2 strategic directors. Spoke to them about 'innovation'. Better not, since they don't go further than thinking about creative advertising. Strange. Innovation has knocked me over as if a domino block fell on me. And I'm even going to rewrite a part of the Brandhome method® and give it a place in there. Am also planning to go and speak to some of the clients that I know can be open.

Am also wondering if there are cases about how you surprise people with innovation? I once heard about Janssen Pharmaceutica, a really innovative company whose work has changed and saved millions of lives. One day the management team was in the boardroom. The CEO, Dr. Janssen, asked them to put their business cards on the table, and to stand up. So they did. Then he asked them to walk 3 chairs to the left and sit down at that place at the table. The business card in front of them and thus the new function was each one's new role. And so the HR director found himself head of Commercial and so on. Don't know if it really happened, but it sounds great. Can imagine the impact?!

Heard another one about Sony years ago. At the launch of the 'portable music', walkman, and then later MP3... Sony was positioned as 'small-tech' products, trying to make the smallest and most complete ones on the market. The CEO invited top management into an auditorium in Tokyo. People flew in from all over the world. They sat down in a large auditorium. In the middle there was an aquarium. Sony video cameras were aimed at the aquarium. The CEO came in, thanked everyone for coming, showed the new prototype of a first generation MP3 player and... dropped it into the aquarium. Everyone could see it on large screens since the camera's were pointed at the aquarium. The CEO counted the number of oxygen bubbles that came out. At 10 he said: 'if it can be smaller; thank you for coming'. And sent them all home. Bizarre.

Urban legends or true stories, it confirms your point that we should put innovation at the heart of our organizations. My brain will continue to work on it since I got infected with innovation-ideas now. But let's park it for some time.

But before we move into ethnical marketing and branding, an interesting new subject and part of diversity marketing, tell us your story about Grameen-Danone. And thank you for the innovation inspiration!
14.02.2013 / Dubai / 19:36 / KF

Business cards on the table, and shuffling roles: brilliant. I'm going to do that one day!

Grameen-Danone. Here's the story. Do you know Muhammad Yunus, award-winning genius, inventor of 'micro-credit' and 'micro-loans', and founder of Grameen Bank (I believe he won the Nobel Prize)? Yunus and the CEO of Danone, Franck Riboud, came together one day and decided to do something about the malnutrition situation in Bangladesh. Yunus had been rallying around the world about how to set up micro-businesses, integrated in the community, that would turn self-sufficient while helping to alleviate poverty, help education, build communities and more of that good stuff. Very interesting. Very noble. Very new.

What those two cooked up was a social business - or - how can you build a business model whereby you bring very low-cost, healthy, tailored, nutritious foods to the poor in Bangladesh. A major undertaking for a manufacturing and overhead-heavy company like Danone, as you can imagine. That requires serious out-of-the-box thinking. The solution was a micro-factory making fortified yoghurt, that delivered a certain percentage of the daily-required intake of certain micro-nutritients. In itself nothing spectacular. The genius part was the front and back end of the process. They got the milk for the yoghurt from farms that were financed by Grameen. They sourced the workforce for the microplant from the local community, educated employees along the way. Distribution was done through a network of ladies who would sell yoghurt-per-yoghurt. All of that happened under the supervision of just a handful of expat Danone people, overseeing production, quality, etc. The system worked well, and hence Danone has a plan to rollout a lot of those microplants (in contradiction to the traditional approach that easily would call for a megaplant for the whole country). Serious shit if you ask me!
14.02.2013 / Antwerp / 23:49 / ES

Nice and interesting story. Simple but effective form of innovation. Any idea on the results?

Today I had a day without radio and tried to avoid the office. I can't stand all that Valentine stuff. Too commercial for me; even the commercials we make at the office ;) A day of working in isolation, having some meetings out of the office, always clears your mind. Well, normally. I keep on chewing on innovation and how we should put it back at the heart of branding. It's interesting to see at duopoly brands such as Adidas & Nike, or Microsoft & Apple... how the one is more innovative than the other; and really embodies it. But we said no more innovation, so leave it for now.

I want to talk about ETHNIC MARKETING. How to market, cater to specific groups that have been segmented on basis of the ethnic background.

Remember the Ay Yildiz case? A mobile operator we created in Belgium, early 2003, aimed at Turkish people in Belgium. With Turkish speaking people in shops, call centers, special promos in relation to Turkish festivities, and so on. Great success. And the very first case of ethnic branding in Belgium. It was an interesting experience. I remember that when I created the name (Ay Yildiz is the name of the Turkish flag), we wanted to test the name, brand universe and proposition. We called each and every market research company in Belgium, but not one was able to help us find Turkish respondents. So I recruited them myself in the pita places, coffee bars and Turkish markets in the large cities in Belgium. I still remember sitting in the research room (read: rented hotel room somewhere close to Genk) when the translator/moderator showed the Ay Yildiz logo that we designed. The room went mad, since it was mostly Kurdish people sitting there... I could talk for hours about this adventure.

I have touched briefly on Ay Yildiz because thanks to this case I have been invited in many places around the world to speak about it. And each and every time I was asked what I believe the future of ethnic marketing is. I have my standard answer for that. And that's the kick-off for our little ethnic marketing and branding discussion. But before telling it to you, I want to know how you would answer?
15.02.2013 / Dubai / 09:12 / KF

Your wife will be happy. No valentine. Come on. You gotta take care of these things man.

Last thing on innovation: did you see that NIKE got elected/selected as most innovative company in 2012? Just announced in FastCompany. Primarily due to Nike Fuelband. Great choice. Read it!

On to THE FUTURE OF ETHNIC MARKETING. Let me start with a shout-out... Really? Why would ethnic marketing be different from any marketing? It's just zooming in on a specific audience, just as you would do with Gen X marketing, car-freaks-marketing, sex marketing (yeah, got your attention now, don't I?). Ethnic marketing sounds discriminating to me.

BUT, ethnic marketing is important. Very important. Don't get me wrong. With the movement of people around the world, chances are high that in any country in the world, the ethnic population is growing, and is being established rather significantly as a buyers group. So, when it comes to the future of ethnic marketing, it has a big one! ("That's what she said!" LMAO)

I remember the Ay Yildiz case as well!! And Tolga, the young Turkish business line manager we hired...or actually you FOUND ...somewhere... (what was his family name again?). I was closely involved in that little experiment if you recall. Actually, I remember presenting the business case and launch plan to the management team in the big boardroom on the 4th floor - they looked at me as if I was talking Chinese...or...Turkish :-) And I'll never in my life forget that Ay Yildiz is the name of the Turkish flag. Right? Good times. I remember some killer facts: Turks in Belgium account for about 9 or 10% of the population, they are in close contact with their family, third generation is well off, and entrepreneurial, they balance their traditions with being integrated in Belgium. And so for us as a telco provider there was a high ARPU potential. (Yep, still got some of those metrics in my head: average revenue per user and such).

So, how is Ay Yildiz doing today, 10 years later? Did it become what we planned it to be? A sustainable business leg for BASE? Did it become a 'brand'...with loyal users, fans and lovers worthy of premium? (I remember it was launched as a 'value offer' vs our regular business in terms of tariffs. Wasn't it?) Did we campaign? Grow its user base? Export the concept to other countries? Lot of questions on our baby...

Here in the AE, we are confronted with strong ethnic groups as well: Indians and Asians. That is largely the case in many Gulf countries given the small incumbent population and fast growth. So we, at Pepsi, have programs to talk and interact with them differently than what we have for mass/mainstream consumers.

Let's carve out the ground rules for being successful at ethnic marketing:

1 Deep immersion. Ethnic groups, because of the fact that they are 'tucked away' in a country often have subcultures, specific rituals and habits not even entirely related to their home country or original culture. Turks in Belgium are different from Turks in Turkey. Lots of similarities but with specificities. Getting a grip on and understanding these is essential. And so, what you did in Genk you need to pare down...what are the dos and don'ts you took from that?

You take the next one(s). And to help you out (yeah, that's the kind of nice guy that I am), here are some questions:

-Is reaching ethnic groups best done through separate, specific communication or as micro-version of mainstream/mass campaigning?

-Do you innovate specifically for ethnic groups or is it only a comms game?

-How much of the budget needs to go against these? Is there a model?

-How do you 'discover' the opportunities?

-Most importantly: how do you target precisely or avoid waste; otherwise your whole precise/ethnic branding is in vain?

I have opinions on all of these. Obviously ;-) But I'd like to hear yours first.
15.02.2013 / Antwerp / 16:49 / ES

Valentine? My wife was not home ;) she was attending a make-up master class or something held by a friend of hers who is a world-known make-up artist. Yes, apparently those people are artists too ;)

Nike. Yep. Saw it. Awesome!

Coming back to the question they always throw at me: what do I see as the future of ethnic branding? Well, I remember the first time a journalist popped me that question. It was on the presentation of Ay Yildiz at the Forum for Equal Opportunities. I answered without thinking too much: I hope it has no future because that would mean that all people are equal. It created a strange rumor in the room and in the news... And I did not change my idea about it any more.

I agree with you. From a marketing perspective, it is just another way of segmenting your target groups, your target communities. But ethnic is the wrong word. I prefer diversity branding. The internal branding and HR people stole the term, as well as inclusion branding, another nice word. But for me, it's all about diversifying your brand behavior in function of your target communities, while staying faithful to your brand essence of course. So, yep. It's just another way of marketing and catering to specific segments.

My experience, in general, is that it is still fertile ground. A Belgian Italian of 22 years male, born in Belgium, as well as his parents, can feel both Italian and Belgian. I even know a guy who feels more Flemish than Italian... and he was born in Rome ;)

In general you have to really watch out when trying to segment people by their ethnic background. There is a thin line between marketing to them and stigmatizing them. Thus insulting them.

Now your questions:

Q:Is reaching ethnic groups best done through separate, specific communication or as a custom-made, micro version of mainstream/mass campaigning?

A:When you have 1 masterbrand, without specific labels: go custom- made micro. At the product level you can alter specific features and promos aimed at the target group. But only do that when you can control both the specific communication channels as well as the specific proposition. For Ay Yildiz we used the Turkish newspapers Hürriyet & Milliyet. Large brands in Turkey, well-known. For another client we used a Moroccan radio station in Belgium. Not known in Morocco but known by the Belgian Moroccans. Coming back to controlling the communication. With Ay Yildiz we only found out after launch that the Belgian edition was the same for Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. How? Because German Turks started calling for the promotion... that was only valid, and only available anyway, in Belgium. We were lucky no Germany-based Turk went to court to claim the offer.

Q:Do you innovate specifically for ethnic groups or is it only a comms game?

A:Always innovate! And take into account the specific festivities and celebrations the groups have!

Q:How much of the budget needs to go against these? Is there a model?

A:No. Not that I know of. Even worse: there is no measurement whatsoever. I once bought a radio station in Tunis for launching a brand. Can you imagine? You buy the media ;) Need to speak about that project soon!

Q:How do you 'discover' the opportunities?

A:Be a Marketer. And recruit people with various ethnic backgrounds on your team.

Q:Most importantly: how do you target precisely or avoid waste; otherwise your whole precise/ethnic branding is in vain?

A:Don't get the question.

Last thing. Ay Yildiz? Well. It's not there anymore. It was bought some months ago by Turkish operator Türk Telekom. And today it's called: Türk Telekom Mobile.
16.02.2013 / Dubai / 12:20 / KF

The unique-to-the-world, Saelens-invited, fantastico, we-love-ethnic Ay Yildiz trademark is gone?! Total brand destruction! Or did they keep it as a sub-brand/co-brand? I do hope so, otherwise 10 years of equity building down the tube. Sad.

I love the idea of DIVERSITY BRANDING as an alternative to ethnic branding. Diversity has a more human touch, and recognizes that people ARE indeed different, have to be recognized as such, and respected for that, also by the marketing community. 'Inclusion' is indeed wrong because that is actually going in the direction of 'equalizing people'... not what you want. (See the strange rumors after your speech.)

Let me build on the questions/answers...

Q:Is reaching ethnic groups best done through separate, specific communication or as custom-made micro versions of mainstream/mass campaigning?

A:Partly, I agree with you. With 1 masterbrand it can be done, but is rather tricky. It's all about precision bombing... it is a matter of controlling media to the extent where I would say you can AVOID spill over of messages amongst audiences. That is possible if certain groups congregate around a specific medium, event, etc ... Examples: Indians and Pakistanis in Dubai congregate around Cricket games (whereas I don't even know how that game is played), Philippinos listen to specific radio stations, Asians buy in specific food stores. That creates opportunities to tailor messages to a certain audience. So, even for a widely popular brand like Pepsi, we can zoom into certain target groups with relevant, close-to-their-heart messages.

Q:Do you innovate specifically for ethnic groups or is it only a comms game?

A:You don't HAVE to innovate. But it helps boost the brand by bringing relevant news! And it shows commitment to the audience you're after.

Q:How much of the budget needs to go against these? Is there a model?

A:I know the Tunis case. You showed it to me one day. So, you have to write about it. It's a good one to explain to the readers.

Q:How do you uncover the opportunities?

A:YES! Recruitment! But even without having all ethnic backgrounds in your team, it's about focus and dedication. As it is with everything.

Q:Most importantly: how do you target precisely or avoid waste; otherwise your whole precise/ethnic branding is in vain?

A:I guess I question whether diversity branding is, in anyway, incremental. I think we philosophically agree that it has value, even incremental value. But the question is: if we would have launched Base Turkey, under the overall (master) brand identity, but with a small twist for the Turkish community, would it have had the same effect? I have yet to see hard data that is proof of the principle. As a marketer, I do believe however.
16.02.2013 / Antwerp / 16:49 / ES

Yes. The brand is gone. No Ay Yildiz anymore. Perhaps a deliberate strategic choice from Turk Telekom to put in their own brand. And even an understandable one. Most Turks probably know that Turk Telekom is the real deal. Not like Ay Yildiz, which, was in essence, just a prepaid card wrapped in Turkish flavor and with related services for the target group. Anyway, it was an adventure!

Read you Q&A. Interesting job we have. When making Q&A's in our field of work, then there is never just that one answer. Although, I don't fully agree with the aspect of immersion.

I believe that it takes less time and is more efficient to find a marketer who has the cultural background of the specific segment you want to work on. Preferably born in that culture and raised. So when looking for a Moroccan in Belgium, I prefer to find someone who was born and raised in Morocco than someone who grew up in Antwerp. Why? Simple: in order to find the edginess you need it is vital to go all the way, into the deepest understanding of a specific segment.

And that is complex since you have to deal not only with the visible differences, but also the intangibles going from sub-religious streams, the why and how's, the family ties and bonds, politics, values and standards... and so on. No need to say that if you are then facing an oral and/or written language barrier you surely don't possess an Ace. Look at you and me. We are Belgians, Flemish rooted. Why do the Dutch mostly fail when they send their people over to Flanders? Because they think it is the same language, thus the same business culture. NOPE!

Before going deeper into diversity, I just need to throw this one at you. Innovation. Sorry. Can't resist it. I was reading this document from McKinsey that the next big thing in innovation will be seemingly simple: handling massive volumes of data. Because of the increasing creation of content, it is ever more difficult to handle the volume, let alone understand what we can do with it. Can I quickly have your POV on this one? My guru!

Tomorrow I'll talk about PINK BRANDING! Stay tuned!
17.02.2013 / Dubai / 06:22 / KF

Ah! BIG DATA! A CMO's number one concern! We've actually touched upon that -slightly- in the beginning of the book as one of the marketing challenges of current times. And it's not only an innovation challenge, although it does get quite visible there. If I only look at what I'm handling in my job...more than 30 markets...times 12 brands...times 50 different audiences...times tons of consumer insights, trends, product tests, advertising tests...times internal data...times information coming from the 'field' (sales forces, retailers,...), times 1000s of documents and presentations we present per year as an organization, etc etc etc. Kill me now :-)

Here are a few tricks on how to deal with that, especially in light of innovation:

1-Stay calm!

2-Big picture first. Go from big data to small data by drilling down one layer at a time. I've seen too many people "dive in" and literally drown in details.

3-Your CTO needs to be your best friend. Automation can do a lot to filter out the important stuff from the noise. And CMO+CTO need to figure out how to build an organization that can "handle" all the data. There is a saying going around in the marketing community these days that says the following: 'data is fuel....but you need to invest in the engine first'.

4-Don't try to solve it all. A lot of people own bits and pieces. If you are in a leadership position, what you have to get good at is seeing the entire picture.

5-Be wary of the small stuff. A small idea can be big. Sometimes you have to follow your gut and intuition, and fight against what the data says.

6-Keep evaluating and fine tuning. The only organizations that are good at dealing with and leveraging massive amounts of data are the so-called "learning organizations".

7-Embrace numbers. Learn a thing or two about statistics. I've been lucky having worked in a research agency early on in my career. That helped me develop an affinity with data.

8-Data is only as good as it gets. By that I mean: don't use it as the bible. It's a guide.

Last but not least thought on this: I believe that organizations that can get a good grip on data actually have a pretty solid competitive advantage over those who don't. Something to think about!

What say you?
17.02.2013 / Antwerp / 21:05 / ES

Yes. I am scared of Godzilla too. The monster of data. But I am even more scared of companies where people have become power point whizz kids more than business people. I believe it is important to get the data in, but I believe - as you stated - it is more important to invest in the engine. You want petrol or diesel? Kerosine perhaps? Hand geared or automatic? Or perhaps a Formula-1 gearbox? Two cylinders or a solid 12-cylinders TURBO?

Interesting metaphor you used with the engine and the fuel. It shows perfectly how data gathering, however it is done, needs to comply with the processing power following it in order to deliver some interesting insights. The question remains. How do you do it? Nowadays in Europe it becomes even more difficult due to all kind of privacy legislations not only to gather the data, but to be allowed to link them to each other and use them.

Data is one thing. The quality of data is another. Even as the internet is in a way a dumping site, so is data. Data-cleaning has become a specialty. And so it should be. Sometimes the data of customers is so polluted that it gives the totally wrong information. When you are working in a national market, and you know the market well, then you see that immediately if you are sharp on your business. But I can imagine that in your case, it's another ball game. You better hope your guys are razor-sharp.

Logic behind data. That's also an interesting one. I remember an account manager who just spent € 100.000 on an acquisition campaign explaining how the percentage growth in sales was. Sales rose with 500%! Delivering 26 clients... with and earn-back period based on the total cost of acquisition that in terms of the product concerned would be somewhere in 3066!

My favorite is this one: **I fit in my shoes; my shoes fit in my shoe box; so I fit in my shoe box**. Sounds so stupid, but when you sometimes hear the data-diggers speak... it makes me think about that.

How do I tackle these kinds of operations? First I define what I need to know. At Brandhome we call this a _data-platform_. It's mostly a 20-pager on what data we need, how it needs to get delivered and with which checks on quality to be made, and for which kpi's we need it. Being final kpi's or as parts to compose specific kpi's. Then we start sourcing the data and not the other way around. Brand dashboarding we call it in the Brandhome method®.

Your engine and fuel makes me think about the mischief I got up to when I was 12 yrs old. A friend of mine's granny had this old moped, called FLANDRIA. An old Belgian brand. His elder brother worked at the airport in the airplane maintenance department. He told us one day that airplanes flew on something else than petrol; kerosine. We convinced him to bring some kind of kerosine-mixed fuel from the airport. And we put that into the old moped. Well... I remember starting the thing. And the next thing I knew it bolted for 20 meters, threw me off and then exploded... Fortunately I did not get hurt except some bruises and burns. That was also a story about the engine and the petrol. We should have had your wisdom at that time ;)

I'll have to tell you tomorrow about PINK BRAND!!"
18.02.2013 / Dubai / 05:33 / KF

Don't lie! You would do the moped trick again today if you had the chance! I know you... :-)

Continuing on the data explosion theme...

The 'I fit in my shoe box' analogy perfectly demonstrates why you need people with thinking skills! As I said in the beginning: marketing is a matter of science and art these days. Unfortunately the science part is overriding the art part. It gives a false sense of certainty and people like certainty. But without art, gut feel, and logic ('gezond boerenverstand' as we say in Dutch), we will all end up in a shoe box!

Too much data is confusing and if data cannot be processed into meaningful and concise, synthesized information then we're all screwed.

Let me tell you, what makes it difficult is the variation in possible conclusions and outcomes. By that I mean the following: if you look at a problem and the data to solve it, you often have multiple conclusions and solutions. There are many different ways to skin a cat. That said, I think we need to rethink how we deal with ambiguity in a company. [am·bi·gu·i·ty (mb-gy-t): Doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation!] Munch on that.

Anyway, let's talk PINK. Eager to hear where that is going... PINK, the singer (great music/I'm a fan)? ...breast cancer ribbons (big branding achievement!)? ... gay shirts (hey, I'm not discriminating; I have a lot of these)? ... Girl's princess dresses (I have two small daughters; so part of my life as well. LoL)? ...new Durex campaign (no clue why that is relevant, or even popping in my mind? ...flying pigs (a metaphor for: you've cracked the ultimate code on innovation)? LMK!
18.02.2013 / Brussels / 11:33 / ES

PBOY. Pink Brand of the Year® (PBOY). It's an award we created and organized for the first time 3 years ago. In essence it comes down to having the gay community vote in different categories (cars, phones, supermarkets, bank, soft drinks, beers...) which brand wins per category and which brand wins across all categories and can name itself Pink Brand of the Year® for an entire year. When Brandhome thought of that idea, it was because we were triggered when we wanted to launch a mobile operator, called Pink Mobile, with services tailored to the needs of the gay community. We took into account the enormous spending power this community has for great lifestyle stuff and living well. Their interest association, which is called Cavaria, backs us. In 2009, with the first election, we got 16.000 people giving their vote online. It was the iPhone/Apple that became the first PBOY ever. We created a massive party in the Red&Blue. We were dancing in Antwerp and thousands of people were present, including famous international personalities. Check out www.pinkbrandoftheyear.com. That party was memorable. I remember my wife and I getting out of all that dancing at 8 a.m. in the morning! Brandhome almost closed down the day after since most people didn't make it to the office... :-)

Now, let me first tell you this. At the end of the 4 weeks online election period, all the top 3 brands per category were informed that they were nominated, and invited to come to the event. A specific brand X, a Belgian listed company, was nominated in its category. I remember their Head of Public Affairs calling me the day before the event to tell me that they did not want to be associated with the gay community. It surprised me, knowing that a lot of their clients and employees are gay... Strange. Since that day I hardly ever shop there anymore. It is exemplary for the narrow-mindedness in Belgium and for the extremism against other cultures, religions, sexual preferences, and so on. It changed my view on CSR talk of companies and made me suspicious about the true meaning of telling versus thinking.

Now, back to diversity branding. Marketing your brand to specific diversity segments can be interesting, but as the experience above demonstrates, some brands are schizophrenic about diversity. Their marketing people want it, where other stakeholders inside/outside the company don't want to hear about it.

I suggest we move forward and discuss some of your experiences in this field. Some concrete ones. I still have some, including how to recruit people with different backgrounds.
19.02.2013 / Dubai / 06:22 / KF

I can't help but find it strange. Pink just seems demeaning to me, and anchored in a 2Oth century frame of reference.

And so, in a certain way I can understand the initial reaction of brand X's PR guy. What he didn't get, and where I follow you, is to appreciate what that brand got from the gay community. You guys actually gave him a free campaign, free airtime... so, in that sense, yes he is stupid. But, be honest, wouldn't you be taken by surprise if all of a sudden Brandhome was selected by some low-life, underground college as best place to work or something? I know, it's not comparable, but you know what

I mean. I think a lot of companies are not prepared to deal with the unexpected.

But let me tell you the point: gays need to find a new color. Something confident, strong, meaningful, 21st century ... a 'statement' (pink is the opposite of a statement). That seems like a good job for Brandhome!

My experiences in diversity branding are limited to the ones I talked about earlier on. I do think more diversity branding will come my way later in my career.
19.02.2013 / Antwerp / 20:22 / ES

Uh. Well. Yeah. I can agree with your POV that lots of companies are not ready to deal with the unexpected. But I can't approve such forms of extremism against specific groups. Imagine that this person would have sent me an email, and that I would have posted that on social media... What do you think that would have done to their stock price. So yes, I agree that they are not well prepared.

I also agree with the fact that you don't want your brand to be associated with users you prefer not to have. Look at brands like Lonsdale jackets, Dr. Martens shoes, or Ben Sherman shirts... suddenly every skinhead hooligan wears them at football matches. Or like this crazy guy, Breivik, who shot all these kids in Norway 2 years ago wearing a Lacoste shirt on the picture that went around the world when the police took him away from court. And many more examples.

Indeed, as a focused brand you probably don't want to get associated with specific groups that don't fit your positioning. But you have different situations:

a.the brand is embraced by a user-group you don't want to associate with

b.the brand is in the wrong place at the wrong time

What I was talking about with PBOY is an incident type. Then again, your brand doesn't always choose its users. In the new world, it's the user that picks the brand, more and more. What do you think about this line? Let's spice the discussion up!"
20.02.2013 / Dubai / 06:31 / KF

It's the user that chooses the brand! Amen to that!

That brings us to the subject of DECLINING BRAND LOYALTY. And the importance of a few dimensions within that are...

...Abundance of choice

...Power to the people

...The educated consumer

...Switching costs

...Lifetime value of a customer

Abundance of Choice  
Consumers are spoiled for choice. This is an issue for brands. Competition is fiercer than ever. But it's also an opportunity. You can help guide consumers to make choices. This is a game that the tech sector plays well, I believe.

Power to the People  
Consumers these days have access to power tools: twitter, facebook, blogs, IG. We talked about that. That puts pressure on brands. The message is no longer owned by the brands. Consumers can voice their choices effectively, repeatedly and loudly on social platforms. Their influence on others is outside of the brands' control.

The Educated Consumers  
Consumers are mini-marketers these days. They recognize what is a commercial message, when they are being harassed by brands, or when they get screwed over. Look at what happened in the banking sector. Consumers don't take shit any longer. A famous quote in that regard : **"You can fool some of the people all of the time, you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."**

Switching Cost  
We touched upon it earlier on. Switching cost is about how you create such a strong value proposition that consumers don't want to leave, or CAN'T leave, because it would cost them dearly. That might be tangible but is also emotional. What Apple is doing with iTunes is a great, tangible example of very high switching costs. If you change music platform you're screwed, because all your songs are gone. Another example, more on emotional switching costs: if you are a die-hard PUMA loyal, you don't want to leave because it affects your image negatively within your peer group.

Lifetime Value of a Customer  
A whole new topic. For next time :-)

What's that for a bit o' spice on the previous discussion, I hear you think? It's not. It's red hot peppers! Live with it :-)

Talk about the Morocco-case my friend. Or was it Tunisia? Dying to hear more about that!
20.02.2013 / Middelburg / 21:22 / ES

Well. We have both ;-) One for the Maghreb people in Belgium. One in Tunisia. Let's start with the latter.

It was 2009. Brandhome was hired by Tunis Telecom, the Tunisian incumbent telco. Tunis Telecom was loosing market share to a new mobile operator, Tunisiana. They were mostly losing young people and youthfully minded people. They asked us to rejuvenate their incumbent brand. I will take you through the story Quentin Tarantino style.

Brand building part 1: STRATEGY  
After a quick analysis we convinced them that doing so, if even successful, would hook them up with the same issue as Levi's had ten years ago. Don't make your parents' brand sexier. Kids will not buy it anymore, neither will your parents. Just common sense

Brand building part 2: TRADEMARK  
Based on our experience with Mania in Belgium, we came up with the idea to put a youth brand into the market. It was full brand development from A to Z. We called it Elissa. According to tradition it was a Princes called Elissa who founded Cartago. It's an interesting story about how this smart little princess convinced a local Berber king to let her have a piece of land the size of an oxhide. This king agreed. Elissa cut the oxhide into fine strips so that she had enough to encircle an entire nearby hill and used the seaside as a natural border. She got lots of land – clever girl.

Brand building part 3: THE NAME THE OTHER WAY AROUND  
Legally there was no issue with the brand name. Not only because no such other brand existed, but also because the Tunisian government at that time did not comply with international intellectual property rights. However, it took us some time and effort to get the name approved. Read backwards: ELISSA is ASSILE... Perhaps a signal at that time about the Arab spring that was breeding.

Tomorrow will continue with 4 - 10!
21.02.2013 / Dubai / 06:05 / KF

Great case study. Will not interrupt the story much.

So, quick intermezzo from my side on something unrelated. Yesterday I wrote an article for my blog on a new dance-phenomenon that is spreading like a disease on YouTube: The Harlem Shake. 3O second videos of doing a stupid dance. These things intrigue me! How does it really start? Why? What do people want to get out of it? Fame? Respect? How does it spread? Are there rules? Can you trigger it? Somebody, tell me!!

The blog post can be found here: www.redhotmarketingblender.com/2O13/O2/spreading-like-wildfire-harlem-shake-psy-must-be-hating-it/

Keep going on your story!
21.02.2013 / Antwerp / 19:45 / ES

Harlem Shake. It's called an INTERNET MEME. Below is the definition from Wiki. You should do one with Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Sounds like fun.

An Internet meme is a concept that spreads from person to person via the Internet. The concept of a meme was defined and described by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, as an attempt to explain the way cultural information spreads; internet memes are a subset of this, specific to the culture and environment of the internet. An Internet meme may take the form of an image, hyperlink, video, picture, website, or hashtag.

Back to Elissa.

Brand building part 4: PRE-EMPTING COMPETITION  
As you know marketing is not about love, but about passion for winning. A third operator was preparing its entry onto the relatively small Tunisian market. The brand that was coming was Orange. Since Orange did not register the brand in Tunis, we did. It was called Elissa, and it was... square and orange. Confuse and conquer.

Brand building part 5: EVERYTHING IS MEDIA  
In a country where there is not a lot of media, we created our own. Bought a local radio station, created dance events, created small kiosk POS that served as billboards too, used the famous Lebanese singer called... Elissa, introduced street art into the streets of Tunis... and so on. And of course lots of print! That was the local medium that reached lots of people.

Brand building part 6: IT IS NOT WHAT YOU KNOW, IT IS WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW  
So there I am. Sitting in the Antwerp office of Brandhome, a couple of days before the launch. Mediaplan was mainly with newspapers at launch. Good solid classical thinking at that time: builds awareness and volume about the proposition fast up in a market. Suddenly I get a call from the guy who was working in the market research department at Tunis Telecom. I did not know him. So this guy tells me: you know that the majority of people don't actually buy newspapers; they rent a piece/page of it. Like they do with cigarettes. No need to say that I was on the next plane to Tunis.

Brand building part 7: PRODUCTION HERE IS NOT PRODUCTION THERE  
So there you are. Creating marcoms in mixed French and Arab languages and thus dealing with fonts and things. You have to know that Tunis at that time had no free trade zone system. So you had to do all your production (tv, radio, printing...) in Tunis with Tunisian partners. Nice people, but out-dated materials to say the least of it. And quality...

Brand building part 8: CONFUSE  
As always we leaked out wrong names and strategies to confuse competition... and later fired the traitors at the team.

Brand building part 9: NO EMOTIONS  
And yes. Today Elissa as a brand is dead. It's been downgraded to a calling card, and even changed its colour. So never ever get emotionally involved with your brand children, and at times that is very hard. Love your wife, your human kids, and your friends. Like your colleagues. And basta!

Brand building part 10: FUN IS IMPORTANT  
You know what I mean. We had lots and lots of fun!

Anyway, I could talk hours about it. Result: 700.000 customers after 12 months. Not bad?

What shall we talk about next?
22.02.2013 / Dubai / 19:00 / KF

Time for a new subject. Indeed. I'm picking up something I referred to in an earlier conversation: BRANDS BECOMING VERBS.

As marketers we all want maximum brand awareness, and we all dream of our brands becoming part of everyday lingo. But there comes a time where you really don't want that anymore. Where's the fine line? What can you do about it? Actually, can you do something about it?

Look at Google, Facetime, Xerox. ... "I'll Google your name" (and then use Yahoo! as search engine), "Let me xerox that paper" (using an HP printer), "We need some facetime" (on Skype).

Why is it such a bad thing, you'd wonder? Well, for one because no one wants to become a commodity again. And, once you get into this situation, there is massive brand degradation. So much so that the value of the brand disappears. When people talk about xeroxing this or that, there is no reference to the Xerox brand anymore! And so, all premium possibilities are gone.

Rule number one in the legal trademark book is to make sure whatever brand you create is well insulated. Unfortunately, us marketers also make mistakes, especially on two fronts:

1...Using your name as a verb in communication

2...Not fighting infringements or others using your brand as a verb

Rescuing the situation is quite impossible! Xerox for instance ran a few campaigns literally saying 'don't use Xerox as a verb'. Almost embarrassing to beg like that.

So, let's make an action plan to avoid brand bastardization!
22.02.2013 / Antwerp / 23:12 / ES

You want to talk about branducts! That's how we call it. When your brand becomes synonymous with the product category. Aspirin, Spa, Luxaflex, Walkman, Hoover, Lego... and many more. I once had a student who wrote a piece about it and did some extensive research.

It's paradox. On the one hand you want your customers to have you first and foremost in their minds. On the other hand you don't want them to use the product your brand!? A dilemma. Or your own fault? Farquhar showed in 1990 that brand dominance - what most marketers strive for - creates the 'bastardization' of your brand into a branduct.

And of course there is, from an intellectual property side, an issue in terms of brand protection. Indeed, when your brand becomes a noun or verb, then your legal protection goes down.

What can you do? What should you do? Do you need to do something? I am happy as a brand owner that I sometimes hear people say: that agency xyz has Brandhome quality. Makes me proud. Not good for business that they look for a cheaper alternative than us, but it shows that our brand stands for something. So from a personal POV I have no problem with that. On the other hand, when you are looking at businesses where size and volume is key, like yours, then of course you have a point there.

But let me throw you this one: do you believe that there are more people around the world asking for a Coke (meaning Coca-Cola) or for a Pepsi (meaning Pepsi Cola)? You surely have info about that?
23.02.2013 / Dubai / 15:08 / KF

Dude, you know I don't want to drag the Pepsi/Coke cola war into this! One day, when I'm old and retired I'll write a big book about PepsiCo. Even with 15 years under my belt, I can write 20 volumes already ;-) and by the way, it's not really on topic. Pepsi vs Coke is 'brand confusion'; at most: these are not generalized as drinks. And hopefully they never will be. They are still two distinct brands.

You have to explain why you call this branduct - I don't get that. Sounds strange. Why not 'brandvertizing'?

Continuing the conversation on the subject with a few more thoughts...

Brands as verbs, and commoditized brands like Aspirin, CornFlakes or Hoover...

Some seem to be getting close: Durex as placeholder for condoms. 'A Mars' stands for 'a chocolate bar'. Or 'tweeting' as derivative for twitter. What if a competitor comes along and people also call it 'tweeting'?

More on the WHAT TO DO:

Make your brand name as unique as possible so there is little chance of it becoming a verb. Rather unpredictable, because it is sort of 'hip' to say 'Let's Facebook' or 'Let's Skype'.

Question: would advertising that explains the link between the brandverb and the brand, help? E.g. 'Googling is impossible without Google!'

I guess that some of those brands started off as a brand but wanted it to become generalized. I remember sitting in a meeting with Interbrand, one of the biggest companies in brand building and brand naming, in their London office where they were telling me how 'WiFi' was created as a brand, and how they made the logo! I actually never thought about that. It was a long and interesting story. Since I can't replicate it, I'm copying bits and pieces from the Interbrand website:

_In 1999, a handful of industry leaders formed a global non-profit organization with the goal of driving the adoption of a single worldwide accepted standard for high-speed wireless local area networking._

_They called themselves the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). One of WECA's first tasks was to adopt a more memorable, user-friendly name for marketability and relevance._

_Phil Belanger, a founding member of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (now known as the Wi-Fi Alliance) approached Interbrand knowing that he 'we needed something that was a little catchier than IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence' was the brief. Interbrand came up with the name Wi-Fi and then created a logo to match the new name._

_Since its launch, 'Wi-Fi' has become globally synonymous with wireless accessibility anywhere._  
Good? Bad? Intentional!

What else?
23.02.2013 / Antwerp / 22:12 / ES

Branduct = brand + product. Voila. I think that Coca-Cola has more branduct issues than Pepsi. But let's read all about that in a couple of years in your biography ;-)

What else?

Here are some options. It is Saturday night. I have been trying to work with my 2 little ladies breaking down my home office the entire day ;-) and taming me! So I know my place in the house again and am humble tonight ;-)

Let's talk brand and product architecture again. I have been solving some of those issues in the past few weeks. It is incredible how complex things get, inside and outside the company, when brand and product architecture is not in place.

Or let us talk about storytelling in combination with design thinking. That has been keeping my mind going too.

Or let us touch on niche agencies, such as Brandhome, and the value we can add.

Or let us talk about charity hitchhiking. How to put your brand or vice-versa on a charity project.

Or let us talk about how we will market our own book here.

You start!
24.02.2013 / Dubai / 08:45 / KF

Storytelling in combination with design thinking. YES!

**Storytelling and design thinking are like twin brothers**. They are ying and yang. They need each other. They complete and complement each other. Why? Both storytelling and design thinking are human-centric, and therefore essential to branding. You need the story to dictate the design and you need the design to support the story.

But... the story doesn't need to be complete all the time. Don't forget that people fill in the gaps in stories all the time. Sometimes they do it without knowing that they did it. We grew up with that. Whether it is around why things happen in a novel, time lapse in a movie or tv commercial for that matter, or understanding of a product. You just have to know WHAT to leave out and WHERE. Not too much not too little. Listen to my absolute hero of storytelling: J.J. Abrams : he is the man behind Lost, Alias, MI4, etc. He has a fabulous TED TALK about how he views storytelling. A must-watch.

Let me give an example in the fashion industry. Might seem out of my usual scope, but I'm very passionate about understanding how the fashion industry innovates, brands, markets, sells, etc. They are the often forgotten 'fast moving' industry. Needless to say design thinking is core to that business! My point is on design and the art of only telling or showing parts of the story. That's most prominent on how logos are deployed on their clothes: large chunks left out: still recognizable, but creating a powerful story and beautiful design.

Tell me what you're struggling with on that front. We'll solve it.
24.02.2013 / Antwerp / 20:39 / ES

Well. Got up at 5am this morning to bring a colleague to the airport. Nice surprise. Unexpected snow. So made it back to the office around 8am and just left.

Have been working on the storyline for a large and listed brand. They have to reinvent themselves. Over 20.000 employees. Their current network agencies have been chewing on it for 12 months (and sending bills) but always come back to them with an advertising story instead of a storyline that is worth telling. First the storyline, then the storytelling.

They came to us, and asked for me to do it myself. Got one of the best compliments ever from them. They said: 'Erik, you are a guy who can make something out of nothing. It is a rare skill to find. Tell us your price.' I was amazed.

So how do I approach this:

1.Get to a minimal critical knowledge level to be able to work. Read through almost 450 slides yesterday and today. While reading I structure them in a mindmap. That way I lay connections and insights between presentations and documents that come out of all sides of the company.

2.Write a generic storyline. This is the torso of the storyline. It captures the total essence of the subject of the story, being a company, a brand, another communication item e.g. a politician or region.

3.Then I explore at least 5 of what we call in the Brandhome method® Way-Ins. A Way-In is what you use to create your angle. Make it sharp. It's your hook. Each Way-In has a short rationale of the thoughts behind, and is a 'big idea' in itself. Then relate each of them to concrete needs especially when we are speaking large and complex companies and brands.

4.Then I go back to the mindmap and restructure so that no content or insight gets lost.

5.Then it's ready for first discussion.

And today I was all alone for the discussion. After sharpening it up, and making choices on which Way-In to pick, the storyline is crafted into a text. Each letter, each comma, each insinuation has a meaning and relates as well to the opted big idea as well to content laying behind.

And as you correctly pointed out: it is also important to think about what you leave out. Leaving things out says more about what you mean than leaving it in. Killing your darlings is a hard job!

When you have the storyline, underpinned and crafted, you can start the storytelling. But that's for later. But the way I handle this is in a way a nice example of design thinking when making stories.

Tell me first about that fashion thing. Don't understand what you mean.
25.02.2013 / Dubai / 05:49 / KF

Name your price?! Wow! Congrats. What did you say: Got a million dollars with you? ... Show me the money! #Tom-Cruise-voice# ... Bring it on, bitch! Sorry, I get carried away easily ;-)

Hey- I really like your approach. 'Design-thinking for stories' might not be the right label for it though ... more 'methodological thinking for stories'. Whatever we call it, I must copy that approach!

We need to put Mindmapping on the to-cover-later list. I use that all the time. It's a necessary tool to unravel complex issues.

One more thing on storytelling for brands: it is like writing a novel. Lots of similarities.

You know there are only 7 types of story, right? I have a 1500 page book by Christopher Booker at home, The Seven Basic Plots: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy and Rebirth - a must read for aspiring storytellers...and creatives. There are a tremendous amount of similarities.

The fashion industry. Fascinating in multiple aspects, mostly related to the speed of innovation. Imagine being in an industry where you have to churn out a massive amount of innovations/SKUs, 2 to 4 times a year. Think seasons. As a thinking exercise, image you have to do that in another industry...how would you prepare for it? What's the decision making process? How do you keep things fresh? How does marketing work? Do the exercise. Lots to learn from that. Now, in all fairness, I think the fashion industry has a lot of flaws as well. Too much of a gamble, the owner/designer model determines everything, lots of failure.

A bit too much creative serendipity.

Gotta go. Three days meeting with our marketing leadership trying to organize ourselves. Good fun.
25.02.2013 / Antwerp / 20:39 / ES

Again!? Always marketing parties at your side. Ok. So no Domino-talk the next few days as always when you are attending such exclusive festivities :-0

Regarding the price? No, I never overcharged any of my customers because they were in trouble. So, no, not 1 million. Just the normal Brandhome fees. You know that Brandhome has never ever charged any of its customers for extra for weekend, holiday, evening, night, urgency... work.

Will read Booker's book ;-) Booker, nice name for a writer.

Wanna talk simple things today. Relaxing for my brain. Let's talk soccer. Silly game. Played it a lot myself and was very good at it. Always fascinating how the soccer makes fans, even the most tried and tested business people, become price insensitive. Pumping money, energy and belief in a black hole. Amazing. That's the dark side of branding. Branding is about seduction, but this comes close to rape. The brand has such a power over its 'fans' that they are ready to die for it, literally and figuratively speaking.

Did you know that one of my students once did an academic research on soccer club loyalty in the Benelux? He examined fans from different clubs: from top-business people down to hooligans. One of the most interesting outcomes of the research was the following: **statistically one changes his wife more often than his soccer team**. Interesting!

As you know we did some try outs with launching mobile operator concepts for soccer clubs. Clubs got a part of the deal with the operator. The clubs got a direct communication tool enabling them to communicate individually with the fans. And so on. But in the Benelux, as well as many other concepts where the brand of the soccer team was licensed, it really never took off.

Based on these insights you could conclude that soccer team brands are :

(a) strong since they create full price inelastic fans

(b) not capable of creating brand extensions

But that is not true since we know that large worldwide soccer teams like Manchester, Real Madrid and Inter Milan are real cash machines.

What are your thoughts?
26.02.2013 / Dubai / 07:50 / KF

Hoho. I'm a committed man! Only skip writing if I really, really, really can't make it. This time, it's not that bad.

Interesting statistic there. You should get the exact number, and make PR stunt out of it. You will make a lot of women happy... Not. But the men will get it.

I actually know more about the business and marketing of soccer than about the game itself. Not a fan. I rarely watch a game, World Cup aside. I just get bored.

When I was a kid, I played soccer as well. Actually did a 6 month stint at Anderlecht when I was 11 or 12 through a friend of mine that was in their youth league. Admittedly, I was terrible at it, but motivated. As with everything I do. Unfortunately I got into a nasty accident at age 13 and never played or watched again. Sort of. Now I'm halfway involved in the marketing side of it because with Pepsi we have a vested interest in the game. It truly has always been, is, and will always be an essential part of pop culture and that's exactly what Pepsi stands for.

There are two sides to soccer marketing:

1-clubs and fans

2-brands that live off soccer, from fashion, to fmcg, to...media they probably make most of the game

Clubs  
Big business indeed. There are literally billions of dollars in clubs, games, stadiums, tournaments, transfers, branding, merchandising, etc. Some of the clubs are publicly traded, like Juventus or ManU. As a demonstration of how important 'business' is, I'll give you an example that is relatively close to me. My wife's uncle, Tiny Sanders, has been, since 2010, the CEO of PSV, #1 club in The Netherlands. Interesting fact, he is the ex-CEO of FrieslandCampina, a $5bn multinational, big dairy company! Smart move of PSV to bring in a high-level business tycoon to professionalize the club, refocus on profitability, the business model, the clubs image, streamline the players-acquisition-strategy and what not. That proves how professional it is.

Brands  
Take Nike, Adidas, Puma, Pepsi and the 1000s of brand that heavily link themselves with soccer and you have billions of dollars. They target the fans and use the players and the game to lift their image. Since soccer has been an ever-changing, ever-interesting game, you can easily stay current tagging along as a brand. There will always be big players with exceptional skills like Messi, and there will always be tournaments you can build excitement and experiences around. The most interesting thing about soccer is the competitive aspect of it. Not a lot of brand platforms have deep competitive emotional fields around them like soccer has - think movies...music...art...social-gaming...).

Two questions for you to ponder:

1-for brands: is it worth it?

2-for fans: is it still a true sports or a business?

Two subs on the 2nd question: 1) most of the clubs have no local players anymore; they are all international transfers. So 'my club' doesn't mean 'my friends playing football' anymore. 'My club' is a brand. How are deep connections established, and what part does the sport-itself play, versus the image/reputation? That just puzzles me. 2) men versus women. How does that work in soccer marketing?

Chew on that, dude!
26.02.2013 / Brussels / 06:50 / ES

Question 2 I can answer right away: is there still anything today that isn't a business or that has the purpose of being profitable, at least sustainable?

Look at what is happening now in Belgium. The Christian Union ACW has apparently been practicing fraud with the tax evasion systems they detest so much. Today, everything has become business, because the entire system is depending on the pecuniary system.

Don't get me wrong, I am a social-capitalist, but I will tell you 2 things to illustrate what I mean.

1.As you know Brandhome has its own Brandhome Foundation. We give back to communities we receive from is our motto. Last year we used the windows of our Antwerp HQ in the city-center to rent out QR-codes. Brands could put their promo's and content behind those codes. Interesting and successful approach. Of course the brands paid for it, as if it was advertising space. So then comes along the Antwerp local taxman, one of the thousands of different taxes we have in this country. He estimated the tax % and we got a tax claim for almost the amount we received from the brands. So there went the income for the Brandhome foundation to give to the toy library to buy toys for disabled kids. His comment: yeah, but we need the money too so we can pay for the people who are professionally unemployed... You know that in Belgium 30% of the unemployed population has parents and even grandparents that never worked themselves a single day. They just took and keep taking from society. That is where the system breaks down.

2.As you probably remember we serve lunch for all our colleagues. No lobster or caviar, just salads and sandwiches. So again comes this greedy taxman, and he judges that people should start paying a larger contribution for the lunch themselves. Bullshit. The contribution of the company on the cheese or marmalade at lunch is peanuts in relation to the revenues. But it motivates people. It engages them in lunching together, discussing... and it is effective since a lot of ideas get born at that table.

Sh*t, just writing about it makes me p*ssed off for the rest of the day. Sorry ;)

However, let me quickly answers your 2 subs:

-their friends playing: yep, that's history; countries even give nationalities to foreign players for the National Teams so don't even bother discussing what regular clubs do

-men versus women: don't know a lot of women that like soccer; they associate it with men shouting, drinking beer... and behaving like kids.

Your first question: is it worth it for brands? It's a trade-off. Sports is a medium that enables them to connect with their audiences, so yes I believe it is worth it. On the other hand, the amounts of money that sometimes get paid by brands, becomes unrealistic. What you see there is the same effect that happens to the dealmakers from the brand side.

I remember a couple of times in my career having to take the decision to stop sponsorships of large clubs. And I remember that the guys working at the company I was working for were even more disappointed themselves. Why? Because they got dragged into the game, into the club, into that same extreme/insane loyalty that I spoke about yesterday. So yes, there is something addictive to soccer I believe. But not with you and me ;)
27.02.2013 / Dubai / 08:11 / KF

On that note, no more soccer talk :-) we are going out on a limb here anyway, so let's leave it at that before we embarrass ourselves :-)

Let's talk about something totally different: the power of free! FREEMIUM!

Wikipedia says the following about it: 'Freemium is a business model by which a product or service is provided free of charge, but a premium is charged for advanced features, functionality, or virtual goods.'

Or...simply said: free+premium. So, as a business, you offer at least 2 things to your clients: one for free, the other at a premium. In combination; so there is choice. That 'premium offer' is mostly a more elaborate version of the free one, an 'upgrade', offering more features, benefits, goodies, privileges, you name it.

It is a relevant topic in a world of hyper competition, where it is difficult to build up a consumer base. So, what the freemium approach suggests is that you start free, draw in consumers, let them experience your product or service free of charge, give them just enough to get hooked and then get them to pay 'premium' to get the full experience, product features, etc. Not baaaaaaad at all. It reduces investments and risks for you as a business to see how fast you can hit the road.

Happens a lot in the digital space. Look at LinkedIn for instance. I've been using LinkedIn for years; completely for free, but half a year ago upgraded to a premium version. Not very happy with that, because I'm not using the premium features. Gmail, twitter, pandora, flickr, dropbox, evernote all follow freemium business models.

Interesting concept for FMCG and other industries to learn from. Although not as easy to execute as in the digital space where you can make offers by sitting behind a computer as a one-man-show. In FMCG, sampling has always been one of the freemium strategies; widely used to quickly build trials and hence establish a user base. I'm a big believer.

As brands are building lifestyle images and go digital as well, there is an opportunity to experiment with a freemium model in that space. Say you want to offer a location-based-app, e.g. a store locator. Takes awhile to set up the backend and then build a good functioning app. (Remember the design-thinking approach for innovation). Why not go 'free' first, then 'premium' once consumers express their liking for it?

A company/brand that really embraced the freemium concept is Ben&Jerry's. They built a whole concept around it: free cone day. On that day you can sample all the flavors they have, but you walk away with an entire cone of the one you like/want, for free! Costs them some money, yes, but it surely draws in consumers, and makes them come back for more (premium!) ice cream purchases!! I'm waiting for the announcement of the 2013 date (see www.benjerry.com). By the way, did I say they do this GLOBALLY, all on one day? Awesome.

There is an interesting number to remember when it comes to freemium. A rule of thumb:

10:1

That apparently is the RATIO of free consumers versus premium consumers. It dictates how long you have to keep going for your base to be scalable enough for it to survive on premium. Hey...A thought here...Wouldn't that be the ratio in the airline industry as well: business-vs-economy flyers?? How business flyers 'sponsor' an entire flight. Don't know. Good question...

That sort of brings me to the higher-level-concept behind it: the belief in the 'Lifetime Value of the Customer'. Isn't that what freemium is really about: feeling so strongly about how good your product is that you want to offer it for free because you know people will want more and will pay for it?

Maybe we can make freemium part of how we market this book?,

Any experience with freemium?
27.02.2013 / Antwerp / 22:43 / ES

Interesting route. No experience with that one. Well, some, but in telecom with offering people free calling to other subs that are on the same network. But when you call to other networks. Then you pay. AT&T has been doing it since the late eighties on their fixed voice networks.

Of course I've read about the model, and know it from the software and internet world. Free-trial is, in a way, a kind of limited Freemium.

If you really want it as a business model, then you probably will have to be in software or, at least, in a business where the cost of an incremental user is negligible. You can then decide yourself where you put the crossover from Free to Premium, where customers have to start paying.

I personally believe more in what we call in the Brandhome method® a 'marketing cash rerouting model'. You hook up with several partners and instead of spending your money in advertising or with media stuff, you cross-finance sales, volume, upgrades, etc. of other brands your existing/target customers buy and consume.

In a couple of days we are actually launching a campaign where people signing up for a 3 year energy contract at fixed price, receive the local newspaper free for 2 years. Guess who is doing the free advertising... You could argue that this is a classic barter, but it's not. It's the energy company offering its customers something of value for them instead of spending the budget advertising.

Brings me to something else: gimmicks, give-aways & gadgets. 'Branded rubbish' I always call it. But then I see how people use it, keep it, even foster it. From keyrings to pencils to sport bags, and so on. Never understood that. We all know it is made in China by little kids. We all know it is far from being sustainable.

Can you tell me why marketing people still feel the urge to make all kinds of low quality and expensive stuff?
28.02.2013 / Dubai / 05:10 / KF

The answer is YES! I can tell you why we brand drinking glasses, drDre headphones, usb sticks, Rubik's cubes and what not. As give-away or as multi-buy premium. I am not a fan but many in fmcg still do it a lot. There are several driving forces for that:

1-We look at it negatively because we are highly educated and intellectualize about it. Go to upper Egypt in an "E" SEC family (i.e. so called low class) and the value of a nice, modern Pepsi drinking glass is 10 times more what you and I think it is. It's psychology.

2-Sales gets a positive reinforcement every time we have a multi-buy with a give-away: retailers offer more shelf and floor space (a massive driver of incremental sales), and ... we effectively sell more. Breaking through that reality and psychology is difficult.

3-Competitors are playing the game as well. With B-brands and Private Labels breathing down your neck, if you don't play along, they'll be eating your share.

Now, in theory, it causes brand dilution. I absolutely believe that! You should build a brand that does not need that commercial whoring around! But it takes time and sometimes there are forces that make you 'relapse' to what I call commercial prostitution. And so, as a marketer, you need to go in rehab :-) from time to time.

Here's the real issue (one I was battling 12-13 years ago, remember flippos?): are people buying for the free gadget or for the brand/product? That used to be a big dilemma. Good that we came to closure/conclusion: (1) stupid gadgets only drive short term sales, there are zero sustainable sales or share effect; (2) it's a dangerous brand equity game; (3) if you calculate total system cost, it is always negative on profit, even with increased sales! And I have to say that therefore, thanks to learning the hard way, we probably use gadgets and premiums as sales drive in 10% of the cases as compared to 20 years ago. When I started my career, it was an essential part of the job. Who am I kidding? It WAS my job; that's how important it was! Glad we do more important things these days. I think :-)

Now, thank God the gadget industry has become more professional as well. It is much cheaper than 15 years ago to have something of quality at a cheap give-away price. So, quality control and brand-fit play a big role in the choice of the gadget!

I'll tell you where the risk comes in. With the urge to cut costs, be efficient, be more global, stick to buying norms – forks and what not, procurement tends to take over. We've already witnessed it 10 years ago in telco, right? They think with their chequebooks instead of what is right for the brand, where price is the only variable. Big problem!

Hey. A question of conscience: don't you find it fun, nice, cool to get stuff sometimes? Be honest.

That energy+newspaper barter deal you were talking about (yeah, it's a barter deal) might be a better option. But stupidity happens there as well. Last year I got a similar offer: hi-speed internet contract + free newspaper. Stupid. If I dial up my internet, chances are high I dial up my media consumption on internet, and read the paper online. All of a sudden these deals become worthless. And so I wonder: isn't it better not to have a logical link, but give something of 'timeless value' that doesn't get you in that pickle. A free-dinner-for-two in a restaurant always works! Right?
28.02.2013 / Deurne (BE) / 19:54 / ES

Yes, I remember purchasing taking over and deciding on marketing materials in same logic as buying printer paper or satellites. And the result we both saw. Massive f*ck up.

Yes, as a consumer I like gadgets, and I surely pick them up along the way at the supermarkets for my kids. But I don't give into extra buying. Only take what's for free :) And I like surprising and stupid things!

Here's something else exciting. I am stuck until late tonight so I'm going to.... write todays' domino... on my iPhone. I know you are an expert but this is cool ;-) Takes some time to type. So makes you think more. Perhaps I should start writing marketing plans on the iPhone. Or better yet, take all laptops away at the office from all strategists and copywriters. That would be a fun experiment!

Something else. MARKETING MINDSETTING I call it. Meaning the understanding of marketers that building brands takes time. Let me explain.

Had a briefing at a client today. All great people. But a bit confusing meeting or otherwise put, briefing. One of my classics in such an event is to ask for peer examples. So they come up with: we want to be like Ryanair! Let me dub you the conversation:

'We want that low cost image in our sector.

Ok, but that takes time.

What do you mean?

Well, I mean that it that it took Ryanair years and years of both consistent and consequent marketing AND corporate comms to install that image.

Ok, but we have a lot of money.

That's great, but things take time. Or you have something so unique and low cost to tell, or it takes time. It's not because you give a baby that 40 bottles of milk a day it will be a grown up in 6 months. Yeah, you're right.'

My question to you. What's your POV? Gimme some tips and CMO insights.
01.03.2013 / Dubai / 07:35 / KF

I've had similar discussions like this myself; so I can relate ...

Could you set up a low cost operation quickly? Yes! That's not the issue. Can you build awareness and an image quickly? Yes! (Just throw enough money at it). Can you build a TRUST-relationship quickly? No!! THAT takes time. This, my friend, is the core reason it all takes time. You cannot buy consumer trust -you have to earn trust!

Ryanair has -over time- gained trust. That means that once you've set out your modus operandi you have to prove it thousands of times over for people to believe you. It goes back to principles we talked about in the beginning: what matters today is what brands DO, not what they say!!

Why did Zappos built a trust-image? They trust their consumers and prove it hundreds of times a day, by paying shipping costs both ways, and by taking back whatever you send back. Result: revolution in shoe-land! All of a sudden women buy shoes online. Why? They can buy 10 pairs, try them on, pick one and just send 9 back, costs paid by Zappos.

And guess what? When you change the rules of the industry, I would argue it takes even a longer time to build trust-relationships. Simply because consumers will have a lot of questions...there are a lot of reasons to distrust when you do things people are not familiar with: does this airline really take me from Brussels to Paris for 25 euro? What's the catch? Will it be safe? Will I have a seat? etc...

Anyway. I've had exactly the same question on the table several times (we want to have that low cost image in the sector). The key question really is: why? Why the fuck would you want to go for the most difficult business model on the planet? Business leaders see the glory that comes with changing an industry, and the personal image boost they could get if they pull it off. But be honest, it's for the lucky few. Do they realize how difficult it is for Ryanair to stay afloat? Or for other low cost operators? Do they know how many went bankrupt? There is no financial leverage or buffer to operate such a business ... do they know that that is not fun? The reason I say that is because you said your client claimed, 'we have money'. If that is the case: go after money! A low cost-model doesn't really go after money - it's a desperate move to play in a category/ industry if you have no money! If I had money, I would much rather build a profitable, sustainable business that offers new benefits to consumers (at a premium) rather than taking them all away.

Let's talk about that!
01.03.2013 / Antwerp / 19:54 / ES

Uh. So tell me. How did the marketing of our book go?... Where are you? In the future? It's March 1st today! February 29th is next year ;)

Agree.

Just something else on low cost. I prefer no-frills instead of low cost. I believe that you can undress an existing proposition and play it down and downgrade it to a more 'naked' version in terms of service, distribution, image... and offer it at lower prices, but never below a certain threshold were people start buying you purely for cost reasons.

I always found it a strange idea, this no-frills and also low cost brands. They have a reversed brand premium philosophy in a way. They strive to reduce prices instead of increasing them. But it seems that for the past 2O years people are increasingly picking or zapping around the concepts that exist. In the seventies we had the '1O-cent' shops, now we have the 1O pound airlines. Whether we like it or not, there is a market and I have the impression that it is even growing.

Back to your question. What do you mean with having money? You mean having budgets as a brand? It's late. I've had an awfully long week, so perhaps my brain is little behind. Tell me ;)
02.03.2013 / Dubai / 12:09 / KF

Man, you're rambling. Not making sense. Get some rest. Looks like you need it :-)

Let's talk about the power of SURPRISE. Whether you have the greatest, the best or just a matching average proposition, what'll make it stand out is the SURPRISE factor! I'm sitting in a French bistro concept place in Dubai Mall, called Madeleine. Never paid much attention to it, but decided to try something else for breakfast today. Our normal family routine on Saturday is either Paul's or Pain Quotidien or mOre café, all in Dubai Mall. Today, it's Madeleine. Bit hidden away, and with a comparable menu to the others. B-U-T: it starts with location: great outside seating, with view of The Fountain, amazing quality of food, nice table decoration, playing French 60s and 70s music, good friendly service. And so you go: 'hey this is great... we'll be back'. The power of surprise is in BEATING EXPECTATIONS. The ripple effect of that is W.o.M. ('Hey, have you been to...'): referencing...we all want it. Essential marketing. On a somewhat higher level, it's called layers of advantage... the more layers, the more chances of having a positive impact (a surprise factor) on your consumer.

Some other good examples:

Tumi bag: my mother in law got me the most awesome Tumi trolley ever a few-years ago, co-branded Ducati. Fantastic design, perfect quality, maximum size for an airplane cabin. And so, I've used it continuously ever since on all my travels. On 3 separate occasions over the last few years I've had issues with the zippers and the pull-bar. Mostly because of my mishandling the damn thing. My mistake. The first time I went to Tumi I was mentally prepared for some arguments on what happened and why I thought they should fix it; and was getting ready for a serious price tag for that (knowing Tumi doesn't come cheap). Absolutely unnecessary. They fix it; pick up the cost; no questions asked. The power of surprise! Guess where I will go next time I need a travel bag?

The power factor in 'surprise' is on an emotional level rather than a rational level.

Another one: my hairdresser Super Trim, a chain in Dubai. It's cheap and fast. In itself more or less a 'no fuzz' hairdresser. The surprise factor: the head massage! First time, you think 'WTF...I'm not a woman' :-) now, it's kinda relaxing. It's the Virgin Atlantic Effect, where you get a foot massage in business class.

It is so important to think this through, especially in the service industry where the element of surprise has a huge, visible, and immediate impact!

Did I tell or write about my experience with Al Faisalia hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia?
02.03.2013 / Antwerp / 14:36 / ES

No, you didn't; tell me.

The hairdresser you go to? First you don't need one. They way you have your hair you can ask your daughters to do it with the trimmer ;) The head massage? You get it in almost all Belgian hairdressers.

But it is indeed a very interesting marketing item. But the _power of surprise_ has many faces. Let's start and see how we can put a 'wrap around' this.

Attention  
It can be small forms of attention such as a flower or one single chocolate from a famous brand nicely wrapped in a single pack for you. Or the perfume they spray in your BMW when you go and collect it at the BMW dealer here in Antwerp after they did the maintenance. That's the attention for of surprise.

Service  
The examples of surprise you give are examples of service delivery that has surprised you. Because you did not expect it. And because you valued it. The latter is also very important.

Let me give you an example of both.

Starting with the last one: a surprise you don't expect but that you don't value. When you are at the fuel station, and they offer you, surprisingly, these couple of ladies to clean your car windows, and they keep standing in your way, while you are in a hurry. Yes, marketers probably think it's a good idea, but all people in a hurry didn't.

Example of what happened at Nordstrom, or at least the story goes around. I find it so unique that I also wrote about it in my Triple-A book. Here it is.

_One of the most trustworthy brands is Nordstrom, the upscale American department store. It is rumoured to have at one time graciously accepted the return of a set of tires, even though the store has never sold tires. A rumour like that does not appear out of the blue. There must have already been a foundation for thinking something like that could happen. Because it sounds so very typical for Nordstrom, with its enormous and exceptional focus on the customer. "Putting the customer first", touted by so many, is what Nordstrom was and still is all about. This is its authentic proposition, which it actively continues to improve on, making itself accountable to anyone it is dealing with, customers and stakeholders alike. The way it operates strikes a chord with customers, enhancing a valuable brand relationship. Authentic, accountable, active, Nordstrom is highly typical of a Triple-A brand._

When you want to surprise customers in any way (you add 2 more), then it calls for a management approach that allows the people delivering the service or products to you, to decide on the spot what to do. Or to have a manual that they know so well - or that is so simple - that they can use to on the spot to help you out, and surprise you. When the people at TUMI would have told you: wait here, just helping the other client first, and then I'll check in the manual, and then I'll be back to you and then... after you have been waiting there saying to you: it's fine. You would not have had the same experience nor the surprise.

What I always love are 'unexpected' upgrades. I have all these travel cards and stuff, but I am always delighted when a free upgrade gets proposed to me without me having to ask for it! That's the difference between hotels in the Middle-East and hotels here in Europe.

You know my line! The best service you can get in Western-Europe is self-service!

Back to 'surprising' your customers. You continue!
03.03.2013 / Dubai / 08:23 / KF

I love a good surprise! Who doesn't?  
Now, onto a big question: how do you find and craft it? Here's a nice quote that might help: 'If your work is too safe, do something dangerous!' (Writer's advice). Smash. Catch 'em. Boom. Spot on! My advice: In order to add an x-factor to any proposition draw 2 concentric circles. Fill the first with the idea's comfort zone, the second with all potential surprise elements. Outside the circles are as crazy and wacky as possible. Stir and blend and you have a delicious brand-proposition-cocktail. Wow. I need to stop drinking ...one too many metaphors :-)

Onwards to my Al Faisalia story. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there are 2 good hotels: Four Seasons (in the Kingdom Tower), and Faisalia. A whole while back I stayed in the latter, after a few Four Seasons stays. Let's say it had been a year since I was back at Faisalia. Checked in, got to my room, started unpacking, and guess what ... I open the wardrobe door ... and ... one of my shirts is hanging there! I'd lost it (obviously a year before). Legendary! When I have multi-day stays I often have my shirts ironed. So, I must have left before getting one of them back. And it was my favorite shirt! I'd already written it off, so to speak. Imagine my surprise. So, they had made a note and hung it back when they got my booking confirmation on that day. That is service mindedness. I looked up who the General Manager of the hotel was and immediately wrote him a handwritten thank you and appreciation note. Got a note back the next day, saying he had read mine to his staff to reinforce why these things matter. Commendable! Next time I go to Riyadh, I'll be there!
03.03.2013 / Antwerp / 19:55 / ES

Everyone loves surprises... but not always ;) I just spent the entire WE with 2 teams in the office because the HQ of one of our clients made a little mistake. And it is an important project and campaign and since I will be leaving Thursday for Dubai, it had to be done today!

Back to surprises.

I believe empowerment of people, certainly in service businesses, is important if you want them to 'surprise' customers. You should empower them with a sort of service budget.

Here's an example. Until some years ago, Holiday Inn had a policy that each and every employee, no matter what level in the company, had $ 300 a year to fix any customer's problem at once. From a customer complaining that he got a stain on his jacket from the hotel's elevator, to a customer who needed just that small little guest supply thing that the hotel just ran out of.

When you want to do this, you need to empower people, empower them with trust, as well as insight. With the latter I mean that you need to train people to see what happens around them, and how they can interfere to create added value for the customer.

But let's be honest, even though Holiday Inn cancelled this policy, few companies dare to empower their employees. And the excuse is always the same: risk of abuse. Of course there will be abuse.

But does it trade-off against the opportunities and the upside of getting small issues out of the operational system; simplifying the processes and broadening management attention options. It has been proven over and over again that small irritators create the biggest problems for customers, and the most negative experience.

And abuse can be managed. There are systems to put in place for that.

I gave it some thought today and yesterday.

The power of surprise is surely an important element in marketing, but today it is still undervalued. It's an interesting point to continue chewing on.

Let's move ahead to something totally different. Today we created a campaign, 360 degrees, with 3 teams in parallel, in less than 38 hours! Madness. A campaign fully oriented to the local population in the Brussels Metropolitan area. An area blurred by the millions of expats of all over the world that hang out there. And a local community of 'real Brusseleers' that is difficult to reach.

Today I was confronted again with the power of understanding in the utmost detail the local habits, even at city level. The culture, the stories, the legends... and so on. Fantastic. Stunning. Let's talk about the understanding of such micro-cosmos-city-like cultures to market later on. We will use these city-legends for this campaign! It is an auto-selective campaign. If you were not born in Brussels, you will not get it! I didn't... until today! You continue!
04.03.2013 / Dubai / 22:45 / KF

Zooming into micro-level. Getting a real deep understanding of culture. Finding nuggets of information to amplify and make campaignable? I'm right in the middle of it - two feet deep. Just finished a so called 'BBDO WorkOut' trying to find exactly that for a big Ramadan campaign I'm working on. Let people openly talk and explore their deepest feelings, emotions, memories, stories around a period as deeply ingrained into their blood as Ramadan and you find one gold nugget after the other. We talked about things that even Muslims forget about or miss seeing. Fascinating. Interesting. Relevant. Authentic. You really need to get to that level to create a campaign that evokes emotion, where people go 'I get it', 'I can really relate to it', 'That's exactly how I feel as well' from the first few seconds. If you got that, you got magic in your hands. Amen. Can't get into too much detail. Must park it for now and recap on June/July when all this will land and get into our various markets here. But let me add this...to be able to get the best out of people (or the best micro-info out of them), you really need to create what I call fertile ground for ideas to flourish:

-a created environment

-away from daily hassle

-a non-hostile environment

-no judgment

-an equal playing field

-etc

What else?
04.03.2013 / Antwerp / 22:45 / ES

What else? Let's talk about personal branding. Let's talk about you and me. Kurt and Erik. What makes our brand? That we are good marketers? That we write books? That we have passion for our profession? That we have respect for our knowledge? That we are fun guys to work with?

Probably bit of all this. But how do you market yourself? How do you market a personal image. That is what we need to talk about. But since it is late, and I saw the ample words you've got on paper, let's talk about that tomorrow.

For sure we have the discipline to at least write some letters every day ;)
05.03.2013 / Dubai / 16:22 / KF

Personal branding. Great topic. Close to my heart. Not only a passion of mine. I actually thought that through and I have a strategy for my personal brand.

First of all, as with everything, you have to understand what drives you. In my very own case, two things: (1) the quest for fame, (2) giving back to society. They seem contradictory. Not.

1...Trying to get some sort of fame is a deep-rooted ambition, that stems from my personality (needless to say I am extrovert, outgoing, colorful and bold ...all of these are positive and negative, by the way), and the fact that I have 'tasted' fame at a young age. I used to play in bands and be quite popular. That grows on you like a drug. (And so, I can understand why U2, Rolling Stones, etc keep on touring. They are not doing it for the money; if you know what I mean). I'd love to be the THE BEST marketer, writer, ...you name it. Sex, drugs and rock′n′marketing, babe!

2...Giving back to society is a personal belief of mine. When you have a certain amount of knowledge and expertize, you have to give it back to the world. In whatever area possible. That's how our collective knowledge base can grow. We can all get smarter and wiser, faster. And I want to contribute, in my own small way. (I do realize I am far from being Einstein). Hopefully this book is a way to do so.

My personal branding approach started a while back, and has a lot of components by now:

Work related:

-Brand all documents; i.e. I make sure that all of my documents have my name in the author box

-Networking efforts

-Making sure that everything that leaves my desk is up to standard

Personally:

-First of all, I use my own, full name everywhere (no funky creative stuff): e.g. @kurtfrenier on twitter

-My blog

-Newspapers I curate

-Advisory Boards I'm on

-My writing

-Continuous learning so you don't talk empty talk, and you're up to speed with the latest

-and obviously, this book, since it will be a best seller!

Related to this topic, see an article I wrote on the branding of the House of Marley (half personal, half brand): www.redhotmarketingblender.com/2012/06/branding-a-person-the-house-of-marley-example/

Tell me: what makes the Saelens brand?
05.03.2013 / Brussels / 22:12 / ES

The Saelens-brand.

Let's start from the outside. Let's say the packaging.

My hair: I have long hair.

My professional clothing: I wear orange bow ties, and always wear suspenders (orange or grey ones).

I was influenced by Michael Douglas in Wall Street when I was a kid I think. Anyway, when people describe me. These visual elements are part of my brand.

Let's move to the inside. The real content.

I find it important to 'always be better'. Not than others, but better than myself. Motivation for me: (1) always getting better, (2) enjoy work, (3) earn money. Please note that it is also in that sequence. Dedication and perseverance best describe my attitude. When I start something, I never give up. Comes out of my sport background. See below.

Let's move to the surroundings. I have 2 hobbies that are quite 'talkable'. I box and I do sport shooting. Not everyday hobbies for people in our field of work. Fortunately it has been some time since I arrived with a black eye for a meeting ;) In addition, I stopped drinking alcohol 2 years ago. Also strange for a marketer.

The guy with the long hair, the bow tie... yeah, the guy that boxes... yeah, right, the only Belgian who doesn't drink alcohol anymore... yes, that must be Saelens, the strategic director of Brandhome. Solid guy.

This is how a person could describe me ;) Long story short. Important part of personal branding is not only consistency, but also consistent in scarce elements. There is in the entire Benelux, and for all I know Europe, no strategic director with these characteristics in his/her brand. There are many that work-out, play golf, perhaps do boxing... and of course many that have long hair... and some that wear a suit and a minority a bow tie... but few have it all!

But personal branding is much more than that.

Personal branding is the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands. Not just the packaging, but more important the content.

In my experience, personal branding is all about trust. Trust gives my Saelens brand the license to operate, and to show my competence and intelligence in brand marketing and management consulting. So trust, dedication and intelligence are my currencies to finance and reward my brand. To give you an example. I can't remember the last time I had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement in the Benelux, even for very large companies and very sensitive projects. That's trust. But be careful. It comes by foot, and leaves by horse.

