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Brand News: Cuil's not Cool, Bonefish Grill Rocks, RIP Bennigan's/Steak & Ale, comScore's Green, Bad News for STBX

Tue, 07/29/2008 - 23:35 — anne

I sure hope the folks at “Cuil” (pronounced “Cool”) have thick skin. The search engine upstart debuted on Monday to mostly scornful reviews which had to be a little bit of surprise. They must have wondered where all the folks were that had been clamoring for a Google killer.

Cuil says they index 120 billion Web pages (Google says they’re still bigger,) 3x more than any other search engine. And privacy advocates will be pleased that Cuil doesn’t retain personal user information. They’re definitely worth a look. http://www.Cuil.com.
Source: Cuil/PRNewswire

Seafood restaurant brand Bonefish Grill is debuting “Bonefish Grill's NOTES FROM THE ROAD” on August giving viewers a glimpse of life on the road for musicians on tour. Each hour-long episode is shot on location at a Bonefish Grill. Upcoming guests include: 3 Doors Down, Josh Kelley, Gavin DeGraw, Vanessa Carlton, The Bravery, Ben Folds, Jason Mraz and Matisyahu.

Oh, and each episode will include a segment highlighting Ocean Trust, an award-winning ocean conservation foundation that builds science, conservation and industry partnerships for the sustainability of the oceans and provides a link to sustainable fisheries, wildlife and the environment. Nice, integrated green strategy that goes way beyond the predictable. Green or not, who wouldn’t want to tune in?
Image credits: Jason Mraz talks about his career and life on the road during the taping of Bonefish Grill's "Notes from the Road,
Denver. (PRNewsFoto/Bonefish Grill)
Bonefish Grill logo. (PRNewsFoto/Bonefish Grill)
Source: Bonefish Grill/PRNewswire)

Alas, things aren’t  looking quite as sunshiney for other restaurant brands as food and labor costs, bloated market share, high gas prices and anemic consumer spending kick Metromedia to the curb. The company has filed for Chapter 7 and shut down 50 or so Steak and Ale restuarants and 150  Bennigan’s. About 138 domestic and international franchisee-owned restaurants will remain open, and the closures don’t affect Ponderosa and Bonanza restaurants which operate under a different company.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, 7/29/08, (May require Subscription), Bennigan's Franchising Company, L.P.; Steak & Ale Franchising Company, L.P./PRNewswire

Oh please---another brand goes [yawn] green. But wait…it’s not what you think: Researcher comScore is planting $1 million+ trees in developing nations retain Internet users in its global panel. Anything’s better than the “and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win” spiel that many online research companies use to try to draw you in.
comScore Press Release 7/29/08

More bad news from Starbucks. The company is  cutting 1,000 jobs in addition to the 600 store closures announced earlier this month in what AdAge says insiders are calling a “bloodbath.”
AdAge, 7/29/08

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Strategy: Brand Marketers Should Look Before They Leap Into a Green Strategy

Wed, 07/16/2008 - 12:50 — anne

According to Brandweek, “Eco Pulse,” a national study that focused on consumer knowledge and attitudes about green issues, found that 42% of respondents said they didn’t know what features a home would need to have before they would consider it green. Another 28% said solar, 12% said compact fluorescent light bulbs and 10% named Energy Star appliances.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents said that a company’s environmental record was important in their purchasing decisions. But just 21% said this had driven them to choose one product over another.

So what does this mean to brand marketers?

Adopting green branding and messaging should be a strategic decision, not a response to media noise. Where to start?  Define what greenness means to your brand---there are lots of definitions of green, and lots of implications. Incorporating green into your brand may require significant changes within the organization; regarding it simply as a communications message is a mistake that may result in a loss of credibility with consumers.

Then ask yourself if you can articulate the problem or need that green features and benefits solve for your consumer. Keep in mind that numerous studies have shown that most consumers don’t see a ‘green’ problem in need of solving. And they won’t pay a premium for something that doesn’t provide them with a unique solution to an important problem or need just because it’s green.

Also, keep in mind that some consumers feel companies should adopt environmental and energy friendly policies as a matter of business practice. So don’t assume that announcing that your brand is green is necessarily going to result in a competitive or public relations advantage.

Finally, even when green is relevant, its positioning should be secondary to key product benefits. Consumers, as indicated in the study above, focus on their needs first. Then they’ll consider whether your green products fit their needs and budget.

