Stats & Strats

What’s in a Brand Name?

In late March, Kraft Foods Inc. surprised the business world with the name chosen for their global snack food business.  The new name, Mondelēz International, is a combination of the Latin-based word “monde” (meaning world) and “delez” (a form of delicious) – or as Kraft explained, “delicious world.”  Kraft had asked employees for ideas, and from 1700 submissions, this name came from an employee in North America and another in Europe.  The new brand name will be used on packages of popular snack foods such as Oreo cookies, Ritz crackers and Cadbury Eggs.

Kraft’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Beth West, had this to say as the new name was released to the public:

    It’s quite a job for a single word to capture everything about what we want the new global snacks     company to stand for…(It) is interesting, unique and captures a big idea – just the way the snacks we     make can take small moments in our lives and turn them into something bigger, brighter and more     joyful.

The name has been approved by the Kraft’s Board of Directors and will be voted on by shareholders May 23.  Kraft says it tested the name with focus groups in 28 languages.

Business writers have mostly panned the name.  They find it hard to decipher the meaning and to pronounce.  Company officials had to help with both when the new name for the global snacks business went public.  Another problem, according to Julie Jargon at the Wall Street Journal, is that the macron mark (the accent line above the second e) is hard to reproduce and even some of Kraft’s press releases did not have it.

Perhaps the most embarrassing blunder in the renaming of the global snacks business is that the name sounds like the Russian word for an oral sex act, which Advertising Age confirmed with Irwin Weil, a professor of Russian language, literature and music at Northwestern University.  John Simley, a spokesperson for Kraft, said that the focus groups they conducted included Russia, and that they “determined misinterpretations in any of the languages to be low-risk.”

Our friend, Rick Antezana, Vice President of Dynamic Language in Seattle, Washington, had this to say about the name change:

    Kraft Mondelēz is certainly not the first to encounter difficulties when taking an established brand     from one linguistic market to another. One example is a brand of popular breakfast biscuits in     Europe known as "BelVita", which Nabisco brought to the United States. The name is so close to     "Velveeta" - a well-established processed cheese food - that it causes Americans to associate it as an     unhealthy option. It is questionable as to whether the "BelVita" biscuit brand can survive, let alone     thrive within the US. However, this "audible" similarity would never be obvious to a person in Europe     who had never heard of "Velveeta". Additionally, the main difference between the brand names     “BelVita” and “Velveeta” is that first letter, which can cause some confusion with the growing     Spanish-speaking population in the U.S. In Spanish, the letters “B” and “V” are often pronounced the     same way, which makes the names of these products seemingly interchangeable.

    The bottom line is that, in addition to investing in distribution networks, patents, trademarks, and     intellectual property research, best practices should first include a significant effort in globalization     market research to ensure that the proposed product name or marketing will be perceived as neither     offensive nor negative in any way. Understanding the characteristics and needs of target markets by     communicating directly with them can help define the best way to connect, engage and interact with     target audiences as a whole.

It remains to be seen whether or not the new company name catches on.  The names Verizon and Accenture were widely panned when announced, as well.  It is most likely that the new name will not be featured prominently on snack food packaging as the brands under the new company are well known on their own.

Sources:

De La Merced, Michael J.  “Kraft ‘Mondelez’ and the Art of the Corporate Rebranding.”  The New York Times, 3/21/12. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/kraft-mondelez-and-the-art-of-corporate-rebranding/

Jargon, Julie.  “What’s a Mondelēz?  A Krafty New Name for Snack Maker.”  The Wall Street Journal, 3/22/12.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304636404577295412202718658.html

McArthur, Kate.  “Kraft’s Name Brings New meaning to Snacking in Russia.”  Advertising Age, 3/22/12. http://adage.com/article/global-news/kraft-s-close-russian-translation-oral-sex/233459/

Latest Campaign Reform Effort Causes Trouble for Survey Industry

People are fed up with negative campaigning, so much so that states have attempted to protect constituents with various state laws that pertain to negative campaign tactics. However, in several states, laws against the practice known as “push polls” have led to some serious difficulties for legitimate market research companies and political consultants to conduct their research.

Push Polling, as stated in the Marketing ResearchAssociation (MRA) and American Association of Political Consultants’(AAPC) joint letter to Attorney General Michael Delaney of New Hampshire, “is not polling at all – it is a form of negative phone banking disguised as polling…It is not a test but rather an effort to communicate those messages by giving that communication the appearance of polling.” The calls, disguised as polls, last a short time and are meant to influence the receiver for or against a particular candidate. Both organizations maintain Codes of Ethics and do not condone this practice.

