Archive for June, 2010
Friday, June 25th, 2010
Clearly, the on-going oil disaster is taking a toll on BP’s corporate brand equity. BP’s Corporate Marketing Officer must be cringing with the number of parodies appearing on the internet that denigrate the brand image. A case can be made that the BP brand is on life support and headed in the direction of flat lining without a “Lazarus like” intervention. It will be interesting to see if the BP brand can recover from this self-inflicted injury. Maybe there are lessons that can be learned from Johnson & Johnson management’s deft handling of the Tylenol tampering crisis. But, the big difference is that Johnson & Johnson was not the cause of the crisis, it too was a victim of the circumstances. On the other hand, despite their inept management of the situation, the Exxon brand did survive the Valdez oil spill scandal, so all hope is not completely lost for the BP brand.
The crisis is certainly a BP CMO nightmare. But the BP brand is not the only one that is suffering. Place brands in the Gulf of Mexico Region are also among the collateral damage. That damage is resulting in a dramatic decline in tourism revenue and an unexpected redirection of tax revenue to clean-up the mess. And the timing couldn’t be more unfortunate as community and state budgets are still under pressure from the global economic crisis and dependent on federal stimulus dollars to provide services. Unfortunately, the ingredients for a “perfect storm” appear to be amassing.
Much has been written in the literature about managing a corporate brand under crisis, but very little guidance is available on how to effectively repair a place brand.
Is a Regional or State approach best to help rebuild the image of community brands affected by the BP oil spill?”
The answer is likely both.
The damage to brand image is so great the cost of repair is likely out of reach for any individual state or community budget to bear. A Regional approach provides an opportunity for cost sharing that will lessen the burden for individual states. This approach could (and I would argue should) be a public-private partnership that is charged with the responsibility of creating and executing a coordinated PR crisis management plan. The Travel & Tourism industry and State Departments of Development should take the lead to 1) ensure a consistent message and 2) provide guidance/training/resources for community EDOs on how to handle the challenge locally. Like the successful management of the Tylenol tampering crisis, this team needs to create a campaign to ensure the public has access to facts and is kept apprised about progress of recovery efforts. This strategy should help restimulate the flow of tourism and minimize negative experiences by establishing the right consumer expectation. In the short-term, the team could also look to target non-traditional consumer segments (like disaster recovery volunteers) and create special programs to ensure their visits deliver a positive experience.
I also think there needs to be a local response that focuses on residents and is designed to 1) provide relevant factual informed and 2) rebuild both confidence and pride in the community. Local place brand marketers need to be familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and take the model into consideration as they develop their communication plans. At the moment, the physiological and safety needs of residents are the dominant concerns, and programs to address these should be the highest priority of any community EDO marketing plans. Ultimately, the attitude of residents will determine the altitude of local economic prosperity. Clearly, for communities involved, this is not a business as usual situation. Promotional investment should be temporarily redirected from the capital attraction budget to capital retention budget. In the long run, this strategy should deliver the greatest return. Private sector leadership should be heavily engaged in helping craft and implement the plan to ensure credibility. Local media should also be involved to help deliver message reach, particularly around public service programs designed to help reduce the financial instability this crisis creates for families in the community.
STRENGTHENING BRAND AMERICA – PROJECT PLACE BRANDAID
Economic Development professionals in the Gulf of Mexico Region are facing an exceptionally tough branding challenge that was unexpected and not of their making. One thing you can do to help them address the challenge is to share your experience and thoughts.
Project PLACE BRANDAID is about doing just that.
I would like you to share perspective on the best approach to rebuild the place brand affected by this crisis. If you have experience in working on rebuilding a place image following a natural or manmade crisis, please share what you learned.
All you need to do is take a moment and use the comment box to provide your expertise and ideas for how local, State and/or Regional economic development professionals might think about addressing the image damage created by the crisis. I will make certain the input is provided to the EDO leaders in the Gulf of Mexico Region for consideration.
Providing your expertise is one easy and meaningful way we can help the Region manage through this challenge. I encourage you to participate in this project and enroll others you believe can contribute to the cause.
I know it is not as glitzy as a Farm Aid program, but it is one way we can leverage our professional expertise as a global community to help make a difference in the Gulf of Mexico Regional recovery efforts.
Take a moment and leave a comment.