Here's a great post on the subject, "Saying You're Green Doesn't Make it So" by Lewis Green.


UPDATE:

Here's an excerpt from a July 17th article in The New York Times entitled Cooling Off on Dubious Eco-Friendly Claims that reinforces some of the points in my above post:

"The advertising industry is quicker than most to pick up on changing consumer tastes and moods, and it seems to have grasped the public’s growing skepticism over ads with environmental messages.The sheer volume of these ads — and the flimsiness of many of their claims — seems to have shot the messenger. At best, it has led consumers to feel apathetic toward the green claims or, at worst, even hostile and suspicious of them."


See also:
Brands: What Do You Mean By Green?

Brands: What Do You Mean By Green?

Wed, 06/18/2008 - 01:00 — anne

Green branding is a topic that many marketers have been grappling with---not only how to incorporate a green story in their brand positioning---but to understand exactly what it is.

The problem is that while ‘green-ness’ means one thing to you, it might mean something totally different to your customers, since it is used to describe a broad range of strategies and activities from environmental sustainability and organic ingredients to carbon neutral energy consumption and reduced waste. It’s all in how you choose to define it.

So here’s a ‘cheat sheet’ to help you understand a few of the many, varied meanings of green. And don’t forget---the most important meaning of green is how your customers define it, so be sure you’re in touch with how they view it before you make significant changes to your brand.

Some of the varied shades of green:

Recycling
Wind Power
Energy Efficient
Sustainable
Quality
Reduced Environmental Impact
 Trash Reduction
Organic Foods
Frugality
Natural
Simplicity
Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Biogas, Biomass and Low-impact Hydro Resources
 Water Conservation
Environmentally Friendly
Reduced Shipping
Purity
Reduced Carbon Footprint

 

 

Brands: Doing Well By Being Green - Innocent Drinks, Inc.

Thu, 04/24/2008 - 06:30 — anne

I learned about Innocent Drinks in a recent post by Mack Collier on Viral Garden. The UK  beverage company manufactures ‘Natural Drinks That Taste Good and Do You Good” --- aka smoothies made from 100% natural fruits and “traditional/homemade recipes."

The highly successful Innocent Drinks sells $2 million smoothies per week across Europe, building a 72% market share in the 8 years since they were founded in 1999.  The brand is infused with curiosity, fun, and compassion, contributing 10% of their sales to charitable organizations.

One popular public relations program, “The Big Knit,” enlisted people to knit tiny caps which were placed on bottles of Innocent Drinks. The company then donated a portion of every purchase of a capped bottle to an organization that provided warm clothing to elderly citizens.

The company positioned the program as multi-generational by showing one of their younger employees take knitting lessons – yes, Innocent Drinks actually made knitting cool. In 2007, the campaign went viral across Europe: “…more than 400,000 hats were sent in, while customers posted photos through photo sharing site Flickr and met up through online communities.” The program generated a significant contribution to the charitable organization and resulted in a 100% lift in increased sales.

Click on the video in our left sidebar to highlights of this wonderful program. (If the video isn't visible on this page, you can view it here on YouTube.)

So, what are some of the brand strategies that have contributed to the company’s success?

First and most importantly, Innocent Drinks provides a healthy, good tasting product that focuses on benefits that people are actively seeking. Natural is a key component of their positioning, but it’s a feature of the product that provides a reason to believe/support to the positioning rather than a benefit. In general, benefits resonate more strongly with customers than features because they link the product to customer needs.

‘Green-ness’ is a core value of this company. Many would-be green brands are so focused on telling a ‘green’ story that they forget that ‘greenness’ isn’t, in and of itself, a benefit, no matter how sincere or authentic their brand may be. The smart strategy is to first make sure that you have a product that your target audience wants to buy, and then communicate how being green contributes to its benefits.

It takes the combined efforts of every area in the company to ensure the strategy is a success Everything the company does reflects their vision to leave the world a better place. Their completely natural ingredients, sustainable packaging, carbon neutral energy practices, etc. are authentically green right down to their fruity core.

Success isn’t without its challenges. When Innocent Drinks tested its products in McDonald’s stores in the UK it angered some avid brand users who accused the company of selling out.  Company officials assured them that was not the case and provided opportunities for ongoing dialogue, illustrating that the more successful a company is in facilitating a brand’s development; the more engaged they will be with brand followers.

Images: InnocentDrinks.co.uk

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