What is the Renewable Energy Brand?

What is the purpose of Renewable Energy? To save the planet? To become energy independent? To make a profit? To provide jobs? National security?

What is the Renewable Energy brand? Is it simple? Is it mainstream? Is it expensive? Is it patriotic? Is it friendly? Is it treehuggers? Is it Midwestern? Is it alternative? Is it cool? Is it caring? It is wise? Is it conservative? Is it green?

The “green” movement is about being environmentally-friendly. Is that what Renewable Energy is about? “Green” has meant saving or reducing, in addition to recycling. What image do these words have in your mind: save, reduce, recycle? For most, they mean inexpensive or less money.

Does that apply to Renewable Energy? Should it? Should we as Americans expect to pay less – or more – for the Renewable Energy brand? Isn’t Renewable Energy in fact a premium product? Shouldn’t we be willing to pay more for a product that will help save our planet and by the way, make us more secure as a nation?

Most people still think it's all about "green." Why? Because if you don’t manage your message, someone else will. We haven’t given the American public the right message (if any) about Renewable Energy, so they (we) interpret as best we can with little or no information. In addition, those that use “green” to talk about renewable energy are only harming the Renewable Energy brand, because they are confusing two different movements.

People hear about the green movement, renewable energy, environmental friendliness, alternative energy, energy security and conservation. Who really knows what they all mean? We must define the Renewable Energy brand. We cannot expect Americans to understand – much less, trust – Renewable Energy if it is not clearly defined and communicated.

It's Time to Get Started

Our nation is at a crossroads and we must confront the brutal facts of our current energy reality. The average American is just now waking up to this revolution. We are just beginning to understand crises like global warming and energy dependence, issues that are sure to define the next fifty years or more of our lives. We as consumers want to do our part, but we don’t know yet how.

There are many messages being conveyed in today’s media, each organization or association offering a slightly different angle on the issues and the solutions. Industries that should share the same purpose instead dilute the marketplace with conflicting messages. It is a very noisy marketplace and while awareness is increasing, consumers don’t yet know what to do - because no one has offered a comprehensive plan.

Renewable Energy (and all its various components) is not a known or trusted “brand.” In the public’s eyes, Renewable Energy is virtually unproven, if not thoroughly confusing. The Renewable Energy proposition seems too good to be true. Without a solid, clear brand, people have no reason to trust it. Without trust, we cannot expect people to embrace it. In order to garner the public’s trust, Renewable Energy, as a comprehensive brand, must stand out in logical and emotional dimensions. Appealing to the public with statistics and facts won’t inspire the average American to take action.

Many of us have the talent and the resources – and the responsibility – to help Americans make sense of it all. It's time to get started.

Thank you to Tim Kubista for contributing to this post.

How to design for $149

Yes–you too can learn how to design for just the measly price of $149. Because hey – everyone can be a designer, it doesn’t really take much to do it–right? All you need is a computer and this seminar.

Recently, I received a notice to attend a seminar on design. Usually, I’m very excited about new opportunities to expand my education and learn what ever I can or frankly, just be wowed and inspired by others in the industry and to push myself further. However, this seminar notice that I received, really just ticked me off. It’s a one day seminar that promises to teach you all the secrets of becoming a designer including working with printing vendors all for the low, low price of $149. Now, being a designer with 13 years of experience, a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa as well as being the president of AIGA South Dakota a national organization and one of the oldest professional organizations for design in the country – I’ve learned a little on the way and feel pretty passionately about what I do for a living. I was about to toss this little mailer into the recycle bin and it hit me hard. Darn it – I’ve worked hard to get to where I am today and this seminar promises to make others what I am today in just one day. This compromises the very basic nature of my livelihood. Why should a busines owner seek someone like me or my agency, BKG out over the general person that has a program like Publisher and thinks they can do layout because they’ve taken a one-day seminar? Why – because, this field isn’t something that can be taught in one-day. Design is more than just making things look pretty. It combines economics and strategy and in the end impacts the very way we as consumers act, think and feel. Great design and great business strategy gives your business the competitive edge. So, next time you’re thinking that you need to hire a designer, think twice about their skill set, there just isn’t a 10 step process to making your next brochure, it takes innovation, strategy and creativity.

Duh, It's Branding 101

Cornell University recently published a study that found switching the label on wine changed diners' opinions of the wine. What? Really? They've got to be kidding? Imagine, peoples' perceptions and expectations really affecting their opinions and behavior? Huh.

It's not exactly ground-breaking research by Cornell's Food & Brand Lab. We don't need a scientific study to prove branding theory. Check out this excerpt from an article by ScienceDaily.

Forty-one diners at the Spice Box restaurant in Urbana, Illinois were given a free glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to accompany a $24 prix fixe French meal. Half the bottles claimed to be from Noah's Winery in California. The labels on the other half claimed to be from Noah's Winery in North Dakota. In both cases, the wine was an inexpensive Charles Shaw wine.

Those drinking what they thought was California wine, rated the wine and food as tasting better... (Read the full article here.)

