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In the world of marketing, branding and advertising, JCPenney’s major re-branding efforts have dominated the conversation over the past few months as we watched their sales plummet. JCPenney’s marketing team has been a punching bag in the media, teaching all of us what not to do. It seems now that the “experts” knew what was to come in advance of the changes, in spite of the excitement witnessed by the announcement that Ron Johnson was taking over the retailer. There is not much left to be said about the mistakes that were made. The real challenge for the community that has a passion for brands and branding is to begin to suggest ways in which JCPenney can turn this rebranding disaster around and thrive into the future. A lot (but not all) of what they did made good business and marketing sense.

To begin with, the re-branding was definitely in order. Sales were OK but stagnant before the changes. JCPenney was an iconic brand reflecting the values of America’s middle class. That audience, however, was rapidly shrinking. Additionally, more than half of JCPenney shoppers were over 55 years of age and 87 percent were Caucasian. Two of the chain’s main competitors, Target and Kohl’s, appealed to younger shoppers who represent the long-term future for most brands. Going after a younger, upwardly mobile, more diverse segment made complete sense.

Whether through research and/or experience and intuition, JCPenney sharply defined their new audience during their re-branding as the tech-savvy Millennials who are diverse ethnically and in their sexual orientation. The re-branding against this audience was “textbook perfect” by the merely establishing a sharp audience focus and then shaping each and every touch point, from merchandising through all communications, to resonate with this segment. They have been successful in attracting this new customer who previously never gave JCP much thought. Along with a temporary absence of sales and discounts, however, sales plummeted through a loss of their traditional core customer who not only could not relate to this new brand, but didn’t necessarily like the audience JCP was embracing.

Lost in the conversation about discounts and a new audience was the strategy to create a mall within the store through fashionably-designed and brand-named mini shops. The department store itself is a very old and somewhat dated concept, so such a strategy could re-vitalize this very large, often multi-level retail space.

Going Forward

It’s time to put hindsight behind and take on the challenge of moving JCPenney forward after this re-branding. Here are some of my thoughts.

1. Continue with the mall-within-a mall-concept. There are millions of square feet of dated retail space under the JCPenney name and this update makes the store more appealing to any target audience.

2. JCPenney has very quickly apologized to their core customer, saying they are now listening. They obviously haven’t been listening very long and they should formally get to know this shopper like they did with the Millennials. The “Frumpies” (I didn’t coin the term) should be better understood as an important target.

3. Find out what the brand stands for with the core audience. The brand is what they think it is, not what JC Penney wants it to be. Let research reveal the brand and then be the best at.

4. Along the way, find out what is important to the core audience, what are their aspirations, fears and values? What shopping experience do they want? Where does e-commerce fit in? For shoppers who left JCPenney, where did they go and why?

5. Keep the lines of communication open through social media. Don’t ever stop listening.

6. Let the core customer lead the way to future change. Evolve to a younger audience one step at a time.

7. Don’t let the new JCP brand targeted to Millennials die. It’s perfect for a smaller specialty store inside a mall or strip center.

One asset JCPenney has by default after their re-branding is that it has become an underdog brand and that carries a lot of positive weight in this country. What other assets do they have that can be leveraged? What else can they do to get back on track?

In the not so distant past, the majority of consumer market research was conducted over the phone, through the mail or in person. These three methods represented the only “interactive media” at the time and landline telephone was the dominent research vehicle. Today it is estimated that online accounts for over half of the total volume of US survey collection. Modern technology has revolutionized consumer research in an amazingly short time, providing both new opportunities and new challenges of accuracy.

Landline Telephone

Telephones were the ideal data collection vehicle for decades. Virtually every American household had at least one landline and that translated into excellent coverage from which to draw a sample. At the same time, data collection firms could purchase names and phone number lists that already met target respondent demographic parameters thereby reducing screening time and costs. Life was good. For a while.

However, even before new technology entered the research picture, the invasion of telemarketing calls (prior to “do not call” lists,) substantially reduced respondent participation rates increasing costs and decreasing reliability.

Online

Online research initially was the answer to the decline in telephone response rates. Unlike phone surveys, it is self-administered thus eliminating interviewer bias and cost. Additionally, more questions can be asked, visuals can be used and results are tabulated as entered by the respondents. Online access was growing rapidly providing wide US coverage. Fast, accurate and inexpensive. Life was good again. Telephone was out. For a while.

