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Losing ground.
It's a sad week for the Great Grandfathers Ford and Sleeman.
Great brands are built with a unique position and consistency
- educating, refreshing and steadfastly defending that position.
There are 235 different makes and models of cars marketed in Canada.
Ask just about anyone and they can easily tell you what differentiates
Volvo: safety. BMW: performance. Honda: friendly. Kia: low price.
Ask those same people about a Ford and they are at a loss for
the word. Ford simply got too big and the old friends inside forgot
they had to make cars people wanted. Needless to say, their market
share has dipped way below their once 100%.
At the same time, there are just about as many beers in Canada
as cars. When John Sleeman decided to revive his family's brewery
a number of years ago, Molson and Labatt together had just about
100% of the market. With his tenacity, unique family heritage
position and consistency in everything they said and did, Sleeman
carved off a serious piece of the market. But then John got busy
with the financial side of the business and his new friends inside
the company began to change the company's position little by little.
Last week, Bill Ford announced plant closings, countless layoffs
and a need to build cheaper cars that people want. The next day,
John Sleeman announced a profit warning and a need to follow the
buck-a-beer guys down in price.
During the same week, BMW announced record sales and profits of
their premium priced vehicles while Steam Whistle Brewery continues
to rack up double digit growth with their premium priced beer.
What would the brand coach suggest?
There is a lesson to be learned about having the courage to stand
by and stick with your unique position. Don't stagnate - keep it
fresh, evolve it and shift with your market but never abandon or
jump on the next bandwagon going by. By staying consistent, you'll
entrench your brand in the minds of your customers and target, and
remind them at each interaction of what you stand for. This approach
will also keep your costs in check and your internal team aligned
as you work to continually deepen the brand within the core of your
company, rather than introducing a new campaign and slogan every
quarter.
C'mon boys, stick to stories about Great Grandpa!
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