The LiT TLe Orange BOOk

Introduction

Welcome Fiskars employees, friends and future brand evangelists.

You are holding the future of the Fiskars brand in your hands,

both literally and figuratively. On the pages that follow, you will

find a roadmap for the evolution of the Fiskars brand that is already

underway, one that will, over time, transform our consumers

into an army of fans. To get there, we have a lot of work to do.

So, let’s get started!

We’re attempting to build a powerful brand, one that

consistently strikes a deeply emotional chord with people.

If we can do that with everything we do, we will create

the holy grail of business: irrational loyalty. That’s when

people buy your brand and your products automatically

without thinking about it – even if it doesn’t make rational

sense for them to do so.

What is it we’re trying to do here?1.

I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day.

~F. Frankfort Moore

Our brand is not our logo, our product mix or even the color

orange, although those things are important symbols of our

brand. A brand is a company’s character, personality and, most

importantly, its belief system. Simply put, a brand explains

who you are and what you stand for. Having a strong brand is

critical because consumers today are awash in choice. There are

roughly 30 billion web pages on the internet. A customer can

select from over 19,000 ways to order a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

There are more than 50 different toothpastes that carry the

Crest brand name. All markets are rapidly commoditizing,

meaning that it’s basically impossible to stand out based on

rational considerations like features or benefits alone. This is

certainly true of our categories. Having a strong brand that

people have powerful associations with is the surest way

for them to pick our brand and products out of the crowd.

What is a brand and why is having a strong brand important?2.

“

It’s human nature to gravitate to people (and brands) who

think like we do. Think about your friends – for the most part,

don’t they see the world the same way you do? Our marketing

is a chance to tell people the story of what matters most to

us. If we tell that story in a smart, emotionally-compelling

way, our marketing will be like a heat-seeking missile

capable of chasing down those who share our values.

What kind of brand do we want to build?3.

Our emotions play a crucial role in coding, storing and

retrieving memories. Memories determine the decisions we make.

We want to have influence over the decisions people make but,

if people are going to take action, they first have to care.

The goal of making messages emotional is to get people

to care. Feelings drive action. The strongest brands burrow

deep into peoples’ unconscious brains where emotions are

stored and 95% of all thinking (and decision making) happens.

Why is emotion so important?4.

One thing we should always keep in mind: our basic consumer

needs were long ago satisfied through shopping. Does a crafter

really need that 10th pair of scissors? Probably not. Will we

be able to convince her to buy that 10th pair through a rational

explanation of features, benefits or attributes? Not likely.

Products today are bought, not sold. To get her to choose

us, an emotional appeal to her dreams and aspirations will

have far more impact than a rational one to the ‘needs’

she doesn’t really have.

5.

It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not. ~W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman,

Won’t people just buy our products when they need them?

It’s simply not true that all consumers are created equal, at

least in our Enthusiast-oriented categories. Enthusiasts, the

10% most involved consumers, drive our markets. They tell

everyone else what to do, where to shop and what to buy.

The conversations they have make or break companies in our

industries. That’s why our top priority is to inject our brand

into those conversations. After all, if Enthusiasts aren’t talking

about us – hopefully positively – we’re in big trouble. On the other

hand, when they talk a lot about us, sales increases will follow.

6. Who is our target audience?

At first glance, it can be incredibly difficult to pick Gardening

Enthusiasts out of a crowd of ordinary gardeners. That’s

because they are a very diverse group. However, there are some

important differences. They are much more committed to

gardening: they spend more time (6.8 hours per week vs. 2.8

for everyone else) and more money on gardening (nearly double).

They are more emotionally engaged: Enthusiasts are 3x more

likely to agree with the statement “Gardening makes me happy.”

Most importantly, they relish the role they have as influencers

that drive the marketplace: 68% of Enthusiasts agree with the

statement “I enjoy sharing my gardening knowledge with others

(vs. just 13% for all other gardeners). There are over

9,000,000 Gardening Enthusiasts just in the U.S. and

every one of them is exponentially more important to us

than any other gardener.

What does a gardening enthusiast look like?7.

What kind of conversation do we want to have with Enthusiasts?

8.

Passionate conversations about crafting, cooking and gardening

are happening all the time. Organically inserting ourselves into

those conversations is essential, but it’s more likely to happen

if we aren’t always banging on about ourselves. We’ll get

much further if we talk to Enthusiasts about the things we

have in common, starting with our mutual love of crafting,

cooking and gardening. It may be true that it is human nature

to surround ourselves with people (and brands) who see the

world as we do, but the converse is also true: people tend to

avoid arrogant blowhards who only want to talk want to talk

about themselves.

So what’s the endgame?9.

What we need to do is develop an inside, peer-to-peer

relationship with Enthusiasts. They are the recognized experts

in their circle of friends and family. Every time we convert

an Enthusiast from consumer into fan, we create an

evangelist who is ready to spread the word about Fiskars.

If we create an army of evangelists, our marketing budgets

with work exponentially harder, our sales will go up and we’ll

be a lot happier.

Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination.

~Mrs. C.W. Earle,

What is a brand promise and why is it important?10.

When the word ‘brand’ comes up, the inevitable question

arises: What’s in it for me? That’s where the brand promise

comes in. It tells everyone that comes in contact with the

company what they should expect from them. It also sets a

standard that we, the keepers of the brand and all that it stands

for, need to live up to.

What is our brand promise?11.

We exist to support the Enthusiasts’ innate need to express themselves creatively.

That’s a big promise. It means that we have perspective –

we understand that, at best, we play only a secondary role

in the life of the scrapbooker, quilteer, cook or gardener.

It means that we are useful – we provide innovative

products that make their process easier, better or even

more enjoyable. It means that we’re inspiring – in celebrating

gardening, cooking or crafting as the best way we know to

spend 12 hours on a Saturday, we provide the kind

of encouragement and validation that all human

beings crave.

Being a Supporter means that we have to be active – we’re not

talking about passive cheering from the sidelines here. Playing

the role of Supporter requires us to do something– actually, lots

of somethings. Being a Supporter means that we make tools that

make the Enthusiasts’ activities simpler, faster or more enjoyable.

But doing that consistently over time gives us license to offer

other kinds of support as well. Being a Supporter means that

we champion the activities that Enthusiasts love so passionately

and that we respect and validate the commitment they make to

them. It may mean that we teach them something they didn’t

know. It may also mean, if we listen carefully, that they teach us

a thing or two. Each Enthusiast burns to make their imagination

tangible. We can help bring their dreams to life. If we do, we will

achieve irrational loyalty. We’re talking about much more than

just marketing here – we’re talking about adding meaning to

every element of our brand, starting with our products.

How do we make good on our brand promise?12.

What can I do to makethis a success?13.

We – all of us – are the best evangelists for our brand. If

we want people to talk about us, we need to give them a

steady stream of things to talk about. In other words, if

we want to light the world on fire, we should take it upon

ourselves to supply the matches. As Gandhi once said, “You

must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Who

are we to argue with Gandhi? So, let’s get out there and

find creative ways to demonstrate our support for En-

thusiasts to do what they love so dearly. If we can do

that consistently, the Fiskars brand will be unstoppable!