Mark Arnold > speaking • branding • planning

Steve Jobs Biography Offers Lessons for Credit Unions

Tons have been written about Steve Jobs, especially since his unfortunate death last year. However, there is nothing more comprehensive on the legendary innovator and marketer than the biography Steve Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson. It’s a must read for every credit union executive.

While reading a biography may sound boring, I can promise you this one on Jobs is anything but boring. In fact, I couldn’t put it down. Most importantly, there are many points in the books that are extremely relevant for credit unions—especially those trying to compete in the commoditized and hyper-competitive financial services arena.

Here are some quotes from the book that have application for credit unions:

• “His argument was that a great engineer would be remembered only if he teamed with a great marketer.” Is marketing viewed as expense or an investment at your credit union? Jobs “got” the importance of marketing, and so should your credit union’s board and management team. Your credit union won’t last long without great marketing (note: not just marketing, great marketing).

 

• “Job’s primary test for recruiting people in the spring of 1981 to be a part of his merry band of pirates was making sure they had a passion for the product.” If your employees aren’t passionate, get rid of them. That may be harsh but it’s true. Your credit union will only succeed if you hire and retain passionate people at every level of the organization. Hire for passion and train the rest.

 

• “On the day he unveiled the Macintosh, a reporter from Popular Science asked Jobs what type of market research he had done. Jobs responded by scoffing, ‘Did Alexander Graham Bell do any market research before he invented the telephone?’” Jobs was notorious for trusting his gut. More than likely, you know your members and market better than anyone. Trust your gut—and don’t get buried in reams of data.

 

• “Jobs held a freewheeling three-hour meeting every Wednesday afternoon with his top agency, marketing and communications people to kick around messaging strategy. ‘There’s no CEO on the planet who deals with marketing the way Steve Jobs does,’ says Clow. ”How involved is marketing in the “C” level suite of conversations at the credit union strategic dinner table? You need to spend hours (yes hours) every week reviewing not just your loan and deposit strategy, but your marketing and messaging strategy.

 

• “One of Job’s great strengths was knowing how to focus. ‘Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do,’ he said. That’s true for companies, and it’s true for products.’” The recent blog post, “What Should Your Credit Union Stop Doing” dives into this point. Too many credit unions are all over the board with their projects and priorities. Maybe it’s time to reduce and not add to your project list.

 

• “The store will become the most powerful physical expression of the brand.” This point goes to the importance of retail branding. How your branches look and feel matter. Your credit union branches are not just where your members conduct their transactions: your branches are part of your brand.

We often think of Steve Jobs as an innovator (and he certainly was). So you might think reading a biography on Jobs would teach credit unions about innovation. While that’s certainly important, you will also learn about marketing, hiring, research, strategy, focus, and branding.

It’s easy to say credit unions should be more like Apple. While there may be some truth in that statement, a deeper dive into Apple’s culture is also enlightening. Reading Steve Jobs is a great step credit union leaders can take in improving our own organizations.

Three Characteristics of an Effective Tagline

Taglines are an essential component of your brand. But they are not your brand. Ultimately, branding is who you are. While branding is much more than just a tagline, they do play a critical role.

In many cases, a credit union’s vision and mission statements can be long and grandiose. They tend to be internally focused (what you want your employees to focus on). Taglines tend to be externally focused (what you want to communicate to your members and potential members).

So how do you know if your credit union’s tagline is effective? Here are three characteristics of a good tagline.

(1)    Six words or less

You have to be able to answer the question, “what is your credit union about’ in six words or less. That is the billboard and business card test: strong enough to quickly communicate your message on a giant billboard and small enough to print on a business card.

(2)    Communicates “What is your credit union about?”

As noted above, “what is your credit union about” is the ultimate question you must answer with your credit union’s branding efforts. Your tagline must communicate who you are as an organization, who you are as members, and who you are as employees. It is the sum of your values.

