Brenda Bence

Last month, PSY’s “Gangnam Style” became the most viewed YouTube video of all time, and now, another video wonder is making it to the top of the site’s charts. This time, it’s the unsuspecting “One Pound Fish Man,” a fish stall seller named Muhammad Shahid Nazir, who works at Queen’s Market in East London’s Upton Park. In its first week since the video was posted, it accumulated over five million hits.

From a fish monger to an overnight sensation, Mr. Nazir has now been profiled on CBS in the U.S. and Australia, and on BBC World News in the U.K. Parodies have been created of his video, remixes of his song featuring President Obama are hitting the airwaves, and people from all over the world are visiting Queen’s Market to seek out Muhammad and get his autograph. He now has more than 30,000 followers on Twitter.

What could top that? How about a recording contract with Warner Music label, and Nazir’s first single of the song which was released on December 9th! Word is that he could end up having the number one Christmas single of the year.

Now, it’s easy to write this video off as just funny and quirky, and it’s true that Nazir could prove to be a one-hit wonder, a flash in the proverbial (frying) pan. But none of that matters if you look at the “One Pound Fish Man” video from a marketer’s perspective. We may not be used to learning important marketing lessons from a fish vendor, but you don’t need an MBA to glean six powerful brand slogan tips that Nazir’s video offers:

Keep your slogan or tagline simple. “One Pound Fish” couldn’t be a clearer message. It’s simple, and it has a staccato rhythm. Both of those elements make the slogan stick.

State your key benefits in your phrase. “One pound fish, very very good, one pound fish, very very cheap.” That pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it? You know exactly what you’re getting, and when you want to buy fish, well, let’s face it – those are the key benefits you’re after.

Make it catchy and memorable. Turning his tagline into a tune that resonates and sticks in the customer’s head is what has made the “One Pound Fish” slogan so easy to remember. In fact, after you hear it once, it’s hard to get out of your head!

Repeat, repeat, repeat. Say it again and again and again. And again. Repetition may sound boring, but it’s what helps customers remember your brand. And this is exactly what Nazir does. In fact, an X Factor television show host in England, after hearing the song sung by Nazir for the first time, cheekily said, “So, let me guess… the name of the song is ‘One Pound Fish,’ right?” This phrase is repeated so many times in the song that no listener can possibly forget it.

Be genuine. What makes “One Pound Fish” such a memorable video is that Nazir is such a likable guy. He comes across as humble, honest, not full of himself, and someone who’s having a good time. He just wants to earn an honest day’s living selling something he believes in. (Of course, now, he probably wouldn’t mind a number one single, too! But, hey – there’s still a very authentic air about him.)

Include a call to action. I’m sure Nazir didn’t think to himself, “I should include a call to action in my song,” but intuitively he must have known that he needed to encourage his customers to buy. “Come on, Ladies. Come on, Ladies. Have-a have-a look,” is a clear call to action, and it has one intention: Get customers to his stall, wallet in hand.

So, how can you apply these lessons to marketing your own brand? Think about your current tagline and test it against each of these attributes:

• Is it simple?
• Does it clearly state the main benefits your brand offers?
• Is it catchy and memorable?
• Is it repeatable?
• Is it genuine?
• Does it include a straightforward and powerful call to action?

If you follow these tips from an unsuspecting, now-famous fish monger, you just might create a slogan/tagline that goes viral in your customer’s world.

Not long ago, I saw the new James Bond movie, Skyfall. Am I a big James Bond fan? Honestly, not really. But, I had heard that there were a lot of brands featured in the film – that advertisers were using good, old-fashioned “product placement” throughout the 007 movie — a marketing method where advertisers pay big-time to have their brands in the film in order to benefit from the positive association with the movie and its characters.

I was curious to see just how many brands I could identify, so I made a ‘game’ out of my cinematic experience: I took a small voice recorder with me to the movie theater and, every time I could identify a brand, I whispered its name into my recorder (don’t worry – I did it quietly enough so I didn’t disturb my seat neighbors!)

Any guess how many brands I identified? In total, I counted 38! And, who knows – I might have missed some at the rate brands were flying by on the screen. From Heineken to Jaguar to Bose speakers to the name of the treadmill 007 used, brands were sprinkled throughout. Anybody else catch the brands? If so, which name brand do you remember most? Sound off! I’d love to hear from you.

It’s not that often that a brand truly blows me away.  So, when I recently discovered a brand that not only earned that description but also demonstrated an important branding lesson, I just had to share it with you.

