Brandoctor's blog

Rebranding of GRAWE Hrvatska

by: Anja Bauer Minkara, director & senior brand consultant

 

What is the unalienable right of any man?

You can imprison a man but you can’t imprison his mind, his thinking and you can’t stop a man from dreaming.

There is something incredibly inspiring about the fact that even when you have hit the wall or are lying on the ground, you can sum up your strength and leap to great heights, to serenity, to achieve your own peace and create your own happiness. As Henry David Thoreau said “I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.” People who dream and work hard to achieve their dreams are content and self-fulfilled.

Our dreams are what we are. They tell others what our priorities in life are and what we cherish. People work on achieving their dreams alone, or as part of the team, or together with someone they love. It is this togetherness that achieves the dream. And if a person has achieved their dream alone, they first share it with people they respect and love.

When we were working for GRAWE Hrvatska, the insurance brand, we realized that people insure themselves because of fear that something bad can happen. Getting insured is a preventive move to secure those they love and themselves. The material things that people possess need to be secure, so they protect their life, or the life they dream of. Therefore, by insuring themselves people insure their path to their better world, their dreams of a better future for themselves and those they love.   

Insurance companies, like other businesses, could inspire consumers instead of scaring them. This philosophy led us during rebranding for GRAWE Hrvatska. Insurance companies insure the good part of people’s lives, they don’t just insure the house, they insure the need to have a home for the loved ones, where they spend their life and where the most special moments are shared. The car for example is not just the means to get you from A to B, it’s the freedom and the means to get you to places you love and want to discover.

GRAWE Hrvatska became a story about insuring people’s dreams and motivating people to achieve what they long for, such as driving their own car and giving their kid the keys to the car, while insuring their safety by being there during the first phase of driving. It is the moment of getting the job they have dreamed of, graduating from university, getting the first baby and spending the rest of their life with the person they love.

These are the moments that came from talking to people, and the advertisement united the agency, the client and consumers because it is narrating the tale we all feel and understand. It is the story about achieving your own dreams and protecting yourself and your loved ones. While watching the ad the consumers feel close to the brand and feel that it could also be a story about them.

 

 

Diesel and me

by: Anja Bauer Minkara, director & senior brand consultant

It’s so funny to see how many people are irritated with the word brand.

But that’s not what I will write about.

I want to tell you how great Diesel is (especially the one in Zagreb).

When I look at their advertising, I am a bit daunted by the images of people who are unreachable but I love that you don’t have that feeling when you shop there. 

If I based my judgment of Diesel based on the catalogues and the web I would never walk into the store. It is for the ultra humans, looking amazing in their own world sort of escapist and aspirational, but I am not aspirational in that sense at all. I aspire to be in my own world but do know that the skimpy outfits are not my cup of tea.

The funny part is that I am not their target group – I mean of their communication but I am their target group in terms of clothing.

I like the laid back part of Diesel that is not in the communication, maybe not part of their communication strategy, and perhaps something they could push inside. It is a bit laid back, relaxing, rebellious and all the other things you find on their web. I wish it was more of both worlds in their communication.

Both worlds exist in their stores. The sales people are really nice, they make you feel good and they are most importantly honest. They don’t tell you to get something if you don’t look good in it, they don’t flatter you and they talk to you like you are their buddy, which is helpful and friendly.

Most recently I was so surprised to get their phone call to tell me they have a small present for me. I know that I haven’t shopped there for a while and it could be their strategy for getting me back but the way they made me feel is – we want you to have a little something from us and that’s it.

It would be great to get this friendly and laid back feeling from watching their web or catalogues, because in my opinion people would like them more and Diesel as a brand would have more personality. 

Symbolism in the Chrysler ads

by: Anja Bauer Minkara, director & senior brand consultant

 

Movere is the Latin word meaning to move and both emotion and motivation were derived from the same verb. Combine them and you get emotional motivation. Emotional motivation is the word that would describe last year’s and this year’s Chrysler ads launched during Super Bowl.

What do Eminem and Clint Eastwood have in common? Both men are tough and good-looking. These two characteristics are attractive to both men and women. Men in general like to be tough because it is written in their DNA, they want to be able to take care of their families, appear tough in front of their friends and protective of their partners. Women are a relevant target of this ad as they make up 44% of the Super Bowl audience and also like their men tough and good-looking.

Chrysler embodies these characteristics - being American, sturdy and well designed. Chrysler got its match in these two men. When you listen to the emotional copy and watch the ad, you cannot but be moved or emotionally motivated.

