Chevy - Still screwing up the old fashioned way

Is it really true that Chevrolet just issued a memo telling its employees not to refer to the brand and company as "Chevy?" Is it really true that they decided the best way to upgrade their brand was to have consumers start calling the company by its full name? Haven't they heard that they don't really own their own brand, but their customers do? They are now brand stewards, but they are still not listening to their customers.

The last time I ran into something like this was in my college days when a very drunk, line-backer looking frat boy accosted me in a party for calling his organization a "frat." His logic was that calling his house a frat was like calling our country a, well you get the picture. I did not get the logic back then, and I still do not get the logic now. Hey, but maybe that same guy is now consulting for Chevy. Who knows, stranger things have happened since college...

Anyway, back to the case at hand. In the memo issued by Chevy [oops, Chevrolet], they refer to such momentous brands as "Coke" and "Apple" as a rationale for why they are insisting on using the full brand name. Uh, "Coke" as in Coca Cola? Or Apple as in when was the last time you heard an Apple product refered to as an "Apple" - what was it 1984? Now Appled products are referred to by their product names iPod, iPad, iFad. Oh wait, for a while people were calling one of the greatest consumer electronics product, the largest computer manufacturer as of late a "Mac." Oh, but that's short for what Macintosh?

Perhaps the marketing execs at Chevy [damnit] are watching too much MadMen? Or perhaps they have chosen to overlook the changes in the advertising industry for the past twenty years, but this decision by Chevy [there I go again] is not even retro. It's just bad marketing.

Newsflash Chevy - YOUR CUSTOMERS LIKE CALLING IT A CHEVY. MOST OF THEM DON'T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT CHEVROLET WAS IN THE 50's. So let it go. People have loved the Chevy ever since Don McLean sang about it. What they don't like is the old stodgy idea of Chevrolet, Nuclear bomb shelters in the back yard, the Cold War, and McCarthy [not the former Beatle].

I have posted the memo below. Please, don't drool when your chin hits your keyboard.


--------------------------

Chevrolet Team,

We wanted to write you a quick note requesting your support of our Chevrolet Brand. When you look at the most recognized brands throughout the world, such as Coke or Apple for instance, one of the things they all focus on is the consistency of their branding. Why is this consistency so important? The more consistent a brand becomes, the more prominent and recognizable it is with the consumer. This is a big opportunity for us
moving forward.

As you know, we are investing substantially to improve the consistency of our retail facilities through the EBE process. Aside from the facilities aspect of our branding, there are many other ways in which we can demonstrate this consistency. One way to achieve this is with the use of Chevrolet vs. Chevy. We’d ask that whether you’re talking to a dealer, reviewing dealer advertising or speaking with friends and family, that you communicate our brand as Chevrolet moving forward.

We have a proud heritage behind us and a fantastic future ahead of us … speaking to the success of this brand in one consistent manner will ensure Chevrolet becomes even more prominent and recognizable than it already is.

Thank you for your support of this effort!

Alan and Jim

P.S. We put a plastic “Chevy” can down the hall that will accept a quarter every time someone uses “Chevy” rather than Chevrolet! We’ll use the money for a team building activity.

Building Your Brand Fabric

Flannel or silk? Cotton or wool? Cut on the bias? Embroidered or embellished with appliqué? What does your garment look like? We have all gone through the exercise of branding 101 by asking, “if your brand were a person, who would that person be?” In today’s market, however, it’s more important to ask yourself, “What would they wear?”

Today, effectively communicating your brand is less about identifying the person your brand represents, and more about identifying how to communicate your brand’s message so that it is well received. While the core of your brand should be true to itself your message should be refined to fit the medium being used. The reason is simple, people change based on what they are doing. They dress casually on the weekend. They ratchet it up a notch or two for work. On a date, they bring out the little black dress or the right jacket. Black tie? A whole different story, altogether. It’s no different in the media. People are more serious when they read the paper. Less so when thumbing through a magazine, and when on Facebook or Twitter, it’s all about two-way interaction.