And then there is hope. Hope that your brand will fix something for a customer, a friend... One of the best compliments I ever got, was from my old boss at KPN. He told me: Erik, you have the rare ability to make something out of nothing.

I believe that in the Benelux my personal branding is well done. And it even auto-selects who I meet strangely enough. If you want a 'lip service' guy, then better look for someone else since I don't do that.

In line with what you stated above. Keep sharp. And focused. Whatever you do needs to be up to your standards. That is the most difficult part. It is like writing these 1000 pages of domino, every night as a discipline.

I believe, in fact, that kids should learn how they have to brand themselves at school. I know it is reverse to what the schools preach here 'ALL THE SAME AND ALL TOGETHER NOW', but in real life, it's like marketing. You need to be different to position yourself.

Did you ever read the book of Tom Peters, 'The brand called YOU'?
06.03.2013 / Dubai / 07:32 / KF

Read a lot of Tom Peters' books but not that one. I'm intrigued and I will read it. Maybe next week on holiday.

You forget 2 really important elements in the Saelens brand: uniqueness and boldness/daring. I will never forget new year 2003 (or around that time), when we had a reception for the KPN leadership, in The Hague. You showed up with what looked like a flowery-wallpaper suit. Out of the 200 odd people that were in the place, you were the one guy that stood out. Crazy, but you made a mark. (Although I think some people at that drinks party still have nightmares if they recall the image of you -hahahaha). And I've seen a multitude of occasions like that. Maybe the extremes belong to the past now you have a big business and also need to project a credible CEO image, but man, I admired you for the guts to do the unthinkable.

Come to think of it, you should write 'Building a TripleA YOU brand'. Because the TripleA principles are EXACTLY what you want for a brand: authenticity (walk the talk ... as a person, you can't say you're one thing and behave in another way), accountability (the trust, reliability, consistency as a person you talked about), activation (it's all about your actions in the end; that's what the outside will see of your brand). Do it!
06.03.2013 / Antwerp / 23:06 / ES

Yes. The flower suit. Still have it ;)

It is an amazing story. Let me tell you about this meeting at BASE with the unions. A male member of the union made a comment that he believed that management should dress understated and that male management should not wear flower jackets. It was aimed at me ;) The female union members did not agree. And they started discussing for 2 hours on the subject. And then the meeting was finished. ;) The power of a flower jacket... or just wagging the dog?

Back to personal branding. Uniqueness. Of course. Long hair, bracelets, etc.

Contextual marketing. Ever heard about it? It's just this new hype that is coming up. Wanna let me explain it to you?

I am so incredibly busy at the moment. All fun projects. Heavy stuff but even at 38 years old, I am learning so much these last weeks. Great to work for great brands and excellent people.

It's kind of confusing. I'll catch up on the airplane to Dubai. Always enough time to catch up with the book! Brain dead now. ;)
07.03.2013 / Dubai / 14:14 / KF

Ah, yes, contextual branding. Very familiar and very relevant. And also as old as the hills although it didn't start out as contextual branding...

What it is in my opinion is: following a strategy where your brand appears within logical, relevant contexts. I remember us sitting in a bar one night in 2003 talking about brand content versus brand context, and the relationship between them. Remember that??

I think it's a matter of trying to understand and leverage the receiver's POV... Is he/she 'in the mood' to receive and absorb the message you are sending?

The first time I worked on that was at Nutricia (now Numico), for one of their baby food brands. We had a project about how and where to give the best possible, and logical, communication, where expecting moms and moms would be most receptive to the message...at the gynaecologist, in baby clothing shops, at the hospital on delivery day, 1st day they get home with baby, when they buy a pack of diapers. These are all millions of times better than an ad in a women's magazine. That's a shot in the dark.

Add to that the power of surprise and you have even a bigger potential win. There is this famous story about Advil advertising around the stock exchange closing bell time, every time the market was down. Never seen it, but I can imagine the impact of a line that goes something like that: 'stock prices giving you a headache again? Try Advil'. Talk about relevance and receptiveness.

LV has a great video they made last year, called The Art of Packing. It gives nice tips for the holidays, gently spooning in some LV bags and stuff. Nice.

It's the reason why energy drinks are being sampled in discos, why AXE advertising hangs in public toilets.

What nice examples do you have, flower-boy?
07.03.2013 / Antwerp / 23:46 / ES

"ga boete betalen ;)"  
(ed. is Dutch for: will pay fine)

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
08.03.2013 / Vienna (AT) / 15:25 / KF

Ha! Pay up, dude! Missing a domino ...not usual for you. Good for charity ;-)

So, I'm in Vienna now. First stop on my way to my holiday destination in Austria; Turracher Hohe; for skiing. Looking forward to some snow under my feet!

And so I give you, as an intermezzo while you are sleeping and not writing a domino page, a great Vienna branding story: Figlmüller restaurant, (I'm on my way there right now), the birthplace of the world-famous 'schnitzel'. «www.figlmueller.at»  
Every single time, which is at least once a year on my way to the ski resort, I HAVE TO make a stop here. Oh my God, this is an awesome place. I'm hungry just thinking about it. It's one of those famous no-choice restaurants (just like another one of my favorites: Geneva's L'entrecote - single best steak in the world; and the only thing you can eat there). If you ever go there it is the biggest schnitzel you will ever see on your plate. Actually, let me correct that -you won't see your plate at all; all their schnitzels cover the entire plate!

Figlmueller is a restaurant that built a great brand, sticking to some really simple principles: best quality (no compromise; only the best pork cuts... the rose or tenderloin piece; and believe me they can enforce it being h-u-g-e quantities every day I'm sure; even the breadcrumbs they use to cover the schnitzel is made from the best, Austrian, so-called Emporer bread roll), single-minded focus and specialization (and thus, consistency in how they deliver on the brand story), uniqueness (their schnitzels are the biggest and really, really wafer thin), and banking on word-of-mouth. Now they have a few franchises in Vienna. In my opinion they could go global if they'd put their mind to it.

Another icon of the same sort, in Vienna is Sacher (famous for there super-indulgent Sacher Torte). That'll be my next stop! A 10.000 calorie chocolate cake...

What are YOU up to?
08.03.2013 / Brussels / 21:13 CET / ES

Ok! I'm back. You are always on holiday. Just got onto the plane to Abu Dhabi. Will be speaking at Dubai Lynx on Monday, the leading advertising and marketing festival in the Middle East, Asia and Africa (AMENA region). What will I speak about? TRIPLE-A PHILOSOPHY (www.tripleabrands.com) and Brandhome will launch its Triple-A index there. Check it out at www.triple-A-index.com.

Looking forward to it. I have 40 people in the sessions, from all parts of the AMENA region. Always inspiring. Last year I spoke about LEGAL BRANDING. Read: everything that can and will go wrong when you mix legal and marketing. We discussed it some months ago. We created this entire fake brand (www.boks.co). Check it out and do the test!

Very exciting. The rest of my time I will work, work and work. And get inspired in some other sessions. Also lots of meetings. And need to finish the Brandhome method® book while I am there. So, No Fun!

Then off on Tuesday to Doha. Need to cut off here, because the cabin crew asks me to turn off my laptop. Will get back to you with some real content tomorrow! Enjoy your ski.

Want to discuss presentation skills tomorrow. And some other loose ends you asked me, I touched on, and so on the few last days.
09.03.2013 / Klagenfurt (AT) / 23:03 / KF

Let me start with Presentation Skills while you catch up with the rest of the topics.

It's going to be an interesting spaghetti text for our readers ;-)

The craft of writing a good business presentation is similar to writing a book: the idea...the writing...the editing (editing being 90% of the time!!)

Once you've laid out the raw story, a loooooong time is needed to sit on it, chew it, spit it out again, build onto it, tweak, twist and turn. Call it the incubation period for your pitch. If you forget this, you'll remain shallow and hollow.

How to go about it? (things learned from writing and publishing books myself):

1Write the storyline on half a piece of paper first, as simple and slim as possible. Your grandmother should understand what you are saying. And ... make it personal!

2Start in time

3Don't get frustrated along the way

4Kill your babies (see www.facebook.com/notes/the-red-hot-marketing-blender-powered-by-kurt-frenier/kill-your-babies-/192813804093514)

5Mindset: editing is THE job! Re-write, sharpen, correct, restart, read it out loud, and write some more. By the way, NOTHING beats reading aloud when it really matters.

6Close the loop. Go back to zero and make sure the core message is still there!

If you think it's about the pictures, you're wrong. It is about content management, just as with writing a book. Ask yourself as you lay out the words: does it add? does it distract? will the audience remain engaged? am I building up the story or destroying it?

There is one very important difference with a book: when you actually present to an audience, you can BRING your message TO LIFE. Here comes the importance of font, but also body language, pitch, eye contact, pauses, ... All of which are critical to amplify your message. And again, incorporating a "personal" touch does wonders. And...practice makes perfect.

There are two models I follow as well (1) Guy K, (2) TED

Guy Kawasaki follows a 10-point system for all his presentations. In his own words, the benefit is: 'If I suck, you'll know for how much longer I'll suck' -good thinking.

TED Talks follow a specific, fixed canvas to bring across often heavy topics in 18 minutes. Worth checking out how the presenters unfold their ideas.

Ok, I'm off -eating, drinking, skiing, eating, drinking, drinking, drinking ... ;-)
09.03.2013 / Dubai / 22:26 / ES

Got into Dubai early this morning. Nice weather. Already enrolled at Dubai Lynx. My fourth one already as a speaker. Will have the Future Leaders of Marketing in my class. It's something new they are trying.

The rest of the day I spent putting the script of Q1 brand domino together for final editing. Yeah, indeed, someone has to do it. What did you say? Editing is 90% of the job. Indeed. I'll leave Q2 up to you. ;)

Presentation skills. I somehow meant something else. I meant how you present yourself when, as a marketer, you are addressing an audience that is not into our marketing talk and habits. Let me explain. Too often - and I saw it last week again a couple of times - great ideas are so badly presented to internal and external stakeholders, that the idea dies in the meeting. The reason: because the marketers and agencies strangely enough preach empathy. They should be masters of communication, but when they stand there themselves, they blow it. They don't think enough about the other side of the table. What they do so well out of the office, they mess up big time in the office.

How?

It all comes down to the surprising, engaging effect at the start.

1. everyone knows marketing - involve them

Explanation n.1: every person sitting in a meeting thinks they know marketing, whether they are auditors or HR directors. And they all believe that communication is also easy-peasy. When facing an audience like that, you need to grab their attention. This can be done because you take them as examples. e.g. 'Nice watch you are wearing; is it a Rolex? Why did you buy that?' Or you ask them to do something. One of my classics is when we discuss the naming of brand and products. I say, 'Write down the first name of your wife and kids. Please turn the page over, slide it to your neighbour, and ask him to change the name'. Interesting how people the react. I have loads tricks like these.

2. ask for preparation

It's always interesting to reverse the game, make them present to you during your presentation. That way, they are in the game. Let me tell you a joke. I had to present sharpened corporate values at a large corporation some years ago. 26 people sitting on the board... can you imagine? To avoid large and long discussions, I asked the secretaries to have each of the participants do some prep work. The preparation was simple: bring one tangible element that reflects one of the values. One of the values was engagement. Some brought their laptop, others the keys of their cars, and so on. The CEO brought his wife ;)

Up to you to come up with additional tips and tricks. I am waiting. You ski-animal. Oh yeah, I am rounding up the subjects we need to catch up on.
10.03.2013 / somewhere on a snowy mountain in Austria / 15:44 / KF

From the slopes in Austria...

First of all, I think you're being too hard on people. Not everyone is an eloquent speaker, and not everyone can captivate an audience. Nor do I think that that equates those people with being bad marketers. And so, when you have a big presentation, or a pitch, or whatever, select your best people. You wouldn't run a horserace with any, old horse, why would it be different in a business situation?

A few other tips, over and above the 'bring your best example' to involve and engage the audience:

\- Watch the marketing lingo. We have sooooo many tag words that are meaningless for non-marketers. You need to actually explain constantly while you speak. That goes from grps, to identity, to...

\- Simplify and amplify. By that I mean, start very, very simply, so the audience immediately gets into a 'yes, I get that' -mode. Once you got that, amplify, elaborate, build onto it, make it bigger.

\- Essence and summary first, explanation later. Biggest mistake many, many presenters make is to do a dramatically long build-up to the conclusion, losing the audience along the way. I have successfully done major presentations giving away the conclusion up-front: 'here's my idea...and here is why' instead of 'context...why 1 ... why 2 ... why 3 ... Zzzzzzzz ... Conclusion'. Get my drift?

\- Always, always, always keep it light. Never preach. There might be smarter people than you in the audience. Once you get that, it makes you humble. And that brings a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that builds empathy with the audience.

Anyway, let's move back to more interesting topics!
10.03.2013 / Dubai / 20:32 / ES

First day of Dubai Lynx. Nice and not very interesting. The work lacks a little bit of inspiration and refinement. So passed the day writing my new book, Brandhome method®, and speaking to some people out of the business.

Not a lot going on but advertising. Not very exciting stuff. More of the same. A pity, because tomorrow I will present on Triple-A brands, and some research we did, that showed that MENA region brands are more authentic than Western ones. At least in the perception of brand managers. I'll challenge the audience tomorrow with that insight. Wondering what they will see as an explanation. Will let you know.

On to some other topics to catch up. Contextual marketing. In a way, all marketing should be contextual. If you don't know the context of your audiences, you're not in marketing! Even if you think you are. But that's not the point. The point is that with active and information rich consumers, you have to basically be present with them before your actual marketing starts. Now, how do you do that? Well, that's the new contextual marketing. It kind of comes forward from the Battle for The Mind, written by Ries & Trout, stating that you have to be in any consumers' head before he/she actually thinks of buying your product. Nowadays that has become even more interesting since it is not just about top of mind and evoked setting anymore. It is about being actually present in their minds with thought leadership created by third parties. Not as in the good old ages of advertising where spending was key. Where big budgets could buy you the market. Contextual marketing goes further. It is about understanding and creating the context in which consumers will connect with your content, or the content that has been created about you. In the Brandhome method® we call this model the 4C span. We thought it was an interesting mnemonic as most people then think of a plastic explosive. But it is the 4C model that determines contextual marketing: Consumer, Connection, Content, Context. Voila. Think about that while gliding down your white slopes.

On to the next thing. Tomorrow I will also talk about how our business will change more drastically in the next 5 years than the past 50 years. Yep! Better prepare for battle since the challenge is not going to be how to get the new ideas in; it is going to be about how to get the old ones out! Chew on that tomorrow while you're sniffing up the thin oxygen on the mountain!
11.03.2013 / somewhere on a snowy mountain in Austria / 09:23 / KF

One word: shocktherapy. Marketing shocktherapy! That's what we'll need to BEAT old stuff out of the marketing community. And it's an issue. It's scary to many people to think of the brave new world. A world where marketing is complex, your actions as a marketer are measurable, and consumers are more scattered and unpredictable than ever.

1- Education needs a big shock and shape up.  
Last year I was in a panel on a marketing event, and heading up the discussion was this real old-style marketing professor. I gave him hell. We need a new breed of marketers and if education is not going to provide them, marketing will be in disarray like no tomorrow.

2- CMO awareness and radical change.  
CMOs, heads of marketing, marketing VPs, whatever the title, have an immense role to play. Being aware of the changes needed is step one; being passionate about making them happen is step 2.

3- Agency complacency needs to go.  
Equally important is the agency side. Agencies drive a lot of the comms strategies and can lead the change with their clients as well. Not easy. CEOs heading up agencies often have their heads in the sand and don't want to do things differently. They've built success the Mad Men's way, and that's how a lot of them see the future. So: be humble and change.

It may be time for a new, global marketing stewardship organization to rise to the top to deal with the change. Much like there is an international federation for advertisers. What do you think?

Now it's time to go eat some snow! Beautiful day in the mountains today. Yihhhhaaaaa....
11.03.2013 / Dubai / 18:50 / ES

Interesting thoughts. The question is: how would a marketing stewardship be organized? Did you know that P&G invented the word 'product steward' back in 1932? The idea of having a steward is interesting. Sounds like when I started with Brandhome I titled myself 'brand knowledge worker'. Thought that was a great idea. Not! Nobody understood. But, then again, general lack of understanding has its advantages too. ;)

Spoke at Dubai Lynx about Triple-A brands today. Distributed the book. Showed your endorsement ;) And launched the Triple-A index. Checkout www.triple-A-index.com! BIG success. Got invited to speak at Zayed University in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Prestige. Shall I pass it on to you?

Great interaction too! I'll send you the scores of the research we did. And the participants also filled in the scores and we had people discussing publically in front of all the rest. Great! They cancelled the rest of the session after Brandhome and asked us to stay on stage. Learned a lot about cultural marketing today too. Attended some workshops.

Back to brand stewardship. How could we craft that? Let's start at the educational side. Back to some wisdom that holds some truth, at least in the Benelux: Those who can, do; those who can't, teach. Confronting, but unfortunately, very true. It is very difficult to grab and train talent. It is even more difficult to shape talent when it has been mistreated and stuffed with out-dated ideas.

Could a 'coach' kind of principle do the job? But coaching more in the sense that we throw last-year's students in for another 'unpaid' year where they are under supervision of senior people? Or is this already not functioning now?

Or could we manage to come to a sort of 'work-yourself-around' idea. Let me explain. I once presented the idea to a HR company, world-player, to have them take over a kind of recruiting roll by hiring young graduates and then move them every 3 months across Europe to work with different brands. Kind of management development program for companies that are too small, or not international enough, or don't care...

Or could we simply change the educational system by obliging marketing students to go and work in companies, 2 days a week, or internships as of the first year?

Or should we put up a certification program for universities to assess their students every year and to see whether the students are up to date with what they have learned. I mean up to date with the 'real world' out there, instead of spending hours studying things from the past. I am not saying that marketing history is not important here; but it needs to be put into perspective.

Or should we just shut up, do nothing, and install talent programs in our companies to shape our own people as I know the large FMCGs are doing. Pepsi is doing it too I believe?

Or do we shift the approach. Meaning tomorrow we just mingle all the names of people working in marketing, HR and sales into a bucket and we pull out names. The first 30% go to marketing, the next 30% to sales, the last 30% to HR. And the 10% left over we fire to create an extra shock effect?

What do you think Snow-Spiky!?
12.03.2013 / Austria / 08:58 / KF

I'll pick up on two things:

1.Executive Marketing Coaching  
Love that idea. A personal coach that guides a marketing department through transformation by 'whispering' in a CMOs ear. That could be fruitful, because it can happen in the background and will therefore not undermine the CMOs position. Question/thought: how do you put a price on that? The equivalent of an MBA course?

2.Marketing Certification  
Just like the ISO-certifications, or the many certifications in accounting, it would be a great idea to start some sort of official / recognized marketing certification. I do believe however that it can only work if some leading companies, institutions, universities and/or marketing celebs endorse it globally. Otherwise, it is an individual effort of let's say an agency that will never really take off. Big question is: who would lead the pack?

I do think that thought leadership in general is and remains very critical. People like you and me that think outside the box, challenge the status quo and push the limit. We need to regroup with others that are similar to us, shout and...publish!

But...further to my shocktherapy, I'd say, let's lay out what a brand manager needs to KNOW and be able to DO. Submit everyone to a thorough test for a month, partially class-room-test, partially by observation, so there is no faking it or foul play. And then...goodbye to those who fail! You're fired, bitch. :-) (always wanted to write that HaHaHa). Hard, but meaningful. Only the strong survive; also in marketing!
12.03.2013 / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.03.2013 / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.03.2013 / Doha (QA) / 00:43 / ES

I pay! Just got into Doha now, was awake at 5 AM this morning, and need to be up at 5 AM again. Brain dead.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.03.2013 / Austria / 20:20 / KF

Me too. I'll pay too. Too much....

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.03.2013 / Doha / 23:59 / ES

Me again. Working around the clock now. Not even time to eat. I pay.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
14.03.2013 / Austria / 20:20 / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
14.03.2013 / Doha / 22:08 / ES

OK! I'm back. Hell of a week. 20 hours working without stopping. Starting at 5 AM here in Doha, end at 1 AM when Europe closes. What really killed me was something great. Just before leaving we launched an acquisition campaign for a customer of ours. First 24 hours the sales went 32 times over total target and the campaign did not even really start. Cannot tell you now how we did it, but I'll let you know in a couple of weeks. But I can tell you this. I knew it was going to happen! So we had to switch the entire plan over in less than 24 hours because we told the client it was not wise to stop the campaign. Not wise for the money and ROI, and not wise since you gotta ride that wave

All of that and more on top of the tight agenda here in Doha. I think I am getting old since I really feel tired now. Or is it just the travelling, 80 hour work weeks, no holidays, slightly still overweight, no time to box, no time to see my kids and wife, working in one continent when it's the weekend on the other continent, and so on...? Or am I just being chicken pussy? The job needs to be done. As I always say: your thoughts are your power.

Listen up. Just found the best hospitality brand in the world. Well, not the brand, but how it is operated and managed here. W-hotel in Doha. Top. Every single little detail has been thought about and addressed. Amazing. Dropped the CEO, Safak Guvenc, a call to congratulate him. They just gave me his mobile number! The way they interact with guests, how they comfort and treat you, want to make your stay the best. Even down to the housekeeping details? It's incredible how things are and remain in constant balance here. I could write a book about it. And you know how peculiar I am in things. Did you know that I studied hotel management too? Did I ever tell you that? When I was studying one of the rules of thumb was: general manager should speak and interview his guests himself to better run the hotel. Well, that's the case here. Also a strong internal brand culture I feel here. Have the impression that the CEO handpicked each of these hundreds of employees himself. And you see when you walk around here that the employees, perhaps better say 'colleagues', correct each other in their behavior. I want to see this CEO before I fly back to Brussels. Imagine that this guy could run a telco company this way. Or a bank. Can you imagine how that would redefine the essence of service delivery in those capex driven sectors? When you get to Doha sometime, stay in this place. You'll love it. I could live here ;0

Gotta run. Get off those skis and start writing again!"
15.03.2013 / Turracher Hohe (AT) / 07:12 / KF

32 times its target? Surprise? Bad forecasting? Sandbagging? You knew... I wonder: didn't you construct it right from the start? Like I said in the innovation section: always plan for success!!

By the way..I love W-hotels. My main experiences are with the US ones. Love the style ...modern, loungy, techy. My kinda style!

Let me pick up on something you said: your thoughts are your power. Agree man! Underestimated. I call it the conversation I have with myself - (yep, almost ready for the nut house). Your inner conversation makes a huge difference. If you wake up every morning saying 'Oh my God, another day I have to drag myself to work' then guess what? You will literary drag yourself to work. If on the other hand you tell yourself, 'I'm sure today will be another day full of cool experiences and adventures; I hope I learn a lot,' then you'll go through the day very differently. That's why I work out every morning. That's why

I never leave the house without a shower. That's why the music is pumping in my car when I drive to work. To get me in the right mindset. If I miss out on that a single day, people immediately ask me 'anything wrong?' or tell me 'we miss your usual energy'. True story. As marketers go through their careers and grow into leadership, controlling that inner conversation is crucial. We talked extensively about how important it is to showcase passion, to grab the bull by the balls....ahum...horns, to be full of energy. This is what gets it done!

On the other hand, you need to make sure you don't waste all your energy during the day. And therefore, my advice is to create pockets of calm so that you can deploy energy when it's needed. You can't be 'on' 24/7 as a human being. Good to be aware of that!

Last day of ski fun. Time flies. I've had a good week.

But now... I need a holiday. ;-)
15.03.2013 / Doha / 00:52 (so basically 16.03) / ES

It's, again, far past midnight and just wrapped up all dinners and social get-togethers. Must say that the people in Qatar are very welcoming. Tonight I met some really interesting people –all of them journalists from Al Jazeera. I asked them what makes them such good journalists: passion. They are very passionate about reporting the truth and scopes. Great.

Earlier this afternoon I saw something funny. Great advertising. Good idea from Emirates to put their brand name on the bellies of their planes. When they fly over you see the brand. Top idea. I admit to being jealous about such creativity. Respect!

Are you tired? Need a holiday? Well, I need one too. It's been since, I don't know when, that I got one. Am working 20 hours per day here, running projects across the globe from behind my laptop and Skype. Fortunately Brandhome has great people!

Regarding the campaign. NO sandbagging, bad forecast... Just a simple, single GREAT idea... and BOOM! Patience. Will return soon to that.

Another thing. Had one of my strategic consultants read Q1 of this Brand Domino book. He was very enthusiastic. Well, I am his boss of course ;) He gave me some tips about additional content he thinks we forgot to continue on in the first quarter. Will put it into the book tomorrow. Going to sleep now. Need to be up in 4 hours.
16.03.2013 / lost somewhere between Austria & Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
16.03.2013 / Doha / 00:07 (so basically 17.03) / ES

Kurt! Almost home? Below some 'suggestions' I got from my strategic guys to improve the theoretical foundations, some subjects to elaborate on, and some new subjects. I put them in italics. Pick out what you want.

_Theoretical foundations:_

_Brand premium: Being a fundamental concept, I feel 'brand premium' should be specified in more detail. Main difficulty: when discussing the components of brand premium, the term 'premium' is used interchangeably as (a) the mechanisms causing perceived premium on the demand-side of the market or (b) its market outcome for the supply-side. In other words: (a) perceived added value for consumers, its prime locus, and (b) the resulting extra rewards for producers. In the 4-component breakdown, 'service' and 'distribution' premium refer mainly to types of (a), while 'price' and 'loyalty' premium refer more to (b). This is somewhat confusing. Perhaps there could be more theoretical elaboration on different types of added value (a) that generate price, loyalty (etc.) premium, in relation to hypothetical non-branded products._

_Service as added value has been discussed well enough, and distribution premium is sort of self-explanatory. Perhaps here it is interesting to specify how service, as it is never fully guaranteeable, translates into actual brand premium (image/reputation), perhaps a segway into discussing the role of the internet as a more efficient 'new' (service)reputation infrastructure._

_Subjects that raised questions:  
Rebranding – When (not)? To what extent? Where/why do you see this more/less often?  
Internal branding – How to get an organization behaving more 'on-brand'? (your experiences)  
Research (incl brandscaping/psychographics) – How could new technology/data change the role of research in marketing?  
Agencies/outsourcing – Which aspects of marketing can often better (not) be outsourced to agencies and why_

_New subjects:  
International – Are there branding-universals that work everywhere? What should a marketer moving into a new country/context pay special attention to?_

_Niche/underdog branding – What should the smaller players in a field do differently to take advantage of their position? Which 'best-practices' of the leading brands can they better forget?_

Voila. Here's the input. Make your pick. I'll do that tomorrow too... but you FIRST ;)
17.03.2013 / Dubai / 06:14 / KF

Yes, Erik. Back in Dubai. Back in business. Although it was a tough start to the week, I have to say. Getting in bed by 2am and at work by 8:30am against a 3-hour time difference doesn't really become me. Powering through though. You just have to.

Let me start with the research topic.

I'll open by saying that research is in a state of flux in my opinion. The status quo in research doesn't work anymore. Consumer behaviour is more complex and is changing fast with a changing world around us all. We've talked about it. Consumers can't be boxed in anymore. They are largely turning into global citizens and behaving like chameleons more than ever. The result: traditional research proves to be inaccurate on many levels. One proof point of that is the massive say-do gap. Another one is the inaccuracy in business forecasting.

Like we discussed, the need for deeper understanding of consumer behaviour should be the start of marketing innovation, communication, brand storytelling, and what not. I'd question whether research, the research industry, research design and methodologies are ready to capture those dimensions.

I can see 4 root causes of this state of flux:

1)95% of all traditional research is based on INTROSPECTION (subjective reporting of behavior, by the one who is being questioned: 'do you have product xyz in your cupboard today' ... 'oh yeah'). The issue with that: a consumer doesn't really know why he/she makes choices. More than that, he often doesn't even recall well what he has chosen! The consequence: lack of clarity & research focusing on numbers instead of understanding!

2)Research quality depends on LANGUAGE... how articulate and educated a consumer (research respondent) is influences the information massively! That kind of 'noise' is not being captured in methodologies and analysis.

3)SOCIAL MEDIA and renewed respect for word-of-mouth coming with that is changing the game. What does research do with that? The marketing field is still toying with this and all the relationships between the different media are not ironed out yet... very confusing.

4)RESEARCH SAVVINESS OF CONSUMERS leads, in many cases, to them being too 'appreciative' of innovation, marketing activities/programs, etc. A continuous 90 or 95% purchase acceptance or purchase intent on a variety of concepts doesn't help decision making.

Here's what we need from research pov to bring us to meaningful business insights:

•Real consumer feedback through observation (which is better than declared behaviors, captured by most research methodologies).

•Better understanding of cause & effect between perception and sales.

•An outcome that helps de-risk marketing activities through better/sharper decisions.

•Time for new techniques and methodologies to come in and be embraced by the business world.

And maybe we need a revolution to take place in the insights/research world. Like with open innovation, we might need to move to open research, where all disciplines come together, in a truly integrated way.

Some examples of new measuring techniques (not to say that they all the solve for all problems) are:

-Psychographics and lifestyle researches

-Eye tracking

-EEG+FMRI

-Social media research

You can add on to the list.
17.03.2013 / Doha / 22:47 / ES

Welcome to your home my friend. I am flying out tomorrow at dawn from Doha back to Brussels. I love Doha. I have met so many interesting people in such a short time. For being the richest country in the world per capita, the ones I've met are really down to earth and interested in business and culture.

Let me continue on the research part. Then we can wrap that one up and catch up with the other topics and things that we need to discuss.

Research.

The first question is: do we want research to validate a decision already taken, or do we want research to really tell us something? Let me explain what I mean. Sometimes the decision has already been taken, and then research is conducted because it is "in the book" that one should do research. Or because one wants to use the research more as an internal communication/motivation tool than really learn from it. Indeed, if you can say that research has shown enormous interest, then sales people, and other colleagues, get very enthusiastic. That's the self-fulfilling prophecy we are talking about. If you really want research as an instrument to know/feel/see/hear/... what your markets are asking and/or what you could want to ask for, then it comes down to the second question.

The second question is fully in line with what you pointed out. What do we want to know and how will we know that. There are loads of research techniques, but I agree with you that the traditional ones have passed their sell by date. When you continue your research that way, then you are building a research model which is similar to this one: I fit my shoes > my shoes fit my shoebox > so I fit my shoebox. Huh? This marketer is ready for the madhouse. Unfortunately many companies and brands still do research that way. The exotic/technological forms of research, like brain scanning and blood pressure monitoring techniques, are interesting. But they will never replace a smart and sharp marketer, who can combine research, approach & methodology, with hard numbers and knows the art of data mining. I know, sometimes I am old school, but I can still do the trick. While I know that Eye Ball tracking is useful when you are designing visual identities and guidelines, or wireframing online presence tools such as websites and apps but not when you are putting an advertisement together. I'll not go deeper on all these exotic research techniques now. I will pick up on them later.

The third question is how to handle data. Data is the outcome of research in whatever form. Data comes from past, current and future research that you are doing yourself, that you gather from all kinds of third party sources: retail partners, data analysts... One of the biggest issues nowadays in marketing is the BIG DATA. We discussed it earlier. There is too much data for the systems to handle. That's why Brandhome writes what we call research platforms for our customers. These are logical structures of how you should manage, plan and stock data so that all the research, your own and that of third parties, can be used to build timelines, insights... without getting trapped into the shoe and box logic.

The fourth question is probably the most important one: can it be done, can it be researched? I have seen few big ideas being born out of market research. This also triggers the discussion about whether research, as an isolated instrument in the marketing toolbox, is still relevant. IKEA does not spend one single dime on research. Instead, they measure what their consumers do. This is the most basic form of research. It even has a name: trial and error. I don't want to strike a blow here for stopping all research and just trialling it all, just want to point out that research needs common sense.

Enough research. I'm getting bored with hearing myself write! Let's first wrap up the brand premium and service questions. You first. Make it the first thing when you get up so I can read and work on the plane please ;)
18.03.2013 / Dubai / 04:24 / KF

Gooood meurning ;-) hope the plane didn't take off yet.

Brand premium cont'd:

Here's my perspective on the theoretical foundation: brand premium is the net effect or the brand's X-factor. So it is not only brand versus non-brand as you state, but it is strong brand versus weak brand.

I don't necessarily see confusion with premium on the supply side so long as you label things differently: brand premium (consumer and lens) and premiumization (business lens). In this, premiumization means: the quest for, and the mechanics to get to a higher price resulting in higher revenue (and/or profit). Premiumization is about the efforts and the result of those of the business forcing the market to trade upwards.

And so, brand premium leads to premium brands and premiumization leads to more profit.

Here's an interesting angle. In the developed/western world the need to drive brand premium is higher than what I see here in the Middle East. And I think it has been a result, to a certain extent, of the growth of store brands' so called private label. These are value-for-money offerings where the strategy to brand premium is out of the equation! And hence, from a brand perspective, creating brand premium is a way to fight back and make a distinction between cheaper, lower quality, private labels and real A-brands.

Consumers have mental wallets where they evaluate brands and their value (not price). What you need to do strategically is get a higher % of that wallet. Then you're doing well in offering brand premium.

Great examples of brand premium can be found in the beer category, in electronics, beauty products, pet food; but also like we talked in premium waters, Starbucks, etc.

Lastly, the need to pay a higher brand premium is linked to a fundamental human need to feel and show you're doing well in life (the need for self-esteem in Maslow's pyramid). That puts brand premium in the emotional corner as compared to economization where it's all about paying-for-what-you-get, the rational angle.
18.03.2013 / Doha / 07:26 / ES

Ready for take-off. Can work on the flight and think. The moment I arrive in Brussels this afternoon I have one conference call after the other. And when I get into the office, they all want to have a piece of me. My attention, I mean ;)

I like your definition of brand premium. Let me plug into that. The 'premiumization' is what is built in my opinion on the 4 brand premium pillars: loyalty premium (mental switching cost to consumer), service premium (outperforming competition on service), distribution premium (availability & penetration) and price premium. The last can be the ability to ask more (like BMW) or to ask less (like Aldi or Dacia). So the premium pillar price can be positive as well as negative.

Let me move to the other topic: rebranding. Yep, my area of expertise. So far I have analyzed 208 of these kinds of operations worldwide. And I've done over 60 myself. I can tell you this: it is still the best kept secret in branding. Why? Because most of them are f*ck ups and nobody likes to discuss what they did and how they did it, that resulted in loss of market share. But that's another part of the discussion. Perhaps we can have that later.

There's some theoretical framework on it in our Brandhome method®: the difference between rebranding and renaming. Are they the same? NO! Based on our extensive research we devised a matrix to define which kind of situation you are facing: a renaming or a rebranding; or a rebranding including a renaming.

A **renaming** is when a brand's name changes. It is a cosmetic, tactical moment focused on creating and producing materials, following the name change and/or visual design change. Mostly it creates a perception and expectation from customers that is higher than the actual performance that will be delivered. The reason is obvious: it is about packaging your brand in a new name and and new style, but fundamentally nothing has changed. **You change your name**.

Then you have a **rebranding**. This is a fundamental change where brand content changes. It is a strategic moment of truth, confronting the organizational, structural and cultural implications of the reasons why you decided to rebrand in the first place. In essence it is about a true re-positioning of your brand. **You change their minds**.

A rebranding can be strategically as well as tactically driven, hence the naming 'tactical rebranding' and 'strategic rebranding'. A tactical rebranding is where the re-positioning only impacts marketing & communications. A strategic rebranding is a re-positioning that impacts an entire organization (hr, bizmodel, operations, finance,...). The latter is the most fundamental of all.

A renaming is always tactical. Can you do a rebranding without renaming? Yes. Look at the MINI car brand. It used to be a product name of the MINI-model in the Rover car range, but was kept by BMW when they sold Rover off. And it was upgraded, changed, broadened... but it never changed its name. The same accounts for Burberry, for example.

Some quick last ones since I need to board the plane.

Renaming is not rebranding, but a rebranding can include a renaming.

Renaming often precedes a rebranding.

When market goes down, renaming goes up; when market goes up, rebranding goes up.

Wanna know more? Buy my new book, Brandhome on rebranding. It will come out sometime after January 2015 due to confidentiality reasons of the cases we've analyzed in the past 10 years. Think rebranding or renaming? Think Brandhome!
18.03.2013 / Dubai / 06:12 / KF

So let me challenge your model.  
Just for the fun of it. Actually, no ;-)  
I mean it. Haha.

I make the following distinction

1Renaming. Change of name. All other elements remain the same.

2Rebranding. The whole proposition changes. Including the brand name.

3Repositioning. Name remains but essential marketing elements change, most importantly the positioning statement.

I deliberately separate 2 and 3 don't mix them up.

Thoughts?
18.03.2013 / Doha / 08:26 - writing live from the plane before take-off! / ES

Yes. Reads better ;) It states: rebranding can include a renaming, but that does not mean that it always actually includes one. Renaming includes a lot of work because the name and thus mostly the entire visual ID changes, and that means changing all materials, shops, and so on.

Repositioning is always an element in rebranding.
19.03.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Kurt forgot his daily domino.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
19.03.2013 / Dubai / KF

So Erik got a free night off ;)
20.03.2013 / Dubai / 22:23 / KF

Unless you care to continue rebranding as a topic, I'm going to embark on a new one that you mentioned before: International – Are there branding-universals that work everywhere? What should a marketer moving into a new country/context pay special attention to?

That's a great topic for marketers that want to work across multiple markets or are doing so now.

I've worked in many markets across Europe and MENA as you know, from Holland to Greece and Russia with everything in between and from Saudi, Iraq, Lebanon to Nigeria and South Africa and everything in between.

There are two verticals I want to touch upon to open the subject, as contexts to other related dimensions:

1your mind set as an international marketer counts

It is only human to default to what you know. And therefore it is an easy trap for a marketer to try to relate everything you know and learn about a new country, population, or consumer to home dynamics. Not good! Step number one for any good marketer is to have what I would call a sense of innocence. Keep an open mind, as if you are a child wanting to know exactly what's going on elsewhere. If you try to paint a picture of your new consumer on a blank canvas then you'll do better than those that step in with preconceived notions. This is very important and a starting point in my opinion. It's important to have benchmarks and to set hypotheses to validate, don't get me wrong. I guess you know what I mean.

2your thirst for knowledge as a marketer, as well as desire to really understand local consumers

'The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page' - I'm using this quote to hopefully make clear that you need to go out and about if you want to be an international marketer. You can read as many studies and books about a country and about consumer's habits and rituals, but the best and fastest way to learn is to just go and see what's going on. Immerse yourself in new cultures, talk to consumers in the street and in the supermarket, look around / observe. A few weeks in Saudi Arabia for instance will teach you more than months and months of reading about it behind your desk.

When you've applied these two things for a few years, you'll come to some conclusions:

UNIVERSAL TRUTHS are a reality. People are people are people. Wherever you go, work, live and market you'll find threats that apply everywhere just because they're universally true. People all want quality in some shape or form. They all want to show their peers they are doing better than them. They all strive for security and happiness, etc etc etc. Those truths are meaningful in marketing.

LOCAL RELEVANCE is a powerful brand weapon. If you keep your eyes, ears, mind and heart open, you'll find valuable nuggets that can make your brand connect to its consumers by giving it local, relevant touches. That is very important for success.

THE ECONOMY drives a lot of business dynamics. It's important to go to that 30.000 feet level and look at employment, real estate, tourism, cuisine/the restaurant business, infrastructure. A lot of businesses are dependent or linked to those dynamics. Not to be discarded. The 'big picture' can explain a lot, and determines strategy to an extent greater than what many imagine.

Look at the WEATHER. I know, that's a weird statement. But living in a country where there are two seasons (hot and extra-hot), I came to realize how important the weather is to a lot of what marketers do. The weather is probably one of the most talked about subjects in the world, in any country, in any culture. And not without a reason. Not only does it affect our days, our moods, our plans, it also affects businesses to a large extend.

Consider this fact: 70% of businesses are affected by weather! Think about it. Farming, Ski resorts...Beach clubs...Movie theatres...The beverage industry...Insurance companies...The film industry...Energy companies...Construction...and many, many more. That's trillions of dollars! And of course, the sheer agony lies in its unpredictability. This is one area where man has difficulty controlling the world. God must smile at that ;-)

These are only a few thought starters. Let's keep building. I like this topic.
20.03.2013 / Antwerp / 22:42 / ES

Top! Really love the essence of your domino today. And the simplicity in which you put it forward. It seems simple, but it is all so true.

Want to add 2 things: one on the content, one more philosophic.

1.When you come into whatever market (introduce your brand, relocate people, buy a company...), then you always have to go a lot of steps back as a marketer. No, that does not mean that you slow things down. It is mentally. Just like me and my Brandhome colleagues when we go into a remote/unknown market. We need to get a grip ASAP about what is going on. Thanks to the internet, social network, relational network, access of data, fast connections by plane... you can get a fast impression not only of the market, but more importantly how it got there. Now, this is a mistake that many businesses make, including their marketers. Coming into a market and saying: yes, I have great people on the floor, and they tell me what to do; I am only steering... well, if they are so great, then it is even easier to get your head around the situation and get a real and actual grip on what the market is, where it comes from... when you know where you come from, you know where to go.

2.Working international. Well. Just got back from a few trips, and leaving Wednesday again to Switzerland. You know: working around the globe is not easy. Being away from home, the time differences, the stress, the travelling, the coordination of projects one here on the globe, one there and so on. And Murphy who's always around to ensure that when you are in Doha, something goes wrong in the project in the US you are running too. Why this point? Well, most people talk about working around the globe, but few actually dare to do it. It adds a heavy burden on them. On the other hand, it is the most enriching experience in life. It is like your line about only reading one page of the world. I am always amazed how few young and capable people are willing to travel, work internationally and so on.

Give me your views on the latter one. Will also rethink about what you put down. Speak tomorrow my friend!
21.03.2013 / Dubai / 07:43 / KF

Ah the glorious image of the traveller. From the outside, it looks glamorous to travel the world for work, but what people don't see are the hardships that come with that: not being with your family, sleep deprivation, battling time differences, sleeping in boring hotel rooms, managing complex days (all day meetings and still a business to keep going), sometimes getting sick and powering through although you think you're dying (yep, had that too).

So, you need a modus operandus to be efficient, to enjoy it, and not to burn out. Here's mine:

TRAVEL LIGHT

Nothing worse than packing and unpacking.

WORK IN THE AIR

Best place to catch-up with email, concentrate on a presentation without being disturbed? In the plane. I make maximum use of it.

APPLY A BE HERE NOW ATTITUDE

You can't have your mind in many places. Once I'm on destination, I try to be there for 200%. Trust that things on the home front (business and personal) are covered.

GO WITH THE FLOW

Shit happens. Especially when you're travelling. From flight delays to hotel fuck-ups, to not finding your way to your destination to things elsewhere in the world going wrong. Tough luck. You have to accept that that is part of the game, and just deal with it.

ENJOY

Nothing worse than 2 days of travel for a one day meeting. When I'm travelling, I try to at least have a bit of down time to try to feel/smell the vibe of the city, have dinner with colleagues, friends, partners or catch a cultural event. A few hours of feeling like a tourist can make up for a lot of hassle of travelling. My opinion.

Travelling is also addictive. Let me tell you, when I am stationary for 3 weeks, it itches already. I need to go somewhere. I need to connect to other people, other cultures. I need to be with my teams in the field.

You can also do so much remotely, via phone calls and video conferences. So, travel becomes a necessity to do get job done right.

One piece of advice: if you don't enjoy travelling, don't accept a job that requires it. Your choice!
21.03.2013 / Brussels / 14:43 / ES

I wanted to have your opinion and ideas about the attitude of young people who are all screaming they want to work around the globe, but who cannot deal with the hardships that it entails. I would like to have your POV on this.

Let me tell you what my experience is. Asked one of my guys (smart, young, talented): you want to work on project XYZ abroad? Answer: yes, but no, but I have private obligations that week etc etc. Q: Still around at Brandhome? A: No. But I have seen it many times in the past. Don't know whether it is a Belgian kind of thing (that would surprise me since you and me are Belgians), or more a global thing. I miss the eagerness and passion that once was part of Western Europe. Compare it with the drive in the AMENA regions, and then you see we are lagging behind. What's your POV with this? Are youngsters now stupid and lazy or what!?

About travelling. Let me add some tips.

USE THE NIGHT

-fly as much as possible during the nights

-go and run 30 minutes before you take-off or upon arrival; manages your jet-lag

-sleep on the plane; learn to sleep in 'pieces' of hours (siesta's)

USE WEEKENDS

-travel as much as possible during WE's

-saves you time; e.g. I fly to Dubai on Friday or Saturday night; so I arrive next day in the morning and can work entire day; note that WE in the MENA is Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday

EAT AND DRINK

-drink enough water

-eat in a strict regime (healthy)

-don't drink alcohol; since I don't drink any alcohol at all, no problem for me

PENNY-WISE POUND-FOOLISH? NO THANKS!

-fly business, pick a good business hotel, have local transport arranged

-that way you can get utmost out of your travel time

All of our tips together make sure that you can 'double-dip' the time and output out of your trip.

Help me out with your POV on attitude of youngsters.
22.03.2013 / Dubai / 08:42 / KF

Nice travel tips. And yes, we have a good list when we put it all together.

With regard to young professionals: my opinion is clear: you need to separate the good from the bad. The good have the skills, the potential and ... the right attitude! If those 3 are not in check, then tough luck. End of story. In whatever situation - career in general or international/special assignment opportunities.

I'll be honest, I have seen excellent and talented marketers in my career in Europe and here in the M.East, in the last 20 years. Maybe the good represent only 20% of the marketer community, but in the end those are the people that do the heavy lifting. And isn't that the case in any situation? They can't all be stars and high potentials. Guess we have to live with that. But seriously, lots of people that I meet really want to go places. They want to go the extra mile. [Maybe it IS different than in Belgium. Belgium is such a micro-cosmos (or should I say microscopical cosmos) that it's pushes them not to look outside -don't know.] When I travel around to different countries, I meet a lot of young grads that have big ambitions, are well educated and have passion. In this part of the world, a lot of them have lived in many places already, and are therefore much more world citizens than the average European is. And therefore mobility is higher here.

But in general, over time, yes, the willingness to be a soldier for the company or job is less than in the olden days. In a way, the younger generation is smarter than us. We worked like dogs, ready to compromise life for our job and career. They don't. Smart, I say. In the bigger scheme of things, there are a lot more important things in life than money, job, career, ... RIGHT? Maybe we need to adapt as well.

Net, net, find the happy few that are willing to do more than expected and hold on to them; tight. The rest will remain...well, 'the rest' :-)
22.03.2013 / Antwerp / 15:30 / ES

Yep. Interesting discussions last days. Yep, we need to play the game hard. No room for disaster or commitment if you want to steer brands globally.

Brings me to another topic: saying goodbye. We have been working for a couple of years now for a marvellous brand. Let's call it brand X. But it has been in restructuring ever since. Result: loads of good people went away, few are still around, extreme cost pressure... but no sense of urgency. Result: company seems to be paralyzed. The few good people that want to move ahead are still fighting the market, inside and outside. But in a way they are dragging a dead horse. Is there a clash? Shall I stay or shall I go? Meaning: What is the right moment to leave? I have the feeling that with the enormous chaos at that company and full lack of governance whatsoever, we cannot add a lot of value for the moment any more. I am still very enthusiastic about the potential of the brand and the company, and was there the past few years when major successes have been scored. I still believe, but in the past few months I don't see things moving forward. Nothing to do with Brandhome, but due to the fact that we cannot add any value is my feeling. It is a kind of status quo 'stuck-in' situation we have ended up in.

As you know my belief is to move ahead and never hang around if you don't add any value. Then before you know it, you become part of the problem instead of the solution. It's been going on now for couple of months: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Einstein's' definition of insanity. (Piet and Repeat were on a boat, Piet fell out. Who was left?....)

The good thing about moving away is oxygen. and feeling good that you have made a transparent choice. When we see no added-value in what we do, we move out. The other thing is of course loss of business, but that is all together not that bad since we are hardly making any profit on it anymore. Why? Because of the situation in that company the cost of doing business has become so high that it eats up all the profits. But what annoys me is the feeling that I let some people down that are still fighting a harsh battle for that company and its brand.

I can tell you this about X. It's a big company, has loads of potential, but got stuck into this kind of lethargy that sneaks into places. You can't even blame one person for it.

The feeling has been eating at my brain for a couple of weeks now. Thought it was a good opening now to

\- ask your POV on it

\- continue the discussion about how and when you know/need to get out of markets you are operating in

Shoot!
23.03.2013 / Dubai / 09:24 / KF

Tough one. I can see you are stuck between a rock and a hard place: the commitment to stay and help; and the principle of stepping out when it's meaningless to hang on. Agree.

Here's my advice on how to handle this:

1Clarify your intent  
I always find it a pity if a supplier/consultant/agency fades out and then when you speak to them later on, informally, they tell you what was really on their minds. You've got nothing to lose. Ask a favor from the company to have an interview with the relevant person(s) and tell them about what you observe, what you would do in their shoes ...no one will say no to listening to free advice especially when it's heartfelt and with good intent for the business. Or write it up in a white paper. It's like a relationship or marriage. Tell them you are 'forced to leave because of irreconcilable differences'. One of two things might happen: they might be shocked and awed and take your feedback seriously and act on it; or they don't give a shit. In which case, good riddance to bad rubbish.

2Put forward a measure of last resort  
Do a last project, a last proposal, a make-or-break deal. Determine what you want the outcome to be, and if you hit it, then great. If not, get out -for good.

Make sense?

Hey - want to get your perspective on something else. Something interesting: brand warfare. The battlefield. Last line of defence. How to fight back. Let me explain:

Imagine the following situation. You are the incumbent player. Comfortably sitting in the market place for 30 maybe 50 years, growing the market/category, and enjoying a great brand reputation. Then, disruption. A smaller player sees the market you created as a meaningful place, comes with a great brand story and reasonable quality product in the market, and starts taking some of your market share. At first, as the big player you don't do much since you don't want to waste resources on the small fish in the pond. But then, 10% of you market is gone. Oops. Then what?

Seems like such an obvious case, but let me tell you, it happens more often than not and a lot of marketers don't know what to do in such as situation. They start pumping more money in meaningless places thinking that is the salve, but that's not really right.

Let's think through this and make a game plan. No, actually a 'war plan'.

Step 1 - make a case for defence  
However big you might be, at some points the alarm bells need to go off, and you need to go into defensive mode, protecting what you've built. An important factor in that mindset is pointing out to others what the IMPACT is of not defending. How much market share might you lose? How much money does that represent (now and in 5 - 10 years; revenue and profit)? How much brand equity might we lose? How many loyal users might switch to the other side? ETC. Put all of that in a story and you have a compelling case to take the right, radical action, carried through the company.

Let's build on that...
23.03.2013 / Antwerp / 15:45 / ES

"Thanks for the tip regarding brand X. I've got a meeting with the CEO next week before I leave for Switzerland. Will discuss with him.

Back to brand warfare.

Tip 1 -addition

Always make sure that you have a shadow plan. Unfortunately few companies and brands have it. And put hard kpi's in place. Use inductive and abductive analysis to pin them down.

Tip 2 -change part of team

Fighting guerrillas (to give the new entrants another name) requires other skills and insights. The corporate snobbism that often goes hand in hand with market leadership is what you need to kill. Often marketers of big brands in big markets have become so arrogant that they either don't see it coming, or don't want to face reality. And start putting money in stupid places, in stupid ways... Look at the Belgian energy incumbent Electrabel. They have really f*cked up big time. So arrogant that they misjudged the liberalization of the Belgian market so badly and their marketing strategy actually grew their competitors! They dug their own graves!! Will come back to that later on in this Domino.

Tip 3 -create sense of urgency

There is nothing that breeds failure as much as success. Create the urgency and put the marketing teams under stress. Yes, STRESS. F*ck all the bull shit of not telling or pushing people around. Just push the button and tell them how late it is.

Tip 4 -keep close management control

Both control by the management as on the management itself. In essence brand warfare means battle stations - whether we like it or not. Wake 'em up and keep 'em up! If they had stayed awake, there would be no war. At max, just a small incident easily resolved.

Tip 5 -identify change agents, internally & externally

Make sure you have identified some change agents, or better said 'marketing & brand' detectives. Inside and outside the company e.g. the strategic director of your agency... or the person that you have replaced him with. Why? The problem is not how to get the new thoughts in, but to get the old ones out. And therefore you need to ensure that when business is under pressure, you don't keep doing more of what you are used to doing, but do it differently and do different things. And that's, my friend... very difficult for most people.

You're next!"
24.03.2013 / Dubai / 08:35 / KF

Quick one today. I'm in the office early. I have to wrap up a quarterly business review for our CEO.

**Tip 6** \- Consider Role Play. Done this a few times, and it always brings interesting perspectives. It's simple: divide your marketing, sales, insight, ops and HR people [maximum amount of departments helps for this] into 2 teams: one for the company, one for your competitor. Goal of the exercise: play to win. Give them at least a day, but preferably multiple days. Off-site. Both camps need to come with a viable strategy to win, on either side. First to be presented separately, then to each other. The great thing is that with modern information systems you can go a long way in understanding your competitor's approach, vision, portfolio strategy, new launches, even innovation pipeline, and importantly: financials. (The investor section of any corporate website has amazing information!!). Works even better if you have a few ex-employees of your competitor in the office :-)

**Tip 7** \- Review and improve competitive intelligence. Be a watchdog. Keep two eyes on the competition. Daily. For that, you need specific, targeted resources in place. And you CAN NOT divert it to your PR agency. You need people that understand your business and that therefore know WHAT to look out for.

**Tip 8** \- Reward competitiveness. A sales guy that is able to kick out a competitor from a retail outlet is just doing his job in regular times. But when the heat is on, sales people need to get at it! Reinforce that behavior!

Gotta run ...
24.03.2013 / Antwerp / 18:45 / ES

In the office early? 8 AM? I call 6 AM more like in the office early ;)

Let me finish up with 2 last tips:

Tip 9 - Confuse competition

Big companies are predictable. Your new competitors know that too. So if you accept that, and play it the other way around, it gives you a strategic edge to play ball: confuse the market. Do it in numerous ways: from 'leaking' a fake idea or announcement, to actually doing the opposite... to leaking questions about your competitors... so that they get the questions.

Tip 10 - Buy them

Perhaps not the most marketing savvy solution, but if you can't beat them, buy them or join them... and sometimes destroy them from the inside.

I was thinking to discuss service again as an important marketing tool, but it is so boring and we already touched on it many times. Or you need to go and discuss the extreme examples such as how the casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas keep you going (read: betting and playing) by offering you services such as free hotel nights, food and so on. That pushed me to another topic: branding unreality; branding a dream. And there we are. A subject you and I have already announced a couple of times: how to brand a lie; or a dream? or is it the same?

The bets are open. Since I don't drink or bet, the opening roulette is yours! ;)
25.03.2013 / Dubai / 08:32 / KF

I have a life, thank you very much :-)

_How to brand a lie; or a dream? or is it the same?_

I don't even know what that means ... you keep coming back to that and I honestly don't see the relevance of it. So let me break it down:

1 - Branding or marketing a lie.

Is that a politician that doesn't know anything about politics (like Sarah Palin running as Vice President for McCain)? Is that saying your product will give you instant weight-loss while it's not? Is it banks that promise high returns knowing the market will collapse? I have never been confronted with a situation where I had to create or support a 'lie' -Thank God. In a normal business, there is a self-organizing principle that prevents that ...if everyone is geared up to do the right thing in sync with consumer wishes, then there should be no lying involved. Cars are portrayed with what they can do in terms of performance, mobile phones sell their benefits, and so on.

2 - Selling a dream.

Different story. In marketing our job, most often, is to SELL THE DREAM and sell it big. The pathway to getting incremental brand value is to make the brand desirable, wanted by having it be aspirational. The image the user has of the brand is why a lot of brands get bought. It goes way beyond functional and rational arguments. Case in point: luxury goods and fashion. You don't buy Louis Vuitton just because of the quality, you don't buy a Ferrari because it's fast, you don't wear a Breitling watch just to check the time. You do all of that to tell others what you are made of, what you like, what you have achieved, where you stand in social circles. To all of that, marketing contributes. No doubt. Selling the dream. Adding the fluff. Putting people on an imaginary cloud. Nothing wrong with that. I'll tell you why: Because it is sold as a dream, and not as reality. It is not about deception, it is not about lying. Most consumers know very well they pay a premium when they stay in Ritz-Carton, or lease a Hummer, or read Wallpaper, or buy a VIP ticket at a concert or go to the Maldives on holiday.

Where do you stand on this?
25.03.2013 / Goes (NL) / 08:42 / ES

It's a start ;)

Indeed, what I wanted to touch on is what we could call branding the impossible. This accounts for both: branding the lie (negative approach) and branding the dream (positive approach).

Let's start with branding the lie. As you correctly stated, it often happens in personal branding, be it a politician or a CEO or whoever. In essence you want to tell a totally different story about an individual than what is completely true. It is like blowing up the HALO-effect into ridiculous proportions. I have a lot of experience in this area, so I can tell you: mostly, it's a lie. I have only met and worked with a very few of these kinds people who are truly not a lie.

But this also happens too often in commercial life. Happy to hear that at Pepsi this is not the case. I also believe that this is because the company is so big and professional with marketing. But trust me: there are others, many others. I think your bank example is clear, but since it is more a coincidence and a result, it is difficult for them to change. Hence, a major chunk of any retail bank business model is turning the investment wheel, not knowing anymore what they are really selling. Unacceptable, I agree, but still widely out there.

You know what drove me to the create the Triple-A philosophy some years ago? Countless times I was confronted with briefings and assignments where it was put so bluntly forward that we needed to invent a 'lie', something to 'trick' customers. Don't want to do this bullshit anymore. Don't want to burn shareholders money for such stupidities and put a company at risk. I can imagine that it sounds strange to you due to the highly professional and skilled environment you are in, but believe me. It exists and it's out there.

Branding the dream. I have nothing more to add to what you put down. That's pretty straightforward and in line with my beliefs on what branding should be. An imaginary belief system that creates a desire.

What's next?
26.03.2013 / Dubai / 07:53 / KF

Total swing of subject, and catching up on something we said we'd talk about: Mindmapping. Love. Love. Love!

For those who don't know, it is a drawing that helps you visualize connections between ideas. You put the central idea in the middle and then branch it out to what you find logical streams of thought, and you keep doing that until you have "unpacked" everything and connected related items.

I have used it professionally and in my private life for the last 15 years or so. First of all, I am visually inclined, so it's logical that I love this kind of approach. In one page I can lay out a whole story, however complex it might be.

Mindmapping comes with great advantages.

Great synthesis.

What a simple and awesome way to get down to the point, to lay out a storyline in a simple form, to get to an 'elevated speech' level of understanding.

Lays out pain points.

Because you are constantly connecting the dots, you reveal where things might go wrong. Very useful.

Easy to memorize.

For me, it helps memorize a complex story or a presentation I need to give. Because you worked through it, you sort of take a mental picture of the mindmap and therefore you can easily retrieve it.

It's an art and as with any art it takes practice. So, my advice: start now, and don't stop. Use it over and over again and it will become easy and natural. It is now my default way of taking notes in meetings. Ask my team, they always laugh their asses off with my funny drawings (yesterday, in an hour long workshop for instance) ...but afterwards they ask for a copy! Enough said.

Your experience?
26.03.2013 / Middelburg / 10:03 / ES

Mindmapping: love, love, love, love. I have 5 different mindmap tools on my laptop. One that is just for me; funny stuff. One that's ideal to use for projection during workshops. One that is best fit to use lots of images. (Handy for creative brainstorms!). One that is exportable to PPT. One that is still around and that I am not able to delete. It keeps coming back!

I will continue on your pathway.

_consultant killer_

Great mindmap software. A bit of common sense turns everyone into a consultant. Did you know that almost 35% of all consulting jobs done and value delivered come from consultants just 'structuring' problems. Mindmappings are a great tool to replace that.

_conversation starter_

In essence a mindmap is a conversation starter for many meetings, discussions, etc. Same as the good old flipchart, but easier to use. Start drawing, start discussing, etc

_looks at your way-back_

I find a mindmap project, and surely when you look back at different versions, an interesting tool to see and understand how you got there. Why is this important? As the saying goes: The secret of the future is buried in the past. Sometimes, in the end, you miss out, and mindmapping structures allow you to dig back fast and at the right level.

But there are some disadvantages. Sometimes there is too much drawing and mapping and too little thinking. Or because people are used to PPT slides instead of a drawing. Or because when co-creating and presenting a mindmap people tend to miss the bus since it goes fast, top lines, etc.

Yes! I love it!

But tell me... why do you need it in private life? Is yours that complicated?
27.03.2013 / Dubai / 05:35 / KF

My private life is a single minded string of fun and excitement :-) no mind map needed! Haha. No, I need it for my writing. When I write a young adult novel, it is the ultimate tool to craft the narrative. So I have papers and papers with little drawings and links between characters. Lovely. Too bad I threw a lot away after my first books were finished. Wish I'd kept it -as memorabilia. Anyways.

I have a question on my mind: co-branding. What are the right approaches, strategies, watch-outs? I made a statement to our CEO this week in a heated discussion: 'Co-branding should be strategy, not tactical or just a chance to jump on an easy opportunity!' Where do you stand on that?
27.03.2013 / Geneva (CH) / 12:03 / ES

Oh. Co-branding. Co-advertising. Co-promotion. Co-creation. Co-deployment. Co-X. Welcome to the science of alliance. How 1 + 1 = 3 and not 0 or -1.

I'll just touch on the first 3 since they are mostly related. Co means joining efforts between different parties. At least 2. In our Brandhome method® we created a model to identify what you are talking about. Is it co-branding? Is it co-advertising? Or is it co-promotion (or joint promotion)? We call it the Brandhome cooperative forms® model.

There are 3 axes. Each of the axis holds a parameter that is important for brand and business reasons.

axis 1:shared value creation  
> how much value do you incrementally create when collaborating  
> from low to high

axis 2:duration  
> how long will the collaboration run  
> from very short to long time to... eternity

axis 3:risk  
> what is the mutual risk involved; e.g. in case things would go wrong  
> from low to high

When the 3 parameters are long term, high shared value, high mutual risk, then you are not talking about any co-x. Then you are talking about brand joint ventures and brand alliances. Read: you probably will stay together for a very long time, even become a merged brand in time.

When expected duration is mid-term, and risk and value creation are average, then you are in a co-branding situation.

When duration is short (max. 1 year), and both value creation and risk are low, then you are just co-advertising. When duration is ultra-short (couple of weeks) then it's co-promotion.

Not going deeper into theoretical things.

Yes, co-branding is a strategic choice... with consequences. It is about mutually building and strengthening each other's brands. It's about building brands, resulting in sales of course, or other business upsides for both brands.

Co-advertising and co-promotion, that's about driving sales.

So you're right!

By the way. Remember brandscaping? Discussed that last quarter. That's a great tool to define which brand to co-brand and co-ad with.

Anything else?
28.03.2013 / Dubai / 06:00 / KF

Seems like the Brandhome method® has all the answers! Awesome. I have to say, I'm impressed.

I like the 3 axes model, but I'd throw in a few more elements to help give direction when it comes to co-branding:

1-Level of complexity. Some co-branding choices and solutions are simple in nature, others are highly complex. I think that determines to a large extent what kind of leap of faith you have to take in making the relationship between brands happen. That complexity is driven by many factors, from the balance of power between the players/partners to the geographical presence to the financial discussions. You can either keep it simple and take principle decisions; or get tangled in a real mess. I know.

2-Business appetite. Let me tell you the reality of the matter. There are a lot of logical brand partnerships that never happen, even though talks happen, merely because one of the businesses has no appetite for it. End of story.

3-Local vs global. Merging two local brands: easy, quick, cheap. Merging two global brands: very, very difficult. You need a lot of heavy weight in the game, from the people that talk, to the layout of the strategy, to the legal documentation, to complex financials. And that's when the discussion about 'Is it part of a long term strategy?' becomes so important. In that case it is a real marriage...with a loooooot of strings attached!

4-Top-to-top to screw it up? ;-) lots of the big talks happen by big people that don't know what the hell they are talking about. Warning bells should go off when CEOs want to get involved. Hey, it's their prerogative. But if you're sitting a few echelons lower doing a marketing job, you'd better think along and help inform people higher up the food chain about what they are up against.

How do you throw that in the Brandhome method®?? :-)
28.03.2013 / Geneva / 08:13 / ES

What you correctly point out are process issues that arise and happen everywhere and every day. Indeed, sometimes, mostly at the top-level, thinking/discussion things seem very obvious, but when you get some levels down and closer to implementation, you see that things aren't that obvious.

Now, that's just why the Brandhome method® was created in the first place! The issues arise because the different actors at all levels and in time perspectives don't have a clear, or at least not the same, view on the consequences of some decisions. So yes, the Brandhome method® has the means to direct and make complex processes transparent. And let's admit it, marketing and branding are complex matters if you take them seriously. Stand alone, it's already no walk in the park, nevermind what happens when you start involving other brands. That makes the job even more complex.

Can we get back to the branding of governments? Why are all images of governments dull or boring. You start!
29.03.2013 / Dubai / 05:34 / KF

GVA -what brings you there? My wife and kids are just flying to Geneva for Easter. Say hi ;-)

Politicians ...don't get me started. First of all, my belief: politicians are idiots. Most of them have been in pursuit of their political career based on either legal studies or affinity to politics in their family. They don't know how the world turns, how businesses operate, what employment and unemployment really means. Once comfortably seated in their burgundy fluffy seat with the green quasi-antique elite lamp in front of them, they de-humanize into a race of their own. I lost interest and trust in politics loooong time ago.

That brings me to reason #1 of why their campaigns are stupid and boring: they are not marketers. Therefore they don't know how to have relevant, breakthrough, meaningful conversations with their target constituents. I would argue that because they are so much driving their agenda, they don't have a genuine listening strategy. They should approach politics as marketing and themselves as a brand with all the building blocks in place. The one man that is on the path to getting that right is President Obama. Respect.

Second reason is their mission. Mostly, their goal is to win a next election, project an image of trust and relationship with constituents. That's a means to something bigger, but they don't have that. And I don't consider the 'illusion' of political parties - democrats, socialists, - as viable. The only ones that pursue something bigger are the green parties. But then again, they for sure don't know jack about marketing themselves as aspirational, powerful, and possibly interesting.

What say you?
29.03.2013 / Geneva / 08:38 / ES

Tell your wife she drops me a SMS when she get's to GVA. Charged agenda here, but who knows. On the other hand, she and your daughters are looking to relax, far away from the old man Kurt. So they better also stay away from his friends ;)

Back to the subject. I meant the image of governments in general. And how it reflects on the image of the country. But let's start with politics, then move into governments and then to country branding. That'll keep us busy until the 31st of March, the historical date on which we will be closing down the second quarter of brand domino.

Politics. Let's go. I'll talk from a Belgian perspective. Hope you forgive me.

Let's start with a 'funny' one. Belgium holds the world record in formation of the current government: government negotiations and formation took a total of 541 days, breaking the world government formation record of 249 days, previously set by Iraq in 2010. Small anecdote: the winner of the elections, New Flemish Alliance, is not even in that new government. So much for democracy and the power of the voters. So yes, Belgium is no democracy. It is dominated by old political forces that go back generations. Yep, that's why most international companies are slowly but surely closing down. Take the European HQ out of Brussels tomorrow, and Belgium remains an empty shell.

Then we have President Hollande. Yes, the man widely known for shouting out loud all kind of idiocies on taxations and equality. Well, here is a message for him: thank you. All rich French people just left for Belgium and are now supporting the Belgian economy. Indeed. Don't go to France because you work for Mr. Hollande and his Brady bunch.

Then the 2 smartest in Europe. Luxembourg and the English. Yep. Think what you want, but they are the ones to turn to. In a smart and sharp way they handpick only the nice little green apples from the socio-economic bucket. Respect.

Then we have the 'best kids in class'. Germany and Holland. Always paying for all the rest. Well... no comment.

And then we have the Italians, the Spanish and the Greek. All their black money is in Switzerland, and the rest of Europe (except for the English) can pay the bill. Not peanuts: billions of euros.

Well. This is Western-Europe in a nutshell when you talk to the world. Not the best image to deal with is it?

What you think?
30.03.2013 / Dubai / 08:20 / KF

Hahaha... this is cracking me up. It's exactly how I explain Europe to people here.

So let's ladder it up to governments and countries...

First let's establish if and how the image of the government reflects on the country. The answer is a loud YES! I'd even take it a step further. It also reflects on the people of that country. Let me explain with a real-life example. Two years ago when our 'monkey country' Belgium (that how I've come to call it) was without a government for-like-ever, you can not believe the commentary I got from colleagues and Arab friends that picked up stuff in the papers here in the Middle East. And imagine Belgium is a dot on the map. And that shit gets covered in the papers. The fact that our governments are a mess, separation is imminent (Of course not! Walloons and Flemish have been fighting forever. I don't see that changing.) Politicians do stupid things, our crown prince looks like a dead stiff creep and his brother cares more about his dogs than the country and what not. How do you think that reflects on me as Belgian citizen??

Second, what key marketing and branding decisions should be taken for government to positively influence their countries image?

...a/ One voice!

Imagine the leadership of a big company coming forward with different options, theories...

...b/ Think about reach

I have the impression that politicians haven't heard about the 'flat world'. They talk as if everything will stay contained in their city or country. Get real!

...What else?
30.03.2013 / Geneva / 11:58 / ES

Let's continue on the image of the government, and then tomorrow we can close down the 2nd quarter on country branding.

Why are, at least European Governments, so bad in branding and marketing? Well they are over-democratized... and that's the problem: branding and marketing are NOT democracies!

But the bad image goes further than just the unprofessionalism of people working on marketing and communication functions at governmental level.

We should not generalize, but I can tell you that the Belgian officials working in key marketing and communication positions are the worst I have ever seen in my life. Not to mention the extreme corruption since most of them are 'allies' that serve politics rather than community. Brandhome almost never ever participates in governmental projects. Compared to the level of their Dutch peers they score approximately 2 out of 10. That makes things clear I suppose.

Coming back to why the over-democratization leads to bad country image. Democratization has become the excuse to talk straight what is wrong. The difference between right and wrong has become totally unclear. Child molesters and rapists are considered 'individuals' that should receive care. Murders did it because they had a bad youth. And kidnappers and other criminals just didn't get enough to eat, or wanted a new car!?

The entire political system as well as the long tail of the legal system (the judges that have been named by political powers a long time ago) is massively f*cked up. How can you explain this to any individual that has just a bit of common sense? Right. You can't. And that is what is creating extremism and what creates the entire system default Europe is now stuck in.

Makes me puke just to write about it. Let me quickly wrap up. We discussed the political branding. Quickly touched on why governmental branding and marketing will always be bad as long at there is, as you correctly stated, not 'one voice'; with 'one interest' serving community.

Now, tell me. How do you look back at our 'heimats' (~homelands in German), Belgium, and partly The Netherlands, since we are both married to a Dutch woman; how do you look back after being away for so long?

And do you agree with me that Belgium should send its leaders out of the country, far way out of their 'self-developed' (even self-inflicted) environment so they can look at things from a distance?"
31.03.2013 / Dubai / 18:09 / KF

Erik, you nailed it!. Hit the nail right on the head! So here's my two cents:

How do you look back after being away for so long? Well, let me put it this way, Belgium is not an option for the future for me...too narrow minded and too small. Holland is attractive as a new 'heimat'! How bad is that? Seriously? I feel embarrassed for the Belgian government. And, having lived in another and metropolitan environment, for me that door is closed. The impact of a country's image.

You said, 'Do you agree with me that Belgium should send its leaders out of the country, far way out of their 'self-perceived' environment so they can look at things from a distance?'

Good idea in essence, but I wonder whether people like that can stretch their minds. I do see the advantage ...once you really immerse yourself in other cultures, environments, you do see things differently.

But hey, it can get worse. I mean, look at the Middle East. Egypt is in a disastrous time because of government in pursuit of their own agenda, screwing over 80 million people in the process. Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Libya, Sudan...pfff...what a situation.

To understand what goes wrong, look at one of my favorite movies: The Dictator. Hilarious. It's one big joke of course, but there are elements of truth in there!

This subject is clearly not my thing. We need to go back to hardcore marketing topics. Otherwise we'll bore our readers.

I have another subject for us...

Tiny marketing budgets: how to make the best of them?

Some initial suggestions:

*KEEP IT SIMPLE!

*Get as close as possible to your clients/consumers

*Create real fans... Create a few loyalists, 1 at a time, and give them a voice/platform to share it with their communities.

*focus on and collect sales

On a tiny budget, word-of-mouth is your biggest win!
31.03.2013 / Lyon (FR) / 19:03 / ES

My dear friend. I fully agree with you.

Let me share a couple of things with you on this last day of our Q2 Domino!

1.Congrats with your birthday in 2 days! Better to tell you now, I may forget on the day.

2.I am sick of Belgian politics and I just decided for myself that one day I will run for President to fix it; but not right now.

3.I have something urgent > our online team launched a FB page with tips how NOT to seduce girlfriends > check it out > 12.000 likes in less than 24 hours > I need to speak to the press now (www.facebook.com/WeetjesWaarJeGeenGrietenMeeKanScoren?ref=stream)

This is it for Q2!

