why johnny cant brand

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In t his is sue:

■ Discover...how to use an eight-weekprogram that can help anycompany create a #1 brandin any industry.

■ Improve...the impact of your market-ing messages by using the17 practical rules to builda dominant brand.

■ Learn...how to avoid the 12 commonbranding mistakes that canprevent good brands frombecoming the best in theircategories.

■ Own...a specialty in the market-place by using one of eighttemplates for positioning aDSI, or Dominant Selling Idea, in the minds of cus-tomers.

■ Maximize...the power of your DSI bycreating a “Five-PointDSI Star,” consisting of thebrand's name; its unique

specialty; a DSI tag line;a key visual; and itsperformance.

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Why Johnny Can't BrandRediscovering the Lost Art of the Big Idea

by Bill Schley and Carl Nichols, Jr.

A summary of the original text.

THE BIG QUESTION: WHY C AN’T JOHNNY BRAND?

Bad branding is an epidem-ic. Seven out of 10 Americancompanies are going about itthe wrong way, wasting bil-lions of dollars and missing the opportunity to establish

a brand identity that setsthem apart from the pack.

Fortunately, the cure forpoor branding is simple. It'sabout three things:

• First, it's about thinkingof brands in a surpris-ingly easy, everyday waythat makes brandingintuitive. This willdemystify the process of finding and expressing your big idea so you canactually do it.

• Second, it's about trans- forming your businessby putting your brandon an effective regimen,

a kind of high-proteindiet, which will make ita #1 brand.

• Third, it's about the factthat you really can cre-ate an entire turnaround

for your strategy and position in eight weeks

— a workable, believ-able #1 position in theminds of your targetcustomers.

But if effective branding issimple, why do so manysmart executives do it sopoorly?

There are three main rea-

sons:

1. What you're about tolearn is still not taughtin business schools.

2. Companies focus toomuch on branding theo-ries and not enough onreality.

Volume 14, No. 12 (2 sections). Section 2, December 2005

© 2005 Audio-Tech Business Book Summaries 14-24.

No part of this publication may be used or reproducedin any manner whatsoever without written permission.

To order additional copies of this summary, reference

Catalog #12052.


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3. People are afraid to choose — afraid to abandon a long, safe list of features and tochoose one idea.

Let's look at what business schools do teach — and don't. If you're a typical Wharton,Harvard, or Stanford MBA, you'll have learned all about finance, accounting, and organi-zational theory.

But at most top business schools, a subject like branding has about as much appeal as

astrology. So, you're unlikely to learn much about the need for a DSI, a Dominant Selling Idea.

Also, companies put too much emphasis on theories. Consultants sell concepts like brandcharisma, brand karma, brand ethos, and brand surprise. Too often, though, executivesare left wondering exactly what they should do.

The third major obstacle to branding is fear. Building a dynamite brand requires totalcommitment to a single path, an approach that involves taking at least some risks.

Marketing amateurs often try to make their products all things to all market segments.

They're afraid to leave anything out, no matter how marginal a selling point it might be.They fail to grasp a critical marketing paradox: The power of your message is directly pro-portional to its simplicity and clarity.

Branding entails a relentless focus on a concise, compelling message. As with skydiving,the first step will be the hardest, but after that it gets easier.

You'll find that developing a strong brand is worth the effort and the money. It leads tomore market share, more sales, more competitive strength, and more growth for your com-pany. In many companies, simply repositioning a brand around a Dominant Selling Ideahas increased sales from 10 to 100 percent.

The good news is that you can brand anything. Frank Perdue branded chicken. Perrierbranded bottled water. Florida's tourism industry branded sunshine.

The even better news is that, based on 25 years of statistical analysis, you can be reason-ably sure that your competition's branding is awful. It's either non-existent, or it's basedon theories that have nothing to do with a selling idea or a differentiating value that thecustomer wants.

For every 10 companies, only one has a strong brand position, two more make legitimateefforts at branding, and seven settle for platitudes and puffery.

What this means is that you don't have to create the most innovative marketing campaignin history to make a big impact. You simply have to use branding the right way to sepa-rate yourself from the pack. Let's explore the rules of successful branding.

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THE 17 RULES FOR #1 BRANDS

To build an instantly recognizable brand, you need an exclusive name attached to an

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exclusive idea of value.

A great brand is one that's successful because it's different from competitors' offerings andmeaningful to consumers. A bad brand is one that's unsuccessful because it's undifferen-tiated — and thus meaningless.

In strengthening your brand, mere cosmetic changes aren't enough. Instead, it requiresfinding a specific idea that you stand for — and that you own.

