Davis & Associates - Strategic marketing

Item 1: Future Trends in Branding

An expert panel of leading US marketing academics and brand consultants in late 2002, identified the following branding trends
of the future:

1.	Interaction: increasingly, people will want to interact with products in a sensory way – new brands will exploit the human touch; consumers will want to feel there is a human hand behind the product-service they buy.
2.	Storytelling: the test for an emerging brand’s success will be it’s ability to tell stories that resonate with consumers (i.e. emphasising the history and authenticity of a product as a way of linking it with consumers’ memories and self- perceptions).
3.	Inclusion of business practices in the brand promise: consumers are going to buy not just on functional and image brand benefits, but also on their own sense of whether organisations are making a positive difference in the kinds of practices they engage in. That is, more corporations reflecting the values of their markets, connecting with the ethics of their consumers.
4.	A general understanding that branding has moved away from the narrow advertising / corporate image / logo definition of the 80s and early 90s, to a holistic view that branding is about the organisation as a whole. Branding will become more a function of the relationship and experience the consumer has with the brand; and there will be a stronger connection with peoples’ personalities, beliefs and psychologies.
5.	Experiential branding: delivering an ultimate personal experience to the consumer (e.g. Volkswagen theme park, Virgin offering in-flight massages etc)
6.	Internal branding: the notion of “living the brand”, creating the right experiences for your own employees. In the future, branding will be directed toward employees as much as consumers.
7.	Business strategy and branding won’t be two distinct strands: branding will be fully integrated into business operations.
8.	“Word of mouth” will be a powerful instrument for building brand awareness and credibility: the most potent sources of information for consumers will be endorsements from trusted colleagues, friends, family or people we want to emulate. It will be critical for companies to access these sorts of networks; in a few years, “word of mouth” will be much more important than the internet.
9.	Connect with brands-products involving people: the sales force will re-emerge as an important source of referral and purchase. Individuals talking to other individuals will become a powerful driver of brands in the future.
10.	Branding in business schools will become a much broader subject: marketing will be a significant component – but strategy will play an enlarged role; brands will be fully recognised as an important strategic asset – for some organisations they will represent the bulk of their strategy. Brands won’t just be owned by marketing, they’ll also be part of human resource management. Branding will touch every aspect of the strategy wheel.

Item 2: Recommended Reading: 60 Trends in 60 Minutes
(2002)

Sam Hill, former CMO for Booz Allen Hamilton and a marketing futurist, in “60 Trends in 60 Minutes”, identifies techniques used by successful ‘trendmeisters (i.e. those who identify, invest in and maximise trends), as well as picking the next big global trends in: the economy and geography; technology; society; consumer; business; and the workplace.

It is written in an accessible manner, with relevant statistics and facts by way of substantiation (but the perspective is a little too US-centric at times).

Nonetheless, marketers are provided with a useful overview of likely key trends over the next decade – essential in targeting and prioritising market segments, developing relevant brand positionings, and customising direct marketing programs.

Item 3 : Marketing community /not-for-profit organisations

The Australian NFP sector is worth approximately $25 billion a year, making it larger than Australia’s total agricultural industry; it involves some 2.3 million volunteers, and employs more people than the communications and hospitality industries combined. As at June 2001, over 40,000 entities were registered as tax-exempt community organisations.

In short, the community organisation component of the NFP sector is highly competitive and increasingly cluttered.

Notwithstanding, in their pursuit of corporate social responsibility strategies and programs, corporates are looking to engage with community organisations; however, the stark reality is that only a small percentage of them are actually ready and able to partner with corporates in mutually beneficial relationships.

In research we conducted during 2002, corporate managers found most community organisations still largely unsophisticated and continuing to adopt a “give us money” approach, without any real understanding that companies have essentially abandoned the traditional practice of sponsorships and cash-based philanthropy in favour of multi-faceted corporate social responsibility programs.

As well, in recent years the general public’s view about community organisations has sharpened – with a demand for greater transparency and accountability about where donations actually go.

Based on our work in the sector, a common set of marketing and branding issues exist in many community organisations:

-	A lack of delineation between marketing and fundraising (and as a consequence, weak marketing planning and budgeting)
-	A lack of rigour and consistency in performance metrics for marketing activities (e.g. cost-to-income ratios, ROI, brand awareness etc)
-	Frequent duplication in marketing activities
-	A narrow view of brand equating to logo / corporate identity
-	Inadequate communication about how funds raised are actually deployed
-	A weak understanding of the need to develop robust business cases in seeking to partner with the corporate sector.

By contrast, in discerning the success of leading community brands in Australia, some common themes emerge:

1.	A clear strategic plan and mission, including redefining the “market space” they operate in and a preparedness to do things differently
2.	A change in mentality away from being a “charity which expects favours”, towards a mentality of reciprocity backed up by a commercial enterprise focus with appropriate business processes and practices
3.	Enhanced infrastructure (e.g. customer relationship management, effective database marketing)
4.	Understanding and segmenting their markets, with tailored marketing programs reflecting the needs-interests of key segments
5.	The use of a range of “leveragable” marketing tactics and tools to sustain awareness and profile, to educate and to raise funds
6.	Consistent, coordinated branding.

In Australia, examples of successful NFP brands include: The Smith Family, World Vision, Breast Cancer, Guide Dogs, Benevolent Society, Leukaemia Foundation, Salvation Army and Mission Australia.

Item 4: New Business

During January and February, Davis and Associates was appointed
to undertake projects (in either the brand strategy or business
development area)for the following organisations:

• The Securities Institute of Australia

• Sparke Helmore

• Multiple Sclerosis Australia.

Item 5: Expanded Brand Content on Our Website

We have expanded our content on branding on our website
(see Branding in “Key Tools” section) to include: brand alignment; our overall brand methodology and brand strategy process; and our key framework for organising and directing brands – brand vision.

Next Issue:
Our Top 5 Professional Services Brands.

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