(3)    Active

You always want your tagline to be active; to be doing something. For example, Nike says “Just do it,” Apple communicates, “Think different,” and Starbucks is “Rewarding every day moments.” In each of those cases, the taglines are active, not passive.

There is no right or wrong way to develop a tagline. You can develop it from within using employee and member feedback. You can use an outside agency to create options. Or you can do a combination of both.

No matter how you create your tagline, the key is that it effectively captures the essence of your credit union.

Note: A version of this post first appeared in the Texas Credit Union League’s Lone Star Leaguer.

CEOs and Other “Chiefs” Play Critical Role in Branding

In Breakaway Brands, author Barry Silverstein says, “More and more, management plays a critical role in the success of a brand that breaks away from the pack.” But let’s get specific: it’s not just management, it’s the CEO (and other “chiefs” such as the chief financial officer, chief operations officer, etc.) who plays that ultimate critical role in the credit union world.

While front-line employees certainly make or break the brand, a brand’s success starts at the top. Before embarking on any major branding effort, you must have a heart-to-heart talk with CEO about what he or she thinks your credit union brand is (hint: your brand is not your logo, your look, or your tagline).

The challenge is that many marketers think is color, while the CEO, CFO and COO think in black and white. Branding often requires us (even at the “C” suite) to think in color.

Ultimately, your CEO should be the brand champion. In many ways, the CEO is the secret weapon. Your CEO shapes the credit union’s brand vision and demands effective brand behavior. In effect, who is the Steve Jobs of your credit union? While it helps if it is the CEO, often the head marketing person is the brand champion (and that is okay).

Successful credit union CEOs “get” branding. In fact, they have visionary leadership and not short term focus. Those CEOs recognize that a strong brand is good for credit union business. According to Chief Executive Magazine, “CEOs who recognize the importance of the brand run organizations that tend to be very successful.”

So how do you prove to the CEO, CFO and COO that branding matters? You must show them the bottom line impact a strong brand brings. Strong brands mean more members, more loans, more net income, etc. You must prove that to the CEO.

“One of the things we recognized about 10 or 12 years ago was that probably of all the assets on the balance sheet, none was more important than the brand, even though it wasn’t capitalized at all,” says Fred Smith, CEO of Federal Express.

So all your “chiefs” must embrace your brand. Senior management buy-in is critical. If all your chiefs are on the same page and speaking the same language, your brand will project a much stronger image.

Developing Your CU Brand Elevator Speech

Most people have heard of the concept of an elevator speech. Credit union marketing and business development staff can recite them in their sleep. However, to start from square one, a brief definition is in order.

Also known as a values proposition, a credit union elevator speech (or any similarly-used elevator speech) is simply a 30-60 second summary highlighting what your organization is all about. The concept emerged from this scenario: imagine that you’re in an elevator with someone very important to the future success of your organization. How would you describe who you are, what you do and what sets you apart in a concise yet memorable way? So was born the elevator speech.

The process involves thoughtful introspection. Any credit union employee could roll the usual list of differences (e.g., not for profit, member-owned, lower rates on loans and higher rates on deposits). While there’s nothing wrong with any of those, they are not exactly game-changers.

A credit union elevator speech requires us to dig deeper into organizational culture. A good place to start is reviewing your credit union’s mission and vision statements. Here you will usually find, succinctly put, the goals and values inherent to your organization. Employ these in your elevator speech.

Many speeches, whether political, religious (sermons) or business, adhere to a three-point rule. To entice your listener and hopefully leave him or her wanting more, try to stick to three key points. Are you especially excited about community involvement, social media and your new app? Hammer these home with zeal!                  

Also consider your credit union’s future growth plans. Is your credit union adding new branches in underserved neighborhoods? Are you a leader in technology and online member service initiatives? Do you actively support a well-known local charity or event? Include these ideas in your credit union elevator speech.

