YOU ASKED FOR IT

“A boss’s salary isn’t just about money.It’s about perks. For example, every year I get

a one hundred dollar gas card.Can’t put a price tag on that.”

—Michael Scott

March 19, 2013RICH & MOBILE, SPORTS BRANDS

BRAND OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAYFrom my random collection of info sources, here are some highlights related to the brands of our times...

• eMarketer featured a study by Unity Marketing that showed a dramatic increase in mobile usage for research AND shopping among affluent consumers over the past year. Hey Sunseeker Yachts, Rolex and Sotheby’s... are you listening?

• Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and the AMA jointly conducted a survey of CMOs and reports that marketing budgets in 2013 are expected to increase by 6%...yahoo!!

• BrandDirectory lists the most valuable sports team brands. With only one U.S. brand in the top 5, you could use this as a trivia challenge to stump your proud American friends... #1-Manchester United ($853M) #2-Bayern Munich ($786M) #3-Real Madrid ($600M) #4-FC Barcelona ($580M) #5-Dallas Cowboys ($510M)

JIM HUEBNERj 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...

...but it did create problems when he startedtoting pony kegsin his backpackto kindergarten!

© 2013 Hmmm by Jim Huebner

I had breakfast today with a couple of guys who are launching a start-up. Pretty exciting stuff. And as the meeting went on, I was again reminded by them of the importance of third-party perspective.

The analogy we discussed was this: When you’re on the inside of a uniquely shaped bottle, it can be extremely difficult to describe to others what the bottle looks like from the outside. The same can go for your own brand and its unique position in the market. Thus, the sometimes-necessary call for third-party “brand intervention.”

Years ago, we conducted a brand audit for a company that made wet-mateable connectors. (Interesting stuff, I know. In layman’s terms, they were electrical “plugs” you could connect underwater or in harsh environments without causing any problems.) The sales and marketing folks were looking for ways to communicate why customers and prospects should purchase their connectors instead of the competitors’. After all, they were more expensive, they didn’t ship as quickly, and their location left much to be desired. And that’s when they decided to turn to someone on the “outside of the bottle” for some fresh perspective.

Our experience with their products was limited. As in...limited to having NO idea that such a product even existed. But what we discovered was this: No matter WHAT the product or service is, with some research, analysis, and a little brainstorming, there is always opportunity to position against the competition...even when it’s a wet-mateable connector.

Our work started with the company’s key staff. In in a nutshell, they told us their customers bought from them because of their quality. Ugh. That’s a tough word to market because it’s usually what everyone else is saying, too. Next, we looked at the

competition to survey what they were telling customers. (Yes, it was “quality.” Duh!) Finally, we turned to dozens of engineers who were using their products (or competing products) every day, and we interviewed them one by one. Slowly but surely, the lights were coming on.

The engineers agreed, it was the “quality” that sold them. After all, our client was the only manufacturer who tested each and every connector to make sure it worked before it was shipped. But it was WHY the quality was so important that exposed the unique positioning opportunity.

I’ll never forget one engineer who told me, “Listen, when you’ve got a million dollar robot 5,000 feet under water skimming the ocean floor, the last thing you’ll worry about is the extra buck you paid for a reliable connector.”

And there it was—quality...but so much more. It was about reliability. It was about peace of mind. It was about covering your posterior. It was about “Dependability at Every Level.” And 12 years later, I’m proud to say they are STILL using that positioning line, uncovered by our research and unique perspective as an “outsider.”

Are YOU struggling to look from the outside in? Consider how an “outsider’s” perspective may be just what you need to rightly “connect” your brand with your customers and prospects.

Jim Huebner is President of HuebnerPetersen Integrated Marketing.The firm was established in 1989 and specializes in making companies heroes to their distribution channels through strategic brand positioning, integrated marketing, and front lines marketing services. You can each Jim at jimh@HuebnerPetersen.com or on LinkedIn.

The benefit of being on the outside looking in

...and on its way to the HuebnerPetersen blog...! PAGE2

WORDS TOLIVE BY

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where

shall my help come?My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven

and earth.

–Psalm 121:1,2