why not operationalize brands? part 1
Over coffee the other day a colleague asked me a question I actually get asked a lot: Do you find that people “get it?” By “it” he was referring to operationalizing the brand, the approach I teach and help my clients implement. He asked because he’s found, as have I, that although many company leaders claim to understand the difference between expressing and operationalizing a brand, the fact is, most don’t put their brand in the driver’s seat of their organization.
Our talk prompted me to think about why this is the case. Most business leaders are eager to leverage the full potential of their brands, but they’re not following through. (more…)
brand as business workshop
A couple of months ago I gave a workshop on my topic “Brand as Business: How Companies Drive Business Growth by Operationalizing Their Brands.” Feedback was so positive I thought I’d get a brief video of excerpts made to share with my readers here. Please check it out and let me know what you think (run time: approx. 8 minutes).
denise lee yohn brand as business workshop from Denise Yohn on Vimeo.
the brand promise:reality gap
Attention: fast food marketers – you’re wasting half of your advertising!
But I’m not talking about the waste that John Wanamaker was referring to in his famous quip about not knowing which half of his advertising was being wasted. I’m talking about the average of 48% of people who say there’s a big difference between what you promise in your advertising and what they experience at your restaurants.
frozen yogurt and the future
I read with great interest an article in SmartBusiness about Red Mango and the yummy yogurt chain’s founder, president, and CEO of Red Mango, Dan Kim. 
I’m fascinated by the frozen yogurt chains that have emerged on the cultural landscape in last 5 years. Pinkberry has probably gotten the most coverage in the press, with its high design aesthetic and celebrity fans, but there are plenty of others in the game including Red Mango. The category is very crowded with operators of all sizes competing in a relatively small niche with punch cards and discount days. Building brand awareness and shoring up a loyal customer base are particular challenges, which is in part why I’m so interested in the category (liking fro yo also has something to do with it too!)
In the SB piece, Dan explains his thinking and approach to building the Red Mango brand. Clearly, this is a guy who gets it. He believes in the power of his brand and he actively nurtures and protects it. Here are my reactions to his comments, along with some suggestions for how he might ensure his brand-building efforts continue to be successful as the chain grows. (more…)
a cmo’s dream team
Last week’s Ad Age featured an article called “Why It’s Time to Do Away With the Brand Manager.” The piece, and the Forrester research report which inspired it, argues for “changing the name ‘brand manager‘ to ‘brand advocate,’ and fundamentally changing marketer organizations in response to the onset of the digital age.” It reminded me of an article I wrote several years ago.
brand value creation — internal business process
The series on brand value creation continues today with a look at how brands create value for companies in their Internal Business Processes. Although a brand’s ability to create value from the Financial and Customer perspectives is probably the most important, its impact on Internal Business Processes is the most fundamental. (more…)
gaining the competitive edge
Next week I’m speaking at The Marketing Forum, a national conference for Chief Marketing Officers and brand managers. My talk is on “Gaining the Competitive Edge: How Companies Drive Business Growth by Operationalizing Their Brands without Huge Marketing Budgets.” (more…)