The Bitch Ditch

A consumer will give you about three seconds, maybe 4 if you’re lucky, to get to your message across. To make it obvious that your brand is different, that your brand is better, and why they should take time to care. That’s it. You’ve got three seconds.

It’s imperative that you make it clear that you differ and deserve a languid look.
Three seconds isn’t much time.

Which means you better be different if you want to survive whatever with any degree
of relevance. We’re not talking 20% or even 50% different. We’re talking a complete
180. In a market where products try to be everything to everybody, where
everything gets pushed to the lowest common denominator, you’ve got to set
yourself apart, find a point of difference that can be turned into a point of genuine
differentiation. Then, you’ve got to put your branding efforts toward communicating
exactly how interacting with your brand will be a different experience, and why it
will actually be a better choice. You’ve got to make sure your brand is seen as a
clearly distinctive choice.

The fact is, the number one job of branding today is to get people to stop and look
and recognize in an instant that they’re seeing something they’ve never seen
before and that it meets a justifiable and relevant need, whether it be related to
corp. logo, service, to value, to functionality or fun. It also has to generate recall.

You have 3 - 4 seconds!

Find your point of differentiation. Do not focus on the lowest common denominator,
but rather spend your time and effort concentrating on what you don’t want your
brand to be. Then establish a point of differentiation between the two.

Consumers need all the help they can realizing that what they’re looking at is
actually new, you need to make it a crystal clear. My belief is that the only way to
make it clearly obvious what your brand is, is to make it clearly obvious what your
brand isn’t. To be different you have to start by looking at who you want to be
different from and why.

You’ve got to find yourself a unique opposing foundation with a strong rationale for
market acceptance. I’m not talking half-baked attempt here. We’re not talking Tim
Hortons with a larger cups. A Costco or Wallmart with a longer name or brighter
lights. In dealing with Branding is Everything and Everything is Branding, a little bit
different doesn’t cut through.

Evaluate your competition. Identify where the key emotional and rational
associations linked to this logo/brand is in the consumer’s mind. Who do they
appeal to and why. What sets them appart? Who are the customers and why. How
does the competition’s competition differ? What is their point of differentiation? It
does take real focus to evaluate all of this.

Travel off down that road not yet traveled. To determine which market needs are not
being met and how you can meet them.

We all know that brands help consumers make choices. In a world of branding, it’s
critical that you make unquestionably clear the different and relevantly better choice
you have to offer. This can begin with a strong Corp. Identity that functions on
different levels. (eg., http://www.bullseyelogo.com) That logo may be what opens
the door for you. Three split seconds goes by in an instant.

Umberto Micheli - Creative director - http://www.bullseyelogo.com

The Sears-Kmart merger hopes to fabricate some sort of silver lining for
both retailers but instead seems to embody the inevitable philosophy of “going down together.” Kmart, an already sinking ship, certainly worsens conditions for Sears, and Sears does not have a strong enough current to keep Kmart afloat when there are enterprises like Wal*Mart and Target constantly blasting holes in the stern with brand messages of “smart and classy.”

On the opposite end of the branding spectrum, Nike sits at the top of the todem
and watches the plethora of other brands struggling beneath. Nike is the only brand
of shoe for which people are willing to pay two to three times more just to bear the
swoosh emblem in the gym. Nike is the only athletic brand creating new and original
advertising (i.e. the Nike Pro Apparel “Warriors” campaign) while Adidas, Reebok,
Puma, New Balance, and countless others attempt to “be like Mike” and copycat
concepts to boost their market share. In reality, Nike only becomes more powerful
and valued despite the efforts of brand emulation.

Before Sears merged with Kmart, Sears carried several Nike products, shoes,
clothing, a few sporting goods…etc. However, when Sears announced the
agreement with Kmart, Nike announced to Sears that they would no longer be
needing their shelves. If Sears was opening up to Kmart, Nike was closing off to
Sears. There is a simple equation and contingency of Nike’s brand conservation.

Kmart is known for “lower quality, but dirt cheap,” and Nike is a premium, high
quality brand that can inflate prices based on brand equity and reputation.

What can brands like Sears and Kmart learn from brands like Nike?

Unfortunately
not much can be accomplished at this point because when it comes to brand, this
market does not allow much time and space for second chances let alone acts of
desperation. Nike “got it” from the beginning, and continues to grow their market
share by being the father ship. Consumers can see themselves inside the Nike brand
and feel a sense of pride and confidence. Sears and Kmart cannot even even make
consumers feel like consumers. Being loyal to these brands feels more like a public
service.

Molly Sunderdick
Brand Strategist
Stealing Share, Inc.