Well, duh! While I'm sure North Dakota vitners make some nice wines, they aren't exactly known for cultivating the fruit of the vine (North Dakota has only four wineries). California on the otherhand has Napa Valley and Sonoma. The state is home to more than 1,000 wineries which produce nearly 450 millions gallon a year. They market the hell out of the wine industry which may be why nearly two-thirds of all wine sales in the United States are of California wine.

Think of it like this. Take two nearly exact diamond rings in terms of cut, clarity, color and carat. Put one in a Tiffany's box and the other in the largely anonymous green box from local jeweler Greenberg's. The bling in that trademark little blue box has greater intrinsic value simply because the Tiffany name (and the instantly recognizable packaging) is standing behind it.

This video also makes the point. Water from a hose can be branded with the right attention paid to emotional touchpoints. In this case, appealing to pretentious idiots who want to be seen as connoisseurs of "luxury" items.

All Brands Are Not Created Equal

BusinessWeek/Interbrand recently released their annual rankings of the 100 best global brands.

Google, Zara, Apple, and Nintendo are among this year’s top gainers in BusinessWeek’s annual ranking of The Best Global Brands. For the seventh consecutive year, BusinessWeek has teamed up with Interbrand, a leading brand consultancy, to publish a ranking of the top 100 global brands by brand value.

Read the entire release here.

The top risers, and the big decliners, are really what makes reading the entire report worthwhile. Who's number one, two or three in the rankings isn't the most insightful part of the report. Coca-Cola still rules the world in brand value, $65 million - the cola juggernaut is everywhere for God's sake, but it still took a 3 percent hit.

But check out the double-digit growth from: Google = $17.8 million brand value (+44 percent), Apple = $11 million brand value (+21 percent), Nintendo = $7.7 million brand value (+18 percent) and Starbucks = $3.6 million brand value (+17 percent). These are the guys who are getting it right.

The biggest losers? Ford (-19 percent), GAP (-15 percent), Kodak (-12 percent), Pizza Hut (-9 percent) and Motorola (-9 percent).

What separates the good, the bad and the ugly? Brand management, touch point development, demand creation, modeling contingencies and planning efficiencies.

So what you ask.

Brand and its subsequent value is inextricably linked to solid business management and financial success. Even for the smallest businesses, company or product, brand is crucial. We preach it over and over, only the companies that stand out in logical and emotional dimensions will enjoy a strategic advantage over their competition.

VW + Wilco

Nice work, Crispin Porter + Bogusky. For a couple reasons. First, bringing and end to the “Un-pimp my auto” Volkswagen campaign and starting a new one by using Wilco songs in tv spots. Wilco fans generally have a few things in common. They are savvy, modern, cool and intelligent, but rarely to the point of being tragically hip, pretentious or boorish. Their tastes tend to discriminate, but stop short of being snobbish. In many ways, they influence what others in their social networks spend money on. Sounds a lot like most people’s perception of the VW owner, after a decade of moving away from the black turtleneck crowd. So, why market to a group that is by and large already on board? It pays homage to them, which makes them feel secure in their decision to get a VW as well as stay with the brand when it is time to replace their cars. But focusing on them also gives them even more sway and influence among their peers. I suppose it doesn’t hurt that they are damn catchy songs either. Second reason. Using multiple songs off of the same cd release, “Sky Blue Sky”. Over the summer there will be six in all. OK, technically, the song “The Thanks I Get” is an outtake, but it is related. It sends a message by VW. It says “hey, we didn’t just have a bunch of ad people pick a song from wherever so we could use it to sell you our cars, we understand you because we have so much in common. Look, we like the same music and we made these cars just for you….and your friends.” It gives a car company a whole soundtrack by a band that is relatively popular because they are talented, experimental and rarely repeat themselves. Not because they are a poppy flavor of the month group of pretty people. Seriously, they aren’t pretty. It has to be talent. I’m going to stay out of the fray on the subject of whether or not Wilco may be selling out or not. All my opinions on that are more or less summed up here by Danny Miller. Band/Brand alignment is nothing new, but this is the first time an ad campaign for anything has used multiple songs from one band’s release. I doubt it will be the last. I can’t help but wonder where it will lead. Thoughts?

Stunt Bad for Marketing

BRANDWEEK did a follow-up story the other day about the infamous stunt pulled by Cartoon Network to promote its Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The pub wanted to see what impact, if any, the bomb hoax had on the business of guerrilla marketing.

Early reports after the Jan. 31 hysteria had many speculating marketers would seer clear of this big-bang/small bucks school of buzz building. After all, Cartoon Network gm/evp Jim Samples resigned; parent company Turner Broadcasting and guerrilla agency Interference agreed to pay $1 million in compensation to Massachusetts and another $1 million to support federal homeland security.

"The smarter clients I spoke to [realized] that a $2 million fine equals $120 million in publicity," said Peter Shankman, president of New York-based pr/marketing agency The Geek Factory. "They said, 'Just get the damn permits first!'"

Drew Neisser, president of the New York integrated marketing agency Renegade Marketing, said the incident "really heightened awareness of nontraditional marketing. The irony was people were saying, 'I want that.'"