Think about your own mind-set. It is why most of the world has multiple accounts on dating sites – one for the “playful” side, one for their “serious” side, and one for the “tiger or tigress in everyone”.
Because of this, repeating the same tagline just doesn’t work in today’s media. However, learning how to revise a brand’s message to make the most of today’s media, is akin to looking at a bolt of fabric for its thread, rather than its design. The threads woven into a bolt of fabric are like the media woven into a communication campaign. When Twitter is combined with television, and a Facebook page is interwoven with a newspaper ad, the entire marketing mix produces a richer fabric that sells better.

Subtlety is the key to make the garment interesting and appealing to the customer. While they all need to echo the same brand, a Twitter Tweet has to be short, sweet, and pithy. A Facebook page needs to be consistently updated and fun. A print ad needs to be bold, brash and stand out from the news. If one thread is inconsistent, the fabric of your brand starts to unravel, and your customers will quickly see the faults.

When executed correctly your communications will create a gorgeous garment that will look great and sell, whether it is being “worn” online or offline. Just remember, the beauty of your brand lies in the cloth itself and in the way it is woven together, rather than in the person wearing it. So if you are wondering how best to communicate your brand through all the new media opportunities, do what the great fashion designers have done and start with great fabric. Then let it go and empower your customers to show it off everywhere they go. They will pick up the threads of your message and build an even more powerful brand fabric for you.

To learn the five steps to weaving your own brand fabric, email

info@thinkcannon.com.

Jeff Cannon

http://www.thinkcannon.com/

http://twitter.com/thinkcannon

Branding 2010 - Make It Real

Well, Happy New Year everyone. For those of us who had our eyes even partially open, I think everyone can agree that in terms of branding, 2009 is a year best left alone. So much happened, and at the same time, so little.

It started off with one of the best brands of all coming alive - Barack Obama. Riding on a wave of much needed optimism, Barack led the county back into feeling good about the future. He was of course met with another brand. Perhaps not as strong, but definately one that has made itself just as memorable - Sarah Palin. Are we seeing the forces of good and evil play themselves out? Is this just some of the best staging anyone outside of Hollywood ever created? Whichever, way this goes, the Obama and Palin brands are sure to be in the forefront of our psyches for a long, long time.

After that, the brand of the United States of America was a strong contender for most notable. With it's financial markets crashing, it's real estate bottoming out, and it's moral fiber running thin, the US of A hit a low-point in terms of it's brand. Wait a minute - that might have happened in 2008. No, no, the first strike happened in 2008, but with the continued issues hitting like Katrina, Americans in all sectors realized that this was no '80s style recession, this was something far worse and far deeper. Everytime the world lost a brand like Pontiac, Kodachrome, Saturn, Max Factor, even Gourmet magazine - America took a hit. I wouln't even go into the Tiger Woods debaucle that ushered in the last month of the year, but it all showed the world just how vunerable a country and it's brand can be; if it's not protected and cared for. [Seriously, did your wife really chase you down the street swinging a gold club? Dude...]

On the bright side, 2009 brought us Twitter, a stronger Google, and a show that yes, even if our markets are bottoming out, we'll spend our children's legacy to bring them back. [really. Really? Yes, really] So I guess it does show us that if we're willing to spend enough, anything can happen. Are you listening Detroit? Oh, yes, you already did that....

So how about this? Let's just brand the old year as "2009 - Not what we anticipated..." As for the new year? As for 2010? How about this? Let's just try to protect the brands we love by making them real. If Ford wants to go green - great, we'll read it in your ads, but we'll wait for it to show up in your cars before the jump on the band wagon. If Burger King wants to go thin? Great - we'll believe you as soon as we see a burger with fewer than 1,000 calories. If Visa wants to be our partner, show us some interest rates that at least have a toe touching reality.