Over time, branding means building complete trust among customers that you'll alwaysdeliver on what you promise.

To create a #1 brand, you must follow the 17 practical rules of branding. These funda-mental rules were identified by branding experts over the past century, and they've beendistilled by the authors' 25 years of trial and error. Think of these as the “granite pages”because they ought to be written in stone.

Rules 1 through 6 define your product, helping customers differentiate it.

The first rule is that being #1 is the commercial equivalent of holiness. The publicremembers who's #1 — in selling laundry detergent, or in winning the Kentucky Derby, orin climbing Mt. Everest. The public immediately forgets also-rans. No one rememberswho was the second individual to climb Mt. Everest.

To be #1, you must have a specialty. This is another word for positioning, and it's usedinstead because it forces you to think about differentiating your brand in the sharpest,most specific way. Successful branding is based not just on having a specialty, but on hav-ing a specialty that you're #1 in. So this specialty must include Five Selling Ingredients:

1. It must be truly superlative, promising that you're the best at whatever you do.

2. It must be important to the customer.

3. It must be believable in its claims to fulfill consumer needs.

4. It must be memorable in its emotional effect.

5. It must be tangible by performing in a way that's consistent with your claims.

When a specialty has all five ingredients, it's called a Dominant Selling Idea, or DSI, whichwe will cover in greater detail later in this summary.

The second rule is that the sweetest word in the commercial universe is yourbrand's name. In other words, a #1 specialty product needs a great name. For example,restaurant owners found that no one wanted to eat an obscure fish from South Americacalled the Patagonian Tooth Fish, despite the fact that it was delicious and plentiful. Thensomeone renamed it the Chilean sea bass and the market took off.

A great name is easy to pronounce, appealing to the ear, sticky to the memory, and tightlylinked to the DSI.

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The third rule is sometimes called the “Positioning Paradox”: The narrower your focus,the wider your message spreads. In other words, you say the most by saying the least,because the simplest, clearest message invariably wins.

If you have something of real value, your DSI will take very few words. For example, thinkof ESPN, the sports channel; or ADP, the payroll company; or Rolex, the luxury watch.

The fourth rule is that your brand can only achieve superlative status if it owns a

particular difference in the customer's mind.

How can your brand own such a difference? When you're perceived as the one who can,does, or will do something in a special way that others won't.

The fifth rule is that, for your brand to dominate, prospects have to want it. So,choose to meet a powerful marketplace need, and you'll ensure that your differencematters.

True, you may have a product idea that's great in theory — as did many of the dot-coms inthe late 1990's who later failed — but if nobody really wants it, you lose. So you may pro-

claim to the world that your store or Web site has the world's largest selection of brownties, but if prospects don't care about brown ties, you need another Dominant Selling Idea.

The sixth rule is that you must go beyond superlativeness and importance — andmake your idea credible. Prospects subject every claim to two tests:

1. Is the claim plausible?

2. Is it plausible coming from you?

If the answer to either question is no, you're in trouble.

For example, Volkswagen tried to introduce a superluxury car called the VolkswagenPhaeton. It was a stunning car, but it flopped in less than a year on the market. The rea-son: Nobody wanted to spend $60,000 for a Volkswagen, because the company's brandmeans affordable, not luxury.

The remaining rules all deal with the ways to make your buying idea penetrate — andstick — in customers' heads.

The seventh rule states that just because you've built a better mousetrap, don'texpect an overstressed, impatient world to beat a path to your door.

Frankly, if your customer doesn't invite you in, you won't make a sale. So, to gainentrance, it's essential to make a compelling case for your specialty.

The eighth rule is to weave into your message a proposition that says the valueexceeds the cost. When you do that, your offer will be worth the customer's time, risk,and money.

To make a successful value proposition, communicate that your specialty satisfies one of the eight human appeals. Every person wants to be:

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1. Happier2. Smarter3. Healthier4. Richer5. Safer6. More secure7. More attractive8. More successful

Overall, your appeal should be direct, powerful, and rapid.

The ninth rule is that potential customers don't make purchases when there's evena hint of pain involved. So, highlight your specialty's ease of purchase, as well as itsutility, security, and relevance.

For example, Amazon.com found it was losing customers because of the complexity associ-ated with credit card orders. In response, Amazon created a secure, hassle-free one-clicktechnology for such orders.

The tenth rule is that people like — and remember — things they can understand.

At one point, Quicken Financial found to its dismay that many people who bought its soft-ware never took it out of the shrink-wrap. Why? Apparently, because they feared they'dbe unable to install and start it.

