branding

Branding 101: What sets your Brand Apart?

Brand is one of those things many people (including engineers AND marketers) misunderstand.  Some think it is a color, a logo, a label, a trademark, a phrase or some combination.  It is not.  Brand is exactly this: what those who have heard of your product/company ‘think’ your product/company is about.  That’s it.

Where in the mind of your target audience does your company/product sit?
Which ‘mental filing cabinet’ do they put you in?
Can you influence it?

These questions have led to the development of most modern branding theory.  The answers may surprise you.

Learning where in the mind of your target audience your product lives is easy: just ask.  Ask your customers.  Ask them how you compare to competitors.  Ask them what they think.  http://surveymonkey.com can help.

The answers should let you see what kinds of filing cabinets exist (usually arranged in the minds of users by “Price”, “Value”, and “Quality”).  But can you get into a “New/Empty” filing cabinet?  Can you be the “most/best” of something, so your file comes up first in the mind?

Yes.

You can influence where in the mind your product lives.  To do this you must first really understand your product & your competitors products.  WHAT SETS YOUR BRAND APART?  What are you really special at?  Nothing?  Going to be hard to file you in a cabinet.  (no room for ‘not best at much’ category).

Figure it out or make it so.  Be the “most or best” at something.  Unequivocally.

Now how to brand it that way?   Exude your most-ness.  Your messaging should refer it.  Your graphics should bleed it.  You should get your customers give testimonials claiming it.  You should get reviews saying it.  You must emphasize at all times, you are the ‘most/best/only’ X.

Build that brand on top of your key distinguishing attribute.  Then stick to it.

Got a new version of the same product that is even more “mostness” of the same key benefit?  Fine.  Keep the same brand name.

Got a new product with different feature mix?  Fine.  Build a new brand! DO NOT extend your old brand.  Don’t even keep the company name unless you have to (see P&G, Kraft, etc.).  The new brand should exude it’s new uniqeness and key attribute.  (not attributes mind you).

Debate welcome below in comments.

Is Zynga Marketing Dumb?

The short answer is yes.  The longer answer is yes… but it’s complicated!  A good friend of mine recently blogged that he thinks Zynga Marketing is failing because they don’t adjust pricing in a failing game.  I disagree with this statement, although he is on to something (but the problem is bigger).  Pricing is extremely complicated in social games and is based on strategy: so changing pricing at the whims of players is bad.  That said, there is a problem at Zynga with their marketing, and I’ll tell you what it is.

I’ve been in Social Network marketing since 2008, running my own business Karmaback, and recently joined venture form Creeris Ventures where I have been (and still am) consulting by running Marketing at Night Owl Games (Dungeon Overlord is the free game I run).  Anyways, in my experience in social games, the key to marketing is: 1.) know your target customer. and then 2.) MEASURE everything.

So what is Zynga doing wrong?  I’m not sure, I don’t have their data… but I think I know what is going on.  They are doing a classic mistake with branding: “Line Extensions”.  So many executives think that “we can leverage the brand we built by doing a new kind of thing with the brand.”  This is flawed thinking.  Re-using the brand to target the same customers with almost the same thing is usually fine and good.. but using the brand for a NEW product/game/service/model/target customer is bound to fail.  Colgate frozen dinners anyone?

With Zynga, their problem is not making a Pay-to-Play game and sticking to it… their problem is trying to extend the Zynga brand into pay-to-play.  The need to create a new company/brand that caters to “hardcore” gamers or gamers that are willing to pay more to play more type… Then the new brand can focus on games like that.

So, Zynga, get a clue.  Stick Zynga in your brand closet and keep it for “Ville” type games.  You need to build a NEW brand if you want to make different kinds of games for new markets and players.