Jeremy Miller's Blog, page 18

How Wonder Bread Got Its Name and Defined a Category

It’s the best thing since sliced-bread. Lots of products try to make that claim, but Wonder Bread owns it. Wonder Bread was the first sliced-bread. No wonder it’s wonderful!

I’m not a millennial, but even I have a hard time imagining a world before sliced-bread. But it happened. For the first 2,000 or so years of human existence bread came in loaf. You could tear it or cut it yourself, but that was it. Bread was bread, and it required a little manual labor when you wanted to eat it.

Even Wonder Bread started its existence as a loaf.

First marketed by the Taggart Baking Company of Indianapolis in 1921, Wonder Bread was packaged in a colorful bag, but with no slices. It wouldn’t be for another twelve years before Americans were introduced to pre-wrapped, pre-sliced bread.

Even before slicing was introduced, the brand was positioned for success. Elmer Cline, VP of Marketing at Taggart, came up with the brand name and packaging. According to the Wonder Bread Cookbook, “Inspiration struck while Elmer was visiting the International Balloon Race at the Indianapolis Speedway. He was awestruck by a sky filled with hundreds of colorful balloons. To Elmer, the image signified a sense of ‘wonder,’ and Wonder Bread was born.”

The authors continue, “Since that time, the colorful red, blue and yellow balloons have been the cornerstone of Wonder Bread’s logo and package.”

The Wonder Bread team were masterful marketers, and they rapidly built the brand with innovative campaigns. There was a singing quartet, known as the Happy Wonder Bakers, hired to promote the brand on national radio. There was the Wonder Ship — a blimp that looked like the brand’s packaging with the brand name and bright, colored dots. At the Chicago and New York World Fairs in 1934 and 1939, Wonder Bread created full-scale working bakeries.

In my favorite campaign, the company delivered helium-filled balloons to children, and then asked them to take a letter home to their mothers. The card asked mom to try the new bread. The promotion was so successful that Wonder Bread’s sales surpassed all of its competitors.

These promotions were not-only effective, they positioned the brand for one of the biggest innovations of the baking industry. In 1932 Wonder Bread forever transformed bread with the introduction of the first pre-wrapped, pre-sliced bread.

Knowing what we know of sliced-bread today, it’s hard to imagine a world without it. But in the early 1930s consumers were skeptical. There were fears that pre-sliced bread would dry out more quickly, or wouldn’t taste as fresh.

Wonder Bread countered the skepticism with its massive hype machine. To promote the innovation of pre-sliced bread Wonder Bread ads proclaimed, “The greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped.” This later morphed into the phrase, “The best thing since sliced-bread.”

Wonder Bread also educated its customers on the new product innovation. In an ad in Time Magazine, Wonder Bread explained, “1) Open wrapper at one end, 2) Pull out pin, 3) Remove as many slices as desired.”

Sounds pretty obvious and self explanatory, well except for the pin part.

The pin was an early packaging technique. The slicing technology wasn’t perfected yet, and the bread looked “sloppy” on the store shelves. It didn’t sit up right and look fresh like what we see today on store shelves.

To compensate for the visual imperfections, Wonder Bread added a little extra structure to the packaging.

Within the decade, Wonder Bread tipped from a strange idea to common place. And now companies of all kinds claim their product innovations are the next best thing since sliced-bread. That’s a pretty big claim when you compare how Wonder Bread defined a brand category and set consumer expectations for generations to come.

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Branding has an Identity Crisis

Ask anyone for the definition of “branding,” and you’ll get a different answer. It’s nuts, but true.

In the marketing realm the answers vary widely:

Philip Kotler: “Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand.”

Marty Neumeier: “Any effort or program designed to increase value or avoid commoditization by building a differentiated brand.”

David Meerman Scott: “Branding is what lazy and ineffective marketing people do to occupy their time and look busy.”

David’s response is priceless!

Turn Up the Volume on Your Marketing

Here is the shocking truth. The majority of content being published on the internet — your’s, mine, everyone’s — is being ignored.