Quicken solved the problem by making sure customers knew that using its brand was assimple as filling out a checkbook.

The eleventh rule is that people remember what they feel. That is, the intensity andclarity of memory depends on emotion.

A great selling idea must have an emotional component. It will do so if potential buyersfeel the product makes them either more successful in their jobs, or more secure in theirhome lives, or both. For example, when buying snow tires, a customer who has children islikely to remember the commercial showing a baby sitting inside the Michelin.

Boost your brand's emotional dimension by giving customers the knowledge that they'redealing with the #1 company. Also, infuse your message with emotionally charged images.

The twelfth rule is that a #1 brand must demonstrate consistency. Every brand ele-ment, message, and customer contact has to be in sync with your DSI.

The thirteenth rule is that it pays to be relentlessly specific. With concrete details, youcan unleash the power of real examples.

In terms of specifics, which of the following is more convincing?

• “Lower Prices” or “40 Percent Off”?

• “Ridden by Top Racers” or “Lance Armstrong's Bike”?



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• “Scratch-Retardant Surface” or “Hard as a 14-Carat Diamond”?

The fourteenth rule is that the branding answer usually is right in front of yournose. In most cases, the most brilliant Dominant Selling Idea is obvious, but it's invisibleto those who assume it must be more difficult or complex. At one company, the brand pro-vides “50 Percent More Benefits at 50 Percent Less Cost.” A law firm that represents sev-eral top advertising agencies is the “#1 Marketing Communications Law Firm in theWorld.”

The fifteenth rule is that the brand IS as the brand DOES. That means a brand ulti-mately will be synonymous with its performance.

So, the famous perfume must smell wonderful. The fashionable designer jeans must fitperfectly and look terrific. And the popular burger must be hot and fresh.

The sixteenth rule is that nobody can ever foresee with absolute certainty whatwill work — and what won't.

If such all-knowing people really did exist, the legendary marketers at Coca-Cola wouldn't

have launched the famously unpopular “New Coke.”

That's why it makes sense to test marketing ideas — and then test them some more. If youhave time and resources, you can launch a sophisticated market study. Or you can simplycall your five best customers and ask them to be candid over the phone.

The seventeenth and final rule is that people buy only from those they trust. It's amyth that great salespeople should be extroverts who slap backs and tell jokes.

Instead, top salespeople listen more than they talk, demonstrate seriousness and reliabil-ity, and put their customers ahead of themselves. That's the only way to build trust, and

sales.

Now that we've explored the 17 practical rules of branding, let's quickly look at branding from the other side. Here are the 12 Common Branding Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Spraying and praying, which means saying everything about a product and thus say-ing nothing — while hoping against hope for success.

2. Failing to choose a DSI because of a misplaced fear of commitment.

3. Creating a better mousetrap — and then confusing that with creating consumer desire.

4. Entertaining, joking, singing, and dancing — without creating a selling idea.

5. Knowing all the answers — but failing to test.

6. Breathing your own fumes — mistakenly believing consumers care more about howgreat you are, rather than how great your product makes them.

7. Playing “inside” too much — and ignoring what the competition is doing outside.



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8. Forgetting that marketing is really about sales.

9. Being original instead of effective — and not recognizing that sales count, while smokeand mirrors don't.

10. Chopping down trees before they're fully grown — by changing the message toofrequently.

11. Failing to simplify the message — and not recognizing that long, complicated messagesare a customer turnoff.

12. Overlooking your daily mantra, which should be: “Build trust, trust, and moretrust.”

You now know the fundamentals that every one of the world's highest-paid brand profes-sionals should know. Just using one or two of these rules and avoiding the mistakes willput you ahead of the competition.

But let's go further, and delve into the working mechanics of the Dominant Selling Idea,

and the simple tools for expressing it.

■ ■

THE DSI TEMPLATES: EIGHT PRACTICAL W AYS TO OWN A #1 SPECIALTY

The fusion of a #1 specialty with your name in the customer's mind makes it a DominantSelling Idea. It's what flashes into customers' heads when they either hear your name orthink of the specialty they need.

For example, a #1 specialty would simply be “the world's safest car.” It becomes a Dominant Selling Idea when it becomes attached to a name. “Volvo is the world's safestcar” is a DSI. It inclines safety-conscious people not just to buy a safe car, but to buy a

Volvo.

You can supercharge the DSI for your specialty by using one or more of the approachesfound in eight templates. Numbers 1 through 4 involve staying in specialty.

Template Number 1 is the Preemptive Attribute DSI. That involves preempting one generally accepted attribute of a specialty — and thus claiming exclusive ownership.

