A brand’s vanishing act risks being seen as oddly plucky or, worse, patronizing. This is particularly true if the reasoning behind it is rooted in a short-sighted quick fix or a publicity stunt. You might as well slap a Band-Aid onto an ulcer. In Parts I and II of this series, I looked at Muji, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Freshjive and, briefly, Al Green. Their changes in behavior imply not “brandlessness” but a desire to define a new brand or reinvent an existing one.
Motivating factors for their experimentation ranged from a new business line to product transformation to declining sales. Was it worthwhile? Redefining an established brand—even if this means making it less visible in the traditional sense—can certainly add value. But only if marketing performs in line with product and operations.
Muji’s behavior is evidence of a larger trend in which the brand is “baked in” to the product. The quotes, as you may have noticed, reference the new CP+B book written by Alex Bogusky and John Winsor. It’s subtitle captures the premise: creating products and businesses that market themselves. The book sounds like it was written by advertising gurus. Easy to read and full of clever lines. It’s as if they're baked right into the product. Wait a minute…!
While Baked In serves as a handy illustration of how innovation fuels success, I found shortcomings in the idyllic setting it assumes. Baking the marketing into the product is of course excellent in theory, but it is far from practical or possible in most situations. The examples referenced (my favorite was the “Dog Edition” of the VW Passat ) are great, but the case studies lacked depth. I don't know how to craft the type of atmosphere in which:
A.) CEOs, engineers and designers apply a marketing mindset to their daily jobs, or—
B.) marketers sit at the table with these folks early enough in the process to affect how the product and story are crafted.
“Baked in” is the exception to the rule. I agreed with almost everything that was in the book. But countless factors need to be aligned, some before a product is conceived much less rolled off the assembly line, for it to work. If it does, bravo. It may earn a place among an elite group that includes Muji, Google and Burger King’s Chicken Fries. Yet even if there is a delicious story baked into the product waiting to be told, the story isn’t always meaningful to the consumer. When the iPod launched, it's distinct design and white headphones broke through. It also had an amazingly captivating and aggressive communications campaign that was entirely distinct from the product. Anything can be baked into a product. That doesn't mean it will move off the shelves. Whatever's baked in still needs to be communicated 99% of the time.
I began this series talking about symbiosis and the need for marketing to perform alongside product and operations—for them to complement one another. This holds true for all brands—new, stale, reinvented, rehashed, etc. If your business philosophy and communications align with what your audience cares about, it will be infinitely easier to get them to engage with your brand. Experimentation implies risk. All the more reason to be strategic in your actions. The difference between a well thought-out experiment and an irreverent publicity stunt will be seen in the bottom line. Address shortening attention spans with long-term thinking. Otherwise, the bird on the zebra’s back will only call attention to his crooked stripes.