A study published by Moz analyzed one million articles, and the results are downright depressing. The authors state, “50% [of articles] had 2 or less Facebook interactions (shares, likes or comments) and over 75% had zero external links.”

Companies are investing in content marketing, but to what end? Articles are basically being ignored.

It’s not really surprising. Since Hubspot began evangelizing inbound marketing in 2005, every company has jumped on the content marketing bandwagon. To the point now, where most people are just tuning it out.

The Question: What Do You Do?

It’s not like you can stop content marketing. Content is what drives your presence on search and social. But how do you manage the reality that 75% of your work is going to waste?

The first thing you have to do is accept the facts:

People are still consuming content, lots of it. According to Nielsen, “American adults spend more than 11 hours per day watching, reading, listening to or simply interacting with media.” Your customers are very active in social media, and your brand better be visible there too.

People are spending the bulk of their time in their social media feeds: swiping, scrolling, browsing. They consume what they see versus clicking for more.
Google rewards long form content. According to Moz, “85% of content published (excluding videos and quizzes) is less than 1,000 words long. However, long form content of over 1,000 words consistently receives more shares and links than shorter form content.”

You can’t retreat and produce less content, because it’s not performing well. You’ve got to get more vocal and more diverse to be seen.

My Answer: Turn Up the Volume

That’s what I’m doing. At Sticky Branding, we’ve taken a “portfolio strategy” to our content marketing:

More content. For the longest time I’ve been producing one article per week. Now, we are creating custom content for seven channels: email, blog, two LinkedIn Profiles, LinkedIn Group, Instagram, Twitter, and a Facebook Page.

More diverse types of content. It’s not just articles and links to articles anymore. We are creating video, live stories, images, and discussions.

More long form content. I’ve written about this before: Google rewards long form content. According to the research, you need to target 1,500 to 2,500 word articles to rank in Google. This is your SEO strategy.
Measure everything: When you produce more, you have to know what’s working and what isn’t working.

The early indicators are positive, and confirm Moz’s research. For example, my LinkedIn Posts (updates to my feed) are generating 10 to 15 times more views and interactions than LinkedIn Articles. The nice thing is, LinkedIn Posts don’t take nearly as long to create.

We may be producing more, but it’s not dramatically more work. Rather, it’s a shift in strategy.

Anecdotally, I am hearing positive feedback too. My friends and fans are noticing, and many appreciate the new content we are sharing.

Part of the inspiration for my approach is Gary Vaynerchuck. He says, “Document don’t create.”

Gary argues companies are spending too much time trying to get the perfect imagery, the perfect story, the perfect idea. His approach is the other extreme. His content marketing is like a stream of consciousness. You are getting to live his business life and ideas in real-time.

Gary is amazing, but most of us cannot duplicate (or even come close to recreating) what he does. And that’s ok.

My argument is you don’t have to be like Gary. All you have to do is turn up the volume on your marketing. Get more active. Put yourself out there more frequently. Show more of the people behind your brand. And then measure the results.

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How Do You Know if Your Brand Is Working? It Sells!

The easiest way to tell if your brand is working is sales:

Are you attracting new customers?
Are they buying?
Are they coming back again and again?

A strong brand moves the sales needle, but the devil is in the details. It’s all about winning the ties and repeating the buys. (Nice alliteration, right?)

Win the Ties

Your customers have choice, lots of choice. When someone is comparing their options they will choose the better brand. Sometimes that will be the category leader, and at other times it will be the more innovative, challenger brand. Whichever brand presents the best option wins.

Branding is like a combat sport, and the quality of your marketing is your weapons and armor. If your website and marketing materials are out of date, it’s like showing up with a rubber knife. Good luck!

Without a Sticky Brand, your business is dependent on two things to win the ties: personal relationships and low prices.

Selling based on relationships and price are fine when you’re small or when you don’t have much competition. But they quickly lose their power as an industry matures or you start competing against better brands.

Your brand is a signal to potential customers what they can expect from your organization. Customers choose strong brands first, because it reduces their perceived risks.

Repeat the Buys

A brand isn’t sticky without repeat customers. #TruthBomb

Winning a customer once is great, but if they don’t come back what does that say about your brand? Very rarely do companies sell something just once. Even heart surgeons get repeat business.