Americans are great at emotionally motivating its people, making them proud of being American, or as Eastwood in this ad says: “This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do the world’s going to hear the roar of our engines.” Or as the last year’s ad says: “It’s the hottest fires that make the hardest steel. Add hard work and conviction and the know-how that runs generations deep in every last one of us. That’s who we are, that’s our story.”

Chrysler with these ads is symbolic of the emotion of the American people to persevere in the trying times, to rise when others would fall, to act as one and find a way out of the hard times. Chrysler is now more than a corporate brand - it is symbolic of the hard work and unity that overcomes all hardship. 

 

 

Buying lifestyle rather than buying furniture

by: Petra Despot, brand consultant

For the last several days on my way to work I’ve been driving by a certain billboard promoting a new furniture shop. The poor design of the billboard intrigued me so I looked for the brand on the Internet and found something even more saddening. I found a story about the brand built solely on low price. And as we all know, these kinds of stories, not having something more to it often end up poorly. When I found the catalogue from the same furniture shop in my mailbox earlier today, I just couldn’t keep staying quiet about it.

The strategy of this furniture shop is quite clear. It is a B brand of another furniture shop, aiming to be differentiated in the market place by selling furniture at the lowest prices. While this sounds quite reasonable, it is the lack of other brand values that makes this story superficial and quite unreasonable in the long term.

Let me explain this more clearly using the most obvious example - Ikea. As we all know, Ikea sells furniture at very low prices. But the price isn’t the only thing that sells Ikea. It is the urban lifestyle with functionally designed furniture at affordable prices that sells it. Through each of its touchpoints Ikea promotes a vision of simple and comfortable living with low prices acting as means to achieve that vision. Ikea’s catalogues, ads, web pages and guerrilla-marketing stunts all promote not just pieces of furniture, but true and fun living spaces. The people who buy at Ikea aren’t perceived as people with low budgets, they are perceived as stylish and urban people that want good value for their money.

The price can’t be your brands only competitive advantage, for it is the easiest thing that can be copied by your competitors. But combine an inspiring vision with a good price, and you may be onto something great. If I had to choose to buy a low priced sofa or a stylish and modernly designed sofa at a low price, I would always choose the second one. Which one would you choose?

Why Generation Z just might be the next big thing

by: Petra Despot, brand consultant

When defining target groups for the brands we develop, we often end up exploring habits of the currently two most significant groups: Generation X and Generation Y. Although these terms can mostly be related to American consumers and the US society, we found some points of similarity when it comes to European and Croatian consumers.

Just a short reminder: Generation X mostly refers to those born between the early 1960s and the early 1980s. Gen X is the best-educated generation so far, characterized by high levels of skepticism and a “what’s in it for me” attitude. They are highly pragmatic when it comes to parenting and financial planning, often preferring to buy a small number of high quality products that can give them lasting value for their money.

Generation Y includes people born between the early 1980s and the mid 1990s, also known as Millenials. They are highly literate when it comes to new technologies and digital media and often of neoliberal approaches when it comes to politics and economics. They are competitive, have high expectations and tend to switch jobs frequently.

All of us writing this blog, and probably most of you reading it fall into one of these two groups. But there is another group that is yet to pick up most of the limelight. A group that has significant buying power, but more importantly a group that has great influence over other generations and the society as a whole - Generation Z.

Generation Z refers to those born from the mid 1990s to the present, typically the children of Generation X. They are highly connected, having grown up on instant messaging, iPods, Facebook and YouTube. Everything they know is instantly shared via social networks. They tend to create their own rules and trends, rather than to follow the ones being set by others.

It is a group of great importance to all us marketers and business owners, as it is a generation that will most probably challenge and reshape all of the existing market and media rules.

From the moment they wake up in the morning, they are connected, usually doing more than one task at the time. They engage with brands on Facebook and check Twitter for daily news rather than the traditional media. Their interest in brands changes as fast as their taste in music. The challenge to the brand owners and strategists is constantly creating a new and exciting brand experience, while at the same time staying true to the brand’s foundations.

One of the ways of doing it is including them in the process of brand development, rather than providing them with an end solution. Showing them the process or giving them the opportunity to participate in it, may just be the winning formula. By revolving the brand experience around them, you give them motivation to share it with their friends and to become your brand’s true ambassadors.

So do not ignore Generation Z, after all they are the ones who made Sam Tsui a YouTube celebrity and Justin Bieber globally famous. 

 

Guinness Storehouse - Good things do come to those who wait

by: Petra Despot, brand consultant

A strange thing caught my attention the other day while I was having breakfast in my kitchen. Right there on my fridge, among numerous magnets from various cities from across the world, was a single magnet with a brand name on it. It stood out proudly, right in between magnets from Boston and Paris, probably bearing more associations then half a dozen magnets on that fridge. The magnet was a beautiful Guinness pint, bought in Dublin in the Guinness Storehouse.

