Gaming the Social Web

Good article by Eliot Van Buskirk, "Gaming the  System: How Marketers Rig the Social Media Machine" here. "If clout is the new currency, in other words, it already has its share of counterfeiters."

Innovation in Emerging Market: Universal and Apsirational Brands

From the Economist's recent report on innovation in emerging markets here, the article "Easier said than done" showcases pyramid-straddling - the concept where a brand is able to win across all socio-economic market segments.

"... the masters of pyramid-straddling are mobile-handset makers. Nokia produces phones for every market, from rural models designed to cope with monsoons to fashion accessories that will look cool in a Shanghai nightclub. The cheap phones are sold through a vast network of local outlets, such as mom-and-pop stores and rural markets, and the upmarket models through shops in fashionable city centres. The aim is to create a brand that is at once universal and aspirational."

Naomi Klein on NPR

In the "On Point" program on NPR Tom Ashbrook talks to Naomi Klein, listen here.  Watch Naomi on Comedy Central here.

Copy and Paste Urbanism - New Songdo

Friend and colleague Franz Dill sends along a great article from Fast Company, "Cisco's Big Bet on New Songdo: Creating Cities From Scratch" here.

Having experienced the building and growth of cities from scratch such as Dubai, a key aspect missing in the article is the fact that humans form societies and the societies revolve around culture.  The success of copied and pasted cities will depend on whether the regime or government supporting the effort is autocratic or democratic.  Autocratic regimes will have a higher success rate with copying and pasting.  A democratic environment that will respect individual rights and choices, either perceived or real, will have a tendency to challenge the status quo represented by the product (city) being replicated.

Replicating cities in democracies will need a substantial marketing budget to be successful!

Also, such cities developed in regions where the qualitative and quantitative value to the inhabitants increases substantially, the success rate for a short period of time will again be good.

In the final analysis, if a people or place defining the cities, regions, or nations do not represent a uniqueness or distinction, after the initial uptick the sustainability of such becomes questionable.

Creative Thinking

Sharp designer Raheel Waqar passes along a nice write up on Creative Thinking from Interbrand here.  The article has a few nuggets on brand focused approach to solution development, but it does come across as a pamphlet for Interbrand marketing.

I always refer to Edward De Bono when it comes to "thinking" based ideation, conceptualization moving into analysis and realization of a solution.  See De Bono books on the subject here.

America's consumer goes from "Be Like" to "I Am"

"There is no such thing as "the American consumer"".

States an article in AdAge - "No more Joe consumer in America", here.  One key to this shift has been the American consumer's ability to voice a choice, ability to create and join communities of choice, and the choice being the brand that fulfills a need.  Did the Internet help enable this?

This democratization of the American demographic is discussed in a white paper (for you to purchase) here by Mr. Francese, demographic trends analyst at WPP's Ogilvy & Mather and founder of American Demographic magazine.  He states that:

"The iconic American family - married couple with children - will account for a mere 22% of households."

The changes represent the continued growth of digital communication mediums, while emphasizing the need to engage directly and pervasively with the consumer.

Old and Famous Chinese Brands

Via Tony Tsai:

"China forbids foreign investment in "old and famous Chinese brands"
Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei says that old and famous Chinese brands are not allowed to introduce foreign investment. If they do so, they will be deprived of the fame of being an "old and famous Chinese brand". He says there are only about 1,000 old and famous Chinese brands in China compared with more than 10,000 in 1949. He says the China should protect those old and famous brands. He points out it is an important duty of the government to protect China's national brands. According to the current regulations, an old and famous brand must have been established before 1956."

Consumer Segmentation

Friend and colleague Franz Dill writes about "Death of Consumer Segmentation" here.

Rebranding Zhongnanhai

By way of Mr. Tony Tsai, Chief Executive Officer – BHG Retail Innovation Institute & Executive VP Operations – The BJ Hualian Hypermarket Co. from China:

"Experts ask to discontinue use of Zhongnanhai as a cigarette brand; it may mislead consumers ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development will submit a petition to the Trademark Appraisal Committee under the State Administration of Industry and Commerce asking it to discontinue the use of "Zhongnanhai [pinyin]" - the name of the central leadership compound - as a cigarette brand. Using the sacred place's name as that of a cigarette brand is misleading to consumers. Buyers feel the cigarette brand is acknowledged by the central government and see it as a symbol of high quality and authority. Some legal experts believe using Zhongnanhai as a brand violates the Trademark Law. According to Article 10 of the Trademark Law, names of a central government office location cannot be used as brands."