As online usage expanded, so did unwanted email. Anti-spam software became the “do not call” list for email. Randomly sent email invitations for a survey began to wind up in junk mail. Similar to telephone research, response rates began to plummet.

The solution became online panels where consumers are incentivized in advance to participate in surveys. This method is widely used today and also widely challenged. While internet access is near 100%, less than 5% of US households belong to a panel and many belong to more than one. Coverage is very narrow. Results from the same questionnaire can be different from one panel to the next even though they are demographically balanced. Are panel results truly reliable or are we mainly interested in saving time and money? Maybe telephone research isn’t so bad.

Back to Telephones

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in telephone research due to its wide coverage and more random participation by consumers. Response rates are improving as households are receiving fewer calls due to the “do not call” lists.

The latest challenge however, is the increasing use of mobile phones. It is estimated that 36% of US households have a cell phone only and 16% have a cell and a landline but use their mobile phone more often. A landline phone is typically a household phone where mobile phones are personal and portable making the targeted respondents more elusive. Better lists of names and mobile phone numbers are becoming available and the interviews are becoming shorter and/or pre-scheduled.

To increase efficiency, time and cost, automated telephone polls and surveys are on the rise. We are all aware of these “surveys” when we call a customer service number (or they call us) and speak with a computer activated voice. Similar to online surveys, no interviewers are required and results can be rapidly tabulated. Phone surveys can now be fast and inexpensive. Will they continue to grow within the field of market research? How do we know for sure who participated in the survey?

Back to Online

Mobile phones have not only changed the way telephone surveys are conducted, but they are also changing online research as well. With an ever-increasing use of smartphones, especially among traditionally hard to reach segments like young adults and minority groups, market research is quickly embracing the technology. Smartphones open research opportunities well beyond traditional research. With geofencing technology that identifies a respondent’s location for example, interviews can capture real “in the moment” purchase decisions. Smartphone research is at its infancy today, but with coverage expanding, may become the dominant vehicle in the future much like landline telephone research was in the past.

My prognosis is that all of these techniques will be alive and well, each finding its niche in the future. We will be seeing more studies that combine these methods thus demanding more generalization than specialization among researchers. Life will be great. Where do you think its all going?

I first started reading marketing books back in the day when they were brief and didn’t task my short attention span. I could usually take away one good idea or marketing insight in about 15 minutes, although that was hardly worth $14.99.

Today, the books highlighted below are staples for me in my branding role at Melamed Riley and are what I consider some of the best marketing books out there. I found each one to be filled with insights coming from totally different perspectives. I reference them often and wish they were longer.

Buyology
Truth and Lies About Why We Buy
By Martin LindstromI have to admit, the gimmicky title first drew me into this book. As it turns out, the title is in no way a gimmick but rather a great description of the methodology and results for each of the marketing topics included. It could be called “The Biology of Buying,” but that’s not very sexy unless you’re a real diehard research person (I am not really).

The book’s premise is that the key to understanding consumer motivation and behavior lies at the mysterious subconscious level. The author points out how difficult it is to research people at this level since we don’t understand, or even acknowledge, how our own subconscious influences our behavior. Hence, more scientific, “biological methods” like neurology are used to answer some age old questions about the effectiveness of product placement, rituals and sex in advertising, to name a few.

How Brands Become Icons
The Principles of Cultural Branding
By Douglas B. HoltThis is a huge, multidimensional and enigmatic topic for anyone to tackle. The author crushed it. The definition of an iconic brand, in of itself, is a major contribution to the branding world from this reading. The work is full of relevant, fascinating case study examples ranging from Harley-Davidson (of course) to Budweiser to the Volkswagen Beetle. Along with the marketing insight throughout, it’s a great historical view of US pop culture from World War II to the present.

What I found most insightful is that an iconic brand creates its own myth and following by representing a cultural contradiction. Since culture is evolving, an iconic brand must always be looking ahead for the next contradiction it can be part of. Kind of a risky and demanding brand position.

All Marketers Are Liars
The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works — and Why Authenticity Is the Best Marketing of All
By Seth GodinOnce again, I was drawn in by the title. After reading the book however, the reality is that marketers should lie more. Not really, but by understanding the stories that consumers want to believe in, we can better fit our brand into that story (whether it is a factually true story or not).

My favorite “lie” is that wine tastes better when served in the proper glass. Expert wine tasters would all agree. The author points out that scientific testing, where subjects did not know the shape of the glass, show no taste differences between glasses. A lot of money has been made by creating and fitting into this “lie.”