For example, if you own a ski mountain resort, you can market the tallest, steepest, orsnowiest mountain. However, a competitor could steal this DSI by being taller, steeper, orsnowier.

So, choose an attribute that's not as easily quantifiable. Perhaps you could be the coziestski resort — a more subjective quality.

Number 2 is the Magic Ingredient DSI, also known as “fairy dust.” That involves hav-ing a seemingly unique ingredient, one reinforced by a magical-sounding name.

For example, Halls throat lozenges constructed a powerful DSI, basically out of thin air.



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The company claimed its specialty had vapor action, which essentially meant it containedmenthol.

Number 3 is the Sleeping Beauty DSI. That involves featuring an attribute, ability, oringredient that others in the specialty never considered important enough to mention.

The Sleeping Beauty is a variation on the Magic Ingredient template, highlighting some-thing that's actually quite ordinary.

Take Shell Oil's touting of its gasoline as containing Platformate, which presumably gaveextra mileage. What Shell didn't mention was that all other gasoline brands also con-tained some version of Platformate.

Number 4 is the Golden Metaphor DSI, which involves attaching yourself to an emotion- evoking message.

Golden Metaphors are striking figures of speech that can be effective when your specialtyhas no real superlatives or memorable attributes.

Green Giant used a Golden Metaphor for its rather mundane product: canned vegetables.It did so through the persona it called the Jolly Green Giant, an amiable creature linking the product to health and wholesomeness.

As for DSI templates 5 through 8, use them when someone else controls the #1 status —and it's necessary to create a new specialty.

Creating a new specialty changes the game in a way that merely owning an attributedoesn't. It suggests a whole new class of performance or utility.

Take automobiles. A century ago, people called them horseless carriages — basically, car-riages with a specialty attribute. But the automobile was too important to be just a mereattribute. It changed the rules of the game, quickly driving horse-drawn carriages out of business.

Number 5 is the 2 Mints in 1 DSI. That involves creating a new specialty by merging two current ones. The classic example is the Certs TV commercial, where one actresssays, “Certs is a candy mint.” Another actress responds, “Certs is a breath mint.” Anannouncer concludes, “It's TWO mints in one.”

Another famous example of the 2-in-1 DSI is Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid. It differen-tiated itself from competitors by promoting its abilities not only to clean dishes, but also tosoften hands.

Number 6 is the Transplant DSI, which involves including an already understood and popular specialty into your brand.

Consider a company named Powerphone. It developed software to automate the old pen-cil-and-paper system of 9-1-1 emergency call handling.

But Powerphone didn't have credibility in computer software. Specifically, potential buy-ers didn't understand that the call-handling software was intelligent and interactive.



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What the market did understand was Computer-Aided Dispatch — or CAD — softwarethat had automated the 9-1-1 dispatching process. So, Powerphone borrowed CAD andtransplanted it into its own specialty. It called its software CACH — for Computer-AidedCall Handling — a name that signified call handling at computer speed.

Number 7 is the Spin DSI. That involves getting consumers to enhance a product's appealby having them look at it in a different way.

Consider a grainy crop grown in a squalid area of India — and known by the homely nameof flea seed. In spite of the ugly name, Flea Seed has an amazing property. It's arguablythe world's best source of digestible, soluble fiber.

Brand marketers talented at “spinning” renamed the product Pure Psyllium. They pro-moted it with the following DSI: “The doctor-recommended, all-natural fiber supplement,medically proven to lower cholesterol and prevent cancer while keeping you regular everyday.”

Some of the branding world's classic DSIs now seem intuitive, but all of them required aleap of imagination at the time:

• M&Ms — The milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.

• Visine — Gets the red out.

• Greyhound Bus Lines — Leave the driving to us.

• United — Fly the friendly skies.

• Wheaties — Breakfast of Champions.

• Maxwell House Coffee — Good to the last drop.

• Morton Salt — When it rains, it pours.

Finally, Template Number 8 is the Pure, Original DSI. That involves creating an entire-ly new specialty — one so original and valuable that it flies off the store shelves.

You'll find many such specialties in the innovative technology industries. Think of theSony Walkman, the Palm Pilot, the Blackberry, and the iPod.

DSI templates are critical because a great selling idea is the highway to the promised landof marketing and financial success. In the next section, we'll turn to the five building blocks of the DSI.

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DSI E XPRESSION: THE FIVE-POINT STAR

To transfer a proposed DSI in your own head to a real DSI in other people's heads, you needto use the Five-Point DSI Star. It consists of the primary elements of expression thatthe outside world will see, hear, touch, and feel to grasp your DSI and bring it to life.



