You, your product, and your brand are not at the center of the solar system.

When working in marketing or advertising, the brand is all-consuming. You think about it constantly— how to improve it, how it compares to competition, how and why people do or don’t choose it. This quickly becomes an involuntary process, kind of like the Tetris effect. (Definition: “When people devote sufficient time and attention to an activity that it begins to overshadow their thoughts, mental images, and dreams.”)

This is great for you. You’re passionate, you’re deeply ingrained in the work, and you’re devoted to achieving results. The only problem is that no one but you is thinking about the brand this way.

The product is the center of your universe. But for your customers, it might be more like Europa, ice-laden second of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. As in, a very small celestial body in the grand solar system of their everyday lives. And that’s okay! People can’t live their lives in a constant state of admiration for their dish soap. But you need to know your brand’s place in the sky in order to effectively communicate with your target market.

Keep your brand in perspective. How is it used by consumers? Why do they like it? What are the everyday situations in which it is used? Figure out which corner of life your brand occupies and completely own that space. If your product is a simple solution to a common annoyance, accept it and own it with authority, evidence, and humor.

30-Day Challenge #14

Admitting that your brand sucks may be the only way to save it.

One of the hardest things to do in marketing is to look at your brand objectively and try to see the flaws in it. This is your baby, your DNA. You spend 23 hours a day thinking about it and obsessing over it to make sure that every hair is in place and its outfits are perfect and everything is up to par. Yet, the kids at school just might not like it. Maybe they’re just bullies.

If it keeps happening, you might have to take off your love blinders and see what everyone else sees: your brand sucks. And the only way to make it better is admitting that to yourself and, quite possibly, the entire student body.

Remember Domino’s Pizza Turnaround? After a huge PR scandal following a viral video with two disgruntled employees adding some “special bodily sauces” to pizzas in the kitchen, Domino’s seized the opportunity to launch a campaign based on one simple fact: You think our pizza is bad, and we hear you.

They highlighted scathing reviews on national commercials, featured heartbroken corporate chefs vowing to do better next time, and promised that change was coming to your friendly neighborhood cardboard pizza joint. After years of ignoring all the brand bashing that was happening, Domino’s finally listened (thanks in no small part to the enhanced consumer insights provided by social media feedback) and admitted they had a problem with their product.

What happened next was amazing. Domino’s went to great lengths to reboot their recipe from scratch and create something delicious, all the while keeping customers posted via Facebook updates, Tweets, YouTube videos, and TV commercials. Their honesty and transparent commitment to fixing what was broken paid off: the brand just reported same-store quarterly sales gains of 14%, one of the highest ever for a fast-food restaurant chain.

Bottom line— “Our pizza was bad, we fixed it, please give us another chance.” AND IT WORKED. Here’s how to do the same for your brand:

• Swallow your pride. Be smart enough to realize when things are broken, and just admit it. there’s no shame in starting over.
• Focus on the feedback. What are your customers saying? Be sure to incorporate their ideas and thoughts into your plan to un-suck your brand. It shows that you’re not only listening, but that you value their opinions.
• Show, don’t tell. Talk is cheap. You can take out ads explaining your relaunch plan or write lengthy “vision statements,” but those hold zero interest to anyone looking to buy something. What exactly have you changed, and why is it better than before? Demonstrate.

Everyone loves a comeback, right?

30-Day Challenge #13

Consume of the Day: 7-11 Coffee (aka Energy Nectar of the Gods).

I’ve always had a soft spot for 7-11. Sure, it doesn’t have the epileptic, flashy WALL-E style future motif of Sheetz. It doesn’t inspire the fervent hometown passion of Wawa (Fact: Wawa has provided out-of-state college students from Jersey with over 500,000 hours of first-week-of-the-semester bonding conversation). The staff isn’t forced to yell “See you next time!” when you leave like they do at Quiktrip.

BUT— I grew up with 7-11 as my regional convenience store of choice, and the affection has stayed with me. In recent years, though, I’ve come to discover that 7-11 truly has something the other chains don’t: the best roadside coffee known to man.

Things I love about 7-11 coffee:

• Flavors that taste like flavors. You can actually taste the hazelnut in their hazelnut brew without adding in gross syrups or un-refrigerated mini-cups of flavored creamer. They have a chocolate raspberry brew that, even without milk or sugar, tastes better than any fancy mocha-full-whip-half-caf-machiccino Starbucks can make you for $5.89 a pop. Taste always wins, and 7-11 wins.
• It’s cheap. At the 7-11 near my apartment an extra large coffee costs exactly $2, and will last you all morning. That’s a damn good deal, end of story.
• “The brew is strong in this one.” 7-11 coffee is a force to be reckoned with. It’s not necessarily on the level of the jet fuel you might custom brew at home for an all-nighter (although they do have an “energy fusion” flavor that features the same herbal wakey-wakeys found in energy drinks), but it’s stronger than your average cup of watery convenience store sludge.
• You can be a coffee chemist. You get to pour your own coffee from all the flavors 7-11 offers, so the possibilities for experimentation are endless. My personal go-to brew? Fill the cup 3/4 with the french vanilla roast, then top it off with a few hits from the automatic cappuccino dispenser. Add nothing else. It’s a little creamy and a little sweet with the same kick as a standard cup. Note: I have recently amended my current go-to to include the seasonal pumpkin spice flavors. My god are they good. It’s like Charlie Brown summoned the Great Pumpkin himself to come and personally infuse my beverage with his gourdy goodness each morning. Chuck, you glorious blockhead.

