Michael Keller Chief Brand Officer American Dairy Queen MarkED Conclave ‘06

Michael KellerChief Brand Officer

American Dairy Queen

MarkEDConclave ‘06

Building A BrandBy “Delivering the Promise”

Through It’s Consumer Touch Points

Everything Communicates!


Brand Building 101


Brand Equity

Making thePromise

Delivering thePromise

Trust

What Is A Touch Point?

Any Contact Point

Between A CustomerAnd A Brand


Yes, Whether We

Like It or Not,

Or Whether Customers

Realize it Or Not.

Everything Communicates?


Everything Communicates

Key Implication

Brand building extends way beyond ‘Marketing’. In some cases, ‘Marketing’ might be one of the least important ways to build a

brand…

Or

…Maybe ‘Marketing’ really encompasses all company activities/functions that impact

the brand and consumer in any wayMarkED

Conclave ‘06

Think Beyond

Product

Experience

Service

Beyond Beyond

To the

a Customer Has With All of a Brand’s Touch Points


Putting It All Together

Through all of a brand’s touch points, the “product” and the consumer’s experience

with it, must deliver on the brand promise to ensure the desired emotional connection is

made with a customer.

Who’s job is this?Each function that ‘owns’ a touch point.

Who should oversee/lead this?Brand Champions…”Marketers”


A Little Happy DQ History

• A 66 year old brand with 5,500 units over 4,000 franchisees and $2.5 billion in sales

• Born from a remarkable epiphany/invention• Began “franchising” before franchising was born• Became synonymous with treats and a wholesome,

happy America• Acquired by Warren Buffet in 1998• Today enjoys universal brand awareness• Most importantly, the brand elicits a strong, emotion-

filled response…a smile and a story


A Little Scary DQ History

• A highly fragmented food system with low food awareness and credibility

• An old, tired, diverse retail asset base (locations, facilities, operations)


Flat Top

A Little Scary DQ History

• A highly fragmented food system with low food awareness and credibility

• An old, tired retail asset base (locations, facilities, operations)

• A multi-decade period of stagnation• A high-level of mistrust and animosity between

franchisee and franchisor• A rapidly shifting and increasingly competitive

landscape• A brand teetering on the edge of irrelevance


A New Approach:Corporate/Enterprise

• New CEO• New vision and business goals including a

focus on becoming a food player• New strategy-driven structure• New outside talent hired, internal talent

promoted• New business units and department plans• New trust-building posture with franchisees


“Advertising”

Product/Menu

Facility (Ext.)Customer Svc.

Product Quality

Locations

DQ Brand Touch Points

Speed of Svc.

Facility (Int.)

BrandExperience

DQ Brand Positioning

A Smile and a Story

• Everywhere we go, we always get “a smile and a story”

• There is rare/powerful emotion for the DQ brand

• This is the essence of who we are, it’s what makes us “Something Different”

• Beyond products, advertising, store design, operations and customer service, this may be our true long term strategic advantage, but…

• …only if we recognize it, nurture it and build it in everything we do, every day, in every store, with every customer


Workin’ the Wheel

DQ Brand Touch Point Strategy/Action

Locations Strategic Development

Exterior “Modernization”

Interior “Modernization”

Customer Service Operations “Road Map”

Speed Of Service Operations “Road Map”

Product Quality Operations “Road Map”

Menu/Product Innovation Funnel

“Advertising” Re-Positioning the Brand


A New Approach:Brand Team

• New strategy demanded new structure which required new talent

• Defined and began leveraging and executing against new brand identity and positioning

• Challenged and elevated every key element of the Marketing Mix:– Menu/Product Strategy– Calendar Strategy– Advertising: Creative and Media Strategy– Promotion Strategy– Merchandising Strategy– PR Strategy

• Restructured/Re-focused franchisee leadership



Creative Reel Highlights

Some Business Results

• 25 consecutive months of comp sales growth: July ’03 to July ’05

• 33 of the last 36 months of comp growth• Leading national QSR in 2004 in comp

sales growth (beat McD’s and SBUX)• Award winning advertising• AUVs up 25% ’05 v. ‘01• Ad Funds at highest levels• Franchisee profitability at highest levels• Franchisee Investment beginning to occur


That’s The DQ Story,How Can You Teach It?

• What is a given brand’s promise?• What are it’s touch points?• Is it delivering on it’s promise through all of them

or are there plans to do so?• Is there functional alignment between teams that

touch the consumer and in turn shape the brand?• Is the company/team structured the right way?• If yes, does it have the right talent in the structure

to achieve it’s goals?• What is the brand champion doing to provide the

leadership necessary to build and protect the brand through all of it’s touch points?



Thank You!

Documents

Michael Keller Chief Brand Officer American Dairy Queen MarkED Conclave ‘06