Suggestions to start off with tomorrow: how young kids (4 yrs old) get confronted with stuff that you and I only knew when we were 12 yrs old.

See you in Q3!
01.04.2013 / Dubai / 07:36 / KF

Tell me about it! Was just having a chat about that with a colleague. He went on holiday, where his 13-year old son shot a lot of footage. They came back, and guess what: a day later his son had made a semi-professional movie of their trip, music, sfx, and everything included. Kudos. Very representative of the way things are now. When my youngest daughter was 1.5 years old she could operate an iPad. My kids don't want to use a regular phone to connect, no, they want to Skype with grandma and grandpa. My consumption of batteries has increased tenfold since I have kids...do they still make toys that don't make noises, have moving parts, are interactive or educational?

It's incredible how times have changed indeed. Add to that another 10 years, and in my kids's case 20 years (when they graduate and go look for jobs), and wow! That'll be something. What will it look like, do you think? Meetings through holograms? Virtual offices? No more computers but glass projections wherever you want? A phone built into the palm of your hand (see Total Recall -2012 edition), eating supplements instead of real food? Controlling your car with your mind? All of that...and more we can't even dream of!

I still remember me sitting at home in my early teens with a CB (no one knows what this is these days, so let me explain: it was a short-distance radio communications device that operates within the 27-MHz band; I could talk to random people or friends with a CB radio without a phone ...that was revolution for me). I felt like a million bucks!

Got my first Atari computer at age 15 (By the way, that was 1986). Man...that was so cool! I could literary do nothing with it, but it felt like I could program the world with it!

First cell phone in a car, I got it when I was 24 ...a monster 'unit' attached to the car with a cable attached to the phone. But I was 'mobile' ahead of many others. Top of the world!

All these have evolved so much, so rapidly it is scary. And it takes us, old buggers, a lot of effort to keep up, whereas our kids sort of have it in their veins. For us it was revolution for them it's all just part of life as we know it.

Right?
01.04.2013 / Geneva / 21:13 / ES

Miscalculated myself yesterday. Q2 of Domino is just the end of this month. I could start finding excuses and telling you that it was an April 1st joke but, that's not true ;) As a matter of fact, keeping within our context of the discussion, I had to explain to my little daughter today what a Fool's day hoax is. When we were young and media was slow, we could generate some real buzz with April 1st jokes.

My favorite is this one:

_In 1957, the BBC News show 'Panorama' showed footage of Swiss farmers harvesting pasta from trees, thanks to the elimination of the annoying 'spaghetti weevil' pest. Hundreds of people phoned the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. The BBC reportedly replied, 'Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.'_

What I find amazing is how Google, since 2000, has successfully fooled millions of people with great Google Hoaxes. Including today the Google Nose.

Back to our discussion. Your angle is the new tools and stuff that they grow up with. Indeed. You can't and should not stop that. But let's look from 2 different angles. Perhaps slightly more negative ones:

1.Virtual can't replace a real playground

2.Is the definition of being young changing

Virtual cannot replace a playground. I remember when I was young, we played for days and days outside. Some wood from trees, and a good portion of own imagination and creativity was enough to turn this wood into imaginary swords, arrows, tree huts... and so on. It is a discussion between active and passive, and about creativity. I remember a friend of mine telling me that it has been proven that children that have fewer toys are more creative than kids who have a lot of toys.

Today, they sit inside, and at the age of 4, demand to be entertained?

And then there is the information availability. What my 5 year old daughter, and my 2 year old, sometimes tell me, about love, sex, passion, weapons, killing... it surprises me. When we were that age...

I know you know what I mean, so I'll quickly cut through the cake:

-Is being young not being young anymore? Has the definition changed?

-What about the 'nurturing' and growing of innocent creativity? Has that come to an end now?

Now, could a brand pick on perhaps this more traditional approach to position itself? I find it a difficult mix between my marketer brain that says 'ease selling...ease selling...' and my idealism as a father. What is your POV?
The-day-I-turned-44-still-feeling-18 / Dubai / 08:42 / KF

You know what they say: 'The Creative Adult Is A Child Who Survived!' ...that will disappear. All creative children will survive, I think. Children today are getting stimuli on so many more fronts than we had back in the day, that makes them better, smarter, wittier, solid. I am hopeful about the future. Our kids will solve cancer, world hunger, political instability, poverty, food imbalance, the greenhouse effect and much more. They'll have the tools for it. The tools and the brains that people in the past or present don't have.

Enough preaching for today ;-)

There are some really interesting TRENDS we can distil from what's going on with youth and technology, and their implications for marketers and brands. Let's talk about that!

Trends:

-Kids getting older younger

-Kids getting more intelligent faster

-The world is an open-source knowledge center

-What else?

Marketing implications:

-Kids getting older younger: moving audiences. You may have marketed to 16-18 year olds, but that behavior now sits with a 13 year old, and your 17 year old bulls-eye consumer might behave like a 2O year old back in our days. These things need to be validated and revalidated every couple of years now. And therefore, social similarity is more important than demographics (see our discussion on that earlier in the book).

-Kids getting more intelligent faster: you can't trick them anymore. Trick might be the wrong word. I see it when we do research with youngsters. 2O years ago you could tell them a nice, fluffy marketing story and get away with it. Not anymore! Today, they come in, not only with a strong personality and attitude, but with a serious bag of knowledge and intelligence as well. Just to make a point: my eldest daughter learned about the planetary system, the moon landings, the universe when she was 5. She could talk for hours about Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11, how a space suit is made, how the first step on the moon happened, and so on. Man, that blew my mind away. We learned about that stuff in even less infinite detail when we were teenagers! Just saying.

-The world is an open-source knowledge centre: Google keeps us honest! There is no more bullshitting. Facts can easily be checked. Knowledge is ubiquitous and free to all, instantly available whenever and wherever you want. Thank you, Google!
02.04.2013 / Geneva / 10:16 / ES

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! My FB, my SKYPE, our Brandhome CRM... all these tools already 'told' me yesterday that you were turning 44! Congrats my friend!

I see the positive side of things too, and I also see the impact it will/could have on society, but on the other hand, from a more psychological side, one should watch out and don't generalize. Let me challenge the origins of what you are saying. Not to start up a discussion, since such a discussion has no right or wrong answer, but to put things into perspective.

Let's dig a little deeper than just marketing, and look at intellect and intelligence.

Definitions:  
 _Intellect is the capacity of knowledge and reason in an individual's mind. Intelligence is the practical manifestation of knowledge to think in complex and pioneering ways. At its simplest, intellect is knowing a lot of things, where intelligence is more about putting knowledge to use in innovative, analytical, and practical ways._

Now, let's agree that not all kids have the same intelligence nor intellect. So the earlier you provide kids of different intellectual and intelligence levels with 'more heavy' information, the more it will influence, both in a positive and negative way, their capabilities and competences.

So as marketers it is indeed an interesting challenge to market-manage to kids where young is the new old. But it seems equally interesting to see how you could define a segment where parents, who pay the bill, are more in favor of slowing down the speed at which their kids grow up.

Let me give you an example. I find 'Nijntje' an amazing concept. It's a brand that is truly focused on educating kids. And they have evolved with new technologies (online, tablets...), with new themes (multi-cultural...), with globalization... but always respecting the fact that kids are the users of the content.

This small intermezzo on your 44th birthday to celebrate ;)

Now, let's move into something different, but close. Want to discuss marketing to mama. It's the same logic, but talks to the real boss ;)

Let me kick-start with the following statement: when mothers would decide on all the toys bought for kids, there would probably be no gun-toys sold. What's your POV?
03.04.2013 / Dubai / 01:25 / KF

First of all, in a broader context, women are an absolutely underleveraged marketing opportunity in my POV.

On your point and not a joke, they are the 'real bosses' in the household. They call the shots about gets bought! And therefore they are the ultimate gateway to family-marketing.

Even more so, in emerging markets...And therefore actioning "the third billion" is on all our agendas. (See my piece on this: <http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Billion> \- the rise of 1bn women in the underdeveloped countries is vast and rapid, and their future impact on the world economy is unparalleled).

Part of that billion is 'mums'. Critically important.

I've had the luck of working for Numico in the past who are actually doing fantastic work on marketing to new mums, esp with Olivarit, their flagship babyfood brand (Cow&Gate outside of N.Europe). Here's a few take-aways that are engraved in my mind...

*A mum is a woman with specific needs. Her #1 priority is to 'make her kids happy and healthy' -in whatever they do, for whatever category. Powerful insight, and globally relevant!

*A mum is easy to find. You can target very precisely. You KNOW who has kids, what age they are, and what their needs are.

*A mum spends more on premium goods, mostly for the kids, than non-mums.

*A mum has a 'soft' approach to things, buys more on emotion than on rationale for some items. And so, fully agree, no gun-toys would be sold if the world would only consist of mums (God forbid -hahahaha).

*Mums goes through many 'cycles' ... new mum...school age... managing teens ... empty nest ...
03.04.2013 / Antwerp / 17:11 / ES

WOW! Impressed. Did not know that you knew so much about mums. Learned a lot from that. I understand mums much better now. Thanks!

But back to the statement: would mums buy guns for kids? I remember my mother never wanted me to buy toy-guns. Read: do mums associate these type of toys with 'real-life' items they want kids to refrain from? I find this interesting, to better understand the barriers these mums have built in for themselves. At present we are working for a mobile operator. Just finished some research. Parents, and especially mothers, don't want their young kids (< 13yrs) to have mobile phones, and surely no smart phones.

I find this strange since we all know that the smart phone will become your mobile digital wallet within 2 years. Even when putting forward the advantages such as safety (know where the kid is), control (what is the kid paying for, when...)... and so on has low relevance to the mums. I am trying to understand that. We will do some more research and I will go myself to talk to all these mums. Will keep you posted.

Let's go a step further in marketing to women. Can you elaborate a bit further on the third billion? What are your experiences with that? And is it comparable to how women in the Western part of the world are democratized into the buying and consumption patterns? Talk about the Saudi market for example.

I once met the guy who created the Fulla, the Arab version of Barbie. He also told me a story about how an Indonesian noodle brand went into the Saudi market. Since most maids and cooks in Saudi families are Indonesian, they went in through reaching out to the maids. They told them a story that they could tell the mums in the families. That's how they created massive market share. I think the brand was called Indomie or something.

Can you tell me and the readers more about the Saudi market and how to engage and sell to the mums who make the buying decisions?
04.04.2013 / Dubai / 07:50 / KF

Ah -Saudi. One of the most fascinating markets I'm working in. The interesting piece is not the facade, the image that goes to the outside world. No no, the interesting piece is what happens behind the abaya. Talk about buying power of women. To the outside, they look fragile, submissive and powerless knowing they can't drive to the supermarket themselves, need to be accompanied by a man, cover themselves, there is a clear physical separation of men and women in public places, etc., but the implicit power of the woman in the household is super big in Saudi.

Here are some interesting manifestations of the difference between the outside image and the 'true' Saudi female expression of independence that I've witnessed:

1Look at me drives choices! Sounds strange? That's what I mean with behind the abaya. Luxury industry is thriving in Saudi: from gold and jewelry to watches to cell phones to cosmetics and what not. This is how women can express themselves. When they are covered they still have the LV bag, Prada glasses, and Louboutin shoes. Visible. Under the abaya, they wear super-female, elegant, expensive clothes. Let me tell you, Saudi females know what style is.

2Central point in the family/household.

First of all, you need to understand that the most important social institution in Saudi is the family. Since almost all of them don't work their full attention goes to the family and the house. Most importantly, they have a big say in the household financials. Actually, the Financial Times did a study in 2007 and found Saudi women to be the most financially savvy in the world when it comes to investment, retirement plans, and estate planning. How about that?

3Indulgence rules.

Logical human behavior. The more constraints, the more indulgence and little indulgences get a foot in the door.

4Friendship.

Women spend a loooot of time with each other, especially in each other's homes. Friendships between women become really tight. They depend on each other, share their lives, and have friendships many would dream of in the Western world.

Now, the future might look very different. Saudi is a country in transition. Ready to modernize, although at a (very) slow pace. The percentage of maverick females (now about 10%), the ones that break the rules, that want rapid change, is growing extremely fast. Females are well educated, they make up 60% or so of the student population. You know they have the largest female-only university in Riyadh, right? (40.000 students!!). Barred from working until a few years ago, you see a flood of them going into nursing, teaching, medicine -prime influential positions that will shape the Saudi culture in the (near) future!

A truly interesting market Saudi. And lucrative for a lot of companies, because Saudi is wealthy.

What's your take on it?
04.04.2013 / Brussels / 18:11 / ES

No take. Do not know the Saudi market well enough, but what you put forward is interesting and relevant. Thank you for sharing that! Please bring some more of these deep insights. These are the kind of insights that are never addressed except in this book.

Brings us to one of my favorite subjects in marketing: the unaddressed and invisible audience. Not just looking at the market, but through the market. Looking for hidden drivers that people are aware and unaware of. Creating and/or satisfying a need that your brand and product can satisfy.

We already touched on this one some months ago, but it triggered me the way you went so deep into this audience, both unaddressed but more importantly invisible. Here is where it really becomes a fluffy but cool discussion. But let me roll out what I mean.

Could there be a relationship between the invisible and unaddressed audience and leapfrogging in innovation? Often these unaddressed and invisible audiences are being discovered, not by doing thorough marketing, but by just coincidence. Today I discussed with one of my online colleagues your input and the interesting insights, and he came up with the logic that the entire app-business, all the thousands of apps available now, are results of a trial-and-error approach, shooting into the forest and hitting a bird by coincidence. It sounds strange, I agree, but perhaps true creativity will just arise in the targets groups and markets because it's creativity.

Not to fluffy things up too much, let me wrap the idea in some statements:

-true creativity, in terms of both development of ideas as well as consumption, comes out of audiences that have all kinds of limitations

-there is no better way to find these invisible and unaddressed audiences than just trial-and-error

-this requires a lot of flexibility from any organization, management and also from marketers

Now, a question just for you. Since we both have a research background. Perhaps explorative research techniques are an option, but then again... they are invisible aren't they? And sometimes difficult to approach.

Is it possible to find these invisible unaddressed audiences?
05.04.2013 / Dubai / 14:57 / KF

Great question. Let me reframe for clarity: how do you find audiences that you may overlook with traditional techniques.

For context, let's establish that 99% of the time research is SPECIFIC, against an issue, a brief, building on a preset notion of how you should look at the market, the business, a problem, etc. And therefore you immediately box yourself in, potentially missing out on bigger opportunities.

I have two suggestions to overcome that:

1Follow trends. Stay close to how the world is changing, what is hot today in the news, in social media, technology, ... Completely unrelated to your business. Macro-, generic trends are good eye-openers. Example: say you make beauty products (creams and such)...if you don't see what happening in the self-health industry, your business might one day become obsolete. So, maybe it's time to make a cream that pairs well with laser-beauty-technology. See what I'm saying?

2Observe behavior. Don't sit consumers down in a room to talk. You get socially accepted answers, and again focus the discussion too much. It's the nature of the beast. Have people tell their own story of what they do all day long, with no guidance. Send a cameraman along for a few days to shoot whatever they are doing. Let consumers take a picture of what they're up to every hour. You'd be amazed what a wealth of info you'd get.

3Want to know what people are up to? Watch them online: Instagram, Keek, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter reveal what's going on with your users. Problem: massive amounts of unstructured data you have to get a grip on. I'm writing an article on BIG DATA for my blog - we need to address the topic in this book again. Stay tuned!
05.04.2013 / Antwerp / 18:11 / ES

I think the point you are making about the connected observers is a very strong and valid one. But this brings us back to our discussions about being passionate. Why? How many people do you know, from marketing departments to research departments who have the passion to do all of this in their spare time? Right. That's the only time left for people to do this. The rest of the time we're stuck in meetings, conference calls, typing reports, making presentations... Sometimes I have the impression that we are all keeping each other busy with the side-issues instead of the core-issues.

This needs to get out: in the few past days I have been working on a question where the question itself is the answer. Let me explain: it is so obvious lying that asking the question is denying it. Why would you then pay expensive professionals like us to do that? Of course I understand the reasons, and the politics behind, but all people from that multinational involved in this matter are also NOT busy with 'the market' but with sitting in meetings and unnecessary interviews with me.

Anyway, think positive. But it triggered me to think about what you correctly stated: the eagerness to look around; sniff air; catch unknown stuff... and so on. Some weeks ago my wife asked me why I always buy brands and stuff I don't know and don't need. Well, fairly simple, because of my try-out drive. This means doing new things you need to do. Did I ever tell you that I have 18 email addresses? I have 4 profiles on Facebook: one female, one male, one Captain Hook, and one for myself. To test whatever works, what kind of ads and propositions they throw at me, and so on.

Since we're looking at research, let me throw some crazy ideas out there. As you know research has been the advertising tool' for our own Brandhome brand to get into the news. Why? Since we never speak about customers in public, and never expose what we 'fixed' for them we needed something else. So we took something that is close to our Brandhome heritage as a knowledge centre: knowledge. Brandhome uses research as a communication instrument to position itself.

We do all kind of research that has never been done before, or at least not that we know of. From researching the branding of narcotics (how the criminal networks 'hijack' brand images to brand narcotics), to the motivations of why people brand themselves with logo-tattoos, to the best known pay-offs, to the intrusion effect of advertising compared to the experiences of people when their houses have been burgled, and so on.

That's the great thing about what you pointed out correctly. Keep your finger at the pulse of society. Not by going to so-called trendwatchers or other strange gurus, but by going out yourself. Take that suit off, put your fat BMW in the garage, and take the public transport in your jeans. Go to big cities and small townships, around the globe. When going on holiday, just take one or two days to go around the place you're in, out of that all-inclusive resort. WATCH, HEAR, ASK, LINK... with the local environment.

But then again, to do it this way... _you need to see work as a gift. Not as a burden._ ;)
06.04.2013 / Dubai / 01:00 / KF

Captain Hook! I love it. Give me the url so I can post some nonsense -good fun :-) You have 18 email addresses. Madness!

Switching gears. BIG DATA! How confronted are you with that? You cannot believe the number of times I've heard the words BIG DATA in the last two weeks. It's been a hot item for the past few years, but for some reason, at least in my social/professional circles, it has moved up in the ranks, and is creeping into every sector, every business, every person. So, let's tackle the number 1 buzz word in marketing and business today...

Let's start with a confrontational question: Are you leveraging big data or drowning in the data pool? Or...are you just ignoring the issue?

What is big data?

According to Wikipedia, 'Big data is a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand database management tools or traditional data processing applications. The challenges include capture, curation, storage, search, sharing, transfer, analysis.'

It ain't gonna stop!

Data is exploding - we all know it, we all see it. Here's an interesting data point to prove it: every month, 30 billion pieces of content are being shared on Facebook. Wow! Try handling that. Twitter users send more than 600,000 tweets per hour. People own more mobile phones than they have toothbrushes - just sayin'! Data is increasing in volume (i.e. the amount of data), in velocity (speed of data -in and out), and in variety (range of data types and sources). The world's technological per-capita capacity to store information has roughly doubled every 40 months since the 1980s! Cisco announced that data will grow 10-fold by 2016. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt predicts that every two days now, we create as much data as has been created from the dawn of human civilization until 2003! Decoding the human genome originally took 10 years to process; now it can be achieved in less than one week. The average person processes more data in a single day than a person did in a lifetime in the 1500s! And you can go on and on and on. During the World Economic Forum in 2012 is was agreed amongst leaders in the world that 'Data is a new class of economic asset, like currency and gold'. On a more abstract level, the world's relation with data/information is changing, and with that, the fabric of humanity will change as well -AMEN.

Land of opportunities

BIG DATA is nothing new. There has always been data, and there has always been a lot of data. Some sectors have been better at capturing big data than others though. But now, rather than the mathematical approach to things, I feel that the coin has flipped and focus has shifted to the opportunity side. A great move. Because leveraging big data can lead to fantastic opportunities for marketing:

# greater consumer understanding, faster and cheaper

# being more relevant

# real-time marketing

# ability to build tighter brand communities

# greater retention and loyalty

# greater efficiency

# more profitable advertising

# eCommerce

How the hell do you get started?

The trick nowadays is figuring out how to capture the data, how to analyze it, and how to deploy it efficiently to grow your business. Here's a few pointers to start getting your head around it...

Understand the big data issue.

Understand the data sources that you have.

Understand what data can do for your business.

Figure out what matters. Not all data is valuable.

Get technology savvy.

Go CLOUD!

Focus on turning data into transactions. Make it actionable!

Get close to your CTO.

Rally your marketing team around big data.

Put it on your CEO's agenda.

Automate to the max.

Take small steps. Don't drown in the data ocean.

and ... Address the big ENABLER: get organized!

Critical questions that you need to answer sooner rather than later.

Does all of this matter?

The key idea here is: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. Every business is struggling with big data. Those who will figure it out fast will have an edge over their competitors. Reason enough to get started, I'd say.
06.04.2013 / Antwerp / 20:04 / ES

Big Data. It's been going on for the past 2 years. Honestly I believe that it will not be the marketing departments that will crack this challenge. Perhaps for multi-nationals, but surely not the smaller players. Note that 'smaller' is, for me in this context, large EU stock market listed companies.

Personally I believe that trying to grab this big data issue will be an assignment for the large IT companies to provide related services that enable it, as well as Google and the like. It requires all kind of software and hardware, as well as all kinds of other competencies to ensure that what comes out is valid. But it is like a soccer team. It is not because you put together all Ronaldos, that you will have a successful team. On the contrary, I always ask myself the same question when speaking to quantitative researchers. Most of them have a background in statistics and software, and sometimes they come up with the most stupid and illogical conclusions. The other day I was reading a report from a big international research group. It goes like this: Service quality and satisfaction has risen by over 300%!! The brand is doing a great job. And sales are following this positive trend and have doubled! But when you dig deeper then you see that the population (the n) on which the conclusion is based is valid, but ... the satisfaction degree is now at 4 (on a 10 point scale) and sales has doubled (from 75K EUR to 150K). Who are we fooling here? Ourselves. Pisses me off. Their ass is mine. I'll have 'em fired at the client we work for. If you write such stupidities, than you have it coming.

Back to BIG DATA. The amount of data will only become bigger and bigger, but history has taught us that the more complex things become, the more simple they become. So big data, big deal or not? It does not keep me awake I can tell you. I have a friend and they have a small company in so-called data-performance management. They go into companies and kind of take over their database structures, analytics, and so on. I dropped him a call just now. He's the specialist. His answer: _Many event and conference companies will earn a lot of money with this. Compare it to the fear when we approached the Millennium._ Remember Y2K? Were you compliant? Are you still here? But the best thing it will do - this hype - according to him, is that the attention it creates will make sure that the quality of data will improve. There are techniques that are so powerful to clean up data. More powerful than even before. Apparently so powerful that when a customer or employee puts in 80% of his data incorrectly, but leaves some records behind that are correct, you can reproduce/correct this 80%. Wow! That's cool. But then again... FB will soon know that I am not a female ;)

Honestly, I have no clue what to do with this. But I know for a fact that most databases of customers are less than 50% accurate, that data is doubled, that there are all kinds of privacy issues and so on. Long story short: don't know too much about the subject yet, but what I think is that while you should be aware of all trends, you have to keep your head around it and don't jump into things that you either don't understand... and are perhaps not even there. That is what 15 years in telecoms has taught me.

So, whether this will become a competitive advantage for every company? I don't know. Should ask you the question. A Pepsi remains a Pepsi don't it?
07.04.2013 / Dubai / 21:13 / KF

Erik man, we need to make our writing shorter or we will be producing 1000 pages and putting our readers to sleep.

That said, a short snippet from me tonight:

You make a strong point on accuracy. If data is inaccurate and business/brand decisions are made on this, then we are all f.....d. And here's my worry: who's going to be the quality controller? Certainly not the supplier! Probably not people in your own company, since they don't have the knowledge, or qualification for this. Time to have a new breed of professional to rise: Big Data Quality Control Assholes®Kurt Frenier. Those guys will be shitting gold, I swear.

And yes, the marketing department is not the one to solve the issue. But I believe they have a role to play in pushing the agenda. In the end it's good for business, the brand, service, etc.

A lot will come our way on Big Data, and I'm ready to dig deep into the matter. One day, it'll be worth it.

I want to crack another subject, loosely related: driving a culture change ...how do you do that? How do you put marketing in the driver's seat?.

I suggest following this change model, stolen from marketing (...would it work for internal change is the question):

Unaware-»aware-»reactive-»calculative-»proactive-»generative.

Your POV?
07.04.2013 / Antwerp / 19:34 / ES

Yep. You're right. I was speaking to our creative director last Friday, trying to convince her that the brand domino book could also be just a print out of the word document, and then bound together. A real 'manuscript' feeling. What do you think?

Anyway, she told me, that I had to tell you, that if we continued writing paper as full as we are now, whatever contribution the sale of the book will contribute to the Brandhome foundation, will cost 1% of the Amazon Forest ;)

Culture change. Interesting topic. Most interesting topic of everyday! I am consulting and steering more culture change projects than anything else at this moment. But to get that in a quick note. Impossible. Let's tackle this in a different way. Each of us give a statement on what to do. I'll start.

In culture change the shortest distance from culture A (current situation) to culture B (desired) is never a straight line.

Every culture change always starts with the definition of the desired culture. You always have to pass through intermediary cultures.
08.04.2013 / Dubai / 05:57 / KF

So, here are a couple of interesting questions to ponder upon:

Is the culture in the hands of the employees (and if yes, how does that manifest itself; how do they get involved in re-crafting the culture) or is it in the hands of the leadership (i.e. where the CEO and sr. management want to take the Co), or is there a hybrid form?

1.What happens to employees that don't fit a new, desired culture anymore? Kick them out or try to 'reform' them?

2.Is it like a rebranding strategy? Is there a straight line, contrary to what you are saying? Is there a hard change-over or does it have to be 'transitional' in nature? Isn't that softish, gradual changeover the reason why many companies are stuck in no man's land when it comes to culture, with half the company frustrated on why the old culture is disappearing and have the company in an anxious holding pattern waiting for it to change?

3.Aren't a lot of company cultures changing organically and naturally, half the time without a lot of the senior guys noticing it? What are the early warning signs of that?
08.04.2013 / Antwerp / 21:39 / ES

Let me answer the questions in the same order:

1. Sr. management or employees?

Both are possible. Depends if you want bottom-up or top-down approach. Depends also on the type of company you are and the 'maturity' of the company in terms of understanding its own culture. If you would be Apple, then you would need to bottom-up. Depends also on the size of the company, degree of internationalization, etc. But in both cases, the leadership will be important. Or it is important to 'pull it' in case of top-down, or to 'carry it' in case of bottom-up.

2. In or out?

This is where the consequences of any culture change come in. In the Brandhome method® this is called the 'casualty rate'. In essence it is fairly simple: after any culture change you will have lost 30% of staff. When facing a change, you have to be so-called 'aligned', 'can-be-aligned', and 'to get out'. Tough stuff, but there you go, it works. Of course it all depends how 'rigid' a culture change is, how fast and thorough it is. Most importantly, it depends on how distant it is to the current culture. I just want to point out one big thing. Always remember this when really turning the culture upside down! In companies that have strong cultures, your best employee before a culture change will probably be your worst one afterwards.

3. Speed or slow?

You gave the answer yourself. Based on my extensive experience after all these years, you better move fast. Take the fast-lane. Better than getting stuck in no-man's land. The biggest challenge you face is sense-of-urgency. See the last paragraph below.

4. Invisible change

What you mean is what we call in organizational psychology the 'invisible change'. There is no problem with that. It happens all the time. It is called 'cultural evolution'. The problem is not that it happens, that's just great. The issue is that sometimes senior management does not notice it, and thus the risk of having the wrong change becomes bigger!

In any culture change it is important to understand well the position of the CEO, the business model, the cost structure and the current and short-term profit impact. Let me explain. When you need to change the culture of an open-driven service company that is losing money; or when you need to change the culture of a cap ex-driven still highly-profitable company... well, that's a great difference. An open-driven service company needs to change rapidly to survive. The cultural change becomes key to these kinds of companies for moving ahead. But when you are dealing with a rich, capital intensive company that is highly-profitable, but really needs a culture change, then don't waste your time. Even better, take time. It all comes down to management attention of the CEO and the sense of urgency to change things. I could write volumes on it. Throw me some more questions.
09.04.2013 / Dubai / 19:35 / KF

That's a great, and comprehensive answer. Time you shared this whole Brandhome method® with me, in full. Seems like a wealth of information!

Again keeping it short, but I actually read a nice article in Fastcompany. It was talking about the 10/10/10 rule for taking tough decisions. Simple rule...ask yourself:

"How will we feel about it 10 minutes from now?"

"How about 10 months from now?"

"How about 10 years from now?"

This is just to keep your consciousness in sync. I really like that. How about you? Too soft an approach for you, right??
09.04.2013 / Antwerp / 19:41 / ES

"You read my mind. My wife turns 4O tomorrow and I am wondering how she will feel? ;) And I am taking her out for a drink now. So you know what. Let me know in 1O hours how you were feeling and we'll restart from there. Gotta go otherwise she'll be waiting for me."
10.04.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
10.04.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
11.04.2013 / Dubai / 06:58 / KF

Congrats to the wife. 4O -big number. She is nearly crawling out of the valley of life! Huh? I once read a psychology magazine that described the cycle of life, psychologically, trying to explore when you are truly at your best. Seems like as of age 15 the only way is down. Until you've hit rock-bottom age 46. And from then on your 'prime years' show themselves. Yippie -I'm almost there. Huh?

Anyway, change of subject. Yesterday I fell off my chair (in the car -LoL), driving on Sheikh Zayed Road. That road is covered with posters for the Annual Global Conference of Warfare taking place in Dubai. WTF. Seriously. Granted, it's kind of subtle advertising (the main visual is a broken egg shell), but still. Isn't this ...like...stupid? Risky? Deforming the image of a peaceful country? And why the hell would you advertise on mass media for that? Right?!

Ethical? Ok? Why not?

Thoughts?
11.04.2013 / Antwerp / 07:26 / ES

Good to hear that my wife is getting closer to moving up the ladder of life again ;) Good news for me. And you are even closer! Finally, there will be light at the end of the tunnel in my private life.

First. Tell me how you experienced your 'forecast' on the next 10-hours. (see 09.04). How was it? Did it match what you were thinking? Looking into and predicting the future has something mysterious, something strange and differentiated. In a way you want to have the power to look into the future. But, then again, it is scary to look into the future. It is nice when you want to win the lottery. But if you think about it, then you could argue that life itself becomes boring. Much more boring than today. Hence, I don't know about you or your job, but I love surprises.

Think about the effect on branding. That you would know what kind of products, marketing, communication stunts... will be coming. So no 'buzz' anymore. So no long discussions if and if so how the iPhone 6 will look like. And so on. On the other hand you could argue that the definition of the 'insights of tomorrow' could position a brand. But then we are talking about the ability of prediction. There have been some studies on the predictive power of brands. In essence all about how brand names have the ability to gear up the 'belief system' in one's brain to associate truth with what that brand name says. Kind of: Brandhome says so, Kurt says so ;) and so on

The other topic you pointed out- the global warfare conference. I tried to look it up on the internet but did not find anything about it. Is it not a hoax? A teasing campaign from Coca-Cola to distract you? ;) Just kidding, but can you send a link or something. It seems like an interesting event. To run ahead of the discussion. I have no issue that such a conference is held in Dubai. Unfortunately WAR is part of life. So, why not have a conference about it?
12.04.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
12.04.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.04.2013 / Dubai / 05:56 / KF

On prediction, and gazing into the future: yes I agree and no I don't. Yes, because it is staring into the abyss. Who the hell knows what the future brings. And with the world moving forward fast and things changing at the speed of light, any prediction seems rather dumb. No, because we are talking about a short horizon here.

It's not like we need to predict and forecast the Nostradamus way in business. If you stay in touch with the latest early developments in many fields, you DO get a peak/peek in what will be mass/in/big sooner rather than later.

The Gauss curve has always been there and it will remain there. By that I mean: what is now with the early adopters will one day soon be followed. You can follow patterns and see how they develop. AND -you can influence the future (Be The Change You Want To See In The World -Ghandi). Get my drift?

On this war poster. Strangely enough, I can't find anything on the net as well. That makes it even weirder. I wasn't drunk, so I'm quite sure I've seen it. Otherwise it wouldn't have had such a big imprint in my mind. And...there is no drinking in Dubai...so...
13.04.2013 / Antwerp / 18:50 / ES

Now it's really scary! You start seeing these posters and stuff. Perhaps you are seeing into the future without even knowing. Perhaps you can look into the future. Perhaps you are in the future!!

Interesting that you start on the subject of the 'predictability' of markets. It has always intrigued me because it comes close to vision. To the insights that you can pick up now, feel now... and that will only be really manifesting themselves in the future.

There are 2 ways of looking at it.

The things that we know will happen, but we don't know exactly when. E.g. there will be a new BMW 3-series model coming out, but we don't know how it will look exactly, and when it will be presented or we know that one day they will find a solution against cancer... and so on.

The things that we don't know that will happen, so don't mind bothering about when they will happen. E.g. a new disease will spread and wipe out human civilizations after that aliens have arrived on Earth... or we find a new galaxy and start putting up hamburger joints over there... or something like that since I cannot come up with something that makes sense; it's inherent to this form of predictability.

Let me explain.

The first one is an interesting one, since the future is predictable. This is the kind of predictive thinking that starts from current situations, hypes, insights... In essence this is where all marketers, so-called gurus, R&D... and so on are busy. Even you and me, we do it for the brands we work for. In essence this is so-called marketing vision.

The second one is my favorite, since we never discuss this as marketers. It is more a kind of philosophic approach and discussion. About the 'I did not see it coming' things. Thinking in terms of really disruptive situations and then just 'be ready' when they might happen. Imagine that all the banks in the world disappear. Or money. What will we be left behind with? How would that affect what we are doing now. That's just to illustrate that even 'disaster and shadow' planning as we know it, are still simplified and not even entirely correct.

Just to point out shortly (this would take us another book just to discuss it deeper) that the 'future' is the most dynamic thing in life. And that it fuels or, at least, should fuel the decisions we make today.

Back to reality. I heard a story today about the Range Rover model. Let's call Range Rover a sub brand of Land Rover. Apparently this is the 'sub brand' that has the highest brand premium in the entire car industry. Or let me restate: the entire Land Rover portfolio is correctly priced, but the Range Rover model sub brand is extremely overpriced when benchmarking to other car brands that are comparable. Never heard this story. What about you? And what's your POV? And if true, is Range Rover so well marketed that people are inelastic in terms of price elasticity. Or does it even go deeper: there is nothing comparable to Range Rover. What do you think?
14.04.2013 / Dubai Airport / 08:05 / KF

Good one. Range Rover is a breed of its own. That much is clear. I see it around me, when people talk about aspiring to own one, and for those who own it what an amazing car it is.

Think about the immediate set of associations that you hear...

...Beautiful

...Modern

...British quality

...Luxury

...Complete

...The new one is always better/upgraded

...Will not disappoint

...Expensive, but worth it

It goes back to the fundamentals we discussed in the early pages of this book: make a strong promise, and make it reality. And most importantly, don't ever let your consumers down. I guess Range Rover embodies that. It's one of the most complete, perfect, potent cars around. They've built a promise of a high-end luxury SUV and are living up to that day-in-day-out (from their iconic design, to the lavish interior, to the unmatched service). Being part of the Jaguar family helps in getting that sharp focus throughout the organization, I guess.

By the way, let's not forget that Range Rover has been around for the longest of times, long before the term SUV was a thing. Right? You'd always see the royalty drive around it (proof of its luxury); it was a preferred vehicle for the Army in some parts of the world (proof of its quality/durability). Talk about a brand that's consistently acknowledged its nice positioning. That pays off in the long run. Range Rover is a good example.

And so, yes, you made a good point on inelasticity. That is probably true to a large extent. Never in the absolute of course, because then more people would buy. But to the extent that it drives the real die-hards, the fans and the loyals, to buy 'at any price'. What a dream for a marketer.

I am a fan. And who knows, one day, when I grow up, and I can afford it, I'll drive a Range Rover too :-)

Now, need to get into the plane. Exciting trip ahead of me: a week in Shanghai. Global meetings. Looking forward to it. My first-ever entry into China!
14.04.2013 / Antwerp / 09:20 / ES

China. Tell me about it. The so-called promised land for Western companies. People still wanting to work. To earn money so they can buy/invest in material stuff. The dream market for a marketer. Big and dynamic. And driven by... something totally opposite to the Chinese deep-rooted culture... the marketer's (and devil's) best friend... Mr. GREED. Last week I had my colleague over who is looking into the Brandhome deployment in Southeast Asia. He used to work for Brandhome, then got married to a Thai girl and moved recently to Bangkok. Nice guy. Smart. Sharp. A bit inexperienced, but I have good hope for him. He wants to win. He's a boxer just like me and you. Brings me to this insight: many successful people I know have either been in the army, special forces or have been in martial arts and fighting sports. You included! Yes, I still remember. Wanna rumble? No, got too old now. Will save the techniques for the day one or another little asshole stands at my door for one of my daughters ;) Oldest just turned 6 years old today.

Back to Thailand. Same story. In the feasibility we just finished, it shows the extreme desire for Thai population for material stuff. And brands.

Need to run to our new office to check out the 200 orange goldfish in our new aquarium. They are just in there and I need to check on them. No joke.

Let me know your impressions in Shanghai!
15.04.2013 / Shanghai (PRC) / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
15.04.2013 / Amsterdam / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
16.04.2013 / Shanghai / 11:24 / KF

First impressions are great. Fastest airport immigration process I've had in my life, here in Shanghai.

Shanghai is supposedly as impressive as Dubai, but then a lot bigger and with a lot more people. A huge city - 24 million inhabitants. But it doesn't feel like you're caught in a can of sardines.

Funny thing though, on the backside of the immigration papers, they address foreigners as 'aliens'. Hmmmm... needs to be made a bit more friendly, I'd say. They need a few good marketers to review their communication and tone-of-voice.

Are they materialistic? Greedy? Working too hard? Don't know...but I'll find out...."

Took the Big Bus Tour (a global brand it seems) and played the real tourist yesterday, for a few hours. That was awesome! More on Shanghai later. In a stuffy mtg room still battling jetlag...
16.04.2013 / Brussels / 16:01 / ES

Sounds cool. And interesting. I want to know about the alleged materialism, the counterfeiting, the quality of life, the safety, the creative think-power, and so on. I am calmly awaiting your feedback and debriefing.

In the meantime, a thought that came up today: ARROGANCE. It has always intrigued me how ARROGANCE is being bred in some internal cultures. I work here, or there... etc. Today I had a meeting with a senior executive who wants to get rid of this 'Übermensch' thinking. And how it poisons the mind of young and new people entering the company. Believing that they are better, smarter, cooler... than whoever does not work in the company. I call this 'effect' the downside of successful branding and internal branding. But how can you break it? Better, fold and mould this proudness into something positive? So that in the long run it does not breed its own failure.

Give me your POV on this one the coming days.
17.04.2013 / Shanghai / time unknown / KF

Kurt is missing in Shanghai!

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
17.04.2013 / Brussels / time unknown / ES

Always the same!

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
18.04.2013 / Shanghai / 01:21 / KF

Two things on arrogance: the power of NICE, and 7 habits of an effective leader.

I am a big believer in the power of nice. That doesn't mean that you have to behave like a pussy, but you at least have to recognize that people want to be treated decently. I've learned that a bit of kindness goes a long way. And it's not easy. With day to day business pressures full on it's easy to lose your cool and humanity.

I met Liz Wiseman last year. She wrote an amazing book called 'Multipliers'.

'7 Habits of Highly Effective People' is an old business book, but relevant like no tomorrow. I've had several training sessions and seminars on it throughout my career, and try to implement its principles on a day to day basis. Simple things like Think Win-Win where you strive for mutually beneficial solutions in relationships seems old-school but it's not. The power of Synergism (to combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone) is a daily puzzle and black box, believe me. All in all, you need to reconsider your attitude! (Not just you...everyone!)

Man, Shanghai is awesome. Having soaked in the atmosphere of the city during the last 3 days, I tell you: lovely! I could live here! Check it out.
18.04.2013 / Brussels / 14:25 / ES

I went reading about 'Multipliers'. Just ordered it. Lead-in for the book on their website:

_Are you a genius or a genius maker? We've all had experience with two dramatically different types of leaders. The first type drains intelligence, energy, and capability from the people around them and always needs to be the smartest person in the room. These are the idea killers, the energy sappers, the diminishers of talent and commitment. On the other side of the spectrum are leaders who use their intelligence to amplify the smarts and capabilities of the people around them. When these leaders walk into a room, light bulbs go off over people's heads; ideas flow and problems get solved. These are the leaders who inspire employees to stretch themselves to deliver results that surpass expectations. These are the Multipliers. And the world needs more of them, especially now when leaders are expected to do more with less. In this book we have studied intelligence and how Multipliers can have a resoundingly positive and profitable effect on organizations—getting more done with fewer resources, developing and attracting talent, and cultivating new ideas and energy to drive organizational change and innovation._

Interesting what you put forward. On the other hand, one could argue that managers and leaders that 'cultivate arrogance' in organizations and brands are just the type of leaders that are described here as the ones that turned the bulb on!? Will first read the book and then judge.

Tell me more about Shanghai. Quid the materialism? Quid marketing?

Lots of narrow casting? How is the city branding? How is the quality of agencies? Saw any news things? Inspiring concepts? Come on. Gimme some scoop!
19.04.2013 / Shanghai / time unknown / KF

Kurt is missing in Shanghai!

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
19.04.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

Always the same! He is going to PAY-UP for missing out Dominos! Kurt's debt is $220 to pay to the Brandhome foundation. Me, at $150. Will be paying up soon! Have a great idea to write about this weekend. The branding of beauty! Stay tuned.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
20.04.2013 / Dubai / 08:12 / KF

I skipped some dominos in the last few days. Enjoying Shanghai. Just got back, after a very bumpy 9h flight with no sleep. Headwinds of 150km/h do make a difference.

Gotta tell you: Shanghai is all in all a great city. Buzzing. Happening. Booming. Lots to do. Lots to see. Lots to party. Lots of Chinese food. Duh. Lots of everything. Interestingly, much more an expat-land than I'd expected although not a lot of Chinese speak English. You have to find a way to get around. I took a picture of the Chinese characters for my hotel to show to taxi drivers so I could at least get back. Otherwise, forget it, they don't speak a word of English. And thank God for Google Maps. Or rather... thank Google!

Back to something concrete...

Shanghai & materialism? Oh boy. And then some. I was obviously not stationed in the slums. The area around the Ritz Carlton is luscious and exuberant with brands. Luxury all around. 10 malls within a few blocks. The greed is there.

Shanghai & marketing? Well, it's what you see in any big metropolitan city. Nothing shocking. They have a lot more LED and interactive media. Not a surprise in technology Mecca.

Shanghai & narrow casting? No clue.

Shanghai's city branding? You know what... poor. I think they were probably 'hot' at that 10-15 years ago, but not anymore. I can't even remember having seen anything interesting on my whole trip related to their city branding. Remember, Hong Kong is Shanghai times ten. Beijing is a lot more fascinating, so I hear. Although Shanghai is still a happening place with 25 million inhabitants, and people are still 'upgrading' from rural to city. It's got a growing middle class, it needs to protect itself from image degradation. Send in Saelens!

Shanghai & quality of agencies? Haven't seen them but quality of advertising from what I've seen is not bad at all.

Inspiring concepts? I think that's the most disappointing thing. I thought I'd be overwhelmed with ideas. As I imagine would be the case in Japan. The only thing I've seen is some amazing packaging ...for tea ...for food ...etc. Those guys really put attention to details. Love it.

Anyway -I'll definitely go back to Shanghai! (My wife will be happy, because this time I bought her some Chinese Sea Pearls!).

Now. Let's talk some serious marketing shit! Let me propose a topic, since I've been discussing it with various people from around the world this week...

Is it right to push promotions hard in emerging markets - at the cost of brand building - because that is the only gateway to establish fast and large scale awareness and trial? When do you let go of that, and start real brand building? What's the long term effect of too much promotional push?
20.04.2013 / Antwerp / 18:45 / ES

Welcome home. Bumpy flights are always scary. Hope you get a good night rest. I wanted to touch on the branding of beauty. But let's first tackle yours: the promotions push paradox as it is called. Here we go.

First of all, promotions are important when entering markets where you want to create trial purchase, or even 'subsidized consumption'. There are different variables that you have to mix into your specific situation.

1.your brand is unknown and your product is unknown

2.your brand is known but the product is unknown

3.your category exists (i.e. in your case soft drinks) and there are other brands leading the category

4.your category exists but there are no other brands leading the category; this is the situation when markets privatized (i.e. energy, public transport...)

Against this background you have to evaluate your strategy and the choices you make. Why? It doesn't just matter what you do that will determine whether you are successful with your brand, or you get stuck in the promotional and, thus, the price trap. It is equally important to see how your actions will have to be read by end-consumers and retailers against the market background. This is the tricky part. You cannot predict the moves of other competitors. In a 'case 3' (category exists and other brand is known) then it can quickly respond to your offer by down-trading itself in the market, or even putting a temporary fighter brand into the market to do the job and mess your brand up. Like I said: only great marketers that link well with sales can help you here. Theory surely can't.

Of course, there are the basic truths of promotional pitfalls. Let me name you a few.

-price promotions train your customers; then they 'wait for the sale' and become less likely to buy at full price. You destroy your brand premium, at least the price premium part of it

-price promotions can cost more than they bring in; higher volumes are great, but not at the expense of profits; and in addition creating non-loyal new customers

-you become the slave of the retailers; they will use you to create the necessary retail wars in your categories towards third brands and their own private labels; guess who loses?

-when you can't charge your brand premium, or at least cannot foresee that you will one day, you will be cooked on your needed r&d and marcom investments

There are many more. Sure you can add your POV! Looking forward to it.
21.04.2013 / Dubai / 20:32 / KF

Agree. Agree. And agree some more. The clustering you propose is exactly what I use as well.

You said 'price promotions train your customers': so true. Promotions are drugs to consumers and to a company. Addictive. Dangerous. And sometimes...lethal! So, agree, they are justified in some of the 2x2 boxes, but you have to get to a hard cut-off and let go as you move up the food chain as a brand.

Let me give you a great example of where it can go wrong. About 15 years ago, when I came on board at PepsiCo, I was confronted with a brand on heroin. A few years prior to my arrival, potato chips brand Croky was market leader in the category in Belgium. Lay's was a great runner up. Guess what: my predecessors found a great promotional tool called 'flippos' (tazos; little plastic round circles/toys for kids -at that time 'marketing for kids' rules where relaxed). They blasted a few billion (YES - no spelling mistake!) of those in the market and threw in some price-offs. And they kept running one iteration after another. For a good three years. Kids/tweens L-O-V-E-D it. Lay's grew share like no tomorrow and became market leader. BUT... when I came on board, we saw great signs of brand degradation and of the promotion actually rubbing off negatively on the whole brand engagement. Amongst others, kids were buying Lay's NOT for the brand, not even for the product, but for the collectible toys. Terrible. It took me/us a really long time to shake off the promotion mindset, throughout the company. (Here's the promotion-mouse-trap: sales and retailers are so short-minded that they love this stuff). In the model: well-known brand + well-known product = promotion means destruction of brand capital! And to make matters worse in this particular case; all competitors jumped on the same kind of promotions and ...yippie yippie...we were all destroying the category together. It took a terrible event (near death by choking on one of our competitor's toys) for the government to step in and start regulating this type of promotion and get us all to move out of it. Thank God.

Back to the 2x2 matrix. When you throw in developing vs developed market, or high GDP vs low GDP, and/or high pcc vs low pcc, then it becomes a hell of a lot more complicated. Like you alluded to, you need a good sense of business practicality (sales sense) and great deal of long term strategic insight to make the right call.

And while we're at it, let's look at 'success factors' for promotions. The goal of promotions is to drive sales/volume and profits. Guess what, when you make a well-rounded, full evaluation of a promotion, then mostly you hit the first goal, a short-term sales spike. But odds are that you'll miss out on profit. You need serious price-elasticity to pull off a deep price cut or an investment in give-aways. If you have done the due diligence well, in advance, then you might want to live with that. But a lot of marketers don't do that, and then get confronted with reality once they realize they are not only jeopardizing the brand but also the profitability of the company. Oops. And on top of that, volume uplifts erode quickly after the promotion is done. Seen that time and time again. Promotions don't push permanent uplifts nor share. Oops again. Bad marketing.

Now, let me throw in another notion here: promotions are a tool for marketing to guarantee physical and mental availability of a brand. And so, there is a marketing 'investment' side to promotions. My submission would be this: if that is so, promotions need to be evaluated against other available tools to drive trial, repeat and loyalty. Right? And if so, then the odds of them being considered will greatly diminish. Agree?
21.04.2013 / Antwerp / 22:32 / ES

I think that we should redefine the meaning of 'promotions'. Surely with FMCG companies 'promotions' in most cases come down to: do this and get that. And 'that' is 'x% for free', 'gadgets'...

Why don't we begin to think differently about promotions? Some brands already do, e.g. during the end of year period when brands offer a % of their extra revenues on product x or y to a good cause. This is cheap and effective. So effective that last year the discount retailer LIDL had to stop its promotion when it promised to give a meal away for each tweet they got.

Promotion thinking needs to shift from volume to value thinking. Think about it, about the word and basic meaning of 'promoting'. We want to promote our brand, our product. We want to tell about how great it is, and why. We want to make people want to buy it. But instead, mostly we just sell to people and start dragging all kinds of stuff in like your flippo example that have nothing to do with our brand or product.

This brings me to the dangerous question: the value of 'for free'. You surely remember how you and I played with the concept of free minutes in Belgium with BASE. At that time a great concept. A concept on instant satisfaction and gratification. Buy now and get your reward! Get your free minutes and call call call... or SMS SMS SMS... But what happens when all that a company has is being given away for free? Well... that's the end of such a company. We discussed earlier in some dominos the freebie marketing model.

We could talk for hours about it, but to cut it short: real strong brands don't need promotions. Look at Hermes. They prefer to destroy their old collections instead of putting them on sale. At least not visibly but I know that sometimes they have sales, but then on personal, almost secretive, invitation only.

On to my subject: the branding of beauty. I am going nuts with all this ideal beauty horror. Even my daughter of 6 is already in that game. Why do we 'brand' beauty in such a way. And what is beauty. You start.
22.04.2013 / Dubai / 07:46 / KF

Let me wrap up the promotions section by confirming that yes, brands should avoid promotions once they've reached a minimum equity level. It shows confidence as a brand, trust in the brand's loyal users, and signals brand premium. Promotions just diminish that and make the brand 'cheap', 'up for grabs', and more importantly going after anyone. That's not good. You need to focus on, and nurture, loyalists!

Branding beauty.

First let me reframe. I think we mean 'branding in the beauty industry'. How do we project an image of what beauty is or should be.

I almost landed a job for L'Oreal and for Lancôme about 10 years ago. Was really excited to make a dent in the beauty industry.

Here are a few thoughts...

First of all I think there is a difference between real nearly pharmaceutical beauty products, quasi-beauty-enhancers and brands that just leverage beauty as a brand image space. Let me explain:

Real nearly pharmaceutical beauty products: the Q10-coenzyme-facial-care type of product. Most of them have some truth to them, with a bit of boost to tap into what women want.

Quasi-beauty-enhancers: I'd club a lot of products under that, from fashion to fragrances. They boost self-confidence, make one look good, etc

Brands that just leverage beauty as a brand image space: e.g. a car promoting a new model by putting a model on the hood. Stupid.

Key question: are we abusing the beauty image and are we portraying the wrong image of what beauty is, as a marketing community, and are we therefore distorting your daughter's mind?

I don't think we are. I'm not a psychologist, but I believe that being perceived as beautiful is a big 'prize' for all women. It moves them up Maslow's ladder. In the end, way up the ladder sits 'ego' or 'self esteem', the need to believe in ourselves and to be proud. At this level we need self-respect, and respect from others. Beauty is an important factor in that form (1) how you think of yourself and (2) how you are perceived by others. Therefore, it's legit to help boost that self esteem by offering brands and products!

You are probably thinking: OMG, Kurt is so full of BS these days. Give me something real...
22.04.2013 / Middelburg / 22:52 / ES

Well. Interesting how you frame the discussion. Indeed, I meant the branding in the beauty industry as well as the entire 'universe' of beauty that has been created. Read: the ideal image.

The reason is the following. I have been following some quali groups behind the mirror. Youngsters. What you see is that they get 'frustrated' - even more than when we were young - because they do not fit the ideal beauty image. I agree with the logic of Maslow, but then again, is beauty just 'one ideal'.

Look at the Dove campaigns and how they portrayed true beauty. I remember my grandmother telling me 'real beauty comes from the inside'. There is even an expression in Flemish: wie het wijf kiest voor het lijf, verliest het lijf maar houdt het wijf. Translated: whoever chooses his wife for her body, will lose the body but keep the 'bitchy' woman. Moral of the story: beauty is an evolving thing, amongst which aging is a part.

It kind of shocked me to see all these young girls being so obsessed and frustrated because of the way they looked. They are not even grown up women. So that is why I started thinking about it.

Let me put it differently: being or feeling beautiful is a universal basic human need. But it differs in its appearance depending on where you are and what it is about. A beautiful individual in China, is not necessarily beautiful in Africa. So here is a kind of positioning dilemma if I would be putting a brand for 'beauty' in the market. Do you go with the flow, what all the rest does, or do you pick a different, not necessary opposite route. Just different.

I also wonder if there is an 'adaptation' period that is in pace with finding and accepting new beauty ideals. Is there a parallel to new car models. When BMW created its new design style and put it into the market some 10 years ago with the 7-series, all the press was more or less negative. But it takes time to adapt to aesthetics. Read the book 'Marketing Aesthetics' by Bernt Schmidt. Great book, great guy. I was speaking at a conference with him some years ago.

The above brings us on this late, dark and bit cold evening to another subject. The societal responsibility of the marketer. And NO, I am not talking about fake CSR and so on. I mean 'real' and emphatic understanding of a marketer of the need to enhance 'making a better world' by using its influential power. In that perspective it is more like an 'assignment'. A calling. And I am serious about that. Brands are the new 'world leaders' and should behave accordingly. When there are more people that know Coca-Cola than the Pope, then you get the picture, and you are relieved. Probably more people 'ask Google' than their best friends for advice. What's your POV on this important but fluffy subject ;)
23.04.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Kurt is back in his bad habits. No Domino.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
23.04.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

Because of Kurt I need to pay ;)

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
24.04.2013 / Dubai / 06:15 / KF

The societal responsibility of the marketer...

I agree that marketers have a bigger impact on the world than they generally realize. Because of various reasons ...

...they can promote the good, and the bad.

...they set directions for what type of products and services are being consumed/used.

...they influence people's emotions.

...they influence people's position in the world; status, etc.

...they don't necessarily understand the reach they have across the globe

CSR, responsible marketing, is becoming a big thing. Not because marketing 'invented' it, but because consumers demand it. Consumers have grown up. They know what businesses do. They see through commercial tactics. They ask for an explanation of the impact of a product on the environment, etc. Being responsible in that light means that as an organization/brand you show respect and concern for people in general and for the environment in which you do business. And you translate that concern into business practices that create a positive impact! What marketers need to think about: is it a strategic thing or is it an afterthought??? My impression is that CSR is used as a marketing tool, and it is not a marketing tool. It is, and needs to be more than that.

Now, CSR is not for every brand either. There needs to be something in the brand's DNA to justify for that. Otherwise it is just commercial prostitution (hey; we talked about that one before). If that is a principle, then it isn't fluffy at all. It makes sense. It contributes to the greater good, and to the brand!

But we are getting too serious. Taking it back to the impact marketing has on society...

An example. Positive. I'm sure you've seen the Star Models ads. Star Models is a modelling agency based in Brazil. They have just released an anti-anorexia ad campaign.

The tag line is 'Say no to anorexia'. They show a fashion illustration with typically exaggerated proportions next to a model wearing the same outfit - and the same measurements. While the models have been airbrushed to mimic the unrealistic illustrations, the ad pleads to young women: 'You are not a sketch.' I'm not saying it's the most brilliant campaign but, similar to Dove respecting real beauty, they at least recognize their contribution to the distorted female image they create...and they want to do something about it.

Changing subject. Just went through a rough patch in the creative process. Working on a major cross-market, cross-cultural, multi-brand 360 campaign. Never done before in PepsiCo in this part of the world. Now, my issue: you need a lot of imagination as a marketer to IMAGINE the POTENTIAL, the end results, the magnitude, the dream. Guess what, I've bumped, once more, into a few big walls, realizing few marketers can go there. Unreal. My question: what does it take to get your marketers to see the light? How do you teach them to read beyond a script, beyond an idea, beyond face-value information?

Suggestions?
24.04.2013 / Antwerp / 22:05 / ES

You can't! Well, it's difficult. Why? There are couple different aspects to take into account:

1.They really don't understand and don't have the intellectual capabilities to see things from that angle.

2.They are too 'brainwashed' by the company they work for, or the agencies they are working with, and those are important influentials too.

3.They got 'scared' from making a mistake.

It is similar to the organizational-psycho effects a company faces when going through a repositioning project. You have to be able to manage the fear of change or making a mistake to be able to look beyond things. It is the same doubt that hits you when you are ready to Bungee jump.

In addition it is also important to stress that on top of all this, the 'time frame' we and the 'marketing' are in, is hyper-complex. Change

has become the single constant and so on. Few people are able to follow that through.

If it's of any comfort, we are dealing with the same problems. Fortunately we decided 2 years ago on our 20-20-20 Brandhome strategy. Only 20 of the very best per location. If today you are an agency with 150 people, out of which your 40 something art directors keep repeating that their ad for the newspaper is GREAT, and don't want to hear that the newspaper is becoming different (digital) or less engaging, or reaching fewer audiences, etc... good luck then.

So to wrap it up.

The ones you believe in: breed them yourself. That's what we do.

The ones you don't believe in: fire 'em. That will be best for them in the long run. Everybody wins.

What's next?
25.04.2013 / Dubai / 08:40 / KF

Next up: social media. My favorite subject these days. And you probably think: OMG -not again.

I'm deeply immersed in a 2-day Facebook workshop they call 'Publishing Garage' for one of our biggest brands. The Facebook guys flew in some of their biggest brains for us to talk about how brands should behave like publishers these days, to help us define our 'voice' on Facebook. We should organize for social media so we can truly start acting upon our real-time strategy, always-on, 24/7 conversations with our consumers and fans. Awesome. Lovin' it.

Following Facebook's philosophy of the hack-a-thons (rather than working for months on a project, lock everyone involved up in a room for a few days and make it happen!), we are getting a lot done.

It is so worth putting all the stakeholders in a room. From media people to the community manager writing and posting on FB, to the brand custodians. Guess what? Interesting conflicts arise :-)

Wish me luck. Hahahaha...
25.04.2013 / Antwerp / 21:46 / ES

Try to survive and tell me afterwards how it went!

Here is something else that happened in Belgium yesterday. A hidden camera crew went into one of the Mondeléz (former Kraft) factories and found out that the LEO (Milka brand) chocolates are identical to the ones produced under the name OLE for the ALDI (discount retailer). It is all over the news why you would pay triple the price for the same thing. Amazing how there is also NO crisis comms plan in place to handle the situation. The only thing the producer says is: yes, it is made in the same factory but I don't know if they are the same. Coming on national TV just after some voice-pops where labourers coming out of the factory confirmed that they are all the same, and even produced scrambled so you can't have different ingredients.

Whatever the truth, it shows again how vulnerable you are as an A-brand if you do not innovate and constantly work on reinventing yourself. Or when the promotion traps we discussed some days ago really pushes you down the value ladder into the warm-margin-eating-welcoming-hands of the discount or other retailers.

On the other hand, that's the fault of many A-brands wanting volume instead of value. _It is not about right or wrong. It is about making choices and understanding the consequences_.

Can you pop this incident in your Facebook party meetings tomorrow? See what they say about it.
26.04.2013 / Dubai / 07:49 / KF

On Mondolez, I am not going to comment.

Let me make some general statements:

1Consumers pay the brand difference. Isn't that what we've always been talking about?

2There MUST be a difference; small differences in quality, ingredients, formula...

And indeed, you can run, but you can't hide! When you co-man for retailers you need to have a story. A plausible, real, authentic story. The questions will come. You know that.

It's the weekend. Need to go. I'm going swimming with the Dolphins and the kids in Atlantis, on the Palm. Cheerio!
26.04.2013 / Antwerp / 08:39 / ES

Indeed. You can run, but you can't hide. My youngest daughter woke me up at 2 am this morning. So I have been sitting, as it often happens, for one hour on the sofa, trying to sing her to sleep. Or use the iPod to do so ;). While sitting there last night I was thinking that there is a similar logic with what Brandhome is doing at the moment.

At present, even in the dark economic times Europe is going through, we have too much work. We currently have to sell 'NO' and that's never good for business. But then again, it's a reversed capacity game. Just starting to hire people and throw them in there under the Brandhome brand name is tricky. I've been around that road some years ago. You cannot guarantee quality. So I believe that being great brand builders is all about being small and beautiful. Hence our 20-20-20 strategy.

Back to OLE/LEO. Leo being a MILKA product brand variation or label, they should have focussed on quality and innovation. Not just wrapping the same product. Then you get what you are asking for! You know that it makes me very angry when people sit back and relax during their professional time. Relaxing is for holidays. So I really ask myself: have the marketers been instructed to 'milk' the Milka-LEO brand or what!?

Let's move on to another subject. The marketing of 'second hand'. I am looking at a project for a large second hand car dealer. Well, this is a special case. It is not really second hand. It's another Belgian thing for which Belgium gets abused: the factories produce the vehicles abroad, but in order to mark them as 'sold vehicles' in their annual reports, they have to be registered with the government. So they register the cars, pay the registration, put the numbers as 'sold' in the annual reports... but in fact they have never been used. So it's another cosmetic operation. I call it the 'car-CDO's'. It's fooling yourself.

But here comes the marketing challenge for all parties involved.

1.the car manufacturers: sooner or later this will leak, so they will have to manage it to their financial stakeholders; but also their brand; see 2

2.the end consumers: I already see an ad of these second-hand 'new' car dealers stating this: get someone else to do your paper work and save 40% on your second hand car which is in fact only second hand on paper... you can imagine ...

3.the business that currently exists and that thrives on these 'techniques'

What's your POV on this?

And let's dig out the marketing statement: second hand is the new new. You start! And enjoy the swimming!
27.04.2013 / Dubai / 08:03 / KF

Wow! Swimming with dolphins is quite an experience.

My kids were soooo excited; they were up at 05:30. Pfffew. But this outing, while expensive, was memorable!

In the current tough economic time, second hand for sure has a big role to play. And if you play it smart, as a sales person, you can push 'as-good-as-new' to new levels and as a premium on 2nd hand. A big business here in Dubai where almost all luxury cars have a '2nd hand, approved and tested section.

On top of that look at concepts such as eBay that play in that space. In Dubai there is a site that thrives like no tomorrow, called Dubizzle - all second hand sold by individuals. And of course there are many more like that around the world.

The 'abused' second hand car system that you're mentioning is new to me. It's almost fraud, but with a positive outcome for the consumer. Strange. These 'techniques' are so new that it's almost intriguing to swing it as a positive business and marketing model.

Why not? In the end, it's a different way to bring your goods to market, playing on new economic realities. Right? Rather than having your inventory gather dust, you might actually sell it.

But...transparency is of the essence I'd say. All's good in love and war (and cars it seems) but you have to come clean and state what you are really after. It's about how you play the authenticity card. If you're hiding stuff, then yes, one day sooner or later you'll go down.
27.04.2013 / Antwerp / 09:59 / ES

Sounds great the dolphin experience! I am sitting here with orange coloured hair. Yep. New rage here with kids: 'colour bugging'. My daughter of six has pink hair today. I have orange ;). No prob, its a natural product that is based on cray and that you wash out. So by Monday I will be, once again, the 'serious' committed strategic director. But I'll have my orange bow-tie.

Interesting POV on the second hand. Just want to go a little further on it.

Just one thing about the 'car fraud'. In essence it also means that the production capacity is too big, as we all know of course. It is not just that there is too much capacity. It is, on top of that, the fact that due to severe regulations the cars don't break down anymore. And that, on top of that, the 'idiot' governments keep penalizing the car owners... so the entire system literally 'brakes' and 'breaks'.

Second hand. It is interesting since the 'mental belief system' it triggers in your mind is about 'already used', 'old', 'outdated'... and so on. But then again you have the vintage hype. Here in Antwerp we have a street full of those shops where people pay more for 'old second hand' stuff than new Italian design. I have always been interested in the phenomenon of second hand. Trying to understand which aspects in it 'stimulate' and motivate people to buy it, and which demotivate them.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Start with this one. People pay more for a baseball cap that has been worn by Rihanna than one that has been worn by Kurt Frenier. But in essence: it's just a baseball cap. This is where the 'griffe' as the French call it so nicely influences the price image. It's the spill-over on the second hand product that influences the value.

Another one is just related to the product itself. The older the Louis Vuitton bags you have, the cheaper they get (eBay an stuff)... but after 15 some years, they become more expensive again. Or the extreme prices of old Bugatti models. Today, this 'oldtimer' market has become a real investment game. Or has turned into the game of scarcity. The 'you are invited to buy' principle. This is what Ferrari does in a very smart way. You really have to be a true Ferrarista that has already bought a couple of new cars before you can buy the limited series. Interesting marketing model if you ask me. First you buy for couple of million Euros new Ferraris, then you are exclusively invited to buy one limited special, used car for another million. But the latter really goes up in value. Let me give you an example. 6 years ago one of my clients bought - on invitation - the Ferrari Enzo. Price tag: 450.000 Euros. I saw the car and thought to myself: they have forgotten a part of the car ;) for this price tag. Today, the car has 5.000 miles on the clock. He rented it out for special events for 15.000 Euros per event just to be able to look at it... And... guess what: he just sold it for 1,4 mil Euros. Do the math yourself.

Ok, extreme example, but you understand what I mean. It is the duality of second hand. It's like antiques. Long story short: it is most interesting how people behave towards second hand. We are doing some in depth research on it with Brandhome at the moment.

Over to another interesting topic. We discussed it earlier: brand extensions. But this one is extreme. The English heavy metal band Iron Maiden (yes, when we were young), has launched a beer called 'Trooper'. Trooper takes its name from the Iron Maiden song which is inspired by the famous Charge of the Light Brigade. It is just in pre-sales and is sold out all across Europe. Interesting. When will Pepsi be launching a 'Fifty-cent' cola? Or Florida power drink? What's your POV?
28.04.2013 / Dubai / 08:20 / KF

Orange colored hair? Don't tell me you are preparing for the coronation of Alexander, the new King of Holland, on the 30th?!

Iron Maiden is leveraging its own trademark elements (since Trooper sit within their brand footprint, if you want). That is different from let's say a Fifty-Cent-Pepsi. Branching out product and brand while borrowing from relevant properties that excite the target audience is common practice. We talked about that.

But I am principally against this -what I call- 'brand prostitution'. In the long run, there is almost no positive residual equity effect. So why do it? To satisfy your short-term hunger for uplift? Not good enough. To satisfy the sales machine? Not good enough. Because your CEO is friends with a movie producer or director? For sure, not good enough ;-)

A brand must be confident enough not to go there. In the case of Iron Maiden, it's different. They are confident about their brand and confident about a logical extension into beer. Why not. Whether Iron Maiden still has a 'powerful' enough brand is questionable though. But, Iron Maiden can lift the image. And the beer needs to have the equity elements of Iron Maiden (depth, balls, heavy, raw, unique...). Up to the beer company (Robinson) carrying this to decide whether they can get away with it. Burp away, I say!
28.04.2013 / Ghent / 08:35 / ES

No, the hair was just a 'product test'. As a real marketer you test everything you can put your hands on. Let me give you an example of what happened this week. We are working for a bank that will be launching a new mobile service. Got the briefing, but also asked for access to the demo. So I put it on my iPhone and started playing with it. First, looking to check whether all the things they've told us about work. Then, starting to look myself to find inconsistencies in the story of the new product. Guess what: I found a way to crack it ;) Yep, I still have over 10 phones at home in all kinds and models and brands to test apps, sim cards, prepaid offers and so on. So after testing the new, and by the way great app, I found an error ;) You remember when we were at BASE and used all the postal addresses of girlfriends and sisters of colleagues to have them enrol as customers of competition to find the 'weakness' of the competitors? Yep! I still do such 'shadow/shallow' marketing!

You remember we spoke about service in Western-Europe, the fact that you can't complain about service. Why not? Well, compared to 'service-driven' economies such as the Middle-East, South-East Asia and USA... in Western-Europe... there is NO service! So you can't complain about it. You know my friend's joke. He is the Ambassador of an important GCC country to Europe. His punch-line is the following: the best service you can get in Western-Europe is self-service ;)

But I got like an amazing experience yesterday. From a brand you would not expect it from: Belgacom, the historic Belgian national telco operator. They have a concept called 'Priority'. You pay a couple of hundred euros a year to become a member, and then you get all kinds of priority service when you have any issues with your company telco. Some weeks ago when we moved our HQ into our temporary office we had some telco issues. They came and fixed them right away. Earlier this week I got a new iPhone 5. For this new iPhone you need a super-small sim, called a nano-sim. Busy as I am, by the time I get out of the office, the shops are closed... So yesterday I called their service center at 7:38 in the morning. I thought I was going to end up in a distant call center, but I got a friendly and perfectly bilingual French-Flemish woman on the phone. I was a bit surprised, but explained my problem to her. She told me that she would have a speed-courier deliver the nano-sim to any address where I was at that moment. Less than 3 hours later I got the sim! I called her afterwards and they switched the sims right away! I was unreacheable for hardly 30 seconds! Amazing service I have to say. In 15 years telco experience, both as a customer as a marketing advisor to multiple telco's around the world, I never saw such a service. And not only the great service, but the 2 incidents we had at our office in the past weeks have paid me the membership back big time. Imagine the time it takes to run after all of that yourself. As you know, time is money!

Brings me to our next discussion topic. Should companies and brands create actively different service-levels and promote them actively towards their customers? We have known this for years in the credit card business and travel industry, and in some parts of the world in the mass retail banking sector. What's your POV?
29.04.2013 / Dubai / 06:28 / KF

The answer is YES! And it is an untapped territory...

...Obvious for service brands.

Like you say, credit cards have been doing this forever. But it can be taken everywhere. Example 1: in the M-East, where labor cost is low, you have all kinds of service-plus-plus ideas popping up, whether it is a laundry company, etc. Example 2: I wish my car company would offer me a no-hassle service. Half the time I don't have time to take my car to the workshop (I'd love to pay more for them to pick it up), think about upgrading it (I'd trust s.o. that would offer me a Boxter with extra features for me to drive around for a few days; sure I'd pay more), organize a sale (I'd pay for a trusted person to help me sell it personally). Simple stuff. Doesn't exist.

...Meaningful and differentiated for Fast Moving Brands even.

Why wouldn't P&G set up cleaning advice teams? They know everything about the house anyway, they might as well leverage their knowledge and get some business out of it ...and.... brand trust! Big prize!

I think times are such that a lot of people would pay more for decent added value service of some sort. As long as it comes across as personal...exclusive...trustworthy.

As a parallel thought, it goes back to the principle components we discussed on "freemium": build layers of price differentiation around your brand whereby consumers get more for paying more. A principle as old as the street, as they say in Belgium :-)
29.04.2013 / Antwerp / 14:48 / ES

The problem is that some clients are used to 'free' and 'complimentary'. So they are not willing to pay. Read: they want it all for free. And you know what comes after FREE: Bankruptcy.

But let's elaborate on how we could add these 'magical' layers for which people are willing to pay. Let's put down some building blocks first.

Distinctive: clients are ready to pay for it, when it makes them distinctive. It's like those party planners you find in Miami and NYC who you pay to arrange your party entrances; no waiting in line; no doormen bullying you off; and so on...

Profitability. My example: how much is your direct or indirect return on business if you get direct cut-through-the-red-tape service?

You continue!
30.04.2012 / Dubai / 06:12 / KF

Be better. It needs to have an edge, and be distinctive, yes, but not at all costs. You pay more, you want more. More quality. Better service. Distinctively better, I would say.

Exclusive. Not for everyone. Always worth paying more for. Even if it's just for a guy that comes to check up on your clogged washing machine in the middle of the night, if that's what you need.

=Fast. A lot of these services are about speed. Speed of access. Speed of service. Speed of response. Speed of getting things done. Faster than 'normal service'.

Remarkable. Always good to stand out in such a way that people talk about you. Good and exclusive things go round like wildfire. Good thing.

On a slightly related note, I'd like us to talk about pricing and pricing strategies. Assuming we haven't covered that already :-) haha - I'm losing track of the subjects we talked about. Getting old here.

(The month is over ...haven't we reached the end of Q2 yet?)
30.04.2013 / Antwerp / 22:32 / ES

Yep! We did it! Q2 is almost there. Well, in less than 1,5 hours.

Let's wrap that one up with some ideas about pricing strategies.

Uh. What do you exactly mean? We discussed brand premiums, but we did not discuss pricing strategies.

Do you mean the classic ones such as 'penetration' and 'skimming' pricing strategies? Or some more modern ones such as 'value-pricing', 'pay what you want', 'dynamic pricing'... to freemium pricing (that we already discussed)?