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The Star includes the main elements of your core message, represented through the fivepoints of a star. These five points represent:

1. Your name2. Your unique, ownable specialty3. Your DSI tag line4. A key visual5. DSI-level performance

Your prospect's recognition of your specialty can occur at any Star Point. After theprospect's personal relevance “light” switches on, the remaining Points of the Star rein-force the DSI.

Now, let's look at the Star Points more closely, starting with the name. A great one canlight up prospects right at the first Star Point.

Of course, you may already have a name. If so, make a preliminary determinationwhether it will be more profitable to keep the current name — or to choose a new one

If you have a bad name, it will probably mystify customers rather than mesmerize them.So, choose wisely.

Unfortunately, sometimes an enterprise does the opposite, going from a good name to a badone.

Consider the jet plane charter company formerly known as eBizJets.

It was an effective name. EBizJets was a successful company serving business customers,and its on-line model allowed people to book charters cheaply and quickly.

Then, another company launched a trademark challenge for the eBizJets name, and won.So, a name change was necessary. The company chose the name Sentient, one that pre-sumably would have sent many prospects and customers scurrying to their dictionaries.

“Sentient” didn't really indicate what the charter company did. That meant the name for-feited the first Star Point's power.



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Trendy names — ones like Agilent and Trivergis — don't buy a business much with cus-tomers. Similarly, initialized names — like GDW and TYC — only work if your companyhas a long history and a huge budget for branding, like GE and IBM.

To give your brand a great name, keep in mind the following points:

First, make the name supportive of your DSI, and make sure it's descriptive, evocative, col-orful, and ownable.

Some examples of great names include: Diehard Batteries, EZ Pass, Ball Park Franks, Eggbeaters, Butterball Turkey, Super Bowl, TGI Fridays, Hefty Trash Bags, and Instant Breakfast.

With the second Star Point, you're articulating your ownable specialty. Potential cus-tomers generally think specialty first — shoes, for example — before they think of yourname — for example, Bally Shoes.

Nearly a century ago, boat-maker Evinrude came out with a specialty motor it called theOutboard. Customers started wanting an Outboard, and in the early days that gave them

one option: an Evinrude Outboard. The specialty and the brand name reinforced oneanother.

Specialties start out as broad concepts, and then narrow down into a variety of offerings.Remember, early in the 20th century, the automobile was a specialty.

As such, it was the base. Then came the extenders, the additions and variations.

With the automobile, new specialties included luxury cars, convertible cars, and sportscars. With vans, the next evolution — or extension — came in the form of minivans.

Also, from the base of sugared cola, we got Diet Cola and even UnCola. From the base of the neighborhood bar, we got extensions called mini-bars, singles' bars, and sports bars.

The third Point of the Star focuses on your tag line. Great tag lines have a magical qual-ity, infusing a name or logo with instant selling power.

In many cases, the tag line will mirror the DSI. In all cases, your tag line should bespecific, colorful, and memorable. Most of the best ones are 10 words or less.

But first, let's look at some examples of bad tag lines, such as:

• Driven to Excellence• Ideas for Living • A Passion to Achieve• We Mean Business• Doing What We Do Best

In each case, the words turn inward to the company's self-image rather than outward tothe customer's needs. They fail the critical tests for great tag lines.

That is, they don't really support a DSI, nor are they truly ownable, nor are they



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evocative, colorful, or memorable.

In contrast, look at several great tag lines:

• Join the Navy, and See the World• Please Don't Squeeze the Charmin• Federal Express: When it Absolutely, Positively Has to Be There Overnight• Perdue: It Takes a Tough Man to Make a Tender Chicken

The three fail-safe ingredients for a DSI tag line are:

1. Your unique, ownable specialty.

2. Your literal or implicit DSI expression.

3. Your exclusive name.

Consider how these ingredients came together in the tag line for Black Flag Roach Motel,a roach-killing product. Along with the company name comes the following tag line:

“Roaches Check In, But They Don't Check Out.”

The product basically consists of some poison in a little paper box designed as a last rest-ing place for roaches. It took off because it promised an unbeatable benefit: the efficientelimination of unwelcome pests.

The fourth Star Point is the use of key visuals. That doesn't refer to identity symbolslike logos, letterheads, and colors. Instead, a key visual is an indelible snapshot. It illus-trates both performance and proof — essentially your complete DSI.

You probably remember the following powerful visuals:

• The rifle bullet blasting — but not breaking — a powerful Master Lock.

• The frying egg from the Partnership for a Drug Free America, with the announcerintoning, “This is your brain on drugs.”