Arab Brands?

"There are no strong, Arab brands. Dates could have been the best brand. When you think chocolate, you think Switzerland and Godiva, ... But which brand do you think of when you say 'date'?"

So states my friend Mr. Abed Bibi, Managing Partner Wolff Olins, based out of Dubai. Bold statement while being true. Read further insights from Abed at Media Week Middle East here from pages 12 to 13.

I would like to provide a counter point with one specific example, Arabs are the only ethnic group that continues to wear their customary clothing when engaged professionally or politically even outside of the region. That is identity in itself.

Abed does believe Dubai to be a brand, while stating:

"Dubai is a lot more than what's the largest or the biggest. It's about the people, the traditions, the culture, the values, the hospitality..."

I would add something more tangible for the consumer of Dubai i.e. its visitors, its citizens, its laborers, etc. - Dubai is a megalopolis (and growing) without the crime or close to none. This cannot be stated of just about any other major city in the world. Powerful!

Prediction - No-nonsense brands will prosper in 2009

In the article "Flight to value" here in The Economist's The World in 2009, it states:

"Any brand built around do-gooding notions of organic, corporate social responsibility, or caring for the environment may need to rethink, ... , as value of money rises up the consumers agenda."

Does that mean the dollar store styled value chains are going to prosper in the USA? The market seems to agree with this conclusion hence giving confirmation to the above article's conclusion - have a look at the Family Dollar Stores, Inc.'s (Ticker FDO) trading price and volume chart here for 2008 and 2009.

What about the luxury brands? The article states:

"Luxury brands are in trouble."

Yet, the following prediction in the article may be the one I would be interested in closely observing:

"... 2009 will see the arrival of big emerging-market brands into the developed world. ... Mahindra, an Indian conglomerate with a strong brand, ... will launch a small, fuel-efficient sport-utility vehicle in America."

I believe value will drive purchase intent, quality and/or brand will trump price in some cases and finally if the economic conditions continue to decline as they are, family budgets will be the final driver on decisions of the above two.

Country Branding

I just read the "Country Brand Index 2008: Insights, Findings & Country Rankings" - download PDF here, from the FutureBrand folks. I found their study great for taking on such a challenge - I found their methodology exceptional in taking complex topics as culture, environment, destination, etc. and rinsing them through the qualitative parts such as emotions, perceptions, etc.

FutureBrand's Country Brand Platform - Sec 1:1 of the report

(click for a larger view)

The CBI-08 report has snippets of treats for the visualization of data and information - Tufte would be proud.

At the same time I felt a touch of bias simply due to the heavily Western panel of experts (see page 14 & 15 in the report) and the same for the sources (see page 61).

Even though an article on the above report in the Economist states:

"As someone with a non-marketing background, I find the notion of branding an entire country rather reductive. You end up talking in such broad terms (viz. the view of Australia in the first paragraph) that the themes tend towards the stereotypical or even the meaningless."

I believe the buzz, or marketing hype associated with brands does impact consumer decisions that are meaningful to economic development. An example not to be overlooked is UAE, with approximately 12% or less original Emirati populace, massive investment in second and vacation homes from Europeans, South Asians, Australians and South East Asians (Singapore, Honk Kong), it is but one example of what a brand can do.

Two more points from the report that I found insightful:

(1) "Countries in Momentum" (see page 26) provides a clear indication of the developing countries (with two exceptions from developed countries) gaining momentum under the headings of Emerging, In Vogue and Rising while the developed countries with two exceptions falling under the headings of Declining and Maintaining. I believe this provides a glimpse of the future of these countries for the 21st century.

(2) "Country Branded Products" (see page 32) shows the reinforcement received by product brands due to their country's brand. A realization must not be lost here that country brands can cause havoc on product brands - see the Middle East boycott of Arla as a recent example here.

In summary, I found the report with great mechanics while emphasizing and leveraging the positive. For an astute mind, this report offers great data to digest. I caution against the overly optimistic tone of some of the conclusions (see (2) above). Reality on the ground can be a surprise.