What would be the pricing strategy of this brand domino book? A book that holds 2 lives of thoroughbred marketers?
01.05.2013 / Dubai / 08:11 / KF

Cool. Two quarters DONE. Did you think we'd get here when we said, "Tell you what, let's just give it a shot and see where we end up", six months ago? We rock, dude. 3OO-4OO pages written, as a hobby. Talk about commitment :-)

Let's start this quarter with a BANG!

BIG question: can you accept a hold position strategy? Not growing (brand, equity, share, profit, you name it) makes us all itchy, right? Marketers are after more loyalty, more brand interaction, more brand advocates, more volume, more frequency, more buzz. More...more...more...of everything. That is great. And the right attitude – in general. But let me tell you, if you are a market leader and you are under threat from a committed competitor that is after your market, then that might not necessarily be the right focus. Here's why...

...Leadership comes with a certain (negative) attitude. You are and feel superior, better, bigger. That very quickly leads to arrogance – it's human nature. And with that comes complacency. Certain corners of your fortress will be weaker. Guess what? Your competition will know exactly where those corners are and they will go after them.

...The only way is down. When you are standing on top of the mountain, waving your leadership flag, the only way you can go is downhill. That in itself makes small brands attractive to certain people. Supporting the 'underdog' is cool. It reinforces the consumer's uniqueness. It incites them to try it: 'Ah, why not, let's check this new brand out'.

As a market leader, that needs to make you tremble. It is dangerous not to react to that.

...Your financials are largely frozen/blocked. When you've built a big business, it takes a lot of money to just maintain what you have, to keep a good piece of mind with your consumers/users, to offer them all what they require, and to fuel your operational and sales machine. Small competitors hurt you with disproportionate investments in areas that don't make sense to you and where you don't want to waste resources. Tough luck, that's precisely what will give competitors leeway over time.

This is what I think: when you have reached a certain leadership position in a market with a very high $ value, it is probably wise to switch from a grow to a defend strategy. Totally different mindset. Totally different business setup. Putting money in places where it is needed to defend weak corners. Changing your innovation strategy. Reworking your media spend. Refocus on loyal customers. Drop the acquisition strategy. Etc.

Making that change is not easy. Believe me. You need to make a hard case for management to understand and to prove that losing equity means loss of x heavy users, that loss of a percentage share will cost y dollars, that losing shelf space will result in z, etc.

Where do you stand on that?

And after that I want to quickly touch upon cost+ versus value-based-pricing and let's use our book as example!
01.05.2013 / Antwerp / 09:56 / ES

Do you ask me as an entrepreneur or as a strategic consultant?

As an entrepreneur I have learned the hard way that if you want to keep a solid and leading position like Brandhome has, you have to stay small. Hence the 20-20-20 strategy. Hubs of 20 of the best people to do the job. In a way it is a defend/keep strategy.

If you ask me as a consultant, then it is double. I endorse what you just pointed out. Comes back to the following wisdom: _nothing breeds failure as much as success_. The problem is that companies (and brands) that are doing well fall asleep. And then the challenger comes in and wakes them up.

Another aspect of the discussion is a more philosophical one. What is enough? Is there no such thing as an optimal size? I believe there is, but it is difficult for people to accept that, since all the pressure from the stock market and so on is on the CEO's shoulders. I see the difference on various projects I work on. Investment strategies are different if you are a listed company or not.

If you are in a growth sector or a declining sector. If you are in emerging markets or cutthroat markets. And so on.

The good thing about a hold strategy is that you can use it to destroy other competitors coming into your markets. You can optimize and leverage your competitive advantage and cut them off. There are various techniques for that, amongst which are pricing, positioning, distribution pressure. But there are also less ethical ones such as headhunting the key-persons, starting legal action... and so on. Just to kill them.

The problem with hold strategies is that most companies and brands, in my experience, forget about the consumer and lose out that way.

Since it is a day-off in Belgium (Labor Day), I need to hurry off to Holland to go into a meeting. You know I don't like unLabor-days ;)

Let me congratulate you on the Q2 and looking forward to the pricing discussion.
02.05.2013 / Dubai / 09:12 / KF

Pricing. A precious subject. Difficult. But essential. In the end, all a company does is drive frequency through: equity building; creating desirability; availability; volume per usage/consumption and great product performance; i.e. delivering on the brand promise, at the right price for the consumer. The combination of these 3 gives you the revenue of your business. Pricing is the one strategy that moves the least. If it moves at all. Companies are built on certain pricing strategies and it is difficult to let go or change over. Let me explain what I mean, and I'm taking FMCG companies as an example.

Current practice

For a lot of companies, pricing is a P&L exercise, internally focused, based on cost+ principles. At best, an external factor is added which leads to competitive price setting. It's comfortable, predictable, gets you what you've always gotten. BUT...not at all consumer based.

Future of pricing

Time for a change. Why? Well, the cost+competitive price strategy leaves opportunities on the table. Because it doesn't start from the consumer's willingness to pay a certain amount for what he gets, you either underprice or overprice. Not good. So the question is: how can you start from the value of a proposition? How can you use price as an equity signal? How can you generate more profit by pricing higher to invest in A&M/image/identity? That, by the way, in turn leads to desirability and premiumness. How do you really leverage the power of your brand more? It warrants a change to what is called

VALUE-BASED-PRICING. The benefit I think is big. As a company you can move from the just-right-price quest, which is always a struggle, to a maximum-possible-price-for-a-proposition which will boost profits! VBP is all around us, outside FMCG. Why can't it be working in FMCG. If Porsche would follow a cost+ model then we'd probably all drive a Porsche for less than 15.000 dollars. Or we'd all be wearing UGG boots for 100 bucks, or drinking a Starbucks coffee for a dollar. Catch my drift!?

Caveat

Value-based-pricing is much more complex. You need to understand price psychology before you can make a call. And that leads to a need to change systems that lead to pricing decisions. From how you research pricing - to how to reframe willingness to pay - to how you develop VBP-modelling tools to how to manage the portfolio.

Our book as an example

The price to print nice-quality books at cost+ is 18 euros. But what signal would we give? That we are lousy writers with no experience that have tried to write a book? Pricing it at 80 euros to make a statement on the other hand will make us look stupid and arrogant, and no one will buy it. But what's a right price for our product? Following VBP logic, we need to reach out to our target group, expose them to the product and ask them what they would be willing to pay for it, in line with the value it adds to them.

What's your experience with that?
02.05.2013 / Brussels / 22:21 / ES

Before touching on the pricing issue, I want to touch on the fact as to why it is difficult to have a pricing policy.

It sounds weird what I am about to say, but it is, unfortunately, very true. Very few companies actually know how to calculate their prices. It goes hand in hand with the discipline of making cases, pre and post business cases, do the math on what and how, know how much you earn on what etc.

I come across many companies, some very big ones, where they have never heard about the product and portfolio margin mix. So don't bother discussing pricing strategies... The first thing is to actually know your opex and capex and treat them in an objective and realistic way. Not fooling yourself or others with extreme depreciation, in calculations of sunk costs before a project has even started!...

It's as I wrote in the Accountability part of my Triple-A book: this is more Madness, than even Math or Marketing.

For me it is simple. You have a total income versus cost. Bottom line is profit or loss. Then, when you think branding, the pricing discussion really starts. That's what branding is all about. That is what your example of Porsche perfectly illustrates!

What's your POV on companies that don't even know their cost structures? Tell me. Then I'll elaborate further on the pricing strategies. And we'll surely touch on the commodity trap discussion. Or did we already discuss that. My brain is getting older too!
03.05.2013 /Dubai / 23:09 / KF

Quick one on your question, since I'm already late delivering this piece.

Your question is as intriguing as it is true. You are right. People in a company often don't know the details of their cost structure. And if they do, it is limited to a happy few that are sworn to secrecy - the CFO's inner circle. The cost structure of a company is a trade secret in itself. And rightly so. Circling this back to my point on 'defending' your brand. If you know your competitor's cost structure you also know his weaknesses. Anyway, I'm deviating. The secrecy around costs and prices causes a lot of people to work in a vacuum and to follow instructions from the top blindly it's the - this is how things get done here – approach. Marketing is definitely often kept out of the loop.

What you write about in Triple-A is true. And it relates to the need for greater transparency within companies. Transparency seems to lead to weakness, but, actually, it holds the key to unlocking the power. And the pricing strategy getting more streamlined in the right way is just one outcome of that.

Over to you...
03.05.2013 / Antwerp / 21:19 / ES

Followed the Belgian press. Some communist idiot wants to limit the freedom of soda pops here too. They want to put a tax on soft drinks. We know that Belgium is known for stupid taxes of all kinds, that need to support the lazy government, but a tax on soft drinks. Come on!!!

Right. Back to pricing. What is price? There is an old Flemish saying that goes like this: _price is any given value that a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept_.

If we look at it from a marketing perspective, then it is clear that in essence there are only 2 ideal pricing strategies.

One is value-based pricing. For me that is equal to a positive brand premium.

Two is bottom-cost pricing. For me that is equal to a negative brand premium.

Everything else, over 20 different pricing strategies and subsequent psychological effects on consumers, are just mixed with these 2 main ingredients inside.

As a brand marketer I love VALUE-BASED. Higher those prices!!

I would like to dig into another subject. Mobile payment systems. Will they increase un-thoughtful spending, which is a buying behaviour, or not? Will people be able to control themselves? Mobile direct peer-to-peer payment systems is even easier than paying by credit cards. When you see how it works, it's easier than sending an sms! What's your POV?
04.05.2013 / Dubai / 13:15 / KF

With mobile payment systems I assume you mean cashless payments using your mobile. 'Your mobile is your wallet', let's say. Near-Field-Communication or Audio-Signal enabled payments from a tech point of view.

Lots of those popping up in Dubai, I can tell you. And lots of advertising around it. I find it as fascinating as I find it scary, as a consumer. Seems odd to me that I can wave my card or phone and my money goes airborne and flies to someone else :-) ...but it's the future, no doubt. And it's exciting to explore the possibilities as a marketer.

Mobi is one of those brands that I see a lot in Dubai. Launched by ADCB, it's one of those modern mobile payment methods. It projects an image about the mobile phone company, but more importantly about the bank facilitating it.

Why is this a 'thing' now? First of all, the technology is finally there. Secondly, it's one more extra step towards maximizing convenience for consumers. No need to carry petty cash (coins etc). Third, fast and efficient payment for the retailer. Fourth, for the bank: visibility to small payments (Big Brother, man, I tell you -pretty soon EVERYTHING we do will be traceable). The 'Beam me up, Scotty!' – radar level is high.

Is it safe? Seems like it. When it comes to mobile payment systems, they've built in a lot of security: maximum transfer limits, multi-authentication elements, etc. Seems like this is a far more secure payment method than say a credit card that one can steal, get the number or forge a signature and rip you off for 10.000 dollars. Much more difficult with a phone. Right?

A similar system exists with debit or credit cards where you wave or tap your card and you're done. Examples: Visa PayWave and Quick Tap from Barclay's.

Pretty soon you will be able to tap, hover or wave anything that has a chip card, sim card or electronic system on it to pay. Nice. There's a BIG idea in there!! What if I could wave my chip-enabled can of Pepsi to pay, and drink it then and there? Or walk into any gym in the world, step on a machine, transfer some money to it and work out for an hour? What if you would step into the bus you always take and your mobile immediately picks up the location, sends a signal and done -no need to even do anything? Etc.

I think all the above will change buying behavior big time. And brands and companies better get their act together to ride the wave.

Will it increase 'un-thoughtful' spending because consumers can't control themselves ... well, you can think about that one!
04.05.2013 / Antwerp / 20:05 / ES

I believe it will.

People are not aware of what they are spending anyway, so the easier and more convenient it becomes, the more they will spend and less aware they will be that they are spending.

Let me give you an example of what you do in the clubbing world. Think about the nice clubs in the world. You give your credit card at the entrance. You then get another magnetic card or key or clothing pin instead to identify your payment tab. You start consuming, drinking, pay for other people's drinks, etc. Most of the people get drunk (not me, I don't do alcohol)... and they fall into a frenzy, in party-mode... they're thinking all about the party... but forget all about the spending. And then the awakening comes... expensive night... or worse... call your bank call centre to put your expensive limit on your card upwards...

Setting aside ethical business practice, this as an example of how we as marketers will have a lot of fun now that payment barriers are disappearing.

It will not be the alcohol that'll drive consumers into the frenzied, mental state that makes them forget all about what they are spending... IT WILL BE US!

It will open up a whole new approach to the transaction process, pushing people to over-consume just like with medium, large, x-large, and XXXXXX-large packaging.

It that negative? NO! People have the right to decide for themselves how they will go about handling both the freedom and the responsibility that comes with this new payment convenience.

But will society suffer from it. Yes. As with all new types of further convenience, the past has taught us that people cannot easily manage it. Remember when we were in telecoms. You remember the multiple issues of people not being able to pay their telecom bills. They were not able to manage the freedom of consuming omnipresent communication that mobile communication gave them... and the ability to talk unlimited to erotic lines... Resulting in big issues  
where the EU government had to step in and force the European telco's into sectorial guidelines to avoid such incidents.

Just a quick tangent about Europe... You probably forgot since you have been away for so long. Yep, Europe is all about all the people screaming that they want freedom, rights, more rights, and even more rights. Even the right NOT to pay what they have consumed... Yes. It is official now. In Western-Europe and especially in Belgium we have lost our minds! Even priests that are recidivist paedophiles are left alone...

Sorry for that. Just came up in me. Back to the topic.

So when you follow the thinking of what happened with mobile subscriptions, imagine what could happen when mobile payments go through the roof.

I already have ideas about how to push people to PAY NOW promotions. I call it the 'third hand' of the marketer. This is the ability of the marketer to understand the petty-spending field out there. To understand the largest chunk of the consumer population. Nice people, very much focused on living their own little lives, behaving like little sheep, not knowing that this 'third hand' drives them towards the meadows of consumption!

Another interesting thing will be 'cash flow'. What do I mean? Well, mobile payment will increase pretty much with smaller amounts that you pay nowadays in cash. You see it also with the partners that have stepped in so far in the Mobi program in Dubai.These companies get the cash immediately. When you end up having micro payment transactions into systems that will only transfer your the income a couple of weeks later, who knows what the effect will be on smaller businesses. I have seen this going wrong some 20 years ago with the internal company catering business. The meal checks started to take the place of the cash receipt at the counters.

Profit is a dream. CASH is REALITY! What's your POV on that one. Imagine that we drive all small retailers into bankruptcy like that!?
05.05.2013 / Dubai / 06:03 / KF

CASH IS KING, dude. Always. That simple slogan holds a lot of truth and is a great guide for making choices. BUT it's short-term focused. Good in times of recession, bleeding, turnaround, crisis. But not good I think in the upstream, when you need to take risks, focus on a long-term win, and retract to grow bigger -because if YOU don't, your competitors will.

Having cash in your pocket/bank is like having blood in your body. It pays employees and suppliers, and keeps you sane. It's a tangible, visible aspect of your company's success. If you don't see the money pouring in, then you should ask questions.

Different subject: BUSINESS PLANS. We are in our 3-5 year strategic planning cycle right now. I'm always excited about that, because I love to think through strategy. Unfortunately, I can't say it's always done the right way. Too many people ask questions for the sake of asking questions, a lot of paper gets wasted with meaningless content on it labelled 'strategic'. Often you're working on a frankenplan instead of a business plan. Where do you stand on that? And can we write up the rules of the road for good strategic business planning.
05.05.2013 / Antwerp / 16:35 / ES

Believe me, when it is your own money... cash IS king. Today the sole constant is change, so I prefer to stick with my little reality wisdom on cash, instead of dreaming profit.

Hence it does not mean that when you focus on cash, profit is not possible. Even long-term strategic thinking can benefit from it. Because it forces you and your team into a smaller, tighter frame of reference for idea creating. The tighter it gets, the better the ideas that come out. It is a misconception that limitations in terms of budgets obstruct the development of great ideas. Facebook, Nike, Google... to name a few?

Small paragraph before we jump to business planning. I'll get back quickly to business cases. In the end - when marketing is about earning money - you need to know your case, including the... business case. Just want to pin down the definition here. Makes me feel better ;)

BusinessDictionary.com defines business case as follows:

A type of decision-making tool used to determine the effects a particular decision will have on profitability. A business case should show how the decision will alter cash flows over a period of time, and how costs and revenue will change. Specific attention is paid to internal rate of return (IRR), cash flow and payback period.

Business planning. Yep, tons of paper wasted every year the planning cycle comes around.

BusinessDictionary.com defines business planning as follows:

'The process of determining a commercial enterprise's objectives, strategies and projected actions in order to promote its survival and development within a given time frame. Business planning typically has two key aspects, one focused on making profits and the other focused on dealing with risks that might negatively impact the business'

Before moving into some tips on how to create better business planning, let us first ask ourselves why business planning becomes either a chaotic, time-consuming event or slides into dream planning or sandbagging in most cases?

Here are just 10 reasons from the top of my head. All of them have different reasons, and sometimes very valid reasons, but here are the symptoms to look at when facing difficult business planning:

1.chaotic top management (changing routes constantly)

2.unclear / lack of vision, mission, ambition

3.fluffy top line company strategy

4.unclear commercial strategy and policy

5.lack of R&D / innovation

6.lack of relevant BI information & relevant kpi's

7.unexpected internal events (product failure, production facilities breakdown...)

8.unexpected external events (stock market, competition, regulatory...)

9.unrealistic timing

10.inexperienced / incompetent staff

You add. Then back to business planning.
06.05.2013 / Dubai / 08:13 / KF

Quite a comprehensive list. I would add:

11.Unclear roles and responsibilities. Who really owns the business plan, and therefore who should be involved and who not?

12.Hidden agendas. The business plan used as a way to get extra money, a production line you always dreamed of, etc etc

13.Lack of resources. Writing a solid business plan is not a hobby, it doesn't come on top of your job. It means you need time-out, and quite a good chunk of that. When resources are stretched already, quality of the business plan goes down. You can only do so much thinking in 24h.

14.Reinvention. Worst thing ever. I have seen whole strategies being re-written year on year. Unwarranted. It's a strategic plan... and therefore the directions set out 3 years ago should still be largely valid.

Writing a long-term business plan can be easy or difficult, let's make that distinction first. It's easy if it's for a single country and/or for a simple business. But it gets very complex when you have different business units, multiple markets (or the globe), diverse categories, etc. Key principles of plan writing are the same in both situations, but let's take the difficult situation for the rest of this topic. Just to keep us on our toes ;-)

First, a question: can you write a strategic plan on just a few sheets?

The answer should be YES. A strategy is an intention of where you want to play, with very little detail on how you will play. That gets a forgotten a lot. Too many plans are too deep, too executional.

Forget the big strategic questions! And hence, you need to be able to lay that out with crisp facts and figures not too much pooha.

BUT -that is different from the financial plan or algorithm. Unfortunately that is and will remain a horrendous exercise, where you have to drill every line of the P&L and predict how it will evolve over a few years.

You continue...
06.05.2013 / Antwerp / 08:01 / ES

Let me add 2 things to that.

Firstly, it is important to decide how you want your business planning to be set up. It is either top-down or bottom-up.

Or you instruct the different units (being countries, categories, segments...) to follow a strict framework that you push from the down downwards and they have to fill-in the gaps.

Or you let them, within some limitations of the format, decide for themselves what and how they will put their business planning together to get you the info you need.

Both of course presuming that you know what you want to do at the highest consolidated level with the company/brand. This fits your point that you need to decide whether you have one global brand ambition, or local ambitions, or a mix of both. The more complex your different markets, brands, roles and relative positioning of brands, leader, defender, challenger..., the more complex it gets.

Just place this against the 14 Reasons for Failure that we just listed up above, and see how complex things can get.

Here is a tip on _how I act when business planning is 'skinny'_ and we need to step in:

1.list up the parts, topics and kpi's that the business plan needs to provide; this is a kind of debrief, same approach as when you are writing a thesis... or a book

2.talk this through with senior management, and seek connection with lateral businesses that have to come up with their plans too; try to find common ground, best practices, exchangeable know-how that can be extrapolated into the plan, etc

3.go for variables in the way you set up the plan; the most simple one is what I call the OPM model: Optimo, Pessimo, Medio scenarios that you build up depending on the variations that could be in your plan; that way you avoid to get stuck in your thinking when you - as often happens in such a planning cycle - are confronted with choices that you feel you have to make, but you don't feel comfortable about; etc.

4.use the approach of triangulation: use multiple sources to underpin choices you make: internal, external, and gut feeling

5.keep it short and simple; use the annex for all the underpinning of what you are writing down

6.make sure you have an internal and semi-internal (e.g. business partners) cascading plan in place; mostly this is never done... and then people are surprised that the plan is not known... doesn't come to life; at Brandhome we do a lot of story-lining for that; that works!

You continue. Let's get to 10.

And then back to ... the pricing of Brand Domino!
07.05.2013 / Dubai / 06:21 / KF

You hit the nail on the head. Biggest struggle is to be clear on top-down or bottom-up.

Top down is the only way to drive strategy.

That's my opinion, of course. The reason for that is REALITY. In the end, strategy is a company thing. In a bottom-up situation, conflicts will arise; it's unavoidable because no one is sitting at the steering wheel at the top. Unless you go through endless alignment and realignment loops which frankly is a waste of time more than anything else. Someone needs to make the calls and those can only be made at the highest level. Such is life.

Focus on business model.

On top of that the business plan is or should largely be about business model changes. (Big issue... How well do people know how to deal with that?) It's nice to have ideas, concepts, brand strategies, portfolio diversification ambitions... it all falls apart if the business model doesn't change to cater for the strategy. That's where it often goes wrong.

Commit, for real.

Another element is that you need to put your money where your mouth is. Strategy can not be 'dreaming' but about reality and achievable.

Don't overdo it.

Strategizing should be an everyday thing, and as said before, it's not about changing direction all the time. Therefore, don't overdo it. Fewer-bigger-better. Don't try to boil the ocean. You know you won't be able to execute to excellence. Focus on the big 3 or big 5 things and get the whole company behind it. Kill the rest.

Next ones?
07.05.2013 / Antwerp / 22:18 / ES

Let's talk about something else and get back to the business model tomorrow...something brain relaxing...Beyonce! I believe you know her since she is in the current Pepsi campaign. I mean, that you know who she is, not that you personally know her (you don't know her do you? ;-)).

Today I saw a big ad at the traffic lights in Antwerp. Guess who was on there... Beyoncé! In a nice Coca-Cola red swimming suit from H&M. Did you know that? Here we are back to a concrete case of brand ambassadors. A case you know well. Personally I don't mind that she is in multiple campaigns. Even though Pepsi's TV spot is on the air in Belgium now, I don't mind all the ads hanging all around the place with the red swimming suit. In fact, I think you (we all) benefit from it since she is hot at the moment. What's your POV?
08.05.2013 / Dubai / 06:11 / KF

I like a light in-between snack ...even an intellectual one :-)

BUT, as I said before, I'm limiting my comments on Pepsi-specific topics for obvious reasons.

Multi-use of brand ambassadors.

As a company ideally you'd want a celebrity for yourself for as long as you can. Exclusive to your brand and no one else. That is possible. Unfortunately, reality meets the dream at the price tag. Celebs know what they're worth. And the top celebrities get offers from brands every day.

Rule of thumb: go back to the principles...

(1) You need to protect yourself against brand confusion. At least, there should be exclusivity within your wide category. H&M is as far away from drinks and snacks as can be.

(2) You need to build in first right of refusal in your contracts. Especially for the high-end/expensive contract, it's common courtesy to ask for a gentlemen's clause that says the celeb needs to let you know about new opportunities that come along, and ask you if you're ok with it.
08.05.2013 / Antwerp / 08:12 / ES

Personally I find it interesting that the celebrities function as glue and leverage between the different brands they are endorsing. There is a kind of co-branding logic then between things. H&M and Pepsi are distant categories, but have the same kind of feeling: hip, young/youth-in-mind, challenger... so I see it as an upside.

Before going back to business modelling tomorrow, here's something else I heard about yesterday at a meeting. Sacred Space (www.sacredspace.ie). Ever heard about that? It's a website run by the Irish Jesuits. A lot of people go to that website to do their daily prayers. It's an interesting line extension of their product range I have to say. The people that go there are religious people who don't have time to go to church. And apparently they have a large share of senior managers in their following.

It's an interesting line extension they have invented. It is like the clicks and not the bricks age of the Church has finally come. Hope this will get them to be more transparent. You know how I detest the way they have handled their paedophile problems. Talking about a brand crisis... they have had one. At least online they cannot physically touch kids...

It is interesting how The Catholic Church missed out on this innovation. An interesting parallel with what happens in companies when the senior staff is not following what is happening in the world out there. The repositioning and rebranding of The Catholic Church: wouldn't that be an interesting marketing project? Increase preference, increase customers/followers, find new cash-flows to create income, peel off all the sex scandals, etc.

What's your POV on that one? Perhaps we should get the Pope to endorse our Brand Domino book and then ask us to do the marketing job. I'm just not sure that they're great brand ambassadors. Well, maybe, in this age of no drinking and driving, they can change water into Pepsi instead of wine ;)
09.05.2013 / 35000ft above Minsk (RU) / 12:23 local time in current location / KF

What's up with you and the church, my friend? We keep falling into these weird conversations about Catholicism and what they do wrong and right. It's not that interesting. Although....I might want to revisit that once and for all! What you said in your last Domino is mind-blowing. This Irish church is innovating –or at least trying. That is sooooo interesting. I went to the www.sacredspace.ie website to check it out. Fucking interesting. You can 'pray', like it on facebook, talk about it on twitter, and what not. At the same time it makes me think of the Middle Ages, where you could buy a piece of paper from the church to get rid of your sins. This website feels a bit like that...not real...quick pray...get it over with...and then I can do whatever I want again. This Sacredspace website is a gem of an idea! This is exactly the point about them, as a company, not innovating. When you are a good innovator, you keep your eyes open for these kinds of things. When you see a good idea, and there is some traction behind it ...take it...upgrade it...make it bigger...make it look nothing like the initial thing, and you potentially have a really really big idea. Sacredspace's mission is interesting: 'When you pray you are not alone. You are part of a global community' that's a brand promise, that's a modern marketing idea, that has tribes and communities in it. I would blow this out of proportion and make it into a money making buzz machine for the Church. *snapping out of it*. But one thing is for sure: NO WAY will they endorse our book! Now, let's talk some meaningful stuff instead of this stealing-my-religion stuff!
09.05.2013 / Milano (IT) / 19:50 / ES

Quick one. Just made it to Milano. I have a couple of meetings and projects here tomorrow. Let's go back later to the rebranding of the Catholic Church. If we could pull that one off... ;)

What I was thinking today, as I watched all the Italian cars bumping into each other was: why is it that most Italian made car brands are considered to be technically inferior to German ones?

Stupid boring discussion I hear you think, but hear me out. You are familiar with the halo effect. In consumer psychology the halo effect is defined as the cognitive bias where the judgment of a person's character can be influenced by the overall impression of that person. Think about me, how a great a brand marketer I am... and suddenly you think that I am the best in everything ;)

In brand marketing we use the halo effect to explain the bias shown by customers towards certain brands/products because of a favourable experience with other brands/products made by the same manufacturer. So in essence, the halo effect is driven by corporate brand equity. I will buy a Skoda now because I know that it is owned and operated by Volkswagen Group.

The opposite of the halo effect in consumer psychology is called the horn effect. In marketing we prefer to call this simply: cannibalization.

Now, here we go. Why is it that Italian cars can't go about fixing that perception? Have to tell you: I am driving a FIAT 500 now. I had a photo shoot earlier this week for an interview in the leading Belgian business newspaper. The photographer asked me to sit on the roof of the FIAT. (I did not fall through.) I love to drive it! Very decent and totally opposite to my 'Don Draper' image of year ago. Stupid, silly young me.

So? Well, we all drive Fiat 500's now and we have some lorries from Peugeot. Yep, the one is Italian rubbish and the other is considered French rust!

Well... here I get confused. I'm ready for some discussion. Whereas when Italian brands are about fashion they are considered leading, when it comes down to cars... don't mention it... just don't mention machinery at all. For Germans it's the inverse: top quality in cars, but f*cking boring in fashion. Hugo B? What's his name?..."

Let us see how we can remarket the Italian car and technology image. You start.
10.05.2013 / New York / 06:11 / KF

Ha! Great subject. The way I look at it: it's all about reputation. And in this case, I feel that the reputation and image of Italy rubs off on Italian cars. Similarly, the image of the Germans projects positive things about their cars. And who knows, after 100 years of carmaking, maybe those reputations become self- fulfilling prophecies and therefore realities! Bit more explanation...

Italy as a country, as a people, is known for being laid back, easy, somewhat superficial, la dolce vita, flashy, and extroverted. If you take that image to a car, then at best you get fast and flashy (hey...that's exactly what they are!), but also a lot of superstition on quality, durability, eye for detail etc. Italy is a beautiful looking empty shell, so to speak. (Don't get me wrong - I LOVE Italy!). I did a lot of car studies back in my research days. And let me tell you, that image was there 10 years before I started my research, it was there when I did the research, and 20 years later, it's still there. 'An Alfa Romeo starts rusting in the brochure' is what they used to say.

Germany on the other hand is known for its rigidity, precision, regulation, and strength. The people are colder, more business like, but with that also very detailed, perfectionists...the bar is high. Germany is all work and no play. Good reputation for cars. The BMWs, Audis and Porsches of this world benefit.

So, shaking off those reputations is ...nearly impossible. I think. Unless you work on car reputation AND country reputations.

The solution!? Italy and Germany having passionate sex. The result, an Italo-Germano supercar with the perfection of the Germans and the fashion sense of the Italian. Made in a neutral country in the middle...say....Belgium. And branded by Brandhome. How about that? :-)

I'm in the US and while we're at the subject of cars...USA, land of dreams and opportunities, land of service, and all the rest of the good stuff. Guess what, the cars are reflective of that ...big, comfortable, limousines, made for comfortable long drives across a large country.

Cars and countries are like dogs and their owners. Have you ever seen pictures of that? For some strange reason owners pick dogs that reflect themselves; in looks and in personality. Countries build cars that reflect their culture. Or...maybe I'm just jetlagged :-)

Ciao amigo. The Big Apple calls. Need to go to the gym to be at my best today!
10.05.2013 / Milano / 17:30 / ES

I am enjoying a super cappuccino! Check that spelling! Double PP and CC. The real deal.

It's not just reputation we are talking about here! It's something deeper and more complex. Imagine you are a great engineer designing the best machines. If you have them produced in Germany they are considered top quality. If you are producing them in Italy, then you're f*cked.

It's more about faulty generalization, another nice psychological effect. Imagine we would test the following. Put a VW logo on the Alfa Romeo brochure. See how people react then. Or even better, test a sample group and tell them that Volkswagen just took over Fiat and see if it would have the same effect as the 'VW-magic' did to Skoda and SEAT.

Faulty generalization. Big collective error we are all making everyday but quasi impossible to fight! Even if I have to confess that in regard to the Catholic Church I am guilty of it myself. :) Let's touch on some examples of faulty generalization. Just for the fun of it. Suits my cappuccino Italian ambiance here after a long day of meetings. Just to illustrate the stupidity of it, but also the omnipresence of it. Here we go. All Moroccans steal. Women are bad at math. Or worse: women can't drive. White male men can't jump. Black people have large d*'s. People in advertising are full of shit. Polish people are drunks. Russians are communists. Etc.

In essence what we are seeing in the car versus country brand imposed co-branding is the same basis on which fascism grew. Yep. That's a long haul in thinking, stretches your mind for miles, but think about it. It is interesting how the online world is increasing these preconceptions, and not reducing them, as I expected some years ago. Just did some research here on some online blogs. Amazing what people write about and toss online ... not just the perceived quality of Italian cars... but also about other ethnic, religious, cultural... entities. Let me start by giving the example. I solemnly swear that I will not generalize anymore that all priests are sick paedophiles! But, I hope that the legal system will prosecute them and put them in jail and not have the legal system manipulated by the power of the Catholic Church (at least in Belgium). And also to clear this one out for our readers: no, I have never been a victim, but I have known a couple of victims and these people's lives were destroyed.

Brings me to the dog and owners thing you touched on. Yep, it's a kind of fatal attraction thing. The gravitation effect it's sometimes called. Please note that it has never been scientifically proven, but it sounds intelligent doesn't it? It's based on the framework that some psycho-social explanations have been sought between dogs and their owners. It is like a relationship desk: the personality and psyche of the owner will be projected on the dog he/she picks. And then the owner and the dog grow towards each other as people do. Look at us. We are also growing closer to each other in this book ;)

Back to something that we need to start thinking about. The commercialization of our book. And please do not distract me anymore with NYC stories ;)

Part one: price.

Let's ask a nice little not-at-all-marketing-price of 44 + 39 = 83, being it your and my age at the go to market moment of the book. Suggest we make it in Pound Sterling so we can make a little profit on the exchange rates... or at least confuse the hell out of people why we come up with (a) such a strange value-based pricing and (b) why the heck in pounds?

What's your POV? Keep it strange please. Then also up to you whether we will put volume behind it.
11.05.2013 / New York / time unknown / KF

No Domino. KF is probably partying somewhere...

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
11.05.2013 / Milano / time unknown / ES

No Domino. ES is awaiting KF.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
12.05.2013 / New York / time unknown / KF

No Domino. KF is probably still partying somewhere...

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
12.05.2013 / Milano / time unknown / ES

No Domino. Comes in handy that KF is still partying in the Big Apple. I am overloaded in work... and Tiramisu.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.05.2013 / Dubai / 18:43 / KF

Ha – I LIKE STRANGE.

So, a few suggestions for our book price, or at least the base of it:

•Combined number of job rotations we had :-)

•Number of big marketing failures we made :-)

•Collective number of countries we travelled for marketing/job reasons :-)

•Number of times you wanted to kill your CEO :-)

•The number of marketing models we already invented in this book :-)

•The number of times/days we failed to write :-)

•The combined age of our kids?

Or we can make it ZERO euros, the number of times our mind was not thinking of marketing in the last 20 yrs.

All joking aside... I like the age calculation, but it would be too expensive. So I would give a standing 50% discount for the first 5 years. That makes it 44 + 39 = 83 *.5 = 42 euro. Nicely rounded. Odd number. Affordable. And expensive enough not to be confused with a BS book ...let's just hope we live up to that promise!
13.05.2013 / Milano / 19:04 / ES

Deal. List price 83 euros but with the discount 41,50 euros. We need to put on the cover how the price was calculated.

What we could also do, alternatively, is make a complex formula of all marketing and branding books together, mix them, add them, multiply them, divide hem... and see if something comes out ;)

Enough joking. Back to serious business. Now that we have set our price. How will we drive volume? Will we print the book as a real, old style book? Not very ecological. Or, will we make a digital e-book of it? I have a kind of double feeling about it.

One part tells me: make a printed version. Limited edition 2.500 pieces. Nice size, same as the Brandhome Triple-A book, so it feels more like a 'marketing novel book' than a book ;-) On the other hand, the e-version is also cool. Why? Well, then you can tell readers that they can use the search function across the book when they're are looking for specific topics. For example: you want to read about pricing. You type 'pricing' in the find function and there you have all the pages where you can read about pricing.

I have given it some thought in the past few days, trying to survive the meetings, the agenda, the Vespa's that want to run over me... and I cannot make a decision. So I have come up with this solution.

I will design it myself in Word or in InDesign, taking into account the technical requirements for printing as e-publishing. Super simple and straightforward design of course. But nice and sharp as you know me ;) So we do both!

What's your POV?
14.05.2013 / Dubai / 06:08 / KF

Well, you know my opinion...

This book is a reflection of ourselves. If we want to shine, the book needs to shine. If we want to be taken seriously, we need a printed version... with an e-book as an alternative for all the Nook and iPad users. And yes, for those who use a 'search' on everything. I like that.

But... I really like the physical feel of a book. Makes it REAL. I like putting together a bookshelf. I like showing a book to others. Or giving it away as mandatory reading. The prestige factor of that only works with a printed book. Hardcover, even, if possible. More durable. More serious. Limited edition, yes. With a ribbon around it.

Anyway...this is where the rubber hits the road and we get down to practicalities as well...cost of printing and such.

When it comes to marketing it, or as you say, how do we drive volume? We need a deployment plan. Unfold it as a story...

•Send it to high-end, high-visibility marketers. We have the list.

•Amplify on social media through our vast networks on FB, twitter and the like.

•Get it in a few retailers. Tough but doable.

•Give interviews.

•Write articles as spin-offs.

•Give lectures.

•Send it to a few hot-shot university professors; Harvard-Yale-Boston U-and the like.

•Select 5 ambassadors to do the selling (talking, speaking, blogging) for us. Publish a sample, teaser ebook with our favourite passages, 20 pages only. And blast it everywhere for free...with a link at the end of the 20 pages that takes you to Amazon (following the freemium principles).

•Get a marketing student to promote the book, as a marketing assignment around brand engagement...our brand engagement.

•Create a co-promotion with a marketing book of a marketing guru; e.g. buy Seth Godin's new book, and get Brand Domino for free -for the first 500 only.

It needs to hit like a meteorite!

We might also try to find a real publisher. Why not? We've got good content and that's what they want. Right?

OR - we can just hope it will sell itself.  
BAD IDEA :-)
14.05.2013 / Milano / 18:54 / ES

Rubber hits the road. Love the expression.

I got in touch yesterday with a guy I know who is the CEO of one of the larger Benelux publishers. Will speak to his b2b editor over the phone sometime next week.

I see it as market research. I'll see whether a professional, classic-type editor will see some beef in our project. I'll think of some others I know.

Suggest you do the same with some of your contacts?

Let's discuss it then when you and me catch up in Abu Dhabi next week and take it from there. In the mean time, let's not bore our readers with our publishing marketing challenge.

I want to touch on something else. Breakaways. Meaning small teams of people leaving agencies, firms... and setting up their own businesses.

It is as if the whole Benelux market is 'breaking away'. All the big agencies are losing their best people. They are running off and setting up their own shops.

The other day, I spoke to an old colleague who just left a big agency. He told me what is going on in the 'creative underworld'. For the past 2 years he and many others have been creating and collecting all their ideas, while there was, and still is, not too much work to do at the big agency. And now they have set up this little library of ready to use ideas as breakaways. They have the usual arguments of being cheap, low cost, no overhead, no project management, no structure... etc.

Interesting effect. Whether it's a romanticized story of being laid off, or it's because a really new market opportunity is arising, I don't know. Honestly can't judge it. Probably some of both. Brandhome started as a knowledge centre, so I had a different start.

But what I find strange is that advertizers, who never dealt with the breakaway people, go fully for these concepts, putting their entire budget with them. I consider that a risk. If I see how we at Brandhome got our clients, it was always by piling up, stacking different smaller projects onto each other. Before any client became full service. I find it a risk for all parties involved to jump into such collaborations without taking the time to know each other, and each other's brands.

On the other hand, it has something dynamic to it because all of them will have to find their own angle from which to position themselves. And since none of them are full, full service entities, they will have to go and sit on specific specializations. That's great for the business! And for the sector.

Hence, if you look at Brandhome, then we are a small company too. We only have 15 people in Antwerp at this moment. And with our 20-20-20 strategy in mind, we will never go above 20 anymore. So we are small too.

But 15 people is still different than 2 people. On the other hand, many big agencies started out just with 1 or 2 great minds.

Anyway, as an intermezzo before we go back to real branding stuff, I wanna know your POV on this.

And... you remember. We once discussed a long, long time ago starting a new kind of agency before one of us turns 60 ;)
15.05.2013 / Dubai / 08:20 / KF

Here's the thing... 60 is coming closer way faster than we both like ;-) Time flies.

Breakaways are indeed an interesting phenomenon. I see two big reasons for that...

... _Sign of the times_. Rough economy. Instability on the employer's side. Lay-offs. And so, like we talked before, loyalty to a company is a lot less than it used to be. Employees are not 'married' to their company any more. And frankly, why should they? Companies let go of people very easily as well. It's a two-way street.

... _Empowerment_. It is so easy (and cheap) these days to set up your own thing. Technology has enabled that. The internet has made the world flatter than a pancake which means that you can work anywhere in the world from anywhere in the world, set up virtual teams, have financial streams go quick and easy, etc. That's a big thing. The risk of making the leap into setting up your own business is much less than before.

When it comes to the advertizers' side lending their trust to these small breakaway firms, yeah, that is rather strange. Although, networking always was, and still is, a big thing. I also work with people more than with agencies. So if I need an innovation expert and I found someone good that moved from a big company to a small breakaway company, odds are I'd work with them. Real story by the way. Why? I know what I get! And that is worth a lot of trust, regardless of the company size or legal structure.

Back to hard-core marketing...

I've been leading a big multi-brand, multi-country campaign for this coming Ramadan. One of the components is a 3 minute film. I really want to break through the 30 second clutter. Big EPIC thing...celebs...big shoot...real storytelling...one of the best directors in the world...best production house specializing in SFX...NIIIIIICE. But OMG - I have been able to make many people uncomfortable with that. Lovely! It means it WILL break through the clutter. One big struggle is the media planning/buying side of it. Our media department is nervous like hell because (1) they don't know how to deal with that, (2) it scares them shitless to think of going to the stations with it, (3) it's far outside their 30 second optimized media buying system. So, my POV: even if I show it ONCE a day for 10 days, at the best possible position in a commercial break or outside of it -even better, then my belief is: it will do the trick. It's exceptional. I can create anticipation if we tease it first. And I can amplify it like hell on social media anyway. And I can break down the footage in multiple formats to even put more on air and on online. Any experience with that?
15.05.2013 / Milano / 18:13 / ES

Wow. I am curious.

What you are referring to - if I understand it well - is the so-called 'ratchet-effect'. It is the effect that illustrates that you better consolidate brand spending in short time cycles instead of spreading equally across time. So that way you can build up faster reach and talkability and the so-called 'investment decline' is less sharp.

There have been multiple examples in various go to market forms that have shown the positive impact of it.

'Chanel No5 - the film', the 3 minute film featuring Nicole Kidman in 2014; because of the large amount paid to Kidman ($13 mil) and the 3 minute kick-off launch, there was a lot of free press. Afterwards the spot was split up into all kinds of 30 second spots and spread over the internet. Since then these so-called 'supersized' commercials have become more popular. With Chrysler, Cartier... following suit.

At Brandhome we never did something like that (yet). You need BIG MONEY to do that. As you know, we work compared to you guys for small brands with small budgets. We think of less expensive things which have big impact ;)

But I think that is it a great thing you are doing there. Make sure the press people are hooked up! Get loads of return in the press.

Of course, you will also need to deal with the 'classical thinkers'. Don't mind them. Just kick their ass. Or better: fire them since people who can only think 30 seconds and bore and annoy us with all kind of illogical formulas to illustrate all kinds of non-relevant returns... f*ck it!

I really want to tell you something. But I can't. I need to wait until tomorrow. Am so excited! So to keep you (me) busy until tomorrow, here is a nice expression a top investor told me today: _Erik, rule number 1: when your brand is in paradise, don't leave_. He is one of the biggest investment bankers in the world. What do you think he wanted to say with it?
16.05.2013 / Dubai / 05:23 / KF

I'm not familiar with the term ratchet-effect. If you have information on that, do share. That indeed seems to be what I'm after. Very poorly documented strategy if you ask me.

When your brand is in paradise, don't leave. Sure. Don't change a winning team. But that expression can go any direction right? Does he mean always keep momentum? Or, keep investing? Or, never sell? Or, don't rebrand? Give me some direction -the suspense is killing me.

This expression has some negatives as well ...complacency? Unwillingness to change? Being slow? Not accepting the need to do something? Very different than one of my favorite expressions, kudos to Mark Zuckerberg: Go fast and break things! That fires you up, makes you think, challenges the status quo, makes you go the extra mile...
16.05.2013 / Geneva / 17:32 / ES

Wow. I'm so excited. Check out the new bank: Hello Bank (www.hellobank.com). It's a project in which we have been involved. Unique concept. The first truly mobile bank in the world! A brand of BNP Paribas. Check it out and tell me what you think. You remember that we spoke about how mobile banking and mobile payment will change consumer behavior. Well... here we go with the first bank that is more than just an app. The bank IS in the app!

Quickly, since I am in between 2 meetings trying to drive back to Belgium. And I have to stopover in Geneva today. Bad bad weather.

Ratchet effect. Below some more theoretical background. Based on more classic advertizing theories.

_An outcome of an action that results in a change in state of mind to some higher level that is resistant to returning to a previous lower level. Using advertising and promotion together in an appropriate way enables promotions to help 'ratchet up' the overall effect of advertising. One of the most notable ratchet effects in marketing is that where the use of a series of advertising campaigns in tandem with a series of sales promotions is commonly observed to result in higher levels of sustained sales in comparison to sales levels sustained by series of sales promotions alone. In the former case, the advertising may reach other brand users or non-brand users, for example, whereas in the latter case, sales promotions may merely bring forward the buying of current brand users, leading to drops in sales to even lower levels than prior to the sales promotion. Research has shown that these kinds of ratchet effects are observable in consumer and services markets. Given the enhancing effect on sales resulting from a combination of advertising and sales promotions, marketers should seek to understand how marketing actions - and combinations of such actions in particular - may predictably produce desirable ratchet- effect like effects in the marketplace._

In your case this is similar. You will throw out something unique, and will underpin that with exposure, multi-channel, across all the POES - Paid Own Earned Shared - media. If you do that successfully, the impact of that investment will go up much higher than if you would spend relatively equal and, it will fade away much slower. So, you will have a much higher ROI. I'm very excited to know more about that campaign you are cooking up!

Have to run! Speak tomorrow!
17.05.2013 / Dubai / 20:21 / KF

Can tell you only very little about my Ramadan campaign. Only that it is meant for Gulf Cooperation Countries, Egypt and Jordan and it the first-ever true multi-brand campaign we will have done in the Middle East. Exciting, yes. But also a major undertaking. Especially, because we have set out to do something epic to make our mark in Ramadan. I am now in production mode with the ppm for the film happening next Wednesday. Given the magnitude and grandeur of the film it is a huge and time-consuming project for a lot of people. On top of that, we have chosen a cinematographic technique that only two production houses in the world can do. Post-production takes 6 weeks. With today only 50 days to go to Ramadan (starting July 9th this year), you will understand the pressure we have! But -we'll make it happen. The adrenaline is high as well, and that helps a lot!

Hey - HelloBank sounds awesome. Had a quick look ...on my mobile, obviously. I recognize a lot of the BASE-simplicity in the visual expression of the brand. Functionality on Blackberry is bad, so unfortunately I dropped out after 2 minutes. What will you do about that? Anyway, you have to explain the strategic choices you've made. One being: why is there no stronger link with BNPParibas? Deliberate, I guess. Why Belgium, Germany, France, Italy. Why not all of Europe? Or global -the world is flat. And maybe there is a Pepsi-guy in Dubai that wants to open an account? Why this light blue color? This is becoming the Saelens/Brandhome stamp ...too much sameness if you ask me. But being the first full mobile-only bank sounds great. Tell us more...
17.05.2013 / Antwerp / 23:06 / ES

Wow. Exciting, that project of yours. HelloBank is going to be awesome. Some smart people are working on it. It will be a great concept. At BNP they have really great marketers if you ask me! Challenging concept. Let us discuss later. In couple of weeks. They have just announced that they will launch. They haven't launched yet!

Wanna talk quickly about something else. A quick & dirty one. Just got home and am exhausted. Here we go.

Client of mine told me today about a book from 2007: _Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster. Written by Dan Thomas_. Seems to be a very interesting read since it describes how the big luxury empires have stretched and boosted the small family luxury brands they took over... but that now the soul of these brands is gone. I did not read the book but it made me think about it while travelling today. It is - if true - a nice-ish example of the downfall of your own success. Do you know the book? Ever heard about it? What does this trigger with you?
18.05.2013 / Dubai / 09:55 / KF

Important correction: 'How Luxury Lost Its Luster' is written by Dana Thomas not Dan!

At the risk of repeating what we talked before about premium/luxury, here's what it triggers with me ... a set of unbreakable rules:

#1. Stay true to your core brand promise.

If it is luxury then it needs to be luxury. LV cannot make and sell bags for 50 dollars -that's brand suicide. Flip side of that: mainstream brands can premiumize, but that has limits as well. It's the brand promise that sets the rules. The Audi A8 is probably the maximum stretch upwards for Audi, right?

#2. Don't go after everyone.

The issue with the success of a luxury brand is to want extension of the target group in all directions. This is how you get growth in a lot of instances. Keep recruiting more users/buyers into the brand footprint. But that in my opinion is a big danger for luxury brands in particular. You see it in cars. Porsche and Jaguar are close to going too far in bringing 'affordable' versions of luxury cars. Excuse me? Read that again... affordable + luxury = path to killing your own industry. Just saw a Jag campaign for their new F-type model that says, 'Now it's your turn'. Nope. Not what you want. Keep it tight, exclusive, exceptional, scarce, elitist. Maserati will never dilute. Great example! Hermes is as true to luxury as can be. Cartier will remain expensive and it should. Democratization is the kill shot for luxury brands!

#3. Don't take the 'lux' out of luxury.

With luxury wanting to become mass, companies/owners will have to drive cost out. That's the ultimate doom loop for a luxury brand. The USP (to use an old term for a change) of a luxury item is its impeccable quality, its superb product delivery, its unique feature, expensive components, etc. If you take that away, you take the 'lux' out of luxury!

#4. Don't try to be everywhere.

What's not helping these days, so to speak, is the accessibility to luxury. Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Prada are in every mall. It's too ubiquitous to be good.
18.05.2013 / Antwerp / 17:06 / ES

Well said. I want to add the following that was in the news last week. Despite growth in sales of 5% last year, Ferrari has announced last week that it will reduce their yearly production number of cars. Reason: keep the exclusivity of the brand. Nice quote from their President Montezemolo: 'The strength is not to listen to people who say your competitors will benefit from this. It is a choice I learned from Enzo Ferrari, who used foresight in enhancing the value of the brand.' Respect! And that for a carmaker! Perhaps we need to ask him to read our book. I have always had great respect the way Montezemolo has nurtured Ferrari all these years. Iron, rock solid brand. I visited their HQ and factories couple of times. Internal branding at Ferrari is amazing. Perhaps they have to put up a brand consulting company since they know so much about it... but then again, it would weaken their brand. On the other hand, their licensing and brand extension business is booming and keeps growing. Example of a true luxury brand. Only Bugatti outdoes them. Will you sell your Porsche now and pick a nice little red car instead? ;)

Last week I had an interesting experience in terms of performance management, or internal branding, or ... I honestly don't know what to think about it. Took me some days to digest it. Here we go. So I am sitting in this meeting with company X and people 1 to 8. X is a large company. People 1 to 8 are top executives all great careers, powerful, probably very well paid and successful. Company X has issues with people taking responsibility at all levels. It's weakening, hurting the business, the brand and the profitability of the company. The CEO wants to show me something so I am invited in the meeting with people 1 to 8, the CEO and myself. CEO is a type of 'wildman'; let's call him Stan. All 10 sit at the table. After a presentation round, not even 3 minutes (so figure out with 10 at the table how fast that presentation round went) the following happens. Stan puts 100.000 US Dollars on the table, in cash. Nice little stack of money, like you see in the movies. Stan says: 'So, let's see who can take responsibility here at the table. I would like the 8 of you to split up this 100K amongst yourselves. Figure it out amongst the 8 of you while I take 'little' Erik here to lunch. The only indicator you have to work with is what each of you and your business unit have added to the well-being of this company and all its stakeholders.' F*ck me!? I thought it was candid-camera or something but the entire leather board room looked as if the Ice Age had returned or the airco went below minus 20 degrees Celsius. So we went with his driver for lunch and the only thing Stan told me was:  
'I will let you know one day who took what.' And we did not talk about it anymore. I tried to bring it up but this old crocodile Stan just brushed it off. So, tell me, it took me couple of days to think about this. What's your POV?
19.05.2013 / Dubai / 04:31 / KF

Are you f*#-.$ kidding me?? That is the craziest story ever!! Still don't really get it, to be honest. That was a private company, right?

It sure sounds like in the movies. Figuring out who contributed to the company in a Capone kind of way seems like a brutal thing to do to be honest. Who will win? The strongest, the smartest, the most manipulative? I'd argue that it won't be the one that really contributed most.

I'm trying to think of how I'd go about it. One of two scenarios would play out...

...the gentleman's way. Split the money equally. Everyone is a critical piece in the puzzle. The left hand can't live without the right one. And all that good stuff. Everybody happy.

...the 3 killer KPIs. Decide on 3 KPIs that measure the success around the wealth of the company and determine who contributed most to them. That at least puts a bit of science in the game.

Or...the Capone way...take my gun, blow everyone's head off, take all the money, terrorize the CEO so he coughs up the rest of the cash, and go retire in the Caribbean :-)

Seriously, how did it go down??
19.05.2013 / Antwerp / 17:08 / ES

Well. I don't know how it turned out. But I hope I hear about it asap. I did some scenario planning myself, and here is what I would have done. If I, and my business unit, delivered, then I would say thank you for the 100K. I will organize a great event for the people in my unit with it. You remember surely that I know how to organize parties... ;) and I know for a fact that you know too. Will let you know when I know more. But it is an amazing example of 'management by confrontation'.

Onto a new subject: BRAND CONSOLIDATION. When the market goes down, consolidation goes up. Have been dealing with lots of these projects lately. But most of them are purely driven by cost effectiveness. A few other reasons drive these decisions. I want to pick your brain on this. For companies like yours, and other fmcg and other sectors making tangible products (cars, snacks, drinks, phones...) there is an unlimited list of great brand consolidation examples for all possible reasons you could think of. But when looking into the service industry, most brand consolidation exercises that I know of are purely cost-driven.

Help me out here on the following 2 questions:

1.Do you know of any brand consolidation cases in the services industry (energy, banking, temping...) that are good examples and that had more reasons than just cost.

2.Give me some tips for brand consolidation in general.

Thanks for it!
20.05.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

No Domino. KF is probably partying... again!

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
20.05.2013 / Brussels / time unknown / ES

No Domino. ES is awaiting KF.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
21.05.2013 / Dubai / 05:38 / KF

Sorry mate. Skipped another beat in our conversation. Celebrated 10 years with my lovely wife yesterday... a day-away-from-the-world. At least that WAS the plan. Unfortunately, celebrity management (actually, celebrity issues) made me work from 6 to midnight last night. Once you need to get hold of your lawyers and your CFO at night, believe you me, it is nothing but trouble ;-)

Anyway, back to your consolidation issue. You are so right; I don't see too much consolidation in the service industry either. Maybe it is too far away from my business environment, maybe there is not so much of that going on. The only big consolidation on the service side are in the financial world I guess. Plenty of those to go around; esp. after the big crash of '09.

When it comes to tips on consolidation, don't ask a marketer. From a marketing POV, consolidation mostly leads to chaos. How do you really integrate brands that actually don't really belong together? Do you just live side-by-side, acknowledging each other's existence or does one absorb the other? Or is a messy co-branding solution needed? The one obvious thing to say about that is: you better have a plan that focuses on the CONSUMER and not on costs, otherwise you might see a lot of people/fans/loyalists leave.
21.05.2013 / Antwerp / 21:29 / ES

Congratulations. Married 10 years! Wow! That's almost unique these days. Myself I am at... just checking with my wife... 7 years. Weeehaaa! She is still counting it ;) Never thought she was going to survive 7 years with me! Lovely woman! And she gave me 2 lovely little daughters... that hardly see their old man since he's always working. Working to feed the hungry tax machine in Belgium that only knows one word: more...more...more...

So tired. Need to pack because tomorrow I have a day starting at 6 am until midnight. Again, another crisis job I need to fix. Great brand, great company, but they are in a lot of trouble... so... who do they call after all the money has been spent by the great agencies...? Yes! Us! And Thursday I am flying out to Abu Dhabi at 9 am. So busy, busy.

On the consolidation subject. Interesting thought not to involve marketers!? NUTS! Are you? Do you want the CFO to get involved? He will use a formula: brand X + brand L = brand XXL! NO! We have to keep control as marketers. Consolidation: need to get back to that later. First this.

Remember Stan? From the good old days? Well, I have sent that little paragraph on the 100K of the book to some senior executives I know... and some other strange people. Wondering what they would think about it. Just to see their reactions. And I got some ;)

Here we go. Meet Andre. Andre is a senior executive in his early sixties. Very smart cookie, skilled, experienced... and does not think about retirement! Here is - in short - what his reaction to me was: Stan is a nutcase. He puts his management together like lions in a too small cage, and then he feeds them, seeing who will fight who. It is Stan's way to mask the fact that he as the CEO is responsible for the problems the company is in. The fact that he throws such a 'small' amount in perspective to these top managers their salaries on the boardroom table, just to see how they will eat each other, shows that Stan lacks respect.

Here is Gunter. He is a senior executive too. He was hoping that no politicians were sitting at the table! :) Why? You remember some years ago in Belgium. When the Socialist Party got a backhand and bribe money for ordering Agusta helicopters. And then... some years later... claimed that they burnt the money...! And the guy who did it? If they would have been sitting they would have probably burnt the 100K during lunch time ;)

Will keep you posted on other comments... and how it really ended. Anyway, need to discuss some marketing topics again. You start!
22.05.2013 / Cairo (EG) / 07:01 / KF

Small correction. I'm 10 years with my wife –married 7, like you...

YES –let's talk marketing. Burning money and all makes me depressed ;-)

BRAND SIGNALS. I wonder where you stand on the collective set of brand signals that can be made, fabricated, guided for people to instantly recognise a brand. Going back to the mental ability of people to 'read' a brand in 2 seconds –if you get it right. I think there is a better job to be done, across the board. Let's compile the things a marketer needs to keep in mind, and more importantly need to keep consistent, across packaging, across communication, etc. I'm talking about the subtle cues, not the strategic elements such as logo, slogan, positioning, etc. Here's my list...

... colors

... visual systems

... an audio signature

... iconic packaging

... certain key words

... distinctive fonts

... recognizable symbols

... WHAT ELSE?

Random example : The Body Shop : their iconic dark green color, the way they write the 'o' in body, the 'feel' you get when you walk in their store. Similarly, Starbucks is recognisable from miles away –hence why they were able to take the word 'Starbucks' out of the logo. Or how about T-Mobile's distinctive pink color pallet?

Why this matters? I think you can build a lot of freedom in your communication systems as long as these cues, these 'brand recognition ingredients' are consistently there. And these cues, in consistent combinations, allow you to break through the clutter.

Thoughts?
22.05.2013 / Goes / 14:38 / ES

One of my favorites!

Visual identity analysis, or simply put: the science of the HIDDEN HOOKS. That's what we call it in our Brandhome method®.

This is when your brand has subliminal impressions on your audience.

Can be visual elements directly related to the visual identity, such as the Nike Swoosh or the little Rolex Crown.

But it can also be any other visual properties such as the little Energizer or Duracell rabbit. They both use it, but did you know that Energizer stole it from Duracell in the States because the latter did not do its legal homework well?

Now, these hidden hooks, to find them you need a so-called visual identity analysis. We have created some research models for that in our Brandhome method®. Will not keep you busy explaining them here, since you need a drawing board to do so, but here is the pure essence. This in answer to your questions.

There is NO exhaustive list of 'types' of hidden hooks. You can add this to your list ;)

Hidden hooks can be even smell, vocal, oral, tactile... all contact points and forms can create hidden hooks.

Let's have some fun getting some examples together here. I'll quickly start with one since I need to get into a meeting, that will end up somewhere in the night... and tomorrow I am on a plane to Abu Dhabi! Seeing you Friday ;)

Abercrombie & Fitch:

That smell of walking into an A&F shop (It's their own perfume of course). But also the style of the male, muscled, 'washboard abs' of the guys working there. And so on.

You go on!
23.05.2013 / Cairo / 01:52 local time / KF

Ha - that takes me back to my Vegas experience ...

Temperature of the gambling room... a hidden hook for sure!

How about the smell of a new car? Or the smile of the Thai (that's what Thailand's tourist commercials promise)? Or Messi's famous victory gesture? The infamous 007 color-coding and swirl-with-the-gun?

Anyway ... let's talk about the criteria for hidden hooks.

Accessible

-Need to be easy to recognize

-Need to be easy to be recalled

-Need to be easy to be memorized, subliminally like you say

Persuasive

-Need to make sense

-Need to cue the brand in a singular way, i.e. cannot be confused with another brand

Likable

-They need some richness ...i.e. needs to be smart, interesting, thought-through

-Need to be pleasant for the eyes ;-)

What else?

That's about all you're getting out of me today.  
Exhausting day...  
time to zzzzzzzzzzzzz..........................
23.05.2013 / somewhere between Brussels and Abu Dhabi / 15:34 CET / ES

First, let me congratulate you and your wife. Well, mostly your wife that she is putting up with you for already 10 years. Sorry, forgot that yesterday. Was a hectic day... as most days.

Brings me to another strange subject. The branding of habits and moments. And I am talking about more than just 'branding the sales period'. Could we easily change them? Why? This is, in a way, parallel to the creation of your own consumption moment, be it a snack, some time, or the entire day. Why not the entire year!!

Some ideas I'd throw in straight from the top of my head in the thin air at 41.000 feet.

Branding of days. There are 7 days. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

First of all. How did they got these names? I am up in the sky, so can't go online and check. That's something for you to find out! And for Etihad to make sure we get WiFi on the plane. Btw, Etihad, top service, except some lesser experience this morning in Brussels. Will talk about that later sometime.

For some, Saturday is a special day. For others Friday or Sunday. In the Western part of the world, the work week, for most people, is from Monday till Friday. Not for you and me of course! We are always on, always working. In the Middle-East the weekend is Friday and Saturday because of the Friday prayer. The Orthodox Jews in Antwerp, don't touch or do anything on their Shabbat, Saturday... not even the light switch.... resulting in odd situations where the police force has to go there and switch the oven off if they forgot to turn in off on Friday!?

And then we have all the special days - all the celebrations of all kinds. In Belgium, as you know, too many people are having days off instead of working when you include the weekends?!

All of the above are related to culture, habits, religions, beliefs, values, events...

Other great examples are all these days that we call top-topical days. Or in classic advertising agency language: wohaaa! time to sell a crazy idea to the client that he surely doesn't need, make ourselves some extra money, and have fun! They even have top-topical awards ;) From Secretary Day where every manager in the West obliquely has to buy flowers for his personal assistant, and give her a kiss... if he doesn't already do it everyday ;)... all the way to the Warm Jacket Day' where we put off all the heating in the offices and people come in warm cloths to sit in a cold office!

It has always fascinated me how we are able to, without any marketing mostly, create some of the strangest things ;)

We could also start discussing how all the saints (were they that 'saintly' with little kids?) got their own day from the Pope. But, as I promised, I will refrain from doing so.

It's like driving on the left or right hand side of the road. Why don't we all drive on the same side? Don't tell me it is because of cases such as Jaguar selling left hand driven cars in Japan (where they have right side driving). They actually did? Why? Because the Japanese customers considered it even more cool to show everyone that they had a real imported car!

Let's try to analyze this a little more. I love to look at things that have always been there, understand why and see if one of the brands I work for can benefit from it. That's very effective brand marketing! What's your POV?

See you tomorrow at 9 am in Abu Dhabi. Please wake up early. For you Saturday is your weekend. For me, it's a workday. For me, everyday is a workday! :-)
24.05.2013 / somewhere between Dubai and Abu Dhabi / 08:12 / KF

Driving and texting (don't try this at home!). Early morning road trip to Abu Dhabi. The 120 km long straight stretch road is empty. Friday is not only start of the weekend here. It's also sort of our Sunday, with Friday prayer, people going to the mosque etc. And, on an empty road, Virginradiodubai is pumping hard in my speakers! Yiiiiihaaaaa....

Branding of habits and moments -you are a funny guy, Saelens. It's little to do with branding. It's naming, historically, more than anything else.

Since I'm driving I'll pick famous road brands: Route 66 and the Autobahn are 'icons' of just ...things. You cannot imagine how many guys in the Middle East I've met that aspire to drive the Autobahn in Germany one day. Funny. Just because they can officially drive 180 km/h on some parts of it. Go to Dubai Autodrome, dude ;-)

When I was half living in Barcelona there was an interesting day each year: San Jordi. It's sort of their own invented alternative to Valentine's Day. But the custom is set in stone: on that day (forgot when it is), men give women roses and women give men books. And it can be anybody, not necessarily your partner!!! Always found that interesting. The book-giving aspect has an 'intellectual' ring to it.

Anyhow, got to concentrate on driving. Too many freakin' speed cams on this road!!

C U, soon!
24.05.2013 / Abu Dhabi / 11:23 / ES

I want my own day: San Erik. Or San Brandhome!

Great to see you this morning. Great fun. The guy with the 4 ears. No, I will not tell that joke to our readers ;)

Too short as always, but I have to hurry into meetings, and you into your well-deserved weekend. A quick bit of writing in-between on my way to the meetings.

Logo's. Always, when I go back to the Middle-East I spot new Arabic version logos of Western brands. I have to admit that in most cases they are from a design perspective more beautiful than in Western alphabets.

What would be our POV on that?

We touched shortly on it some months ago.

If we believe that a logo should be 1 anchor that creates and leverages the hidden hooks we spoke about, then there are two angles:

–on the one side you want to ensure that it is consistent and that all investments in whatsoever form capitalize on the single logo > this would plea for one single logo, both in word mark and visual mark; so whatever language or form comes first, stays; you could even argue that this is really staying true to who you are

–on the other side you want to have the best hidden hook (or hidden 'Look') with your target audience; you would 'adapt' the best commercial impact like this

What's your POV?
25.05.2013 / Dubai / 00:03 / KF

Ha! Good seeing you yesterday. 3 hour drive for an hour chat. Crazy. But worth it! That's what's called commitment for our book.

And best-ever almond croissant I've had in my life, at Fauchon. Pfew. Going back to Fauchon with my wife tomorrow morning in Mall of the Emirates. Power of quality.

Logos: fascinating.

I have to admit, I really love Arabic logos as well. It's art. Almost has a poetic side to it, even if just from a visual perspective. Makes an English logo 'word' look pathetic. And that's why a lot of effort is being put in designing the right Arabic font. A calligraphy masterpiece is what every brand here is after. Look at the Emirates logo. Most of them actually are not the translation of the brand name, per se. They are a descriptive of the brand or service - they have storytelling embedded IN the logo. How awesome is that. Similar to Chinese logos by the way.

Now, Arabic and Chinese logos go against the 1 anchor principle, especially when we talk about global brands. Question is: is it important? Do you need a 100% logo lock? Don't think so. The task is much more to make it instantly recognizable through color schemes, font types, symbols in around the logo and such. In the end, it's virtually impossible to come with 1 single brand-name-logo. It would never connect well in non Anglo Saxon countries, unless you, as a company, are ok to sacrifice local relevance to a certain extent for the sake of one global logo. Why not? It's a strategy.

One thing on hidden hooks. Just heard 'Get Lucky', a new song from Daft Punk. Just out. Great tune. But with some brilliant signature elements in the song that make it sooooo Daft Punk, i.e. voice deformation effects; that's their true hidden hook. Check it out.

My weekend has been crippled unfortunately. I need to work on my strategic plan. With all the travel and day-to-day shit on my plate, I didn't make good enough progress. And our President expects a 90% story ready Sunday morning. Bummer. The wife is not happy about it. Rightly so. Life in rat-race-land.

PS- BRND SHT rocks :-)
25.05.2013 / Abu Dhabi / 05:03 / ES

Yep. Great to sit down and catch up about the branding and next steps of the first brand marketing novel that's at the same time a study and a case book. 3 in 1! Buy 1, get 3! Could be a funny small title somewhere. Describes what it is.

Regarding the logos. I agree. When you perform visual identity analyses as we spoke about before, then you see that respondents cannot redesign a logo exactly, but that they can reproduce the hidden hooks. Of course, the consequence is when you take your logo apart as logo = word mark + visual mark, then you need to make a choice. For logos that are just word marks, it will be more complex. But that's when design management comes in. Look at the Porsche logo, in UK and in Arabic. Perfect examples.

Over to something else. Service marketing, or the service in marketing a product. We touched on this subject several times. But yesterday I got another interesting example here at Jumeirah Etihad Towers hotel. Imagine an elevator in a leading hotel. It is full of people, including some blingbling people. Most of them are from emerging economies. Branding is status, and status is branding. So you are standing in that elevator and when someone comes in who goes to the executive level to the expensive rooms the elevator-boy states, loudly and clearly, YOU are staying in an executive room. YOU have access to the executive club. WE will all first go straight to the executive floor YOU are on to let YOU off first. Even if that means that the rest of the elevator has to move from level 3 to 27 first, to then go back to the lower levels. Pure 'badge value marketing' in a way. Makes the people who pay for that executive level pay not only more, but gives them status. And a big shot of self-esteem. It's the same when you enter into the bar or coffee corner. YOU are staying with us on the executive floor the person that welcomes you declares. Suddenly, more services are thrown at you. YOU are the first to be served! Isn't that amazing. How do they manage to train this staff?

Oh, before I forget: I got a free upgrade! Guess where I am staying? Why me? Guess I am just that nice and polite guy that comes in wearing my crown. ;)

Have to run. Over to you. While I am working, 7 day working weeks as I have been doing for the past 10 years, you are enjoying a croissant. With a Pepsi? Say hi to your wife for me!
26.05.2013 / Dubai / 05:27 / KF

Starting off on a sad note... yesterday afternoon, my wife's grandmother passed away. These are the moments where you reflect on life, on what you can take from it, how to live it. It always leaves me questioning on what the rat-race is all for. Anyway...

Back to service marketing. For me there is one word that prevails: CARE. It is the hotel manager that cares so deeply about pleasing customers that makes the whole staff focused on the tiniest details.

And it actually is a very personal crusade. The more they will try to institutionalize that service the less abstract it will be. Imagine running a survey of a 100 hotel guests to see what they want. By the sheer fact of doing research, you'll have to average out results, cutting out potential points of differentiation. My first boss always wisely said, 'Always look for the POWER OF ONE' -there is always that one person in a focus group or in a series of in-depth interviews that holds the key to solving your problem. That person has the golden nugget of differentiation. The person that says something no one thought of yet. Searching for the power of one has always stuck with me. And it's done me good at times when I needed it most. (That's also why I believe in the power of qualitative research rather than quantitative where you always come out with average, mediocre answers!)

Also reminds me of Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks Coffee... He famously said, 'Customers don't always know what they want!' Soooo right. As a manager of a brand, service... it's better to really CARE about building something great.

Change subject. Let's talk a bit about marketing in the future or something...
26.05.2013 / Abu Dhabi airport / 09:57 / ES

Sorry to hear about your wife's grandmother. Grandmothers are very special, I can tell you. I was raised by mine. Lots of strength to your wife and her family!

Let's talk The Rat Race today. Sounds like a cool subject. Yesterday around noon I got this call from Europe. Big sh*t with a listed brand. Need to get - before opening of the stock market Monday morning - a plan to them on how they will have to deal with the impact of that sh*t on the financial markets. Can't be more specific, but I went to bed at 4 am this morning Abu Dhabi time! And up at 6:30. So yes, sometimes we ask ourselves the question what is it all for? Why are we doing this? Why am I sitting here in this airport lounge heading off to Doha (Qatar) and then to Bahrain? And only back on June 1st at night... when my wife is leaving for the US on June 2nd. Not seeing your kids grow up, not spending time with friends and family.

So the day Grim Reaper (Death) comes knocking on your door, think about what you have missed in life. Here is a line a heard from an old colleague some years ago: You can love the company, but the company will never love you back. Well, I think that is the whole issue we are facing now. I remember some 5 years ago, when the financial crisis hit, Brandhome was deeply involved in one of the largest European banks that had to get state support. I remember all the people at the top working day and night, while being cursed by the outside world, while their shares and options vanished overnight... and getting fired at the end of the day. I saw some of them cracking. I saw some of them who were able to manage it and put some relativity into it. An amazing and life changing experience.

Some years later I saw the movie Wall Street again. Money never sleeps. And the quotes in there are marvellous: Money is a bitch that never sleeps. If you take your eye of her, she's gone! That's basically the same reason why marketing in the future will become increasingly more difficult. Loyalty is fading away in every form we have ever known it. Between family ties, between couples, between friends, between business partners... It probably has always been like that, but the big change is that under the concept of eternal freedom this has all been stimulated. Even more: you should not be loyal. That's cool!?

Brings us to the question: what if we would take out marketing as a competence tomorrow. Let's imagine that we fire the marketing departments of the Fortune 500 companies. What would happen? You start. I need to jump on the plane to Doha!

PS: the reason why I wear braces is because when I was a little boy in 1987, I wanted to be like Gordon Gekko. Now all these years later, I just kept the suspenders and forgot all the rest of that movie. Did I ever tell you that when I complain somewhere, and I get a discount, I always give it to a good cause. That stimulates me to go for an even bigger discount. And I tell the other side of the table this. So they feel it even more in their pockets... so they will not forget the reasons why I complained :)
27.05.2013 / Dubai / 06:27 / KF

Take it easy dude!

What would happen if we fire the marketing departments of the Fortune 500 companies? MAJOR DISRUPTION! I don't think that is the solution to be honest.

Yes, we need to weed out the bad. But there are good marketers in a lot of companies. They need to be empowered more/better. Therein lies the challenge.