Guinness is most definitely my favorite beer brand, so no wonder it found its place on my fridge. Guinness has the whole package - the taste, the story and the experience. As a consumer, I simply love it. As a brand consultant, I admire it for communicating its brand values so consistently and through every touchpoint with the consumer.

Even though each of their commercials tells a different story, they all involve us on a personal level. They successfully unite the brands heritage with a modern and surprising twist, always reminding us that good things come to those who wait. It’s the legendary Guinness slogan, made to turn around the negative consumer opinion of the length of time required to correctly pour a pint of Guinness from the tap, usually quoted as 119.5 seconds. It’s glorified in every Guinness commercial and told in every Dublin bar by the bartender pouring the pint of Guinness. It even comes true at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, where I bought my fridge magnet.

The Guinness Storehouse is probably the best place to taste the Guinness experience (and the beer, too). It is an old Guinness Brewery turned into a brand museum, perfectly combining the old industrial heritage with the contemporary edge. Every visitor has an opportunity to sense the Guinness brand passing through seven floors, with each floor telling a story of great taste, tradition and heritage. Walking through different floors and stages of the Guinness brand, you are not only a spectator, but also a participant in the unique brand story.

After a two-hour walk through Guinness’ history you get to taste the beer – the perfect Guinness pint, right from the tap. At the top floor of the Guinness Storehouse, drinking my pint and overviewing the Dublin skyline, I finally realized that good things truly do come to those who wait. And bought the magnet. 

 

Thank you, Steve!

by: Anja Bauer Minkara, director & senior brand consultant

Thank you Steve for making our lives simpler. Your genius and perfectionism has simplified our lives. The proof that your brands are simple - is my three year old who uses the iPhone without a problem. When my son has nothing to do, he takes my iPhone and plays games. He tried the same with another mobile brand but got quickly frustrated and threw it on the couch. Thank you for introducing him to the world of technology.

Your products and communication have connected with not just needs of consumers, but with their hearts. We love Apple and we love Steve Jobs. 

I remember the first time I saw Think different ad, I didn’t even care what it was for, but I cared what it stood for. It stood for standing up for what you believe in, listening to your inner voice, for being different but being proud of it. 

He to me presents everything that a leader needs to have, the vision, perseverance but also the heart to move people with his words, whether the commencement speech at Stanford University or the words he thought for the Think different ad. 

As a brand consultant, naturally I have my personal favorite, the one where Steve talks about brands. Enjoy it! Thank you, Steve.

 

How to sell the brand to your employees

by: Jelena Mezga, brand implementor

 

“People are your company’s most valuable asset”. How many times have you heard this sentence before? I bet too many. Hearing it time after time, made me wonder – do brand owners really find this true? Do they invest in their employees and treat them as the brand’s strongest ambassadors? Do they know that the brand first has to be lived and felt from within?

Investments in internal branding are recognized within only a small number of companies. The owners of Croatian brands hardly perceive the fact that all their employees must be familiar with the brand foundations or better yet, they must “live the brand”. They have to become brand’s ambassadors; for they are the main touchpoints in delivering brand promise. They must have a sense of belonging and feel they want to spread the brand’s story. If employees do not believe in the brand foundations, the company cannot expect them to communicate company's beliefs and philosophy convincingly.

There are many tools to help employees understand and meet company’s philosophy. Facebook (as a company) is doing that very well. Facebook’s main brand values, such as connecting, friendly, sociable, relaxing and fun are deeply rooted in the company culture. Facebook is trying to find creative ways to make the company more open and connected. They employ good and open-minded people from all over the world, they frequently organize cultural and company events that are motivating and insightful for employees. They make parties and awesome barbeques on roof tops. Almost every week they bring someone from outside Facebook to talk about their business or real life experience such as the famous American journalist and the leader of the women’s liberation movement Gloria Steinem or Marc Andreessen the co founder of Netscape and member of the World Wide Web Hall of Fame. Employees also enjoy a variety of benefits such as discounts, free breakfast, lunch and dinner at their Cafè, free ice cream and Red bull in summer, free laundry service, shuttle service, 50% reimbursement on gym fees, etc.

The corporate culture is best seen at the Facebook offices, which are fun, friendly and leisurely. Employees are allowed to write on walls, skate in the office, and play basketball or table tennis, so they could face a hard-working day more easily. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to get the job done efficiently, and the employees to be satisfied.

