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Homogeneity and it's close relative, consistency are cited as critical components of brand success.

Many analysts tell us that brands have to deliver consistent experiences if they want succeed and that homogeneity is what consumers want and desire.

It's therefore interesting to read about the demise of Starbucks in Australia.

According to the BBC..

"The mighty Starbucks coffee empire has been handed a heavy defeat by thousands of small Australian cafes in the fight for a nation's taste buds.

Eight years after it began selling its espressos and frappucinos in Australia, the US giant has succumbed to powerful financial and cultural pressures and has closed 61 of its 85 shops across the country.

Savouring a morning cup of coffee has become a ritual for millions of Australians - yet one that Starbucks failed to capitalise on, in spite of the way the chain had become a global cultural phenomenon during the 1990s.

"It was maybe too standardised," says Michael Edwardson, a consumer psychologist in Melbourne.

"Early on it was unique and different, but as it became a global chain the standardisation made it lose some of that coolness and edginess. It was quickly copied and lost its lustre.”

What does this suggest for brands?

Perhaps brands need both consistency and inconsistency; they need to flex and play with both elements. It's clear that consumers today probably need a mix of both. Certainly parts of brands need standardized elements, but they also need to surprise and delight their customers. They need to get ahead of the curve, rather than behind it.

This is incredibly demanding and challenging for brands; the idea of staying ahead and bringing surprise to consumers depends on having great intelligence and brilliant execution, not to mention the investment required to support change.

Too often, brands sit back and wait too long to make changes. Instead of getting ahead, they wait until the last minute to do something. They try to get away for the longest possible time without making changes.

As this story shows, culture has the power to move much faster than brands. Brands need to recognize the rapid pace of change and invest not just in the intelligence to stay ahead, but act on it before it's too late.


Posted by Ed Cotton Innocent Drinks has always thought differently about the relationship it has with its customers.

It's constantly looking to level the playing field, which can be something of a challenge as the company grows.

However, they are continuing to innovate in this area of outreach, as witnessed by its announcement for an AGM in April.

"We’ve always liked to know what you think of our drinks. That’s why we ask you to ring the banana phone or pop into Fruit Towers. And it’s great when you do because we get to have a chat, and find out what you’d like to see innocent doing next.

This year, we thought we’d go a step further and have our very own AGM. It’s not going to be particularly formal (no men in suits telling you about profit engineering). We see it as being more like a get together in a village hall where you find out what’s going on, have a bit of a debate and then vote on a few things.

We’ve never done anything like this before, but the general idea is to try and get about a hundred of our drinkers to come along and find out a bit more about life at Fruit Towers. And, more importantly, get involved in voting on what we should be doing next as a business. 

So you get to tell us what to do, and we’ll give you lots of free smoothies. And that’s it really. It would be great if we could get every single person who ever drank a smoothie to come along, but we think it might be a bit of a squeeze. Which means we’re going to have a ballot where everyone who fancies it lets us know their name, and says why they’d be a good person to have along on the day.

It would be great to hear your thoughts about what you’d like to know about most. And if you don’t get picked, we promise to make sure we update you on everything that happened on the day, and give you a chance to have your say too."

Posted by Ed Cotton Please share your top 5 predictions for marketing and brands in 2008.

Post your thoughts in the comments section and we will publish them in a forthcoming series of blog posts.


Posted by Ed Cotton

Via Fresh Creation


Posted by Ed Cotton Dopplr, the social networky travel site has done something very clever, they've associated themselves with some of the smartest, most creative companies around by launching the Dopplr 100.

While you may not have heard of Dopplr, you've certainly heard of many of the companies on the 100- including the likes of McKinsey, Muji, Red Bull and many others, including ad agencies, the names of which I can't possibly mention.

Individuals working at any of the Dopplr 100 with a valid email address get the invitation to join.

It's branding by creative class association, it's the company you keep.

We are certainly upset that BSSP didn't make the list of 100 and I am sure hundreds of other folks feel the same way and that's exactly what Dopplr wants.

It's a nice way to get your company out there and to build a network where people can be certain that "people like them" will be a part of it. There's an in-built social incentive to join up.


Posted by Ed Cotton A few months back, I found myself included on an author list for the Age of Conversation. It's a brilliant concept hatched by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLelllan; 100 blogger authors each writing a chapter about conversation. At the time,  I wasn't sure what to think and what would become of it. Now it's alive and kicking and launches on July 16th. Most important, all the proceeds will be donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity.

Project info can be found here.

Formats/Prices:

Hardbacks $29.99
Paperbacks $16.95

Here's the list of authors- with a bunch of strategists/planners in the mix including- Emily Reed, David Armano, Mark Earls, Gareth Kay and Faris Yakob.

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Mindblob (Luc)
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Bob Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
Kofl Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg
C.B. Whittemore 

Posted by Ed Cotton