Many states have laws against push polls, yet a recent story in The New York Times brought to
light the battle in New Hampshire. The law, which originally passed in 1998, has been enforced more recently, resulting in fines for several large market research companies. The difficulty is that the law is written too broadly, and includes almost any mention of a candidate’s positions. It also asks that any poll that asks leading questions disclose its sponsor, which can bias results in a true research
project that may be doing message testing. The real danger in the law as it is written is that it was leading many firms to exclude New Hampshire from their projects, thereby causing further
problems for legitimate market research to take place.

MRA and AAPC advocated that New Hampshire change the wording of its law to match a similar one in the state of Louisiana that allowed for market research firms to continue to operate in their state while outlawing the practice of push polling. As of last week, the Chairman of the New Hampshire Election Committee had contacted the MRA to consider changes to its law to allow for market researchers and pollsters to continue to conduct their work in New Hampshire.

Has the New Hampshire law affected the way you conduct your business? How does your firm handle research in states with laws that pertain to polling?

Market Researchers Are Watching You

Fresh Direct, a New York-based grocery delivery service, often includes free samples in customers’ boxes. Orders for a case of generic seltzer prompts a sample of the company’s own Pellegrino-style sparkling water. The link between a similar order and two small bottles of high-end Italian soda (one lemon, one tangerine) is less clear. Was it the gingerale? The citrus? The artsy neighborhood? The seltzer (again)? 

The customer actually likes those sodas very much, but doesn’t buy them for reasons of health (cutting back on sugar) and budget. But it is unsettling that a company can so accurately predict, through non-obvious research and experience, a customer’s preference. 

Is there such a thing as utilizing too much marketing information?

That’s one of the questions begged by a recent New York Times’ magazine cover story involving Target. The company tracked purchases with such detail that they could predict with stunning accuracy a woman’s pregnancy, down to the trimester. The revelation that Target knew a teenager was pregnant before her parents did launched a viral blog post on Forbes. Most households welcome coupons and discounts. But most people value their privacy. Where is the line?

Some experts say it’s something everyone in our digital age will just have to get used to – a lack of privacy, driven by the trackable data we create every day, with every online mouse click. Even services we stop using may still track our behavior, unbeknownst to us – as the OnStar car service said this fall.

The question for market researchers, and companies trying to better understand their customers, is just how much is too much information to have about customers. Or is the issue not the information gathering, but how it’s used – and if so, how do you tell what is too much and how much is just right? What is the difference between an angry father and valuable coupons, between creepy lemon soda and complimentary sparkling water?

Communications Lessons for Non-Mind Readers

When I was surly teenager, my mother used to admonish me: “I’m not a mind reader. You have to tell me what you want.”

The same philosophy extends to business communication. Your ideas may be industry-changers, but if your employees don't understand what's going on, your inspiration may never fly. People can’t read minds, and what seems obvious to you might seem muddled to someone else.

A few tips for better communication: 

Over-communicate - It can be hard to tell how much is too little. If employees only know half the story, they may not know enough to ask the more detailed questions that would lead to a fuller understanding. Err on the side of giving them too much. This is particularly important online, where facial expressions and tones of voice can’t be seen or heard.

Encourage employees to speak up - Let them know you have their back. Don't just say you have an open-door policy - show it by asking them if they have questions, encouraging them to let you know if there's a problem. And if they come to you with concerns, even if it's about someone higher up the food chain, listen, support them, and make sure there's no retaliation. 

Write it down - Timelines, plans, work flows, whatever you need to get your amazing project done. Take time for documentation. You may know exactly what needs to be done, but how well are you expressing those needs to your employees? A blueprint everyone can share ensures your team remains on the same page. Bonus: An employee might have an idea to better streamline the process that never would have been broached had you not offered a written schedule.

Don’t skimp for time’s sake - Yes, first and fast matters. But installing a new computer-based ordering system doesn’t help your business if the system constantly crashes thanks to employees who never learned to use it correctly. A few hours invested in training up front spares businesses days of heartache later.

Don’t assume it’s their fault - Communication can be a tricky skill, and even the best speakers will lose their audience at times. If someone doesn’t grasp a concept you’re trying to share, open yourself up to their questions, ask what they think might help them understand, try a different tack – just don’t assume it’s their fault.