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand
By Al Ries and Laura RiesI have had this book for quite some time and whenever I pick it up, it’s new again and relevant. Although some of the brand examples are dated, the laws are not. This is a “pocket-sized” handbook that you can take with you wherever you go in case you are in a jam and need a quick, visceral, telegraphic answer to a branding question (there should be an app for it).

While the laws are Marketing 101-level, simple and agreeably immutable, they have been broken many, many, many times. Maybe that’s the charm of this book and why it will always be relevant.

Some others I have that are always within reach:

Brand Relevance
Making Competitors Irrelevant
By David A Aaker

Focus
The Future of Your Company Depends on It
By Al Ries

Passion Brands
Why Some Brands Are Just Gotta Have, Drive All Night For, and Tell All Your Friends About
By Kate Newlin

What’s Your BQ™
Learn How 35 Companies Add Customers, Subtract Competitors, and Multiply Profits with Brand Quotient™
By Sandra Sellani 

All of these books are “pinned” on a Melamed Riley Pinterest board titled “Best Marketing Books.”

 

 

Have you read any great marketing books lately? If so, I would love some new book recommendations to add to my reading list — leave me your best marketing book recommendation in the comments section below.

It was around this time a year ago I was visiting my sister and admiring her brand new 44-inch flat screen TV. Of course, I couldn’t help but ask her to describe (in detail) the purchase decision process. As it turned out, it was quite simple.

Cheryl and her husband went to their local Best Buy and spent considerable time with a very well-informed Best Buy associate. He helped them determine the best size, features, price range and brand for them. Armed with this guidance and having compared picture quality at the store, they thanked him and then proceeded to make their purchase from Amazon, saving money and delivery time. I said that this was a smart way to shop, not realizing at the time, that this “purchasing model” was beginning to keep brick and mortar retailers up at night. Best Buy not only served as a “touch and feel” showroom for their competitor, but their sales associate did most of the selling.

For brick and mortar discounters, department stores and specialty big box retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond, Staples and Best Buy, price, selection and convenience have always been at the core of their brand. Record-setting Black Friday sales of over 1 billion dollars online, followed by Cyber Monday online sales exceeding last year by 30%, demonstrate a growing re-definition of price, selection and convenience that could include brick and mortar stores as e-commerce showrooms only.

Best Buy alone has 1100 stores in the U.S., at an average size of 45,000 square feet. That’s just under 50-million square feet of space to use profitably. While the longer-term answer might be to consolidate locations and develop smaller stores, what can these chains do short-term to bring more customers into their existing stores to purchase? Here are some areas where changes can begin to be made.

1. Retailers need to brand their concepts more like manufacturers brand their products. They must establish a clear target audience and a value proposition that they can uniquely deliver to that audience. JC Penney may have had the right idea in their re-branding, but the best parts of that new branding strategy were overshadowed by a pricing strategy that did not include special sales.

2. Retailers must focus more on the shopping experience that has been virtually disregarded in many of the big box concepts. New technologies can remove the traditional frustrations of shopping while adding some fun. As Kathleen highlighted in her last Melamed Riley blog, mobile checkout can eliminate the frustration of waiting in line and personalized entertainment can be provided through tablets placed in fitting rooms. Currently under development is the “magic mirror” that will show how clothes look on a consumer who simply stands in front of an LCD monitor – that’s convenience, selection and fun.

3. Sales associates need to provide more than what can be easily found online. They should be more personal, guiding customers based on their previous purchases much like Amazon is doing online.

4. Retailers need stronger, mutual partnerships with manufacturers to offer exclusive products and promotions and help build each other’s brand. If price is the only deal-maker, both sides lose.

5. Customer loyalty is old news. Retailers must use every touch point available to them, on and off line, to create customer advocacy. Traditional customer service, like standing behind their products, is far from enough.

Brick and mortar stores are not going away any time soon as people will always love shopping, especially the social aspects of the experience. Apple is a great example of how physical and online stores can not only successfully coexist, but feed off of each other. And even Amazon, the world’s greatest online retailer, recognizes the power of touch and feel and personal contact as they are now testing their own brick and mortar stores in Seattle.

With some of the above strategies in place, my sister may have felt a genuine affinity with “her Best Buy” and made the purchase with them as part of an on-going relationship with the brand.