Your elevator speech should be exciting and reflect changes within your credit union. If a new initiative to add more youth accounts is a major player, make sure you mention that. Reflect positivity, enthusiasm and energy. In this case, you are the frontline staff doing your best to create a “wow experience” for a member or future member. Know your stuff, rehearse your presentation and get ready to put your credit union’s best foot forward.

Your credit union speech must go beyond excitement, however. You must engage your listener, be prepared to field any questions he or she may pose and leave the conversation with cause for and methods of future contact. Mention your credit union’s website address (nobody remembers telephone numbers and, besides, who still calls an organization for more information?).

This closing act, or call to action, is critical. Without it, all you’ve really done is use-up oxygen and talk over that terrific elevator music we all know and love. Ask questions that may lead to future conversation. Try to set up a meeting time. Exchange emails, cell phone numbers and Twitter handles.

When you reach your destination floor, the bell rings and the door opens, thank your listener for their time. If possible, offer a friendly handshake and wish him or her a terrific day. Infuse your credit union elevator speech with dynamism and authority from word one. That 30 or 60 seconds can make the difference between a friendly talk and a new lifelong member, a fruitful business arrangement or more. Make your credit union elevator speech an integral part of how you present yourself to the community and harvest the results of your efforts.

Branding 101 for Small Credit Unions

“Successful brands are built by people. By visionary leaders. By creative employees. By loyal customers.”
—William Aruda, author, Urban Voice: It Takes a Village to Build a Brand

 

Branding. Thinking of the word often conjures images of dollar signs. Huge Chick-Fil-A  billboard campaigns. Endless McDonald’s jingles. Innumerable Coca-Cola TV commercials. Of course, the financial services world is hyper-competitive and full of large brands as well. Large credit unions have marketing staff, budgets and agencies to help them compete in the branding world.

But what is a small credit union to do? Here four steps (or branding 101) smaller credit unions can take when it comes to branding.

(1)    Find your niche

As Seth Godin, marketing guru and author of The Purple Cow says, “The most successful companies today are the ones that are finding a niche and serving it.” That certainly applies to credit unions. When it comes to branding, size doesn’t matter: niches do.

As a small credit union, you cannot be all things to all people. Ultimately, you must answer the question, “who is your credit union serving?”

Consider Communicating Arts Credit Union in Michigan. They are a $32 million dollar asset credit union in Detroit. Their niche is serving the underserved. When it came time to open a second branch they didn’t’ hesitate to open in Detroit’s Highland Park area (one of the toughest parts of the city—so tough even the check cashers had left!). Why did they do that: because they know their niche and are serving it. The credit union prices accordingly, but they are clear about their target audience. They are one of the most successful credit unions in Michigan’s Save to Win program.

(2)    Implement Cheers marketing

The classic 1980s sitcom Cheers offers insights into how small credit unions can compete with their brand. In the show, when Norm walked into the bar, they called him by his name, sat him in his seat and served him his beer.

Cheers marketing means knowing your members better than anyone else. Knowing your members by sight when they walk in the door is a form of branding. Greeting them like no one else does (even better than their dog) sends a strong brand message: that they matter to you.

A major branding technique you can use is to turn your members into a referral engine. As a credit union, one of the best things you can do is ask your members for referrals. In his book The Referral Engine, John Jantsch says, “Highly referred businesses are good enough to make people want to talk about them, but they amplify this natural desire by making word of mouth an essential element of the culture.”

(3)    Leverage your size

There are things you can do larger financial institutions can’t—especially with branding. Smaller credit unions are more nimble and have much less layers. For example, it’s harder for an ocean liner to change directions than a Seedo.

With your brand, answer this key question: what can you do better than larger financial institutions? That leads to a core principle with branding: differentiation. The more unique you are, the less competition you will have.

Mt. Lehman Credit Union (approximately $40 million in assets) in Canada serves as an excellent example. Their tagline is “size is relative.” Rather than seeing their size as a negative they use it to their advantage. Their website even proclaims, “We measure our success in terms of personal relationships, not market share, asset size or annual earnings. Our commitment is to our members, and we believe that it is in your best interest for us to keep things small.”