What are some of the communication practices that have worked best for your business?

Campaign 2012 -Know Your Voter

Political polling is so 90s.

As the first primaries and caucuses of the 2012 presidential race kick off, the media constantly focus on polls. But campaigns have moved beyond simple voter questionnaires to revolutionize online data mining in order to better reach constituents -- practices with the potential to move into the business world as well.

President Barack Obama's campaign four years ago was the first devoted to such practices on a large scale. The campaign didn't just compile emails and addresses. Staffers used social media, geographic databases and chat room posts to create an integrated research tool that allowed the campaign to reach voters in very specific ways. As noted in this blog from 2009, the campaign could move beyond large-scale, general neighborhood canvassing and instead dial down to such specific person-to-person needs as offering rides to polling places, or addressing very specific policy questions. 

The extent of data mining in the 2012 race will likely remain a campaign secret until well after Election Day. But the Obama camp made minor headlines in the spring with a job posting for a data research and mining specialist. For the Republicans, Texas Gov. Rick Perry apparently used some of these techniques before he dropped out of the race. 

In truth, the goals of politics are often the same goals of any small-to-medium sized business: learn as much as possible about the target audience in order to best tailor a message that reaches them. Already some of those lessons have been applied. Like Obama previously, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney announced his 2012 campaign not with a flashy press conference but by posting video and messages online. In other words, they used the medium that they knew would reach the most voters. 

As this online discussion noted:

“The golden fleece would be to have enough data, plus the individual voter IDs (i.e., yes, no, undecided), and crunch all that enough to make decisions about message for voters who are as yet unidentified, or who cannot be ID'd for one reason or another.”

At least one specialist who has worked on several Republican campaigns says the GOP still lags behind Democrats when it comes to compiling and using available voter data.

But the political playing field is expected to even out greatly this year.

Technology Trends for the Year Ahead

Mobile. The cloud. Social engagement, for research and for reaching customers.

Before the clocks turned to 2012, business experts were already gazing into the next 12 months. Much of what hovers on the horizon is an extension of trends already begun this year, but amplified through increasing popularity, user-friendliness, and creative uses of new technology, tempered by the tried-and-true.

Mobile:

Cell phones and tablets came into their own in 2011. The key to 2012 marketing is the growing understanding that these gadgets represent a unique audience, and one large enough that it cannot be ignored or dismissed. Mobile presents it’s own challenges, such as reaching consumers on the fly, while they are likely multitasking. While “mobile commerce” is just a fraction of the online purchasing whole, it’s one that continues to gain traction – and that businesses are increasingly trying to capitalize on.

Meanwhile, mobile usage offers a new set of data-gathering possibilities, through tracking software, location awareness and quick responses. “The sheer volume of data will require creative new models to make sense of it,” writes the MarketTools Blog.

The Cloud:

Computing is going virtual. That may sound redundant, but the cloud idea flips one of the major uses of computers in the past two decades. In the past, users stored data on their computer, and sometimes sent that data across the Internet. Today – and increasingly in 2012 – the data will also be stored via the Web, and not via individual machines. This allows for smaller, more versatile machines, and information that’s accessible almost anywhere. Like the mobile technology, cloud usage can provide reams of data about consumer’s online habits that, with the right models, can be parsed into usable research.

Social Engagement:

Social media has already become a vital part of the business arena. But simply existing, and occasionally using, Facebook and Twitter won’t be enough to reach savvy 2012 consumers. Business leaders need to actively engage those customers, to utilize the medium to its full marketing potential, and to reach customers in a way they expect and will respond to.

Integration:

One of the biggest challenges for the coming year will be using all the different media types effectively to engage in quality market research, and to reach customers. Research models that provide actionable information for print and television may not work for mobile or cloud studies, but the end result – the message and brand that researches consumers and clients – must seem integrated across all platforms.

What are your 2012 predictions?

 

 

Updating Your Business for the Year Ahead

The end of the year marks a perfect time to take stock of your business.

Herewith, some ideas for measuring where you are, where you’ve come from, and where your business is going in 2012.

Updates:

When was the last time you updated your business plan? Your Web site? Your business cards and stationary?

Every business card, Web page or email communicates something about a business. Hopefully part of that message is a positive one. But as one small business expert notes, "Nothing says amateur like “© 2008” at the bottom of your website."

