Apple has a branding problem

What’s that you say?  Is this heresy?  Apple, your favorite example, the paragon of branding, the lords of iEverything - that Apple?  A branding problem?! Surely you jest!

Well I hate to say it, but it is true.  Apple has a branding problem, and its name is Steve Jobs.

Now don’t get me wrong,  I love me some Apple, and I still think that the company is one of the greatest branders of all time, but I callz’em like seez’em and there is a fly in the soup.  The company has so embraced and promoted the Steve Jobs is god message that it has begun to harm the corporate image.  Speculation about Steve’s health prompted by his gaunt appearance earlier this year has caused a ripple of concerns on Wall Street and started a rumor-mill regarding succession planning.  The impression is that Apple, once saved by the return of Steve Jobs, now can’t survive without him.

No doubt, Steve has been the miracle man for Apple and his demanding approach to leadership, insistence on high design, and self-appointed role as chief-presentation-officer have only added to the mystique, but one man does not a company make - especially not a global, multi-billion dollar, public company. As an example, a study of the 5th generation iPod, revealed a supply chain of up to 10 parts vendors with manufacturing occurring in 5 different countries.  Steve gets around, but c’mon this isn’t a one man job.

Steve the mastermind, the guru, the dictator, the showman these are all legitimate parts of Apple’s brand and all grounded in truth.  So what can Apple do to patch this chink in their brand armor?  I think the approach of the Wall Street pundits is wrong - rushing to find a suitable successor will not heal the problem.  I think the thinking is akin to the logic behind ripping off an adhesive bandage - it is going to hurt no matter what, so let’s just get it over with as fast as possible.  However, this thinking assumes that the cut under the bandage has already healed…. pick the successor, take the hit, and performance will solve the brand issue.  But it doesn’t work that way.  People believe in Steve Jobs.  I believe in Steve Jobs.  We’re bought into the cult of thinking different.  To solve the brand problem of Apple can’t be Apple without Steve Jobs the answer is to do what any cult does when faced with the loss of its spiritual founder and leader.   They must be canonized.   The answer to the brand dilemma is to present Steve’s impact as being so profoundly transformative that the culture he catalyzed now has a life of its own.  Yes, I’m saying that Mr. Jobs should be elevated even more than he already is.  Fanboys rejoice!  For his Jobness has bestowed a lasting organization on the principles of Steveitude.  iCommandments anyone?

Dancing + Chewing Gum = Joy, Courage and Leadership

I’d like to thank Jennifer A. Jones and Dan Greenfield for calling to my attention a wonderful video and a great story that I feel demonstrates the best of what branding should be.

A fellow named Matt Harding has been traveling the world and marking each location visited with a short video of himself doing a silly dance. Sometimes he dances alone and sometimes he dances with the local people. It is simple, charming, beautiful and joyous. At this point about 6 million+ viewers on YouTube seem to agree.

But there is a little bit more to the story. It turns out that Mr. Harding’s former employer, Stride Gum, has taken on the role of sponsor for this remarkable project. Stunningly, they have not plastered their name and logo all over the video. Matt wears no Stride apparel. The song played on the video is not a corporate anthem. It doesn’t even look like Matt is chewing gum! The only mention of Stride is in a simple thank you graphic at the very end of the video. This is GREAT branding. Instead of trying to “own” the project, Stride is content to lets it happen. Instead of trying to milk the publicity, Stride lets the message spread - and boy is it spreading! By all the standards of conventional wisdom, by all the instincts of the old marketing, this was a risky, even reckless, act. But marketing is changing, and what this project has shown us is that a sincere message, an expression of values, IS important, and if we have the courage to present such a message with integrity people will respond. As Dan points out, “…I am writing about a chewing gum company now.” By all measures this has been a great path for Stride - sales are up, market share is increasing, and awareness is on the rise, or as Jennifer states it, “Clearly, the goofy dance is moving the needle.”

I think also that by recognizing Matt Harding as a leader, and by leaving him essentially unfettered by the usual corporate billboarding, Stride Gum has shown itself to be a leader. We can’t help but assume that the positive values demonstrated in the video: joy, hope, and a global generosity of spirit, are values shared by the sponsor who has supported the production with such humble integrity.

Announcements: Begin blogging article and a seminar

Just a couple of quick announcements:

1. I’ve put together an article for those of you readers who haven’t gotten started blogging yet:  Getting Started Blogging (and Branding)

2. I’ll be teaching 1/4 of a new two day course called Slingshot Seminars targeted to the needs of small businesses.   Think of it as a two day boot camp to sharpen your skills and gain new insights. This is a collaboration between my company, Equation Arts, along with Hunter Chatman Communications and The WallStreet Athletic Group.  I’ll be teaching the morning session on the 2nd day, which will focus on branding of course.   Find out more and register at SlingshotSeminars.com.

Tell me a story

We are born with a craving for stories.   Ask any parent if their kids ever ask them to read them a report or a product sheet or a market study - of course not, but “tell me a story”, that’s a common refrain.   As adults we may not climb into a lap to ask for a story, but we’re wired for them just the same.   Yesterday, I had the good fortune to sit in on a presentation by Mike Wittenstein of Storyminers.  Mike is a great storyteller, but more importantly he helps people to see the importance of story as a means of making a connection with people.  For us so-called grown-ups, “What do you do?”  is the common refrain, but Mike reminded me that what is really being asked for is that same “tell me story” from childhood.