As a patient, you may not visit the heart surgeon multiple times (and I hope you never have to), but the surgeon receives repeat referrals. GPs and other specialists refer patients to the surgeons that possess the best brands and best reputations. Repeat referrals is a signal of a strong brand.

What brings customers back is not marketing, it’s the quality of your services. I truly believe that successful businesses create successful brands, and never the other way around. Bringing customers back comes from within. It comes from the quality of your products, services, business model and delivery.

If you have great marketing but poor delivery, you’re not going to repeat the buys.

Win the Ties / Repeat the Buys

Sticky Brands are the whole package: great marketing, great products, great people.

Branding is multifactorial. It takes a lot of moving parts to create a successful business and brand, but the reward is tangible: You see it in your sales. A strong brand means customers are more likely to buy, more likely to refer, and more likely to come back again and again.

All of these are measurable, and all three metrics will tell you how your brand is performing today.

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Google Defines Your Brand Messaging

Like it or not, Google is defining your brand. This is most obvious in your brand messaging.

If you wind back the clock a few decades, you see a very different style of brand messaging:

1948: De Beers, “A diamond is forever.”
1962: Avis, “We’re number two. We try harder.”
1967: M&M’s, “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.”

Each of these were brilliant, category defining slogans, and they have stood the test of time. There’s an elegance to the copywriting, and each statement hits on a singular truth. But would these phrases work as well if they were introduced for the first time in 2019? Probably not. And we have Google to thank for that.

Google is ubiquitous. We use it every day to find information and navigate the world around us. I use “world” deliberately, because we use Google to get directions, to look up people, and to find answers. It’s more than a search engine, it’s a personal assistant.

Our constant interaction with Google has conditioned the way we think and navigate. For example, if you’re looking for a web developer in your area you may search, “web developer + [your city].” You may narrow the search further by typing, “WordPress web developer + [your city].”

Notice how factual these search terms are. They do not have a benefit statement nor a value proposition. There’s no creative copywriting or a cute turn-of-phrase. They are simple, categorical statements.

This pure, distilled form of communication is replacing the traditional slogan. “A diamond is forever” may be true, but that’s not how customers are searching for diamonds.

What this means for brand messaging is critical: clarity trumps creativity.

“Just the facts ma’am. Just the facts.” I’ve never watched an episode of Dragnet (a TV show from the fifties), but Joe Friday’s catchphrase is stuck in my head. Focus on the facts to win at branding.

That’s what Google is all about, and that’s where you need to put your time and energy. Instead of developing a creative slogan or unique selling proposition, break up your brand messaging into its core components:

Category: What is your industry or business? More importantly, how do your customers search for related companies on Google?

Specialization: Does your business specialize in a niche or vertical market? This is the phrase your customers will use to narrow down their choices.

Location: Is your business geographically specific? If so, this is a powerful way to differentiate your brand.

Customers: Who does your company serve? You can’t grow a remarkable brand by serving everyone.

Trigger Events: What issues or situations propel your customers to seek out your products and services?

You don’t have to use all of the components listed above. Choose the ones that are most relevant for your customers. How would they find your company, products, or services on Google?

When you understand how people find you, you have an opportunity to clarify your brand. Think of a Google search as a reference point or a marker. It’s the first step in the buyer’s journey.

The easier your brand is to find — using the language of Google — the more memorable it will become. That translates into more referrals, more sales, and more customers.

How has Google influenced your brand messaging?

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Put a Face on Your Brand

The most interesting part of your brand is often undervalued: it’s you and your team.

Advertising legend, David Ogilvy, believed photographs sell better than illustrations. He wrote in Ogilvy on Advertising, “The consumer cannot identify herself with the character in the cartoon. And cartoons do not invite belief.” Ogilvy’s ads showcased real people doing real things.

In this era of social media and #TMI, customers want to go beyond ads with people — they want to see you!

I’ve always intuitively known this, but sometimes I need to hear it in a sales context for the lesson to truly hit home. Yesterday a prospect said to me, “I looked at your photos on your website and thought to myself, ‘This person looks kind. He looks like someone I could work with.’ And that’s why I decided to call.”

