A great deal of time, energy and money are spent on creating memorable brands that add value to company marketing strategies. Lots of money. However, if a company doesn’t live up to its brand, that brand, as one person said, “is dead on arrival.”
First, what is a brand? It’s more than an image (logo) and message (slogan). You build a brand platform which puts authenticity and meaning into the very core of your brand.
Second, the elements of a brand platform – brand purpose, promise, values and more – inform and define a company’s soul, behavior and actions. In other words, they define its culture. A disconnect occurs when what others see (marketing materials) and experience (culture) don’t match.
When Just OK is Not Okay
This hit home to me when watching my latest favorite commercials, the “When Just OK, is not okay” campaign for AT&T Wireless. I loved the AT&T “Surgeon” commercial (AT&T Surgeon Ad) and close behind was the “Tattoo Parlor” creative effort (AT&T Tattoo Parlor Ad).
But after trying to get AT&T internet service at one of our homes I wasn’t feeling like “stay in your lane, bruh.”
First, I scheduled the internet install by phone but when the technician arrived, he said he couldn’t install my internet service because there were problems with the box and connection outside. More than three months later, with my lawn torn apart, they fixed the outside connection.
Second, to finally get connected, I called customer service and was routed from folks in the Far East to who knows where and eventually disconnected. Exasperated, I went online for help and discovered I could put together my own bundle and schedule an appointment for installation. I did.
Again, I drove an hour to meet the technician for final installation but no technician showed. I called AT&T and they showed that I didn’t have an appointment scheduled. Bummer.
Finally, the third time was the charm and I drove an hour, met the technician and had high speed internet at our bay house.
I’m sure many of you can relate to this whether with AT&T or another service provider, but with AT&T I hit the daily double. AT&T has acquired DIRECTV and they took their “Just OK” campaign to its cable provider.
DIRECTV’s new campaign “Don’t Just Kinda TV, DIRECTV” is similar (DIRECTV Therapy Sessions Ad). Again, I wish I could believe the brand. As a longtime DIRECTV subscriber, I tried to have DIRECTV installed at one of our houses.
After AT&T acquired DIRECTV, they incorporated a whole new list of regulations for installers – no more dish roof mounts or you can’t install the dish more than seven shingles on the roof, must run the wire around the outside of the house, etc.
Previously, DIRECTV technicians could install the dish anywhere the client requested where you could receive a great signal. That’s service without being obtrusive. Now, you are saddled with a dish install that may not be aesthetically pleasing. Is that living the brand?
What Happens on Your iPhone Stays on Your iPhone
Apple has just developed a new series of ads with the theme “Privacy. That’s iPhone.” However, a recent article in the Washington Post by technology columnist Geoffrey Fowler found that 5,400 hidden app trackers guzzled his data—in a single week.
As he asks, “It’s the middle of the night. Do you know who your iPhone is talking to?”
He writes, “Mine has been alarmingly busy. Even though the screen is off and I’m snoring, apps are beaming out lots of information about me to companies I’ve never heard of. Your iPhone probably is doing the same — and Apple could be doing more to stop it.
“On a recent Monday night, a dozen marketing companies, research firms and other personal data guzzlers got reports from my iPhone. At 11:43 p.m., a company called Amplitude learned my phone number, email and exact location. At 3:58 a.m., another called Appboy got a digital fingerprint of my phone. At 6:25 a.m., a tracker called Demdex received a way to identify my phone and sent back a list of other trackers to pair up with.
“And all night long, there was some startling behavior by a household name: Yelp. It was receiving a message that included my IP address— once every five minutes.
“You might assume you can count on Apple to sweat all the privacy details. After all, it touted it in a recent ad (Privacy. That’s iPhone.) My investigation suggests otherwise.”
Hopefully, We’re Living the Brand
I could go on about his investigation (it’s well, well worth the read: It’s the middle of the night do you know whom your iPhone is talking to?) but this is a brand article not one on Apple’s technology (or lack of).
We work hard at Foster Marketing on living our brand but we aren’t always perfect. So, if you think you’re not getting a firm that’s “Full of Energy”, pep us up and let us know. If you’re looking for someone to build your brand, Foster Marketing is the firm to call. And, we’ll help you live it.