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Branding Is Important to Your Survival - Smart Marketing Move

This week’s Smart Marketing Move goes to The National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Their branding efforts have spread like wild fire and they should get some credit. What do you think of when you hear breast cancer awareness? PINK. They have done a fantastic job at making a color theirs. This is what branding is all about.

Their biggest step was the pink ribbon campaign. Here’s the background:
Ribbons have been used to express solidarity on the part of the wearer with the identified cause since the early to late 20th Century. Pink Ribbons (and the color pink) are used to express support for women (and men) who are diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
In the fall of 1991, the Susan G. Komen Foundation handed out pink ribbons to participants in its New York City race for breast cancer survivors.[1]

The next year, Alexandra Penney, who was the editor-in-chief of Self,[2] a woman health magazine, was working on the second annual National Breast Cancer Awareness Month issue. Evelyn Lauder, who was the senior corporate vice president at Estée Lauder, was invited to be the guest editor of the NBCAM issue edition in 1992. Penney and Lauder came up with the idea to create a ribbon and to enlist the cosmetics giant to distribute it in stores in New York City. Evelyn Lauder then promised to spread the ribbons throughout the entire country, but a color for the ribbon was not yet decided upon.

Charlotte Hayley, who battled breast cancer, produced peach color ribbons. She sold them with a card saying, "The National Cancer Institute annual budget is 1.8 billion US Dollars, and only 5 percent goes for cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon".[3] Her message spread fast. This made Penny and Evelyn Lauder interested in Hayley's concept. They offered to adapt Hayley's idea by working with her. But Hayley rejected the offer, saying that they were too commercial.
After discussing opportunities with Lauder, Hayley and their lawyers, they came up with a "new" color. The new color of the ribbon was pink and became an international symbol for breast cancer awareness.


Lesson Learned: Even though this example is on a large scale, branding is an important step you must not miss in your business. This includes your logo, business cards, website, letterhead, t-shirts, etc etc etc. Remember, a strong brand influences the buying decision and shapes the ownership experience.

Will Rogers - Smart Quote and Thought

{A "Smart Thought" (quotation) is a succinct way of stating a powerful point. How one interprets that point impacts the actions one takes.}

Quote of the Week: "Even if you are on the right track you'll get run over if you just sit there." - Will Rogers

Smart Marketing Thought: Action not only speaks louder than words, it's the only activity that will end in results.



If you have a Smart Thought you'd like to express with your interpretation email MarketingSmartly@aol.com, with the subject line SMART THOUGHT SUBMISSION. At the end of each month, we'll choose one for a small but stimulating prize.

Where is experience and common sense?

Both, common sense and experience, are increasingly missing from the staffs of corporate marketing departments and their agencies. "Good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgment."

A fact of life is that it takes time (years) to develop experience and the resource network (rolodex) so important to success. Another fact or impacting the thinking behind marketing activities is the increasingly lack of common sense. What is common sense?

"Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are
and doing things as they ought to be done."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe

Both these factors are important ingredients in building a strong foundation that will benefit those efforts directed to generating sales, acquiring and keeping customers and enhancing profitability.

What is Marketing?

Marketing means many things to many people depending on the perspective at which they are viewing the role they think marketing should be fulfilling, How would you define it? Is it advertising, public relations, sales promotion, merchandising, direct mail, telemarketing, special events, customer service, social media …how should it be defined?

Marketing can be envisioned either as mosaic or a jigsaw puzzle in which many pieces have to be joined together to create a visual image that presents the full picture of the integrated strategy necessary to achieve the desired results. Theodore Levitt, the marketing guru of the 70s, from the Harvard Business School defined Marketing as --

"All the exhilarating big thins and all the troublesome little things that must be done in every nook and cranny of the entire organization in order to achieve the purpose of attracting and holding the customer.'"

Written over 40 years ago the essence of the concept is probably more accurate today, with all the tools and technology available, than ever before.

Postage Stamps - Smart Marketing Move

Who thought that the Postal Service was good at marketing?

I’m sure most haven’t even thought of it but I’m sure we all know someone, or heard of someone collecting stamps! The first stamp was from England with a young Queen Victoria. It wasn’t until the 30’s, in the US, when older stamps that were shaped as a triangle became rare and people thought that they were to become valuable since very few were not used and/or torn.

The smart marketing move wasn’t just the value that these little stamps promised, it was the limited editions! Although this might have been on purpose, the Postal Service created collectible limited edition prints, almost as artists do today. This made the stamps worthy of holding onto and not using. Brilliant!

While still making ordinary stamps, they continued to make stamps with all sorts of designs, like the Simpsons stamps that are out right now. Basically, someone is paying for a service and not using it. Although, as a business you want people to use your services they buy, this was a great idea on making something ordinary collectible.

Lesson Learned: Ask yourself; is there something we offer already that will offer more value to my customers? Or ask can I make something we offer collectible? There is always an opportunity that is not being taken advantage of in every business.

DUDE, You're Getting a Dell - Smart Move

Have you ever wanted to give your company a recognizable face? Use Dell as your guide. Dell was the first computer company to use a human face to represent their computer company. And they used him, the Dell Dude, successfully. He created a brand, he created a following, they used him consistently enough that everyone knew who he was, and they got rid of him when they needed to.

Apple is also doing this successfully today. They’re using their guy in a slightly different way, rather than the cool guy persona Dell went for they’re going towards smart, and making non-Mac users “dumb”. But back to Dell! Dell used their face to casually inform prospective buyers of all the perks of owning a Dell, not their features. Usually, when they were sold on the idea, the Dell Dude would close with the catchphrase "Dude, you're getting a Dell". (Unfortunately I couldn’t find a clip with the catchphrase). The campaign was a huge success and helped bring Dell to the forefront of the marketplace.

They marketed to the influencers, tweens and teens; in a very smart way because we all know they are not the buyers. They used teens in their commercials, their Dell Dude looked young, and he exuded the “cool factor” even if it was over the top. They used him in all of their print, all of their TV, and all of their radio. He saturated the market, which finally took hold and stuck.

Dell then, quickly fired their spokesperson. Why? He was arrested. I’m bringing this up because this was also a smart move on their account. When finding a spokesperson, your contract must be cut and dry about activities that will damage your company, because you’re putting your entire company in their hands…and now customers see him/her as YOUR COMPANY. There’s a fine line and it must be defined before your marketing campaign starts.

Lesson Learned: Hiring a spokesperson to put a face to your company is a smart move because it opens the door to communication by giving it a human touch. Like Dell focus on marketing your benefits not features, but be careful who you hire, make sure that they are reputable and will serve your company right. Also, keep in mind deceased celebrities or animated spokespersons are great too! They won't embarrass your company.