In the history of ever, no one has ever said that to me. It’s what I want and aspire to be, but I’ve never actually had it reinforced. It was this moment of clarity that demonstrated that customers want to know the people inside the brand.

Revealing the human side of your brand is probably more important now than ever before. This is a result of how we’re using social media: we look at people, not things on LinkedIn or Instagram. That has an impact on what customers expect when they visit your website.

Showcasing the people in your brand doesn’t have to be complicated.

For instance, Joseph Nefsky, owner of Out of the Woods Custom Woodworking, creates absolutely stunning, custom-made wood furniture. Without even realizing it, I’ve been following Joseph’s work for awhile on Instagram. He’s an artisan and he posts videos of himself stripping bark, working with epoxy, or installing his finished products.

Seeing him in action is an immediate differentiator. Not only do you get to buy his beautiful products, you get to know who is making them.

Revealing the people inside a company isn’t limited to small businesses. Big brands that showcase people form a deeper connection with their customers too.

Outdoor retailer MEC, does a brilliant job featuring “real people” throughout their website, but where they shine is in the About section. This is where you get to see the co-op’s history, membership, and leadership team. It’s very clear that people are a big part of what makes this organization successful.

Showcasing your people isn’t a complex idea: people buy from people, so show your people.

Your website is a great starting point, but don’t stop there. Look for other ways to humanize your brand. For instance, incorporate bio photos into your employees’ email signatures. This doesn’t have to be cheesy. Just use the same images they are using on LinkedIn. We’re used to seeing bio photos in social media, and it’s a natural extension to include them in email.

You can also make a point of introducing your team when you bring on a new client. Create a short video in your office. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just a simple acknowledgement that you’re real people that are really excited to be working with the client.

Don’t let your team hide behind your brand and marketing. Your customers want to know you. Step out into the spotlight! It’ll make your brand more likable and approachable, and that will translate into higher customer loyalty and increased sales.

What do you think?

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The Will to Win: How Great Brands Fight the Status Quo

Remarkable brands aren’t built by accident. You have to fight for it!

How badly does your team want to win?
Do they have the will to fight, and put in the time and effort to win?
Does your team take challenges personally?
Does a failure or a lack of achieving results drive them to do better?

Brands that win, fight. This doesn’t mean you have to “beat the competition” or even speak negatively about them. That’s not it. It’s more personal. It’s you and your team’s inner drive to create a remarkable brand.

It’s you versus the status quo. And losing is not an option.

Dave Logan (et al.) writes in Tribal Leadership, “Most strategies are based on an understanding of the external environment, not the highest aspirations of the tribe. As a result, even the best plans often fail because people aren’t giving it their all.”

That’s the truth! You can have the best strategy in the world, but if your team doesn’t step up and execute, it doesn’t matter.

It’s the will to win that separates average companies from Sticky Brands. Any team can come up with a brilliant idea, but only the driven will see it through to the finish line.

One of the best ways to rally your team’s energy and will to fight is by defining an enemy.

Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, writes in Behind the Cloud, “Salesforce.com only acknowledged one competitor — the market leader. After all, that was the only position for which we were vying. Furthermore, it cast us in the right role as the underdog and visionary. It’s always wise to play the visionary card. Everyone roots for you. If there is no Goliath in your industry, go after the status quo.”

You can fight the giants of your industry, or destroy the status quo. Both are fantastic enemies for your brand to conquer. Give your team an enemy, because it will harness and focus their energy.

In the early years, Salesforce.com built its brand by challenging (and ultimately defeating) Siebel. Apple built its brand by challenging Microsoft. Starbucks built its brand by challenging the status quo of cheap, diner coffee.

What is your brand’s arch enemy?

The market leader
The status quo
Someone else

Whatever you choose to fight, make sure it’s big enough. Defeating an arch enemy should be no easy task.

When Salesforce.com attacked Siebel in 2001 they were a tiny startup, whereas Siebel was a publicly traded company with revenue of $1.8 billion and 8,000 employees. It was a classic David versus Goliath story. The small but very aggressive startup attacked the market leader, and won. Today, Salesforce is the Goliath of the CRM industry.