Can a brand advertising quality substantially improve its perception of quality in tracking research without a corresponding increase in ad awareness? For those in the field of neuromarketing, the answer is a resounding yes. Neuromarketing research has shown that ads, for example, can enter the subconscious mind without any recall at the conscious level. Additionally, some neuroscience tecniques claim to measure if an ad is being stored in our long-term memory or not.

Neuromarketing is a growing field in marketing research, especially for advertising and packaging studies. The foundational theory is that for any decision we make, 85% stems from our subconscious and only 15% from our conscious level. Generally speaking, our emotions live in our subconscious mind and are protected and rationalized at the conscious level.

The implication for traditional marketing research is not good. Think of a focus group where respondents have plenty of time to rationalize their answers. Are we capturing only 15% of the real story? Think about a business committee judging advertising concepts (typically at the rational/conscious-level) and it gets scarier yet.

But how do we get inside the 85%? Leave it to technology – mostly very expensive technology. Early pioneers like Buyology, Inc. used an fMRI to measure the brain’s response to brands and advertisements. Depending on where brain activity occurred, they could “measure” the likeability of an ad, whether it was easy to follow or frustrating, and whether or not it triggered an emotional response.

fMRI machines are not very portable, so popular among today’s neuromarketers is a wireless EEG. Now the respondent can actually move about and look at packaging in a real store where brain activity is measured. This technology has shown that a package seen in a store can leave a memorable subconscious impression without the respondent recalling ever seeing the package.

Neither of these techniques works very well for phone or online research, so there is another totally different approach called Latency Response.

It’s all about whether or not you have to think about your answer to a question. If you can answer in a micro-second, it’s coming from your subconscious. If your answer takes a second or two, you are operating at your rational, conscious level. Response time can be measured over the phone and online.
The link to follow will take you to a real life example of the Latency Response technique. Give it a try if you are brave enough to know how you really feel about sexuality, religion, race and other fun topics at your subconscious level. Visit: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/. (Note that the site warns that if you are unprepared to encounter interpretation that you might find objectionable, please do not respond to the questionnaire.)

Neuromarketing has raised more questions about ethics than efficacy. When ads directed to children reflect findings from neuromarketing techniques, have we raised the level of advertising or have we raised the level of brainwashing? When these techniques can uncover personal identification numbers (brain-hacking), have we gone too far? Is it criminal to apply these techniques through our computer or television screens looking back at us (facial coding) without our knowledge?

These issues will accompany neuromarketing as it evolves and becomes more main stream. For now, results are new and fresh when it comes to ads and brands and further supports argument to engage emotions through advertising.

In the spirit of the political season and through the courtesy of Buyology, Inc., here is where our two parties stand at the subconscious level for some well-known brands.

Both parties do agree, at the subconscious level, that their favorite beverage is Coca-Cola and their favorite technology is Apple. I am sure however, that they could find a way to debate these preferences at the conscious level if given the chance.

One Medium at a Time

It wasn’t that long ago when the only major challenge, and measure of a great ad, was “breakthrough.” The ad needed to stand out from the clutter of competition and other advertisers within the same medium. A breakthough TV advertisement stood out from all other TV ads, a breakthrough radio ad was only required to stand out from all other radio spots, etc. Breakthrough remains important today, but the requirements are vastly different.

Simultaneous Multimedia Consumption

It wasn’t that long ago when multimedia referred to a campaign or a production that used more than one medium. That definition still applies, but today it can also be used to describe how people consume media. Audiences now consume media in multiple forms – ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Simultaneous multimedia consumption adds another dimension and challenge for breakthrough advertising. As if this were not enough, another trend is developing that creates yet another barrier between advertisers and their audiences.

Declining Attention Span

The trend is referred to as the evolving Digital Brain. This “new” segment is made up of both Digital Immigrants (30+ in age who are heavy computer users but did not grow up with computers) and Digital Natives (under 30 who grew up with computers). The most defining attribute of the Digital Brain is a short attention span. While measurement is somewhat subjective, the average adult attention span has declined from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2012. (The average goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds, but in all fairness, there’s not much going on in their lives.)

The short attention span in reality is the Digital Brain scanning through a barrage of information to land on what is most relevant to them personally. Some “experts” say this use of technology is changing how the brain functions with more activity witnessed in the part of the brain governing short-term memory.

While there is much interest and debate on how educators will best teach the Digital Brain in the future and what kind of people they will turn out to be, our industry’s challenge to “breakthrough” has once again been magnified. They can access our messages 24/7, but their hyper connectivity leaves them in a state of continuous partial attention.

