johnmoore (no relation) is on the money, commenting on the demise of Song:
Hmm … the brand should never create the business … hmm.That’s exactly what I thought today when I heard the news Delta was shutting down Song Airlines -- Song was all brand and no business.
Song was too busy creating a brand to think about being a business. Song was too busy crafting a brand ethos to think about being a business.
Song was too busy prescribing feelings than to think about being a business. Song was too busy designing signature cocktails and installing boutique Song stores in SoHo (NYC) to think about being a business. And because Song was busy working on and working in its brand, they built a brand, of which, the by-product was the creation of a weak business.
Should this really surprise us? Song, after all, was built by marketers so it’s only natural the branding elements would come before the business elements.
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Comments (6)
No relation? But Johnnie, we are brothers of the same mind ... un-blind. Dig?
October 31, 2005 02:19 Permalink for comment
It's a great point, whichever John(nie) Moore said it first.
Consumers are complicitous in a good brand, and increasingly they refuse to play their part if there's no there there. You have to provide a quality experience first, then build the brand around it; it grows from the inside out. You can't start with the brand--consumers may be susceptible to manipulation, but they're savvier than brand marketers credit them for.
October 31, 2005 03:25 Permalink for comment
Yep. It's sad that they couldn't do both. All hype, no substance.
When will they learn that the brand evolves out of the product, and not the way around?
It's just like the Alabama cheesecakes.
October 31, 2005 06:29 Permalink for comment
Yes, it's a classic case of promotion without substance. Not a trace of Alabama cheesecake!
October 31, 2005 07:32 Permalink for comment
Johnnie
It all comes down to achieving a balance between "experiencing the brand" and "branding the experience".
Most companies talk about getting customers to experience their brand, forgetting that brands only exist in the mind of their customers. And that it is often the front-line staff who really make the difference for customers. Surveys show that over 90% of the promises made to customers by branded communications are never fulfilled. A small minority of companies actually try to develop brands out of the experiences they provide their customers. There aren't any prizes for guessing which brands are the most real.
Sadly, the US airline majors have a long history of failing to deliver an experience comparable to Southwest's for the same price.
Take a look at Grant McCracken's blog "This Blog Sits At The" for an alternative viewpoint... http://www.cultureby.com/trilogy/2005/10/brand_nursery_s.html
October 31, 2005 15:46 Permalink for comment
Graham, thanks and yes I think that's the distinction. I'd be interested in knowing the source of the report that over 90% of promises in branded communications aren't fulfilled.
October 31, 2005 15:53 Permalink for comment