I can’t explain why 7-11’s coffee stirs such feelings within me. They don’t go overboard in advertising it, and when they do they pretty much just hype up the fact that it’s a good value. I’ve never seen the brand hold taste tests or make claims on how 7-11’s coffee stands up against competitors’. Surely brands can’t inspire passion in their people without a concerted effort, so why do I love it so much?

I sort of discovered 7-11 coffee on my own. Once I found out I liked it, I would get some whenever I had a chance. Eventually, I began making trips to 7-11 specifically for coffee. Then I started telling others about it, as my recently-indoctrinated friend Vibha can attest. Now I’m writing about it on here. And they never even asked me to!

My affinity for the brand grew completely organically, without 7-11 forcing it in any way. They provide me with a great product at a great value, every single time I go there. It takes hard work, commitment to quality, and flawless consistency in delivery… but that is truly how one inspires brand loyalty. It’s the oldest, ultimate, purest form of branding, and it will never be unseated or replaced.

Damn I want some coffee.

30-Day Challenge #11

Be like Cinque Terre. Authenticity. Quality. Engagement.

Cinque Terre is a portion of the western coast of Italy, made up of five small villages carved into the hills and cliffs at the water’s edge. The landscapes are strikingly beautiful, and the villages are connected by both a rickety (and FUN) train and a winding hiking path that makes for a great half-day adventure. The towns, like Vernazza in the picture above, look like they could be miniature models or movie sets. The seafood is fresh and delicious, the locals are friendly, and as anyone who has been disappointed by the “touristy-ness” of a place like Pisa can appreciate— it’s authentic.

A few weeks ago, my friend and fellow traveler Jessica posted a link on my Facebook wall to an article about recent storms nearly wiping out the villages of Cinque Terre. It’s an incredibly sad turn of events, and I really wish the disaster had gotten more attention internationally. It got me thinking about my visits to Cinque Terre, and how distinctly those memories appear in my mind, even years later. And because I have a compulsive tendency to think of everything in terms of marketing and branding, I realized that the warm fuzzies triggered in my brain by Cinque Terre are the same as the ones sparked by beloved brands.

What makes Cinque Terre so memorable, and how can your brand mirror that success?

• Authenticity- 5Terre is legitimate in every way. The streets, alleys, and storefronts of each village are impossibly old and full of character. There are no street tents with meaningless, cheap tchotchkes. A big part of the Cinque experience is feeling like you’ve stumbled upon a hidden gem of Italy, away from the beaten path of traditional tourists.
• Brand takeaway: Create something original and real to share with your people. Make them feel like they’ve discovered something special every time they interact with your brand.
• Quality- Every slice of pizza, dish of pasta, and glass of wine you enjoy in Cinque Terre is the best one you’ve ever had. I’m sure the setting and the people play a large part in this experience, but it’s still clear that the people of Cinque take immense pride in their villages and the goods that come out of them. And because this area is the birthplace of pesto and home to lemon groves, pine nut trees, and seaside vineyards… those goods are great.
• Brand takeaway: Get passionate about quality. Approach your product with the attitude of an artisan, regardless of the scale of production. It’s a law of economics: smart consumers will buy the highest-quality product available at a given price. Be that product.
• Engagement- Cinque Terre is home to some of the friendliest and most engaging locals you’ll find in all of Italy. The kindly old man who runs the hostel is an expert on your hometown, wherever it might be. The owners and waitstaff of any cafe or restaurant will gladly take the time to explain (in great detail) where each ingredient of your seafood pizza came from. The shopkeepers will help you pick out the perfect bottle of cheap wine to sip while sitting on the rocks overlooking the ocean while the sun sets. In short, they make you feel like you belong.
• Brand takeaway: Get to know the people that use your brand. Strive to provide them with some level of personalization wherever possible. It can be as simple as tailoring a new order based off of what they ordered last time. Give your people an indication that your brand recognizes them as more than a dollar sign (or at least acknowledge that a person exists behind the dollar sign).

Cinque Terre has left an impression on me that is unmatched by any other travel experience I’ve ever had. I talk about it anytime the opportunity arises (as evidenced here), and always encourage those I meet to make it a point to visit someday. A great brand can and should inspire that same level of passion. And while the floods that have damaged Cinque Terre are disastrous and tragic… it’s because the Cinque Terre experience and spirit is so strong that I believe those scrappy villages will be back to their old selves in no time. Which “places-as-brands” are the strongest in your mind? How can traditional brands replicate the experience of being somewhere incredible?

30-Day Challenge #6