YOU ASKED FOR IT

“When you go fight for freedom,don’t wear your best pants.”

—Unkown

March 13, 2012CALIFORNIA—THE BRAND...APPS VERSUS MOBILE SITES...KONY 2012

BRAND OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAYFrom my random collection of info sources, here are some highlights related to the brands we love (and some we hate):• California —I’m flying home today after visiting

my daughter at BIOLA University in SoCal. This state has dug themselves into quite a financial mess. However, as a brand, they have a lot potential. World-class attractions. Good natural resources. Great weather. And some of the friendliest people on the planet. Maybe it’s time they leverage those incomparable assets and start digging their way out.

• The top 5 combined mobile retail sites and apps for Christmas 2011 were Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Target and Walmart, according to Nielsen Wire. Interestingly, both men and women prefer mobile sites over apps, according to their research.

• Speaking of apps...my experience this weekend would concur with the Nielsen research. I couldn’t check-in to my flight on my Southwest app this weekend and had to resort to using the mobile site to get the job done.

NO ISLAND FOR THIS KONYHave you seen the KONY 2012 video? If so, you’re not alone. In six days, it topped 100 million views (yes, that’s a viral record.) Fantastic awareness-builder of atrocities that have gone unnoticed for too long.

From my ever-popular “BAD INVENTIONS” file...

JIM HUEBNER

j imh@huebnerpetersen.comCELLULARTELEPHONE970-420-3382

Hmmm.

Brought to you by popular demand of a client, my mom, and some folks I met at a church potluck

From the remaining gray matter of Jim Huebner

Information that will make you smile, groan or think...

Brought to you by popular demand of a client, my mom, and some folks I met at a church potluck

Every company has manufacturing standards. Determining your brand standards and how they’ll be communicated can be just as important.

A furniture manufacturer I know insists on using a certain type of screw and a certain type of wood when producing his furniture. I remember asking him once if cheaper screws and different wood would increase his margins. His response...“Sure, but it would catch up with me.”

“People trust our brand because of our reputation for quality,” he said. “As soon as I start compromising the quality, my customers will start looking for a furniture maker who doesn’t.”

Your C-suite (particularly your CFO) needs to understand that manufacturing standards for product-building efforts are no different than the standards you need for your brand-building efforts. There’s a reason your sales literature isn’t just a black and white photocopy, your website isn’t designed by your 12-year-old nephew, and your sales people don’t dress like the Beverly Hillbillies. Every brand (like every product) has a threshold of quality that needs to be maintained, or you run the risk of diminishing the brand value you’ve already established.

According to a benchmark study (PIMS) by the Strategic Planning Institute, a well-positioned, well-marketed, premium brand commands (on average) a 9% higher price than one that isn’t. Money spent maintaining—or better yet, building upon your brand— (when

done correctly) only solidifies your margins and profits, and it helps marginalize your competition.

Once your standards are set, consistently communicating these brand attributes to your target audience (via advertising) can be paramount in reducing the cost of making a sale. Consider the landmark Morrill Study and what it revealed. Although conducted in 1971, its findings are timeless as it relates to the human brain and the effects of advertising on consumer perceptions. I concluded that “advertising with adequate frequency can reduce selling costs by 10% to 30% … a substantial boost to ROI.” On the other hand, it shows that “failure to advertise in a well-advertised market can increase the non-advertiser’s selling costs 20% to 40%.”

Conclusion: The difference between establishing brand standards and then advertising or not advertising can be directly proportional to the difference between profitability and unprofitability for many companies. Research proves it.

Jim Huebner is President of HuebnerPetersen Marketing Communications.The firm was established in 1989 and specializes in helping make manufacturers heroes to their dealer and distribution networks through strategic brand positioning, integrated marketing, and front lines marketing services. You can reach Jim at jimh@HuebnerPetersen.com or on LinkedIn.

WORDS TOLIVE BY

Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for

what is good?

–1 Peter 2:13

The importance of establishing and communicating your brand’s standards

...and straight from the HuebnerPetersen blog...! PAGE2

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