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
I recently had a conversation with a colleague about the role attitude can play in either enabling or derailing a community branding effort. We talked about how attitude is key for high performance teams to exceed objectives and how difficult it can be to lead a place (or destination) branding effort when community leadership has a “glass half-empty” outlook.
We have all probably been involved in conversations where either private sector leaders or elected political officials focus on what is wrong with our community or bemoan the difficulty of creating an effective place brand to attract capital. When leadership isn’t excited, it can be emotionally draining and is certainly a de-motivating for any team trying to position their community for capital attraction. We’ve probably also all been involved in hosting a site visit where a bad impression is created because people in the community speak negatively about it to executive thinking about making a capital investment.
My colleague (who is an economic development professional) told me about an experience he had. An old friend of his came to visit for a long weekend. On his flight back home he happened to strike up a casual conversation with the passenger sitting next to him. This person had nothing good to say about the community and in the course of a 10-minute discussion on everything that was wrong. The stranger’s attitude was definitely “glass half empty”. Upon arrival safely home my colleague’s friend called him, shared the discussion and empathized with the comment “You really have your work cut out for you.” This random passenger’s attitude had created a lasting negative image about the community.
The story made me wonder – “How many times does this happen and at what cost to a community’s efforts to create a good impression?” It also inspired me to try and compile a list of keys to creating positive attitudes in teams. So I did some online research and reflected on my 33-years in the private sector leading successful teams for Procter & Gamble.
TOP TEN TIPS TO CREATING A “GLASS HALF-FULL” ATTITUDE ON TEAMS
- Positivity leads to possibility thinking and is liberating.
- Personal ego and private agendas tend to derail a positive attitude on Teams.
- Inclusion is critical; people need to feel authentically involved.
- Genuine gratitude for contributions helps people want to contribute even more.
- Objectivity and willingness to challenge “sacred cow” assumptions creates trust.
- It is important to celebrate victories, no matter how small.
- Every problem presents an opportunity if you look for the learning.
- Putting people in positions where they can leverage their strengths creates confidence.
- Trust among team members (and supporters) is a foundation for success.
- Fun matters.
Then I found an absolutely remarkable story that not only succinctly summarized the keys to creating a positive attitude, but brought the principles to life in an unforgettable way. I found the amazing story of Nick Vujicic. Please take a moment to watch the video about Nick before reading on. It will help put the lessons below in context.
LESSONS FROM NICK’S LIFE (and my translation for reapplication in economic development) –
Passion – Everybody involved need to believe that what you are doing will make a meaningful difference. In my experience, understanding how the work will not only help make the local economy stronger today, but also create opportunities for the community’s children to succeed in the future helps stimulate passion. This doesn’t happen automatically. As a leader, you need to engage the community in a discussion about what success means to the future economic well being of the community. And, you can’t simply have the conversation once. You need to ensure everybody involved understands the potential impact of success, and you need to keep the vision alive by talking about it frequently.
Dream – You don’t want people simply building a wall brick-by-brick. You want people building a cathedral. The goal needs to be big and bold. You know the goal is big when it feels just out of reach and will take work to achieve. Putting a man on the moon is a great example of a dream that encouraged people to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to success. You need to capture people’s heart not just their head.
Energy – Positive energy begets positive energy. The saying “birds of a feather stick together” has merit. People on your team with a positive attitude will attract other people to your project who bring a positive attitude. Most important is that you set the example and keep a “glass half-full” attitude as well. If you become negative, the team will begin to adopt a “glass half-empty” attitude and it will dramatically lower your probability of success.
Message – You need to be able to clearly and persuasively talk about your community’s brand promise and the benefits it provides capital investors who choose to evaluate your location for their business. A good place (destination) branding exercise will lead to a differentiated, relevant, competitive and authentic message. It is important everybody involved knows what the promise is and how to talk about it in a way that is both empowering and inspiring.
Motivation – Remember, it is not about you. It’s about achieving the end result and doing what is right for your community. Selfish motivations breed distrust and quickly erode attitude. If decisions are focused on doing what is right and not just what is easy, then trust is enhanced. Without a foundation of trust, nothing of significance can be accomplished.