The stunt and subsequent negative publicity may very well have created some short-term gains and heightened awareness of the power of guerrilla marketing. But it pissed off an entire city and touched a nerve with politicos. I still contend it was incredibly stupid considering post-9/11 America.

Several months after circuit boards with LED lights in the shape of a Mooninite caused the closing of major subway lines and roadways in Boston, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. co-wrote and introduced the "Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act of 2007." The bill will amend the federal criminal code to include a number of new clauses meant to up the ante on wasting government resources. Provisions in the bill would allow the government to take civil action against parties involved in perceived hoaxes if they fail to "promptly and reasonably inform one or more parties... of the actual nature of the activity" once they learn about investigative action taking place. In the case of Boston, this means that everyone involved could be sued for not immediately informing the police of the campaign upon receiving news of the emergency reaction.

Talk about making an impact on the guerrilla marketing world. Not exactly what Interference had in mind I bet.

DVR Owners and Political Communications

I was catching up on reading last week's issue of PR Week when I was surprised by the results of a poll by The Benenson Strategy Group. The firm works with many Democratic candidates, the DCCC, the DSCC, the AFL-CIO and corporate clients like Verizon and Proctor & Gamble. The firm's principal, Joel Benenson, lead the internal polling for Clinton-Gore in 1996.

From what I can gather, the survey was commissioned by MSHC Partners, a direct mail and Internet advertising firm that works with Democratic candidates like Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chris Dodd and groups like NARAL, the Sierra Club and even the South Dakota Democratic Party.

The survey sampled 1,128 registered and unregistered voters both with and without DVR's to understand their habits and what it means for political campaigns. No surprise with a couple of the numbers.

• 60 percent of ads on recorded television are skipped by DVR users
• 50 percent of programming on TV is viewed in recorded form by DVR users

However, these next numbers left me a bit perplexed.

• 44 percent of DVR owners say TV ads are their most important source of political news
• 46 percent of non-DVR users say TV ads are their most important source of political news

Isn't that a tad bizarre? Sixty percent of DVR users say they aren't watching the ads, but they still use those ads as their main source of political news?

Since the survey was commissioned by a firm with a vested interest in the outcome, I question what this really means. MSHC has a lot to gain by convincing poltical candidates that direct mail and Internet is the way to go.

"What we found in this study is that this new technology does have an
impact on how voters get their information and while television still
remains the most influential source of information, as DVR ownership grows
it will become less efficient," said Hal Malchow, president of MSHC
Partners. "Cable television, with its hundreds of channels has also made it
increasingly difficult to reach the entire electorate, compared to the days
of dominance by three major networks. Between DVRs and cable television,
political ads are losing their punch."

Thoughts anyone?

A Ballsy Move Reveals a Full Optical Inch!

Tribal DDB (Omnicom Group Inc.) takes Philips Norelco and male maintenance into hysterically delicate terrain with this fabulously bold, interactive live-action viral. In it, a vaguely smarmy, bath-robed spokesman is selling the Bodygroom, a modified shaver made exclusively for men and their furry underarms, backs, and undercarriage. He speaks frankly of removing that unsightly chinchilla from one's naughty man-bits and promises men that the Bodygroom is "the convenient, easy, gentle way to make your genitals bloom."

PR firm Manning Selvage & Lee helped drive traffic  via Howard Stern's  satellite radio program. Viral capacity as of 12 December: 1.8 million unique viewers.

Check it: ShaveEverywhere. Click through the menu and be sure to watch the musical ode to clean-shaven fruit.

(I'll always love Bruce Campbell, but this takes manly shtick and flagrant innuendo to a spectacular level.)

Thanks be to Bob for the link!

Guerrilla Marketing Becomes PR Nightmare

BKG has a guiding principle that is reminiscent of one of the basic tenets of the the Hippocratic Oath... do no harm. That's exactly what happened yesterday in Boston when a guerrilla marketing campaign promoting the late-night Adult Swim cartoon "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" went horribly awry. Magnetic lights placed throughout Boston were seen as potential threats by authorities who called out bomb squads to explode the suspicious devices. They also shut down major roadways and subway lines to deal with the situation.

Considering the post 9/11 atmosphere in America and the very real threat of terrorism, how anyone believed this was a good idea is totally beyond me. Sure the stunt created buzz, but how damaging to Turner Broadcasting's reputation is the end result? Was it really worth it? NO!!

I contend it all could have been avoided if only the PR pros had been in the loop. I preach regularly about how critical it is for the public relations hand to know what the marketing hand is doing. The PR execs at Turner Broadcasting should have put the brakes on this bone-head marketing move. Instead, they are in crisis mode scrambling to repair th e damage. The trite apology issued yesterday incensed Boston's mayor and police commissioner. They are out for blood and will attempt to extract a pound of flesh from Turner and the responsible ad agency through the courts. Two of the creatives behind the campaign have already been arrested.

As for Interference Inc., the New York City advertising agency that came up with the hair-brain plan, they had "No Comment." And all of us PR practitioners know how that's perceived... GUILTY!