Letterhead that includes out-of-date phone numbers or employee names have a similar negative impact. If someone at your firm is taking the time to manually write a new title on their business cards, then you have time to order new business cards.

Employees:

When was the last time you checked in with your employees to ensure that they are happy, that you are meeting their needs, and that they want to keep working for you?

In the daily business swirl, it's easy to overlook the needs of employees, especially if the employees don't speak up. Formal reviews held throughout the year often turn into pressure-filled meetings focused more on a boss' expectations than an employee's desires. The end of the year can be a great time to informally give employees a chance to express themselves. When the pressure’s off, they may feel comfortable expressing their needs for flexible work hours or concerns about something as simple as meeting times. They'll appreciate a boss who meets those desires and creates a more satisfying workplace. And they'll be more likely to stick with their job, even if the boss can't afford to give them a raise.

Business plan:

Odds are when you opened for business, you created a plan or road map. The plan may have even been updated a few times. But when was the last time you really looked at it? Does it still reflect the needs of the business and the market? Year-end is the perfect time to assess what worked and what didn’t, and reshape as necessary.

The Savvy Freelancer has some self-evaluation questions worth asking of any business, of any size. Or use some of the tips offered by communications professionals.

Tell us -- what are you doing to prepare for the year ahead?

 

Would You Buy Something from Betty White?

Want to sell almost anything? Hire Betty White as your spokeswoman.

Hollywood and the entertainment press might skew young, but it turns out that the celebs who garner the most favorable opinions tend to be older and scandal-free – more Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood, less Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump – according to a poll published in the November issue of Change|Agent magazine.

Why does Betty White work where the Kardashians fall flat?

Many respondents said they found White trustworthy.  It's not hard to extrapolate that humor sells, and she's a funny lady, or that with age comes knowledge, and therefore she might just know what she's talking about. Ms. White has few negatives.

Few companies can afford to hire Betty White these days, but it's worth examining how Betty White as a brand can translate into successful brand identification for other businesses.

--White connects with people

The comedienne appears personable and approachable as she connects with her audience. Is your business brand approachable? Can customers reach you, and feel like you are listening to them? Do you give your customers what they want? Does your business have a personality that people can relate to, not a corporate culture they have to navigate? It doesn’t matter if your business is a multinational corporation or a home-based art and craft endeavor, as the audience is for this column. Best practices, in many ways, are still the same. 

--White has a depth of experience that makes her seem trustworthy

It's hard for new businesses to express that kind of trustworthiness. Perhaps the new venture’s owners have a long history in an industry, and can express that through the company's branding efforts. A consistent, focused message across the board, from logos to Web content to customer relations, goes a long way toward building that trust. Young freelancers speaking to the Wall Street Journal recently reiterated this message.

-- White does things her way

Betty White has her own brand of unique humor that often plays against the stereotype of her age. She doesn't dye her hair. She doesn't dress like she's 40 years younger. In other words, she doesn't try to be someone she isn't. She's just her. And that's what she's selling. Businesses, like celebrities, often do best when the focus remains on the core mission, and the business retains control of social media, press, and public perception as much as possible, as Bloomberg Businessweek notes. A business that constantly changes its branding risks alienating its core clients -- as a recent controversy over a new Coke cans proved.

Material Cited:

Change|Agent magazine http://www.synovate.com/changeagent/index.php/site/full_story/brands_and_the_celebrity_effect?utm_campaign=ChangeAgent_2011_Nov&utm_medium=social-media&utm_source=social-general

Bloomberg Businessweek

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2010/06/creating_a_brand_requires_discipline_and_vigilance.html

Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703727804576017432429971442.html

Etsy.com Advice

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/shop-makeover-creating-a-brand-identity-for-your-shop/

Return on Luck

Is luck really more important than talent when it comes to business success?

Best-selling authors Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen flip the old cliché in their new book, Great by Choice, which examines the roll luck played in the rise of more than 200 top business leaders. Instead of worrying about ROI, their research suggests focusing on ROL – Return on Luck.

“The crucial question,” they wrote recently in the New York Times, is not, “ ‘Are you lucky?’ but “Do you get a high return on luck?’”

In other words, opportunity needs only knock once if your business is poised to capitalize on it. Those who do best when luck appears, Collins and Hansen found, focus on discipline, hard work and a paranoid concern about their business performance. Risk takers and creative visionaries don’t have the best Return on Luck. Innovation alone guarantees nothing. Focusing on fast – action and decision-making – falls flat, according to the authors. 