Never Give Up – Leading a place (destination) branding effort is hard work. So many things can go wrong. So many people are involved. How can you ever prevent somebody from speaking to a fellow passenger on a plane and unfairly trashing your community? The fact is you can’t. But, it is not a reason to give up. There are plenty of positive things you can do to increase the probability your community brand promise will be heard and internalized by a potential capital investor. Instead of having a “glass half-empty” attitude and complaining about what you can’t control, it is far better to have a “glass half-full” attitude and concentrate on making a difference on what you can influence.
Hopefully you watched the first video clip about Nick. However, to really appreciate why I believe Nick’s story is an amazing demonstration of the power of a positive attitude, I encourage you to watch this second short video as well. I am confident it will touch your heart and inspire your work. Be forewarned, you are going to laugh and you may get a little misty eyed. But, I guarantee you will conclude that no matter how challenging the work you are facing in branding your community, it is definitely an achievable objective.
Please leave a comment and share your perspective. By sharing, you help everybody get a better learning experience.
If you liked the blog post forward it to a friend. If you have a Facebook account, become a fan of Strengthening Brand America. If you are a LinkedIn member, join the Strengthening Brand America Group. If you like twitter, follow Brand America to keep track of updates on this website.
Your support in helping build awareness of this educational endeavor matters and is appreciated.
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
Brand America may be digging itself into a hole. We need to put down the shovel and focus on delivering the promise. It is time to address the gap.
The Strengthening Brand America Project is designed to help bridge the gap between global perception and the reality of Brand America through more effective use of place branding. The concept is to is to help economic development professionals and government officials see how the choices they make in asset creation, infrastructure investment, public policy reform and diplomacy impact both the image and identity of Brand America. While admittedly Brand America is more complex to manage, the lessons from product and corporate branding are instructional and highly relevant.
Understanding the reapplication and making better choices at the local level will help strengthen Brand America and bridge the gap.
In previous posts, I have commented about image versus identity and the critical importance of authenticity for a brand promise. If a brand does not “walk the talk” of their brand promise, then the gap between image and desired identity will only get larger and eventually the desired identity will be no longer be attainable.
I’ve also commented on the remarkable turn around of Brand America’s global image in the annual Nation Brands Index study. In spite of the great news, I purposefully positioned this turn around as the world voting in expectation.
Brand America would do a better job of walking the talk.
And now I’ve become aware of The Last, Lost Empire authored by Dr. Ted Becker and Dr. Michael Briand. In my opinion, it is a sobering reinforcement of the need for Brand America to work even harder on ensuring the authenticity of the American promise. Failure is simply not an option.
The way I became aware of the book was from a blog post Ted authored that caught my attention. It shares three pictures that highlight the gap between Brand America’s emerging global image and the desired identity of its citizenry. Pictures that serve as a reminder we have a lot of work to do.
How we address the political challenges facing our nation matters and clearly impacts Brand America’s image. Brand America’s promise of being the one place on this planet where “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among them are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”, rings hollow if we do not ensure the authenticity of that promise in today’s world.
Here are three questions Ted’s blog post raises with respect to authenticity –
- How do you reconcile the abandonment of hope and hatred for a major private sector company depicted in a grafitti message with the promise of Brand America?
- How do you reconcile the picture of a For Sales sign depicting unprecedented foreclosure rate on homes and loss of the American dream for so many people?
- How do you reconcile the existence of a wall on America’s southern border with the inscription on the Statue of Liberty which reads “…Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teaming shore. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” ?
Because I do not know how to ask for input without inviting political bombast, I am going to treat the above as rhetorical questions designed to stimulate your thinking around how important it is the decisions you make in economic development are aligned with Brand America’s promise.
I will undoubtedly have more thoughts after I read the book.
In the interim, the question I would like you to answer is – What are some impressive examples of where Brand America is doing a good job of “walking the talk”? I look forward to some uplifting and hopeful input. Thanks in advance for responding.
As always, if you enjoyed the post please send it to a friend. If you are a Facebook user become a fan of Brand America. If you are a LinkedIn user, join the Brand America Group. If you like to tweet, follow BrandAmerica on Twitter.
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Ever wonder what you need to do to separate yourself and community from the competition? THE HOW OF WOW, authored by Tony Carlson provides some insights.
The book is a guide about giving a speech that will “positively blow ‘em away”. What does a book on giving a speech have to do with economic development? Nothing, and everything.
