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A Brand’s Worst (And Next Worst) Enemies
The days are getting shorter. And as the people of the Golden Horseshoe
say goodbye to summertime, they say so long - yet again - to the
MarineLand jingle. For as many springs as anyone can recall, MarineLand
Niagara Falls has brought back those commercials with that incessant
musical signature. The collection of notes that floods their Brand
instantly into our consciousness and our summer plans. Parents hear
it and instantly recall they promised to take the kids - and the
kids are all over it. It works.
If owning brain space these days in the hyper-busy minds of customers
is tough enough with year-round contact, it’s extremely difficult
for seasonal brands that disappear for months at a time. So wouldn’t
it seem sensible to exercise consistency in the use of creative,
as MarineLand has done to such great effect?
Yes – but it’s tougher than you might think. Imagine telling
someone you work for MarineLand. You know what’s coming next:
a comment about the jingle. Truth is, you can’t escape the
darn thing. And your ad agency just can’t stand it.
"Old friends" like these are a Brand’s worst enemies.
They’re the people who abandon core, long-standing Brand ideas
in favour of new - because they think everybody’s as tired
of hearing them as they are.
Wrong. Consumers are over-burdened with commercial messages. They’re
happy and highly receptive to hearing a friendly reminder.
I was flabbergasted when Canadian Tire killed the "Give Like
Santa – Save like Scrooge" campaign. It was a bona fide
Christmas tradition and bought Canadian Tire instant and positive
mindshare for the calendar’s most profitable shopping season.
Funny: they’d just hired a new ad agency from Chicago - and
if "old friends" are a Brand’s worst enemies, who
are the next worst? That’s right: "new friends."
What would the Brand Coach coach?
 Keep
a handle on your Brand’s old friends – those folks who
have been living with a consistent message for a long time and would
welcome a change, any change. And say no thanks to any new friends
who arrive and want to make ‘their’ mark on your Brand
with a change. And lastly, challenge your creative suppliers to
keep the existing idea fresh. Then fire the ones who bring you change
for their own sakes.
A brief footnote: I once took this consistency argument to the
Federal Government and proposed that they embrace a similar strategy
for their seasonal blitz for Canada Savings bonds. It fell on deaf
ears. In fact it fell on ears attached to the official who was apparently
working a whole different agenda with the Government’s ad agencies.
I was presenting to Chuck Guite.
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