As a speaker and a trainer, it’s not unusual for me to be on my feet all day, every day, for days on end. As a result, the soles of my feet and my piggly-wigglies are pretty much in a constant state of ‘hurt.’  For years I’ve looked for solutions to this problem, but I had never run across one that really worked for me.  That is, until last month…

It was a Friday evening, and I had just completed a fantastic-yet-full week of training and speaking engagements. My feet were incredibly sore (or, as my dear friend, Danielle, would put it, “my dogs were barkin’!”). Nonetheless, I decided to try and ignore the pain and take up my husband’s invitation to head out for dinner in our home base of Singapore, where I had been training that day.

After we’d eaten, we were strolling through a mall when we just happened to pop in to a store. The sales clerk quickly approached us and asked, “Is there anything on your body that hurts right now?” I chuckled to myself … ‘If you only knew!’ I thought.  Out loud, I replied, “Yes, definitely – my feet.”

“Great!” he replied, with a cheeky smile. He asked me to sit down and take off one of my shoes.  I did, at which point he cut out and placed a four-inch strip of tape on the sole of my foot. When I put my shoe back on and stood up, it was nothing short of a miracle. My foot pain was completely gone. I mean completely gone.  It was as if someone had just waved a magic wand, and ‘poof!’ No more pain. I’d never experienced anything like that in my life.

By now quite fascinated (but a bit skeptical), my husband sat down and asked to try it himself.  He has suffered from foot soreness – due to plantar fasciitis – for many years, so I was really curious to see what his own experience would be this ‘mystery tape.’  When he stood up with the strip on the bottom of his foot, his mouth fell open in surprise. His foot didn’t hurt anymore either.

Needless to say, we were both completely sold and have been using the “Phiten” brand of tape and insoles ever since. (Phiten offers dozens of products beyond just tape and insoles, though – it’s worth checking out! And, no, I’m not earning a commission ~ smile~)

A one-experience superior benefit

Clearly, Phiten has a great product whose benefit you ‘get’ in one quick and easy trial.  The brand’s offering of instant pain relief only takes a moment to experience, at which point you are sold.

So, with such an amazing outcome, why hadn’t I – a branding expert – heard of this brand before?  Because the company that offers Phiten decided not to advertise at all.  Instead, the company strategically invested its money into product trial – getting sales reps to tear off strips of this ‘miracle tape’ and offer it for free to customers wherever they have pain (the tape works on the entire body – not just on the feet).  Once the trialist experienced the immediate benefit, the customer buys the product and it’s then that the ever-so-powerful-yet-low-cost word of mouth advertising kicks in, as customers recommend it again and again to friends, family, colleagues, etc.

A Wise Strategy?

Is Phiten’s WOM strategy working for them?  It seems so.  In Singapore alone, Phiten now has eight stores and the brand is expanding rapidly across many areas of the world.  And, the company is doing this without having to spend millions on traditional television or print advertising.

Is it smart to rely strictly on trial and word of mouth to build your brand?  Certain brands would say “yes.” Take Google and Starbucks, for example. Both brands have bypassed traditional advertising strategies and relied on their powerful, differentiating products and superior benefits to get the word out and grow their brands through low-cost-yet-powerful word of mouth.

Imagine a World Without Advertising

Think about it… what would it be like if all brands were like this and didn’t use advertising? The city of Sao Paolo, Brazil has outlawed most advertising, giving its 11.5 million residents an idea of how the world would look if brand advertising didn’t surround us everywhere we turn. Brands are so prevalent that most of us couldn’t even imagine what it would be like not to see brands everywhere we turn. [Read this article about Sao Paulo – very interesting stuff.]

Maybe you’re thinking, “But, Brenda – that only applies to product brands, right?”  I couldn’t disagree more.  This same concept can apply to service brands, too.  In fact, a spa in Bangkok got my business again and again by pursuing this same strategy.  I once won a free offer from them and experienced their services, and from then on out, I was sold (even though I’m not that much of a “spa person.”)  Read that story here.

So, here’s the bottom-line branding lesson: If you have a product or service with a benefit that people can experience in one shot, offer it to your target customers for free, if you have to. Yes, FREE. Then, let your customers become your best cheerleaders. You’ll incur some cost giving away your products and services, but you’ll save a lot more money in advertising spend.

More than three quarters of a billion people – Over 880 million as of this writing – have watched the #1 YouTube video “Gangnam Style” since its release on July 15, 2012. That means that more than a third of all people on the planet who are on the Internet have laid eyes on that one video. Talk about powerful, low-cost branding! What marketer wouldn’t love to reach that kind of awareness and engagement with their own brand message?