No brand can change the status quo overnight, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. That’s how brands truly stand out. They reshape conventions and expectations by attacking their enemy again and again.

Each small victory is a step forward. Each attack is a progression. But this is a fight that requires stamina. Every day your team has to re-energize itself to take on the fight and attack one more time.

Fighting a defined enemy is a powerful brand strategy, because it mobilizes your team. It makes it personal. You and your team are defending your convictions. You’re protecting your customers. You’re challenging the status quo. You are defeating your brand’s arch enemy.

Fight!

A team that is driven to fight and challenge conventions will go far further than a team that’s executing a “business strategy.” A team that takes every challenge personally will push harder and accomplish more than a team of “doers.”

A team that wants to win and is committed to winning will grow a Sticky Brand.

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Stamping Out Creativity: How Managers Undermine their Employees

Ideas are delicate. They need to be defended, nurtured, and celebrated. Instead, ideas are judged, criticized, and crushed. When you stamp on a person’s ideas enough times they stop contributing. Worse, they stop believing they are creative. It’s tragic!

Managers are crushing their employees’ ideas (and spirits), and many don’t even realize it. Let me illustrate with an example.

Last year I delivered a branding workshop for a team of twelve marketers. It was a group of young, smart professionals, but for some reason I couldn’t get them to engage. It was like they were waiting for the answer.

Mid-morning the CEO popped in to see how we were doing. He’s a very creative guy and dove in head-first into the discussion. He was on fire: sketching ideas out on the whiteboard and generating idea after idea.

After an hour or so, he announced he had to run to another meeting. After he left I expected his energy and creativity would have rubbed off on the group, but it was the opposite. The group was even more reserved and hesitant to contribute.

That evening I reached out to Dr. Mary Donohue, a leading authority in generational communication in the workplace. I shared my experience and said, “I don’t get it. This group was brilliantly smart, but completely unwilling to engage or contribute ideas. What’s going on?”

Mary asked a few questions to diagnose the situation and then declared, “The CEO had stamped out the team’s creativity!”

When I went back through the day in my mind, I saw it. Every time someone shared an idea or made a suggestion, the CEO would counter with something like, “That’s not quite it. It’s this…” and then whiteboard his idea. Without even realizing it, he was stamping out his team’s creativity simply with his words and behaviors.

Unfortunately this is all too common. In every organization is immense creative potential, but so much of it gets destroyed by misinformed managers.

The CEO thought he was helping, but he was “one-upping” or “besting” his people, and they shut down. Other managers undermine their people’s creativity by superimposing their own ideas. While others criticize or judge ideas, because they’re not immediately applicable.

Whatever the scenario, if someone has their ideas stamped on enough times they’ll stop contributing.

We can lament all day about the failures of leaders, but that’s not the point of this article. What you really need to ask is “How do I harness the ideas and creativity of my people?”

It generates a multiplier effect when your people feel empowered and safe to contribute:

More ideas
Better ideas
More useful ideas that fit your business needs

Even more importantly, honoring your people’s creativity is a form of psychic income. It garners higher degrees of loyalty and engagement.

As a leader, I encourage you to focus on harnessing other people’s ideas. The approach or tactics you leverage may differ for each person on your team, but the results will more than pay for pay for themselves.

What do you think? Send me a comment or tweet me.

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Learn to Love No

To do something remarkable, rejection is inevitable.

Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before he got financing for Disney World. JK Rowling was rejected by twelve publishers before Bloomsbury took a chance on Harry Potter. Colonel Sanders pitched his secret recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken 1,009 times before he got his first “Yes.”

“No” is not a bad word, but that’s not how we’re taught. “We get it pounded into us that no is rejection—and rejection is painful. No is bad,” writes Tom Hopkins in the classic sales book, How To Master The Art of Selling.

Hopkins takes a contrarian stance. He teaches people to “Learn to love No.”

Walt Disney, JK Rowling, Colonel Sanders, and anyone else who has done something remarkable have learned to embrace no to achieve their dreams.

