There’s a Brand Opening in Hollywood – Who Can Fill Oprah’s Shoes

Calling all females in Hollywood!

Oprah Winfrey announced she is leaving the Oprah Winfrey Show after 25 years as the face of afternoon television for women — a role that helped position her as one of the most powerful women in entertainment and the world. The official end to her run as the queen of daytime TV is scheduled for September 9, 2011 — plenty of time to position a successor.

Those are big brand shoes to fill.  Who can step up to the challenge?  Some might point to Ellen Degeneres who is already positioned firmly with her own talk show, but Ellen and Oprah represent very different brand messages and images.  Ellen is a comedian at the core and Oprah is a reporter.  Both connect with audiences in different ways and audiences have very different expectations from them.

So that brings us back to the question — who can fill Oprah’s shoes?  Who can step up to the plate and build a similar brand position?  Let’s face it.  Oprah Winfrey’s power and influence transcended the afternoon talk show circuit.  She became a global influencer of everything from the beef industry to publishing, entertainment, and many areas in between.

What do you think?  Can another person fill Oprah’s shoes?  Can you think of anyone who could be up to the challenge?  Who has a brand image and message that could rival Oprah’s — if not now then in the future with a bit of positioning and promotion?

Image: Flickr

Why No One Believes GM, Ford and Chrysler Deserved Bailouts

Months ago, I published a post on another blog I write for about the fate of GM, Ford and Chrysler.  I received a lot of negative comments on that post from people who disagreed with my assertion that mismanagement brought about the failure of the Big 3 U.S. auto manufacturers — specifically, focusing on short term gains rather than long term strategy. It’s a trap that executives and managers everywhere fell victim to as stockholders demanded double-digit growth year after year.

There’s a reason why GM, Ford and Chrysler found themselves circling the drain.  I think this chart says it all.  The only surprising thing is that GM, Ford and Chrysler survived as long as they did before they tanked.

The lesson for marketers to learn is this — don’t be the blue lines in this chart.  It shouldn’t take a decade to make the necessary changes to reverse those market share trends.

Sneak Peak – Building Brand Value the Playboy Way

KeySplash Creative President and CEO Susan Gunelius’ newest book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, will be released this month in the United Kingdom and in October in the United States.

You can read an excerpt of Building Brand Value the Playboy Way from the book’s Introduction on Entrepreneur.com.

When I started writing this book, I already viewed Hugh Hefner as the ultimate brand champion and brand guardian, and when I finished, that opinion had only grown stronger. Building Brand Value the Playboy Way was written for an academic and professional audience, and describes how one man’s idea to create a lifestyle magazine for men in the 1950s turned into one of the most recognized brands in the world. It’s a fascinating story that all branding and marketing students and professionals can learn from.

Building Brand Value the Playboy Way is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other book stores (both online and offline).

Create Loyal Brand Advocates – 7 Steps to Advertising Success

My latest article on Entrepreneur.com is called Create Loyal Brand Advocates – 7 Steps to Advertising Success.

In the article, I discuss the seven steps that businesses need to understand and follow in order to develop a long term, successful brand building strategy supported by effective marketing communications.  Follow the link above to read the complete article.

Read more marketing and branding articles by Susan Gunelius.

The Evolution of CONsumers to PROsumers

The term “prosumer” isn’t a new one.  It’s been around the marketing world for years, but in today’s world of the social web, it has taken on a new importance that marketers can’t ignore.

The term “prosumer” has transformed from “professional consumer” to “product and brand advocate”.  Rather than simply “consuming” products, people are becoming the voices of those products and significantly impacting the success or failure of companies, products, and brands, particularly thorugh their involvement on the social web.

In simplest terms, no longer are businesses completely in control of their products, brands and messages.  Today, consumers are in control.  The leaders of this shift are the members of the social web — bloggers, microbloggers, forum posters, social networking participants, and so on, who spread messages, influence people around the world, and drive demand.  Prosumers are the online influencers that marketers must not just identify but also acknowledge, respect and develop relationships with in order for their products and brands to thrive.  The high level steps to leveraging the power of prosumers are as follows:

1. Identify the key online influencers for your product, brand, business or industry (i.e., the prosumers).
2. Acknowledge those people (e.g., send product samples, ask opinions, etc.).
3. Join the online conversation where those people already spend time.
4. Develop relationships with those people by interacting with them, providing useful information, and being accessible and human.
5. Leverage the opportunities of the social web by creating your own branded destinations such as a blog, YouTube channel, Twitter profile, Facebook group or fan page, LinkedIn group, podcast, etc.

The bottom line to connecting with prosumers and to get them talking about and advocating your brand, products and business is to deliver content that adds value to their experience with your brand.  Then, don’t be afraid to let them take control and spread your messages.  That’s where the power of the social web and online influencers to drive word-of-mouth marketing farther than ever comes into the picture, and that’s the ultimate goal for marketers.

When the World is Unstable, Brands Have Success Returning to the Past

The past always brings people a feeling of security and peace of mind.  Earlier this week, I wrote a post on the Corporate Eye blog about brands needing to focus on messages related to longevity these days when economies are weak and the future is uncertain for so many consumers (you can read that post here if you’d like).  While messages about longevity and security in the future are very important, there is also something to be said for looking at the lessons and success from the past and repeating them to leverage the commonly held perception that the past connotes feelings of security.

The Philadelphia 76ers have done exactly that by replacing the modern logo the team launched just over 10 years ago with a new version, which is almost exactly identical to the team’s original logo before the change in the late 1990s.   Check out the logo launched in 1997/98 on the left below vs. the new logo launched in 2009 on the right.