• The Crazy Glue man stuck to the football goal post by the top of his helmet.

• The drinking straw penetrating the Tropicana Orange.

The final Star Point concerns DSI-level performance — making it all tangible.Dominance demands that you deliver. Your product must function as promised, over andover again, or no manner of creative brand concepts will save you.

Nothing kills a brand faster than a great DSI attached to a bad product. That makes cus-tomers feel betrayed.

It's important to understand that, ultimately, a DSI isn't either an action plan or a list of rules. Rather, it's a way of thinking — a state of mind focused on branding.

When you've solidified that mindset, it takes about eight weeks of sustained effort to get



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all five of the elements of the DSI Star ready for the market. You can then forge aheadwith transferring the #1 specialty attached to your name into other people's heads.

You achieve that through consistent performance, clear messaging, and ongoing refine-ment of your DSI Star. Remember, the Star is a foundation, but it's not the finishedproduct.

As you'll learn in the next two sections, the critical process of refinement involves getting

input from others — both inside and outside your organization — as well as strengthening each element of the DSI Star.

■ ■

THE EIGHT-WEEK PROGRAM: THE FIRST THREE WEEKS

Generally, it takes approximately eight weeks — or a little more — to get your proposed-DSI honed to the point where it's marketplace ready. In this section, we'll outline the firstthree weeks.

The assumption behind the eight-week period is that you already have chosen a specialtyto brand that's worthy and fairly priced. Unless there's something seriously wrong withyour specialty or reputation, you'll be able to move forward.

Then you'll be able to solidify a #1 specialty that's superlative, important, and believable —and that you can make memorable and tangible.

As we've seen, the qualities of being superlative, important, and believable set up the DSI.Then, the components that make it possible for your DSI to penetrate — and stick— incustomers' minds are memorability and tangibility.

The first phase lasts about three weeks, and emphasizes research and discovery, or R&D.

• Week #1: Planning and starting your basic market R&D, asking questions, and set-ting objectives.

• Week #2: Conducting the R&D interviews.

• Week #3: Completing the R&D interviews and consolidating your learnings.

The R&D phase exists because you can't have a great DSI without input from key stake-holders, especially employees who sell the product and customers who buy it. Such peoplecan enrich your understanding of the specialty and the adequacy of your initial StarPoints.

As a first step in R&D, choose 15 to 25 people to interview, about half from inside the orga-nization and half from outside. The insiders should include top executives, as well as cus-tomer service reps and field salespeople.

The outsiders should include people such as your current and past customers, yourprospects, your competitors' customers, and perhaps a financial analyst.



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The R&D phase is critical because it can serve as a reality check for your own views.

Next, make up a list of about 10 key questions for each interview group.

The types of questions you'll want to ask internal people include: Do the company and thespecialty have great names yet? Where does the specialty rank in the marketplace — first,second, or third?

Also, ask them: What do the customers want most? Which words do buyers use to describeour value proposition? Why does our company's specialty sometimes win in head-to-headcompetition — and sometimes lose?

For external interviewees, determine the difference between what they think about yourcompany — and what they think about your competitors. Important questions wouldinclude:

What do they think your company's specialty is? Where do they rank your companyagainst its competitors? If you're not #1 yet, why not? What do they as customers — cur-rent or potential — want most from your specialty? Which of their needs has your com-

pany failed to address fully?

In conducting interviews, establish an atmosphere of trust. That will help generatecandor from interviewees — and make them hospitable to direct questions.

How can you ensure you'll get candid responses? One way is through your overalldemeanor.

People will provide insightful and valuable information if you listen attentively to them —and regularly communicate your sincere gratitude for their honesty.

Another way to get useful responses is to ask questions demanding more than yes or noanswers.

What if you ask good questions but an interviewee has problems providing anything otherthan guarded, superficial answers? Then, you should rely on techniques known as the sixhonest serving men and question strings.

Communications guru Dale Carnegie invented the phrase called six honest serving men. Itrefers to open-ended questions containing certain words — why, who, what, when, where,and how — that promote in-depth responses.

Question strings are verbal equivalents to peeling back the skin of an onion. It essentiallymeans asking follow-up questions to dig beneath the surface.

For example, ask your subjects what about the specialty or company keeps them up atnight — and then why does it? Follow up with questions about when the problem gener-ally occurs — and how it usually manifests itself.

In interviews, what should you listen for? First, for the straightforward answers — for therealities — that eventually will add up to important themes.



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Second, you'll also pick up Golden Metaphors, as people reach down to find the unconven-tional language necessary to describe their ideas, feelings, and aspirations.

