Product offers

As I started this email, I was going to glibly say that companies with hard core products -- like RIM, COKE and NIKE -- have little trouble articulating their product offers.
But then I stopped.
That's a trap service companies, non-profits and government organizations easily fall into.
Defining your product is one of the most difficult tasks you have. Even when you have a distinct product, you are tempted to walk away from the benefit statements and lapse into your competitor's territory.
We just challenged Ashley, one of our team writers, to develop SEM campaigns for Barefoot. OK, she works for us. She has daily contact with clients. She sits through a project meeting overview weekly. She told me that it was difficult to define what Barefoot does.
So I need to take a quick look in the mirror.
What do we do?
Defining our product is a challenge we face every day. Successfully defining our product will lead us to greater success.
In 1947 Bob Pierce came face to face with the desperate need of orphan children. He thought, "If every American family would adopt one child their needs would be met -- for just pennies a day." Child sponsorship was born out of the need, spurred by an idea, developed into a product.
Our challenge is to understand our services, funding needs and to create a product that makes sense to the needs we are trying to fill and to our audience.
Last week one of my client's admin team spent the morning creating a personalized card because one donor wanted to send pigs overseas. The program of the organization did not include an agricultural or micorfinance program in that region. The staff team was simply meeting the needs of the specific donor. That's like a RIM sales member going to Telus and selling them a Palm. Yes, World Vision's sheep and goats and pigs are tremendously successful -- but that is the product they are selling. Simply copying the product does little for your own program. While the Palm Treo and BB Curve have overlapping purposes -- they are clearly different products. AND the marketing teams are always looking for differentiation to set their product apart.
While borrowing ideas is the strength of all communications and marketing -- borrowing without understanding your product or without clear differentiation empowers your competitors.
Every day I challenge myself to think about the product I am marketing.

I'm Special

Grade 1 teachers are already preparing our kids for understanding brand. They call it "Special Me."

Eric, a little friend of mine who is in grade 1, is "Special Me" on September 29th. He's already collecting stuff. He's trying to figure out the special part because there's lots of stuff that he has that other kids have already show cased: a little brother, a mom, a dad, a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, lego, a signed picture of Rob Ducey and a snail he found on the side walk after the big rain.

Matt brought his baby brother -- he was squirmy and cried a lot. Eric's brother can walk AND talk, so he's a little cooler. Eric's mom and dad are pretty different than Josh's, at least Eric thinks his dad is pretty cool in his baseball uniform. He's not sure about the Jersey. The Leafs haven't negogiated the Stanley cup for a long time -- at least, that's what his dad says. Natalie brought lego -- but it girl's lego and Eric figures the alien force captivator he constructed last week is way cooler. He's not sure who Rob Ducey is. He's old now, but his grandpa told him he was pretty good. Jesse brought a snail, but accidently stepped on it so the shell was broken. Ethan brought his Fischer Price smart cycle -- Eric just has the Wii.

I'm not sure what Eric will bring when the fateful day arrives -- but he's already figured part of it out. Even though he has some things that are the same as other kids, each part of his collection is unique because it reflects the core of who he is.

Brand is built on the uniqueness of the organization and works to differentiate organizations in a crowded marketplace.

Many organizations look similar from the outside. Coke and Pepsi are a brown, carbonated sugared (or non-sugared) liquid. Not at all sexy. In 1906 Pepsi used Original Pure Food Drink against Coke's The great national temperance beverage. In 1928 Pepsi pushed the competition with Peps You Up! against Coke's Coca-Cola ... pure drink of natural flavors.In 1939, fighting for the tight depression dollar, Pepsi claimed Twice as Much for a Nickel while Coke emphasized its friendship with the consumer with Coca-Cola goes along.

The battle continues with Pepsi insisting on being the "cola" of choice luring pepsi fans with "stuff" and Coke unifying Coke drinkers with iCoke reward points.

Same product (forgive me Pepsi and Coke drinkers -- I truly understand the discerning taste buds). Same target audience. Same brand?

Not in the least.

Eric is 6 years old. He has a little brother, a mom and dad, a house and a wii. Pretty ordinary little guy. But his brother's name is Colin and his mom works in an advertising agency and his dad plays second base and sells houses. His house is on the corner and he has the high score Super Mario Galaxy.

There are 16 little boys in Eric's class -- and none of them are just like him.

Oh yeah -- he didn't step on the snail, so the shell's intact.

Where does Brand fit?

Hard to believe that we are treading on the last days of August... campfires burning low and the echo of blackberry email notifications swirling us between vacation and reality.
Time to focus on our strategy, executing well in the September to December period is often the strength of revenue growth.
So let's talk a bit about brand.
We all know the strength of a brand -- Coke, Mazda,Wallmart... and the list goes on... Brand engages customers.
But where does brand fit in the non-profit world?
Without a question, brand differentiates non-profits.
But how does it work?
Here are 4 foundational insights:
1.Brand is built on the uniqueness of the organization and works to differentiate organizations in a crowded marketplace.
2. Brand is not an icon, a colour, a font type or a product. It is the underlying personality expressed by various communication components.
3. Brand must permeate all aspects of the organization, re-affirming the core personality.
4. Brand and fundraising strategies work in synergy to increase revenue.
Stay tuned.... I'm going to engage with each of these four points over the next couple of weeks... if you have some insights -- don't be shy. There is a lot of chatter about brand, effectiveness and fundraising.