Every No Gets You Closer to Yes

Jack Canfield said, “Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected by 144 publishers. If we had given up after 100 publishers, I likely would not be where I am now. I encourage you to reject rejection. If someone says no, just say NEXT!”

If something is worth doing, you’re going to face obstacles. Rejection is part of life.

How you respond to it is what matters. Every no you receive is valuable input. Listen to it, understand the fears and doubts you’re hearing, and learn from the experience. The next time you pitch you can adapt your message and get even better.

More importantly, keep moving forward. Hopkins teaches sales people to “Learn to love No,” because every time you hear no you’re one step closer to yes.

Quiet the No Inside Your Head

That voice inside your head—you know the one that runs overtime with stories, scenarios and what-ifs. The one that can wind you up and fill you with doubt.

Tell that voice in your head to back off and shut up!

Internal rejection is far more insidious than being rejected by a prospect. It’s very hard to achieve your goals when the voice inside your head is derailing you.

Steven Pressfield describes internal rejection as “Resistance” in his book The War of Art.

Pressfield explains, “Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard, or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.”

Resist the no inside your head with all your might, because it is the hardest to overcome. But it’s essential. You can’t get anyone else to say yes until you believe in what you’re doing.

No Is a Measure of Success

Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”

Every time you hear a no, smile a little. You’ve just passed another milestone, and it’s time to try again.

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Pick Purpose Over Passion

I asked a job seeker, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” He replied, “Passionate!”

I did everything in my power not to laugh out loud.

Passion is overrated. You don’t find it. You earn it, nurture it, and grow into it. But for some reason people are being told to “follow their passions.” It’s terrible advice!

I’ve been interviewing to hire a marketing manager for Sticky Branding, and kissing the proverbial frogs to find my prince. I found her: her name is Sarah.

It’s been a while since I hired for myself, and I found the process fascinating. Again and again I heard candidates talk about their desire to be passionate about their work. Sadly, it wasn’t a positive story.

One candidate started out with a strong career. After graduating university, he joined a national retailer and achieved some real, tangible accomplishments. But then he quit. “I wasn’t passionate about the job,” he said. He then remained unemployed for the next two years.

He didn’t have a good answer when I pressed him on what he did for two years of unemployment. He basically did nothing in search of his passions.

If this was a one-off incident I wouldn’t think anything of it, but I interviewed three candidates all with very similar stories. They worked for a minute, didn’t like it, quit, and waited for their passions to arrive.

Maybe I am getting old, but their stories got under my skin. Who sits at home waiting to get passionate?

Tim Sanders, author of Love Is a Killer App, describes passion as energy. He explains, “Passion is very self-oriented. It is an energy. It is an enthusiasm. It is a passing of time.” He then states, “As we grow up into our adult life, we’ll never be mature until we learn to follow a purpose instead of following passion.”

That’s the disconnect. It’s not about your passions. It’s about your purpose.

As leaders, we are the creators of purpose. It is part of your brand. In defining a strategy for your business and brand, you are defining a purpose for you and your team.

For instance, answering “What do you want?” with the three positioning questions will lead you to your brand’s purpose:

What do you want?
Where do you play?
How do you win?
How do you want to be known?

A strong brand can help fill that void people feel with “lack of passion.” Your brand’s purpose can substitute a personal one. It gives them something to work towards that’s greater than themselves.

Purpose provides people the fortitude to do hard work. They can do stuff they’re not passionate about, because they have a higher calling. And that purpose will also help them discover their passions.

Angela Duckworth writes in Grit, “What most of us think when we think of passion is a sudden, all-at-once discovery… But a first encounter with what might eventually lead to a lifelong passion is exactly that—just the opening scene in a much longer, less dramatic narrative.”

This distinction between purpose and passion is important for leaders. You nurture passion from your people, not by standing up cheering and trying to get them to drink the corporate kool-aid. You unleash their passions with purpose, and helping them discover what they do is valued and really matters.

As much as this is about strategy and branding, it’s also about how you manage and lead. Your people need to understand that the work they’re doing matters. Are you giving them that understanding and connection so they can give you their very best too?

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