If you’re one of the few people who haven’t yet watched this video, it’s a song by a Korean rap star called PSY who had, up to now, only been well-known in his native country. This single four-minute video has launched PSY into international super-stardom in a matter of weeks. So, what can marketers and brand builders learn from branding “Gangnam Style?”

Be catchy. The Gangnam Style song is clearly what they call an “ear worm.” It’s the kind of song that gets into your head and stays there. So, when working on your own brand messages, think powerful, memorable tag lines – phrases that are strategic but catchy, that represent what you want your brand to stand for, and that will easily stick in the minds of your customers.

Be “eye entertainment.” The Gangnam Style video is very visual and includes a variety of unique scenes in colorful environments. It’s attention-grabbing. Since our eyes are responsible for 70% of our human experience, visuals in branding are fundamental. Combine memorable, ownable visuals with your catchy strategic taglines, and your brand will have sticking power.

Be unexpected. One thing you have to say about the Gangnam Style video is that it’s not what you expect. PSY is hardly your average handsome, hunky rock star. He’s unusual, unique, and different. He’s funny and quirky. All of these elements make his video even more memorable because it’s not at all what we anticipate. What can your brand do that is unexpected?

Make an emotional connection. Watching the Gangnam Style video is an emotional experience. It reaches beyond your eyes and ears and engages you at a deeper level. All that, and the song is sung … in Korean?! I estimate more than 95% of all the people watching the video have no idea what is being said! It just goes to show that the words you use in your marketing messages are important, but you build a powerful brand by forging an emotional connection with your target customers. How well do your existing marketing materials connect emotionally with your current and prospective customers?

Inspire action. The Gangnam Style video makes you want to get out of your seat and move. Indeed, when PSY performed the song at the annual American Music Awards, the entire audience rose to their feet within seconds and began dancing. How can you inspire your customers into action through your own marketing materials?

Repeat, repeat, repeat. The melody and rhythm of the Gangnam Style song itself are very repetitive. To add to that, PSY has created his own dance style – the “horse-riding” move – that is also repeated throughout the video (and which has been parodied across the globe). Repetition and consistency are key to remembering a brand message and to helping solidify with customers what you want your brand to stand for. How repetitive and consistent are your own brand communications?

Leverage word of mouth. I found out about PSY’s Gangnam Style video from a Kiwi colleague who lives in Australia. Think about how you heard of it – through a friend, family member, or work mate? That’s the strength of word of mouth! Just how powerful has this form of marketing been for Gangnam Style? For perspective, the previous #1 video on YouTube was Justin Bieber’s “Baby” video that reached 804 million hits in 34 months. Gangnam Style reached more than 830 million hits in 135 days! (Can we say “Bye Bye ‘Baby’?”) I don’t know how much money PSY spent on the video, but his return on investment must be enormous. It just goes to show that word of mouth is still the lowest-cost, most effective marketing that exists. It’s essentially ‘free media.’ How can you make your brand message something that your customers want to share with others?

Don’t forget name recognition. One problem with the Gangnam Style video is that most people watching the video remember the name of the song but not the name of the artist. In fact, I admit I had to do some research to figure out who the singer was. Effective branding requires a good, solid link to the brand name. No matter how good your communications, if potential customers can’t remember your brand name, you aren’t spending your money wisely.

Avoid the “one-hit wonder” syndrome. Another potential problem PSY may have in the future is repeating this phenomenal success. Will he be a flash in the pan, a one-hit wonder? How does he come up with a second video that’s just as memorable? That remains to be seen, but it’s a great challenge to be faced with – the kind of challenge that we would all like to have as brand-builders.

All of this points to good news: You don’t have to spend a fortune to build a powerful brand. So, get to the drawing board and think about how you can build your own product, service, company, or personal brand using “Gangnam Style” strategies.

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In author Brenda Bence’s book and course entitled Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank, she unveils dozens of proven marketing strategies you can use right now to grow your business or brand at little or no cost.   Called “the definitive guide to branding on a tight budget,” Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank is a treasure chest of tips, tools, and techniques to help SMEs and solo-preneurs achieve powerful brand-building results at minimal expense.

In this eye-opening, engaging, and practical course, you will learn tried-and-true secrets to successfully building a brand even when time and money are slim. Previously known only by mega-corporations, these same strategies can easily be applied to smaller businesses  for a fraction of the cost.  The outcome?  You can build a powerful brand that is big on results without having to empty your wallet. http://www.udemy.com/smarter-branding

This one-of-a-kind program is filled with examples, illustrations, exercises, and more. You get everything you need to quickly gain valuable marketing skills, build a sustainable brand, and grow your business — all for less time and money than you ever thought possible.