Here's an example of a case where a metaphor saved the day on a sale of a new venture'son-line banking software. The prospective CEO and his partner talked at great lengthabout statistics, banking trends, and economics, but the prospect couldn't see the per-sonal relevance.

Finally, a techie who was designing the software blurted out the following: “It's likehaving an ATM in your home.”

For the prospect, that was when the DSI Star Points began to go off like Roman candles.

At the end of Week #3, the R&D phase essentially comes to an end. It's then time to moveon to Weeks #4 thru #8, the subject of the next section.

■ ■

THE EIGHT-WEEK PROGRAM: WEEKS #4 THROUGH #8

Over the remaining five weeks, the steps will consist of:

• Week #4: Choose some potential ownable specialties, articulate alternative reasonswhy you're #1, write possible specialty statements, and test them.

• Week #5: Nail down your #1 specialty, fine-tune your specialty statement, and reduceit to a proposed DSI.

• Week #6: Formulate and test a brand story narrative.

• Weeks #7 and #8: Examine core elements of your DSI Star and strengthen them wher-ever necessary.

Weeks #4 and #5 focus on making a final choice of which specialty — among possible can-didates — you will own. It can be a time when you face some tough decisions.

At the end of this time period, you'll have transformed your R&D material, combined withyour personal insights, into three things:

1. The specialty in which you are — or can be — #1.

2. Your specialty statement.

3. Your proposed DSI.

By Week #4, the interviews should have helped you break the code for your #1 brand'sDNA. You'll have answers to four critical questions:

• First, what attributes do customers want most in your specialty, and what promisescan you make credibly?



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• Second, which promises are uniquely yours because no competitor owns them?

• Third, which specialty can you claim as it currently is — or, alternatively, turn into anew one?

• Fourth, which specialty can you afford to claim? That is, which one are you willing toinvest in at a level where you can make it a #1 specialty?

However, what happens when the information you've gathered reveals that a competitoralready holds a position as a strong #1? In that case, you should either declare #1 statusin an unclaimed attribute, or create a new, ownable specialty.

You can do that by using one or more of the eight DSI templates. Take, for instance, thePreemptive Attribute template, which adds a series of extenders to your base specialty.

Here's an example relating to the base specialty of lager beer. One extender would be toadd the country of origin, such as German lager beer.

Another extender would be to make it a “light” beer, making it a light, German lager beer.

Or you could make it non-alcoholic, light, German lager beer.

Remember, though, that if none of your competitors stands for anything superlative, youdon't have to reinvent your specialty. Instead, just find out what your customers think isyour specialty's key attribute and proclaim yourself its owner.

By the fifth week, you'll have pinned down your #1 specialty, relying on your own knowl-edge and the interviewees' comments.

Then, construct a specialty statement, which should have:

• An opening sentence that proclaims your #1 status in your product category.

• A second sentence that explains the reason why your company is the only one to offersuch high value — a superlative ingredient, a process, or a service.

You'll end up with a specialty statement like the following: “Weatherbug is the #1 choice for accurate, localized weather. That's because it has 10 times more weather stations thananybody else.” The phrase, “10 times more weather stations” is your reason why.

Here's another specialty statement: “Aon Healthcare is the #1 choice for companies thatwant maximum ROR — or Return on Risk. That's because Aon has created the industry'smost advanced data center and data-based tools to quantify solutions for the first time”

You'll want to test your proposed specialty statement. The best way to do that is not withfocus groups, but with one-on-one encounters with people whose views are important toyour company.

Generally, there will be several reasons why your specialty is what it is. The testing should show which reasoning — which possible specialty statement — works best with keystakeholders, especially customers.



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So, give the testers several different options. You can leave the first sentence — the onethat basically says, “We're #1” — the same, but you should test different reasons why youachieved the top status in the second sentence.

Once that is done, the next task is to construct a true DSI.

It will result from the unique fusion of your DSI Star Points, plus all your communicationswith insiders and outsiders, and your company's outstanding performance.

As you move into the sixth week, you'll focus on your brand story. This is a one-to-twopage executive summary about your brand.

It should contain the key selling language related to your specialty, including how it works,its history of solving customer problems or needs, and its ascendancy to first place among competing brands.

Later, share the brand story both with your own employees and key external groups, suchas customers and financial analysts.

As months and years go by, you should continue to improve the brand story, refresh it, andadd new examples of great performance. Don't hesitate to include some striking metaphors and phrasing you've generated from your dialogue with consumers.

In composing your brand story, consider the following guidelines:

• Write it like a story narrative — making it one to two pages long.