Breaking Through

A lot is being written and discussed about reaching the Digital Brain through the new and traditional media, but what about the messages themselves? Have the rules changed? Or, should the guidelines below (that we too often drift away from) simply be more emphatically followed than ever before?

1. The message must be sharply focused to making a single point – fast!
2. A point-of-difference is not optional, rather it is critical to getting attention!
3. We can’t try to educate an audience but rather, give them a reason to educate themselves!
4. They must see themselves (lifestyle) in the ad!
5. Brand and message must be consistent at every media and consumer touchpoint!

If we can do these things effectively, our messages can pass through their elaborate and sophisticated screening process and connect with the person inside.

What new rules about messaging should we add to this list to resonate with the Digital Brain?

One of the first ways marketers segmented consumers is based on generational age groups. The idea is that shared experiences, especially in the coming of age years, create bonds in values, beliefs and attitudes (and sometimes music) that are shared by the group throughout life. This basis for segmentation has held up well for decades with many marketers today targeting the 50-to-64 crowd not as seniors, but rather with an understanding of the mindset of Baby Boomers. (Some are getting it right and some are way off.)

A new market segment is now emerging to compare and contrast with the Baby Boomers, GenX and Millennials. The segment is made up of teens 13-to-19 and is becoming best known as the iGeneration (also known as Generation Z and iGen’ers). The “i” signifies the media devices they are using, iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc., and that these technologies are very individualized. Until recently, this group was lumped in with the Millennials and expected to share that generation’s characteristics. This is no longer the case.

Compared with the tech-savvy Millennials, iGen’ers are becoming tech-dependent as they were born into a digital world. They are growing up with mobile devices while their Millennial counterparts grew up primarily with PCs and clumsy laptops. With the world at their fingertips, these teens show a level of texting, multi-tasking and media consumption that far exceeds that of any other cohort segment.

We are getting to know how to reach this generation through media, but is there a defining mindset that we can tap into? What values do they, or will they share? In what ways will they be different from the Baby Boomers, GenX and the Millennials? Each of these previous cohort segments share distinctive traits that have carried through life.

By experiencing important social movements, prosperous times and a youth-oriented culture while coming of age, the Baby Boomers are idealistic, forever young and prone to reject authority.

Through their experience with Watergate, both parents working and a faltering economy, GenX is characterized as being independent, pragmatic and mistrusting of institutions.

While cutting their teeth on computer keyboards and being raised by doting, child-centric parents forcing all forms of formal group activities, the Millennials are confident, optimistic and team-oriented.

As an important consumer segment, can we describe the mindset of the iGen’ers as clearly as we can for previous generations? What will be the lifelong, defining nature of a group most frequently described today as:

Speed demons
Open books (private only in money matters)
Shortcutting the language
Seeking individualized experiences
Unengaged by traditional schooling techniques (like books)
Into creating their own content
Early adapters who expect innovation
Multi-taskers
Always present in a social way
More in touch with global issues and cultures

Do any of these descriptors, all driven to some degree by technology, matter that much? Can we use these behaviors to shape messages that will resonate with this audience? What about the tough economic times, climate change and the terrorism they are growing up with?

It seems to me that researchers and “experts” are more intrigued with naming this generation than really trying to understand it. They are putting far too much weight on technology with little consideration for life experiences. Being tech-savvy or tech-dependent does not define what is important. If we really want to “get” these teens, we should take the time to understand their dreams and challenges – offline.

I agree that they will not be the same as the Millennials, but we are a long way from knowing how they will be different. As one iGen put it in a recent thread:

“We can’t really define our generation yet because the oldest of us (that’s me) are still defining ourselves. Plus, we’ve had little impact on the world yet. As a generation, we basically are unimportant so far.”

What do you think will make them important when they become adults?

What I like best about branding and research is working with market segments. Obviously, no two people (or snowflakes) are alike, but dealing with millions of consumers individually is a bit overwhelming. So through heavy-duty statistical analysis, we classify consumers into segments or categories. People in the same segment tend to share motivations and behaviors relative to a product category.

The segment that fascinates me most is referred to as Yuppies (Young Urban Professionals).

A Yuppie is someone who is into conspicuous personal consumption usually made conspicuous by brand choice. They are obsessed with social status and considered to be vain and materialistic. They live hectic lives, chasing success and the good life.