Here are my solutions.

Tone From The Top.

It needs to start with the CEOs and CMOs. They need to loop deep into their belief systems, and in their organizations to see whether they are in sync with the latest and greatest best ways of doing marketing.

External Assessment.

The problem with change not happening (fast enough) is people in their current positions evaluating their current performance. That is obviously not right. All Fortune 500 (and all the others for that matter) need to have external parties assess marketing practices, ROI, Return-on-Engagement, Brand Growth Models, and the like.

Re-Education On A Massive Scale.

Investment in capability building needs to be done. Just like we understand that for finance and legal people a continuous refresh is needed, we need to constantly evaluate and validate that what we are doing is still current. Linked to that, as discussed before, is the education system, esp. on university level.

Performance Kpis Need To Change.

To drive company topline performance, a lot of companies are forcing business metrics as KPIs in marketer's yearly performance assessments. That drives focus but not necessarily in the right areas. New KPIs must focus much more on equity building, on building long term loyalty for the brands, etc more than on getting volume and revenue (those are much more sales than marketing drivers). Even winning awards might be a kpi for marketing; not to aim for an award for the sake of an award but because an award is the proof of doing something right in marketing and creative terms.

The External Environment Needs To Move Along.

So long as agencies don't reinvent themselves, marketers on the business side will remain stuck with same-old-same-old. We spend some serious time on that already in previous sections of this book.
27.05.2013 / Doha / 19:35 / ES

But imagine that we just take the marketing department out. Like it is in many smaller companies. Or in companies where the marketing task either doesn't exist, or is part of sales or is called marketing but in fact is nothing more than making brochures. Imagine that.

So let's take marketing out of the Fortune 500 companies. What would happen? To tackle that question, and the consequences of doing so, let's make a list of what marketing does in companies... and all its sub-disciplines. Suggest we make a split between strategic marketing and tactical marketing. Strategic being marketing initiatives aimed at the long term, and tactical marketing initiatives aimed at the short term. And we make a split between marketing that is directly related to activate people, and that is indirectly aimed at activating people.

People, means all the stakeholders: customers, employees, partners... With activation I mean all kind of activities that generate an immediate, commercial change in behavior: do this, get that.

Gives us a matrix (love models) formed by

-strategic & tactical marketing

-directly activating / indirectly activating

So tactical and directly activating: in that quadrant we put stuff such as brand activation, trade marketing... In tactical and indirectly activating we put e.g. trade marketing research.

In strategically and indirectly activating we put e.g. brand image and so on. And in strategically and directly activating... well... do we want to put something in there? Or do we believe that strategic marketing cannot be directly activating?

Does this make any sense? Or is my brain sucked dry after working like a mad man this entire day in and out the heat?
28.05.2013 / Dubai / 06:10 / KF

You are overthinking a situation that won't happen anyway, friend.

I have an interesting subject to tackle, straight in the meaty core of marketing: competitive advertising. Let's talk about that. I know you are already bubbling with thoughts just reading this. Reason: I am confronted with a decision around exactly that.

First, a distinction...

•There is hard-core, in-your-face, undoubtedly competitive advertising.

•And there is the subtle type where you 'hint about' or 'make reference' to your competitor.

Questions:

-When is competitive advertising strategically justified?

-What are the legal circumstances?

-What are do's and don'ts?

-...

Let me tackle the strategic side and tell you where I stand...

Assuming the legal circumstances are there for you to even do competitive advertising, then in my opinion ONLY as challenger brand can you benefit from competitive advertising. It is a no-no for leadership brands.

I would always apply the 'NYT acid-test': if you have to explain your strategy/campaign to a journalist that is out to destroy you, are you firm in your shoes that you are doing the right thing, for your consumers, your shareholders, or the world in general?

In today's day and age, where brands build real connections with consumers, the idea and concept of competitive advertising seems so old-fashioned to me. So 80s! If you do marketing strategy and execution/activation right and in an authentic way, there is no need. Or is there?

Also, I am a big believer in a 'gentleman's principle' whereby you don't trash your competitor ...because guess what, maybe he can trash you even harder; you can lose a legal case and pay a shitload of money for what may seem relevant to you but is meaningless to the consumer in the end. One day you might want to merge/JV/buy your competitor...then what?

Thoughts? Bring it on...
28.05.2013 / Doha / 06:55 / ES

Dude! IT COULD HAPPEN. I am currently working 20 hours a day since on top of all the things to do here in Doha, we are preparing a cut-back of 70% marketing staff with a major listed company. Sorry to say, but since companies can cut their marketing costs, they can cut their staff too and survive for a couple of years. If they still have a business and a brand driving that business afterwards, that's another question. But, hey who cares? The bonus is in, the shit is for whoever comes after us. Want to get back to this subject anyway. Tomorrow. Today too damn busy.

Quick answer to your question. Competitive advertising. As you know we work for lots of challengers. Even wrote articles about how you could screw comparative advertising by understanding very well the legal context of the place where you are doing it. My top score: A brand peel-off of 3.000 bill boards under court order after the case being judged as denigrating, etc. Costly for the other brand involved. Will discuss that later.

1. Stay away from these kind of explicit forms when you are a leader. You cannot move as swiftly as is needed to attack from this angle.

2. In addition, you will always be confronted with the 'underdog' sympathy the challenger has; so you always lose. You do your comparative advertising job well, and people will say you abuse your market power. You do it bad, and people will say you are a lazy badly organised and slow incumbent.

3. Don't step into the trap. You will educate your own customers, who are today focused on your brand and don't have your competitors one in their brandscapes. Suddenly you will make your brand equity carry your competitors' one into their scopes.

Need to run, but use common sense. Think like a parent with a small kid. You do not react to all the things the small kid says!

Now, back to you. Back to the 'exit marketing matrix' - or just taking marketing out - I described yesterday. Help me out here!
29.05.2013 / Dubai / 00:10 / KF

Last point on our competitive advertising conversation.

The other piece of advice is: IF you do competitive advertising then do it in an intelligent, smart and witty way. Tongue-in-cheek at least gets a smile on your face. Better than being blunt, harsh. Politeness, in business and in communication is just the better way to go about it.

You have to tell me the story behind the statement "my top score: A brand peel-off 3.000 bill boards under court order after the case being judged as denigrating, etc. Costly for the other brand involved." For some odd reason, it sounds familiar - have I heard that story before? :-)

Now, onwards to your subject:

_'Back to the 'exit marketing matrix' I described yesterday. Help me out here!'_

My submission for the 4 B-I-G core disciplines of marketing:

•Turn insights and trends into strategies

•Build strategic brand growth plans

•Build and execute brand engagement plans

•Innovate to excellence

So, to your point, half are strategic and half are tactical in nature.

These all have too many sub-points to list out. From building brand architecture and positioning to making TV commercials and PR plans; with everything in between and around that.

I like your idea of a 2x2 matrix.

Your matrix is based on :

-strategic & tactical marketing (X-axis)

-directly activating / indirectly activating (Y-axis)

Like that. The quadrants are:

Q1 low on strat/low direct impact

Q2 low on strat/high direct impact

Q3 high on strat/low direct impact

Q4 high on strat/high direct impact

...with...

Q1 things like p2p/friend-to-friend systems, but likely also social media to an extent

Q2 things like cold calling, door2door, sales leaflets, promotions, price cuts, POS

Q3 things like equity building strategies, modern techniques of brand engagement

Q4 indeed might be that close to nothing.

Companies spend way too much time in Q1 and Q2, all short-term focused.

Here's the interesting dimension if you ask me: marketing of the future is about bridging short and long term. In practical terms: marketing of the future should encompass activities that are strategic in nature, always, while delivering. And thus, EVERY SINGLE THING A MARKETER DOES NEEDS TO CONTRIBUTE TO EQUITY. The killer 'toolkit' around that still has to be written.

What say you?
29.05.2013 / Doha / 05:32 / ES

It's interesting your last point: still has to be written. I think that it is indeed what many companies are struggling with nowadays. The world has become such a rollercoaster that indeed it has become difficult to follow. And that it is difficult to match these short and long terms branding and marketing needs.

The latter also because in organizational structures it is often unclear who does what. Does the activation lay with sales? With marketing? And so on.

Coming back to your conclusion that it still needs to be written. Yes, I think so. But I think it is being written while you and I are writing our little domino pieces every day. It is the Accountability of the Triple-A philosophy that is driving this forward, catalyzed by the economic downturn we are facing at the moment.

Quick one about the billboards. Yes, you might have heard about it. It has been in the press. And some months ago I even gave an interview how you have to make sure that, when you get into this 'aggressive' and 'explicit' modus of advertising, how you need to do that. Gave a lot of tips, but here is one of the most valuable one. When you take such a campaign to market, always take 2 things into account:

1.make sure that whatever carrier (media, materials...) you put in the market have what a call a 'little' hook on them; meaning that when you get a court order to stop, you can easily pull back your materials; when you are smart, you even have the back-up plan so you can just switch the material; switch the banners, switch the spots... and make sure it's integrated, that it is a logic follow up; needless to say that you should not use 'carriers' that are difficult to pull back such as billboards (!)

2.always take your campaign to market on a moment that either the courts are closed (e.g. a Friday afternoon) so the competitor has to wait until they open again to get a court order ;) of course, all of this is depending on local regulation

Just want to throw out another subject.

Let's call it the POWER OF SINGLE.

No, I don't mean the advantages of being single, I mean branding!

Single product, single edition, single brand. With all these brands extending in and out of their categories, inventing whatever they have, let's talk about a brand name, standing for one single product.

You start!
30.05.2013 / Dubai / 04:35 / KF

Great subject.

I love singularity. Imagine the power that comes with only doing one thing, but then doing it great. As with everything however, it needs to come with a go-big-or-go-home approach to make sure it turns into a significant business you can keep growing despite doing 1 thing only. The risk is that you become victim of your own success, and want to go wider/broader before you have fully exploited what you can do with that 1-only thing!

Best possible example in my opinion is Red Bull: one product, sold around the world in a 100% consistent way; no deviation at all. For more than 15 years it was actually just 1 SKU! Now they have a few flavors in their range but it remains to be the same proposition, brand i.d., and marketing approach as in ...forever. Brilliant.

Other one I know very well is Yakult. I used to compete with them 15 years ago or so with a product called Fyos, also a probiotic drink. Yakult has been around for years and years as well. Following a strong Japanese philosophy, they pace themselves. I remember that at their market entry in Belgium, they made a public statement saying they would invest for 10 years, and only then go to profitability. Because that's the time frame they work with. Blew me away. Talk about wearing down your competitor. And they did it with 1 single 6 SKU, for years. They still have only one product.

Other examples that come to mind are Virgin, at their start -they only had record stores. Or Tabasco -they only had 1 chili flavor, in their typical bottle that hasn't changed in a gazillion years.
30.05.2013 / Doha / 06:32 / ES

Great examples. Heinz indeed. Focus comes with it!  
The FORCE OF ONE I always like to call it. If you have the choice, and money is not making you (too) horny, then you better trade value up through price increases and scarcity value, than by trading volume up by putting all kinds of line, product, brand and category extensions in there!

A mistake often made is that we believe that one product in one variation cannot cater to one target audience. Well, I believe that in this area of madness of all brands extending into all categories, the power of one, the niche in the niche, can be a very successful marketing approach. The biggest downside however, next to your opportunity loss, is the danger that your entire business depends on... one! So you need to really sit on the skin of what you are doing and undertaking, feeling your market.

Have to run off to the airport here to fly to Bahrain. Here is a next interesting subject: the branding of a commodity, such as water. The Danone's of this world have understood that a long time ago. You are the guy to write something amazing about that.
31.05.2013 / Dubai / 18:13 / KF

We talked about Starbucks and how a commodity like coffee became a power brand. It is, for sure, the most difficult thing to do, branding a commodity.

There are two major roadblocks in my opinion...

1As always: mind-set. A lot of people in companies just don't BELIEVE in branding commodities. And that is a major hindrance if you ask me. It blocks you from seeing the opportunities that are out there. And believe me, with the right attitude, will and vision, probably any commodity can be successfully branded. Take toilet paper as a prime example.

2Financials. Commodities are by definition cheap to manufacture due to their ubiquity, cheap ingredients, mass scale adoption by consumers, etc. If you get stuck with your current manufacturing setup as a commodity producer, or you think you can't fight an incumbent as a newcomer, then think again. Financials get turned upside down once you throw in the power of the brand.

So, yeah, let's look at water. And let's take Italy as example of water Walhalla! Italy tops the global bottled water consumption per capita in the world. It is the world's most evolved water country. AE by the way is also in the top 5! If my intel is right, the bottled water category is about a ~50 billion dollar business; how about that for a commodity! Water is the most versatile beverage, and plays across the day, across all age groups, across all consumer need states –WOW!

First, there needs to be a circumstance to 'allow' branding of a commodity to happen. When it comes to water, it helps if tap water in a country sucks. That immediately drives people to bottled solutions and...the gateway to branding has been opened ;-)

Second, the exercise is 'fairly' simple: going from nothing to something almost ...throw in some smart thinking, add a bunch of USPs, start engaging with consumers building an attractive brand world, and you're done. Sort of. And in the water category, there is water and there is water: spring water, purified, flavoured, still, sparkling, with certain (added or not) minerals, different flavour profiles, and what not.

Quality. Main difference between a commodity and a brand really is the quality. It's those few extra layers of toilet paper you get in one go, so to speak. Bottled water is very different from tap water, in flavor, safety, convenience –all adding to quality

Leveraging history: San Pellegrino and San Benedetto have wonderful stories to leverage.

Need to run ...writing a hydration strategy. Talk about coincidence –hahaha. Nothing I can share though...
31.05.2013 / Manamah (BH) / 20:42 / ES

Sitting in Dilmun Lounge in Bahrain airport. On my way tonight to Abu Dhabi and then on home to Belgium. Well, Antwerp is my home.

Dilmun? Yes. Interesting. Went after finishing the meetings to the National Museum here. Dilmuns were a kind of seal used to give the growing commercial activity in the city of Dilmun (Bahrain) a tool to attest to all kinds of commercial activities and transactions. Each merchant and administrator got his own seal. Kind of Arab branding 'avant la lettre'. Each seal was unique and belonged to one individual. When this person passed away, the seal was buried with the body. Can you imagine, they'll put a can of Pepsi in your tomb? ;)

Back to the subject of commodity branding. Pretty basic your point about the 'circumstance' - or mental availability - for branding a commodity to happen. It brings us to another interesting subject: the belief in branding as magic. Let's take that one even broader, and include marketing as well.

Let me kick off with the opening line that I will write on the second page of the Brandhome method® Lite Edition book that will be released shortly.

The greatest trick ever pulled by marketing was to let everyone else believe that branding is a coincidence.

Meaning that the time has come for marketing to become Triple-A and to prepare themselves! But writing about this, back to your point of 'creating fertile situations' that open the door to branding.

Specific needs. Tonight after the meetings, I ended up hungry in the centre of Manamah... There's just a few small eating places for the laborers. Would I have loved to know which of these places was a brand... Did I go into one? No. Just got a candy bar at the hotel room.

Now...

Hold on. There is a guy here next to me asking me if he can use my Apple iPhone charger.

[...] Sorry. Started a discussion with this Iranian guy. Took more time than expected. Interesting subject. He just changed our conversation here. Forgot anyway what I was about to write on commodity branding. But had an interesting discussion with him.

Onto a very strange subject of branding that I just discussed. Hold your horses... the branding of... silicon titties. Yep, strange subject, I agree. But this guy is in 'silicon implants'. Apparently because of all the risks and issues the past years - I can't tell, haven't got them ;) - the implants have become brands!?

Strange. Would like to check it out and do some online research, but then perhaps they arrest me here and put me in jail ;) So I will stick with the subject at a more abstract level.

Let's discuss really the strangest branding products we know. You start... I have to run. Let's have some fun with this one!
01.06.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

No Domino. KF is probably partying somewhere...

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
01.06.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

No Domino. ES is awaiting KF... and fighting his way through 1 meter of post

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
02.06.2013 / Dubai / 11:59 / KF

Ah! Now we're talking...my favourite subject ;-) (you can fill in how to read this –LoL)

Here are 3 things that cross my mind when we think about branding 'strange things' ...

1.Roadblocks. Yep, funny I know. But driving on the Dubai roads I see a lot of branded plastic roadblocks. You know, those that are flexible to put on the side of the road, that hook into each other, and where I think you just put water in to give them weight. Someone in the building/road industry is making a lot of money with these.

2.Christmas trees. From personal experience. Each year, my wife selects the pine trees that come from the Nordics (forgot the brand). They are cultivated specifically for Christmas, and to be shipped around the world. They have the perfect shape and color and don't lose their needles.

3.Since we are half Belgian and Dutch (by marriage), how about mussels? Lots of mussel brands around. That reminds me (very lateral move here) ...what about Jean Claude Van Damme as a weird guy, branded as 'the muscles from Brussels' –LMAO.

And by the way, in hindsight, isn't a condom a strange thing to brand as well ?
02.06.2013 / Antwerp / 22:15 / ES

Starting off with some math. Roadblocks + Christmas Trees + Mussels = 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 things!

A condom. Interesting. Suppose you want the most basic brand function to do its job: protect you from getting diseases... or babies, and do it in a most enjoyable way.

Did some desk research on the branding of 'boob jobs'. Dangerous desk research. Breast implants, silicones... and these kind of keywords make you end up on all kind of weird sites... I have the feeling that I am diving into the dark side of branding. Deep down below the art of brand marketing is mastered by strange souls.

What I understood so far is that the most important 'brand' you need is the surgeon who is going to do the operation. Whatever he will advise, will be the implants you will put in. Branding has become very important since a large scandal around the carcinogenic effect of implants recently.

I ran into brands such as Allergan, Mentor and Sientra. These brands give 10 years of warrantee on their implants... and are Food Drug Administration approved! I also ran into other brands for penis enlargements and so on. And SM stuff and material that also has brands. Strange stuff. But in a way very logical: the brands these customers pick have to ensure that they have the best quality. Take fears and risks away.

Let's move back to the normal side of branding. Let's discuss the Elements That Create Top Of Mind Brand Awareness.

I'll kick off:

-budget: you need to have the money to invest

-creative performance & relevance: message needs to be creatively translated and has to be relevant to the audience

-consistency in messaging: keep on hammering the same message

-innovation power: ensure that you have something to tell

-...

You continue...
03.06.2013 / Dubai / 07:18 / KF

Hope your wife wasn't looking over your shoulder when you were doing your desk research! Dangerous area...breast implants...penis enlargements...who knows what that'll lead to with you two -hahahahahahahaaaaaa

Adding to your list of what builds Top Of Mind:

Commitment. You need to commit to a brand's investment over years and years and years. TOMA builds up slowly. You need to be in it for the long haul.

Rhythm. You can't be 'off' for a long time. Your audience reach with whatever media needs to ensure that gaps are reduced. Gaps of interruption in you conversation and messaging makes people simply...forget you.

High TOMA gets supported by a few things as well...

... A simple market structure. It's easier to be the first brand recalled in a market with two significant players (say, the cola industry), or 30 (say, cigarettes). Or one (say, condoms -LoL; building on our previous chat)

... When it comes to investment, outspending your competitor(s) helps.

... When it comes to creativity, I'd say it has two angles: relevance and originality. Both are needed to break through the clutter and to connect with the audience.

It's really important to set a clear, and achievable target for Top of Mind. And that's not easy. There is no point in beating you up for not having a high recall score. What matters is: how many people do you need to be a meaningful player in your market, and to drive your core sales. Where your TOMA is highest, you are talking real fans, real loyalist. Important: is that number growing, and does it correlate to sales??

Tell me: how does Top of Mind (i.e. Are you the first brand people think of) relate to Total Awareness (i.e. Do people know you when your name is mentioned). I always found that fascinating.
03.06.2013 / Antwerp / 23:15 (well 00:50) / ES

Yeah. Was planning to start a domino at 23:15, then I had to take care of a little sick daughter, and now it is 00:50. So strictly speaking, I am late!

Forgive me for cutting this one short. Will respond to your question on Total Awareness. Make sure I don't forget to talk tomorrow about contextual marketing, and the new cross media platform of BNP Paribas Fortis that was launched last Friday. Yep, can talk about it now.

Back to total awareness. Research agencies and marketers tend to fool top management with b*ll shit numbers such as total awareness. Total awareness means only one thing: totally nothing! It has the same logic as this one: I fit my shoes, my shoes fit my shoebox... so I fit my shoebox!??

What can be interesting to know is the spontaneous and aided awareness, since it can tell you something about the recall effects, the sleeping/forgotten brand heritage...

But in any event: awareness is nothing without relevance! Need to sleep now. Past 1 am and need to get up at 5 am.
04.06.2013 / Dubai / 06:03 / KF

We need to do something more with that...

In the battle for attention (the #1 battle marketers are fighting), awareness is quite a big deal in my opinion. I do agree that the research side of it has flaws, but in the end you need to figure out WHERE as a brand you stand in terms of mind space!

Totally agree on total awareness. That is completely meaningless. In an interview setting, when an interviewer goes to a list of brands, there is a natural tendency on the interviewee side to show knowledge/intelligence. And therefore awareness numbers are often inflated. Also, who doesn't know all the big brands? Question is: how strong are they?

Strongest direct link to brand and sales is TOMA.

I plea for a whole NEW metric that combines spontaneous awareness with propensity to buy on my very next occasion (i.e. I've actually made a preference choice already). Call it aware-to-buy. What would that say when you rank your brand with competitors in your brandscape?

Back to TOMA. Let's continue listing what drives TOMA...

Did we say point-of-sale material? Very effective. But -possibilities these days are limited. Retailers control what gets put on the shop floor. They know what makes a sale happen and play it to their advantage to get extra margin from their clients/companies. And...they want to keep their stores 'clean' (if everyone would put a TV, banner, wobbler, shelftalker in the aisle you wouldn't see the products any more LoL).

What else??
04.06.2013 / Antwerp / 23:41 / ES

You need to be in the 'evoked set', in the right part of that set, and in the right audiences you are aiming at.

The golden rule - TOMA needs to be higher than aspired market share – it's still very useful in many sectors, but the truth is that its logic and relevance is declining. Following huge changes in consumer behaviour and market dynamics.

But in a way it pushes us back to simple, logic thoughts, such as:

-who do I want to hear about me/my brand/my product

-what do I want from them? sales? interest?...

-why would he/she do that

-...

Let's say, the very basic marketing. Yep, the good old school as we have learned it.

Now here comes the ToMa subject again. It is like the Net Promotor Score (NPS). People start playing the index and the score, instead of the purpose of it.

Let me give you an example. Look at Marc Dutroux. The infamous criminal child molester in Belgium. It has been over 20 years that this animal is in prison (on our tax money), but I bet you that many Belgian people still have him high in their awareness. His ToMa and other awareness is high, and keeps being high. But this says nothing at all about preference or loyalty. He remains the animal he is.

Same thing with NPS. The score based on the Loyalty Effect of Fred Reichheld. It gives an index of your recommendation score with your stakeholders. For over 5 years some of the biggest companies are running behind this index... but ask them if they are measuring their active or passive NPS? ... Then is gets very silent. They never thought about it. It's similar to your example of inflationary research. When asking people if 'they WOULD recommend you' it is different than asking them 'if they DID recommend you'. So yes, time for new and more solid thinking.

Brings me to framing and anchoring techniques. Always interesting to use them in indirect communications. Until today not widely used (fortunately), but highly powerful. The mistakes that many researchers make, is that they avoid aspects such as priming or suggestive aspects, but unconsciously they make important mistakes by framing or anchoring audiences.

Coming back to the question of what would be the ideal index. Well, you need to pin down your KPIs for your brand, build your brand dashboard around them, and work them well. In the end, there is ONLY ONE REAL INDEX and that is EBT, GROWTH, PREMIUM PRICE and PERFORMANCE AGAINST PEER BRANDS IN AND OUT OF YOUR CATEGORY and AGAINST YOUR MARKET.

All the rest... sorry to say... is secondary to these. If you can't match these, and outperform, you will go out of business.

Quick last one, contextual marketing.

Let's start with the definition of this new trend: it is a marketing approach where the objectification of the context around a specific topic is more important in the message than the message itself.

The importance of contextual marketing will grow in the coming years due to increasing transparency in the market on the one hand, and the clutter of information on the other.

Basically it comes down to brands investing in new, stand alone concepts, that do not aim to promote brand A, but that aim at creating a context for the message of brand A to be received. We just launched last Friday a brand called B NK for the BNP Paribas Bank. Go and check the case out on our website.

You probably saw the Coca-Cola around the world vending machine with people meeting people etc. NO, THAT is not contextual marketing. Why? It is the Coca-Cola brand itself that promotes it.

Give me your thoughts on this new trend.

Don't start with saying: all marketing is contextual; otherwise it's not marketing. I have already claimed that line ;)

But... today few brands are able to create such a context for their marketing. They keep focusing on irrelevant KPIs and refusing to break their habits.

You know what Einstein said: 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result'...or something like that."
05.06.2013 / Cairo / 01:11 local time / KF

Back in Cairo to work on my big Ramadan project! Just had a middle-of-the-night viewing of an offline for a 3 minute film. Exciting!

Let me reinforce one thing that is absolutely high in my books: ToMa needs to exceed share aspiration. Very, very true and often overlooked. On top of that, not always realistic. Works for new brands, and works when you are modest. But when you launch and expect a year 1 share of 50% in your market, therefore spending all you have is not smart ...that might in most cases not mean you'll get your 50%. The math/correlations don't work like that. Get my drift?

Now, on to the subject of contextual marketing. We covered it in an earlier conversation.

And yes, I WILL SAY that ALL marketing by default is (or should be) contextual. Contextual marketing is about capturing consumer behavior and leveraging it for your brand - isn't that what any marketing should do? If not, you're squandering your money in the wrong way, in the wrong place. Anyway; you are right ...contextual marketing is going through a reframe these days.

The novelty in thinking is spurred by digital/online behavior where contextual marketing aims to give the consumer EXACTLY what they want, when they want it, in the right context, away from brand but linked to behavior. Take cars as an example. Say you are looking to buy a new luxury car. Rather than going for a linear you want a luxury car, I'll give you a Mercedes SL, this type of marketing takes you on a journey through the landscape ...from new tech in the cars, to fuel-efficiency, to hybrids, ...

Search and intelligent algorithms on the likes of Google have been massive enablers for marketers to smartly and sharply pin point brands, products, portfolios WHERE IT MATTERS. And that's why contextual marketing is a thing of the future. It will make marketing more efficient and more effective. But we are far from deploying it in the right way. It's sophisticated. It's uncomfortable. It's outside our comfort zone. And I would argue that it is still difficult to measure.

I would really like to know how to put that in practice in the real world. Change is needed vs what we do today that much is true.

Time to sleep...
05.06.2013 / Antwerp / 21:23 / ES

Good morning my friend! Hope your (short) sleep was enjoyable. Did you have any dreams? Dreams about your kids? The new commercial you are making? The challenges in marketing? Your wife? Mistress? Me?... Euh, if you dreamed about me, that's probably a nightmare ;)

Brings me to another interesting topic, that is within the domain of contextual marketing, but the most sublime you can get while staying into the context: the art of dreaming.

Did you know that I have a kind of insomnia? I sleep like 4 to 5 hours per night. From the moment I get up until I fall asleep I am productive. A workaholic. Work-animal. Brand-beast. And many other nice names I have been called.

Getting older this insomnia starts getting heavier, so I have been doing a lot of reading (during the night) and research (during the night) on the subject. One of the reasons people have insomnia is that they are afraid of dreaming... Freddy Kruger is coming for you! Whatever happens: DON'T FALL ASLEEP!

That's not my case. My case is - as usual - weird. In my case it is a result of the tension, enthusiasm and strive for perfection I wake up with every day. It pumps you up so much that you can't sleep.

In all this research I read about how you could program in a way the dream pattern of people. Now here comes a strange idea: what if we would find a way to have people actually dream about our brand? That we can be in their dreams drinking a cold Pepsi while they are sitting on the roof top terrace of the Brandhome agency? Did you know that research has shown that people dream about contexts, ideas, other people... but other than places (I was in Greece, I was on a boat), persons (her name was Kelly, she was nice)... people in their dreams don't dream actively, at least not consciously about brands.

So what about this as an idea. We try to get our brands into the dreams of people. Consumers dreaming of our brands.

What you say?
06.06.2013 / 04:41 / just back in Dubai / KF

I would like to call that "Radical Brand Inception" ®-Kurt Frenier (see the movie Inception; one of the best movies EVER). AWE-SOME! LOVE IT. Here's how we start: there are apps that help you manage sleep, did you know that? We can tweak them and plug in some brand cues. Yippie. Every time you to in to R.E.M. and your beta-waves are heightened, keywords and brand names will be gently whispered in your ears. And, taking it up a notch... the brands can have natural integration in your dreams: want a new car? Drive the new Porsche in your dream. Awesome. Want a new girlfriend. Spray AXE on in that dream of yours and experience how women throw themselves at you. Dandruff issue? Not in your dreams. Know what I mean? Talk about getting in the evoked set. Augmented Reality will then become the less emotional/tactile non-dream variant :-)

Now to the ethical side of this. Brand inception is probably the most disturbing idea we came up with up. No can do. It would put marketing in the worst possible daylight, back in time where people said it was nothing but manipulating consumers and creating needs. We don't want to be there anymore. Right?

Falling asleep now. Made a bad move. Took the 22:20 Egyptair flight arriving 04:00 in Dubai. Stupid. Need to quickly get a few hours of sleep and then work out to get rid of the drowsiness. Always works.
06.06.2013 / Antwerp / 21:15 / ES

Why not? I am sure it will come. We just need to be ahead. Let's start selling placebo pills that make you dream of love brands, such as 'have a Porsche dream', or 'have a Don Draper dream', or have a 'Hugh Hefner dream', or 'drink Pepsi in your dream all night', or...

Sounds strange but imagine the power of this brand inception. It is product placement avant la lettre. Your brand placed in the minds of people. Let's get back to that tomorrow.

First this one: branding of Unions. Had meetings in Brussels today. And yes, again strikes and protest etc from X, Y, Z Unions. No idea why this time. Well, probably the same as always: we want to work less, and earn more...

Let's not discuss this, but listen here. So I can't make it to the meeting place - it's a bank and 100.000 Unionists are blocking all the roads. Shouting and spitting and yelling and so on. Now, what I found most strange was loads of them were drinking cans of beer while having their strike. Just like that in public. They looked more like hooligans to me than people that want to seriously discuss the future of the employment level playing field.

So let's switch to the branding side of this. This attitude basically confirms all the prejudices about Unions. So stupid. Don't they have any marketers or brand managers to tell them that their advertising concept should be something else than hooliganism?!

Really strange. Anyway, need to work a little bit. Also just found out that time is most precious the day I will decide / be able to sleep more than 4 hours a night. Think about the Union thing. And let's get back to the Inception thing.
07.06.2013 / Dubai / 11:01 / KF

Here's the problem I have with unions. Yes, they do have a right to exist. But frankly, union people abuse it as a way to just get a day off, hang around, block the system just to block the system, get salary increases based on no rationale, and what not. And hence, you get a beer-drinking crowd on a demonstration day.

Bad move. From what I've seen only a handful of people at the top of a union organization know what they're talking about; the rest just hang around.

And I agree, they should have marketers and managers to set a vision for the union, and enforce it in a decent way throughout the organization. Today, I'm sure that only people with the loudest voice in such an organization get the most power.

Back to Brand Inception...

Here's another funky idea: 'the more you dream about brand X the more discount you get.' That means that you WANT people to dream about your brand, and that will drive sales for your brand-inception - pills / apps /etc - we could get arrested for that :-)
07.06.2013 / Antwerp / 21:56 / ES

Let's take it a bit further. We start producing pills in sizes to suit the product. With an S pill you dream about a Porsche Boxter, with an XXL pill you dream about a Cayenne Turbo GTS!

We start with two pills, an S and an XXL: you take one, and I take one. And then we dream the same dream. Read: I am racing in a Porsche Cayenne GTS against you in a Porsche 911 Turbo!

Now it's official. I have lost my mind. And you too! I got it from you, nutcase!

Back to serious stuff. At 7am this morning I was sitting in a meeting with a new client. Big and successful company. Great people. But a long, very long way to go on the marketing side.

Here comes my question. Since the company is doing extremely well, there is no sense of urgency. All senior executives see the importance to make a marketing move, the budgets are there... but there is no reason to speed up. So I am afraid that we will be spinning our wheels for a couple of months. The 'curative' aspects of such a process are always fascinating. In the past, when the economy was up, it was easy to create the awareness. You played the 'your worst nightmare' game, and off you went with a turbo in the back. We now have a different economic reality. The crisis has become an economic fact, and we will probably be in it for a very long time I'm afraid. It is interesting how the desire to grow is now being replaced with a desire to simply survive. Mind capturing.

Another interesting thing happened to me this afternoon. I was invited to meet up with one of the greatest entrepreneurs in Belgium. I know his CEO and he introduced us. Can't tell you his name. Why? First thing he told me this afternoon: Erik, in Belgium, stay low, under the radar, otherwise they chop your head off. Exchanging some ideas on his biggest brand - that the guy constructed himself for over 2 decades! - and touching on some other business ideas. Learned a lot this afternoon. Great thing about my job: listen & learn! He explained his reasoning behind his pro-bono projects to me: all the projects he donates to, are based on an economic reality so that all the cash he puts in, actually starts to earn itself back. He gave me some examples. Interesting: compared to the simplicity with which this guy is doing this and the results it gives... all government development aid seems a total waste! Other thing he gave me was a note of 'ONE TRILLION DOLLARS'... Zimbabwe dollars... ;) and told me... Erik, money is just an exchange medium. Trust and relationships with your business partners, people and clients, that's where the real value is. Interesting guy. At the end he also told me that the time has come in Western-Europe to get out of here. That it is only going down. It confirms my feelings, but when you hear it from a senior man who has been around the block a couple of times, then it sounds even scarier.

Shall we get back to some serious marketing now? What about the marketing of my new Brandhome method® book. Thanks by the way for the endorsement! Any ideas for the marketing of this book?
08.06.2013 / Dubai / 18:11 / KF

Here is 1 idea...We've been talking about the need to elevate marketing EDUCATION. Well, Brandhome method® belongs in every university, in every training agency, and in every marketing library. I know this is not the lucrative marketing you may be looking for, but it can be your gift to humanity :-)

Here's what I would do as well to support your book, and more importantly your ideas and models: turn it into a podcast and into a YouTube presentation video. Make it more than word on paper ... bring it to life, in a contemporary way.
08.06.2013 / Antwerp / 20:43 / ES

Euh. Is that it? Just 1 idea? I see that you had a long strategic review week too... and that today is Saturday! So I forgive you ;-)

I am exhausted too. Have been reviewing Brandhome method® books all day, had a meeting with our creative director, and had to follow up on our new office concept. YEP! Our move is imminent. When I get back from Cannes Lions, we MOVE!

Found out this week how valuable the 'back-up brands' mother and mother in law are. I was alone the entire week with my 2 girls, and supported with the back-up brands. However, it's heavy to be father and mother at the same time. Well, actually mother since this father is never there. So I restate: it's heavy to be a mother. I know now! So I have been thinking: we should campaign the 'brand' mother. Not commercially inspired moments such as Mother's Day, but real marketing of this special brand. What's your POV on this one? Could we 'brand' this so that government regulations etc will take these important assets better in mind?
09.06.2013 / Dubai / 19:02 / KF

After a day of strategizing I want to zoom into the matter of prioritization first. (And I'm not talking about a brand strategy, like we talked about during our single-product strategy discussion; although there are similarities. No, I'm talking long term business and portfolio strategy). Seems so obvious; but let me tell you, it is not!

For your growth strategy, do you plant many seeds or focus on just one? The many-seeds-approach might seem like a great metaphor and plan to follow, but don't get fooled by the visual image of that - when the rubber hits the road only focus and prioritization matters! Here is why ...

...You can focus your organization only on so many things at a time. That's always a lot less than what you think.

... It takes time to have brands, innovations, campaigns stick with consumers! That always take a whooooole lot longer than you think.

... Nothing is worse than squandering resources, such as marketing A&M. And it takes way more A&M to build a brand properly than what you possibly have.

... Focus is power - you will have an entire machine working in one single direction. That can do some serious damage.

BUT - making hard choices and focusing on only a few BIG things takes guts, belief, and confidence. And it comes with giving up dreams, ambitions and passions for the ideas you have to discard - that is very, very tough. From a leadership standpoint it is a great thing to say 'I've looked at these 20 wonderful ideas that might help grow the business, but I will do only these 3!'

Thoughts?

And more importantly, what are great Prioritization Tools and criteria one should use??
09.06.2013 / Antwerp / 22:43 / ES

Great subject. And very actual in these harsh times. Will think about it. I'll get back to that and other stuff we've been almost discussing tomorrow.

I need to discuss something else today. Stupid day. Father's Day. I never had a father. Well, I have a biological one somewhere but he left when I was 3 weeks old. ASSHOLE! On top of that I hate these kind of commercial days. Clever to mess around in the wallets of customers, but nothing for a guy like me ;)

Ok, 'Sinkensfoor': sounds familiar? It's the largest fancy fair of Belgium I believe, in Antwerp. Went there today. Go there every year to check out those target groups that you never see or hear about in whatever paid-for qualitative research you do. The people you see on this fancy fair, it's unique. It's unreal. Where do these people live? Where do they come from? I am talking about the visitors, not the people who are actually organizing it. These visitors on this specific fancy fair, I have really no idea where they live, what they do, where they come from, if they have actually ever worked... This place is known for it: I always call it the 'rencontre' of the extraordinary (wo)men. I am pretty sure that this group, in a way, is a natural segmentation of a kind of typology of consumers that no brand has segmented yet on. I am not kidding.

Brings me to the topic of segmentation and error-margins in it. Last week and this morning I had to fight my way through a pile of research that describes the market and the segments as if they were static, almost hygienic things. I call it 'assembly line research'. Lots of volume. Loads of bull shit.

With your background, tell me a little more on segmentation erroring?
10.06.2013 / Dubai / 07:20 / KF

Well, listen, it's not just segmentation going wrong in research. Research is one big error. And let me explain that, as an ex-research guy by the way ...

First of all, research, in almost all is forms is a "lab rat situation". Let's assume you want to research your fancy fair in a traditional way... You'll NEVER get a true picture of the diversity, the emotions, the fun that you've seen in real life. Why? Research is just not made to capture that.

Secondly, research most often averages out good ideas. Because you count noses, and your brain can only look at a few numbers at one given time, you need to get an elevated view, average out things, and therefore big time DILUTE the insights.

Third, today's speed doesn't help. When you do research, and want to get segmentation right, you really need to spend a looooot of time dissecting the information, turning it upside down, comparing segments to all other segments, taking micro decisions and then macro decisions (the mirror and the window, as I've read in Brandhome method®). Who, in today's day and age, has time for that? A lot of times everything is so tightly planned that decisions have to be taken the day the research results land in your inbox. How good do you think those will be?

Need I say more?

Anyway. That just covers research leading up to decisions. But it's where segmentation error starts. Then there is the proof of whether your segmentation is right. That proof comes through the overlap of target group and user group. Never perfect, but if it is diagonal then what the brand intent is, then it means one of two things: (1) a major communication error, attracting a different audience than intended, (2) a major segmentation error. And segmentation errors are not that uncommon by the way but sometimes they are coming out of nowhere. So here's a nice little weird anecdote I was once told...Siemens sells washing machines. Duh. When they saw a massive uptake in S.Africa, they thought they'd done everything right. Guess what? Reality was that the Africans bought them to make the dough for a local dish for the large families and communities they live in - they'd put the washing machine flat on the ground so the tumbler would spin like a cooking devise. Funny. Don't know whether it's true ...
10.06.2013 / Amsterdam / 23:48 / ES

Amazing! You know that Siemens did something similar to please the Dutch market. Through research they found out that their fridges were not selling well because the stingy Dutchmen doubted that the light in the fridge was out when the fridge was closed. So Siemens marketing came with the following solution: a little window on the front of the fridge so the Dutch consumers could verify that the light in the fridge was out when the door was closed. But, unfortunately, that didn't sell neither. Why? They did again a lot of research and understood that the Dutch consumer didn't want to buy the Siemens fridge now because all the visitors could see that the fridge was, except for a bottle of milk, totally empty ;-)... Euh... before you tell your Dutch wife: this is a joke!

Back to the topic of yesterday: prioritization tools. In today's world we need to be clear about one thing: the bottom-line will determines the priority list. Out of all the research we do with senior executives, and based on the projects of the past years in all corners of the world: bottom line rules. So here is tool number 1: bottom line.

Tool number 2 is the little brother of tool number 1: cash is king. Whatever you do that can create a lot of cash, frontloaded, upfront payment... that rules too.

This brings us to tool number 3. Please note that the first 2 are purely financial ones. Tool number 3 is about what to do to manage current market situations: market loss, competitive reaction... and so on. Read: again short term.

Tool number 4: here we get into the mid-term modus. What do we need to prioritize to make sure that we stay on par with the market evolutions?

I know what you are thinking now: what a strange order Erik gives here. But it is the truth. This morning I had a call with a CFO and CEO of a client of us. They explained how the analysts and shareholders only talk about financial ratios. No questions asked on strategy, market evolutions, positioning...

Of course we can now move into what I believe that the prioritization tools are, but then from a brand marketing perspective. Here are some

-Compliant and reinforcing brand positioning & values

-Easiness of go to market: speed / impact analysis

-Financial upsides based on existing apex structure

-Capex needed

-etc

Need to sleep. Falling over after long day since 6 am this morning in Antwerp, Breda, Utrecht, Amsterdam... and tomorrow at 5 am rise and shine!
11.06.2013 / Dubai / 06:04 / KF

I agree with you that in dire times, financial parameters rule. But let me add on another set of criteria that help prioritize AND underpin financial health:

-Go where growth is. Smaller categories with healthy growth prospects are sometimes better than big ones in decline. And so, prioritize/rank according to growth.

-Prioritize according to profitability per brand. Every $ you invest in a profitable brand will work harder for you than a $ that goes behind a low profit generator.

-Prioritize according to your RTW (right to win). Make a RTW scorecard for product uniqueness, product win, go-to-market strength, brand power, communication strength, etc (whatever relevant in your industry) and go after areas/brands that have all greens.

-Follow the heart. Huh? Yes! I personally believe that one of the criteria should be to prioritize what the company/employees really want to make happen. When their heart and belief is into it, they go the extra mile. So, that's an extra overlay in case of equal-priority-items: choose the one where the passion is.

On the execution side, you need to get into a 'locked and loaded' situation after everyone is aligned. By that I mean, you can't go re-prioritize every 6 months or every year even. So doing the front-end well and then sticking to your game plan is what will pay off the most.
11.06.2013 / Utrecht (NL) / 13:59 / ES

The last topic, 'locked & loaded', that is indeed the vital game-maker or game-breaker. Too often companies change directions and you never get into the 'locked & loaded' modus.

Always love meetings in Amsterdam. It remains an interesting melting pot of people and things. And I always get lost. Now, on my way to Utrecht. Have an interesting project there. Call it: EXODUS! Meaning, you need to kick the marketing people out of the office, and into the street, the factories, the shops, go with sales, support the call centre etc. My favourite. THROW them out there. YES! YES!! ... Cool down. Relax. Take a deep breath. Okay. I am cool now.

A subject that I want to discuss: Cannes Lions. You know, the largest and most prominent advertising festival in the world. Thousands of brand(y) people from all four corners of the world hanging out and drinking all the beer, wine and spirits they can find in Cannes. Will be speaking there on Monday about Triple-A. Have 60 marketing executives from all around the world.

These events. They are BIG. They are EXPENSIVE. But inspiring. And always good for some bonding with the team. And catching up with creatives I know from all over the world.

Why are you not there? What is your opinion on those events.
12.06.2013 / Dubai / 19:26 / KF

Fuck you! Excuse my French. I am soooo frustrated not being able to go to Cannes! I've never been and this is the first year I could actually have gone. If it were not for a week long Europe/AMEA marketing capability training program that I am co-leading for about 300 marketers, in Barcelona.

Every year I get our agency to take me through the highlights of Cannes. I look at the work, review and discuss what they learned. Not only is it fun, there is always so much to learn. Being there live is just a dream to me. And you are speaking -kudos. That's awesome. Blow them away, man! And keep me posted on how you did. More than that, tell me about the wild crazy Ad Men parties - must be fan-tas-tic as well.

In general, as a marketer, you HAVE to go to these kind of events. Things like Links, Crystals, Effies, SXSW, CES contribute to your view on the world. Marketing is creative in nature; so you have to step out of your box and step into the wider world. That's exactly what these do.

Anyway. Like I said: fuck you! ;-)
12.06.2013 / Deurne / 20:21 / ES

Yes. You are most welcome. FUCK YOU TOO! ;)

You remember we spoke about CMOs being ready to meet the challenges of the future. An interesting study that came out... and into my innocent hands... from Accenture.

Here are some toplines:

-50% of CMOs have a problem demonstrating 'value' to the company

-65% have problems getting 'digital' marketing into the veins of their organisations

-40% lack the competences in their teams to meet challenges ahead

-etc

Well, you see. I told you. We are GOING UNDER in marketing land. Prepare for sinking!!

Honestly, I believe that most CMOs have real issue in getting their roles across. Perhaps very distant from your 'natural habitat' working with a great brand (value) driven company such as Pepsi. But the hard undismissible truth for 80% out there.

So here are my thoughts. You remember that we discussed years ago the 'outsourcing' of marketing. Well... it's getting closer! If I see how many projects Brandhome is running now for various brands to support them on their no-nonsense and operational marketing, then you see that this segment is going to get bigger.

Help me out here in my thinking. Give me 5 reasons why and 5 reasons why not to outsource marketing. Starting point is of course that currently there is a marketing department.
13.06.2013 / Dubai / 06:08 / KF

Great thing to think about, outsourcing your marketing department. So here goes:

WHY OUTSOURCE?

1.It's cheaper. You can tailor your department to the needs of the business. Expand when things are good. Slim down when things are bad. Easy to weed out the bad from the good. Hassle-free replacement.

2.Fresh thinking - constantly. A lot more eyes look at the business for the first time. Easier to challenge thinking from the outside rather than from the inside.

3.Dilutes/deletes political games.

4.Clearer ROI. It's almost more 'visible' to the organization where the investment in a marketing team goes and therefore what that team generates as ± ROI

5.Efficient. More focus. Faster decision making. Agile.

WHY NOT OUTSOURCE?

1.Sustainability. History might disappear if the outsourced group goes. And there is greater rotation than an FTE so that's a real risk.

2.Learning curve. I always say it takes 12-18 months to really understand the depth of a company/brand. Outsourcing means either a gap, or a continuous slow movement because you constantly have to 'teach'.

3.More expensive. Contradicts the why because of the flip side of outsourced people/agencies just being more expensive that salaried people.

4.Executional disaster? I personally think it is very difficult to get execution 100% right when people are not tightly wired to the whole organization. It's easy to overlook something. And 'outsiders' are always partially 'outsider' -even if they have been sitting inside the company as outsourced or seconded people. (Ties into my second point -it just takes a long time to build relationships, trust and credibility. And that goes a whole lot faster when you are an employee than when you're outsourced).

5.Too little real accountability.

I believe outsourcing, to a certain extent, might just be THE thing of the future. But it's not an easy ride. And certainly not an easy decision. I think it'll be mostly for those organizations that HAVE TO (because of cost, because of great dissatisfaction with their marketing department, or because of big fuck ups that need immediate and drastic changes).
13.06.2013 / Antwerp / 08:04 / ES

I would like to add to the con's: the fact that when you outsource, both real and perceived added value of the marketing department/function diminish even more. And here comes the danger: today, too few companies are focussed on short-term solutions. Not long term. Understandable, due to pressure on margins, revenues and stock price performance.

Yesterday I was in a meeting where an interesting discussion started between marketing and sales. Sales wanted to sell 'more', marketing wanted to sell 'better'. We had a discussion about making 'bad profit'. Being profit on the first contractual business year with the customer... but only the first. The second year the customer walks away and never returns. So in the short term: business. In the mid and long term: you're business is screwed!

Any ideas on that? Unfortunately the 'bad profit' push to keep the banks and stock markets happy, and give a bonus to senior management has the upper hand. Big problem if you ask me, and it will only increase in the coming 3 years I'm afraid.

Back to another thing: Triple-A brands. I'm getting in all the scores of my participant CMO's in my class this coming Monday in Cannes Lions, Jim Stengels Academy. I have asked them to fill in the Triple-A index (www.triple-a-index.com) for their brand. And ask at least 5 colleagues in different departments to do the same. Interesting insights. Certainly when we compare them to the benchmark that we have created based on the thousands of marketing people that have filled it out already we find:

1.their Triple-A scores are at least 10% higher than the benchmark Brandhome has been building over the past 2 years

2.there is not a big difference in the Triple-A scores between colleagues working at the same company/on the same brand

3.their accountability and authenticity outperforms the benchmark; they are at par on accountability

In essence the brands they represent, work for are strong brands... which is in a way obvious since these brands invest in their marketing people... and thus send them to great events... with even greater speakers... such as... ME ;)

Can you ask 5 random colleagues to fill the Triple-A index in and send me your scores?
14.06.2013 / Dubai / 20:16 / KF

Time to slice and dice Triple-A. I'm intrigued with what you mention and putting the survey out with colleagues made me think...

Would you argue that the world at large needs Triple-A brands (proven by the fact that scores you get on your survey are low to average across the board).

OR

Are certain companies better as proven by a difference in scores. And then, what are they specifically doing differently, apart from abiding by the rules around Triple-A as well.

And how do you deal with the fact that your questions are probing for an opinion, a declaration and may, therefore, not even lead to painting a picture of reality.

Tell me what you present and how. It's worth drilling Triple-A now that the book has been out for 6 months. I'm sure you've had many interesting discussions with many people that may have refined your thinking further.
14.06.2013 / Antwerp / 21:22 / ES

"Let's split it into 2 questions:

1.Do brands need to be Triple-A?

2.How do you look at scores?

Do brands need to be Triple-A? In our opinion: YES! That's what we at Brandhome believe in. But of course many brands will not want to become Triple-A. Why's that? Simple. Some brands don't care about Authenticity, and/or Accountability and/or about Activation. But as you rightfully mention, not all brands can become Triple-A. But, we firmly believe at Brandhome that they should.

How do you look at scores? The discussion is not about the average. We have now a couple of thousand respondents in our database, forming the benchmark score that you see on the Brandhome site.

These are the average scores on each of the A's as of today.

Authenticity | = 55,8%  
---|---  
Accountability | = 55,4%  
Activation | = 51,7%  
Triple-A | = 54,3%

Here's the thing. The average for each A is around 50%. This is not the average score, it is a result of a two-fold between good and bad scoring companies and brands. Some score high. Some score low.

Now looking at Pepsi, you score higher than the benchmarks, even 20% more than others compared in your segment of FMCG. Not surprising, since Pepsi is a brand driven company. So in your eyes scores around 70% are low, but compared both to the benchmark and your peers you score higher!

What we see also is the following. Big differences between companies, small differences within companies: consistent for all 3 A's.

Coming back to the Pepsi score. It is interesting to see how you and your colleagues are apparently more critical towards your brand than the average. Hmmm. You see this in other strong brands of which their brand managers have filled in the score.

To make a long story short: you are doing well ;)

Ok, something else. Vines. The app to make 6 second movies to post. What's your POV? Can this get as big as YouTube?
15.06.2013 / Dubai / 08:50 / KF

That is very insightful. And you are right ... trending at ~70% seems not good enough to me. Anything below 80% is not winner-worthy. I guess it's good to set a high bar, and to effectively bring it into practice.

Now, VINES. Ha! Cool. I was on Vines the day they launched it back in Feb of this year. Put a few stupid things on to test it out. The interesting thing is the possible brand application of it, esp since Vine was bought by Twitter.

Vine offers an app that captures a stop-motion 6 second video, and the possibility to share it fast. Six seconds might not seem much, but in the era of thin slicing (where media is consumed in little bite-size pieces), 6 seconds seems spot on. That's why it fits Twitter as well with its limitation of 140 characters. Small funny fact: those little videos are looped. So once you watch one, there's a high chance of you seeing it again.

Will it be big? Don't know. It's a bit of a hype now. (It's the top downloaded app on iTunes).

Here's some cool ideas for what to do with it ...

1-Behind the scenes. Show a 6 second snapshot of your campaign, event, etc Call of Duty has a Vine video up for Call of Duty: Ghost, showing how they made the game.

2-Show the use of your product. 6 seconds might be just enough to quickly show how to use your product or service. Throw in a celebrity and it will be a highly shared video.

3-Create a richer visual experience for your brand. I think that the combination of photos+video+vine gives a good spread of visual options to make your brand world interesting. You can blow away your fans with very creative, well-executed material. Check out Puma for instance. It's fun, creative, nice brand integration...

Here's the nice thing about it, in light of Triple-A...it adds a layer of authenticity to your brand!

I'm experimenting with it.
15.06.2013 / Antwerp / 21:59 / ES

This is a 6 second message.

Since 8 am this morning

I've been working on a

strategy project and need

to finish it off tonight

before leaving for Cannes tomorrow.

Feel free to abort

a new marketing subject.
16.06.2013 / Dubai / 08:22 / KF

Abort?! I got scared you wanted to stop writing for a second! Surely you mean embark on a new subject ;-)

Here goes...

I'd like to talk about emotions around products and brands. How you can create/build/reinforce emotions about your product and brand in your proposition or in communication?

Let me draw from experience to build the case.

There are a few products in my life that evoke a deep emotional reaction when I eat/use them. I have strong memories that I can picture in infinite details. I can build whole stories around them. Those might be absurd to some I'm sure, but to me they are meaningful.

A few examples...

I vividly remember the first time I ate a "chocoladekoek" (chocolate danish). I was probably 7-8 years old. I stepped into a little, local bakery with my parents in Blankenberge on the Belgian coast. I saw this new genius invention of a breakfast item. Instead of spreading Nutella all over the top it, which was the habit, a layer of lovely chocolate was nestled in the middle of what looked like a weird croissant. That's probably my earliest marketing experience. I was in awe. The inventor, in my eyes that very baker, was my new hero! And it tasted amazing! In those days, that one bakery was the only one we knew that sold chocoladekoek.. For years, every time I eat a chocoladekoek that memory springs into my mind. Strong, positive, chocolate emotions.

Sparkle candy. Same thing. You know, the candy that has these tiny little pieces that explode in your mouth? Loved it as a kid. It was as exceptional as it is today. Not very common. For special occasions only. I still remember the little candy shop, around the corner from where I lived, where I first bought it with my own pocket money. And I have all sorts of stories around that featuring my childhood friends.

On the branding side there are Lu wafers, Capri-Sun mixed fruit juice, Chocotofs, Lotus cookies. More recently, my Porsche!

What makes emotions run deep for brands I wonder?

Here are some key ingredients in my opinion:

-Big WOW first experience.

-Continuous positive reinforcement.

-Zero disappointment.

-Ritualistic.

In my case, a lot is anchored in the early years, pre-teen and teen. Is that the key to unlock deep emotional connections with products and brands?

Your POV?
16.06.2013 / in the air between Brussels & Nice (FR) / 15:29 / ES

This is an interesting subject. It takes you into the most individual drivers of what turns brands into heritage brands. How does the individual heritage that a brand has with a single individual develop? This is probably the most complex - and so far unresolved - brand marketing question on earth.

Let's try to see how we analyze this in a way that makes sense.

Start off with some facts:

1.Heritage is created as a collective memory of a market about a specific brand.

2.The individual heritage of a brand is based on the self-image that a brand creates with an individual. It's the meaning of that brand in the eyes, the brain and the heart of a single individual.

3.The way this is constructed can be very different. In some cases it has nothing to do with the brand itself. It may be the smell, the atmosphere, the people present... The cognitive surroundings when an individual first comes in contact with a brand, can be more powerful than the brand itself in creating an experience. It's the effect of the cognitive context that creates the heritage of the brand with an individual.

4.Thus the ability of any brand that can control the context in which it is firstly in contact, in connection, presented, consumed, engaged with a single individual is an important instrument to use to position the brand.

There is one book that has been written by Bernt Schmidt, called _Marketing Aesthetics_ that touches on this subject.

Being able to control that 'first contact' environment is probably one of the most challenging brand marketing questions. Digitalization does not make this any easier. On the contrary, it makes it almost impossible.

Intermezzo: I am going to have some Brandhomies do research on it.

It would be interesting to cut off all communication channels and contact channels as a brand, and to force people into a context where your brand controls all the brand touch points. What do you think? Is this still possible in today's market?

Need to close the laptop. Plane is landing for Nice. And my colleague and creative director, sitting next to me, is annoying me! ;-)
17.06.2013 / Dubai Airport / 06:35 / KF

To answer your question the lawyer's way: 'it depends'...

a) Suppose you have a high-end, limited edition, exclusive product/brand, then yes I think you can force your potential, new consumers into the EXACT experience you want them to have. I'm thinking Maybach, Rolls Royce and the likes. Or private planes or yachts. Easy to image the brand experience you want to soak the right audience in when you think super-luxury. It sort of naturally fits to not go mass and guide the brand exposure.

But...

b) It seems a very different story when you bring that down a few levels, to mass products. The control you have as a product/brand owner is a lot less. Doesn't mean it can't be done. Let me for once tell a story from the PepsiCo world. A simple but powerful one. In Russia, about 8 years ago Pepsi launched a mushroom-flavored potato chip. Now what's special about that, I hear you say. Well, the science that went into the product development was unreal.

(1) We discovered the emotional STORIES that people have with mushroom in Russia. Once a year, when the season is there, it is a tradition for Russians to go to the forest with their kids and find mushrooms. They then go home and make the freshest mushroom soups and sauces you can imagine.

(2) A massive amount of R&D went into creating the exact same rich, indulgent mushroom experience to go on a potato chip.

(3) We reinforced the story in our communication cueing the forest walk feeling, the discovery of mushrooms by a kid, and the making of the soups and sauces

(4) The results were and still are phenomenal. It's still the biggest selling potato chip item in Russia. And ... people have an amazing emotional connection to that product and therefore also to Lay's as a brand bringing it to them. That is careful guiding of emotions on a mass scale. But you have to be committed to making that happen, as an entire organization. By the way, we've done it again a few years later with Red Caviar -only in Russia ;-)

The other 2 brands I can think of that have a great emotional capture are McDonald's and Disney. Whether they get it done intuitively or it is a true strategy, I don't know. It would be good to decode what makes it work for them and to build a model on how to create stronger and truly deeper connections between brands and users.

Going to Barcelona - my favorite city in the world!
17.06.2013 / Cannes (FR) / 15:50 / ES

I am hanging out here looking at print ads. Spoke this morning to the young marketers about Triple-A. Went really well. Interesting to see these youngsters, the future of branding, building and marketing, how the internet, email, 3D... are all OBVIOUS! As television and videogames were obvious for you and me when we were young... and new to our parents.

Amazing story you just told about the mushroom flavoured potato chips by the way!

Busy, busy! Have to run to a workshop. Yep! Not too old to learn something new myself. Enjoy Barcelona. Will report what I have seen tomorrow!
18.06.2013 / Barcelona (ES) / 07:22 / KF

The B-I-G item I would have as a topic for discussion in Cannes would be: how do you move away from campaign-by-campaign planning.

To be truly 'always on' you need to switch from 360-campaign-by-campaign to a 365-3D strategy that allows you to cover 2-3 years behind one single-minded creative brand idea, capturing all occasions of interest. That's not easy...

We are used to thinking in 'blocks', buying media in 'packages' / 'weeks', planning a business in 'quarters', etc. You sort of have to let go of that mentality and just focus on how you move your brand equity and engagement from Jan 1 to Dec 31. And make social/human engagement, not TV, central to your strategy.

Probe people on that over there...

Oh, and ... did I say fuck you already for being in Cannes? ;-)
18.06.2013 / Cannes / 18:32 / ES

It is sunny here. Fashionable. Nice food and drinks, and parties. And great marketing stuff. Yes, you told me to F*CK off already ;)

Great subject you put forward. Since I need to run off to another party - Opening Gala ;) - let me go immediately to the essence of the discussion. You are TOTALLY right... but it impacts an entire company since you need to get everyone in the company to be in 'always on mode'!
19.06.2013 / Barcelona / 08:29 / KF

Good parties here in Barcelona as well ;-)

Great marketing stuff in Cannes, indeed. I am following the Cannes Lions channel on YouTube. Lots of great content is being uploaded. Saw an interesting snippet from a Be-On talk about always on and emotions in the digital space - need to watch that in full. Where you in that one? And for the first time ever live streaming, as well, from Cannes. So, at least I can stay a bit in touch. By the way, where is the video of your speech??

So, yeah, always on is THE thing to go after. Best example, NIKE with Nike+. They really have their act together when it comes to their brand ecosystem and how it works 365 24/7. Brilliant.

Need to go and give training to our marketing guys. Hasta la vista!!
19.06.2013 / Cannes / 08:57 / ES

Using my iPhone for today's domino. Second time since we started. Always interesting to 'write' on such a small keyboard. Makes you think slower :)

Video? Think that the video takes for the marketer's school is not free. They have to pay a couple of thousand to participate and get the NEC plus ultra Triple-A brand marketing insights, brought to them by the long-haired guy in an engaging way :)

Emotions in digital. I see that happening and that brings us first to another discussion. Can emotions be digital? I mean, true emotions, produced by real physical contact, have warmth, understanding, and touch. Touching or holding a person, a friend, in your arms feels different than seeing it in a commercial, or texting someone.

I am sitting and having a croissant in a little French place in a small street. Outside. The wind is blowing my long hair and the morning sun is warming my head, brain, and mind. It's fun to write you a domino, but it is more fun if we would sit here together as we did some weeks ago in Abu Dhabi.

So emotions and digital. Yes, an interesting challenge. But do we want that?
20.06.2013 / Barcelona / 16:12 / KF

Barcelona is too good for domino ;-) Good times with our marketers under the slogan work hard - play hard.

What do you mean do we want that in digital? Absolutely YES. Making an emotional connection is what it's ALL about. Doesn't matter what the experience is that leads to it: product...service...TV copy...digital experience. And actually, I'd argue that digital gives a lot more room to deliver against that. I mean (not to drain it; but it is a great one), look at Nike+. They have created amazing ways to draw in people in very broad experiences related to their health. They've built communities that continue an emotional conversation even with little involvement of the brand/marketing team. Etc.

Any who. Too tired to write.

And our conference isn't over yet.
20.06.2013 / Antwerp / 21:34 / ES

You Pepsi marketers! I sometimes wonder whether you guys are in snacks and drinks, or whether it's just an excuse to have another party ;-)

What I mean is whether we believe that we want to go fully digital in building brand experiences? I personally don't think so. Digital will always be an important building block, but in the long run the physical human touch will remain a more authentic part of brand experience... except for software of course...

Look at this: today I was in a meeting with a client in Holland. Big healthcare company. Did you know that the medical world is beginning to see a significant increase in people suffering from all kinds of diseases due to information overload? They can't handle the information and all the channels anymore. And did you know that they expect this to explode the coming years? More people will get these kind of syndromes and other syndromes we don't even know about yet!

I hear you thinking... Erik has lost his mind... you're right... but listen to this. Imagine that this is going to be the case. Human nature has a tendency to protect itself. It's instinct. It's something deep inside a human being that tells them to protect him/herself. So, when the day comes, you better have loads of physical contacts to create brand experience ready... or you risk getting cut from with your brand. It is a strange thing going on.

We need to dig deeper into this issue. I need to run to our new office. We are moving tomorrow and I need to check whether our strategic server has been moved ;)

PARTY animal!
21.06.2013 / Barcelona / 10:00 / KF

Hey ho! Work-hard-party-hard starts with 'work hard'. Your twisted mind and selective attention just makes you read 'party hard'.

With regard to 'full digital' or not, I fully agree. There is sufficient evidence these days proving that you cannot build a brand on digital alone. You just can't build the experience in a way that 'touches' people. And frankly, it's still difficult to get the right reach and traction in a fast way. We talked about a multimedia way as the most effective, and that's just it. Unless you have an online service to offer then, of course, your experience IS online.

With regard to 'information overload': I actually heard that a few years ago when a 'burnt out' colleague of mine was diagnosed along those lines. The reasons are becoming increasingly clear:

-We are BOMBARDED with information. See our discussion on big data earlier in the book.

-The PARADOX of choice. Choice is good but it's a major burden at the same time. Actually had a discussion on that very subject yesterday. Offering choice to consumers confuses them more than anything else. People can't even find the products they want/need in a supermarket these days. Too much choice.

-A natural tendency is to KEEP UP with what you find interesting. That is impossible these days. You can't even stay 100% current within your own professional discipline for your job.

-You also want to keep up with what your peers are doing, saying, reading and watching – you don't want to miss out (FoMo). That leads to tremendous stress.

-Technology and technology innovation moves faster than our brain can absorb.

-etc etc etc.

No wonder this leads to all kinds of issues, and ultimately to disease. You have to LEARN how to deal with this as a human being, not go mad.

Here's another funny paradox by the way. The very doctors and scientists that discovered that information overload leads to real diseases are... overloaded. How does that work? Think about it!

What to do with this, as a marketers? Let's talk that.

Have a good move! Break a leg!
21.06.2013 / Antwerp / 21:00 / ES

F*ck! We are still moving the office, mirroring the servers, etc Have been up and running all day. So moving is busy, busy. Not finished yet. WE will be busy...

So very short domino today: tomorrow we should discuss structure follows strategy. I see loads of brand and marketing strategies fail, and lately more than ever, because companies refuse to adapt their organizational structures around people and do not adapt. They don't commit to the required structure to deliver the defined strategy. Since you are in sunny Barcelona... you start ;)
22.06.2013 / Dubai / 02:21 / KF

Just got back to hot and humid Dubai. 35°C and crazy humidity at 2am!

Structure follows Strategy. One of my favourite topics lately. The reason for that is the enormous change around us. I'm sure you've heard of 'VUCA', a popular acronym these days capturing it all: volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. That calls for change in structure, organization, and even company culture.

Here's the issue in large companies, it's damn difficult to change structure. Jobs are locked, wiring between people and functions are fixed, it's expensive to fire and hire. In small companies you can much more easily expand or scale down. Still tough, because it takes vision and courage - but much more doable.

How to design the optimal and strongest structure is the question? Let's not abstract it to company level. Let's talk structure of the marketing organization!

Let me start by making one statement first... structure follows strategy, yes ...but since strategy is long term, structure shouldn't change too much. Only at big infliction points.

Question is: what are these? What are these for marketing? Here's a few that I can see:

1-Major consumer behaviour shifts. For example, the digital hurricane. Requires adapting the structure.

2-Major revision of the company and brand visions. If your strategy evolves and you will start playing in new categories, structure change to create focus and dedication and have a higher RTW (right to win).

3-Global move to decentralization or centralization. And the consequent need for local structures to follow the same pattern. This, strangely enough, gets forgotten sometimes. I've lived through periods in my career where we were moving to centralization globally, but our substructures where still 100% local. That's very confusing, let me tell you.

4-Major need to optimize marketing, make budgets more efficient, be more lean and competitive. This is a big one. And it asks for a scale-down. In prosperous economic times, a marketing organization always mushrooms. Therefore, when times are tough it's healthy to strip away the fat. Not only will marketing become faster. It'll also become cheaper. And often...better.

I've learned something over the years, having lived through many restructurings, locally and globally. Every time a structure change happens, the marketing organization has to redefine itself. It has to redefine its role and rewire itself across the company with different departments and with international counterparts. That is much more disruptive than many a top manager realizes! And therefore, you should be cautious if, when, and how marketing restructuring should happen!

What say you?
22.06.2013 / Antwerp / 18:35 / ES

What say I? Can someone please turn the rain off? I have been working in our new office since 8 am this morning... and it's still raining. Last time I looked at the calendar, summer had already started... that it was already some weeks ago. Did I miss something?

I fully agree with your POV. Sharp! Edgy! When you take it broader than only the marketing department, then it gets too complex... But, back to the marketing department and function after a strategy change.

As you rightfully point out, it's the people. Yep, the people are the problem. Marketers should be total nutcases trying to ensure that they catch up 24/7 with what is going on. They must always be on. VUCA will drive them nuts if they aren't nuts already. But here is my point, there are few marketers that can withstand it and take the stress, the heat, the entire VUCA pressure. 80% of all marketers are not able to withstand this new reality for the length of their careers. Similar to our business. Most of them are still holding on to the past. But one thing is sure about the past, it's past!

Leadership in companies should give marketing people the freedom to easily fire and hire. The opportunity cost of slowing down on it, will cost you a shitload of money later when you missed out on the market change. You remember uncle Stan? What did we learn from him? When marketing is not performing, fire everyone, or at least put them in the basement. If you need to pay them, pay them. But make sure that you cut them off the internet, the company network and out of the business. More dangerous than a lazy marketer, is one who has become past his sell by date. Hard words. But uncle Stan was damn right!

Look at us. You and me. 2 complete idiots who work 365 days a year, 15 hours a day, and are even enjoying it. I know very few people like that...

I have been sitting in my new office for a day now. You know we moved into an amazing place, top class...in the red light district. Our neighbours left, right and opposite are in 'erotic services' ;) They say hello to us nicely everyday. This area of the city is always on. 4 shifts a day. I see very international and diverse clientele passing by all the time.

Brings me to the following topic: hidden consumption. You see loads of men running in and out here, of all kinds. Let's discuss about hidden consumption. You start. I need to run. Finally, I get to see my wife. Hope she stills remembers me after months of not being home ;0
23.06.2013 / Dubai / 20:06 / KF

Complaining about the rain, are you? If you don't like it, then don't live in Belgium :-)

Hidden consumption. Interesting. How about shoes for women :-) –very, very illegal if you ask me. Along the same lines as chocolates and handbags. LoL.

On a more serious note, I guess that 'hidden consumption' is entering it's heyday, with the rise of eCommerce. It's easy to buy, the hidden way.

What drives hidden consumption?

Illegality?

Abundance?

Excess?

Freakiness?

Do tell us about the economics of hidden consumption and how marketers should deal with it :-)
23.06.2013 / Antwerp / 19:05 / ES

I am not kidding. Check our FB page. You will see. Tomorrow I will go and say hello to all the girls next door. Take the team with me. People call them hookers but so far they are real friendly to us. They are 'entrepreneurs'. Did you know that? They rent a 'cabin' or a 'window' for 6 hours and pay EUR 50 for it. All costs included ;)

Back to hidden consumption. Well, I believe that it deals with each of your 4 drivers.

Let me add 4 more:

-Embarrassment

-Thrill

-Uncertainty

-Addiction

Call it 'FEEUTAAI'. Good to remember it.

You can ask tomorrow your marketing directors how their FEEUTAAI for Pepsi is doing ;)

We did some projects for the largest European sex toy company. It was the first time a brand asked NOT to put their logo on the envelope!

Here are some insights I got from working with them:

-there are a lot of frustrated people out there

-frustrated because they have a extreme need (e.g. sex)

-they have split lives; the one you see; and the hidden one

-your brand does not find them, they find your brand

Notice that this is totally opposite to what you and I are always looking for with our brands!

These brands exist, from female clothing that can easily be worn by a male, to all kinds of extreme but 'trustworthy' and qualitative SM toys (you don't want to get stuck when you are upside down hanging on your scrotum!)... well, brands. More like names. Names that stand for a particular type of quality.

That's the interesting thing about this 'hidden' world. You basically don't need a brand since they find you!
24.06.2013 / Dubai / 06:22 / KF

Interesting. But... I'd rather stay in the 'visible' world. Too much controversy in this 'hidden business' for me.

What triggered me in what you say is the notion of 'you don't find them - they find you'. I'm just thinking...what could you do in the visible world to achieve that, or at least, to increase your position. It's about moving up and to the right on the following 2x2 matrix:

X = desire (of the audience)

Y = fulfilment (by product/brand)

What the sex toys and other hidden 'gems' :-) bring is extreme fulfilment fuelled by extreme desire. Possibly off the chart even!

A question though ... is there a 'hidden' Z-axis for 'amplification by the forbidden' - I believe the 'forbidden fruit' tastes as sweet, if not sweeter, in today's world? (I've always been a bit of a psychologist; hence the extra 'deep' thinking this morning -LoL // 'I see dead people' -LMAO).
24.06.2013 / Antwerp / 18:32 / ES

Interesting topic and thought.

New formula:(desire * fulfilment) ^ forbidden = they find you

It would be an interesting workshop to do. With social media and all the whisper marketing tools etc. you could maybe find something really cool/strange/successful.

What's the limit of how to leverage the 'forbidden' into your brand, that leaves room for wide interpretation and border lining.

-promotion, e.g. cheat on your wife and we'll reward you

-pricing, e.g. you can only steal our brand

-product, e.g. you will die when you over-consume

-place, e.g. find us in the hood

-people, e.g. all our employees are ex-inmates

-etc

Just to illustrate that the 'forbidden' axe can get VERY extreme. On each of the FEEUTAAI drivers we can push soft or hard!

We should discuss this further some day, face to face. We better stop it for now since our readers will think we have really lost our minds...

Back onto another subject. The power of silence. Something that I have learned from people that do a lot of marketing of politicians. The power of 'shutting you mouth', 'keeping quiet', 'controlling reactions'...less is more.