• Describe your ownable specialty.

• Outline the problems or needs it confronts.

• Introduce the solutions it provides.

• Explain how and why your product works.

• Describe the customer's current experience.

• Highlight your continuing performance promise.

• Salt the statement with the language, expressions, and key message threads you'vegleaned from your R&D interviews.

• Avoid excessive jargon.

In the final weeks, you'll put the finishing touches on the main elements of your DSI Star.Let's review them:

Star Point #1 deals with naming — or, perhaps renaming — your company. If you're switching specialties, or your current business name is losing relevance, or if you'vecome up with a great new name, then don't hesitate to rename.



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That goes for products and services, as well as even your company name. Just make sure— through research — that the value of having the new name exceeds its costs.

If you coin a name, make sure that it's meaningful. For example, the name of computerbusiness Compaq resonated because it described exactly what the company was selling:compact portability.

Star Point #2 is naming your specialty. Choose a name that's a blockbuster. Use as

your models highly charged specialty names like: Mini-Skirt, Wonder Bra, Lip Gloss,Jumbo Jet, and Hot Tub. Remember that your specialty name should appeal to potentialcustomers. It should be catchy, descriptive, and appealing.

Star Point #3 is creating your DSI tag line. It should be a boiled-down, highly focused,verbally appealing variation on your Specialty Statement.

Be sure to subject your tag line to testing — from insiders and especially outsiders — sothat it appeals to customers.

Star Point #4 is to select the key visuals. Your visuals should present your DSI state-

ment in pictorial form — as Bounty does with its paper towel soaking up liquid spills andthe Ginsu knife slicing through a tin can.

Star Point #5 is the achievement of DSI-level performance. If the product or the com-pany has any performance problems, now is the time to resolve them.

What will you have accomplished by the end of Week #8? You'll have uncovered your DSI. Also, you'll have inventoried the components of your DSI — and you'll have determinedwhatever elements you need to continue building.

Overall, you'll be on the way to the finish line of building a great brand — one with a real

beating heart and superb future.

■ ■

BRANDING DONE THE RIGHT W AY

Branding isn't brain surgery or bio-engineering. But it does involve making some toughchoices that can determine the life — or death — of an institution.

These decisions include naming your company and your specialty product. They alsoinclude coming up with a DSI, a tag line, key visuals, and a commitment to DSI-level per-formance.

Remember that there are reasons why so few companies excel at branding. It doesn't gettaught in business schools. The reality is different from the theories. And it doesn't comewithout at least some risk.

Branding simply means positioning your product in a way that allows it to dominate itscategory. The main way to do so is by developing and refining a specialty that meets cus-tomer needs and aspirations more fully than competitive brands.



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To succeed at branding, remember the 17 practical rules:

1. Being #1 is holy.

2. The sweetest word in the commercial universe is your brand's name.

3. The narrower your focus, the wider your message spreads.

4. Your brand can only achieve superlative status if it owns a particular difference in thecustomer's mind.

5. For your brand to dominate, prospects have to want it.

6. You must go beyond superlativeness and importance — and make your idea credible.

7. Just because you've built a better mousetrap, don't expect an overstressed, impatientworld to beat a path to your door. You have to sell it.

8. Weave into your message a proposition that says the value exceeds the cost.

9. Potential customers don't make purchases when there's even a hint of pain.

10. People like — and remember — things they can understand.

11. People remember what they feel.

12. A #1 brand must demonstrate consistency.

13. It pays to be relentlessly specific.

14. The branding answer usually is right in front of your nose.

15. The brand IS as the brand DOES.

16. Nobody ever can foresee with absolute certainty what will work — and what won't.

17. People buy only from those they trust.

You now know what the experts know about great branding. If you use this knowledge,you will eventually reach this goal: to own a powerful brand that makes you #1 in theminds of your target customers.

■ ■



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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Bill Schley and Carl Nichols, Jr. are partners at david, inc., a branding consulting firmin Connecticut. During their careers they’ve worked with major global companies likeProctor & Gamble, Coca-Cola, IBM, and many others.

Schley was previously a creative executive at a major New York ad agency and won theindustry’s Effie Award. Nichols was previously the CEO of Einson Freeman and a man-aging director at D’Arcy.

HOW TO ADD THIS BOOK TO YOUR LIBRARY

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Why Johnny Can't Brand, summarized by arrangement with Portfolio, a member of the PenguinGroup (U.S.A) Inc., from from Why Johnny Can't Brand: Rediscovering the Lost Art of the Big Idea by Bill Schley and Carl Nichols, Jr. Copyright © 2005 by david, inc.

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