They are fascinating to me because first, they were invented by Madison Avenue in the mid-’80s sans any research at all, so there is no way to really find them or know how many exist. Secondly, no one will admit to being a Yuppie because everyone else makes fun of them. And finally, while they were declared dead in 1987, they are not only alive and well today (our president was accused of being one of them during the 2007 campaign), but growing internationally.

Over the years, there has been much more focus on making fun of this segment than on actually marketing to them.

While the name Yuppie carries with it mostly negative and funny connotations, this is a very important segment to advertisers and their agencies. We do know for sure that demographically, they are young, affluent and upwardly mobile. For international marketers, their presence and importance are being discovered in Japan, Korea, China, Russia, Western European countries and even some of the booming nations of India, and Southeast Asia. Marketers need to get serious about this segment and that begins with a name change.

A client of ours recently found through their research, a segment that looks a whole lot like the Yuppies in the United States and many of their targeted international markets. Melamed Riley is going to be hearing a lot more about Yuppies in the near future, but the name will be changed to protect the innocent.

Going into 2010, Blockbuster had over 5,000 stores and Borders had over 500 superstores. A likely scenario is that by the end of 2012, neither chain will have a brick & mortar presence. While these two brands failed at retailing, is there any equity left in the names that could be leveraged in a different space?

For my family and I, Blockbuster was part of our movie experience for years. At least one day over a weekend would become “A Blockbuster Night.” The location was convenient and we went together to browse the shelves, picking up a current movie while always on a treasure hunt for something remote but very special. Typically, we would wind up with something the family would enjoy together while also satisfying individual preferences. (At times, the shopping experience was better than the movies.) When I see the name Blockbuster today, I think of my kids living at home and actually agreeing on how to spend a Friday or Saturday evening. In spite of the late fees, I have a personal bond with this brand.

Borders is also one of my favorite brands. The store offered a unique experience with its relaxed atmosphere enhanced by jazz and the smell of fresh coffee. For my wife and I, it was a great place to visit, kind of a sanctuary, whether you had a book in mind or not. For readers it was a feast of curiosity and delight. This brand’s departure feels like losing a friend for me and for many others who are expressing their feelings on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Blockbuster and Borders were hit hard and fast by online purchasing through Netflix and Amazon, respectively. At the same time, both brands were left in the dust at retail by direct competitors, namely Family Video and Barnes & Noble. Their financial demise also came about abruptly with competitors and investors showing little interest in their physical assets. With store closings in progress, all that will soon remain are the brand names themselves. Will the names also disappear like the stores?

For now, at least Blockbuster will live on. The Dish Network Corporation recently purchased the bankrupt video-store chain with more interest in the name than the stores. The plan is to offer Dish customers a streaming service to rival Netflix. That service will be called Blockbuster. The intellectual properties of Borders (name, website, logos, etc.) will be auctioned next month and I am confident that this brand will maintain a relationship with its fans, most likely online.

With all negative press associated with these brands over the past year, they will prevail. Strong, established brands are incredibly durable.

Knowing and learning from what others in the field are doing goes along with my passion for branding. We pretty much all agree on what a brand is and what it is not. I have not seen any new “proprietary” definitions lately.

Agencies in the branding business instead use their brand diagrams as a way to communicate their competence and distinctiveness. They seem to brand the brand diagram. Here are a few examples. Keep in mind, they are all intended to reach the same end result.

I like this one visually. It should be animated though, as I see the wheels turning. Using the pie chart in the smaller circle is a nice touch for someone like me with a research background.

While some people might see this one as a family tree concept, I see the brand as the heart that pumps life into all other marketing and corporate activities.

This is called the “double vortex brand model.” I applaud the emphasis placed on marrying the internal culture with the external brand. In today’s digital world, the marriage is vital to brand consistency and success. To be even more current however, I recommend this one to be presented in 3D, glasses and all.

I like the symmetry created with all the arrows and the comprehensive feel of the visual (although I know some clients who would add to it.) If you step back and look at this one holistically, it’s just in time for the Fourth of July.

The diagram and branding process at Melamed Riley is simple, direct, and most importantly, focused. It is virtually confusion-proof with zero time required to understand the brand components. As a result, all energy is channeled to uncovering and developing a brand. Our diagram doesn’t contribute much of anything beyond simplicity to the process. It’s all about the people who freely bring their enthusiasm and unique perspectives to the table.

It’s funny. There’s nothing we could trademark about the way we work except for the relevance and uniqueness of the brands unleashed by our people.