Meanwhile, Collins and Hansen note, it is possible to turn even the worst luck around. Their Times article used the example of Progressive Insurance, which faced negative customer perception and severe potential profit losses with a new California state law. A confluence of bad luck, indeed. But Progressive’s leadership took the hit as a chance to turn the business around. They focused on reversing customer perception, hoping that would lead to turning around profits. Company leaders invested years in the turnaround. And it paid off. 

In the Washington Post this October, Collins added the sometimes, being prepped for the best ROL is a matter of focusing on the right questions. Not “what,” or “how,” but “The most important question is: ‘Who?’” Part of the right prep is having the right team in place, and trusting them to handle luck – and unluckiness – should it arise.

Taking it a step further, one business leader opines that it’s not just about the right team. Part of Collins’ and Hansen’s brilliance, he writes, lies in the paranoia – prepping for every contingency. And being flexible enough to change, to see when you’ve struck out on the wrong path, cautious of the wrong type of perseverance. 

But not everyone agrees with the authors’ findings. On the retailing blog for Applied Predictive Technologies, or APT, the writer questions conclusions about slowing down fast-paced actions. Unpredictable market changes can render deliberate decision-making a luxury.

“I fundamentally disagree with the idea that you can’t have both fast decision-making AND data-driven decision-making. It is very hard to predict how the general macro-economic environment will behave,” she writes, citing the fallout from the Greek economic crisis.

The key is to balance reaction times with quality research.

“The solution to ‘fast AND data-driven’ decision making is planning,” she writes.

So, if luck strikes, are you prepared?

 

 

Material Cited:

Great by Choice publisher page http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Great-Choice/?isbn=9780062121004%27

NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/business/luck-is-just-the-spark-for-business-giants.html?pagewanted=all

Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/is-jim-collins-just-lucky/2011/10/27/gIQA7NysMM_story.html

Paranoid Leaders http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/jim-collins-on-paranoid-leaders/

APT http://retailingwithconfidence.com/what-retailers-can-learn-from-jim-collins-the-genius-of-and-over-the-tyranny-of-or/ 

Managing Luck http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/11/three_ways_to_manage_good_or_b.html

 

Keeping the Flame Alight

Passion and inspiration set your big ideas alight. Emotions can wane, though, as new business stagnates, the recession lingers, and frustrations arise. How do you keep the spark alive?

Remember that rejection isn’t personal. We all have growing pains, in life as in business. A potential client has a hundred reasons to reject your proposal: budget changes, internal politics, indecisive leadership, etc. None of those reasons are a reflection on your business. All you need is one client to say yes. And then another one.

Take one small step every day. Schedule 10 minutes to brainstorm new leads. Write a networking email. Read an article about the latest news in your industry. Taking a few minutes to educate yourself and perform one new task daily for your business will help your bottom line grow in creative new ways. Just as importantly, it will make you feel like you are in control and taking charge.

Invest in your business. You know you have to spend some money to make some. Frugality is important, but so is making sure you don’t suffocate your business.

BUT watch the return. Are you tracking which dollars are working hard, and which are wasteful? Examine the click returns on your online advertising. Tally paid leads that result in business earned. Pay attention to customer feedback.

Fine-tune your market understanding. Check out your competitors. Track what the public is saying about you and your industry. Survey your customer base to ensure you are meeting their needs. Your customers may not have the cash to spend on faith today, but taking the time to understand exactly what the market needs gives you a competitive advantage.

Focus on what makes you special. What do you do better than anyone? What do you offer that no one else can? Every person, and every business, has a unique perspective that sets them apart – and that no one else can provide. Therein lies success.

Stay passionate. Frame an inspirational saying or your first dollar. Post sticky notes with reminders about how far you’ve come. Keep a photo of your family nearby. Remember why you’re doing this, why you started, and how there’s no other job you’d rather be doing.

 

Looking for even more inspiration?

Learn to bounce back http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/19/recover-from-failure-entrepreneurs-management-failure.html

Set successful business goals http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/smallbusiness/planning/8368177/are-you-setting-successful-business-goals

End the motivational struggle http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/how-to-stay-motivated-and-on-track-when-you%E2%80%99re-struggling.html

Find your energy http://www.business.com/guides/staying-motivated-1359/