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Whether you are a coach or not, the information I share in this article can help you increase customer loyalty, strengthen your brand, and grow your revenues. Let me know what you think!

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As you may have heard by now, Starbucks certainly found a bug in its branding chain … or rather, in its Strawberry Frappuccinos. Ground-up cochineal beetles are government-approved food coloring used by a number of brands in the food industry, so why was it a problem when Starbucks added the ingredient to its frappuccinos?

Starbucks has long branded itself as “green” and safe for vegans, so when people who eat plant-based diets caught wind of this beetle-based ingredient, their organizations went … well (forgive the pun), buggy. And understandably so. It goes back to a fundamental principle that I always talk about: consistency in branding. The minute you do something that goes against who you say you are, you have created a brand disconnect. The damage can be significant and difficult to recover from. In Starbucks’ case, if their brand stands for environmental- and green-consciousness, the last thing they want to be known for is “beetle juice.”

[Of course, you don't need vegans to make this particular incident a branding mess. Even non-vegans were understandably grossed out by the news. Yeeuw!]

So, what happened? A broken link in the branding “chain.” Everyone – and I mean everyone – in your company can impact the way the public perceives your brand, no matter how big or small your business. It’s the same for the people in Purchasing at Starbucks. Those folks – seemingly in the “back office bowels” of the company – probably weren’t thinking about the impact on the brand that they could have by deciding to use beetles as an ingredient.

How about in your company? If any of your team members aren’t crystal clear on what you want your desired brand to stand for and how they, as individuals, could impact that brand through seemingly-simple, day-to-day decisions, you could be in jeopardy, too.

This Starbucks incident shows the significance of what I call The Corporate Brand/Personal Brand Connection™. If the personal brand of a member of your team is not aligned with the corporate brand, you could end up facing a similar type of “Starbucks Beetle Challenge.” How to avoid that happening to you? Here a couple of actions you can take.

Action #1: Make sure absolutely everyone in your company understands exactly what you want your brand to stand for. [If you aren't sure yourself and can't summarize your positioning in a simple nutshell statement, take action now to get clear! My latest book Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank walks you through a simple, step-by-step process for defining exactly what you want your brand to stand for, using a proven framework that has worked for large companies and small companies alike.]

Action #2: Make it clear to everyone that every single action your team members take – no matter how seemingly small – must be in perfect alignment with that desired brand positioning. If it’s not, you run the risk of damaging your brand.

So, use Starbucks as a cautionary tale. Make sure that everyone in your company understands the importance of brand consistency and only takes actions that keep your brand intact.

You may not know what a “Brand Triangle™” is, but I guarantee you already have one. The Brand Triangle™ – a model I created – is an approach for how to think about your brand, whether you’re focused on growing a brand for a company, a product, or a service, or whether you’re building your own individual personal brand. While it may not sound quite as exciting as a “romantic triangle,” if you don’t get your Brand Triangle™ right, your brand may very well end up in the Bermuda Triangle – disappearing into thin air, never to be heard from again.

What is a “Brand Triangle™” Anyway?

The Brand Triangle™ is a simple but effective way of finding out how well your brand is doing from three different angles (every pun intended). As the visual here demonstrates, it compares (a) the brand you believe you have now, with (b) the brand you want (your desired brand), with (c) your brand as others see it. If a corporate or personal brand is a great success, you can bet that all three points of its triangle are exactly the same.

Why is that important? Because unless you’re absolutely certain about your brand’s current and ongoing health, you won’t be able to reap the benefits of building a strong brand.  In fact, you could be coming down with a bad case of “brand denial.”

Are You Floating Down the River of ‘Brand Denial?’

I’ve worked with many companies and individuals over the years, helping them to build their brands, and I’ve run across many who were under the mistaken impression that their brand was just fine or at least doing better than it actually was. This is what I call “brand denial,” a syndrome that can keep your brand from growing or even surviving. If you think you may have brand denial, don’t feel bad – it’s a bit like the common cold; almost everybody comes down with it at some point.

But brand denial needs quick medicine, and the Brand Triangle is one of the best diagnostic tools to help. Luckily, there are some easy, quick – and inexpensive – ways to find out exactly how your brand is doing.

Company Brand Strategies

If you’re building on a company, product, or service brand:

• Do an inexpensive online survey, asking your customers pointed questions about what they think of your brand. (See the “Five Words Exercise” below – it works for companies, too!) Online survey services like SurveyMonkey.com  make it easy, low-cost, and even fun – you can watch the tallies come in one at a time!

