The Madoffing of Branding
At a recent fund raising event, I stood in a circle talking with a bunch of people, when I overheard a tired question to a member of our group to whom I was not yet introduced. “So What do you do?” went the question. “I’m in advertising, I build brands,” he replied with a smug confidence. So I took that as my cue to ask a follow-up question, “What does that mean, you build brands?” The gentleman went on to describe “branding programs” that his very successful 25 year old firm produces for clients. “We’re image builders,” he continued. So I went on to ask him what the average length of client engagement happened to be, “oh, about 3 years,” he said.
More Wine…
Yeah, more wine was just what I needed, so I pondered “Mr. Branding” on my way to get a Cabernet. While brands are important, I’m thinking that this guy’s advertising firm is with a client for about 3 years and he’s telling me he’s builds brands? Think about the venerable brands like Coke, Intel, Sony, Dunkin’ Donuts. How long did it take to build their brands? But, I guess this is the trouble with branding. As I’ve said before, branding has become a package to be sold, partly because it’s easier to sell to the client, it’s sexy, and partly because the client is looking for a quick and easy hit to sell the boss, the board, etc…and who’s to blame them? The most recent studies showed that the average CMO is around for under 24 months in their position…And what can you accomplish in that period of time?
Even More Whine…
I got my wine and went back for more questions. I wanted to learn about how he builds brands.
“Advertising.”
“What else?”
“That’s it”
“That’s it?”
“Yup.”
“What about integrating your advertising with the web?”
“Well, that’s up to the client, we’re in advertising.”
“What happened to your brand building?”
“Yeah, we do that through advertising.”
“Oh…I think I get a Merlot this time…If you’ll excuse me”
And that’s the problem! We’ve got advertising guys or creative guys calling themselves brand builders. While that is in-part true, it is only part of a larger picture. This is like the company who supplies the plane makers with seats for its planes calling itself an airline…But I digress. As if I have to state the obvious, advertising is only one component of branding, it’s a cog in the wheel? So why do advertisers and graphics people call themselves brand builders? You have a great logo, now what? You’re on the radio? Now what? GEICO‘s advertising is impressive, engaging and now interwoven in our culture, still that is only part of the GEICO brand experience. Call GEICO, speak to them, get their insurance, file a claim, interact with their people. That is their brand. I would consider their advertising, at this point, to be for brand awareness, which is part of their brand distribution strategy.
Why does this happen? Why do people continue to sell branding as a product? Because it’s appealing to talk “brand building” rather than advertising, it’s appealing to hear about how “your brand” can propel your business. So if branding is a result of a bunch of market driven communications, interaction with the customer, connecting with the customer, and developing an emotional attachment to the customer, why do I continuously hear people present it in a simplistic manner, as a singular activity that happens over brief periods of time?
This is what I am now branding the selling of branding, as I define it here, as the “Madoffing of Branding.” The Madoffing of branding is all about getting the account and selling your stuff. The times of managing quarter to quarter are over, they should have never started. And marketers need to become smarter about how they invest their resources. Suppliers of marketing services ought to partner with clients, as many industry on both the buyside and vendor side have been calling for years now. And when we partner with clients, their business becomes our business – yeah, that’s a bit scary and perhaps risky, but it is crucial for marketers, in this or any other enviornment, in order to stay relevant and deliver real value… It’s time for businesses to understand that while they are marketing for both today and the long term health of their business. In addition, the buyers of marketing services ought to bear some responsibility by making sure that marketing programs they are purchasing are relevant to their business plan and more importantly, their customers..more to come.
Tags: Advertising, bariatric marketing, Branding, consumer marketing, Financial services marketing, marketing strategy, Public Relations, Social Marketing, social networking