It comes close to our dark side discussions. In a way it is the same. The art of 'speaking in silence' is something we have lost in the past years due to the explosive rise of multi comms & channels.

You start. I need to finish my presentation for tomorrow! I will be speaking for the Dutch Mussels and Oysters Federation.
25.06.2013 / Dubai / 05:23 / KF

To close our previous chapter, and triggered by what you're saying on power of silence, is the power of keeping things hidden coming to an end? I wonder? It is difficult to keep things hidden these days. It is difficult to stay silent. Everyone can find out everything about everyone else. Digital trails are endless. And people have become vocal, not accepting just anything, empowered largely by the Twitters and Facebooks of the world.

So, how does this power of silence work in politics? Is it a power game they use in tough situations, i.e. put your poker face on, don't say anything until your adversary breaks? Is this the deal, or is it more subtle than that? Enlighten us...

And when you're done with that, tell me WTF you're doing at the Dutch Mussels and Oysters Federation. Is that a cooking club? Are they Oyster fanatics that just use any reason to crack open a bottle of champagne? Fans of Jean Claude Vandamme (hmmm...no... then it would be the Belgian Muscle foundation -LoL) ;-)"
25.06.2013 / Antwerp / 09:50 / ES

There are 2 things here. One is the question whether it is still possible to leverage on the power of silence. The other thing is how it works in politics.

Yes, I believe it still works. Indeed it is difficult to remain invisible and silent. But it is possible. There's a couple of rules. Let's give them a Secret Service feel :-)

Rule number 0: | screen your team  
---|---  
Rule number 1: | avoid use of electronic communication devices  
Rule number 2: | encrypt always  
Rule number 3: | when secret, always hand-to-hand, face to face  
Rule number 4: | understand that triangulation can re-track your whereabouts and those of your peers.  
Rule number 5: | write as little as possible.  
Rule number 6: | you continue

The power of silence in politics is split between the (a) power of truthful denial and (b) the power of no-response.

Topic (a) has to do with the so-called 'need to know basis' of things. Topic (b) has to do with using the vacuum that not responding, and the insinuations and so that start filling it, to your advantage.

Accept that when silence is what you want, silence is what you get. Few people can handle that. It is human nature to spread secrets around and get attention and esteem for it.

About your third topic: branding of mussels, the meat of the future. We'll get back to that one tomorrow!
26.06.2013 / Dubai / 06:23 / KF

Rule number 6: | whatever action you take, backtrack and wipe your trail  
---|---  
Rule number 7: | socialize less, or not at all  
Rule number 8: | don't lie/only have one lie -the more lies the more difficult to cover up  
Rule number 9: | no bank accounts, cash only  
Rule number 10: | blame someone else

Fun ;-)

Here's a POV I want you to comment on. I think that silence is powerful at the top but weak at the bottom. Let me explain...

When you are in a top position, earned your credits, you're in power, then people listen, look up to you. In that situation, silence is seen as 'mature', 'powerful', exuding confidence.

BUT -when you are on the bottom, fighting for recognition, working hard, competing with peers, the silence comes across as 'weak', 'not committed', 'not aggressive enough' ETC.

So you have to pace yourself. You have to know WHEN to start applying the rules of silence.

Agree?
26.06.2013 / Antwerp / 07:36 / ES

I think it is interesting to ensure that when you are at the top being silent does not mean not hearing.

At the top, the thing is to hear a lot, process information, and conclude strategies from them. The older/more intelligent ;) I get, the more I listen, the more I look and listen with my ears and eyes to best understand other insights. Mind the word game.

Enough silence. Onto something else.

The power of 'urban legends' for brands.

There is a great story about IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad. During one of his many trips, he drank a Coca-Cola from the minibar in his hotel room. Before he checked out the next day, he went to a nearby supermarket, bought that same bottle of Coca-Cola at the retail price and replaced it in the minibar.

Another one is the story about Nordstrom, the upscale American department store. It is rumoured to have at one time graciously accepted the return of a set of tires, even though the store has never sold tires. Just as a proof that it adheres to top service.

You know some nice examples? And do you believe we could create them to leverage brand image?
27.06.2013 / Dubai / 02:23 / KF

We covered Urban Legends before, didn't we? Didn't you talk about NOVA, the car that 'won't go'? Looking at the 'urban legend' side of that one: (an urban legend means that half the time it's actually NOT TRUE -this is a good example!)

The NOVA legend assumes that a handful of General Motors executives launched a car into a foreign market and remained in blissful ignorance about a possible adverse translation of its name. Even if nobody in Detroit knew enough rudimentary Spanish to notice the coincidence, the Nova could not have been brought to market in Mexico and/or South America without the involvement of numerous Spanish speakers engaged to translate user manuals, prepare advertising and promotional materials, communicate with the network of Chevrolet dealers in the target countries, etc. In fact, GM was aware of the translation and opted to retain the model name 'Nova' in Spanish-speaking markets anyway, because they (correctly) felt the matter to be unimportant.

The truth is that the Chevrolet Nova's name didn't significantly affect its sales. It sold well in both its primary Spanish-language markets, Mexico and Venezuela. (Its Venezuelan sales figures actually surpassed GM's expectations.)

The whole 'Nova' = 'doesn't go' tale was merely another in a long line of automotive jokes, like the ones about 'Ford' being an acronym for 'Fix or repair daily' or 'Found on road dead' or 'Fiat' being an acronym for 'Fix it again, Tony!' These humorous inventions might adequately reflect the storyteller's feelings about the worthiness of various types of automobiles, but we don't really expect that anyone ever refrained from buying a Ford because he actually believed they needed to be repaired on a daily basis.

Other interesting ones:

Pop Rocks (Sparkle Candy) in combination with soda would potentially explode in your stomach. Bullshit of course.

Swiffer Wet Jet would potentially kill your pets.

A few thoughts...

•It's all folklore.

•These stories are imaginative, and therefore they travel.

•They're simple and therefore memorable. That helps them go viral.

•They all probably started with a rumor that grew and grew. (Like the Chinese telephone game).

•Social media helps spread them.

•A lot of them might be malicious rumors and hoaxes made up by a competitor -don't know?!

...or not?
27.06.2013 / Antwerp / 15:42 / ES

Did we already touch on that topic? Don't remember. It's almost a year ago! ;)

Quick one today, in line with your point: image destruction.

It's one of the most interesting things. Comes down to the power of positioning by depositioning others ;) Classic in politics!

Damaging the brand! Since your weekend is starting this evening, and I am still in front of 56 hours of HARD LABOUR, I suggest the following: you come up with guidelines on how to mess up a competitor's brand ;)
28.06.2013 / Dubai / 08:56 / KF

How to mess up your competitor? Lovely!

Here are 5 killer ways to make your competitor's life miserable...

1take over his brand promise /but shout louder...better...cooler

2be where he is /but more prominently

3undercut his price /but be more profitable at it

4steal all his best people /and pay them more so they'll never leave you

5put a billboard in front of his office /just to screw the CEO every day :-)

What else?
28.06.2013 / Antwerp / 18:44 / ES

6prove through your own research that your product is better

7create fuzziness in the market by dropping all kind of confusing messages (e.g. fake pull out)

8take legal action towards your competitor to defocus him

9screw his distribution system

10marginalize them by a depositioning campaign

What else?

Working the whole weekend again! Sh*t!

Let's talk about something interesting. Image spillover. We briefly touched on it when we discussed the science of alliance and co-advertising and co-branding etc.

Now, take this a step further. The importance of branding the workplace on your internal branding. As Churchill once said: first we shape our buildings, then they shape us. From that perspective we have designed the new Brandhome office. It's a concept that breathes our brand proposition. Check out our FB page! There are some more amazing and magic ones such as the Googleplex, the Google HQ in Mountain View, or the Red Bull HQ where you can slide down a......?, etc.

Unfortunately, most brands don't invest in their offices since the day before they rent/build them they are already taking their moving out into account. Result: they never thoroughly create a working space!?

What's your POV?
29.06.2013 / Dubai / 07:44 / KF

Wow - almost July! Time flies. Wife and kids just left for to Europe for their usual 9-week holiday. Like a good colleague and friend of mine once said, 'If I reincarnate, I want to come back as an expat wife.' Meanwhile, I'll be enduring the extreme heat in Dubai working. Ah, the expat life in the Middle East.

'First we shape our buildings, then they shape us' must have been the idea that lead to Dubai's slogan as well: 'build it and they will come'. Make it attractive, worthwhile and people will come, spend, stay. In a few weeks' time, I'll be here 6 years -I had 2 or 3 in mind when I came.

Two thoughts...

1- I guess that most employers really underestimate the importance of creating a neat, safe, clean and cool / modern / flexible workplace. I have worked in a few shit holes but I've also worked in places that breathe 'energy', 'contemporary', 'fun', etc. Believe me: my energy level in both was very different. Go to China and see how the best places to work design their offices. It's very common to have a Feng Shui Master have a strong hand in it. Why? The Chinese KNOW that happy employees are energetic employees. They have a better outlook on life, and therefore...they get more done.

2- Keep your head high in dire times. It's soooo easy to cut costs in the workplace when the economy goes south. But really, is taking away the free coffee and a few cookies going to impact your balance sheet? No! What will impact it, is dissatisfied employees.

That said, submerging your employees in what your company and brands stand for is the next layer. And a necessary one. How can you be a 'green' company if your building is not carbon-neutral and breathing 'green'? How can you be young and dynamic if the offices you sit in are dull, grey and old-fashioned?

I think you're doing brilliantly with Brandhome, from the small humble cars and bikes to your nice new office spaces. Do you a have an office for your co-author (i.e. ME)?? :-)

I'll be in Belgium in a few weeks. Maybe I'll swing by to have a look!
29.06.2013 / Antwerp / 17:18 / ES

WOHOOO! Home Alone! PARTY! Month of the Man has started in Dubai. Here comes SPIKY!

It is indeed going to be REAL hard with you partying all through the night and having to look relaxed in the office or when skyping with your wife ;)

I agree with your POV. Unfortunately, few companies invest in internal branding through their offices. There are a number of reasons for that.

Some of the reasons come from the employer, management side. There can be a lack of HR vision, lack of understanding of the importance of internal branding, cost aspects, risk reduction (build something that can easily be rented out to another brand), etc.

Some reasons are a result of the attitude of the employees. I have known about companies that have stopped investing since their employees did not respect anything. Honestly, I have seen that happening too some years ago in our company. Made me think of the wise words of Uncle Stan: 'There is nothing breeds that failure as much as success.'

And then there is another reason: government greed. On each and every cookie you give to an employee you need to pay tax. You pay the tax on the coffee they drink. The little candy they eat. Even the birthday cake or the farewell cake for a colleague. Pure government greed and envy.

You have been away for such a long time my friend that you don't remember this. And is getting worse every day. Dark times over Western Europe. With indecisive governments that are not going to make it easier for us.

My grandmother told me that there are 2 certainties in life: one is that you are born; the other is that you die. Now we have a third one. Remember my words: Western Europe and Belgium are not going to get out of this one. By nature I am a positive person, but this time we will fail as a Western society. The socialist-inspired system of 'deficit spending' and 'give to all for nothing' has put a bomb bigger than all the nuclear warheads together in the world under Western Europe. The timebomb is ticking. The question is not whether it is going to explode. The question is when.

Do you notice or hear anything about this over there?
30.06.2013 / Dubai / 08:04 / KF

True, I live way faraway from Belgium. But I do know what's going on there, and in the rest of Europe for that matter. I learned a thing or two about macro-economics when I was in college. And ever since, one thing is stuck in my mind: the Kondratiev Cycle. There are ALWAYS 3 waves: expansion-stagnation-decline and the same thing again and again. Whether we like it or not. It's almost a physical law. Documented since the early 1800s. Said otherwise: what goes down must go up. Although it might take a few decades :-) I therefore don't share your sombre/ morbid view on Belgium.

And think about the free coffee and cookies. It's these little things that give people hope and has them believe better days will come. (at the Google offices, all cookies, drinks, food etc is for free... for a reason). And in the end, that's what's making the economy turn -hope and belief. There is no abstract magic wand that will pass by one day to solve it all. It's a collective effort of entrepreneurs and companies, like yours, that decide to change the paradigm from negative to positive, from decline to growth, from holding back to investing. Anyway, enough of this philosophy.

Switching gears back to marketing. Have you heard about Life-logging? Lifelogging is the newest trend on the block. And in my opinion, it is bigger than merely a trend. And it has implications on marketing. Or will have, soon.

First, let's establish what Lifelogging is. Essentially it is capturing one's life, through text, pictures and video. There are tools, programs and apps to cater for that need. It is like creating a very detailed, endless biography. (Total Recall comes to mind!). It's a biography that probably bores people, other than yourself, to death.

Now. Think social platforms. They are THE big enablers to log your life! And if more and more people are diligently using Facebook and such to do that, rather than to connect with the outside world, and then we have to rethink a few things.

Let's think through what this might mean for marketing.

1-Brands on social platforms are a lot less interesting.

2-Brand engagement as we know it must be revisited.

3-Everything is documented, to the endless degree. That also means every little mistake a brand can make. Oops.

4-You go...

What solutions exist for marketing and branding?

1-Be an integral part of your consumer's life, so you are part of the log. By being relevant, meaningful, daily.

2-Help them log.

3-You go...
30.06.2013 / Antwerp / 16:11 / ES

Interesting thought. Comes close to my view of my office here where I see all kind of types of men visiting our neighbours ;) Again, greetings from Brandhome Antwerp ;)

Lifelogging. It's an interesting new trend. As you say, it's more than a trend. It's more like a state of mind where a particular individual has the urge, the need to put online and out there everything he does and encounters. Some for more professional for use (such as I do), some totally insane, and in a kind of exhibitionism seldom seen.

It's more a lifestyle thing. If you can get access as a brand to these unlimited profiles out there, then it becomes interesting. Then you can benefit from it. Something that jumps to mind: you have all these celebrities that use social media as their lifelog for their following of fans. Why don't brands do that?

And then I don't mean the classic FB filling stuff as most brands do now. Posting all kinds of stuff that is to interest to anyone?

I can go ahead on your list, but the core 'marketing bullet' is already in there: help them log it. I believe that is what you should do as a brand. Hence, people will then allow you to step into their lifelog and mean something to them. In addition, it is both 'past-proof' and 'future-proof'. Let me explain. It's past-proof since it is similar to all kinds of loyalty systems from the past; people know that. Future-proof since the trend of supporting your customers will only increase the coming years.

HELP THEM LOG... that is the marketing challenge. You can do that both offline and online. What do you think?
01.07.2013 / Dubai / 06:29 / KF

YEP. Help them log it is a big idea!

Here's another aspect to lifelogging and the role of brands in there... a true transparency-effect. Imagine 20 years from now. By then, we'll have massive amounts of lifelogs, brandlogs, yourlog, mylog.... That'll bring a brand to life in a tangible way. You won't be able to 'hide' your history, you will be authentic by default (in a positive...or...negative way). You will be a real integral part of life or you will probably have died. The message being: you probably should take every single step you take very seriously, thinking of the repercussions on your FUTURE BRAND IMAGE! Brands have been and still are living-for-today if you think about it. A brand's history always used to 'disappear' in a way. That HAS changed! That's a big one as well...
01.07.2013 / Antwerp / 12:03 / ES

Well, I believe you will face various sub-segments, from individuals that have left or didn't log their life, to the diehards that have put it all out there. So as a brand you should find ways to (a) help the log and (b) help them delete the log. Just an idea.

For brands I believe it is little different and more complex, since most of them are already logged through Google. I believe that will be there for a long time. Interesting topic, I need to reflect on it some more.

On to another subject. Active downgrading. These days many producers are asking themselves the question whether it is still interesting to invest in their brands. Hence in Western Europe the legislation has become so over-regulated that you cannot buy a 'bad product' anymore. Legislation, distribution, consumer interest groups, press...

So, indeed, when the biggest part of your product is distributed by third party brands (retailers, wholesalers...), why would you still invest? Of course, to reverse the power of distribution, but in these harsh times!? What's your POV?
02.07.2013 / Dubai / 08:11 / KF

It depends. It depends on whether you are sitting on cash or not. It depends on how fast and continuous you can generate cash every day and every month. It depends on whether you are cash-rich or cash-poor.

When you are cash-poor, then you have to be very, very careful, and make every penny a prisoner. Over-investing can undermine the long-term viability of your company.

But if you are cash-rich, then investing in the future growth of your company, and your brands is wise. There are several reasons I can see: (1) ROI in the long run is much higher than keeping money in a bank account when times are tough and the economy is depressed, (2) you will build a big advantage vs the cash-poor competitors that are going in starvation while you cement the foundations, (3) investing in brand fans and loyalists is getting rewarded immediately and in the future. No one likes a brand to pull a disappearing act. If you are cash-rich you can and should invest in brand, in fighting distributor brands, in swinging consumers your way, in smooching up your distributors so they want YOU!

So, as always: it depends.
02.07.2013 / Antwerp / 18:05 / ES

Yep. It always depends, but today most companies are cash poor instead of cash rich. And you know what they say: _Profit is a dream, cash is reality_!

Today we lack cash to invest in marketing and branding, at least here in the Benelux. As you know I wrote lots of stuff and did a lot of research on anti-cyclical marketing investment strategies. Sorry to say, but... today this is all theory. Companies prefer to keep the unions happy, and keep people on their jobs, than to invest in brand marketing. In a way I can understand that, but it comes down to embracing the status quo... and finally going down. So, it depends. Well... not always ;)

Another subject. Remuneration of ideas. It's an old one in our business. What is the value of an idea? We came across it shortly in the beginning of this book. But we never went deep. So here are my questions. What is a great brand marketing idea in your eyes? How do you remunerate it? Do you believe that there are different ways to do so...to remunerate.
03.07.2013 / Dubai / 06:11 / KF

The value and recognition of an idea....

...One of the most difficult things to organize for and to reward. I've personally been confronted with that, especially when I was leading innovation functions through my career. My job was to find, nurture and develop ideas. My bosses never had a clue on how to recognize good ideas, and frankly speaking it has been difficult for me to recognize my team as well. There simply isn't a system or protocol for it.

Let me put this in context to explain why it is difficult.

First of all, let's recognize that success has many fathers and that, therefore, good ideas get immediately claimed by many people.

Second. An idea is actually -at best- an undeveloped thought. That said, who is to get the reward: the person with the original idea, the one that sparked something bigger and greater -or- the one that actually crafted it into something meaningful?

Third. There are two sides of the coin. If there are good ideas then there are bad ones. Do you penalize the bad ones? Do you weigh numbers of idea?

Fourth. How original is an idea? Hasn't everything been sort of 'invented' these days and aren't we 'recycling' ideas more than anything else?

And there's probably a lot more to the above points. Needless to say, it is difficult.

How can we go about it?

I think is starts with defining WHAT you want to reward and remunerate so that it sets clear expectations and goals. With that in mind, my stance has always been: let's reward a developed idea. That is an idea that has been turned into a concept, grounded in insights and consumer behavior, with a size of prize and a plan of attack. Why? Because then people can start to SEE the value of the idea. Even though at that stage there is no validation done of sorts and it could still fail miserably. But if that idea/concept is good, then I am of the opinion that factors that make it fail are largely outside of the idea itself.

Build on that...
03.07.2013 / Antwerp / 21:05 / ES

Almost complete. Like to add some thoughts to it...

It has been proven that a new idea is 93% things that have been already in whatever form invented or created somewhere. 6% comes out of new insights, mostly due to technological progression, social and cultural evolution, resulting in paradigm shifts that seem in percentage small... but in reality are BIG. So we are left with 1%. That 1% has never been explained. The running gag is: it is the result of a collision in unstructured thoughts and by being 'illuminated'. Or in normal words: people where drunk or stoned.

Regarding the composition of an idea and moving further into what you touched on. Who owns it? Who takes the bigger idea out? Who is the so-called 'Truffle-Pig' seeker? The person that can find the diamond in the pile of shit? Well, that should be the creator and developer of the creative culture. In agencies this is the creative director. In our Brandhome case, it's me and the creative director. Male and female. Extravert and introvert. Good looking and other looking. You guess who is who ;)

Ideas. Most ideas are thoughts that have matured. But ideas drive you mad. I know you have the same problem. Every day I am full of ideas. And I get frustrated that I cannot put them all live. I have been thinking how life would be if guys like us all get together and we only have the best of the brightest minds all hooking and humping together.

What's your POV?
04.07.2013 / Dubai / 16:59 / KF

That's a great idea. Brainpower at its best. Always works.

One more perspective...

What's your mission in life? Why do you do what you do? What do you contribute to the world? Let me tell you why I am asking these questions. I feel that a lot of people are lost, don't have a 'purpose' in life. And therefore, they might have ideas but don't know how to deal with them, don't know how to prioritize. I say, let your purpose in life be a filter, more than just the filter of company and brand.

Agree?
04.07.2013 / Antwerp / 20:05 / ES

Agree.

My mission:

1.always get better at my profession

2.have fun

3.earn money

That's what makes me tick. When money becomes the driver, then it stops. Then you f*ck up.

Need to run. Your weekend starts tomorrow... so think about what you could think of as a new subject ;)
05.07.2013 / Dubai / 22:32 / KF

_If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything._

My purpose: give something to the world; change thinking; do good. The one thing that so far really contributed in my opinion are the children's and young adult books I've written and published. But it's also the reason why I work. So for me earning money is not a purpose but a means. Anyway.

New subject: Determination.

Let me open with a magnificent expression in that context. _It's not the size of the dog that matters in a fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog._

Let's define what BRAND DETERMINATION means. By that I mean, how does a brand show that it's confident, willing to fight, go the extra mile for its consumers. How do you bring that to life more that to just telling it to people?
05.07.2013 / Antwerp / 20:05 / ES

Man! What a subject. Friday. End of the week. And what a week. I'm getting old. Talk about the fight in that dog ;)

Determination.

It is the belief in success.

It consists of people. It is all about mindset.

The most determined teams and concepts are the ones that adhere to the self-fulfilling prophecy. We discussed that earlier.

We are determined to make our new book here a success. Even though most of the editors I've spoken to can't see the potential of it. Too small for this market. Too different for education. Too this and too that. Within their frame of reference, correct. But that is where the dog and his fight come in. Their frame of reference is theirs. Not ours. And here comes an important aspect: determination is about the ability to change the frame of reference of the others.

What you say? I say go home!!
06.07.2013 / Dubai / 07:12 / KF

YES! Let them go home! And give them a kick on the way out, please. Brand determination comes from belief and from staying the course. A brand that sets out where it wants to go and stays on a straight path will show the right kind of determination. Same with us, right? I have shared our book concept * to a handful of people. And they all love it and can't wait to read it. And those are our bull's-eyes ...young and eager marketers, willing to learn from some experienced guys like us.

* Our book concept:

_A marketing book like no other. A conversation between two high-level marketers covering all possible marketing, business, and some life topics. Approached not from a theoretical angle but applying a practical, day-to-day lens. Add to this a tone-of-voice that is: Irreverent, Provocative, Highly dynamic, and Engaging. And... No theory -drawn from real life experiences. A roller coaster of reflections on marketing, brand, company, and leadership._

Like I told you before, we need to swing this to compete with a million other books on marketing »» This is not a book; it's an experience!

Right?
06.07.2013 / Knokke (BE) / 18:43 / ES

You are DAMN right! This is not just a book. This is a roller coaster in our lives. This is an experience book. An experience book, the first book for marketing people who do not want to read books! This is the new way of exchanging know-how. Through a new and interesting tool, all about engaging with the audience. Building a bond and through that bong creating a funnel through which you can exchange content.

It is interesting to see how the world, people, businesses... are holding to the past. Why? It's human nature. It has always surprised me how few people in Western Europe are looking to change the status quo. Why? Simple. They have a good life. They have forgotten that whatever they receive and get for free, it is not them who paid for that. It's all our ancestors.

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a friend who is the chief economist of a large bank. Brilliant guy. He should have been a marketer! He has the ability to put complex macro and even micro economic topics into simple and easy to understand language. He has a book coming out about why growth is good. Comes out end of the year. Will order that for you!

In 30 minutes we will be skyping about our new book. I'm waiting!
07.07.2013 / Dubai / 06:52 / KF

Good Skype talk yesterday. Our book is taking shape! I immediately started editing quarter one. Stayed up until almost 1am. 50 pages done.

Just picked up something interesting this morning on the radio. (I listen to Dubai Eye business radio it's sort of like the BNR you have in Holland.)

Go Air, a low cost domestic airline in India is hiring female only crew from now on. Reason behind it: reduced fuel... (What? Yes!) ...because... females weigh less! WTF! This seems wrong on so many levels. With this move they will change the identity of their brand. They probably don't realize it yet, but look 5 to 10 years from now. There's a fair chance they might find some new equity dimensions to their brand: sexy? female? sexist? light? I'm not saying the effect will be bad, but if it's unintended it is wrong. This is where the CFO and the search for productivity/efficiency/cost-advantages drive the brand. Bad plan...or is it??
07.07.2013 / Knokke / 18:59 / ES

Regarding Go Air. First of all, is it true? Sounds like a Ryanair kind of stunt. They want skinny female crew, but also in-flight magazines with less pages... The latter makes me doubt... It is great advertising. O'Leary taught them how to do it. I don't think it will damage their image forever. Did Hooters damage itself because of its image?!

The question is whether Go Air has a long term brand strategy? They are either copying Ryanair. Or they aim at really getting the unnecessary weight out. Well, that calls for some communication for their competitors. Think about this copy ad: Go Air is looking for skinny, brainless pilots! ;)

Something else. Got an email from our CD today. Take a look at this one. www.smiirl.com
08.07.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Forgotten domino.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
08.07.2013 / Antwerp / 23:59 / ES

No news from Kurt. He is home alone. His wives are not there. Is he sleeping? Or is he... at a PARTY!!???  
Bingo: 10 dollars for Brandhome foundation!
09.07.2013 / Dubai / 06:52 / KF

Oops -skipped a day. My Ramadan campaign is coming to its final stages! And in real terms that means the ultimate sprint at the very end. It's part of any creative journey. Unbelievable. When we started we were way in time for the first time ever. But even with almost 5 months, the last 3 to 5 days is when it all comes together and the heat is on.

So, this will interest you ... I've always felt that the BASE rebranding commercial we made in 2003 creatively was my (our?)  
best-work-ever. It took me 10 years, but I feel that at last I've been able to beat that with this Ramadan film. Will send it to you in a few days time so you can judge for yourself.

Ramadan starts tomorrow, July 10th. D-day for me!

Gotta go. More Ramadan 360 stuff to finalize and get up and running.
09.07.2013 / Brussels / 15:16 / ES

Fortunately, you forgot. You pay and me too ;) But then again, I was dead tired yesterday. Had a strategic session in the agency until 23:30. And then the rest of the work starts. Feels like I am building an entire new company.

I am getting extremely curious now with your Ramadan campaign. Took you 10 years to get at par with what we created together at BASE? ;)

Nothing new here. Some interesting projects coming up. Well, from a strategic brand marketing point of view. Doing more and more and more... with much and much and much less. I have become used to this new trend, this new reality. Sometimes I think that we will not get out of it again for years. It's just triple cutting all around the place: people, projects, portfolios. And thus, also marketing.

So, I'm not really in the mood to discuss crazy ideas. Need to focus. Need to help these brands. Chew on this one: _the biggest danger for brands comes from the inside. It is the belief, or misconception, that everything will work out just like in the good old days..._
10.07.2013 / Dubai / 00:52 / KF

I am convinced now. For the first time ever, 10 years later, I actually beat our BASE rebranding campaign. Not at par, amigo. I beat it. Wow! Proud moment for me, if I may say so.

Yes, the danger is within us (metaphorically within brands). Why is that? Brands are like people. Some people grow, reinvent themselves, challenge themselves. Others stay 'sur place' as they say in French. A pair of fresh eyes can do a lot. So, you are feeling gloomy I read in your previous section. Pick yourself up! Dust yourself off! Drop everything. Give your challenges and issues to someone else. I guarantee it, solutions will be found.

Got to get some sleep here. Stressful days.
10.07.2013 / Antwerp / 16:53 / ES

Tell me about it.

I am stuck in all kind of handovers,

and lots of new projects.

Need to run. Will pay 50% of the

Domino Fine today!

Small discount for not forgetting it ;)
11.07.2013 / Dubai / 06:51 / KF

Small intermezzo on rebranding...

I was struck by the announcement of Hightail.

Here's how they announced it: 'Becoming Hightail is a bold move but it's a crucial step in our mission to transform the world of digital sharing. Our new brand represents an exciting future as we continue to re-imagine how you share your files and move your ideas forward.'

Why it struck me is two-fold:

1From a good name to a bad name. I thought yousendit was powerful in its simplicity.

2There is actually no guidance at all. Not explaining the why is actually disrespectful to me as a user.
11.07.2013 / Antwerp / 11:40 / ES

I read that yesterday too. I do not understand anything about it. Yousendit was a clear name. Hightail means 'to go as fast as possible'. It's more of a broadband product range name. Their CEO announced that they will be releasing new 'solutions'. They would have done better to either first release those solutions and then switch the name, or do it at the same time. Perception and Performance trade off as we discussed couple of times.

In between 2 conference calls and extreme craziness here at the office. Loads of projects coming in (that's great), but both my left and right hand is going on holiday for 2 weeks. Want them to be able to leave without taking a laptop with them, so we are doing a full handover as we speak ;)

Lifelogging. I have been chewing on that one. Put Lifelogging into the BIG DATA discussion that we touched on some months ago. Then Big Data becomes a focussed matter, with probability since you can use Lifelogging data to focus it. Context related, real 1-on-1, marketing, is about to become reality. This is going to be HUGE!

How should we address this issue from a strategic POV within a company. Let's try to list up 10 steps:

1.let everyone know why Lifelogging should be handled by Big Data – why should they buy-in

2.put a project plan together (secure budgets)

3.determine internal and external data sources to structure the building of the 'index' or pattern

4.... sh*t, phone is ringing here... you go...
12.07.2013 / Dubai / 09:53 / KF

Lifelogging, continued:

4.create the brand objectives

5.make a long term strategic plan ... you need a 10 year view when you start with Lifelogging.

6.focus your efforts on mobile ... make Lifelogging as easy and accessible as possible - from everywhere, on the go.

7.target FB users and bloggers... they are 'logging' already

8.create tools for users to help them 'publish' (in the end that's what Lifelogging is about)

9.enable text, picture and video ... make Lifelogging rich in content

10.hardware needs to be an integral part : wristbands, cameras, webcams, apps, what have you.

Last but not least, on the output side: make the data funky, fun, shareable, visual !

Over to you...
12.07.2013 / Antwerp / 20:49 / ES

I would like to add the 'contextual marketing' part to it:

11.manage the multi-dimensional data approach so that the Lifelogging data can become the projection tool where your brand can plug in

12.keep a very close eye on privacy, both governed by law and by company governance principles

13.create business marketing principles that limit/frame the usage of the powerful tool that is at hand

14.get sales teams involved in the inbound marketing opportunities that Lifelogging created

15.do not think that Lifelogging is the end; it is just starting

This book is in a 'vintage' way a nice example of Lifelogging ;)

Brings us to another topic. Inbound marketing. What's your POV?

Gonna start reading Q1 now!
13.07.2013 / Dubai / 06:57 / KF

Had the craziest night last night. Still working on my Ramadan project. Post-production house was finalizing the film in Denmark, with every second counting. This film is a CGI masterpiece that will blow people away. And me, I was checking every hour whether the online was in my inbox, to have a final viewing and approve it. All tapes need to be delivered this morning to the stations across MENA to hit airing after Iftar tomorrow night. Crazy. The film came at ...6am... right before I stepped in a taxi. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Diamonds are made under pressure!

Anyway, no domino for me today. I'll pay up to SPARK. Just leaving for Dusseldorf where my wife will pick me up. Then onwards to Holland to pick up the kids and drive to Kortrijk in Belgium. It's the birthday of my god child, Ankie. Since I normally always miss it, I'm spending a few days at my sister's.

Taking off now.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.07.2013 / Antwerp / 18:49 / ES

"I will pay up to SPARK too.

You have a good flight and I await

your POV on inbound marketing!"

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
14.07.2013 / somewhere close to Kortrijk / 10:57 / KF

Back in Europe, YES. Quite a journey today. After a sleepless night and finally, finally approving my 3 minute Ramadan movie at 6am, I jumped in a taxi to the airport. Then flew to Germany, drove to Holland and am now almost in Kortijk, Belgium.

Here's a funny thing I just told my wife: when you live in Belgium/Europe, you think, 'Oh, my God, we're wiping out nature'. Let me tell you: when you come from the M.East, EVERYTHING looks green!

Did we not talk about inbound marketing yet? I'm not a big fan of the word. I like Seth Godin's interpretation, 'permission marketing,' much better.

Let's start with a boring Wikipedia definition:
14.07.2013 / Antwerp / 18:47 / ES

OMG!

I need to inform the National Security Team. They have to be informed that Kurt, AKA Spiky, got into Belgium through a German airport. This is a liability for the Belgium marketing community. Now that Kurt has arrived, the average marketing know-how level has doubled. Yes. Indeed. Both of us are in Belgium together ;-)

Have been playing around today with the designs from our Brandhome design team for our book. Great that you picked the ones I wanted too. The really crazy, anti-average and designer-hated styling!!! Turn that domino round and round and round.

Permission marketing. F*ck that word. In today's world only God will give you permission. Believe me. I popped the question since this Inbound Marketing is the buzzword today here in Belgium. Read: confusing clients that Inbound Marketing will make sure that all their customers will be knocking on the doors.... Yeah... right... if you believe this, you should get fired. Why?

Well, here we are back to the fundaments of marketing. We discussed it somewhere at the beginning of the dominos. Marketing is all about people wanting to buy from you, instead of you selling to people. So marketing, inbound, outbound or any other bound, is all the same. It is not about BOUNDING. It is about BONDING!

So I've had it with all these buzzwords, being used as hiding places and shelters by bad marketers! Okay, if you need these words to confuse the shit out of your management because you need additional budget, okay, but don't start playing games!

As you see, I am on the warpath today ;)

Why is that? I have been working on a project since last week, worth a lot of money, and I have been reading marketing plans that are REAL RUBBISH! It makes me really sad and angry at the same time. So much waste. I had to write a reorganisation plan for that company, lying off mothers and fathers. Right, when that needs to be done, it needs to be done. I do it. But then I see the amount of waste in marketing. For those amounts I could have kept these people on the payroll. So be it, you know why I am so pissed ;)

No, nothing new to learn about inbound marketing. Onto something else: packaging promotions. That's something that keeps me busy. Today I was in a clothing shop. Sale time!. Buy one, get 30%. Buy 2 pieces, get 40%. Buy 3 pieces, get 60%. The most simple of packaging ideas you can have.

You, as a thorough-bred FMCG guy. Give me an overview of how to deal with packaging promotions!
15.07.2013 / Kortrijk / 07:57 / KF

Before I start on that subject, I need to tell you that today has been an absolute highlight of my career. A proud moment...

We did a launch of our 3 minute Ramadan film on digital today, ahead of the TV launch tonight. It immediately sparked thousands of comments and shares. All organic, we haven't started our paid push yet. All day long I have gotten text messages, bbm's, emails with congratulations, emotional stories, what have you. Incredible! I have spoken a lot about remarkable advertising i.e. worth making a remark about ...well, this is it, my friend! :-) 100% hit rate!

Why did it work so well? This campaign 'clicks' with consumers, in the right way. There is a very strong human truth behind the concept: Ramadan is not what it used to be. Families and friends still get together, yes, but something is missing, something has changed. Technology makes togetherness more a collection of individuals than a tight group. What we want to show is that it can be different. Therefore, we brought back the best of what Ramadan once was - symbolized by the all-time-high celebrities of Ramadan - a lasting idea. And wow, what emotions it evoked. It did everything we expected it to do, and more. That's magic, man! I swear.

After this all-time high, let's move to something utterly boring: promotions and promotion packages.

There are two sides to the coin here, amigo....

...The shopper side

In today's difficult times, the 'shopper' (an illustrious consumer that uses his/her left brain ...planned, calculated, trading-off, prioritizing) has created a hike in promotions. When, as a household, you are short for cash, then these promotions work. Whether us marketing guys like it or not. Simple? Yes, and thus effective. I don't like them. You don't like them. But we'll have to live with them. A lot of these bundle deals have made big companies like P&G big!

...The consumer side

From a brand and consumer point of view, promotion dilutes the brand. We all know it. But there is no brand without sales. What absolutely needs to be avoided is promotion dependency. E.g. having year-round promotions, or being caught by your own promotion success.

Question is: do both bite each other? Maybe we are just exaggerating wanting to get rid of promotion packages all together.
15.07.2013 / Brussels / 15:55 / ES

Saw the Ramadan film. TOP!! Interesting that a US-based brand like Pepsi can immerse so deeply into the 'feel' of the Arab markets. Very interesting. And from a creative and artistic POV, very nice! And over 25OK views just the online version and without online seeding or push, on less than 36 hours... GREAT JOB!

Back to promotions. What I would like to know is, what are the various types of real trade marketing and sales promotions. From volume packs, to instant discount, to sweepstakes, etc. I can't find an overview anywhere about these things. I am sure you can list the top 2O! That's my question. Thanks for your wisdom in advance.
16.07.2013 / somewhere in Holland / 18:57 / KF

I'll pay for today!

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
16.07.2013 / Antwerp / 19:39 / ES

You don't want to tell me the secrets of packaging. But I keep on pushing! Just a quick domino today, from my office window overlooking the red light district. I still see something interesting everyday. ;)

It's relaxing to write a domino and to just sit down and change your ideas. I had an interesting presentation this morning. From 2 IT guys working in the IT department of a client. Real IT-nerds. But interestingly enough they came up with a f*cking amazing idea. Visionary. Abstract. And they presented it really badly. But when you have face value potential, and when you can think from a conceptual POV, then BINGO!

Eye opener. Went to get a Starbucks with them, and they explained/complained to me about how marketing does not exist. Just product management. I believe that many companies have these hidden jewels, somewhere deep in the cellars of the company. You remember the Turkish guy we found in the basement of BASE ;) And then we created AY YILDIZ. Well, finding and stimulating the moving up of ideas in companies that are not nurtured in marketing thinking, that is going to be GOLD!

Your turn:

- go back to the top 20 type promo's please ;)

- what's your POV on 'farming ideas' in the basement of companies
17.07.2013 / somewhere in Holland / 11:53 / KF

Erikmans. I am in extreme chillax-mode, at my in-law's place in Holland. Bit of switch-off time after a hectic few months.

I will write about packaging if you tell me exactly what you want to know. You are confusing the hell out of me talking about packaging linked to promotion.

On NURTURING JEWELS IN THE COMPANY. I think that's a great topic. We touched upon it when we talked about innovation, where we said that sometimes you need to find a way to ring-fence ideas so they get a chance to grow without the burden of the company (in terms of management, approvals, financials, etc that are all good idea-killers). But it is the toughest thing around. The key question really is: do you have a culture AND the systems in place to (1) detect where the hidden gems are, (2) allow them to float to the top of the organisation, (3) recognise that they need separate treatment, (4) incubate them? You need all of these in place for your idea to make it through. What we accomplished with AY YILDIZ is a great example. We had the idea, found the right guy to lead that business, brought it to management attention, got the go ahead for the idea, and then got it up and running. I still think it was a brilliant move! And actually, you were the big instigator and supporter to see it through – an essential building block as well!
17.07.2013 / Antwerp / 22:25 / ES

Kurtmans! Where are you hiding in Holland?

Let me quickly explain. I am looking for a comprehensive overview/model/logic of different FMCG actions. And which kind of action/promotional targets they are aimed at. You will not believe this, but I have never found a comprehensive overview of all those types of actions, in terms of approach, target (e.g. some on value, others on volume)...

Let me start just to illustrate what I want:

1.Volume packs: bigger volume; 30% free extra

2.Unit packs: buy 2, get 3, etc

3.Get this product A and get B with it as a tester or complimentary

4.Buy this product and win...

etc

You get what I mean. For you, it's probably very obvious.
18.07.2013 / somewhere in Holland / 17:46 / KF

Here we go...on the subject of packaging & promotions...

A)Volume+, mostly a guaranteed success, esp if the price isn't tampered with; i.e. consumer gets more for the same price. There are two angles to this: (1) a short term volume spike, and therefore potential share gain, coupled with (2) a hit on your bottom-line (because you're giving stuff for free). It's also not the best thing for your brand equity - we talked about that. You are basically 'buying volume in the market'.

B)Bundle-sale. Mostly in the form of 'buy this + something else at a better price'. Pretty obvious. Often used to push a new product in the +1 option.

C)Multipack. Used to have consumer 'load their pantry, i.e. buy more than their average consumption. Again eyeing a value offer.

D)L.T.O. - Limited Time Offer. Is often a product that is the market for a limited amount of time. Think of seasonal drinks, or a product designed for a certain activity/time. Think special Cadbury Easter Eggs.

E)+Gadget

You continue. I'm taking my in-laws out for a fancy dinner :-)
18.07.2013 / Antwerp / 22:48 / ES

Hm. Dude. Why don't you invite me to your party? I am sweating here in the office at 10 PM at night :)

F)Buy & Win (sweepstakes, contests, tombola...)

G)Not happy, money back guarantee

H)Credit: buy now, pay later

I)Buy now, get it later ;)

And all the combinations...

Come on, please poop out some new and bright ones. I know that's all you do ;)
19.07.2013 / somewhere in Holland / 14:36 / KF

JBuy now, don't get it at all ;-)

KGet it, without even buying ;-)

In all seriousness, let's close this more than boring, sales subject. We are writing about marketing and brands!

To that end:

Let's talk about LOYALTY and how we can build loyalty. Which sort of stands in contrast to the promotion discussion we just had.

I'll start with a simple definition of what loyalty is: repurchase and reference of your product.

Now. We briefly touched upon loyalty before. But I want to touch upon a different dimension of it. Brand lovers that are not buyers...are they loyals or not? Typically, loyalists are a sub-section of the buyer group. But what do you do with an LV lover that never bought a single bag? One day he/she might! Would it be a loyalist? A future-loyalist? A brand-lover-to-be-turned loyalist? Tell me...
19.07.2013 / Antwerp / 23:58 / ES

Do you mean: many people love the brand, few are buying it? Brands such as Bugatti, Ferrari, Hermes...

I am not sure I understand. Could also be since my brain is overheated by work and sun today! 30 degrees in Antwerp!

Loyalists are people, in my opinion, that derive relatively more than others a part of their identity from brands.
20.07.2013 / somewhere in Belgium / 12:46 / KF

Well, I agree with your definition. But: in the business world, the reality is that that is NOT the definition of loyalty. In simple terms the sequence goes like this: Aware ...tried ... Bought in last xxx period... Repeated. The latter being an indication of 'loyalty'. My issue with that: it's a historical number with no real indication to the future; it's a buying frequency number. Not loyalty per se.
20.07.2013 / Nisse (NL) / 13:41 / ES

Let's make a difference between brand loyalists and loyalty.

Brand loyalists ... I gave my definition.

Loyalty is the resulting aggregated effect of multiple and sometimes very different parameters. These are active and passive parameters. Active means that the end user makes a deliberate choice for a specific brand when there are multiple similar brands available. Passive means that the choice is limited, as a consequence of various elements such as limited availability, monopoly, risk/price trade off etc.

All this to illustrate that loyalty has more than one definition. We discussed earlier in this book, for example, the difference between usage loyalty and brand loyalty.

Back to brand loyalists. The question to determine whether brand loyalists are true is the determined paradox. It analyzes if people who are truly loyal (brand loyalists) remain loyal when their buying performance changes, e.g. they have more or less money to spend. Why buy another Skoda after you inherited a 10 million from that unknown aunt? Why not buy a Mercedes? You can pay for it now! But other variables can change.

I think we can fold this one into the simple but utmost difficult question we face, every day. It's about staying close to and into your market.

I want to move the discussion on to something different. The weather. In Belgium the sales are at their best in a weekend when it is between 9.9 and 18.3 degrees Celsius. When the temperature goes below or above, sales go down :) What do you say about that!? :)
21.07.2013 / Dubai / 08:54 / KF

The weather is such an important thing in my (business) life that I thought... didn't we cover this already? We did: 20.03.2013! So, at the risk of a bit of repetition:

The weather. Probably one of the most talked about subjects in the world. And not without good reason. Not only does it affect our days, our moods, our plans, it also affects businesses to a large extent. I work in a company that sells refreshing drinks ... guess how important the weather is. Duh. Most people in the office check the weather on a daily basis here, not to check what to wear but to forecast sales. A percentage up or down can make a huge difference. And... we like UP. The hotter, the better.

A few facts:

70% of businesses are affected by weather!

•Examples:

•Ski resorts

•Beach clubs

•Movie theatres

•The beverage industry

•Insurance companies

•The film industry

•Energy companies

•Construction

•Farming

•and many, many more...

That's trillions of dollars! Imagine the effect on the GDP. Some articles mention one third of the global GDP to be weather-dependent. And of course, the sheer agony lies in its unpredictability. This is one area where man has difficulty controlling the world. Now, what do you do with that? What do you do if YOUR company is affected by the weather?

Some thoughts:

1-Bitch and moan about how crappy the weather is, and that your business is going down the drain because of it. Not a smart choice...

2-Turn it upside down. Make a negative a positive! Give discounts to your clients when they buy in conditions other than your normal/average weather conditions. Great.

3-Know the impact of the weather on your sales! Understand seasonality. Forecast and plan against it. Smart.

4-Work with specialists in the field. Example: www.climpact.com/en/the-company. Worth a shot.

5-Take out some insurance that covers the extremes. Nice.

6-Go find another line of business. Good enough.
21.07.2013 / Knokke / 16:55 / ES

Yep. We discussed it, but I found it amazing how in specific markets (geographical, segments...) the impact it so HUGE! Of course it is pretty straightforward in your business of refreshment drinks, and things like clothing (yep, summer clothes are different than winter clothes) but think a telco company, a social security company, a bank... How does weather affect their client's behavior?

Just want to point out, and this is confirmed by experience, that the sectors in which weather isn't such a pertinent aspect of their brand, sales and marketing activity, are not taking the opportunities weather can provide enough into account.

Moving to another topic. Creatives under pressure. And then I mean both the people as well as the creative thinking. At this time of the year, it's a BIG issue. Fortunately we have a lot of work. And all the brands want their projects to be run during the past 2 and forthcoming 4 weeks. Please note that most people at the brand side are on holiday. Whilst they are away they, 'Just leave it with Brandhome', is commonly used expression by clients' management.

Nothing wrong with that. On the contrary. Is the best proof of their trust in us! But within our company we need to see how far you can stretch the creatives. I personally believe that creatives should not work on more than 4 brands in parallel. I also don't believe that they should work for only one brand. This is a common mistake that I see as a result of the client milking business model of international agencies. Why? Focus on and closeness to a brand is one thing. But being far too close and focussed, that's another thing. I believe it is similar in marketing departments.  
What's your POV on this?
22.07.2013 / Dubai / 07:04 / KF

Ha! I often use the quote diamonds are made under pressure, to describe that situation. Listen, pressure, in the sense of lots on your plate and no time to eat it, is good. It sharpens the mind, gets one fired up, has people run a bit faster. BUT...as with anything.... too much is too much. And then, things break and start working against you, both on the creative content side and on the people/human side.

Let me go back to one of my mental sources of inspiration, Bruce Lee. His philosophy was to not let your cup overflow. Imagine a teacup. If you keep pouring and pouring and pouring, the cup will soon be unable to hold all the tea. In order for fresh, new tea to go in, you must be able to empty the cup. A strong metaphor. Very valid in any situation, life and business.

We've all been there. Doesn't really matter whether it's on the agency or client side, whether you're in marketing, finance or ops. These principles are always true.

From an organizational point of view, finding the balance is tough. Look at what we saw at Base: in 2003, there were way too many people. Didn't we use to say half of them were sleeping throughout the day? They become dead weight. But after the drastic)clean-up a few months later, we became lean & mean again. And mean we were ;-)

I rest my case.

On the company/advertiser's side, I am with you as well. You can't have people work on too many brands. Now, it's not just a matter of numbers, it's the weight of the brand that matters. I have brands in my portfolio that not even one man can handle. That actually shouldn't be the case on the agency side. If you manage brands that have low activity, something's wrong. Right? I guess it's much more a matter of managing projects/campaigns and quantities on your end.
22.07.2013 / Antwerp / 08:02 / ES

Yep. Today is one of those under pressure days. Everybody on my team, excl. 1 junior, on holiday is hard at it. And loads of briefings and unexpected events from the client side that fall into my bucket... since they have the same situation: everyone on holiday, and on top 30 degrees! Pffttt. Very happy that we invested a lot of money in our new office's 'fresh air cooling system'. Yep, 4 times as expensive as airco, but fresh air, 6 times per hour the entire air volume of the office gets refreshed. Oxygen for the brain!

Regarding the last topic, focus. I have difficulty there in that there is a difference between profiles in an agency. Let me explain. When you are in strategy, then the longer you work on a brand, the better you get to know the brand and its sector. When you are in creative and account/project, your top performance on a brand is between month 18 and 36. After that, it only goes down.

Btw. Great story about the cup of tea. Since we are both old martial arts guys, you more styling with yours than me with my real boxing ;), we know how important balance is to you from going too far and then you lose the fight.

Here is another topic I have been thinking about. So obvious, but few brands really succeed in getting it done: your own content channel. Whatever form, but a branded, high involvement channel that your consumers are using. So not something you sponsor and everyone just looks at. Not, purely, for your consumers. Could be like 1 hour per week Porsche TV for lovers like you. Or 1 hour per month Apple mail management, for Apple addicts like me. Or even Illy TV on how to make the best coffee and so on.

POV?
23.07.2013 / Dubai / 16:37 / KF

Ok, for once I will talk about Pepsi. Just because I'm passionate about branded content and what we achieved with Pepsi in the M.East...

Last year we launched www.pepsiarabiatv.com, PATV, the first online TV channel in M.East. All about branded content, or B.E. Branded Entertainment as it's called. It's something only a big brand with serious, deep pockets should undertake, let me tell you that first. We created the platform, launched it with a campaign, and produced 60 pieces of content (madness -we'll talk about that later). But in a matter of a year we broke all norms when it comes to brand engagement!

Over the next few days, let's break down the components...

1.Why embark on B.E.

2.Cost aspect

3.Content management

4.Always on requirement

5.Brand impact/engagement through the ecosystem

6.Consumer involvement and UGC

7.Optimization and efficiency

8.Issues

You can start...
23.07.2013 / Antwerp / 20:03 / ES

I know the site. Saw the ads for it alongside the Sh. Zayed Rd. in Dubai. TOP!

Branded Entertainment. Why embark on it?

Let me first start with a definition issue I have with it. The current definition of branded entertainment is far too narrow in my opinion. It is derived from product placement and is mostly about a kind of partnership between a media or production company that makes programs and a brand. Read: the brand can brand the program and/or be present in the content, and in return it pays the bill...

Far toooo narrow. That is why I like the Pepsi example.

It goes much broader, and deeper. The B.E. approach should be about creating a true, owned brand universe that helps the brand to get its message across and gather the necessary buy-in.

So branded entertainment should first think about what and how the customers/segments of the brand desire/want/accept to be entertained, before you entertain branding it.

So why is it important? There's a number or reasons, but the most important ones that it gives an engagement platform with the brand stakeholders, that can be fully controlled, or facilitated by the brand.

Still a long way to go. I believe that when a brand is super strong, it can do anything.

Before you embark on the cost, the following question: how to get organized since the people that are running the brand have different profiles than what you need to run the marketing. Quickly your POV on this one?

Need to continue now with the review of Q1 of the book. Final review. Our design team is now looking at all the options and production solutions so it can be ONE BIG FAT BRAND BIBLE!
24.07.2013 / Dubai / 19:10 / KF

B.E., how do you organize for it?

You are absolutely right. You need different creative minds to tackle this. Why – it's about creating entertainment and engagement, in a relevant, impactful and new way. Break away. Break the rules. Go the extra mile. Not an easy feat, let me tell you. Once you embark on an undertaking like PATV, spending time on how to organize for it is worth your while. We took a long time, and we are still evolving. Here are a few rules-of-thumb:

•Find a creative leader. Someone that can carry the idea, is the gatekeeper for creativity and for consistency. An outsider. A director. A producer. Someone that feels the content, can make it WOW, and can make it happen!

•Build a team that own B.E. for the brand. Constantly searching for new stuff. Continuously churning out content.

•Create pockets of freedom. With a lot of content going out the door, you can't be on top of everything, you can't constantly monitor or approve. There needs to freedom, but within confined brand guardrails. And...you need to walk on the edge but mind legal/corporate rules of the road. It's easy to fuck up.

•Have seeding money ready. It's difficult to budget and therefore you need to money for opportunities, ideas, options to jump-on-the-moment.

•Most importantly, there needs to be belief and commitment. This is new, exciting, breakthrough when done well ...and therefore it scares a loooooooot of people. Great.
24.07.2013 / Antwerp / 23:59 / ES

Cost of B.E. is on the agenda. No clue about the cost of it. And certainly not when you want to do it as professionally as your Pepsi project. So I invite you to tackle this one. I've got one idea based on gut feeling than actual experiences.

Uniqueness versus cost: it is firstly about entertaining. The power of entertainment goes hand in hand with fitting the brand, but of course with the creative power behind; great creative stuff is expensive... So be it, I'll continue until 1 AM now on reading the final edit of Q1. Needs to be done. Commitment!
25.07.2013 / Dubai / 07:19 / KF

Cost of B.E. is a tricky one for sure. We all know that a decent TV commercial would cost you between 350k and 500k USD, there is no price tag for B.E. In the end, what's the value of a piece of content for your brand. It gets even more difficult if you decide an always-on strategy with a continuous content stream. You will run out of money fast if you decide to follow the typical advertising cost structure.

A drastically different approach is needed.

A few tips:

1- Bundle content. Do a big production of 10 content pieces in one go. You can deal with overhead costs in an efficient way, you can leverage the same actors, location, etc etc etc

2- Flat fee agreement instead of content-by-content cost. Determine what it's worth is to you, for your brand to pay and look around until you find someone to work with you. BE is new but also exciting. It's experimental and therefore there are a lot of people want to be engaged in it.

3- Combine self-produced and off-the -shelf. A lot of content is available but hidden. There is, as you say, the trade-off between uniqueness and cost. We all want our own. We all want to be unique. But we also need to be smart. And let me tell you, if you have a good eye for content, it's easy to tweak and mould it into what seems ownable and real to the brand.
25.07.2013 / Antwerp / 22:56 / ES

Interesting. ... it totally confirms the deep pockets aspect of B.E. Today I had an interesting discussion with a client. A brand that just comes looking around the corner in terms of brand marketing. She told me that their marketers and agencies should use whatever they find on the internet... Sure? I asked her? When you are a small one-man company, and you use a freeware picture we Googled somewhere... then probably you will not end up in big trouble. But when you are Pepsi and you infract even in the slightest way or in whatever way the rights of a third party... you're cooked!

So IP management and inventory seems a costly aspect too. Because B.E. of tomorrow will be based on the freedom of your brand fans to create whatever kind of content within or on your B.E. concept.

So that brings us to the next topic, content management. Probably the most interesting part. Why? Content management for great B.E. is about keeping track of the dotted line you put forward for your B.E. project, as well building in the flexibility to anticipate on quick changes in the surroundings of your audiences. Does that make any sense?
26.07.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
26.07.2013 / Antwerp / 21:32 / ES

"Where is this dude?"
27.07.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
27.07.2013 / Antwerp / 21:32 / ES

"Did anyone hear/see him?"
28.07.2013 / NYC / 16:20 / KF

Yes makes sense. Wasn't that pretty much what I said? :-)

Been quiet on the writing front. Now that I am in NYC for the weekend, prior to what will be a heavy working week, I've decided to do something exceptionally different: let my mind quiet down. Instead of the usual rushing when I'm in a city, I want to take time to enjoy the things I'm doing, without too much distraction. It's working therapeutically at a fast rate I have to say. Wonderful. Here's the recipe I followed so far:

-Wake up and shake off the jetlag in the gym ... unrushed.

-A good breakfast in a nice place. Not the hotel. Yelp does wonders!

-A long stroll in Central Park, just watching people jog, cycle, talk and laugh.

-A good few hours in MoMa. Once more, I decided not to rush it. Took my time and did only two floors. Enjoyed them - Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh. And discovering creative Gods like Gino Severini and Georges Seurat. Awesome stuff.

-Relax time in Battery Park, staring at the Statue of Liberty from afar.

I've been invited to a blues concert by a colleague today. Pretty great.

You have to find a way to recalibrate from time to time, you know...
28.07.2013 / Antwerp / 14:01 / ES

I know the feeling. It takes time to be inspired as we have already discussed a few times. It is important to change it up as much as you can. I'm doing it right now. Brainstorm walking with a colleague in the dunes ;)

Enjoy the Big Apple!
29.07.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

No domino...

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
29.07.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

I am lazy too.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
30.07.2013 / NYC / 01:17 / KF

Our writing has been on the back burner for a few days it seems. Oh well.

Let me enjoy a moment of reflection on art before we resume our usual marketing chatter.

Went back to MoMa yesterday, there are more than 2 floors and I missed out on a lot yesterday. Here's my two cents. Contemporary art section = fart, not art, in a lot of cases. Architecture and design = fascinating. Never knew Le Corbusier was such a master.

But whether you like it or not, one thing is for sure, art intrigues.

Today I started a week of meetings, meetings and more meetings, with 56 of my colleagues from around the world. Good times. I enjoy the presentations, reflections, discussions, and the opportunity to influence the global agenda.

What's up with you??
30.07.2013 / Brussels / 08:12 / ES

Same here. Madness. Day and night working and keeping up with the good brands :)

Yep. We've gone soft. Weak commitment. But on the other hand, we will be back next week.

Quickly touching on your topic about art. Art is fascinating for a number of reasons:

-it is the free version of what we do: creativity in advertising is framed within a specific target it needs to achieve, art is free

- it is incomparable: true art is even more individual than the individual that created it

- it is non-dimensional: it has no dimensions, nor logic; every form of post rationalization is irrelevant in itself but interesting

- it has no fixed value

- it is the future library of culture

If you are ever in Doha, visit the Museum of Islamic Art. Very beautiful. The copy that is written on the little displays next to the objects it is about is pure craftsmanship too. I've never seen that before. Another nice one is the National Museum in Manamah (Bahrain). It houses a great collection of old, historic Dilmun Seals. Amazing branding. Look it up.
01.08.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Lazy Kurt. $10 please.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
01.08.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

Lazy Erik. $10 please.-

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
02.08.2013 / NYC / 01:54 / KF

So, my NYC trip is over. What an 'experience'! Meetings. Meetings and more meetings. Some even more ineffective than others. It just makes me think of how we operate in a global world that is totally connected. Or is it? Why do 50 people fly all over the world to talk, discuss, align, and plan, together? Surely there must be more effective ways in this day and age. Maybe it's a stretch and a steep investment to get everyone a serious video conferencing system on his laptop. But in the long run that must lead to savings. Now, don't get me wrong. Nothing beats face-to-face encounters. It just depends for what.

This radio silence will seriously feed the funding of SPARK. What's the damage, on either side?

And how has your week been?

Tomorrow we'll talk marketing again. Taking the overnight flight to DXB now.
02.08.2013 / Antwerp / 08:03 / ES

Unforgiveable what we did. Pay extra. We did not write a domino on the last day of the third quarter. Yep. Yesterday we started the very last quarter. Let us make this one a unique one! End in style!

Yep. Connected always and everywhere. Face to face remains the most effect way to discuss complex matters. Human touch I call it. Conf calls, skype, etc all great tools, and very effective, but they cannot replace the feeling of actually discussing something with a live person.

Same here. Killing week. But very satisfactory. Made leaps ahead on a couple of important projects. Will sit down this WE and do some more final editing of our book. That will clear my mind.

Topic I want to put forward is female power. I have been in some change projects in the past months, and it amazes me how female top managers address issues in a more pragmatic way. More solution oriented, less problem oriented. The latter being how males do it mostly. There are not enough female top managers! We should help them to combine such a function with being a mother.

Same goes for other females working in a company. Did I ever tell you that in our former Brandhome HQ building in Antwerp we had the plan to put up our own daycare center so that mothers and fathers could come less stressed to work. Why we did not do it? Stupid Belgian law forbids it!!!! Incredible. It remains an over regulated market here, mostly run by idiots.

Brings us to building up positive stress. I followed your FB posts this week. Looks like you had a hard working week, but also a lot of fun and positive vibes I guess.

A topic I was discussing yesterday with a CFO was 'debranding'.

How do you turn your brand off without harming either the business or the stock market valuation.

Any ideas? ... Other than stop investing...

Have a safe flight my friend.
03.08.2013 / Geneva-Aigle, somewhere just past Montreux (CH) / 15:03 / KF

I know all about female power, empowerment and leadership. In a company like ours we are actually pushing that agenda. Quite successfully. And you are right, females bring in a different approach. In my opinion, more balanced, more humane, more focused on doing things right. But high on the top, only the happy few are females.

I guess that 'debranding' is the orphan brother of branding and rebranding. No one wants him :-) and it is one of the difficult options because it is a very visible. Actually, debranding is almost 'in' these days. Brands strive for such huge recognition that they can let go of their brand name. When Nike left the brand and continued with just the swoosh, I was in awe! Talk about power of the brand. And what an awesome demonstration of brand confidence that was. Nowadays, when BMW gets dropped on the Mini or Starbucks only go with their lady-emblem, no one really makes a fuss about it anymore.

Now, what is still a big step is taking branding references off all together. Sort of like Gucci does on many of their brands. They have certain recognizable features and brand elements, but they are not part of the logo or brand name. That's bold!

So here's a question for you: is it going too far? And what legal insulation do you have when you strip away your brand? Makes me darn nervous. We talked about hidden signals, about owning colors, etc...but if a new phone gets launched with the iconic Apple color, will you really know it's Apple. Or, as a brand, do you open the doors for anyone to make a knock-off and steal your equity? Nike and Starbucks I get...their logo has replaced their brand name. That's ok. Anything other than that, not ok for me. Or are you going to convince me otherwise??
03.08.2013 / Antwerp / 17:15 / ES

Euh... how do you end up in Switzerland? You just got back from NYC to AE yesterday. Packing and unpacking? I know the feeling.

I meant it even more radically: STOP branding! Stop logos. Stop investing. Stop managing. Stop marketing.

In essence, do the total opposite of what you - as a normal marketer - would do.

In the beginning of this book we discussed the end of marketing. Something similar. The end of branding!

In some countries all kind of regulations (food, health, service obligations, distribution...) have become so severe, that all the quality/safety aspects of brands have become market standards. Look at Western banks. The regulatory authorities even have to approve all advertising now!

On top, in some sectors few suppliers are historically available (e.g. utilities), other sectors are in full consolidation (e.g. telco), or others are... just not into branding (e.g. garbage bags that fit your kitchen can).

So just throw your brand and brand management out the door. And let the market decide, the end consumers, if they think you are a brand or not. The Saelens definition of branding: you are a brand when your markets believe you are!
04.08.2013 / Montreux / 15:15 / KF

If that is what you mean, then I'd coin it as 'marketing death row', 'pulling the marketing plug', not unbranding which has defined connotations.

The doom loop scenario you are painting seems weird, illogical and stupid to me. Why would you totally abandon your brand? Why throw it to the wilds, leaving it up for grabs? Why completely discount all the investments done? Why destroy your brand capital? I honestly can't think of a reason, other than the obvious consolidation one...

In your examples of bank, regulatory pressure, etc it seems like it is a back-against-the-wall situation that is the driving force for debranding. Right?
04.08.2013 / Antwerp / 16:05 / ES

In some cases. In the past few years, I have seen some situations where for financial and/or regulatory reasons big parts of various businesses were just carved-out and basta. No discussions about the brand. SPV - Special Purpose Vehicles - being the sole name of the game. No branding. No marketing. No nothing. But as strange as this may sound, I believe that companies can let go of all brand marketing, and still do a good business. Becoming fully sales and service driven, and leaving the brand perception etc to their audiences. Yep. A world where consumers are the marketers. Hallelujah! I believe you will now want to kick my ass? Right?

On to something else. It's a new topic that keeps me busy these days. Onboarding. It's a new buzz word these days. Getting people on board. Important. But on the other hand very time and energy consuming. I am currently in the middle of 2 projects. Both large corporations. Both in services. One company is very clear about branding: CEO & CMO decide. Other company is very into the onboarding modus. Guess which one is fastest in goto market? And indeed, people align behind the brand that does not need the entire onboarding thing! Branding and marketing are NOT DEMOCRACIES! What's your POV?
05.08.2013 / somewhere in Switzerland / time unknown / KF

Where is this dude hanging out?

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
05.08.2013 / Antwerp / 23:59 / ES

Comes in handy that Kurt is hanging in the mountains. He'll pay up too..."

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
06.08.2013 / Villars (CH) / 08:45 / KF

I'm late again it seems. It's the mountain air that is slowing down my response time ;-)

Branding and marketing are NOT DEMOCRACIES. AMEN. AMEN.  
I agree. Easy to execute in a small company with only a few people and a clear decision tree. But difficult in a large, global organization. Still, I think the principle goes.

Onboarding is a critical element in the equation. Critical because it sets out who does what, and educates newcomers on the brands.

But it comes with two burdens that often get overlooked:

(1) You need time to 'educate'. Good onboarding takes a long time. Why? The devil is in the details.

(2) On the receiving time, you need time to 'absorb'. Understanding a brand, feeling it, living it, takes time. I would say at least a year.

Who has the time for that, these days?

And with onboarding without clear who-does-what, and who-decides-on-what comes the issue of 'brand leadership diffusion' as I would call it. Let me explain. Imagine a global company, and a new brand manager on a global brand coming on board in country X.

Let's assume he/she gets a proper onboarding, well prepared, with the proper time taken. The first thing this newcomer will feel is: I can contribute to this brand! Great. Keep it. The second thing is probably: I can influence this brand! Oops. Alarm bells need to go off. The third thing (and I've seen it): I can change this brand in line with what I think is best to do! Damn. Wrong. This is a no-go area. If you amplify that with 100 people in 100 countries all wanting to change a single percentage of the brand's DNA, you'll see the mess you are getting yourself in as a global company. Therefore, indeed: Branding and marketing are NOT DEMOCRACIES!

The questions to ask are ...

(1)How do you create clear decision-making rules?

(2)How do you empower/motivate people on all levels?

(3)How can marketers contribute to the growth of the brand(s)?

(4)How can they learn and grow while they are at it?
06.08.2013 / Brussels / 15:02 / ES

You are absolutely right with what you point out about securing the degrees of freedom one has in controlling the future of a brand. Indeed, I have seen tons of examples, big and small, where this lack of control led to catastrophes, major, expensive f*ck ups.

As we discussed many times before, you need to have the mental stretch to put yourself in the position of the brand. To absorb its values. To internalize them instead of imposing your own values and thoughts without challenging them, into the brands. It has a lot to do with selecting the right people, controlling their ego, and guiding, funneling their competences.

I remember a guy who was responsible in the team of developing the MINI brand just after its birth. He came from BMW. A typical BMW executive, nice suit and tie, slick and smart guy. But he immersed himself and his team so deeply in the desired brand universe for the MINI brand that he changed as a person, as an individual. The BMW-slickness literally spoken just fell off. I have seen many other cases like these. Key to success? Sit together with HR. No joke. It's a human and very personal skill to immerse your very self into brands and put your real self aside.

As strange as this many sound, this is one of my strongest points. And it's also one of Brandhome's strongest points. It's not me who is telling this. It's what customers say about us. We can immerge in third brands, not just deeply, but also quickly. While keeping a line and link to the world outside of the brand. I have joked many times that you need to be schizophrenic to work at Brandhome. But in a way, it is true.

Another question pops to mind as a result of this discussion. A very confronting one perhaps. Can large companies build strong brands, or do they just maintain them? Aren't the strongest brands built by few people. They kickstart them. They nurture them. They are them. And once the first exciting moments of growth are realized, they hand them over to more professional 'maintenance'. The brand is sold, acquired, insourced...

Keeps me busy since I am in the middle of 2 projects where I need to give advice on how to go ahead with the brand. Of course, much more complex than branding itself, but in terms of the future of the existing brands, it's an interesting challenge. Would love to discuss, but I have an NDA as thick as this book on each of them... Perhaps in a couple of years, when we are old ;)

Let's discuss the brand Switzerland. Amazing brand. Solid. Closed. Unique. Quality. Etc. You start.
07.08.2013 / Villars / 17:32 / KF

Ha, Switzerland.

What do they have?

First of all, a recognizable flag!

Secondly, they stand for something. They've always had this rock-solid image of freedom, tolerance, and transparency, neutrality, money. They stand for reliability!

Third, they are small and lovable. Nothing beats small and lovable!

Fourth, precision is their middle name. You find it in watches and in how they run things. I took a train from the Geneva airport to Aigle. Punctual from start to stop. You can set your (Swiss) watch right on that one :-)

Fifth, they have powerful symbols: the Swiss army knife, Swiss watches, alphorns, cheese, safety deposit boxes full of Nazi gold, skiing, Heidi.

Odds are a lot of people never heard of Belgium, but I bet you that those people do know Switzerland!

I personally love the lovely little towns, the fresh mountain air, the good wine.
07.08.2013 / Antwerp / 21:24 / ES

Country branding. We discussed it before, but Switzerland keeps coming back. I love it too. It's one of the most surprising, clean, innovative places in the world. The quality of living is top. As long as you behave! Transparent? That I believe they aren't. The entire worldwide banking business and the secrecy around it... always flows back to Switzerland. I think on the other hand that they have a great USP with it.

Want to discuss something else. Just jumping around. I am on the edge of starting some major culture change projects in 2 companies. Big companies. Over 20.000 people. Okay, small compared to Pepsi, but still... Such huge populations are mostly a reflection of the society the companies are embedded in. So... in terms of cultural change and the communications surrounding such projects... yep, comes close to mass marketing and branding.

In the past we have been involved in a number of such projects. I always call it 'project branding'. When populations are that big and diverse, it is interesting to 'brand' whatever project you have, use the competences you have, and brand, market the project as if you were doing it outside.

Of course, when you want to manage things that way, you need to be consistent. It doesn't fly when you cannot act as if you were out there in the market. You need to have a project brand name that is engaging, as engaging as if you would brand a product out there. In essence, it is similar to product launches.

Any thoughts?
08.08.2013 / Villars / 11:32 / KF

Do I have an opinion? Always!

Here are some things I'd look at:

1-Be clear on the cause-for-change. People hate change. Even when it stares them right in the face. Make it unavoidable.

2-Create an enemy and brand it. The enemy can be failure, bankruptcy, share loss, you name it. But pick one thing that can unify people.

3-Make everyone a part of the change. Everyone has a role to play. Like the little wheels in a Swiss watch (to slightly stay on topic) ...the watch won't work unless all the individual elements work, seamlessly. And with that, create a bond around the higher purpose of the organization. Employees WANT to know who they work for, why they are there (more than to just make money), and how they can contribute.

4-Simplify while you're at it. The worse thing to do during a change period is add a lot of roadblocks and a lot of complexity. Makes people feel that the past was better. What you need to have them feel is that things immediately improved! Big deal!

5-Rewire. Give people a different role in the network of people in the company. Have each individual acknowledge their contribution to the bigger whole.

6-Throw out the ones that heavily resist. Make it clear that change is the only way. Everyone is asked to play ball. If not: Arrividerci.

7-'Tijdens de verbouwing gaat de verkoop door'. Keep your eye on the ball while changing. Don't look at the grass, the field but look at the ball, the players and the goalpost. It is still a company striving for volume, share and profit. You can't afford to stand still on those fronts!

8-Last, but not least... Celebrate progress once you make it. And celebrate the individuals that have truly embraced the new culture! Make it fun. Not hell.
08.08.2013 / Antwerp / 22:59 / ES

Hopla. Woke up at 6 am and went to the office. And here we are again: almost midnight! When you love what you do, you have the drive! I told that to one of the juniors in the office today.

And my back is killing me. Went yesterday, after couple of months, back to boxing training. Trained with the young guys. Man, I am getting old, slow, tired... You TOO Spiky!

Back to the subject! Love your input!

Let me add some more.

9-Put clear KPIs in place.

10-Communicate and update people on the progress.

11-Reward people with recognition, but also with money. Even more. Skip the personal bonus. Put one single company-wide bonus system in place.

12-Find an alley in the press in case you are turning the company up side down for reasons that are related to protecting the future of the company.

13-Ensure good at least clear relations with the social partners such as unions, sector organizations...

14-Go back to 1-! Or email erik.saelens@brandhome.com with additional tips and insights ;)

Now, how to measure these kind of transitions. What I have seen many times is that the Board keeps track of the pulse of change through - sometimes/mostly very complex - dashboards. So complex that even the Board Members do not dare to ask what they mean...

Yep. To wrap this one up, let's touch on the most important part: the tracking of change. I have read loads of articles, from very intelligent people, but believe me: walk around, talk to the receptionist, the delivery boy, the PA, the clerk working on the administration... as well at the Board... and then you know.

It takes a change agent to recognize a change agent. But change agents need to be accessible and straightforward, otherwise the source of change-information stops.