• Conduct low-cost, in-person focus groups with key clients to find out what you’re doing well and what could be improved. This doesn’t have to be fancy. Just get a small group of your most trusted customers together, and take them out for lunch or dinner with the express intention of talking about their impressions – the good, the bad, and the ugly of your brand.

• Make sure your customers/clients have easy ways to complain. This doesn’t cost a thing, and it will tell you very quickly – and no holds barred – which aspects of your brand you need to improve.

Interested in more low-cost ideas to get clear on the health of your brand? Check out Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank.

Personal Brand Strategies

If you’re working on clarifying your personal brand:

Try the “Five Words Exercise.” Here’s how it works: Choose someone you trust as your “Brand Investigator.” Give that person the names of 5 to 10 people – direct reports, peers, your boss, or friends. Ask your Brand Investigator to contact these people individually and pose the following question: “When you think of _______ [insert your name], what are the first five words that come to mind?”

The responders should be asked to give the first five words they think of – a “gut” response without overthinking it. Make sure they know their responses will stay confidential; you won’t be told who said what.

Ask the Brand Investigator to write down the exact words that are said and, then, mix them up. How consistent are the responses? Do you see any trends?

-        If the same words continue to show up, this is a good indication that you’re very consistent in how you act, react, look, sound, and think – e.g., the way you communicate your individual brand.

-        If the words are all over the map,  ask yourself: How am I acting differently with those various groups of people?

Remember: The secret to successful branding – whether for a company or an individual – is consistency. What can you do to become more consistent in how you’re perceived?

Once you uncover the points on your Brand Triangle™ that are mismatched, you can begin to make changes so that all three aspects of your brand are the same. That’s how you build a powerful brand.

The “Power of Three” Personal and Corporate Brand Challenge

I recently ran across a fascinating article about “The Power of Three.” The basic premise of the article is that three; is an important – almost ‘mystical’ – number for a whole host of reasons.

Here are just a few:

• Three shows up in mythology: three fates, three muses, three graces.
• Three is a prevalent component of fairy tales: three wishes, three little pigs, three bears.
• Three is enough to create a series – a pattern of cause and effect.
• There are three stages of truth: first a concept is rejected, second it is violently opposed, third it is accepted as self-evident.
• Three is a basic structure of life: carbohydrates, protein, fat: electron, proton, neutron.
• There are three dimensions of time: past, present, future.
• And three forms the basic structure of stories: beginning, middle, end.

Interesting, isn’t it?

So, as we get ready to enter into a new year, I figured we could benefit from this same ‘Power of Three’ concept to look back and reflect on your own corporate and personal brand building efforts in 2011. Below are a few “three-related” questions to consider… Respond below to any one of these questions, and you’ll automatically be entered into our raffle to win one of three copies of my new book, Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank:

• What are the three key actions you took this year that strengthened your brand the most – either your own individual personal brand or the brand of your company?

• Knowing what you know now, what three things would you have done differently in 2011 if you could do them over again?

• Reflecting on your answers to the questions above, what three actions will you take in 2012 to grow your individual or company brand even further?

Of course, after you’ve given these questions some thought, I encourage you to take time out and thank at least three people who have helped you build your brand this year. Who would that be for you?

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Author Brenda Bence’s latest book, Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank: Five Proven Marketing Strategies You Can Use Right Now to Build Your Business at Little or No Cost, has been named an Award-Winning Finalist in two separate categories of the USA “Best Books 2011” Awards: the Business/Marketing & Advertising category as well as the Business/Entrepreneurship & Small Business category.

“My aim with the book is to show SMEs and solo-preneurs that they have a variety of assets available to them right now that they can use to market their brand — regardless of the size of their budget,” Bence said.

After years as a mega-brander working across four continents and 50 countries for deep-pocketed consumer giants like Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bence left the corporate world to start her own business. From scratch — and with almost empty pockets — she used inventive, low-cost methods to build her own international brand that now serves clients in 25 countries with offices in the U.S. and Asia. To help readers achieve similar success, Bence has filled the award-winning book with hundreds of low-cost or no-cost branding ideas that can immediately increase a company’s revenues.

Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank is Bence’s fifth book. The three books in her How YOU™ are like Shampoo personal branding series have won a total of 13 national book awards. “I am honored to be recognized again by the USA Best Books Awards,” Bence said. “Smarter Branding is based on one of my most popular workshops, so it’s gratifying to know that the book that stems from that workshop is also being well-received.”

The USA “Best Books 2011” Awards are sponsored by USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses. Winners and finalists this year traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, St. Martin’s Press, Random House, Penguin, Harper Collins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, and hundreds of independent houses.

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