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THE ONE THING A COMPANY SHOULD NEVER SELL
By Santhush de Silva
February 22, 2016
Uncategorized
Is it just us, or does it seem like consumers are paying a lot of attention to the crazy/unethical/ soulless corporate
behaviour of CEO’s, and others at the helm? If only their ads got that much attention. A few decades ago, if you
accidentally or deliberately sold your brand’s soul, probably few folks would notice. But today we’re living in a
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THE ONE THING A COMPANY
SHOULD NEVER SELL
marketing 2shbowl. You may not think anyone is looking, but they are. Everything from your supply chain, to labeling,
to your salary has the potential to put the ‘screw’ in scrutiny.
There are many ways, big and small, to sell your brand’s soul. Sooner or later, it will seem like a good idea, but it’s
going to mess things up. And if you’ve done it already, there are ways you can buy it back.
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February 2016
On an average day, you spend your days trying to build the brand, and sell it any which way you can. You’ve got tactics
that have tactics. Data that would 2ll 5 airplane hangars. There’s a new plan on the horizon, and it looks really good
on paper. The rationale is already writing itself in your head. Before you know it, a line extension is born, and it
contradicts every single reason people love your brand, and stay loyal.
This blogger, fan, brand-loyal guy says it all:
An avid and loyal BMW enthusiast wrote this in his blog:
‘BMW’s announcement today of the Lime Rock Edition M3 was the 2nal nail in the co;n for me. So why is it so
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painful? The M brand used to mean something. Really mean something. To me and auto enthusiasts everywhere. I
can’t think of a performance division of a company with more creditability than BMW’s motor sport brand back in the
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So back to today’s Lime Rock Edition M3 that BMW just announced. How does this thing even get approved? I can
picture the conversation in the marketing department now:
BMW Marketing Guy 1: Guys we really need to leverage our M brand.
Let’s release an M3 with a racetrack associated with it. Yeah like that big one in Germany– Nürburgring or something.
But I hear that place is expensive to rent, maybe we should use that track near headquarters here in the US, Lime
Rock?
BMW Marketing Guy 2: Yeah!
BMW Marketing Guy 1: Don’t we already sponsor that track? Sweet, lets make a Lime Rock Edition.
BMW Marketing Guy 2: What’s that mean?
BMW Marketing Guy 1: I don’t know but people will think its special.
BMW Marketing Guy 2: Really? Why?
BMW Marketing Guy 1: Well, because we’ll paint it a special color and add all our interior add-ons like the Knight
Rider wheel with the Fat bottom!
BMW Marketing Guy 2: But shouldn’t it have a signi2cant increase in performance to have a racetrack badge on it?
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BMW Marketing Guy 1: No, No, No — the car doesn’t need to be faster or handle better because we named it after a
racetrack! Just the opposite. Leave the engine the same and give it one of our handling packages that we already
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Luxury brands, and other categories, have been diluting their authenticity for years in an eIort to cut corners,
increase pro2ts, and make shareholders happy. In doing so, they are undermining their emotional connection to the
consumer.
New survey reveals the eIects of soul-less branding
In a 2013 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index Survey conducted by US-based Brand Keys, President Robert PassikoI
noted that in 11 categories including consumer packaged goods as well as cosmetics, the brand value, and emotional
connection had decreased or vanished altogether. In PassikoI’s view, this is alarming, but to be expected given the
activities of many companies who seem to have ‘ given up their souls’ in search of universal awareness and
distribution. Saying ‘this is the 2rst time we’ve seen such consumer reaction, where some major brands were seen as
indistinguishable’. There was one category, which retained emotional engagement: luxury brands.
For consumers, bait-and-switch is one of the worst forms of betrayal
Selling your brand’s soul when your DNA is built on a compelling diIerentiator of transparency is nothing less than a
betrayal of trust. ‘Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman’, as some cosmetics companies have found out, when they
reneged on their cruelty-free policies, in order to market in China where animal testing is mandatory by law. Social
media is fanning the Fames of public pressure. As companies have been ‘outed’, awareness has grown exponentially.
Currently, 67% of Americans oppose animal testing, 70% of South Koreans support a nation-wide ban on animal
testing, as do 81% of Canadians. The EU has led the way and banned beauty products tested on animals outside the
European Union.
Ben & Jerry’s ice cream was bought by Unilever in 2000, for $100 million. It was not an entirely friendly acquisition, as
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one of the founders, Ben Cohen, said, “I think that most of what had been the soul of Ben & Jerry’s is not gonna be
around anymore”. He also oIers this advice to other social entrepreneurs considering selling to a large organization:
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Products don’t have souls. But brands do.
There’s never been a better time to let your brand’s soul take the lead.
Why? Because there’s a climate of exposure and ‘outing’ of all wrongdoings right now, and by contrast, positive
gestures get noticed immediately. Consumers are on a witch-hunt, so be prepared to either be cruci2ed or
celebrated. Even a good product can suIer at the hands of a social media uproar over a contradiction of ethics. Look
at Lululemon: a high-quality product, despite one fabric faux pas, and recent reports are showing a 60% decline in
pro2ts. All because Chip Wilson contradicted the yoga principles his business espouses, and deep-sixed the very soul
of his brand, costing him personally $1.7 billion.
Nothing had more soul than that WestJet Christmas Miracle viral video. But did it pay oI?
Of course, everyone remembers the Christmas WestJet Miracle that became a viral sensation last year. That was, for
most of us the 2rst time WestJet got onto our social radar. But in actual fact, this approach is all part of a calculated
and deliberate long-term strategy, which is now paying oI.
There are clear, measurable business bene2ts to leading with soul. Without any call to action on the video itself in
the 14 days leading up to Christmas, WestJet saw:
Site tra;c increase by 100%
Bookings increase by 77%
Revenues up 86% on the previous year.
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Worth noting, the airline saw subscriptions to its YouTube channel rise more than ten-fold from 3,000 to 40,000. In
addition, previous video content on the channel, which had until then received just 3 million views, has now been
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WestJet’s expansion into Europe takes oI this month with the carrier’s inaugural Fight across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Calgary-based airline will Fy between St. John’s, Newfoundland and Dublin, Ireland. Already, the company says
80 per cent of the seats are sold. “It’s the most successful service from the point of announcement to the point of
launch in WestJet’s history. So things obviously look promising for future expansion,” said spokesperson Robert
Palmer.
Feed people’s soul and feed yourself
A recent brilliant retail idea from IKEA in Singapore merges brand and soul, and brings customers into a warm, fuzzy
in-store experience. A collaboration between DDB Singapore, IKEA, Save our Dogs, and Animal Lovers League, the
campaign placed life-size cardboard cut-outs of real shelter dogs beside IKEA couches, chairs, kitchen tables and
everywhere a dog might beautify your home. A QR code empowered anyone interested to scan the cardboard ‘dog’
and get information on how to adopt a real, live, furry, grateful shelter dog.
Here’s the link to the full story.
http://www.brandingmagazine.com/2014/05/19/ikea-home-for-hope/
People are hungry for inspiration. And when it comes from an unexpected place, it’s even more powerful. Believe in
your brand’s soul. Believe that it has one. It can be bought back and put to work growing your business.
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