The important thing is that no matter what your job is at Facebook, whether you work as an engineer, in the sales department or somewhere else, you always work for the same goal: you are helping people to connect and share with other people they care about.

Companies should invest more in their employees since they are an important part of the chain and a crucial touchpoint between the brand and the consumer. They also have to understand that this is the right way to increase the brand’s financial value. Facebook is an excellent example. How are things at your place?

 

Naming a baby, a pet or a brand

by: Maja Benčić, naming consultant & copywriter

 

I suppose most of you have encountered naming in your everyday life, whether it was picking a name for a pet or a baby. However, naming a company, a product or a service, differs greatly from naming your dog.

Firstly, when choosing a name for a pet or a baby, you follow your own taste. You can’t be sure what your baby will be like when it grows up, so you can sometimes meet a loud and outgoing Miran (miran an adjective meaning calm in Croatian) or a fragile and gentle Petra (petra a noun meaning rock in Latin).

Your child will be branded by his name during life. If you give him or her an unusual name, other children could make fun of it. But if you give him or her a normal, usual name, it won’t say much about his or her personality or behavior.

When naming a company, product or service, you cannot allow yourself making a mistake like with Miran or Petra. If your brand were meant to be loud, fun and dynamic, a name like Miran (calm) would be the exact opposite of the name your brand should carry. Also, the more similar your brand name is to your competitive brand names, the more you have to invest in communication and awareness. Originality definitely pays off here.

One of the hardest things with naming brands is putting aside your own taste and choosing the most suitable name for the brand, which will communicate the easiest with the target group. The person picking the name, usually the brand’s owner, has to realize that sometimes he or she is not the target group for the brand. 

The name is the most used verbal representative of the brand and probably will stick to your company, product or service for a long time.

Although the name alone cannot embody the image of your brand completely, it does it in alliance with the slogan, visual identity and communication. Still, the best names include as many attributes from the brand image as possible and clearly communicate what this brand is about.

Some of the brand names I really like are:

• Silk - soy milk, my absolute favorite, simple, smooth and inviting
• innocent - fruit juice so pure that it contains nothing but fruit
• BlackBerry - you all know what that is, it’s black and has buttons like fruit seeds
• Wii - home video game console WE can all play with

And if you brand name is really beautiful or brand loyalty is high, don’t be surprised to meet people named after the brand. This trend has already started with some kids named L’Oreal, Chevrolet, Armani or even ESPN (after the sports channel).

MIB Pivac – Branding lessons from Vrgorac

 by: Petra Despot, brand consultant

 

I love analyzing Croatian brands - what they stand for, how they differentiate from their competition, how they communicate and interact with their consumers. I always love to see when Croatian brands do well - when they communicate their values consistently or when they try to engage with the consumer on a more personal level. So when I saw a brand from Dalmatian Zagora (i.e. one of the most traditional parts of Croatia) doing just that, I was more than positively surprised. 

The brand was MIB Pivac (meaning Pivac Brothers Meat Industry) - a traditional Croatian brand of meat-processed products, coming from the small town of Vrgorac in Dalmatian Zagora. This part of Croatia is certainly not an easy place to grow a brand, yet somehow MIB Pivac has done a very good job. Throughout its visual identity, packaging, point of sale, TV commercials and online communication MIB Pivac has consistently communicated the story of authentic Dalmatian tradition, great quality and genuine family values. 

Every touchpoint with the consumer tells the story of the unique brand heritage. The logotype features the fortress of Vrgorac as well as the name Vrgorac to emphasize the geographical authenticity of the brand. The product names on the labels are written using handwriting-like typography in order to give a home-like feeling. The people’s faces on brand photographs and posters project the same authentic image and bring back childhood memories of going to the marketplace with your grandparents.

MIB Pivac is also a great example of a traditional brand using online channels to expand its target group and to get closer to the more urban, tech-savvy generation. It communicates daily with its fans on Facebook and has a pretty loyal and active followers base on Twitter. It’s really worth admiring to see a brand from such a traditional part of Croatia organizing “Pršut Tweetups” and reaching out to the rather demanding Twitter community.

Being consistent in communicating brand values paid off pretty well for MIB Pivac. For two years in a row the company was listed among ten most successful Croatian food companies. In 2010 it was also one of ten most successful Dalmatian companies with revenues close to €133 million and gross-income of €4.7 million.

MIB Pivac has succeeded in bringing together two opposing worlds, traditional one and modern one, and to communicate to different target groups. At the same time, MIB Pivac didn’t forget what its core values are. Which is both rare and worth admiring when it comes to Croatian brands.