Still need to write a column for the Belgian Financial News on the merger between Omnicom and Publicis. Together these 2 moguls will form the biggest advertising group in the world: close to $ 30 billion in turnover. Only half the size of PepsiCo... but bigger than McDonalds, Time Warner... Reason number 1 for the merger: cost cutting of course! Another interesting objective of the merger is to make it easier to impose higher rates to their customers!?

I need to sleep a night over what I am going to write in that column. I understand their entire individual business objectives, but where is the advantage for the customer? Their customers, the brands? So far, no information on that subject. I believe that our business is all about people. And about entrepreneurship. Need to chew on the column. Any tips? Insights?
09.08.2013 / Villars / 11:32 / KF

Omnicom+Publicis, yes. Great story. Took me by surprise when the BBDO CEO sent me an email about that two weeks ago.

It shows that the advertising industry is totally rethinking itself....

This will be a much talked about merger over the next half year. Not an easy one, from a regulatory perspective. They will have a majority share in ad-land, with a combined 35bn USD revenue. The ripple effects will be nice -e.g. they have big conflicting clients - Pepsi and Coke being two of them - they have to deal with. How is that problem solved? That said, let me not give any personal comments.

Where I disagree with you is the main objective of this merger. I don't think it's about cutting cost (alone). Both agency networks are highly complementary. And with that come potentially great benefits in terms of creative, in moving to more integrated media, greater emphasis on digital, etc. And...they will have a better global reach. With that come scale effects they can leverage to give their clients better service. Or maybe I'm just an optimist?!
09.08.2013 / Brussels / 18:39 / ES

Let's see what it brings. I always think back on a worldwide McKinsey analysis that was made some 10 years ago. It showed that over 80% of the M&A's during the 15 previous years to analysis did not meet any of the (in)direct economies of scale they aimed at. I have thought back to that study for over a 1.000 times I guess.

Supposing that the analysis was correct - to be expected from a brand like McKinsey - or at least 'quasi correct', put this analysis into perspective with the world today: every company can virtually be and go everywhere. Before knowledge and local information were drivers to merge, and many more of these at that time were 'unique' but in today's world these are obvious arguments. So... chew on that.

Back to merging service companies. It is important to understand the business we are in. It's people business more than any other service industry you know. It's not like accounting. It's not like law. There are - except for the Brandhome method® :) - NO foundations. You are also only as good as your last project.

So... all these big service companies mergers (including agencies).. chew on this favorite line of mine, of my latest column: Too big to fail... but also too big to perform.
10.08.2013 / Villars / 16:48 / KF

New subject ... courting your loyal consumers.

Done a lot of thinking on what you can do to create loyal brand advocates. Next to bringing them the most relevant, cool and relevant content, product and innovation, it seems to me that the key word is courting them.

What do I mean by that? Well, you have to make your brand loyals feel SPECIAL. The reason for that is the bond you want to create with them. An unbreakable one.

If you succeed they'll do everything we talked about so far in this book: support you, and talk about you... even recommend you. That's what you want a loyal user to do. They need to be so full of you that they can't hold back. Question is ...how do you achieve that?

Courting, i.e. making them feel special is THE way in my opinion.

Here are a few tools in the house of courting...

1.Give them preferential treatment

2.Give them special offers, exclusive to them only.

3.Let them be the first ones to see content, and allow them to share on your behalf.

4.Have personal conversations instead of mass ones.

What more can you think of?
10.08.2013 / Brussels / 18:05 / ES

"Interesting thought and interesting term: COURTING. Never heard it. You invented it?

Courting should go much further than brand ambassadorships and so. It should be about really nurturing relationships.

5.Co-create with them.

6.Use them as the core research team.

7.Put them into advertising; turn them into advertising properties.

8.Make them - if possible - also actual shareholders of the company.

9.Recruit some of them as temporary marketing members.

10.Press. Press. Press. Look for the spin-off of the above.

But... I stopped at bullet 10, but when you think about it, there is in fact just one rule to brand courting: make them really part of the close family, the inner circle. Not the distant aunt, of the best friends. That should be the reference to decide on what to do when you want to get into brand courting: turn them into family. That's in fact what courting is all about.

Which brands could use courting? Which sectors could handle that? Chew on that one while you are hiking in your mountains!
11.08.2013 / Venlo (NL) / 15:35 / KF

No more mountain hiking I'm afraid. Drove back to The Netherlands, via Germany. A 10 hour road trip. Too long for me. I'm just at a fuel stop right on the German/Dutch border near Venlo.

Continuing the topic of courting in light of strong loyalty building...

I like the idea of the family and the inner circle as qualifying criteria. The courtship is a sort of prelude to marriage ;-) once your fans marry your brand, there is no way back :-)

In terms of brands / sectors, well that's simple. It's a concept for every brand. Finding the core lovers, the true advocates and making them the extension of your own brand team and company is worth your while. What you're after is a spill effect. That small 'inner circle' will grow bigger if you court them well. They'll tell others about it.

Let's think of some real time examples. I'll start with an exceptional one: U2. Yes, the band. I'm a fan of the first order. They have been good at giving fans exceptional things. Last year, U2 released a fan-selected, fan-exclusive album that you can only order thru the fan club (yes, I am a proud member), called U22. Awesome!

Porsche in Dubai let's their fans drive new models on the Dubai Autodrome before they purchase them in the store. These are the things that create buzz-value, let me tell you. Similar to when Emirates took their first A380 to NY a few years back. Gold and Platinum members were the first that could book a flight; and they received a commemorative plaque for the maiden flight of the new plane. Cool. I know a few people who have one.

When I was in NY last week, I saw that MoMA has lots of exclusive things for their members. Amongst others, the option to visit the museum an hour before it officially opens I believe. For art lovers, that is gold! Staring at a Picasso without 100 annoying people with cameras is worth a lot.
11.08.2013 / Bruges / 15:52 / ES

Venlo!? That's the end of the world, or the crossing/clashing of cultures. Depends how you look at it. That geographical area including its mentality has always fascinated me. It's closed. It's strange. It's where a lot of dope comes from. It's... something special...

Answer this question please. Did you come up with the 'brand courting' concept?

Here is an idea: put brand courting into the objectives of your team next year. See what they come up with.

What I am still missing in the definition of the concept is the degree of impact that the consumers have themselves on the development of the brand. Read: the 'how-much-is-mine' question. It always needs to be more than just getting stuff earlier.

An example. As you know I was involved in the development of the MINI brand when BMW took it over. Earlier in this book we discussed it at large. To avoid trouble with the 'Mini' from Rover, they did an amazing thing with the customers and fans. They contacted the largest and most active Mini fan clubs. They involved them in the branding and product development. For me, that is a great example of brand courtship avant la lettre.

Here is another subject to discuss: The digital brand marketer. Tomorrow I need to give an interview to the biggest business magazine in the Benelux about the Brandhome method® books. I am preparing for the interview this morning. The Brandhome method® is both a tool and an objective. It's a tool in the way that it hands you a methodology with the proven steps to show you how to build your brand. It's an objective in the way that at the end it delivers to you the tools for daily brand management: your brand gateway as we call it at Brandhome. It's the central tool online where you can find everything about the brand. From the design guidelines around the logo, to the briefings, the past and running campaigns in the different markets, until the court cases the brand has in terms of e.g. comparative advertising. Obviously it has different access and user levels to ensure confidentiality.

We have been testing and stimulating the usage of it with 2 clients. The results are amazing in terms of efficiency. The everyday tactical brand management has been almost entirely taken over by our Brandhome brand gateway, tailored to the need of that brand. We got the results last Thursday, and it makes me very happy ;) The people working at the brand are happy too, since they have more time now to really work on the brand instead of emailing old files up and down. I think I am going to call it the Digital Brand Manager ;)

Give me your POV. Something tells me that by now you are very annoyed with my idea of a digital brand manager.

Have a safe trip back to AE.
12.08.2013 / Eindhoven Airport / 07:44 / KF

First stop: IBIZA! No - I'm not going to mingle with the average 16 year olds out there. The island has two sides to it: the party side...and...the other side. We're escaping for a few days on the other side. Chillaxing by the pool. No kids. Just the two of us. Before I head back to the Dubai heat.

Can't say that I 'invented' brand courting. I must have read about it, a while back, and it got stuck in my mind. Only unleashed it just now.

I LOVE the MINI example. First of all: what-a-brand. Awesome. Simple. Different. All about the unconventional. Secondly: tell me more about that Mini Club. I heard about it, but I don't know how they bring it to life exactly.

Let me tell you what is the polar opposite of courting: Ryanair. How I hate that airline. I know. I know. I'm spoiled with Emirates Airlines. Ryanair disappoints from the online check in (where they use deceptive techniques to advertise their pricing) to the very user-unfriendly online check-in site, all the way to the flight experience. Unfriendly. Mass market. Costly for what you get (i.e. you aren't getting a God damn thing). When you tally up their add-on costs, you pay as much as a regular airline. Anyway...

Wrt your Digital Brand Manager. At first I thought; sure I am a fan of digital ...then I realized that you meant something else: a digitalized brand manager. Robotics by Brandhome. Very sci-fi, amigo. Let's talk about it tomorrow, if I understand what you mean.
12.08.2013 / Brussels / 18:35 / ES

Already lying at the beach? Cocktail? Enjoying week number 6 or 7 of holiday? Or already week 8 ;) I lost track. Are you planning to get back to the office again?

Here's an idea that comes in handy for me. Can you think when hanging around your pool about some REALLY WEIRD topics to touch on ;)
13.08.2013 / somewhere at the pool in IBIZA (ES) / 16:16 / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.08.2013 / somewhere in a traffic jam in Antwerp / 17:35 / ES

The image of the nice summer sun and light Ibiza breeze is freezing my brain. Not easy to think about marketing, or anything for that matter, when you are lying at the swimming pool with 10 mojitos and watching a Blohm+Voss Russian billionaire's super yacht in the marina.

COOL

I AM WATCHING A GARBAGE TRUCK NOW

Anyway... how about...

...marketing mountain air in a can?

...marketing the police force?

...marketing

...marketing the $bn porn-industry? An easy one for you?!

WE KNOW THAT BUSINESS

ONLY BRANDS THAT DONT WANT THEIR LOGO ON AN ENVELOPE :) GOT IT?

And in terms of weird topics...

...The sense and nonsense of trying to get in the Guinness Book of World Records with a brand.

MAKES SENSE!

WE ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING REALLY WEIRD SOON

STAY TUNED

TBD NXT DAYS

...The importance or stupidity of leading consumers to you through a strategy of fear marketing.

TBD NXT DAYS

... (Ibiza inspired) why the plastic surgery industry is booming; and what role marketing plays in that.

NOT TBD

DISCUSS THAT WITH YOUR WIFE :)

... Based on my estimate that 3D printing will be the biggest game-changer in our lives, what would be the stupidest stuff to 3D-print?

TBD NXT DAYS

...What did you come up with??

THIS WEIRD BETWEEN-THE-LINES DOMINO

:)

YOU START WITH THE GUINNESS BOOK.
14.8.2013 / Last day in Ibiza / 16:00 / KF

WTF kind of a text delivery was that? I have written many a piece to you in traffic jams, with no need for CAPS ;-)

The urge to get in the Guinness Book of World Records. I have a few mentions with my brands. Well, not me; but brands I worked on. [The latest one, in 08: the world's biggest oats soup bowl, 10.000L soup made from 250kg Quaker oats. You have to know that Quaker Soup is a staple food in Saudi.] My excuse (LoL): I live in the M.East, where everyone wants Biggest. Best. Largest. Most Expensive. Coolest. Latest. Highest. All the superlatives possible ;-)

Why would a brand want to be 'recognized' by Guinness World Records? Or basically why would you do a stunt of that sort:

1-to do something exceptional

2-lasting fame

3-create a big PR story

4-brand association ...in the end Guinness book has 90-something % brand awareness

But...it's not that easy. Guinness doesn't just accept anything. So, even if you try to set a 'world record' and get pre-approval, there's no guarantee you'll get it. And...after having done it, I'm not sure at all about the PR value of it. Here's the problem: there are too many records and some of them for the most ridiculous things. And it damages the credibility of Guinness, and with that the subsequent credibility of your brands.

Anyway...don't think I'll do it again. One learns from his 'mistakes'. Right?
14.08.2013 / Antwerp / 18:24 / ES

Another reason to participate: internal aspects within a company. Always fun to go for a stunt. We are going to be the biggest 'post-it' wall with Brandhome branded condoms saying: WE LOVE YOU | TREK ME AF (Dutch for 'jerk me off'). We're doing it in our red light district here ;) No joke. Motivates all the guys here to see how we technically can do that, the press preparation etc.

Makes me think of our BASE balloon stunt in 2003... when we had so many balloons in the air... and no wind... and they had to close down the local airport :0

So, Guinness has potential. And indeed, is more relevant when it fits the brand characteristics of better, bigger, faster...

Since we are skipping the 'branding the porn industry', let's move on to the next topic: the impact of 3D printing.

Just ordered one. Did you know that when they deliver it to you in Belgium, the only thing you need to install yourself is the printing head. Why? Legally the supplier or production company cannot be held responsible for the 'things' you make with your printer (e.g. copy cats of IP protected things, guns, dildo...).

It's going to change the way we do marketing if we succeed in making it more qualitative, cheaper, better design interfaces to make your designs as a layman in product design. In a way it is similar to what has happened in the photography industry, but with much, much more impact.

Why? We all know that their is much more conceptual, creative brain power around in any population compared to what comes out. What do I mean with that? Many people are creative; at least have their own mind. But few people are able to make them tangible because they don't have the skills to do so. They don't know how to work with design programs, they cannot write in the best way, etc.

So yes, 3D, it is going to change us. How will this impact branding. We will use the word 'griffe', the French word for 'hand signature'. The French call limited or one-off editions not a brand, but 'a griffe'. It's a unique piece, crafted, tailored to the most individual requirements of the customer.

Brings us back to the idea of courting . Imagine a brand that is just focused on making one-off things instead of production volumes. It is very interesting since it is where a production brand comes very, very close to a service brand. Why? Look at Brandhome. All the projects we do are tailored to the most individual needs of a customer. What do you think? Wow, this is cool!
15.08.2013 / Dubai / 11:03 / KF

You are reading my mind! I also believe that 3D-printing is the key to mass-customization.

It will also change individual lives. Picture this. Say you need a small screw driver but you just don't have the right size. It's late at night and the stores are closed. If you have a home 3D-printer (5y from now everyone will have access to them at less than 500 USD), then you download and print the screwdriver you want. Lost sales for the DeWalt's of this world.

The other thing it will do is reduce innovation time. When we spoke about innovation a few 100 pages ago, we touched upon speed-to-market. That speed today is being heavily impaired by long lead times for prototyping. If we can reduce that time to 10% or less just because we can dimensionalize an idea, then imagine the increase in speed. Awesome.

I believe it will also be another unlock for creativity. Today, everyone is a publisher. But tomorrow, everyone will be an engineer as well. How about that?

In MOMA, I saw the most awesome chairs, fully 3D printed. Once these printers are cheaper, faster, easier to operate, bigger, more powerful, honestly: anything goes! That is REVOLUTION at its best.

But ...you are right. There is a big IP question to solve. And, security is an issue. They should block weapons from be printed (but how? The smart terrorist will print bits and pieces and assemble?!)
15.08.2013 / Bruges / 11:34 / ES

Here is the thing. You can't fight ideas and thoughts with all kind of laws. This entire European legislation on the various aspects of 3D printing is contra-productive. As you rightfully put, the smart terrorist will print various elements and then assemble them.

This will happen even when you implement legislation to track the designs online that people print. The 3D printer reports back to a central hub somewhere what kind of things people have been printing. It is easy to work around that kind of system. Is Big Brother going to watch all the neighbors and what they are printing to see how all these various pieces and bits could be assembled into a nuclear bomb or a fake Rolex? Be serious. ;) You could even argue that such a Rolex is more a Rolex than the one that thousands of people have who bought them in the shops...

Governments need to find other ways to educate people how to deal in a world with endless possibilities. It's just like those of us in marketing who have to adapt and adopt the impact of all these new opportunities into our approaches.

What's next? Here is an interesting one. Yesterday Al Qaida celebrated its 25th anniversary. There were a couple of interesting emissions on television and online about it. But what really surprised me was that a journalist used the following line: Al Qaida has grown into a brand, a brand with one single thought proposition: fight against the West. What's your POV on this?
16.08.2013 / Eindhoven / 16:03 / KF

Al Qaida's anniversary?! Has a bit of a sour taste at this moment. I'm sure you've seen what's going on in Egypt where the military is hammering in on people and where a so called 'state of emergency' has been declared for at least a month. Very worrying. I have a lot of friends there. Unfortunately, Al Qaida, Muslim Brotherhood, and other/similar extremists are indeed very focused in their proposition. They know what they stand for, communicate it very clearly to their fans and followers, and have a way of building awareness rapidly - this unfortunately involves dead people. Terrible. These are the 'brands' you want to have removed from the face of the Earth is what I say...
16.08.2013 / Antwerp / 17:04 / ES

Let me think about how you could 'deposition' such brands. Allow me a very short domino... since I am in the middle of the final read before the lay-out of Q1 of our book! "
17.08.2013 / Dusseldorf airport / 14:22 / KF

Small intermezzo: to prove a point on loyalty and Porsche (yep, I'm a fan). Porsche just unveiled it's first crowdsourced car, the result of the '5 million car' campaign. Consumers on Facebook (ha!) were invited to choose the specs. They will make one and have fans drive it on a UK track with some others getting a scale model. Well done, Porsche!

Off to Dubai. The holiday's over again. Back to the rat race as of tomorrow.
17.08.2013 / Antwerp / 14:29 / ES

Yep. Time to get back to work! And back on track. As you know, I never go on holiday, so I can't judge when it picks up again ;) The brand gate keeper ;)

Saw the Porsche. Honestly, the FB fans do not have a great design taste. But it's a great proof point of our discussions in the few past days. Add to that the example of BMW selling cars exclusively online. The brand courting discussion... Comes close to our discussions about 3D printing.

Have a safe flight and kick-in your domino tomorrow with the first day impressions! You should be VERY lucid after weeks of holiday.
18.08.2013 / Dubai / 14:02 / KF

The after-holiday-abyss. Here are some impressions...

It started last night (or a few hours ago, actually) with a supply chain fuck up of Emirates. Got out of the plane as the first one, only to have to wait for more than an hour for my luggage at the belt. Hate it. I was so pissed off. So I felt compelled to send an angry #emiratesairlines tweet into the world.

Going back to work after a holiday is always a cold shower, isn't it. I just can't get my engine to run full steam from the start, so before I get anything done it's noon. Holiday-speed lingers on...

That wears off quickly let me tell you. Every single time, on day 1 there is an issue that bites you in the ass. And the only thing you can do is: bite back!

I discovered something interesting in Dubai: A new type of hotel just opened here, called the INNspire concept (by Emaar Hospitality Group; in partnership with INNSpire Intelligent Hotel Solutions). At the new Vida Downtown Dubai hotel, they are taking state-of-the-art technology to the next level it seems, bringing guests experience in a totally different way. Hotel guests will benefit from the latest technology and the best in digital entertainment, social media and technological advancements. As we talked before, they took the guest experience as front and center during the design phase (and not merely the building/facilities), trying to revolutionize the way they interact with their hotel guests. Example: sit by the pool and order food and drinks from your handheld. Or: arrange the lights in your room with your phone. Sounds cool. Need to try it out. To see how it 'feels'.
18.08.2013 / Knokke / 14:48 / ES

I can't say I know the effect of returning from holiday. Honestly, for the past 10 years I have not been on holiday, except for a day before whatever conference I needed to attend, or in between 2 business trips, or so...

I cannot remember going on holiday and forgetting about the business and running projects. Just switching off. I can tell you: when you are in this job you are 'always on' for your clients/ brands.

Do I have any regrets? NO!

Do I wonder how some other people are feeling sometimes? YES!

My wife and kids for a start. Fortunately I am working a lot at home, so I am around :) I sometimes wonder what my friends and family that don't understand what I do are feeling.

But what I really ask myself a lot is how people feel for whom their job is an obligation. A burden they have to drag themselves to every single day. No proudness. No enthusiasm. No passion. Multiple research results have shown that on average, in companies over 50 employees, 35% are such people. I do not judge, since there are various reasons for people to find themselves less motivated. But I just wanted to point out - as I have many times before - the importance of employer branding. I am also a firm believer that you should stimulate employees to look for new challenges inside and outside of the company.

So be it. I am at the movies with the kids watching Smurfs 2. So I need to focus :) Hang in there on your first day :)
19.08.2013 / Dubai / 21:41 / KF

A small interruption and moment of silence for today's submission.

Today, our AMEA CEO, Saad Abdul-Latif, passed away. 59. Sudden. Shocking.

He's the one that got me to Dubai, and I owe him a lot career-wise. Learned a lot just watching his leadership.

What I put on FB this pm expresses my emotions best: "How often do you meet a senior business leader that combines the humane with charisma, that knows everyone by name, that has a true interest in who you are, that gets the best out of you, that is truly 'loved'? Not only is this a sad moment for the company; it is a sad moment for a lot of people that he personally touched. Me included. Rest in peace, Saad."

So, this is a tribute to his leadership:

What made him great this great leader? What are the lessons? What should we follow?

1-Empathy. I have rarely met a senior guy with such a big heart and such a genuine interest in people. It was easy to connect with him, even in tough discussions. Because in the end, you know he cared.

2-Passion. We talked a lot about it. But Saad was the embodiment of passion. His work, the company were his family. He l-o-v-e-d it and he expressed it with great doses of energy that everyone could feel and see.

3-The devil in the details. He was a man that wanted to know everything about the business. He treated it as if it was HIS business.

4-Team. Saad was great at celebrating success and he shared the success of his team with others.

5-Caring for the world around him. When you are in a top position, and have gathered some serious wealth, it matters that you put that to good use. Saad did exactly that. He cared for the poor, the needy, the hungry. Many millions of his personal dollars went to these causes. Without pretence. Without bragging. Just because he believed it was the right thing to do. And he cared.

It also makes one wonder, you know. You may have tens of millions of dollars into your bank account, but in the end, if you go at 59, then what's the point? Like I quoted before: "No one on his deathbed ever said he should have spent more time at office!" Think about it.

It's been a sad, dark day...
19.08.2013 / Antwerp / 23:43 / ES

Dear friend. I am deeply sorry to hear that. You told me about him many times in the past. And how he indeed used his wealth to give back to society. Saad never forgot where he came from. He was a self-made guy right?

Your last line, about 'spending more time at the office on deathbed'; it locks into my piece of yesterday. As it was meant to be, it was fate that brought this discussion to our book.

Tomorrow, let's discuss the power of self-made. Why it is so important to invest and believe in people that have made it or have to make it themselves.

For now, hang in there my friend.
20.08.2013 / Dubai / 08:44 /KF

The Self-Made Man. Isn't every successful person self-made in a way? Excluding those who inherit a fortune.

A few of today's self-made men that stand out and have made it really BIG:

Bill Gates, Microsoft founder

Steve Jobs, Apple founder

Richard Branson, Virgin founder and CEO

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO

Howard Schultz, Starbucks founder and CEO

What has made them? Made them what they are? Visibly successful?

1.Pitbull approach. All of them had an idea, a vision, and went for it in an unstoppable way. Relentless. Like a dog with a bone. Not ever letting go.

2.Surrounding themselves with the best people. Having an idea is one. Making it a reality is another. Steve Wozniak, says that about Steve Jobs co-founder of Apple, "he was terrible at bringing it to life" (in a radio interview about Jobs - The Movie last week). You need people that are hands-on, follow your vision and beliefs and want to work through the practical shit, the nuts and bolts of things.

3.Fearlessness. Those guys took risks. Risks in business, putting their personal money on the line, breaking through norms and conventions. They all have balls!

4.Diploma doesn't matter. Common sense does. Strangely enough, most of the big self-made people are high-school or university drop-outs. I'm sure that's not a 'qualification'. They just had a lot of intuitive understanding of how the world and the world of business works, and took the risk of discovering it along the way rather than learning about it first.

5.Gutfeel matters more than many other business parameters. (But with that comes an even higher level of risk, and you have to be willing to take it).

My list only had men and that's not fair. So let me mention an interesting self-made woman: Rosalia Mera. Mera died earlier this week. She is one of those rags-to-riches people. Starting with close to nothing, ending up big. She founded ZARA and is now the richest person in Spain and one of the wealthiest women in the world. Interestingly enough, she didn't go for fame, stayed very humble. Started from nothing. Now they are opening 1 Zara a day somewhere in the world.
20.08.2013 / Antwerp / 22:25 / ES

Hope you are feeling better today.

Another typical aspect of self-made guys is that most of them, I have met, have no real connection with materialistic stuff at all. They don't care to have it. So 'it' cannot have them. Interesting way of looking at material things, including money, as purely a tool, a means, not a purpose.

It was - as most days - a real rat race today. But, in between it all, I was busy in the back of my head with our conversation of yesterday. It is interesting how life passes in front of us. It slips aside, up and down, and collides alongside the daily business. And then, it hits you. I was having a conversation this evening with Nicoline. You know her. She's been my best friend for over 20 years and for 6 consecutive years our CEO at Brandhome. She told me some stories about how people lived and loved their work and then passed away too soon. In a way it's what's happening with probably most of us who are passionate in our work. Passionate about what we do. We who find the energy and stimulus to keep moving on ahead. It is our group that has the ability to change the world. That is probably what drives us everyday. And then... when Death comes for you, perhaps you regret... But on the other hand, at least you have some legacy left behind. So that, as you rightfully stated: you are in your own way a self-made man.

Back to marketing. Duvel (Devil in Dutch). You know, the famous Belgian beer. Today they launched a Whiskey that they only sell online, maximum 1 bottle a person, 5.000 in total. Loads of press. And - as always - launched to the press by the CEO in a smart way. Listen to this. He calls it 'Duvel Distilled' and he says that Duvel does not deserve, does not even have the right to call it whiskey. Interesting. By doing so he gets the empathy and interest of many people, including all the whiskey clubs. Would love to taste one. My right hand has arranged a bottle. But since I don't drink alcohol, I'll sniff it ;)

Before I forget. Tomorrow I will get the dummy of the book, sewed and at the real size and pages etc. Looking forward to feel it. Will send you some pictures, so we can decide.

Marketing and the legal system. It keeps me busy here in Belgium. Belgium has, without any doubt, probably one of the worst legal systems in the world, including corrupt and lazy judges. We are starting a research project on how people, citizens and business people perceive them.

Here's a little wrap up of the outcome of our research into second hand branding. We researched the impact of branding on the price of the branded good on the second hand market. The most interesting outcome of this research is that almost 80% of the Belgian population considers buying goods second hand. They do this mostly through people they already know or channels they trust. The big fear is that when they buy something, it could have been stolen etc. But the trend of people wanting to reuse and recycle is increasing. It will give a whole new dynamism to how marketing will work. And it will also impact economies. Today is EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY for 2013, so on August 19th we consumed more than what the Earth is able to produce. Imaging how all this is coming together. Dynamite! Fun!

In a way I am so excited with how everything is changing, and nobody really has control. My prediction of the disorganized chaos is coming closer ;)
21.08.2013 / Dubai / 15:21 / KF

Let's pause and talk DUVEL first. The people that know me reading this book will understand why. It is one of my very favorite Belgian beers. If not THE one favorite. It's the one I go to great lengths to buy here in Dubai. There is something to it. I remember driving by the factory that has a big sign saying 'shhhht...Duvel is brewing'. It's a beer with a powerful, though kind of reserved image. Not going after everyone. But going for the beer connoisseurs. I think. Love it.

The idea of exclusive, super premium, limited volume 'distilled Duvel' sounds AMAZING for the fans of the brand. I'd like to taste it, for sure. Get me some...

Did you hear that AirAsiaJapan is rebranding? According to the Japan Times, "Vanilla is loved by everyone in the world," Tomonori Ishii, president of the new airline based at Narita airport, told reporters in Tokyo Tuesday. "The smell of vanilla makes people relaxed." WTF!! Are you kidding me? Is that the reason for choosing a lame, soft, weak name like that. Get a life. No, better still, get a marketer in the house!
21.08.2013 / Antwerp / 22:14 / ES

I just went online and participated in the contest to be able to win the permission to buy one of the 5.000 bottles of Duvel Distilled. I'll bug the CEO and his PA to see what I can get. Since I don't drink myself, I will give it to you ;) I'll bring it in October when I come to Dubai.

Vanilla Air? I prefer Chocolate Air, or Pistacchio. Went online and looked at it. Indeed: WTF! No comment... We should send them a copy of this book when it's finished.

Did you hear about these Dr. Dre headphones... and sales... almost 1 billion US$!? This is one of the most brilliant business moves of the last ten years. The way they are designed, you see young and old having them on their heads. Apple should have invented them! I love these forms of brand extension.

But the MOST cool thing I read this morning is the LEGO tower that a local school created in the US and that... is the tallest LEGO tower in the Guinness Book of World Records ;) It was on the news this morning. Great example of how the entire school, the local community, the kids, the brand LEGO... etc went hand in hand to support it. Great application of the Guinness concept.

What we need to discuss, is the following: using a brand extension to build your brand. We touched on it shortly, but we need to discuss that. I am involved in building the first full mobile and digital bank, and that is how we are going to do it. We will build an entertainment platform and market, instead of the bank function. Of course, the bank function will be the preferred payment tool on the platform. Music: tell me your experience with it.
22.08.2013 / Dubai / 08:02 / KF

It so happens that I had an interesting chat with the GM of our media company here in Dubai. One thing we talked about was mobile and the absence of eCommerce in this part of the world. In the Western World mobile is the GATEWAY to ...anything. A big one on that list is definitely banking.

This was a segway to your question.

You turned the model upside down. Don't sell the banking service, but sell other services to get people to discover ease of payment, reliability of the bank, and its imagery. Not bad.

Question is: how can you avoid creating or recreating what already exists in entertainment? There are so many existing platforms in music, iTunes being the obvious one that comes to mind. I'd say you need to find a way to PARTNER with what is out there and what is known/preferred by the audience of this bank. Go to Apple and give him something so they want to use your bank as a vehicle to boost iTunes sales. They could discount if payment goes through this mobile payment system. 'The new Tiesto song on iTunes is only available exclusively via XYZ', or : 'Want your preferred iTunes song for 1.19 euro instead of 1.29 euro? Go through XYZ!' It gives you a clear acquisition cost per user as well.

It's an interesting one? Who else uses a similar approach?

On music I can tell you that DANCE is it. It is the defining genre. All the rest is niche these days. And DJ's rule the world! Read the latest Forbes article and be impressed: www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2013/08/14/electronic-cash-kings-2013-the-worlds-highest-paid-djs/
22.08.2013 / Brussels / 22:23 / ES

Music as a brand vehicle. I can tell you this, I know many brands that have tried, but few that are successful. I know we cannot discuss Pepsi, but let me tell you this: what Pepsi does is amazing! Quick! Let's switch to another topic before you become to self-fulfilled ;)

Did you read that Yahoo surpassed Google the past 2 months in the USA in terms of visitors? Yahoo has been busy the past months buying, being in the press, working on its visibility, also at the creative festivals...

Would people be getting Google-tired? Are they in need of something new? Google has become a real part of my life. It's in a way the first friend I turn to when I have a question. Google promises that you find what you are seeking for. Great brand promise. I am going to do the test. I will use only Yahoo for 7 days as my best search friend. So by the end of this month, I will let you know how it went. I will place Yahoo as the homepage in my browser so I won't forget.

Do you think Yahoo will bypass Google?
23.08.2013 / Dubai / 12:52 / KF

I need to think about the Google<>Yahoo! battle. They both have a lot going for them. Not a clear-cut answer.

While I do that, an interesting intermezzo...

Did you hear that Maria Sharapova is considering changing her name during the US open? Into Sugarpova, her trademark for a confectionery line.

Don't do it! I say.

Seems like a good stunt to get awareness, globally and quickly. And I can imagine that a lot of people say: hey, that's fun...let's just do it...what's the harm? (It would be only for the two weeks of the games)

But, I think differently. I think Sharapova brand. A huge trademark in tennis. And one day, she has to cash in that trademark without playing tennis. Probably why she has a gummy bears and tennis ball-candy line in the first place...

Although Sharapova might think that this is a temporary stunt, she's never-ever going to get rid of it. She will be named Sugarpova with all its (probably ugly) derivative names. And that will do something to her image and reputation, not in a good way. In my mind, something changes...Sharapova is a beautiful girl, but I picture a fat, ugly, old and nasty woman when I think about Sugarpova. Oops. Brand identity and positioning vs reputation. Ever think of that, Maria?

What they have to do is treat Sharapova as a BRAND, not just as a celeb tennis star. I think it will lead to a different (hopefully smart) decision.

We'll see.
23.08.2013 / Antwerp / 20:21 / ES

Well. At least they have the free press already. But it's not new. It has been done before. Prince, the rock singer, changed his name to the Symbol for a while. That was used to launch some albums he released. Years later he renamed himself again... Prince. Coming back on Sharapova. Sugarpova. Carpova. Mobilepova... [X]+pova... we'll see.

Had an interesting discussion today with a client. Let's call him Walter. He's the director of communication and branding at one of the biggest European financial institutions. He's responsible for all the brands and stuff. Smart guy. I have learned a lot from him the past 5 years. He's the kind of customer you love to work for since you learn a lot from each other. While having a chat he told me an interesting story about emotion and value destruction. I wanna share that. Here we go.

The financial crisis destroyed more value than WW II. Fortunately no casualties, but the destruction of value is hundredfold bigger. People kept their most precious asset - their life - but they lost a lot of material and financial assets. It's Maslow. They live and have to eat, so the basic needs are fulfilled. But higher on the pyramid they have to be satisfied with less. Obvious, they have less money to spend since they have lost a lot in the financial crisis.

So here is, in fact, the true effect of the financial crisis: it's an emotional crisis. It's on top a crisis that was incited on the trusted ground of the most trusted institutions before the crisis: banks! You could compare it with the entire belief system of a society breaking down. I find his point of view very interesting. He makes a bridge between the factual crisis, being the financial crisis and the result of that, the customer benefit to put it a little cynically, the emotional crisis that followed, and the tsunami of distrust in the entire financial system. According to him, this distrust will take at least 4 generations to get out of the system and collective memory.

Did you know that there has been more content created and shared about this financial crisis than any other incident before. That also is a measurement of the emotional impact it had... and still has.

Interesting insight. What's your POV?

For me it was once again a day I learned a lot! Thanks Walter!

Onto something else: depositioning of countries. If you see what is going on now in Syria, it is Fukushima and Iraq in one package deal! Unthinkable! Madness. For the next 4 generations Syria will be a country brand associated with mass destruction. Imagine that peace comes back to the country. You and me are appointed marketing directors of Syria to fix the country brand. How would we embark on that one?
24.08.2013 / Dubai / 22:36 / KF

Before I go to bed, a quick reply. I sort of forgot to write a piece today. Was too busy editing our book. Did about 100 pages. Intense. Especially coupled with finding/buying a birthday present for my wife ;-)

My answer to your question: NO. You can't market what you can't control.

Unfortunately, the situation in Syria has nothing to do with a government that manages badly. That would be a good situation compared to the horrible situation Syria is in today. Syria is dictatorship and religion blended with chaos and rage. More on that later. Maybe. Don't think we should mix such a horror situation with marketing.
24.08.2013 / Antwerp / 23:03 / ES

Did you buy her a BIG EXPENSIVE watch? Say congrats to her from me.

It is indeed wisdom to accept that one should not market what one doesn't understand. That is the fundamental rule of our area of expertize. Know your product. Know your market. It is that basic.

And yes, what is happening now in Syria is a real nightmare. It seems very far through the media here, hence very close. Hope that the killing stops.

Hey, what did you buy her?
25.08.2013 / Dubai / 08:33 / KF

Hermes always works ;-)

Changing subject.

Let's talk about the digital ninjas. They are the young crowd of creative marketers brought into a company to turn around the digital agenda. They stay for 6 months, then hop onto the next job/company because they pay more. They vanish in thin air (hence 'ninja'). It's becoming a disease both on company and on agency side. Too much hopping around these days in a critical part of consumer communication/engagement. It needs to stop.

How to deal with it? Don't those guys see that (1) one can't add value in 6 months, (2) hopping around isn't good for their cv in the long run, (3) the path of destruction they leave in their trail. Is it just about paying them more so they stay, or is it about something else??

Do you have similar experiences?
25.08.2013 / Antwerp / 10:56 / ES

Hermes always works!? Dude, you sound like Gordon Gekko in Wall Street! Anything you had to make up for? Good that I know you and how a caring father, husband and friend you are. Note that my birthday is September 15th. I never celebrate it as you know, but if you feel an urge to give me something, an orange Hermes travel bag is welcome ;)

Digital Ninja. Love the name. It's a known problem in many organizations, both agency and client side. We have managed to get that out of the organization. How did we do that? Let me answer through some questions.

1.Do you work close enough with them? Read: do they know you and do they call you 'Kurt'?

2.Are these youngsters closely involved in the business? And do they understand that they have a competence that is TODAY scarce as an operational competence, but that TOMORROW or NEXT YEAR this competence is common good? I always tell the ones at our office that it is GOOD that they have such an operational competence, but that it would be EVEN MORE AWESOME if they strategically know how to do it. I explain to them then that the strategic competence will be supporting their CV forever, whereas the pure 'today' competence will be inferior tomorrow. I have a guy in the office like that, let's call him Alexander. He is a great online guy, really interested in all this stuff, but I am coaching him to see the broader picture. So that he understands the link between today's competence and tomorrow's one.

3.Do you give them some room to play. Meaning projects that are not in scope of the true daily ops, but that makes them tick! At Brandhome they have a number of their 'own' projects to play around.

4.Did you sit down with them and draw a plan for career development, while forcing them to learn about strategic marketing? At Brandhome they have to read the entire Brandhome method® book. Not just for the quality of the entire operation, but also for themselves to learn how to see the broader picture.

5.Do you challenge them with the results they bring in. It is a fact that a lot of online kpi's and scores are nice to haves instead of need to haves. Confronting them with the relativity of a lot they do, is always an eye-opening for them.

Chew on that.

What about the Yahoo / Google discussion of 3 days ago?
26.08.2013 / Dubai / 07:10 /KF

Nice thoughts on digital ninjas!

Quick POV on Yahoo / Google ...

1.Expect the unexpected! We are talking two giants TODAY. But things change fast in the digital space. Google or Yahoo might not be around five years from now, overthrown by a still unknown player (probably playing around with a few ideas in his bedroom or garage). We'll see...

2.Google has a massive 'weapon', called YouTube. I just installed AppleTV so my kids can watch YouTube on TV; because that's what they do now, on-the-go, on their iPad. YouTube is the next generation's TV - a monster. And Google has a brilliant, big, hairy ambition that we've talked about: to organize all the knowledge in the world. They can go places with that, as proven by their search engine, Google maps, Google Earth, etc.

3.Yahoo! changed direction with the arrival of their ninja CEO, Marissa Mayer. (The one I was dying to meet during CES, remember). And it seems to be paying off. A lot more focus on what matters for consumers. And what matters is content. And from what I know at Yahoo! (The GM for Yahoo! MENA is a good friend), their content is: high quality, reliable, fast, deep. Maybe not in those words, but that's the idea. Mayer concentrates on the 5 to 10 things that consumers do when they turn to the net: look how the weather today will be, where they can find a property, how their stock options perform, you name it (I don't know what they are, obviously). And hence the success of Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Properties, Yahoo! Weather, etc. And hey, Yahoo/Bing is not a bad search engine (just needs a big refresh and some marketing). And Yahoo! Mail is huge and has as much to offer as Gmail. They've also done a lot upgrading their platforms, whether visually, or in functionality. Well executed. And... their acquisition of Flickr and the fact that they focus on Tumblr is a significant, strategic bet; consumers are into pics and blogging - we talked about that -EVERYONE IS A PUBLISHER TODAY. By the way did you know that a quarter of a million new blogs are being set up each day on Tumblr? That's massive! On top of that, Yahoo! is establishing itself as content creator, on a vast array of topics. They can sell that content to hundreds if not thousands of takers. Good for revenue.

Now, as we stated before, the battle happens on mobile. Not sure what the status is out there. I'm sure Google vastly outranks Yahoo there. Search on mobile is very much established. But I also know that Yahoo!'s full attention is to win in mobile. So, a tough battle it is. The jury is till out there. My bet is on Yahoo!
26.08.2013 / Liege (BE) / 16:24 / ES

Companies like Yahoo and Google are indeed busy producing the unexpected. Besides their own innovation labs, they have deals with top universities, R&D companies, massive networks of venture capital connections... in the world that gives them a time edge in terms of exclusive ownership and usage when the 'thing' comes out. The 'thing' being whatever thing the world out there desperately needs, but no one has ever thought about so far. Yep, interesting years ahead of us.

Onto another topic that keeps me and most brands we work for busy today: Technology platforms for online branding. The online presence you are starting up today will be already old in terms of application software by the time it hits the market. The make or buy decision has become the wrong question. The question should be a statement: fast & flexible. Read: whatever you pick, it should be immediately implementable and big time flexible. You must be able to follow the new technologies and trends of your brand online presence with just a click on the button.
27.08.2013 / Dubai / 08:33 / KF

Fast and furious, I'd say. It makes a deliberate point. You are absolutely right. You have to be in a mode of constant adaptation, constantly upgrading, looking around the corner for the next thing. Standing still for even one second opens the door for someone else to sweep the business from under your feet.

The point is also, in a more generalized way, that if you stop getting better, you stop being good altogether !

I want to go back to a subject we discussed quite a while back: experience branding, and, creating brand experience. What does this mean EXACTLY. This terminology is becoming so popular that I feel like a lot of marketers and creatives are using it as a label on everything they do because it's 'in'. Not good enough for me. So let's drill, define, and give examples.

I'll start off by thinking for a minute about what an experience is.

My definition... An experience is a moment that leaves a trace in your life. A feeling. A memory. Sometimes small. Sometimes huge. I'm kinda hooked up on the word 'trace' because that defines it. There are things that happen in life that are normal, uneventful, routine. And therefore, they don't leave that trace. An experience is different. It's deeper. It makes you think. It makes you feel. It makes you do. It makes you jump in and participate. And therefore, my proof point or checkpoint is this. If you have really created an experience, then the person on the receiving end should have a burning desire to share it!

Your thoughts and builds please, professor ;-)
27.08.2013 / Kamperland (NL) / 17:37 / ES

Brand experience. Yep. The buzzword of the past 5 years. The magic word in marketing excuses.

Let me first tell you this. When people come to me with such stories, then I first ask them what 'the experience' should lead to: brand activation or commercial activation?

Brand activation is about activating the content of the brand, the promise, the insights it brings, the usage. Commercial activation is just the conversion part, meaning sales, sales, sales. Brand activation can have commercial activation in it, but not vice versa.

So when talking about brand experience, it can be an argument if it fits a brand activation approach (and of course the brand strategy), but it cannot be an argument if it is merely about commercial activation.

So experience is, as you rightfully describe, something that builds brand equity in whatever way. If it does not, then it is not 'experience'. That's my POV!

Now, just to make this one little bit more interesting. How do we deal with internal brand experience? For internal stakeholders. How do you make people feel the brand, and 'experience' it within the walls of the brand? Bit like it feels when I step out of the elevator in Dubai and step into your office. Or our Brandhome HQ in Antwerp. You start!
28.08.2013 / Dubai / 08:12 / KF

Your question has two layers....

...Experiencing the brand(s). This has two parts as well. (1) do we have the right personality of people working on the brands so they exude the brand, and others can see that. (2) is there enough effort put into creating understanding and advocacy for the brands inside our office. I'd say yes and no. Yes, because there are a lot of TANGIBLE elements of our brands in our office, whether visual or in conversation. And no, because it can never be enough. The fact that we have a lot of big brands makes it a bit difficult, because there is not one brand that people can have in their veins so to speak. So it's a bit dispersed. There are flocks and groups of brand advocates within the walls of the company. Now, don't go ask legal people or finance guys what the brand identity for 7UP is. There's some work to be done...

...Experiencing the corporate brand

We've got lots of corporate branding on our end. Picture it like this: you will get a very different vibe when you walk into an HQ of Unilever, P&G...or PepsiCo. Not saying we do better. Not saying we have a clearer understanding of the corporate brand. But the people inside would behave, talk, work differently, with a different affinity to the corporate brand altogether. Now, if you ask me, the important dimension in the lack of clear imagery being felt by employees of a company is the PRIDE and COMMITMENT they have to the company, with a clear WHY. Would people have an elevator speech that expresses what the company stands for, what its ambition is, what its core values are. And I don't mean what's written on the poster at reception. I mean an expression of the DNA. That's what matters.

I imagine that in the case of Brandhome the above blend into one. Because you have only one brand, one philosophy, one identity. A company like ours has a multi-personality syndrome :-)
28.08.2013 / Brussels / 19:37 / ES

Interesting thought. But there are thousands of companies out there where people have NO feeling of belonging whatsoever so don't even talk about experience.

At Brandhome we need this internal brand experience. Today I presented to the team in Antwerp HQ on how we need to change in a market where the contribution of branding to the business is not considered vital. That's the Belgian market today. Focus is on survival of the fittest. And why we need to breathe what our brand stands for in order to motivate current and potential brands we work for to keep investing in internal brand experience.

It triggered some interesting discussions with the youngsters over here. They told me that they can change their identity, and experience brands, like 20 times a day! Or even more. They behave differently depending on where they are, with who they are, how they are feeling, etc, in a way similar to when we where young. In our generation we behaved differently when visiting the grandparents than spending time with friends. And they are right. But now young people change face every 30 minutes.

Now, what has this to do with 'experience'. Well, I discussed the relationship between brand experience and their online/offline 'mood status'. It's interesting how they go about that. They told me that they experience e.g. the Brandhome brand internally differently depending on the work that has to be done that day for the brands we work for. I got like totally confused at a certain moment - which was of course part of their objectives, little assholes! ;) - but it boils down to 1 simple thing. When they can do cool projects for brands, then Brandhome internal experience is top. They also have a great experience when we have the orange Brandhome parties and the team buildings. But when they need to do not-so-cool work for brands, then Brandhome brand experience is sh*t!

In a way it brings us back to the necessity for youngsters, as we discussed with the digital ninjas some days ago, to do only the BEST work. Not just all the work and do it BEST. Interesting ;)

Have to run. I have 2 young creatives that want a job. We will brief them on a test now.

What we need to discuss is the following: inside out online technological platforms for online world. That's our internal project name for the challenge to deal with the disappearance of classic desktop based websites... Millions of brands are mobile... but mobile is for them an add-on to their classic web environment, the desktop/laptop version with mouse etc. Now, the world has flipped and it all needs to be mobile. So the main cause has become the side cause. Any ideas? Gotta run!
29.08.2013 / Dubai / 06:16 / KF

Main vs side cause. Mobile vs desktop. First screen versus second screen. TV commercial versus digital content. Brand content versus UGC. Existential questions! Flipping the models and conventions is needed.

My POV?

It's starts with questioning yourself all the time these days. Anything you've done in the past, anything that has proven successful doesn't guarantee success in the future!

Secondly, it's all about changes in behavior. We just need to be better in observing that. And in riding new waves.

Third, we need to stop qualifying on what's 1st and what is second. On what is main and what is side. In the end it's about proliferation, it's about more choices and options, it's NOT about going a 18O degrees the other way, it's about doing more, reaching more people through many more channels. Get my drift? Example: yes, mobile is important, and needs to be grabbed with two hands. But, if you kill everything you do now, and place all your bets on mobile only, you'll go under. It's about managing gradual shifts, and playing on many fronts.
29.08.2013 / Brussels / 08:32 / ES

Agree, but you have to keep in mind the enormous investments to put up the tools that will support your brand universe build up as well as the maintenance cost. So both upfront investment as well as maintenance costs have to be taken into account. That brings us back to the prioritization discussion: yep, priorities!

So when you have limited investment power, or you are not too marketing savvy or have a desperate commercial need, you will have to make choices.

Now, what makes things even more complex is the speed at which both technology development as well as user adaptation is changing; the so-called double-dip. But crucial at this moment in time is to be able to stay on track in terms of technology used. I'll give a simple example: last week a client of ours had to write off almost 2 mil in the development of its online presence because, a year ago, they opted for an old technology.

How did this happen? A cocktail of disaster.

Here's a list of symptoms...

- lack of vision into development of market and customer interaction

- lack of vision into technology development and adoption

- ICT department being the marketing boss in the project (because the marketers did not understand)

- too many old fashioned online consultants at the table from the time that online was a website on a desktop screen

- no research done; so you end up with tools and systems that are useless in terms of online performance

- too much consensus about all aspects in general

-...

You continue this list...
30.08.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
30.08.2013 / place & time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
31.08.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Kurt: total makes another US $ 4OO please.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
31.08.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

Erik: total makes another US $ 330 please.

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
01.09.2013 / Dubai / 06:33 / KF

I would say that the one thing to do is PAUSE. Too many businesses are driving an F1 race with a VW, changing the tires while driving. You get the metaphor, right. That is dangerous, in two ways: (1) not being able to change fast enough, (2) even worse, being taken over by a competitor that did the homework well. Technology as a business, market, and marketing tool is a H-U-G-E competitive advantage these days. If you don't INVEST PROPERLY, the long term viability of your business is as risk.

Here a nice idea to help manage cost and still stay on with the latest. Bit of a side-track vs the previous discussion, but linked. It's called BYOD - bring your own device. Companies start not giving computer and mobile phones to employees. They just ask them to bring their own, and put their effort in making sure all devices are properly supported. The insight: most people, personally, have better equipment than what a company has to offer. Tell me. I live it! And, the reality that company devices are also used for private stuff. I love the BYOD idea!! Seems like something Brandhome would do.
01.09.2013 / Antwerp / 11:01 / ES

BYOD. That's indeed what we do at Brandhome. We have defined a list of laptops, pads and smart phones that are approved for use at and with work. We pay a monthly digital fee to them. BYOD is a condition without which we cannot move into the digital working age. That is why we are moving ahead in this one. It also has a lot of practical advantages on top: no handing over of material, you break your own stuff, or you loose it... finished with all the inventory keeping, discussions on who uses his material in which way; e.g. spilling the coffee all over it and eating sandwiches on the screen so that after 30 days you can get a full DINNER of leftovers off the keyboard... ANIMALS! Mostly the account people behave like that. Even the most dirty and trashy looking creative has probably taken care of his/her own Apple the best!

BYOD on the other hand is just an instrument. The real challenge lies in the change of working. BYOD is about work technology, Digital Working is about change of work culture.

The latter one is the most important one. Why? Because it will affect not just the way people work, but the performance of their work. For our marketers it will be even more interesting. They will become the external agency being able to work everywhere in the markets they are doing the marketing for.

I cannot give any details, but I am consulting and helping with the change management in a BYOD and digital working project for a company that operates globally, over 200.000 people in head count. AMAZING! F*cking unique!!

Here's something new: we are opening a Brandhome office in London!
02.09.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
02.09.2013 / place & time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
03.09.2013 / Dubai / 04:16 / KF

Wow! London. That's great. Highly competitive when it comes to marketing consultancy, branding agencies and advertising gurus. This is where the best of the best reside.

I'm not implying you don't belong there of course. But tell me...what will you bring to the party? What's Brandhome's edge in the London environment.

Just make sure you have a few extra umbrellas out there :-)
03.09.2013 / Antwerp / 15:14 / ES

Simple: we need to be amongst the best to become better. Today we are THE BEST in Benelux. Will keep you posted. On my way to a shooting that will be finished around...

One question: what do you think about the chaotic communication about the incident in Syria? Not about the content (which is terrible of course), but about the way the Western governments as well as NATO have communicated about it?
04.09.2013 / Dubai / 06:46 / KF

Syria's situation is not only worrying, the chaos of communication as you rightly say is pretty disastrous. Let me tell you, it's the first time I really worry about the M.East region in the 6 years I'm here. And we've had some terrible events happening in the past 24-36 months: the Libya issue, two Egypt revolutions, unrest in Bahrain, continuous trouble in Iraq, pressure in and on Iran, car bombs in Lebanon, and more. That's a lot. But this time it's different. Syria is so central to the region, from a geographical, political and, as a gateway in multiple directions, an economical way, that this conflict can escalate beyond conceivable proportions.

That said, my source of information is what I hear from inside the region, from my colleagues/friends from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan who all have family in Syria or in close proximity of Syria. I can't rely on news from US or Europe unfortunately. It seems messy, too unreliable, too unstable.

Let's change subject!

Let's spend time thinking on how world events can help your business, or not.

Take Tiffany's, the luxury jeweler. Gold prices have gone through the roof because economies still rely on gold as a tangible currency.

I believe the gold price has passed the 1500 dollars per kg. Now, when you do business in gold, that's an issue. Consumers can't afford it, and as a manufacturer your key ingredient price is going through the roof. And Tiffany makes some 58% margin. That's huge.

The solution for them is to increase the silver component to balance cost price and consumer price. Good thing? I believe so...consumer can still buy nice jewelry with the Tiffany brand on it.

Thoughts??
04.09.2013 / Zwijndrecht (BE) / 08:14 / ES

It is indeed scary what is going on in the M.E. You know where something like that starts, but you do not know where it ends. It's also amazing how biased the worldwide media is. It shows the different views on the world that individuals have. And how their backgrounds, experiences, cultures,... influence their perception. It is something we marketers with worldwide experience know, but at times and situations as this it becomes even more clear. Let us just hope for the best and that the killing of innocent kids stops.

Regarding the Tiffany's and gold question. That's all about marketing of the end value in terms of Cost of Goods. The raw material cost issue. It's double issue from an economic point of view. On the one hand it must be able to keep the jewelry market going. On the other hand it is a disadvantage since you erode the intrinsic value of the product in the long term. E.g. the real value of the jewel as an investment goes down. Of course you can argue that for example the diamond in the jewel remains at high value since you have a type of quality in stone that is fixed. You cannot mix diamonds (except fake stones). The stone is what it is. Since Tiffany's has a probably high fixed cost (shops, people...) they have to keep going, but you could also imagine that instead of trading down, you trade up, increase price and accept that the segments you cater to shrink. So there is no real wisdom in there.

Makes me think of some similar things that are going on. Take petroleum based things. The prices are going up. As we well know in 50 years we will perhaps run out of volume. So, many production companies that use petroleum based components in their products are looking for alternative solutions/ingredients. That is an interesting marketing mechanic. You end up with future products of which you believe the core ingredient is still the same in terms of benefit, but it has changed: it tastes like sugar, it looks like sugar... but it's not sugar! It is sweetener. So imagine that it would happen to gold: it looks like gold, it feels like gold... but it's not gold :) Or even better: it tastes like Pepsi, it looks like Pepsi... but is a Coke! :) Sorry for that, I had an urgent need to annoy you a little.

Nothing new but it has always fascinated me how people react to that. Reactions are similar to counterfeiting in a way.

Back to the political marketing issue: it shows that neither NATO nor the EU are able to act as one voice. But that is nothing new for you and me. Belgium has the continuous discussions between North and South... we are used to that.

Here is something to chew on. Imagine that you want to stop all advertising of your brand in whatever form. How and on what parameters do you decide how long you can do that?
05.09.2013 / Dubai / 05:58 / KF

STOP ALL ADVERTISING...

and I'm first interpreting this as TV advertising.

First thing to look at, as always: what's consumer behavior like? Especially when it comes to media consumption. How big is TV? Take M.East as example. TV viewing is still high, #1 on the media consumption list actually. People here consume 5 hours of TV and somewhere between 2 and 3 hours of social media as a reference. Can you bring TV ads significantly down? Oh yeah. Stop completely? That's probably going to hurt. But once again, that might be different in Sweden or Poland or Spain.

Secondly, look at the conversation around your brand in a holistic way. What tools do you have to keep the conversation going, to have your audience talk about you and not your competitor, to be an integral part of that conversation? That can be through what you do on-ground, in-store, on-line, etc.

Third, start from total impressions you have instead of TV- grps. In the end a TV-grp is an old-fashioned, archaic concept. Impressions are a better start...a print ad, a billboard, a YouTube clip, etc. Even your packaging makes a strong, important impression.

And then, back to conversation, focus on engagement with AER as an important KPI in that camp. What do you do to draw consumers in your world + what do you do to be part of their world?

Stop-all-advertising when it is TV advertising is (somehow) doable.

STOP EVERYTHING

If you mean stop it all which I read as stop the conversation around your brand, then it's a no-go area! That's what marketing, what branding is all about now. We've talked about it at length. Stop everything means you will vanish, you will fade away. Conversation on you stops, a competitor takes it over...and you can pull the plug after a while ... I don't believe there is a brand that can survive that. Maybe one that operates in a low-competitive field?

What say you?
05.09.2013 / Brussels / 07:16 / ES

Well. Here is the Devil! We stop ALL marketing investments in advertising, Paid Own Earned Shared or whatever forms, for let's say 2 years. Depending on the type of business you are in, it might hurt you very deep, just a bit or even add value to your business.

Let me explain.

1. Very deep:

This is when you are in high involvement stuff (Porsche), or in daily active consumptions (like your Pepsi drinks). You are competing indeed for a part of the attention, interaction, engagement... with other brands. You don't play ball? You lose.

2. Just a bit:

This is when your customers are, at moments, actively aware of your presence but perhaps are not very busy or not concerned with what you are doing. E.g. the current situation of the telco's in Europe. The benefit of changing operator weighed against the advantages, financial and other, are too small to trigger change. So if you have them, and your quality is at par, your consumers don't leave.

3. Adds value:

This one has two sides. Let's start with the downside: destroying value. This is when you are the biggest, the historic incumbent. And 'stupid YOU' starts advertising for ego reasons and while doing so you build the category or awareness for the market entrants. If you are smart, you don't do anything. This is what Electrabel, the Belgian energy incumbent did. They f*cked up their own market big time. But you can also be smart, stay low, shut up, just provide top service, and don't spend a penny in marketing ;)

The above serves to illustrate that it is possible for brands to keep the marketing budget for a period on ZERO, but that you need to have a strategy behind.

What's your POV?
06.09.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
06.09.2013 / place & time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
07.09.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
07.09.2013 / place & time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
08.09.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
08.09.2013 / place & time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
09.09.2013 / Dubai / 09:11 / KF

Let me explain the awkward and unusual silence of the past few days...

Over the past few months I've been thinking, talking, and ultimately negotiating a job in our HQ in New York. That's obviously a big thing, occupying a lot of time and mind space. Not only for me -these kind of moves are family decisions. And it came to a climax last week, ultimately leading to me making a final call and signing up last weekend.

So, as of next month I'll be gradually rolling in my new role as Vice President Global Marketing for part of our beverage portfolio. I'm all jazzed up, ready to drive change and 'break things' (as Facebook's Zuckerberg would say), to discover the global consumer and bring growth in new and exciting ways!

That's also the max about what I'm sharing on the topic in this book.

So, let's talk about an exciting marketing topic. And tell me how much I owe our charity, SPARK, for not writing...
09.09.2013 / Antwerp / 10:44 / ES

KURTOS!! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!! CONGRATULATIONS!! Amazing. I know that you are going to do a GREAT job over there! You're the MASTER!

We both have to pay up to SPARK. It's about US $ 400 each already. But don't let that spoil the party!! Wow! I am so excited and happy for you!

Back to 05.09.2013

I was trying to illustrate that it is possible for brands to keep the marketing budget for a period on ZERO, but that you need to have a strategy behind.

What's your POV?
10.09.2013 / Dubai / 06:41 / KF

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Let's continue the thinking:

I like the notion of separating how hard it might feel depending on your brand or market situation you're in. On top of that, I do acknowledge that there are situations where you just can't have it all, especially when you look at portfolio management. There are always more things to do, more brands to support than there is money to spend. It's as simple as that. And so, do you spread thin across or hit the pause button on certain brands for a while. That's the question. And it's not an easy on to answer.

When it hurts just a little...sure you can go to ZERO for a year or two. But let me tell you, you will be confronted with the fact that it's always the same brands in the portfolio that'll take this kind of beating. And so, you might end up with sequential cycles of zero budget for them. That's when warning bells should go off. Because it'll start to damage the image, have the proposition fade away, and have the loyalists abandon the brand.

I've used an approach of altering ON-OFF support in the past. And that worked well. Say you have 5 brands but only money for full-on support for 3. What I'd do is have 2 brands hit the pause button in year one, another two in year two, another two in year 3 and so on. Everyone hurts and everyone wins. With the odd exception of maybe one or two of your big, leader brands that are on 365 and year-on-year.

Zero IS possible. But one should be very cautious. And above all... Never, ever stop your research budget. Keep monitoring the health of the brand, also in a pause year, keep the social listening systems going, and...keep some money aside in your overall budget to pull the emergency brake if needs be!
10.09.2013 / Antwerp / 08:21 / ES

An early domino today! Silence before the storm. Today and during the next 2 weeks, the storm will hit. I have been riding a true roller coaster in the past few weeks. New clients, complex projects, interviews on television and newspaper (and the time to handle all reactions triggered...), taking over all CEO-tasks (now that we haven't got a CEO anymore), looking at new business ventures... Madness! Imagine you have to work without any days off in a business you are NOT passionate about... Can't imagine.

Yesterday, I gave an interview on television about unlocking market know-how inside companies. And how that will result in a lower demand for external agencies and consultants, in whatever form. It's one of the topics that keeps me busy nowadays. You know the book 'Who Moved my Cheese'?. Well, that's exactly what is going on in our sector in Western-Europe at the moment. We're all sitting around and waiting for fresh cheese... but there is no cheese. So I am turning Brandhome upside down into an organization that can morph in concert with the - sometimes unpredictable and unforeseeable - changes in the market. Why? To ensure that the company and its people have a future.

A big misunderstanding nowadays is that companies need external agencies to help them with marketing because they believe that their own people have no real insights in what is going on out there. Stupid statement. But it shows a solid belief in the market nowadays. Strange to me. Instead of jumping on it and confirming such an idiot idea (that would be very beneficial in the short term for us), I block this thought. In the past it was true, but today and surely in the future NOT! Most people in companies have been around and worked either in multiple positions, multiple companies, multiple locations... or at least are better connected to their peers and other information streams so that they can know what is going on.

Of course, their ability to do something with that information, is another story. That has to do with the ability of vision, lateral thinking, change, and so on.

Anyway, just need to get rid of that frustration ;) I published a column today in Belgium's biggest business newspaper De Tijd on the UPside of the Publicis/Omnicom merger.

After all this skipping days, onto marketing. Let's talk about the impact of good external marketing on the image of a company with analysts and thus stock price performance. Totally illogical sometimes and silly, but therefore very interesting. You start.
11.09.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
11.09.2013 / place & time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
12.09.2013 / Dubai / 06:53 / KF

Let's take a look at the receiver of that image first. Analysts are in essence looking at whether there will be GROWTH, and whether a company can DELIVER on its promises.

That said, the corporate image of the company is only driven by marketing efforts to a small extent. In the end, the words and the behavior of the company's executives is what will send signals to the outside world.

So - I'm distinguishing brand from company image. Because they are vastly different, driven by a very different audience. Obviously there are links. If the marketing side is not done well, the analysts will draw their own conclusions. If innovation that is being churned out is weak, it will affect the stock price.

Take the launch of the new Apple iPhone 5 yesterday. Nothing new under the sun. Hugely disappointing to the larger public. And so, Apple's stock price immediately goes down 5 percent -that's a lot. And we're talking about a rock-solid, reliable company here. Imagine if you're on shaky ground to start with...

On the other hand, if you go big and succeed on the marketing front you might indeed get rewarded big time. Can't immediately think of an example right now, so leave that up to you ;-)
12.09.2013 / Brussels / 07:44 / ES

Analysts are consumers too. I am convinced that when your company and/or brand(s) are present in their consumer life the way they will rate you will be different than when you are not.

With 'consumer life' I mean: when your company is listed on their local stock exchange, when your brands are available in their local super market. In the end analysts are consumers too, as most b2b target groups and stakeholders. Of course, largely depending on what products and markets you are in. If you are specialized in building 'hydro dams' in mountain areas, and you build worldwide 4 per year, then you are in a different situation than when you are in shampoos.

Now here comes the challenge. I believe that too many companies treat the relationship with their analysts, fund managers, journalists... too functionally. Too much focused on ROI, EBITDA, ratio's... Very important, please do not misunderstand me, but in a way, these are useless if you cannot relate them to an understandable story. Being a story that makes sense and that people, analysts understand and can extrapolate into GROWTH dreams.

The financial crisis and the new economic reality following that crisis have changed one thing: if you don't understand what you are buying, then the one who is selling it to you is probably doesn't understand either or is dishonest. In both situations you don't want to deal with him!

To conclude: treat your analysts and other financial (in)direct stakeholders with understandable messages, and see them as your consumers. So they feel your offering and believe in it. That's the self-fulfilling prophecy you need to drive stock market value at the long run.

We need to talk again about segmentation. Yesterday I was in a meeting about the segmentation of a life-style brand. Lifestyle segmentation is in my opinion about segmenting the ideas in people's heads, rather than segmenting people on socio-demographic or socio-economic parameters. The latter become secondary parameters in lifestyle segmentation. The question is: how do you segment ideas that live in people's heads?

Besides the known explorative research tools, what are other ways to do that. Can social media, Lifelogging and other things help here? What's your POV?
13.09.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.09.2013 / place & time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
14.09.2013 / Dubai / 17:50 / KF

Lifestyle segmentation, segment what's in people's head. Yeah...dunno...that sounds a bit strange. As we talked before, socio-demographic segmentation is not enough. What you need to go after is finding groups of people with similar interests, cultural sensitivities, hobbies, you name it. It's about 'Mindset' instead of segmentation. More difficult to quantify and more difficult to find and grab though. And therefore there are a lot of forces that pull you back to traditional segmentation: e.g. media buying largely thrives on socio/demo only.

I believe it's much more than dropping the old segmentation to only go for mindset-approaches. The message here is: Combine! Find ways to add to current definitions by adding lifestyle/mindset elements thus making segmentation richer and sharper. How do you find this you ask? Same as always: open your eyes and ears. Don't just look at statistics. Observe. Look at social media. Follow trend-reports (Trendhunter is a wonderful source), etc.
14.09.2013 / Antwerp / 19:01 / ES

I promised myself that if we skip another day, the fine would go up. As of today we are up to US $ 260 each in debt. But as of today, the day rate for skipping went up by 100% and is now US $ 20!

On November 3rd we will write our last domino of this book, but until then, we need to keep pumping! We never ever give up!

Mindset segmentation. Interesting. Never heard about it. Let's create a new buzzword. Perhaps even better to talk about Mindsetting or Mindset grouping.

Let's try to make a kind of own brand marketing definition: Mindset Brand Marketing is about understanding emotions - including unpredictable ones - that are derived from personality and influenced by social values, general as well as from peers, resulting in one or multiple lifestyles of the same individual.

What do you think about this? Is the definition complete enough to build a new kind of model for lifestyle branding? Makes me think about our discussion on Lifelogging. Lifelogging becomes more an instrument, or a tool for lifestyle branding.

Chew on that. What's next?
15.09.2013 / Dubai / 07:08 / KF

Your definition doesn't have a goal or result! In the end it is about building, nurturing, growing brands.

So, tweaked, it might look something like this: 'Mindset Brand Marketing uses the psychology, interests, and similarities of groups of consumers as a base for targeted segmentation and branding, thus building more relevant, stronger brands and accelerating growth. Understanding deep consumer emotions - including unpredictable ones - are essential to this marketing thinking'.

Not quite there to be honest; so let's keep building.

Who are the best brands at doing this?
15.09.2013 / Antwerp / 11:01 / ES

Thank you for my birthday wishes today! 39 years. Last year of train 3!

The definition is getting too long. We need to shorten it. Basically what we are defining here is the ability of marketers and brands to immerse themselves in the lives of their target groups.

Here is another go: Mindset Brand Marketing goes back to the historic roots of marketing combining empathy domains such as psychology, sociology... and life logging data to identify and cluster market segments and brand relevance into profitable relationships.

It's still a little confusing. It all comes back to the story of my professional life. We lack passionate marketers who immerse themselves in their markets. Those who wake up early and go to sleep late just so they can grab as much as possible out of the everyday life of their target groups.

Let this one boil little on our marketing stove.

I gotta go. I gotta get home to celebrate my birthday with the kids. Here's an open door to discuss: who owns the brand in the company? You start!
16.09.2013 / Dubai / 07:06 / KF

Damn. I missed your birthday! No excuse. Wishing you many, happy returns amigo. You are way too young to be a marketing guru. So, I wish you a good few grey hairs so you're sliding in my direction at least.

Who owns the brand in our company? You. Me. We are settling for nothing less than world domination :-)

In all seriousness, there is only one owner of a brand...THE CONSUMER! You may think you own the brand in a company, but in the end everyone contributing to the brand is only a guide to the consumer. Good guides help consumers find brands. A bad guide steers them away.

From a practical POV, it get's more real but equally more abstract...

...Is it the CEO as the head of the company, ultimately responsible for all brands? Maybe in a family owned company. In a publically listed company it's the Board of Directors.

... Is it the CFO, who controls how much money flows to growing brands, and who ultimately has the power to suck the life out of it? In his dreams maybe :-)

... Is it the CMO, who controls the marketing plans, who is the ultimate guide for consumers? We're getting close here.

... Or does it come down to the brand manager; the one who is closest to the brand identity (or at least should be), pushes the right buttons to make the brands as attractive as possible, etc? Yes. To a large extent.

... Is it the sales guy, making sure the brand is on the shelf, in the showroom, or elsewhere? Also.

I believe there is a big joint ownership when it comes to brands. Through osmosis over time, we've been able to build a group of interconnected, interdependent brand collaborators striving for a common goal: keep the brand alive, make it as big as possible, and claim part of its fame. Amen!
16.09.2013 / Antwerp / 21:35 / ES

Interesting thought. I would argue that there are 3 ways of looking at this:

1.the consumer who owns it, see your motivation above

2.the CEO who owns it, and uses it for other than commercial reasons, e.g. corporate, internal, etc

3.the CMO who owns it purely for commercial reasons

Perhaps you need to conclude that there is no single best solution!

But what I do know is that 'a zebra is a horse created by a committee' and that is what YOU DO NOT need!

A brand and in any case a young brand needs to be educated/steered/... with discipline!
17.09.2013 / Dubai / 06:55 / KF

Since we covered segmentation recently, let's talk about customization. Once you have segmentation done, you can start tailoring your brand to specific target groups. And guess what, sometimes magic just happens. What triggered me is a conversation I heard recently. Picture this: there is hotel that has workout rooms instead of a gym. Sounds brilliant to me. They just figured out that a lot of business people want greater privacy and more flexibility. So that they can step into the room/booth, work out while having business calls, watching the news, what not. Love it.

Now - what's driving the boom in customization? Here are a few thoughts on that...

1It's simple...consumers these days are demanding. They don't want mass. They don't want what everyone has. They want stuff that expresses their individuality, their unique self. Customization offers just that.

2There are financial rewards. Consumers are willing to pay more for something that meets their unique needs. That's exactly what branding is after. Hence, customization is a great pathway to premiumization!

3Customization equals consumer loyalty. Think about it. As a consumer you are more likely to have a strong bond with a brand that gives you exactly what you want!

Thoughts?
17.09.2013 / Antwerp / 21:35 / ES

Let's make a difference between customization and mass-customization. When we are discussing the latter, then we are just discussing 'modern' marketing. The one you are pointing at is indeed the leverage towards premium building and loyalty.

The biggest challenge is, in my perspective, the how you know. Customization as you describe it is in a way un-segmentable. You really need to know everything about your customers

The example of W-Hotel in Doha (Qatar) as I mentioned is a nice one. Why? They see you. They know you. As a person.

My biggest question in this type of customization: how do you do it?
18.09.2013 / Dubai / 07:52 / KF

There is only one way: line up your ops and have the systems to select, understand, service your customers there and then. Sounds a bit complicated I know. It goes back to two of our earlier discussions, combined.

(1) If your ops systems (i.e. Company backbone, machines, infrastructure, service setup, etc.) don't change, then you'll never be agile, flexible and you won't be able to tailor to individual needs. A mass machine, built to spit out only one product, will all of a sudden not be able to produce a multitude of things. That's mechanically not even possible.

(2) Second point goes back to our BIG DATA discussion. How well are you set up to take the pulse of your consumer, get the data fast -in munchable pieces, have the processes to look at it and take decisions? That's a serious commitment from a company, and a tour de force. But it can be done.

Look at Zappos. True, they don't really produce but they are set-up for mass-consumer-satisfaction, one customer at the time. Their service machine is catered to individuals, not masses. You can call a customer service guy for 2 hours to talk about life for that matter. They'll take it because they understand it is your individual desire to interact with the company that way.

Changing subject.

I had an awesome CMO Council meeting yesterday, centered around ethical branding. We also watched a movie by Jeff Rosenblum... 'The Naked Brand'. You should watch it...perfect tie-in to Triple-A Branding! More on that tomorrow. As a lead into that topic, how has your thinking on Triple-A branding evolved since you published the book, distributed it, and discussed it with many people?
18.09.2013 / Antwerp / 19:53 / ES

How has the thinking evolved since it was published?

Same as before. Before actually writing and publishing the book and the ideas behind it, I discussed it, chewed on it, argued about it... with many people. So in a way it was already passed that process.