The principles behind giving a memorable speech can be reapplied to making a great impression during a meeting or site visit with a potential capital investor. The key is to understand how to put the WOW into your investor interactions.
Understand Your Audience
- They learn and perceive differently. Site selection consultants and C-level executives are not a mob. They are individual people who all have their own style of learning. One size does not fit all. Some will be interested in physically seeing and walking a site, others will want a detailed presentation and written description. You need to get to know each person you want to impact as an individual and understand how they like to learn.
- Their memories are built on meaning and context. Memories are built on the ability of the brain to recognize patterns. This is a right-brain activity and closely related to a person’s emotional core. The stronger the memory, the easier it is to make a connection. The more you know about a person’s background, the easier it will be for you to create a connection that resonates with their experience. Make a point of looking for that connection to your community and you will be creating a stand out positive memory.
- They respond when you share your humanity. The one thing that connects you with every site selection consultant and C-level executive is that you share the experience of being a living, breathing human. If you start and end with a focus on the right brain, you will make a lasting impression. As you plan your interactions, you need to think about how to create an emotional connection out of the gate. You can share all the facts and figures you want during the interaction, but end on an emotional note as well to ensure the memory is established and relationship solidified. Pre-plan these moments, and make certain they are related to your community so the memory is both relevant and authentic.
Tips on Execution
- Begin with the end in mind. It is not about you, it is about your visitor’s needs. Start with what you want the person to remember about your community and work your way backwards from there to create the kind of experience that will create a lasting memory. The goal is to get your community assessed objectively as a location choice for a potential capital investment. If you begin with that goal in mind, you will ensure the time is well spent and the required information is included in the visit.
- Golden Goals – 1) create a positive memory and, 2) have your community’s brand promise remembered. Ensure every interaction is positive from start to finish. Pay attention to the details, they matter. Remember, a brand is a promise. Your brand sets an expectation of what a C-level executive will experience if he/she makes a capital investment in your community. You want that promise understood and remembered.
- Find the hook. You need to find the way your visitor will connect with your community. There are five types of hooks to consider.
- Story hook – Have the interaction follow a classic story structure. Begin with a strong opening. Build the interest as the interaction progresses. End the interaction with a crescendo that cements the memory.
- Metaphorical hook – Find an image that reinforces your community brand promise. If your community promises the opportunity to discover new ideas, introduce your visitor to somebody in your community that brings the promise to life. If you promise a caring environment, take your visitor to a community event that serves as a live demonstration. Don’t simply tell … show.
- Location hook – Connect your community with a positive location experience your visitor has had in the past. Create an analogy. Making a connection will help your visitor position your community in their mind and will strengthen recall.
- Time hook – Culture and values are reflected in history. Tell the history of your community to help make it memorable. If there is a celebration in your community, share it with your visitor. These are special moments that will be easily remembered and positively associated with your community.
- Provocation hook – Drama is always remembered. If you can, help create a dramatic moment for your visitor. For example, introduce him/her to the oldest person in your community who can explain why it is a great place to live. Or, introduce the person to some of the children in your community who might someday work for the C-level executive’s company. Let your imagination run wild to create dramatic ways to communicate your community promise.
- Use silence effectively. You have two ears and one mouth, use them in proportion. As the experience unfolds, let your visitor talk. Sharing what he/she is feeling and thinking helps solidify the memory and makes it richer so recall is easier. A pause on your part will reenergize your visitor and make him/her more engaged in the experience.
Discussion
If you apply the principles found in the HOW OF WOW, you will successfully create memories in the minds of your target site selection consultants and C-level executives. You will also find that you will become even more passionate about your community and what it has to offer. This enthusiasm will translate in your behavior and you will be an even better job of being a community ambassador.
I would be interested to know about your perspective on the reapplication of the principles in Tony Carlson’s book. Have any of them worked for you? Did any of them fail? If yes, why?
As always, if you liked this blog post, please share it with a friend who you feel might also enjoy reading it. I am also working hard to try and increase awareness of the Strengthening Brand America website as a resource for economic development professionals to learn more about reapplication of product and corporate branding principles to better brand their communities, regions and states. If you are a Facebook user, become a fan. If you use Twitter, follow BrandAmerica and retweet messages so your followers can be aware of the educational resource. If you have a LinkedIn account, join the Brand America Group.
Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts by leaving a comment.
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