What if the next time someone asks you that question you answer with a story, instead of the usual 30 second commercial?   Try a real story about one of your customers, and describe the journey taken in working with you.  Set the stage by  talking about the client’s situation and the emotional state it caused.  Talk about the problems solved and the changing circumstances that came as a result.  Finally, bring on the “happily ever after” - share the client’s success and happiness that were the outcome of working with you.  Find the compelling beginning, middle and end and you may find that talking about someone else’s experience is an effective way of communicating your own abilities.

where branding and technology meet… and lay an egg

Google has done more for the practice of branding today than any other company in the world (sorry Coke). The findability of virtually everything has magnified the end consumer’s strength in the power relationship of a brand. More than any other company we can thank Google for that. Google also has been a model example of letting function lead form and creating alignment of the brand message with the delivery of the core product. It also managed to make a goofy logo, cute, friendly and meaningful to billions of people - to the point where Google’s holiday and special occasion logo variations are celebrated by faithful followers.

So Google, what’s up with the new favicon?

Lowercase “g”? Where did that come from? And why the circle with the predictable, Web2.0ish shadow? OK the main Google logo was never going to win any design awards, but really is a gray egg the best you could come up with?

Be a beacon

When you are out on the water on a stormy night looking for the shore there is nothing quite so reassuring as seeing a bright, shiny beacon pointing the way to a safe harbor. Well I hate to say it, but we are in some stormy times in our economy and with the price of gas continuing to rise I would hazard to say the roughest waters are still to come. At times like these, when your customers are worried about how to stay afloat, your brand needs to be a beacon. A lighthouse beacon makes a promise - come this way and you’ll get to where you want to go. It is simple, direct and fulfills a valuable service by making a promise that needs no explanation. If your brand isn’t a beacon your business may get lost in the fog.

Ropes and Chains…

…and kinky boots.  Okay, forget the kinky part - it’s not that kind of blog.   I’ve been planning on posting something here about ropes and chains for quite some time now, but I keep letting the idea get too big in my head.  Really it is simple:  Chains are strong because the individual components, the links, are strong.  The chain is no stronger than any given link.  If you’ve got strong components, make a chain.   Ropes are strong, but they are built on an entirely different premise.  The rope is built on the assumption that any given component, a fiber, might be weak.  The rope’s strength comes from its structure - the weave causes each individual fiber to support and strengthen each other. It is only when the structure is compromised that the rope gets weak.

So what does this have to do with branding?  Well, are you building your brand as a chain or a rope?  Are you trying to forge a handful of powerful, strong, individual and expensive pieces to carry and support your brand positioning? Are you relying solely on individual contributors - a CEO, a spokesperson, one brilliant marketeer, a single flagship product? Or are you creating an infrastructure to support your brand that allows each individual contributor - each ad, each product, each tag line, each front line employee, even each customer -  to reinforce and strengthen the brand message by providing a context for their efforts?  

The “golden arch” is a familiar link in McDonald’s branding chain, but the training to say “Would you like fries with that?” is the brilliant evidence of a structure that allows each employee (weak or strong) to strengthen the rope.

“Soulful Excellence”

That’s a nice pairing of words; “soulful excellence”.  Highly evocative, together they smack of quality and emotion, like art - not clinical quality, like a spreadsheet.  So few pairings of words smack of anything so I just had to point them out.  I wish I could say they were mine, but alas credit must go to the remarkable Joey Reiman who uttered that phrase yesterday during a presentation for the Technology Association of Georgia’s Enterprise 2.0 Society. Yesterday we had a fabulous meeting featuring Mr. Reiman, Thinker & CEO and Elizabeth Clubb, Thinker & CSO, of BrightHouse.

Perhaps even more remarkable than the phrase itself is that it was used in the context of discussing new enterprise technology solutions.   The social computing mindset is different: powerful and enabling and dangerous to old modes of thinking.  It is changing the way we brand and the way we work.  They are becoming one. “Soulful Excellence” is evidence of that.  Chew on that phrase and watch out for more.

Tune in on Monday - Connect Grow Profit Radio

It is getting to be a habit and I like it!  Kathleen Smart has invited me to once again visit the Connect Grow Profit Radio show, part of the Blog Talk Radio network. The show will “air” live at 12pm eastern on Monday, April 14th 2008, and then be available as a podcast.

We’ll be discussing the self-service culture of the internet, the pitfalls of virtual “location”, and the essential elements of web branding: Clarity, Authenticity and Consistency.

Listeners will be able to call in with questions by dialing the Call-in Number:  (646) 716-8171.

A seven-point tune-up for your personal brand

My friend Mike just sent me a link to a nice article on personal branding: Maintaining your Personal Brand Online by Jonathan Snook.  First of all, I happen to think it is one of the more attractively and readably designed blogs that I’ve seen lately, but I’m recommending the article for different reasons. Seven reasons to be exact.  Actually seven very practical tips for stepping up your engagement in your personal brand, that Mr. Snook has thoughtfully provided.   I won’t spoil his thunder, but I will say that I think these are good, easy to do steps that will help raise your recognizability online. And as you know that is the first of the three Rs of branding.

Visit: Maintaining your Personal Brand Online