On the other hand, now that the book is out, and I have been talking about it, loads of interviews, seminars, etc. the horizon of people you interact with gets bigger and more diverse.

For most people I talk to, C-level people, the Triple-A philosophy is more a leitmotiv, a dream, the ideal situation, that you strive for but that you will never reach.

Why? There is a multitude of reasons. The most important one is that each of the A's counters the strength of the other A. You can't be 100% authentic while being 100% activating while being 100% accountable. It's the trade-off that brings you further as a brand. And that is also when we look into the data that we have gathered through the Triple-A index that you can fill in online.

I have been thinking about turning - just for fun - the idea upside down: how to go EITHER for Accountability OR Activation OR Authenticity? That would be something wouldn't it? :)
19.09.2013 / Dubai / 06:55 / KF

Choice will give you focus. But it's an and/and game in the end. You have to have all A's lined up to be a complete and sustainable brand.

So, a few things on the 'Naked Brand' movie. Jeff Rosenblum, who is an ad-man at heart, is the instigator and director of the movie. I met him and he explained that the genesis of the movie came from the idea of the changing media world - much like everything we've talked about in our book here. People have all these means to 'skip ads', whether it is a Tivo system or just by looking down at their phone instead. He also noted the waste in the industry. And therefore, his idea was to capture the following notion: what if we do things very, very differently and what if we turn that waste into something good. If all companies try to do a bit of good through their system, reaching the world and people, the world might just be a better place. A noble idea. Add to that some shocking things like that fact that advertizing with a humanitarian idea has a 16 fold higher impact than an ad with celebrities. Quite a shock for the traditionally groomed advertisers, whether on the client or on the agency side, right? Hence the term 'naked' in the title. A naked brand is transparent, honest, genuine. It has nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of. So, it's a film that makes you think. And that's awesome!

The bigger discussion we had before and after viewing was: how do you really build an ethical brand. A brand with a cause at the heart of it. That discussion spun into the impact of the senior leadership in the company setting the tone, how to embrace it in all layers of the organization, how to structure around it, what budget implications it has, and what's needed as change in creative thinking. Greatly enriching thoughts.

Have a look at the movie. With your team. It's on iTunes. And worth the 12 USD and the time. Then, let's talk some more about it.
19.09.2013 / Antwerp / 21:53 / ES

OK! Will rent it and look at it.

Naked? Well. Starbucks did not ask their customers to come naked to the coffee shops, but asked them to stop bringing their guns. Nope, not their mobile phone, real guns.

You could argue - I'm playing devil's advocate here - that you could also ask your customers to come naked? Or without underpants or so? I was surprised when I saw it in the news day before yesterday.

What's your POV on that one? It's not me who's asking, but Susan. Yep, you know her, our editor ;) She asked me yesterday in an email what I thought about it.
20.09.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
20.09.2013 / place & time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
21.09.2013 / Dubai / 07:55 / KF

I think it's a gutsy move. I love it. With its huge footprint in the US in numbers of stores it sends a very strong signal to the American population. But it also says something about the brand: wanting to be clean, nice, a place of peaceful enjoyment. Starbucks calls it 'the third home' (the other 'homes' being home and work). Following that philosophy, it makes sense to keep weapons out.

Here's an interesting fact: Starbucks is not banning guns; they are just saying they are 'not welcome' ...Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, made a 'respectful request to' his customers not to bring firearms.

Now, in the end, the question is: will it make a difference in the gun debate. Knowing that I'm moving to the US, I hope this gets solved. I don't like guns as you know! But the solution seems far off, and it goes beyond legislation. It's about changing the DNA of the country. Why? Gun control is not enough. Washington, military bases, and most schools have gun restrictions/bans/controls, and still severe incidences have happened. Get my drift?

But all in all, I like the action of Starbucks!
21.09.2013 / somewhere between Brussels & Paris (FR) / 08:04 / ES

You know I have guns. You know I think that it is not the gun that is dangerous, but the guy that holds it. All the problems with guns in the USA bring 2 things together: the easiness to buy a weapon and the permission in some States to carry it with you, locked and loaded. I believe the latter is the main issue to tackle.

On the other hand, the guy who loses his mind because he played too many violent videogames, watched violent movies, had a violent youth, ... or is just insane; when he gets into a school and shoots innocent kids, what can you do? He will find guns - even in Belgium it is easy to find illegal guns. Not to mention the crazy people that get permits to buy them here. Seriously, there are some pretty fucked up people here too that you run into at shooting ranges. And if you want illegal ammo, they'll gladly offer you some... Just to illustrate that our system here isn't foolproof either... if any system would be...

I keep some of my weapons in my house. My wife hates it, but why? Well, here comes in a big societal discussion: we have entered the era of impunity in Europe. You have been away long time now, but the legal system here has become a total fuck up, inciting smalltime criminals to grow into bigtime criminals and murderers. You do not get punished in Belgium. Why would you? We even do not punish retired pedophile priests!!? And when you are a professional criminal, you can use your illegal money to pay the best lawyers. The legal system is poisoned with ultra-left thinking people, that prefer to punish their own police force instead the criminals they caught.

Sounds negative? Yes, it is! So why would it surprise you that people here start becoming ultra-right as a reaction. And when that happens, there is a similarity with what has happened in Germany in mid 1930's. What that pulled off, we all know: a terrible war and genocide.

Ok. Back to marketing. Back to the issue. Product image. Category image. It's needless to deny that weapons have a negative image, but how to tackle that? Similar with tobacco? Alcohol? How do you fix this? We will still make category extensions: weapons for kids to play with for example. You and I are blessed with little girls, they buy Barbies and stuff, but friends that have little boys, they have guns!

So, how to fix the image of a product like weapons? Or other societal negative products? You start!
22.09.2013 / Dubai / 08:28 / KF

Holy crap man. You're setting a bad example!

Even with the rational explanation you are giving I cannot avoid an emotional response. I simply don't think there is merit in having guns in the house. Yes, it's the guy behind the trigger not the gun. But, if you put the cat in front of the milk... enough said.

There aren't many products that have as lethal an impact as guns. Even drugs have only a slow effect when misused. The tobacco industry and brands went through the turbulence of being hammered to death. And they are now going to go through another few years of existential questions as consumers/smokers have basically become totally insensitive to the horror images on the packs. To me it demonstrates that it's not about image of these, it's about habits. How do you change habits for something pleasurable but deadly? AA meetings for gun owners? 'I am Erik Saelens and I have a gun.' :-)
22.09.2013 / Antwerp / 11:16 / ES

Me? Crazy? NO! Just telling the truth. Of course I do NOT preach that people have guns in their houses, but I try to explain the hidden trends that push people in that direction. Last time I was at the shooting range I spoke to this guy at the bar. He told me: "I keep a gun because I prefer to shoot the guy who wants to rape my wife or execute my little daughter and go to jail, instead of having him destroy my family and our lives... and the criminal being out in 7 years on good behavior, was out of his mind, had a bad youth..." Come on, you know that these feelings are growing like hell underneath the skin in the Western part of the world. It's not because the politicians try to mask this, as if it's not there? That's marketing too remember. It is there, and it is growing, and it is dangerous. Pissed me off.

Here is some more. Yesterday I read about the 13 year old girl that is heavily autistic and because the Belgian government does not know how to take care of her... they put her in a jail for crazy people... So, tell me, who is nuts here? The guy at the bar talking about protecting his family since the government doesn't take care of it any more, or the government that treats children like criminals just because they have autism. F*CK IT! I am very pissed off now. Have to calm down... in and out... in and out... in and out... Haaaaaaaaah.

Ok. When are you moving to the US? Your house will have at least 6 rooms? So I can stay there. ;)
23.08 / Dubai / 08:55 / KF

I won't be physically moving until Jan 2014. It takes time to get a visa and social security number. Logically. But, to answer your question: don't worry - you are more than welcome. There is always a floor I can throw a mattress on :-)

Hey, you're sort of an IPO expert. Twitter is going public. Two questions...

1- Good idea? Or are they better off selling to Google, Facebook, or other? If you owned twitter would you IPO (with the risk of one day being thrown out by your board)?

2- What about costs associated with going public? Paying lawyers, consultants, throwing parties, and all must cost a lot. How much would you reckon? 10% of what you will get?? Isn't that the business school rule of thumb?
23.09.2013 / Amersfoort (NL) / 10:54 / ES

IPO? The greed question always pops up first. Do we want to IPO because we, as the initial investors and management, want to cash in? Or do we IPO because we need investment capital to grow the concept? It is not clear to me what their objective is. But let's skip this question and move into the marketing side.

Yep, I have been involved in many IPOs and M&As. In a way, and from a brand perspective, they are similar. Need for investment cash, economies of scale in various ways... The biggest advantage of IPO and in a lesser way M&A, is that it boosts your brand awareness and motivates employees. The latter is obvious: they will benefit financially from it! And do the ground floor marketing.

You can write books on the subject (as I have), but let's touch here on one important subject that is often forgotten: there is nothing that breeds failure as much as success. Yep, here is my favorite line again. When brands IPO or even M&A, it always brings a risk that the employees and even more the management start to 'float' on a cloud and believe that they have become invincible... just at the moment that it all starts... That is the BIGGEST pitfall internally in any organization that does an IPO or a BIG promise M&A.
24.09.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
24.09.2013 / place & time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
25.09.2013 / Dubai / 17:13 / KF

Flooded. Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Lack of sleep. Too many time zones to handle...

The joys of juggling 2 jobs (the old and the new), trying to get a US VISA, organizing a move, ... No writing time for me for a few days.
25.09.2013 / Antwerp / 17:54 / ES

Same here. Just a quick one to keep our brains warm. Why is it that some marketing teams put the worst briefings together with the sole excuse that everyone on the marketing department can feel good about them...?
26.09.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
26.09.2013 / Antwerp / 21:54 / ES

While my good friend Kurt is trying to sneak into the USA, I am all alone with this book. I'll be talking to myself. Erik & Erik. Kurt and I have agreed that I will be listing up all kinds of subjects on which we will elaborate in a later stadium when he is back. Now here's a subject. Today I sat down with a media buying company in Belgium and they are into performance buying. Read 'no cure no pay' and/or variations on the concept such as performance related remunerations. And then we are not talking old concepts as we know them. We are talking BIG money to earn as a brand working with them. But we're also talking BIG money to pay them when things go well, better, best, unexpectedly GOOD! Brings us to the subject of performance related remuneration, that's agency language for a shared-business or shared-revenue model: we give value through ideas and we get a cut from the pie. I have always loved such concepts. Put your money where your mouth is!
27.09.2013 / Dubai / 19:24 / KF

I like it when you talk to yourself ;-) It's like imagining you in front of a mirror, rehearsing a speech. Very funny. Keep up the good work! *end-of-pep-talk-to-justify-why-I'm-not-writing*

Hey, we talked about that. And I say, go ahead. Be the 1st agency in the world that truly embraces performance-based remuneration! Define those KPIs, hunt them down, get paid if you reach them, and get paid ++ if you beat them! That's how it should be, everywhere. Unfortunately, blanket and bland payment structures, often dragged along from times that the cows could speak, still dominate the consulting, advertising and media industry.

Cheerio amigo!
27.09.2013 / Kapellen (BE) / 21:04 / ES

Another interesting topic is the view of creatives and strategic people on specific brands and/or issues. What I mean is the following. This week one of our creatives refused to work for a specific brand because the area in which the brand was active, did not fit 'his' set of values. A very interesting discussion since on the one hand you understand that people have personal values, on the other hand it is a lack of professionalism. If you are against the supposed abuse of coffee farmers by big multi-nationals, why would you then not want to work for a coffee house brand. Or if you don't like sugar, why do you not want to work for a candy brand. Highly subjective and in a way un-understandable attitude. What's your POV? How do you know when you recruit people that they are not against the snacks you produce? That's the entire thing in our business: you work for brands, and you never know which brand pulls your string.
28.09.2013 / Dubai / 15:45 / KF

Hahaha. Catchy subject.

I appreciate people that have values they stand by, categorically even. I have no issue with that, even when they are in the company already. Actually I've had that a few years ago with someone in my team who objected to working on a project. I just assigned it to someone else. No grudge. No issue. On the flip side -the positive side- matching the values of your brands with the values of the individual and vice versa is crucial for success. And yes, that's a recruiting and staffing objective.

Make sense?

Hey, just picked up something interesting. In Greece, there's an interesting side effect of the bad economy growing, called 'collaborative consumption'. Example: Cookie Store starts from a principle that people cook too much at home and throw the rest away. With a lot of people in economic distress, they are trying to do something about it, by gathering information from people on what they will make, and then redistributing it to people who want to buy the leftovers at a cheap price. I love that! So, you can buy a home cooked meal for a few dollars. How it works: you put your meal online, add how many people it's for and how many portions you will have left, and put those up for sale. Simple. It's a bit like Airbnb, where you can put up unused parts of your home for rent. Cool stuff, I say!
28.09.2013 / Wijnegem (BE) / 15:57 / ES

Mmmm the 'I have my values' thing, I still need to think about that. I am personally not in favor since it immobilizes organizations in a way. But indeed HR and recruitment are vital when looking for the right profiles of people. A tip for the HR managers reading our book!

Concepts like Airbnb are interesting. But here is the biggest danger that is waiting just around the corner for all these initiatives: the TAX man! In Europe the fiscal authorities (in need of LOADS of money to keep financing the silly system here) are now even scanning all the second hand websites. They have and will even be trying harder to tax you on your sale with VAT and/or incremental revenue income tax. So the VAT since you are selling something to someone. And the incremental income tax if you cannot demonstrate that you have sold it for a lesser price than the price you have bought it for yourself... sometimes years and years ago. Madness. And killing creativity.

Onto another subject. We discussed it briefly in the beginning, but now that you are heading that way: the USA! A brand that still stands for the promise that everyone can become President! The land of opportunity!... Or isn't it anymore... now that it is softening up and getting the European disease of the Government will care for you... as long as you vote for us left wing politicians... How do you go about that? How do you see it going ahead in the USA? But more important, do we believe that if the USA would fall short of these historic promises, that it would affect USA based and controlled global brands?
29.09.2013 / Dubai / 04:16 / KF

Q: Do we believe that if the USA would fall short of these historic promises, that it would affect USA based and controlled global brands?

My answer ... No! Why? It simply doesn't really matter! The world is flat, my friend. We all have US-brands in our blood, as much as we have Japanese, Chinese, European brands in our blood. We are all wedded to them in some way or other. And therefore, my submission is that brands transcend geography more and more these days. With the exception of those who make provenance a part of their core DNA.

Take Heinz for instance. Are you going to eat less Ketchup because America as a nation falls short? Will your kids all of a sudden stop nagging about McDonald's? Will you watch fewer Hollywood movies? Hell no and hell no again!
29.09.2013 / Antwerp / 10:32 / ES

I'll rephrase my question in a more clear way: do we or do we not believe that the historic roots of a country still fuel an organization and thus also (in)directly its brands?

Why? In Europe you often hear: this or that company and/or brand is geared and steered the American way, meaning full-focus on (financial) results; you do not deliver, you are out.

Whether this is a weakness, or a strength, that is not the point here.

What matters is this question: if brands that are rooted in this American you-do, you-deliver culture, start becoming more European, more soft, will this impact the strength of these brands. I know, it's a long haul, but give it some thought.

I have seen many brands around the globe, and many ways of steering them, but if branding is out business building, then from a financial perspective and even an innovation perspective, the American model, or at least what I have seen from it, is the best/better.
30.09.2013 / Dubai / 06:20 / KF

Interesting.

The American leadership model of brands has something unique to it, indeed. It's about delivering, doing, taking things to the next level, and conquering the world.

And I think that there is more flattening down of that drive-at-any-result. My observation is that a lot more companies are pushing an agenda of diversity which brings in more breadth in thinking and a different approach to business, marketing included. And that, I think, is a good thing! Diversity doesn't weaken to an average, it makes better, stronger. Especially when you are an American company, it is important to have that more European/soft part of your identity covered. Because guess what? The American way does not work as a blanket approach for the world.

And I guess the same can be said for Chinese companies wanting to be global.

Now, there are always the exceptions. There are companies and brands that are so deeply rooted in America from an image point of view that they shouldn't be touched. Harley-Davidson comes to mind. There should be no deviation from that driving-down-Route-66 image! Right?
30.09.2013 / Antwerp / 18:17 / ES

Yes and no. I think that when you start blending everything you end up with nothing. It is like mixing up all kind of fruit juices, syrups, waters and alcoholic beverages all together... shake it... and you probably end up with really something disgusting to drink, not really the cocktail you were expecting on your beach bed... I think it is imperative for brand management to steer on that.

What do you think about the following statement: the slowest person in the company decides on how fast the brand can move.

Just an opening line. What does this trigger with you?
01.10.2013 / Dubai / 06:10... on-the-treadmill / KF

Ha, the weakest link theory.

In my opinion that is not really true. It's the fast ones that pull the company forward. The slow/weak ones just need more coaching and management time; but eventually they get left behind (i.e. leave or get fired) when they don't step up and meet minimum requirements. Natural selection in companies.

The issue I have is: how do you capture that, how do you keep the pace going, how do you avoid hiring those who will not make the speed cut, how do you set up mentorship systems where the fast help the weak? Put another way... prevention is better than cure!

I also think you need to look hard inside the company. Maybe there is something broken in the system that leads to certain people being slower than others ... the environment, the fun, the IT systems, HR...or the absence of the water-cooler and cookie jar ??
01.10.2013 / Antwerp / 07:42... at my desk / ES

I fully agree. Perhaps the fast ones should not determine the final speed, but at least they should be given the freedom to pull things forward. Reality - unfortunately - is that in many organizations in need of such a change in speed, the slow ones always outnumber the fast ones. And then it depends very much on the leadership of the organization to ensure that the freedom that the fast ones need, is and more important stays there.

It is very paradoxical. In times of troubles, internally or externally, it is important to make speed, speed being not just 'fast', but also more generally meaning 'progression'. This is important to keep an organization moving, so it can get itself - and its people - out of situation. But people are people and will always be people. Most people do not dare to move when things around them change. When I started my career, I thought that it was easy to change things; at least the very obvious one. But not, almost 20 years later, my vision on it has changed. The companies and also brands I have worked with, and that were able to get out of bad situations, were always geared and steered by just a handful of people; at all different levels across the organization, that decided what, when, who and how.

These past weeks I have been involved in a project where you see that the brand and also company is going to crash. They will not make it. There is no speed, there is no burning platform. There is the attitude of: hey, if we wait, it will pass away. The Supervisory Board, the Executive Committee, the Management Team are all passive for all different reasons. Some are looking to see how they can get off this plane that is about to crash. Some are looking how they can keep their first class seat... even after a crash... Some are just sitting in the corner, hoping that things will pass. But the big downside of this entire situation is that on the ground level, chaos keeps increasing. It goes from bad to worse. Compare it with a situation where tomorrow there are no traffic lights anymore, you can drive wherever you want and in whatever direction you want, no speed limits... and so on. Disaster will hit. Not if, but when is the question.

That is why I touched on the American model of managing companies. In a way I have the idea (or illusion) that in bad times and bad situations such a straightforward model works best. No bullshit, no talking, just fixing and doing.
02.10.2013 / Dubai / 05:45 / KF

No bullshit, no talking, just fixing and doing is exactly what it comes down to. When I started at PepsiCo in 1998, our General Manager in Holland at the time called me in his office on day one. He said: "Kurt, if you want to make a career in this company, there are 3 things you need to do. Number 1: deliver. Number 2: deliver. Number 3: deliver!" Clear as hell. That's exactly capturing the spirit of the company that we were/are. And I did exactly what he did. And guess where I am? In all fairness, I think that in the current economy and with how companies behave I'll add a 'number 4: behave in an ethical way'. (i.e. don't do anything stupid / don't do anything to embarrass yourself or the company)... "You-lie-you-die" is a belief you need to put in practice! Thank God I had that one in my book 20 years ago when I started.

Let's get on to what I know is one of your key ticks; and it is mine as well: the paperless office! I'm very much striving to do things electronically, keeping no hard copies and papers. Let's talk about the benefits and the pitfalls. And let's throw in some juicy stories about how you used to come in a BASE at 7 am and throw everything that was on marketers' desk on the floor, to make a point. True story.

You start!
02.10.2013 / Antwerp / 07:18 / ES

I am still obsessed with the clean desk policy. I have extended it nowadays to clean closet and clean computers and clean behavior. Why? Some 15 years ago an old creative guy explained to me that real creativity, the sharp thinking, comes from the less, not from the more you have surrounding you. In a way all kinds of rubbish distracts your thinking, and thus makes you inefficient and less sharp.

Just for the record: I still go around now and again first asking gently, then I start to ask at an individual level, then I start putting post-its*, then I throw everything away when I get into the office at 7 AM. Of course, after repeatedly explaining to people why.

In a way I was pre-running the digital working hype we are in nowadays and that will only increase in the coming years ;) I still believe that if marketing and branding are all about focus, you need focus in what you do too. People being proud of the mess they have on their desk, or in their offices, are probably reflecting what is going on in their heads.

Following this, I also put a parallel in thinking with email terror: people playing 'mailman', just sending tens of mails forward. Yesterday I explained to one of our junior account managers who just started that he needs to buffer emails, extract, clarify, combine and then - perhaps - forward to the other colleagues. Unless he wants to become a private ISP...

But you want juicy stories. Do you know what a 'partial model' is? These are people whose entire bodies are not beautiful but who have parts of their bodies that are 'model' level; e.g. they have beautiful hands, or feet, or breasts, or abs, or eyes... Well, for years we did all the packaging for the Dutch HEMA retail chain. We did the ones for their private label underwear. I remember the following happened to one of our young account managers. She had to come to the meeting and was briefed by email: bring the feet of the partial model. Instead of bringing the 'casting pictures of the feet' of the partial model that was mentioned in the mail, she arrived at the meeting in Amsterdam with the feet of the figure-head in our basement of which she took the feet off! :) Just to illustrate how email can be tricky.

I want to discuss the title of this book. We are now in design in our studio for Q2, Q3 is with you for editing, Q1 has been put in lay-out and is back to our editor Susan for final review... and looks awesome! I am working on the preface with all the content we ping-ponged... but the question still remains: what is going to be the title of this book? Brand Domino as we first came up with? Always keep the first idea? Brand Bar Discussions? BRND SHT? Let's elaborate on this one.

The briefing? Well, we are looking for a title that fits the true essence of this book, what it became along the way, not what we had in mind when we started this crazy idea in the Buddha Bar in Dubai almost 1 year ago: this book is the first marketing book written as a novel... full of interesting content for improving your daily marketing life. You kick-off with some titles, additional insights.
03.10.2013 / Dubai / 09:50 / KF

I'm letting go of BRN SHT as a title, although I still love it because of the swear word. Very much in line with how we converse! But it makes it too down-market. Not that adding the word 'bar' will help :-)

My submission:

'Marketing -The Bar Talk Edition. 365 days of real-life conversation between two marketing nuts.'

No comment needed. Just nailed it :-)

The building blocks are important...

1-it's an edition ...opens the door for other editions or versions in the future ('The Shower Edition'? 'The Train Edition'? The Movie Edition? Once we sell our first million books, I can see some nice sequels coming!)

2-Bar Talk very much reflects the conversational style.

3-The subtitle underlines that it is a conversation and hence easy-to-read and that it is real-life stuff, not academic and not a textbook and not boring.

4-And...well, we are marketing nuts. The start of any healing process is awareness and acknowledgment -hahahahaha *just-escaped-from-the-nuthouse-voice*
03.10.2013 / somewhere between Brussels and Casablanca (MA) / 17:55 / ES

It's an option.

I would add:

Title: Brand Bar Talk: BBT-1, BBT-2, BBT-3...

Subtitle: 365 days of real-life conversation between two marketing nuts

Kickline: the first marketing book that reads like a novel

Alternative: whoever thinks marketing was boring needs to read this book!

Other option is that we go back to our first idea, the Buddha Bar Dubai idea - Brand Domino. I love the idea of Domino. Each of the tiles is a daily conversation where the dominos fall against each other. And triggers a reaction. A pathway of 720 or so domino's that all interacted.

Other titles that come to mind:

-the number of domino's we wrote: 712 or so

-the amount of fines we paid because of missing out: US $ 530 or so

-some acronym plays with our initials E,S,K,F: KEFS, SKEF, KEES (when we write the F or Frenier as a E)...

-1: to claim that it is the first marketing book that reads like a novel

-Spiky & TELLY since these are our aliases for friends

-the names of our daughters, as a contribution of us working too hard; of our wives; or the number 6 (2 wives, 4 daughters... together of course ;)

-an insane amount: e.g. the total of word, characters used in the book...

-etc

I have the feeling we aren't there yet. You continue.
04.10.2013 / Dubai / 09:57 / KF

I agree with you on emphasizing the storytelling aspect. To that end, what about:

"Once upon a year, in marketing land..." (Notice the 3 dots? That makes it real...and open ended.)

"15132 words on marketing" or whatever the word count is, is also cool.

Or...  
Marketing, The Story An Invitation To The Marketing BBQ

Sorry mate, I don't like Domino as a title...in whatever shape or form.

We need to take a decision. Toss the dice, dude!"
04.10.2013 / Casablanca (MA) / 10:15 / ES

It's an interesting day here. Chaos. Normally the winter hour was going to change this week, but it has been postponed by one week :) Insallah. Result: all meetings here and conf calls with Europe run into chaos. Interesting experience :) I give the example of what the world would look like when you wake up one day and someone decided that zero is not zero anymore. Can you imagine? Same thing as with branding and marketing: keep an eye for the detail and limit degrees of freedom when you are going somewhere; to avoid that you end up totally somewhere other than expected.

Back to the branding of our book. Ok, we let go of domino. Must not put ourselves under pressure. No need. Still enough time. I like the Once upon ... idea. But more like branding or marketing? Will chew on it.

Let's discuss marketing planning. October is the month to protect all marketing plans. I am busy reading and reading and reading plans... As you know at Brandhome, I use a standard format for it. But I read so many plans nowadays that are very solid from a content point of view, but sometimes miss some equilibrium in them: meaning they sometimes are too focused on one or two parts of the marketing/go to market mix, but are not complete on other aspects. That's why, of course, we have a standardized tool in the Brandhome method®. What's your experience with this? Any tips?

Need to run. Meetings while fighting the time chaos!
05.10.2013 / Dubai / 09:57 / KF

Hey world traveler. What takes you to Casablanca??

Marketing planning and the planning cycle are very much driven by a company's focus and way of operating, in my experience. What I mean is, if you are a company that has high speed, that delivers big and quick, that acts more than thinks, then I believe you might end up cutting corners. That doesn't necessarily mean you don't know what you are doing. It s a reflection of your MO - you are on a clear path, constantly refining the executional aspects of the plans. Very different with a slow moving, risk-averse company that wants to nail down everything before deciding. Those companies drill deep, across all verticals of the plan.

Is there a best way?? Well, there is the theory and there is the practice. What matters is that you have clarity on where your growth will come from and how you'll get there, how your portfolio will evolve, what the financial envelope looks like, and how you resource to deliver against your plan. You can talk long and wide about that, but the essence is simple.

Here's something to think about: all the man hours that go in the planning take away from the doing. I'm not saying you don't need to plan; don't get me wrong. I'm just questioning whether the balance is right. Right? ;-)
05.10.2013 / Casablanca / 11:18 / ES

You know Brandhome does not disclose information about customers' projects. So let me answer as follows: we are playing Marketing Lens in the Moroccan market.

Back to planning. Very clear how you put things forward. Indeed, all the hours of planning takes time away from doing. And leaves room for discussing and discussing and discussing and ... so you never really start and sometimes you are too late in the end... not to mention the demotivation of people. I always go for the fast lane, with of course limitation of risks. In the end it is all about maximizing opportunities and minimizing risks. That is why at Brandhome we put our planning format together. 200 standard planning formats to fill in depending on what is needed, prioritized,... So you do not loose time thinking about the structure in which you put your ideas and plans together, and you can focus on the content. That is what marketers should be best at. What they are paid for.

Onto another topic: brand arrogance as a marketing tool. At some upscale brands some marketers confuse exclusivity with arrogance. Reducing their brand equity in the long run instead of growing it. Ferrari is a nice example. In the past Ferrari cars were inferior from a quality perspective. But people bought them because of their exclusivity, the image of their founder as well as the management that turned the company and brand around. People like the former President Luca Di Montezumole were approachable and close to their customers, the Ferrarista. This proximity combined with the exclusive image overcompensated for the quality issues. Nowadays it has twisted. Ferrari quality has evolved. They still have trouble to combining day to day usage with their core identity as a racing car. But they appear to have lost the proximity of the brand, resulting in an arrogant behavior. It has always surprised me that brands end up in such a situation. Porsche for example (driving a Cayenne myself) and having some 911's in the past, is a much more mature brand in that way. Top quality, top serviced, Deutsche gründlichkeit so to say.

Need to run into a meeting; here is my question: what's your POV on brand arrogance? Internally, externally, how to deal with it, etc Let's elaborate on it.
06.10.2013 / Dubai / 07:06 / KF

Yooo Casa!

Brand arrogance. Brand confidence. Brand exclusivity. Brand Premiumness. Please mix and match two, 2+1, 3+1 (with the one rotating). I'm saying that because those four strategies, positions, and points-of-view are very much intertwined. They complement and reinforce each other.

Take CNN, just to get away from cars (the obvious examples): they definitely have a great deal of arrogance. Had it from the start. But it's done them good in claiming they are the news authority in the world. A lot of the Arab companies and brands have the same arrogance values in their DNA. A lot has to do with how visionary they are, how much money they have to support that vision and how persistent they are in getting there. You wouldn't be establishing Dubai the way it is, or building the highest building in the world unless you had these values deeply rooted in your thinking.
06.10.2013 / somewhere between Casablanca and Brussels / 16:07 / ES

Am not following you here. Are you proposing a kind of mix of ingredients? For the right balance? Can you explain a bit more what you mean?

And how is arrogance created? Read: where is the tipping point between determination, stubbornness, and arrogance? I believe that arrogance is a negative value that no brand should have. There is a difference between being opinionated or being arrogant.

Look at company cultures. When people become arrogant, it is time to get rid of them. In the end they will begin talking down to customers, business partners and colleagues. You do not want that in your company or brand.

So I am not really following here. Please explain your POV.
07.10.2013 / Dubai / 06:26 / KF

"I'm distinguishing company from brand. When companies have an arrogant way of doing marketing, then yes, that's not right. It means marketers think they are superior in what they do, and think they are superior in the market place, which is often delusional. And it reflects (badly) in the tone of the brand!

By arrogance of a brand, I don't mean that in a negative way. Some brands need to demonstrate that they stand out, that they are better, with very strong confidence. Ferrari, Bentley, CNN, Dubai, etc command respect and/or a premium because consumers expect that kind of 'arrogant differentiation'. I guess there is some psychology in play...isn't a Ferrari driver someone who want to demonstrate some seriously arrogant behavior, merely by driving the car around and showing it off??
07.10.2013 / Brussels / 07:51 / ES

I understand what you mean, and I agree, but it is a wording thing. An 'opinionated brand' is the positive wording for those brands. It's like the Tesla brand. It's far from being arrogant, but spot-on in terms of being opinionated. Building an electric car of the future from scratch. To consolidate: I love opinionated brands; I hate arrogant ones.

Now, here's the challenge for the VP Marketing and the Board. When you are running a successful company with great brands, then you become opinionated. However, the thing is that you keep managing your employees, from customer facing staff to the top executives, to remain opinionated and don't flip to arrogance. It is a thin line, and I have seen many people and brands crossing it... resulting in the long run in personal and/or company failure. It is like in boxing. When you become arrogant in a fight, you get hit unexpectedly and that hit will mostly put you down. You know what I mean. You have been a fighter too, in martial arts.
08.10.2013 / Dubai / 09:27 / KF

And let me draw from the world of martial arts indeed; aikido to be more specific (hopefully without coming across like an arrogant person that pretends to know aikido -I don't): to win a fight, you need to be able to blend the energy from you opponent with your own energy. In aikido, there is a sequence to that: accept the energy coming your way >> change its direction >> control or throw away >> move on. That's the way to deal with arrogance as well. How not to let self-confidence become arrogance? Well, it starts with the founding principles and with the guidance you get FROM THE TOP. To continue the Aikido- parallel: the Aikido founder, O'sensei Morihei Ueshiba, deliberately created an art form that would lead to respect, mutual understanding, love, and not just winning a fight. Therefore, there is no competition in aikido! Very different guiding principles than say, karate or MMA!
08.10.2013 / Brussels / 10:01 / ES

I know a lot of guys like us, even top CEOs, who are into martial arts and boxing and so on. I think it has to do with self-control of the one side, and raging out on the other side. Resulting in a more stable mental situation and thus better leadership.

Last night I went sparring at the boxing club. Got hit couple of times real hard by a young guy I train with. 15 years younger, much faster, not so hard in punching as me (slow old f*cker). Then it makes you angry, because it hurts, and you want to both protect and attack. And that's where the full focus comes from. If you then think about anything else than the ring you are standing in, and the opponent you are facing... you get punched. In 20 minutes sparring clears your entire mind.

Let's discuss another subject: watches. Luxury watches. Now that you will probably sell that big fat Porsche of yours when moving to the USA, you will have to buy a new toy. Porsche? Or perhaps another status symbol? What about an expensive watch? Here is my opening question: which are the brands you would consider and why?
09.10.2013 / Dubai / 12:34 / KF

Yes, I have to sell my Porsche :-( very sad story. And can't afford to buy another one in the US. Such is life. I enjoyed it while it lasted. Living in a country where fuel is cheaper than water helps :-)

I L-O-V-E watches. They are not functional time telling pieces. I consider them fashion items, accessories.

I invested in a Jaeger-LeCoultre last year. That closes the door for a few years for me when it comes to buying new watches. I had nightmares on how much it cost. But, like many watch makers say: you're not buying it for yourself...you're buying it for the next generation(s). My kids will be happy one day.

What is a key factor in buying luxury items, watches included, is the richness off their history. I really spend a lot of time trying to get that. Because your buying much more than just an 'item'. The attention to detail, how production secrets went from father to son, how quality evolved, the founder's story, how they deal with inventions and patents...I love that stuff! The other element is the resale value. A lot of luxury items, whether watches or cars or handbags for that matter, keep their value. Quality never dies!

On my list-of-desirable items (to be bought in the next 20 years):

Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Parmigiani, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin. AMEN!
09.10.2013 / Antwerp / 12:04 / ES

Why hurt yourself? Leave the Porsche at Dubai Airport, and Fedex me your keys. I will take care of it and drive it around when I am in Dubai ;)

"You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation", is the pay-off of Patek Philippe, it's not what marketers say. This is probably one of the best pay-offs in the world! 1000% on-brand!

You know what I like about luxury watches? It's the total concept of branding put into one single piece. It combines status, functionality, emotions, expectations, esteem, precious materials (stones, gold...) and/or production techniques. I would love to have a watchmaker brand as a customer. But I believe that they are such strong brands because they are so immersed in their values and reasons to exist. I once visited the Audemars factory in Switzerland. Interesting is not the right word, it's amazing!

Last year I sold most of my watches, and put the money into our Brandhome foundation. I still have a couple, of which my Panerai is my favorite. It's a '96 collection and it is one of the last ones produced before the real break through. I once saw the watch when it was open for maintenance, and each of the hundreds of components are so beautifully finished. Today is has become a mass production product. In my perception it loses value then.

Moving on to suits. Are you brand sensitive to clothing? To suits?
10.10.2013 / Dubai / 06:04 / KF

The Porsche is yours! Keys are in the mail! In your dreams, dude ;-)

When it comes to suits, I gave up brands 3-4 years ago. Switched over to bespoke tailoring. The top tailors (~Savile Row style) can make true slim fit clothes, better and cheaper than most high-end brands. So, every 3 months I walk into one of my two tailors, pick out some nice fabrics and they make 4-5 new shirts for me. Perfect!

In the rare occasions where I buy branded clothes I go for Burberry, Versace, and the likes. For formal obviously. Very different brand set for casual wear.

Tell me your story. Where the hell do you buy a suit that looks like flower-power-wallpaper :-)

And then we'll stop. We sound like bunch of women talking shoes. ;-)
10.10.2013 / somewhere between Antwerp Airport & London City (UK) / 06:40 / ES

What a bumpy flight! I am getting sea sick in the air trying to avoid typos on the iPhone.

I know why I LOVE BIG airplanes. You know the A380 type of thing. When getting to your destination you have the feeling that you did not get airborne at all.

Bespoke suits! Well, I agree. First of all I always buys suits in the sale. That's why I end up with flower jackets! Nobody wants to but them so I sacrifice myself :)

People being obsessed with too expensive suits, purely because they have a brand name on it (and mostly come from the same factory), always make me think of the movie: American Psycho!

Nope, I don't pay for them anymore. Even when buying a branded suit in the sales, I find it expensive. I don't go to the Savile Row tailors (nope, that's not why I am going to London), and I don't buy bespoke. The kind of tailors you have in Dubai, you don't have them here.

On to shoes! Great idea to speak about shoe brands. Let's talk bespoke shoes to stay on the subject. I have a customer (bil-millionaire) who has all his shoes bespoke. He tells me about them when we meet. He talks about these shoes as 'a gift for his feet'. He surprises his feet with £ 7.000 shoes. Strange. Of course he doesn't have to care about money. But he knows all about shoes. He has an entire story and logic that shoes take you everywhere. He even recruits people based on their shoes: what are they wearing when applying? Color? Style? ... but most important: were they clean? His motto is: tell/show me what shoes you are wearing, and I will tell you who you are, and more important, where you are going (with your career)!

That's the best part of my job: meeting all kinds of very different people, learning from them, understanding various visions on the world, market, business, private life, etc

Let's talk about fashion - fashion trends. Let's look at it in the broadest sense. Take 'rap'. It's a lifestyle that combines music, dancing, clothing and art (graffiti). It influences other styles and other lifestyle components (parties, foodie...). That's the pulse of rap. It even has the ability to change and always re-invent itself. These kinds of 'fashion lifestyle concepts' have always grabbed me. If you could own them with your brand, then you own their entire following. Just until now the only brands that have succeeded in owning parts of these trends are the brands that these kings of rap (Diddy and so on) have created themselves. Read: trend created brand. Even sounds good :) The challenge is to spot these trends when they are young, and try to get into them.

This fat and unfriendly stewardess is annoying me to put my iPhone away since we will be landing in London, so I need to wrap it up. Hey, don't complain about service in Europe! You can't complain about something that isn't there!?
11.10.2013 / Dubai / 11:32 / KF

What can I say about shoes? I have more pairs than my wife. Oops - don't tell anyone. Blue crocodile with pink soles are my latest ones. But I have two pairs of red, a few original tailor made cobbler shoes and a lot of black and blue 'suit shoes' what can I say? I love shoes for the same reason I like watches. Shoes are unique accessories.

Anyhow, I like fashion. Wish I had more money and time for it. The fashion world is as fascinating as it is crazy. DFW / Dubai Fashion Week is just on and you can feel the vibe. Very VIP, by the way.

Anyway, got to run. Work work work.
11.10.2013 / London City / 12:41 / ES

Why not orange ones? Orange is cool! And hot!

Yesterday I had an interesting chat about the change of importance of branding with my colleague in our UK office.

The essence of our discussion was:

Branding is not getting less important, but the reasons and aspects why it is important are changing. Before branding was about quality (and still is in a way). Before branding was mostly about doing advertising. And so on. Today branding is about keeping up with the changing expectations of your various stakeholders about the relationships they have with you.

That has become more 'an art of branding' than the 'science of branding'. What you say?
12.10.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
12.10.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
13.10.2013 / Dubai / 07:50 / KF

Sorry for skipping a beat yesterday. Things are getting more hectic and crazy with the move.

I wholeheartedly agree with your previous section. The essence and goals of branding are not changing, but the 'fabric of branding' is! How you stay current all the time (while switched-on and in a constant conversation with your audience), and flow with the changes is the #1 challenge and branding job today. It's like a hunting trip: the forest is still the same, you're still after the deer, but it's moving faster and more unpredictable (and the deer these days know the hunter, if I continue the analogy), and so you have to make sure your sharpness is there and your gear is up to date. How about that for a cool metaphor? But on the art vs science part, I don't agree. It has become more of a balanced blend, and if it isn't in your company it has to be: too much art creates fuzziness, inefficiency and system disbelief in marketing; too much science makes it bland, rigid, unimaginative, and tilting towards average. Balance is it, amigo!

Today my friend, I'm getting my US citizens residency visa. One foot in the door. Hooray!
13.10.2013 / Antwerp / 09:04 / ES

Hurray! My new USA holiday address is getting closer ;) Just curious: which of the ugly pictures of you with that spiky hair did you Photoshop to mislead them and let you in the USA?

The reasons why I believe it is more art than science is because of the surprise effect needed nowadays. Science will not tell you new things. Creativity will. Of course is it a trade-off between both, and you need to balance, but balance more towards creativity than science. After creativity has shown you new ways in, new domains, science will help you understand better why there are successful.

Speaking about creativity, did you know that at Brandhome we start the development of each and every visual mark / logo drawing by hand? Good old hand sketching remains the best way to develop a visual identity of any brand; it pushes you to think about an idea before starting drawing and design. Yesterday I had a presentation at the office for a non-profit organization we are helping with Brandhome. One of our young designers created a new visual identity (phase 1), entirely with hand sketches. Top work! It pushes youngsters all the way to the edge in their creative thinking. Why? Because they cannot blur the core strength of the ideas they have by using all kinds of Photoshop and InDesign effects. You know, these 'cool' effects that are so cool that you start looking at the effect more than at the true core essence of the idea. That's Brandhome quality. We are craftsmen!

So, what do you want to talk about next!? Pick some of your challenges that you will face in the USA?
14.10.2013 / Dubai / 18:01 / KF

My one big challenge, albeit a positive one, will be the truly global perspective. And by that I mean: setting global strategies while making sure we succeed in every single market we operate. That's the ultimate application of everything we talked about, in all its aspects. But it's a major balancing act between getting a good understanding of the key markets fast, capturing the long term business issues and objectives, merge and blend it with where we globally want to go, and then ...pull together kick-ass thinking and work. Any tips??
14.10.2013 / Antwerp / 19:04 / ES

Any tips? Hire Brandhome! When do you want me to come? I'll bring some Brandhomies.

More serious. Tips? There are no specific tips, other that (a) ensure you have a good team of people around you and in the remote markets, and (b) always keep common sense over just numbers. I will give you a simple example. 2 weeks ago I had to review read-in material for a global supervisory board. I read the marketing and branding stuff and commented on them, and prepared the questions to ask. Now here comes someone with a document with the 'average brand name awareness'. What!? Yep, they summed up ToMa, spontaneous and aided, divided by three! Agreed by the market research department by the way. Are you crazy!? That's the logic of: Erik fits his shoes; Erik's shoes fit in the shoe box; Erik fits in the shoe box. Marketing madness I call that... or cheating on the board. How do they know? Just as an example to look closely and with common sense to numbers and kpi's and stuff.

Let me give you some challenges. Not for you, but in general. The sharing of insights and best practices. Nothing new. That is what most companies do. But why don't we share stupidities and failures. That's what fewer like to do. On the other hand, this is exactly what perhaps brings the greatest ideas. What does not work here, could perfectly work out there. That's an idea!
15.10.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
15.10.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
16.10.2013 / Dubai / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
16.10.2013 / somewhere between Brussels and Abu Dhabi / 23:07 / ES

Since my friend Kurt is so busy trying to get into the USA, I am jumping in to entertain you readers. I am just going to miss Kurt when I get to Dubai, since he needs to leave for NYC. Busy bees. Busy boys. I remember the days we went out until 6 AM in the morning to the Gentse Feesten (local festivities in Ghent, Belgian). Now we cannot even match our agendas to run into each other in Dubai ;)

Here is a subject to discuss: chaos in marketing. Yep, there is a LOT of chaos in marketing. In planning and so on. Why do I know? Because I have been occupied with these kinds of projects, that simply put could have been less complex if they would have been managed properly at start. This is what I call: marketing chaos.

Managing a marketing project, in specific projects where you have to deal with multiple variables and even unknown ones, is not an easy job. It demands both the ability to see through the rough creative and conceptual thoughts that are being born and brewed, as well as the competences to nail them down into concrete steps to take to move ahead. Simple? Yes, in an article, but not in real life.

Let's put 10 tips together that are pragmatic tools when facing brand marketing challenges that are in the early stages. You start! I need to continue working on a memo. Flying always sharpens my mind."
17.10.2013 / Dubai / 06:13 / ES

Ok. I'll start with the highest level. And that is: make sure you know what to look for, what to analyze, and what to present.

You first need to do 4 things before you can jump into real tools:

1.Start with a blank piece of paper. I said paper, not computer!!

2.Write a narrative. A text of 3 to 4 lines with the topline message. I said a text...not bullet points. The rule here is: write in such a way that your grandmother understands what you are saying.

3.Then start drilling down...

...What's the context

...What's the challenge

...Why would the audience care

...What are the solutions

...What are the contingencies

...And so on

4.If you stumble on a big thing in point nr 3, then zoom in, lift it out and drill even further. That's called peeling the onion.

Keep going.
17.10.2013 / Dubai / 08:37 / ES

5.Use examples and metaphors to illustrate your ideas & insights; remember that an image says more than a 1.000 words

6.Put a 'doubt-bucket' in your office. I said:, a real 'bucket' in glass not a list on paper; and throw all papers with questions you have in there; keep them there so they don't blur the thinking, but you can see them and not forget about them

7.Put a 'not-the-best-idea' bucket in your office. Throw all the ideas and insights you come across during the process that are either too crazy/stupid, or off-brief in there. Remember to use a real bucket here too.

8.Talk to people; a lot; internally and externally; write down their first reactions; those 'verbatims' will be your gold later on in communications

9.Find whatever theoretical model, process and/or flow that best fits your needs to structure the thinking, NOT to do the thinking instead of you!

10.Put booby-traps out for yourself in the storyline you and your team are cooking up. Why? To sharpen and challenge yourself.

11.Go back to 6 and 7 empty the buckets. Go through each of them, and do a stop – kill – cure ...

12....

I need to call you now since I am in front of your office by coincidence.
18.10.2013 / Dubai / 06:23 / KF

Ha, that was one of those funny accidental meet ups we had yesterday. You calling me when you arrived in Dubai with a "Hey, I'm standing in front of your office"-message. Great seeing you at Costa downstairs!'

Hey, all those buckets in your office must be piling up, my friend! Great idea but it seems to me that when it's in the bucket the only place it will ever end up is in the bin. How do you action those things? I apply a 3D-philosophy to those kind of things, to avoid going over them time and again: 3D stands for the only 3 actions you are allowed to take on an idea: DO (i.e put into an action plan now; and make happen), DELEGATE (i.e. don't have everyone look at it; give it to one person to figure it out and own), or DELETE!

One other idea, taken from one of my favorite recent TV-series, Newsroom: establish a "Red Team". The Red Team is deliberately kept out of the conversation/thinking, and is brought in when a story is complete... to punch holes in it, discover inconsistencies, challenge the thinking. I L-O-V-E that!

I just left for NY. BIG weekend ahead. My wife lined up about 2O houses for me to see, as a pre-selection for when she comes two weeks from now. That's going to be heavy duty. It's a serious week next week; first one in my new capacity although I haven't officially started yet. But since I'm in NY for global meetings, I can already infiltrate the HQ office and see how things roll. So to speak. That'll be fun as well!
18.10.2013 / Abu Dhabi / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
19.10.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
19.10.2013 / Abu Dhabi / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
20.10.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
20.10.2013 / Dubai / 14:35 / ES

My bad! I got buried in all kinds of (un)expected meetings and people I had to visit following the Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice). Interesting time I spent with people I have known here for a long time. That's the advantage of those moments. You have time to speak and spend time together.

And it was great to meet you when I got to Dubai. I told my driver: hurry up to the Pepsi HQ so I see my friend before he leaves to the US. And so he did.

I am on my way to Qatar now, somewhere between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

On November 3rd we will embark on the end of our book co-writing journey. That's in exactly 14 days from today. So the time has come to look back and think about those 365 days in which we have written about all kind of things that happen in our (marketing) lives.

For me it was an enriching period. I spoke to many people about our project, and I only got surprisingly positive comments. How I wrap this entire project up: the first book on brand marketing written as a novel. That grabs people's attention.

Before starting to evaluate the content and things I have learned from you and by doing research to underpin insights and postings, is the discipline. It took (and still takes) a lot of discipline to write a piece every day. To find the inspiration wherever you are – in a car, in an airport lounge, in a train, on a plane... - to write something that adds value. That seems like an easy thing to do, but that's surely not the case. How did you experience this discipline? Even when we put a fine at $10 US, and then later, $20 US a day it was not always easy to keep up... as the past days have shown.
21.10.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
21.10.2013 / Doha / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
22.10.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
22.10.2013 / Doha / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
23.10.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
23.10.2013 / Doha / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
24.10.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
24.10.2013 / Doha / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
25.10.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
25.10.2013 / Doha / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
26.10.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
26.10.2013 / Doha / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
27.10.2013 / Dubai / 08:08 / KF

Just finished one hell of a week here in NY. Spent my first official business week in the new job (that was exciting), while juggling house viewings (that was crazy). Did two full days of house hunting across Westchester County. Seen almost 20 houses, in 15 cities, with 3 different real estate agents. And put a bid on a house to buy because things are going off the agenda so quickly. Buying a house without my wife not having seen it yet - insane!

On the book writing experience...

Discipline was important, but I labeled it as something else: commitment and drive. At the outset of this adventure, we said, 'WE NEED TO DO THIS!' And we found a way to make it happen. Making it munchable, in conversation style, was a genius idea, because it allowed us to write continuously, in small chunks. Without that, we wouldn't have our book right now.

The other genius element was the penalty clause, not to simply avoid it but to reinforce the commitment. All penalties go to SPARK, the charity you created with Brandhome. Admirable. But like you say, even with a 'fine' it's not always easy to keep up. From my experience in this, I came to a big conclusion: after a fully fully loaded day I'd rather put the little time I have towards a bit of family time rather than towards writing. What the readers don't see is that those little snippets and conversations we write take a bit longer to put together than when we were we just sitting in a bar, talking, with someone recording our every word.

Lastly, I came to the conclusion that you and I are on the same wavelength more than we think. At the start of this adventure, I thought we'd be further apart. We both like to challenge thinking; it's in our nature. But we are very alike in our marketing thinking. And I believe it has added to the richness of the conversation; more than if we would have just been disagreeing about each other's points of view. So it was constructive throughout. You rock, amigo!

I did learn a lot from this as well. Talk about that later.
27.10.2013 / somewhere between Abu Dhabi & Brussels / 02:25 / ES

I need to reverse the momentum we are in! We need to get back to writing mode. You, being in NYC, dual jobs, house hunting... partying? Me, being in Doha with an agenda that looks like a moving target. We lost control in this last week towards the end of our book. Come on! 7 days to go! And we will put the crown on our work!

I got an invitation yesterday to speak again (fifth time) at Dubai Lynx, the MENA region leading creative marketing festival. They have asked me to both teach at the young marketers academy as well as speaking to the big audience. This years subject is going to be about brand storytelling.

So here are some thoughts that came to mind:

1.We call the book something with storytelling, e.g. 'marketing life-telling'

2.I invite you to the festival... and we co-present something; not sure yet what, but one thing is for sure. We will rock that place! As we always did, do and always will be doing!

Are you in? Are you on?

About my stay in Doha. I have to tell you. W Doha hotel is the best hotel in the world.

Being well travelled I have stayed at many great hotels across the globe. Hotels that stand out in terms of service, quality, location, style...

But only once every decade I run into a hotel that outperforms all other hotels I have stayed at during that decade. And that hotel is W Doha.

W Doha outperforms all others not just because it delivers far beyond expectations on all aspects of la haute hôtellerie, but also because it does it always and in its own style.

W Doha breathes and breeds service and excellence in everything it undertakes, as well as on every level of staff.

The people at W Doha don't just run a hotel, they run a home.

Remember these names: Safak GUVENC, General Manager, Gerald CHEVASSON, Hotel Manager, and Esra PARIN, F&B Manager. With the commitment to quality of these people, they would be able to turn a tent in the Rainforest into a 7* hotel experience... or it would at least come close.

Brand boredom. A subject I want to touch. Boredom comes at the end of things. So since we are arriving at the end of this book, it is in its place here.

I believe that people get bored and tired with brands. A lot of brand managers forget this. There are 2 categories of brands you engage and immerse in. Both categories drive your passion and interest. One category keeps on surprising you (e.g. Apple), while the other one becomes boring after a while. In that way it is pretty much the proof that brands are similar to interpersonal relationships (and even are such relationships). You can have passionate interactions with many people. But you stick with few for your entire as life friends... and/or married.

Brand boredom is the hidden killer in many brand and customer relationships. I once wrote a theoretical framework where I put the stages towards brand boredom forward. My own theory.

The first stage that comes when a passionate relationship starts dwelling down is 'brand expectedness'. You know what the brand is going to do. Second stage is 'brand tiredness'. You start getting tired from all the repetitive expected behavior. Third comes 'brand boredom'.

How to get out of boredom!? I am already getting bored myself by asking this question ;) HELP!
28.10.2013 / Dubai / 07:12 / KF

Wish I could be on for Lynx. Unfortunately, this is a touch & go trip for me now. Back in 'ze Big Apple' as of Wednesday. One job closed. New one on for 100% as of then. So, invite me next year so we can kick some ass.

Brand boredom? Not for me ;-)

I don't particularly believe that people get bored by brands, in the absolute. Now, with the enormous choice proliferation, and with every consumer these days being half a marketer, the average expectations for what consumers want from brands is extremely high. As a brand, you can't afford standstill. There must be constant refresh, reinvention, bonding, entertaining, talking and listening to your consumers. Let's call that 'Today's Brand Burden' ® Kurt Frenier :-)

Talking about brands...I need to depart from one of my favorites this morning...selling my Porsche right now *weeping and sniffing*
28.10.2013 / Antwerp / 08:03 / ES

Keep strong my friend. I remember when I sold my Porsche 5 years ago, a beautiful 911 Carrera 4S, black, all leather interior, including alcantara roofing... it was hard. It was like saying goodbye to a boy's dream. But be positive. One day you will buy yourself that BIG FAT TURBO Porsche Carrera ;) Convertible!

Brand standstill or boredom? What's the difference? Unfortunately over 50% of all brands are not aware of the fact that they are not following suit in the changing market, at least here in this part of the world. Believe me.

Before digging deeper, it is important to make a distinction between 2 (or even more) categories: the high involvement brand and the low involvement brand. The first being brands that people are actively consuming and aware off, e.g. your Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, or your fancy blue crocodile leather shoes. The second being brands that people are more passively consuming and thus awareness is lower (as long as things go well), e.g. the electricity in your house, or your car insurance.

The importance of constant innovation and engagement to avoid boredom is higher for the first category. That is probably also one of the reasons that FMCG companies like yours... {... euh... they are dragging me into a meeting ... 12:17 I'm back!}... are so well trained in keeping the edge on brand innovation, probably both from a consumer perspective as well as retailer pressure.

So for your kinds of brands, as well as other high involvement ones, it's a natural and historical attitude. It's your 'marketing habitat'. Now here is the question for those brands that come out of other categories. For them it is a challenge. We have touched on that before.

Coming back to your POV: indeed, we have agreed more than we expected. In a way, it's also logical since we are both passionate about our jobs AND we have been to 'war' together back in 2003 at BASE. And perhaps even since we are both 'home-grown' in the same country, Flanders, culture... and we are both married to a Dutch woman so that puts our feet on the ground even more... even IN the ground.

And indeed, sometimes it was hard to think of something to write that made sense. In that perspective the book is kind of a monitor of both our marketing hearts
29.10.2013 / Dubai / 06:37 / KF

Let me start with some of the big memorable things that came with writing this. Stuff that is stuck in my mind is the following:

•First and foremost, the 100.000 bonus on-the-table. Still can't believe that story.

•The man with the funny ears, in Abu Dhabi.

•Learned a lot about systematic thinking and good use of marketing models from you.

•I think we went really deep on engagement and how to make it happen, and on innovation. Pretty cool.

•We should list all our ® quotes !

Anyways. A word about separating from my Porsche. That came with a disastrous banking experience. Here's the story.... I'm going with the buyer to the RTA (the Dubai Road and Transport Authority /government). Got all the testing and paperwork done. But guess what, their system didn't have a mention that my car loan finished. No deal/transfer without a piece of paper from my bank to say there are no more liabilities on the car. I get that. But of course that was highly frustrating. In today's electronic era, why doesn't the bank ping the RTA when a car loan is finished so the system immediately gets updated? Right?

Banking frustration 1

After at least 5 calls to my bank, ADCB, on what to do, I get to hear that there is only one place where ADCB handles loans. In Bur Dubai. Excuse me? I just need a piece of paper that should roll out of your system at the stroke of a button and that says I paid everything and the loan is closed!? Why go all the way across town, in person? Terrible.

Banking frustration 2

Going to ADCB Bur Dubai. Then it seems I need to pay 500 dirham ... to get a piece of paper. What is this, printed on gold or so? And the system is: pay upfront or we can't even start process it. Grrrrr. Excuse me? I just need a piece of paper that should roll out of your system at the stroke of a button and that says I paid everything and the loan is closed!? Should cost zero!

Banking frustration 3

Seems that ADCB is bureaucratic like hell. Guess what? That piece of paper takes 3 days to process. After a lot of push, 1 day. Excuse me? I just need a piece of paper that should roll out of your system at the stroke of a button and that says I paid everything and the loan is closed!? Should come now/instant/pronto!

Banking frustration 4

ADCB does not file documents. There seems to be a typo between the file on the computer and what they can see on the original document. Takes 24hrs to retrieve the original file, which by the way is filed at a 3rd party, outsourced. WTF!? Excuse me? I just need a piece of paper that should roll out of your system at the stroke of a button and that says I paid everything and the loan is closed!?

Banking frustration 5, 6, 7, 8 ...1000

I just need a piece of paper that should roll out of your system at the stroke of a button and that says I paid everything and the loan is closed! Grrrrrrrrr.

Get my drift?
29.10.2013 / Antwerp / 14:47 / ES

Euh... the funny ears? Can't remember anymore. Getting old. Refresh my mind please? And yes, the $ 100.000 US, I will never ever forget.... What a year!

Yep! I get your drift. Will forward it to some bank clients. Always funny to read these kind of things. And I am sure that you had a guy sitting at the desk of both the RTA and the bank who said... with a BIG smile... Bossman, you cannot do this without that ;)

Today we have another nice example of so-called 'inflated brandvertizing'. You remember the 'Push to Add Drama' Viral? Made by a Belgian agency for the TNT and TMC, cable network brands. Great viral, great creative prizes that were won, great exposure (for the agency)... but... no one knew that it was TNT behind it, and no one understood the link. And yes, so it goes, and after one year both broadcasting brands leave already. It's interesting thing such 'inflated brandvertizing'. But it happens too often.

Need to run. Another MAD day! But, hey, what's new! With you just the same, NO? Already on your way to NYC.

What I have particularly appreciated this past year is that I was never alone. I could always turn to you, as a friend, as a soul mate, as a passionate marketer to discuss my thoughts, things and so on! I am gonna miss that!
30.10.2013 / Dubai / 03:17 / KF

The funny ears ...guy at your Abu Dhabi hotel showing us the way ...c'mon ... surely you must remember!?

I like the term 'inflated brandvertizing'. Let's drill this one a bit...

Further to what I said a bit earlier on, brands have a big burden these days: brand HAVE to be always-on, they HAVE to entertain, they HAVE to surprise, they HAVE to be there, etc. Standstill is not an option. No downtime. No quiet time. That puts huge pressure on content. The need to get a grip on year-round content (production) is big. And thus, because it can't always be million-dollar productions, you need to do small things that you can blow out of the water. I LOVED the 'Push to Add Drama' viral. Made me proud of being Belgian, coming from the 'land of creative excellence'.

Couple that with consumers reacting negatively to in-your-face-branding.

You are saying that it didn't do anything for TNT. Let me tell you: I'm Belgian and I didn't even know there was such a thing as Canal TNT in Belgium. But I knew then! Awareness = tick in the box. They brilliantly executed it on-brand. Message = tick in the box. They must have had a spectacular ROI. Earned media $$ = tick in the box. And there are probably a lot more ticks in the box for them. Don't know what it did to their subscriber base which would be the ultimate business metric, but in terms of brand metrics that was outstanding in my book (this one included -LoL).

So, the question as an advertizer is: how can I replicate that for my brand(s)? What are the rules? Watch-outs? Tell me your experiences around that.

By the way, just re-reading this last paragraph: how do we get rid of the word advertizer that identifies a company as just making/pushing ads. Doesn't seem right anymore. We need to change it to ad publisher or something.

Lastly, thank you: great to know I was always there for you! :-) I also felt that way, but sometime also wished I could turn you off ...LMAO!!
30.10.2013 / Antwerp / 22:57 / ES

Euh. Yeah, creatively nice. And innovative. But what did it do for the business at the end? Unfortunately not a lot. Who's to blame? The agency? No, of course not. Except if your name is Brandhome, then you ASK first what the rest of the actions are that the brand is planning to ensure it's planned numbers, understand well the organization, the various challenges, and so on.

What a mad week. Great projects at Brandhome. Am building a new financial services brand. Something SO COOL! Would like to talk about it, but impossible, NDA etc you know.

Back to wrapping up our book. I am thinking about extending our concept. Read: we look for a couple of 'teams' like you and me, 2 passionate nutcases, one brand owner (YOU) and one external genius (ME), and they do the next year. And so on?

What do you think about that?
31.10.2013 / NYC / time unknown / KF

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
31.10.2013 / Antwerp / time unknown / ES

Donated $ 10 to Brandhome foundation
01.11.2013 / White Plains NY (USA) / 06:32 / KF

Hit by a speed train. Wow! In the HQ office yesterday, and swamped in to-do. Nothing I didn't expect. Niiice. Meanwhile my wife is here and later today we're signing our house purchase. Yeah. Scary.

Great idea about franchizing our book concept. We can do great iterations of that: a celeb version, an entrepreneur version. Adaptive thinking :-) love it. Let's make sure they stick to the same principles: conversation style, one a day, pay up if you don't write, edit yourself, ... Cooooool.

Gotta go. I have a house to buy ;-)
01.11.2013 / Antwerp / 19:38 / ES

My future holidays in White Plains in NY are coming closer. Buy the one with the BIG GUEST ROOM. Yes, that one! So I can come in and stay. CONGRATS with the new house! And job! I am so proud of you my friend! Finally the BEST marketer I know in the steering seat.... euh... now that you have that role... can you make some Orange colored Pepsi? Brandhome style, you know ;)

We managed to skip another day! So that brings our total of still to be paid fines to $ US 760 for you, and $ US 650 for me.

Please pay your debt to the Brandhome foundation vzw: IBAN BE09 0682 4746 9457

I will pay mine right away!

Huh huh. Sunday, November 3rd, we are writing our last piece. Then the final editing starts on the last quarters, we still need to finish the intro (working on it), the design of the book in the Brandhome studio, and so on. A year goes fast. It seems like just yesterday that you and I sat down together in Buddha Bar in Dubai, 363 days ago, and decided to write this book in between the lychee mocktails and the sushi's.

When you read back through the book, then you notice the speed on which we are living. We live in the world we market to: 24/7, everywhere, always. Imagine you have to do a job you don't like? I can't imagine, and sadly, so many people are facing that fact. Have been working today all day on an internal branding strategy to boost proudness in a company. This BIG company, in essence, just forgot about its people. How can you forget 2000 people? Did the management really believe that all the 17 floors underneath them where empty... ;) Just kidding. These people were trying to save the company, and they did!! Congrats. But they forgot about their own people... and probably also about their own families. Such operations of saving companies count as 'jungle years'; they count triple! You live 3 years in one year... but only get paid once...
02.11.2013 / White Plains NY / time unknown / KF

Erik here. Replacing Kurt today. Kurt is hanging around trying help fix up his house with his wife. That's the power of Facebook ;) We can follow him all around. Kurt has a kind of Facebook exhibitionism! We know his adagio: if you're not on Facebook, you're not in marketing!
02.11.2013 / Antwerp / 19:04 / ES

I have been busy today reviewing the lay-out of this book. It's going to be a nice little book. Strange that we are 48 hours before the end of the book, and we have still not decided on the title. And this in the middle of you buying a house at 300 MPH on the other side of the globe :) MADNESS!! Love it.

To add even more wisdom to this book, I want to talk about my grandfather. My grandfather was an influential man. He was a true leader. Did I ever tell you that he was leading the underground resistance against the Germans in WW II? Well, one of the wisdoms he spread was the following: 'only the strong shoulders can carry success forward'. He meant that people who are successful should keep their heads cool and their feet warm to not lose their minds.

Now, since we are on the verge of a bestseller on this rainy Belgian evening, it is important that both you and me remain with our feet on the ground. Think GREAT!

Hey, and even if it's a massive f*ck-up, at least we had a lot of luck! And fun! ;)
03.11.2013 / White Plains NY / time unknown / KF

Erik here. Replacing Kurt for this last day. Talking about circumstances on this last day of the book. Kurt is doing a couple of things in parallel these last days.

Let me sum them up for you:

-his job in Dubai for the MEA region

-his new worldwide job in NYC

-buying a house in NYC

-meeting with the building companies to fix some things in that house

-taking care of the schooling for the kids

-organizing the move out of Dubai

-...

-sending me an SMS that he was not going to make it...

Let's say it all together now: WE UNDERSTAND KURT! THANKS for these other 363 days ;) and good luck in NYC!
03.11.2013 / Antwerp / 18:04 / ES

Okay. Here we go.

In the past weeks I have been thinking about what I was going to write today. I even put it in my agenda.

What I just want to say is: thank you for reading this book, and I hope that you will have learned something from it. I hope that you are as passionate about what you do as Kurt and I are. I will miss typing my daily contribution to this project, which started exactly 365 days ago in Dubai. But I am sure that one day one of you, or even Kurt or me, will again continue to write the stories of the wonderful world of brand marketing.

Like Walt Disney would say: if you can dream it, you can do it!

All the best!

All revenues of this book go to the Brandhome foundation.

www.brandhome.com/foundation

Brandhome foundation vzw  
Falconplein 30 | 2000 Antwerp  
BELGIUM

**IBAN BE09 0682 4746 9457**  
 **BIC GKCC BE BB**
Now that you made it to this page... you probably enjoyed reading this book!

Please consider donating some of your wealth.

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: H.H. Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani

CITY: Doha (Qatar)

FUNCTION: Ambassador

RELATIONSHIP: friend

What a ride! Definitely a roller coaster of marketing strategies, branding ideas and opinions. Entertaining, interesting, and well put for our future marketers! I have four boys, if one of them decides to get into the field of brand marketing, THIS BOOK full of advice and ideas will be the best gift for him!

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Bart De Wever

CITY: Antwerp (Belgium)

FUNCTION: Mayor of Antwerp

RELATIONSHIP: client

When I talk to marketers, I usually think: 'Right, but I already thought of that myself weeks ago. And there was no big bill attached.' But after browsing through this book, I'm not so sure. It's an entertaining trip through the minds of two talented brand doctors. One is operating from our wonderful, pocket-sized metropolis called Antwerp, the other one from Dubai. For me, its main message is that you can only build a brand if you're truly connected to its heart and soul.

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Antonio Cano

CITY: Brussels (Belgium)

FUNCTION: CEO AG Insurance, Member of the Management Committee of Ageas

RELATIONSHIP: client

Marketing is like a huge ever-expanding city. Classic marketing textbooks are like maps of the city, but different maps give different names to the same street and some streets are even unnamed. These maps can help but you will spend more time looking at the map than looking at the wonders around you, and you can still lose your way. You have to live in a city to know it. The second best alternative is reading travel stories and diaries written by those that live in the city. The writers of this book are street smart natives of Marketing City and will take you on a thrilling trip through the grand uptown avenues and downtown backstreet allies of Marketing City. A trip you wish would never end.

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Frans Cornelis

CITY: Amsterdam (The Netherlands)

FUNCTION: Group CMO, Randstad

RELATIONSHIP: friend

What if Jack Kerouac had been in marketing? This book could also be the script of a road movie. The authors are forever underway to the next assignment, mixing business and private life in a continuous stream of marketing consciousness. And it's in full stereo too. This is an intense dialogue between two busy professionals about the meaning of marketing, the universe and everything. Engaging and very instructive. Curious? See for yourself.

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Gunter Uytterhoeven

CITY: Brussels (Belgium)

FUNCTION: CMO BNP Paribas Fortis

RELATIONSHIP: client

Reading this book feels like sitting in the back seat of a 4WD with 2 new age marketers driving me around on a rocking adventure road through the time machine of marketing. It's a never before seen, storytelling way to explain the future of marketing and the role of branding in there. It brings great insight for next generation marketers through an intense dialogue that blends real life stories with new marketing wisdom. My God, I wish I had been there in that crazy Buddha Bar as well...

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Marcello Maggioni

CITY: Düsseldorf (Germany)

FUNCTION: CMO Vodafone Germany

RELATIONSHIP: other

Reading this book brings up an exciting mixed bag of emotions. Firstly, I felt uncomfortable whilst breaching, albeit invited, into what looked like a private email conversation... Nevertheless, I kept going, just to feel even more uncomfortable. The two authors were actually reading my mind and writing it down with the aim of publishing it! There are no chapters, instead there is a 'fil rouge', a leading thought which is: marketing got too complicated, but not necessarily more 'intelligent'. We need to bring back simplicity to the core of our job and the thoughts in this book are a very good start!

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Safak Guvenc

CITY: Doha (Qatar)

FUNCTION: Area Manager of Qatar, General Manager, W Doha Hotel & Residence

RELATIONSHIP: friend

Buddha Bar??? Who would even think to start a book about marketing from there!? Only two, innovative and genius men from the Marketing Industry. Follow them on their adventure as they go back to the basics of marketing, and attempt to remind the reader of the significant role marketing and branding play in the world. A fresh and fun approach that keeps you connected with brands that you know and love and why their marketing strategies worked... or didn't! Entertaining, creative and thought provoking! This is a must read for those of us who realize the value of Market-ability and those that have forgotten!

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Tarek Kabil

CITY: Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

FUNCTION: CEO Abraaj Capital

RELATIONSHIP: partner

We all know the power of branding and the role of marketing. We all can read a book about them. But the best intellectual discussions always take place over a glass of beer in real life. Wait till you read this real life discussion between two smart Belgian marketers who are married to Dutch women and have been all over the world. To manage your expectations: this is not a book! It's a great, tasty meal about marketing and branding for now and the future in a very interesting dialog. It's like enjoying a Belgian beer that you wish would never end!

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Shiv Singh

CITY: New York City (USA)

FUNCTION: Author of Social Media Marketing for Dummies

RELATIONSHIP: friend

In tomorrow's world, all great marketing will require tension, drama and controversy. What's more, marketing's going real.

It's about real people, real stories, real lives and real emotions. This book is exciting not only because of its content but its shape and form embodies that direction. Read this if you want to jump start your marketing career and develop the sensibilities of a real marketer from the future.

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Niek Hommerson

CITY: Antwerp (Belgium)

FUNCTION: CEO Entergaming, Board Member Hommerson

RELATIONSHIP: friend

The communication landscape has changed more in the last five years than in the last 20. It is great to follow two marketers in their journey, talking to each other and travelling the world, while being influenced by local experiences and evolving in their quest to find what has changed and what has remained the same. They use the unique format of dialogue, discussing, agreeing and challenging, using means also unavailable to us 10 years ago. This makes for a book that is alive, present and would not have been possible a short while ago. It's the quest of two marketers, who question their ever-changing environment, the need to adapt, and balance their experience with the hunger for the new. Enjoy!

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Machteld Schierbeek

CITY: Antwerp (Belgium)

FUNCTION: Erik's wife

RELATIONSHIP: family

Between meetings, on a late night, a late flight, at sunrise or at any other impossible moment or location Erik wrote THE BOOK, with great pleasure and dedication. He kept talking about THE BOOK as it became part of his daily life, a branded ritual. After reading this book I know this also accounts for Kurt. What makes this book special? You follow two highly talented marketers, also fathers, husbands, and best friends, and you look at the world through their marketing eyes: from theory to strategy to implementation and back. Start reading and learn!

## ENDORSEMENTS

NAME: Mark Pensaert

CITY: Ghent (Belgium)

FUNCTION: CEO Leonardo & Co. Europe

RELATIONSHIP: friend

Finally a book I can enjoy reading in my free time whilst at the same time being immersed with so many witty real-life marketing stories and examples that matter! If one of my sons opts for a marketing degree, this is a must read to get a perfect feel for the life of a marketer!

This is a top-notch inspirational storytelling novel, using blunt/direct and straightforward language that draws you in and makes you eager to read more.
All content in this book is copyrighted and protected by applicable copyright laws. Nothing may be published, reproduced, copied, modified, uploaded, transmitted, posted, transferred or distributed in any way without the prior written consent of Brandhome publishing.

The registered trademarks Brandhome®, Brandhome method®, identity-driven brand building®, Triple-A brands® are used under license by Brandhome, Brandhome publishing and its related affiliates, and are governed by national and international laws. The above-mentioned trademarks hold various intellectual property rights such as methodological approach, key performance indicators, etc. These rights remain under the sole commercial ownership of Brandhome, and may not be used without prior written consent of Brandhome.