And now, take a look at the pre-1997/98 logo below.  Can you spot the differences between the original logo and the newest version?

Whether or not using the past as a security blanket message was the reasoning behind the Philadelphia 76ers’ logo change, I don’t know, but the timing is certainly great to take advantage of those messages of security and longing for better days when the team performed better and consumers’ lives were better.

Take a look at your brand.  Can you incorporate messages of longevity and security for the future into your marketing?  Or can you incorporate messages that refer to the nostalgia of the past?  Either is a good brand message choice in 2009.

Your thoughts?

By the way, The Brand New has a great overlay graphic of the new logo on top of the old one where you can see just how minimal the changes between the pre 1997/98 logo and the 2009 logo are.

The Gap Between Chrysler, GM and Toyota

Why are Chrysler and General Motors struggling to stay afloat while Toyota, which has not been immune to the economic downturn, survives?  In case you’re unsure of why such a huge performance gap exists between U.S. auto manufacturers and their Japanese competition, check out these headlines from the Associated Press and Reuters today, which explain it very well.

Chrysler Rolls Out SUV After Government Scolding – Chrysler’s big reveal at the International Auto Show was a new Jeep Grand Cherokee.  Not what the government wants the company to be spending time and bailout money on.

Chrysler President - 30 Days Enough for Fiat Deal – Is Chrysler’s rushed attempt to partner with Fiat to provide smaller cars to U.S. consumers a case of too little, too late?

Three Bidders Left in Hummer Auction - GM finally caught on last summer that they needed to unload the gas-guzzling, environment-hater Hummer brand.  10-months later, three bidders are interested, one has been turned down, and the clock is ticking on GM’s fate.

Toyota Banks on Tiny, Green but Pricier IQ Model – Toyota’s hot pick at the International Auto Show was the super small, 56-miler per gallon Toyota IQ.  In the words of Toyota Senior Managing Director Yoichiro Ichimaru (from the AP article), “Only cars that contribute to economic growth and the betterment of society can hope to succeed.”

Is it any wonder Chrysler and GM have fallen so far behind?  The disparity is mind boggling, and they still don’t seem to get it. 

Image: Flickr

3 S’s of Customer Loyalty – How to Drive Emotional Involvement in Your Brand

I’m constantly talking and writing about developing emotional involvement in your brand to drive customer loyalty.  Today, I’m going to provide my three steps to generate emotional involvement in your brand.  I call these three steps the 3 S’s of Customer Loyalty.  By ensuring your brand offers customers the 3 S’s of Customer Loyalty, your customers will become emotionally involved in your brand.  Let’s take a closer look.

The 3 S’s of Customer Loyalty

1. Stability: Customers are driving to emotional involvement in a brand when it sends a consistent message.
2. Sustainability: Customers are driven to emotional involvement in a brand when they expect that brand to be with them for a long time or at least a specific amount of time with a clear end.
3. Security: Customers are driven to emotional involvement in a brand when that brand gives them a feeling of comfort or peace-of-mind.

The 3 S’s of Customer Loyalty link directly back to the primary steps of developing a brand.  So while many people might argue that branding is not important, I argue that branding is an important part of driving profits.  Brandhing helps to create customer loyalty which leads to repeat purchases and perhaps the best form of marketing any company can hope for — word-of-mouth marketing from your best customers and most powerful influencers.

Take a look at your brand.  Is it driving emotional involvement through stability, sustainability and security?  If not, make the necessary changes now, and you’ll reap the rewards later with increased customer loyalty.

5 Core Steps to Building a Business Brand Strategy

Every business has a brand image attached to it, but the work that goes on before that brand image is launched is critical to long term success. The role of the business owner or brand manager is to determine what you want your brand image to be, and then define a strategy to make the brand image a reality.

Following are five core steps to help you get started with a strategic plan to build a brand for your business.  These are certainly not the only steps to brand-building, but they are at the heart of developing any brand strategy.  Read my 5 Rules of Branding post to learn the steps you should take to build your brand after you’ve developed your brand strategy.

1. Research the market.

Before you can begin thinking about your own brand, you need to understand the state of the market in which your business operates. Until you understand the existing market, you can’t fully define where you want your brand to be positioned within that market. Take the time to investigate the market, your competition, threats and opportunities. Then sit down and evaluate where your business fits in the existing market and where you want it to fit going forward. That’s your business’ position in the market. Once you know your position, you can define a brand message that accurately reflects that position.

2. Define your primary brand message.

Ask yourself how you want your business to be perceived by customers. The answer to that question determines the goal of your primary brand message. Next, you need to map out the steps to get to that goal. How do you need to present your business through marketing communications, employee communications, customer service, etc. to gain the reputation that will lead you to reaching your branding goal? Outline the tactics you need to take to build that reputation and the messages that will help you develop that reputation, and your brand image will grow organically in the minds of consumers. [Read more]

11 Phrases that Destroy Brand and Marketing Innovation

I wrote a post for Corporate Eye today that I want to share with my readers on KeySplash Creative Conversations as well.  It’s called 11 Phrases that Destroy Brand Innovation. 

In the post, I share 11 of those phrases that anyone who has ever sat through a corporate marketing meeting is sure to have heard before – probably too many times to count. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

• Nobody wants that.
• We’ve already tried that.
• Who’s going to take the blame if it doesn’t work?

Take a look at my post on Corporate Eye and share your additions to the list of phrases that destroy brand or marketing innovation.  Or leave a comment here on KeySplash Creative Conversations with your brand and marketing innovation killers. 

Come on.  You know you have some to share!

Image: Flickr

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