It’s tough to break into the fashion business. But Kenny was a go-getter.
He started by going straight to Europe for production, loading up on credit from manufacturers over there, because he couldn’t get it from the banks over here. But he still couldn’t afford the fees for a booth at the annual show.
So he went to the Mayor’s office: “What would it take for me to park a 40′ trailer in downtown Manhattan?”
“You’d need to be shooting a motion picture, and pay for the permit,” said Mayor Koch.
Kenny was not to be deterred: On a hope and a prayer, he quickly filed a name-change for his company, ending it in ‘Productions, Inc.’ He hired two models and a ‘Director’ to film near the trailer, which he parked across the street from the Hilton Hotel—the show venue. Mr. Koch assigned two of New York’s Finest to stand guard.
By the end of the first day, Kenneth Cole had sold all 40,000 pairs of his first order of shoes, and he was off and running in business.
In his new book, Marketing Metaphoria, Jerry Zaltman expands on his discussion with Harvard Business Review about the pivotal importance of metaphor to effective, authentic marketing. Zaltman’s research has shown that beneath every truly effective marketing campaign, there lie deep, meaningful metaphors that connect audiences to their favourite brands. This article discusses the application of Zaltman’s metaphor-unearthing technique for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and enduring brands.
Three takeaways are particuarly valuable:
While surface differences may exist between different people’s and audiences’ perceptions of the brand, digging deeper to find the common metaphorical ground is a powerful eye-opener for brand-builders and marketers.
The complexity of people’s relationships with brands is far greater than we might first assume. Tapping into the essence of this complexity can provide very clear insights into the brand’s value in the hearts and minds of its consumers.
The best way to access this information is through careful, diligent qualitative analysis—a time-consuming, but important process that is best guided by expert marketers.
I watched this morning Al Gore’s We Can Solve It address of July 17, and noted differences in content and tone from previous speeches I’ve seen, foremost among which, of course, was his Inconvenient Truth presentation. In this presentation, Gore focuses on appeals to Americans’ emotions, talking of the interconnectivity of their climate, security and economic crises. The talk is notably devoid of the statistics and facts on which Gore has famously relied in other presentations, relying instead on such analogies as, “The stone age didn’t end because the planet was devoid of rocks, ” and comparing the “generational challenge” of the climate crisis to “taking another giant leap forward for humankind.”
From the perspective of Brand Communication, the difference is noteworthy because it demonstrates a clear understanding of the audience, and Gore’s effectiveness at building his own brand. This speech was developed to appeal to two groups: The first group aren’t Gore advocates, perhaps aren’t familiar with him yet (if any of the latter exist in America, given Gore’s publicity), and certainly don’t see the climate issue as a “crisis.” The tone of this speech is emotionally stirring, and designed to encourage those new to the climate topic to learn more. In doing so, they will then be exposed to all the statistics they need to inform themselves that a crisis is indeed upon us.
The second group is those who may have become apathetic, and aren’t fully engaged with organizations like We Can Solve It. For them, this speech is an engaging reminder that change can be exciting, progressive, and right.
Gore’s been talking about climate change for decades; this topic isn’t new to him. This authenticity lends a great deal of credibility to his cause. By connecting the three crises so simply, the value proposition for America is made all too clear. Comparisons to Neil Armstrong and JFK convey an inspirational tone that Americans surely will celebrate. And Gore’s reputation as a Senator, Vice-President and Nobel Laureate make him a significant media personality, which obviously distinguishes him from the average scientist or policy wonk.
Authenticity, Value, Inspiration, Distinction. AVID. Al Gore is a case study in effective branding.
Tibet has seen a lot of news this week. From protest coverage to the actions of Chinese authorities to halt them, and now to calls in Canada for boycotts of the Beijing Olympics, the news serves mainly to confuse: So much information and so many perspectives are ‘covered’ in the sound-bite way of the western media, that the average citizen has a hard time discerning what’s true, what’s important, and what should drive their own opinion.
So what can we say from the perspective of a Brand Strategy firm? First, clarity is important. The challenge for news outlets and personnel is to take a complex interaction of cultures, history and perspectives, and present them clearly to audiences who care to know the truth. Sometimes, it’s impossible to do this in a sound-bite. (In fact, that’s almost always true, but we’re not writing to knock the media!) Give this important topic the attention and consideration it deserves.
Second, with regard to the idea of a boycott, be sure that the action can deliver the intended results. Is it really fair to ask our athletes, all of whom are amateurs that have worked a lifetime to earn the opportunity to compete, to forgo their dreams? Or would we be better off identifying Chinese companies whose products we can all boycott, instead? Which alternative is more likely to deliver a message to Chinese authorities that we, the consumers of the goods their companies produce, care about their approach to humanitarian issues, such as those rearing their ugly head in Tibet these past weeks?
Roy H. Williams, aka The Wizard of Ads, echoed Octopus’s assertion that nothing’s more important than authenticity in business today. In his Monday Morning Memo, a weekly email newsletter, Williams notes that if you, “Listen to the street,” you’ll note that “‘being cool’ has become ‘keepin’ it real.’” He goes on:
Naiveté is rare today. Your customer is equipped with a bullshit detector that is highly sensitive and amazingly accurate. And the younger the customer, the more accurate their bullshit detector.
When selling, remember: If you don’t admit the downside, they won’t believe the upside.
Peter was utterly and totally exhausted. Traffic had been unbelievably bad, mainly because of the abysmal weather. His limbs felt heavier than the truckload of boxes he was speeding to deliver on time.
Finally, as the sun shivered below the horizon, Peter pulled over and stumbled from his truck to his last pickup. He could already taste his wife’s pot roast….
To Peter’s dismay, the key to the dropbox wouldn’t turn. One more try. No go. Someone had given him the wrong key. Looking at his watch, Peter knew picking up the right key at dispatch would prevent his packages from getting to the airport for overnight delivery. Unacceptable.
Resignation setting in, Peter slumped back to the shelter of his truck, and called dispatch. Could someone rush out the right key? During a blizzard? Doubtful.
Then an idea struck Peter. It was silly enough, he almost dismissed it. But he had space…. Why not just unbolt the dropbox from the sidewalk, and haul it into the back of the truck?! He could replace it in the morning on his way back to work, so there’d be no problem serving tomorrow’s customers.
Five minutes later, cheesy grin spreading from one frostbitten ear to the other, Peter was on the road again, airport-bound, and keeping FedEx’s promise of overnight delivery for his customers.
It’s tough to break into the fashion business. But Kenny was a go-getter.
Octopus Strategies Vancouver | London