Let's brand 2010 with the tagline of "2010 - Make it real"

Starbucks - 25 Years In The Making & Gone In An Instant...

So last week, the purveyor of high end coffee drinks, the self-promoted creator of luxury coffee, the name that taught Americans what was acceptable and not acceptable in making a good cup of joe - announced it was launching an instant coffee.

Instant?

As in Maxwell house? As in Folgers? As in Taster's Choice? As in a product known for bad taste, cheap, and lousy?

Why, after spending all those years impressing on people the need to roast the beans just right, to use only spring water, heated to just the right temperature, and served by a practiced professional, would they now say, they can give you the same great taste in an instant, powered coffee? Why would they undermine their brand by aligning it with a bottom of the barrel category?

UBS analyst David Palmer, said of the instant coffee - "It's no big deal," he says. "What's different about soluble coffee is that it's equated with poor quality."

Hmmmmmmm, would a company really undermine its brand and long-term prospects to leverage that brand for some very short-term profits? Apparently so.

What's next? Will Tiffany's start producing cubit zirconium rings? Will Chanel start making $29.95 plastic handbags?

Hmmmmmm, there may be a reason brand leaders are very careful about ensuring their products match their brands.

Let's all watch and see what happens when Starbucks - "Seattle's Best" puts its toe in the worst coffee category. Will it become Seattle's Worst?

This could be more fun than watching Coca Cola try and launch New Coke. We all know how well that turned out....

Websites Who Get It - umbrellatoday.com

Okay, enough useless talk about candidates, governments, spin doctors, and brands. It's time to jump in and talk about real products and real branding from people who understand their audience and have the guts to cut out all the fluff to give them what they want.

http://umbrellatoday.com/

It just doesn't get simpler. It just doesn't get better. It just makes you kneel down and thank the powers that be that yes - there is hope for all of this.

Consumer brands, B2B brands, political pundits, news organizations - THIS IS WHAT WE WANT!!!!!!

John Varvatos - Finally Someone Does It Right!!!

Okay, I'm not sure how many of you ever went to CBGB's when it was around. It wasn't a Danceteria or Area in the 80s, but let's just say from a marketing perspective, it definitely had a very strong brand and a well defined position in the market [read - more than just a few very late nights, and more than just a few very shaggy mornings at Burson Marsteller as a young AAE in the 80s]. In fact, CBGB's created such a strong brand for itself, that its cache remains to this day - call it Graceland for a non-Elvis crowd.

Which makes John Varvatos' move into the old space even more brilliant than just cool. You see, Varvatos did it for all the right reasons. He did it to preserve the space. He did it to keep the CBGB name alive. He did it for the same reason he had Alice Cooper appear in his print campaign. Because it was the physicalization of his brand image, and because it was real.

The only thing that is better than John Varvatos taking the old CBGB space, is the way he has kept it true to itself and true to himself. When I went in on a recent walk-by, I was greeted by this hip [read, not overly hip to be nauseating, nor some faux shop-person trying to appear hip], young, stylish guy that looked like he'll be rocking out in whatever club they go to these days. The guy was knowledgeable, got me to try on this leather and shearling jacket that was just the right blend of rocker, without being over board - call it the perfect edge for a 40 year old PR guy who's not into suits.

When I finally left, it dawned on me, from his product to his advertising, from this store design to his sales staff, it all says exactly the same thing - John Varvatos. There is no guessing as to what he's about. There is no question as to who he is or who his customer is. It is branding at its very best - clear, clean, consistent, and powerful.

John Varvatos does what so many people and companies try to do - communicate a consistent brand with one voice, one look and one feel - across every consumer touch-point in a way that feels so natural, you don't even know it's being done. Why? Because it's real!

So if you want to see killer branding. If you want to see a company who has truly taken their brand off the drawing board and brought it to life in a very real way - check out John Varvatos.

What's the worst that can happen? You walk away actually looking great?