(4)    Develop a plan

Every credit union—no matter its size—must have a brand plan. A brand plan defines your targets and focuses your vision and mission. 

“Focus is critical to our brand and credit union’s success,” said Cindy Beauregard, CEO of Heart of Louisiana FCU. “Our brand plan identified specific groups we were good at serving. Instead of focusing in every direction we now target similar subgroups, which leads to better results.”

 

Branding is more than awareness—much more. By taking the above branding 101 steps, small credit unions can also build successful brands.

 

Note: This article first appeared in the Texas Credit Union League’s Lone Star Perspectives.

Forget Member Satisfaction

 

We often ask in member surveys, “how satisfied are you with the credit union.” Typically those questions are graded using a scale (on scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with the credit union). The problem with those type questions is members can be satisfied with you, but still leave your credit union.

According to Business Week, between 60% to 80% of defecting customers described themselves as “satisfied” or “very satisfied” just before they left a service provider. Even though credit unions are financial institutions, they are also service providers. The bottom line is that member satisfaction number can move quickly.

As Jeffrey Gitomer says, “member satisfaction is worthless, member loyalty is priceless.”

The net promoter score is a much better measurement to use.  As the “ultimate question,” it asks “on a scale of one to ten, how likely are you to refer a family member or friend to the credit union?” There is tons of information about the net promoter score so this post won’t recount its importance. Rather, we will remind you that the net promoter score is a much better measurement to take than member satisfaction.

The reality is you may not know their satisfaction level. According to the Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study, only six percent of shoppers who experienced a problem with a retailer contacted the company, but 31% went on to tell friends, family members or colleagues. In other words, you may think your member satisfaction level is high because you are not hearing many member complaints. Don’t let that fool you.

You want to measure more of a member’s real commitment to the credit union rather than their happiness with you.

“Satisfaction is not a bad thing,” says Tim Wackel, a sales training guru. “However, loyalty is much richer and deeper.”

Credit Unions Can Learn by Moving Onward

 
 

When Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, decided to write a book about how he returned as CEO to revive the company, one word came to mind: Onward. This is the aptly titled book every credit union executive should read. Yes, EVERY credit union executive should read Onward. It is one of the best business books I’ve read, right up there with The Referral Engine and Crush It.

The subtitle says it all: “How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul.” In many ways credit unions today are fighting for their lives (increased regulations, negative economy, hyper competition, decreased margins, changing technologies, etc.) as well. As a movement we can’t lose our soul in the fight.

Here are some quotes from the book that have application for credit unions:

• “The damage was slow and quite, incremental, like a single loose thread that unravels a sweater inch by inch.” Negative change sometimes takes place subtly. One bad teller experience. A rushed member service call. Taking individually those interactions may seem small. But they add up quickly and before you know it your service brand may be much weaker than you want.
• “Starbucks has always been about so much more than coffee. But without great coffee, we have no reason to exist.” In the end, it’s about your products. Loans. Checking accounts. Savings. Investments. Are those products as strong as they can be? What can your credit union do to offer innovative products or improve the ones you have?
• “In the name of efficiency, our company had created some bad habits among our baristas.” In today’s environment, it’s all about cuts and efficiencies. While that’s a good thing, it’s also a trap. You can make your credit union so lean and efficient you sacrifice the member experience and your brand.
• “Starbucks was under attack; mostly from within….this is why, I think, so many companies fail. Not because of challenges in the marketplace, but because of challenges on the inside.” Your credit union’s staff will make or break your brand. So how is your staff living the brand? What internal struggles are you facing?
• “A well-built brand is the culmination of intangibles that do not flow directly to the revenue or profitability of a company, but contribute to its texture. Forsaking them can take a subtle, collective toll.” Some CEOs and CFOs decry branding as “touchy-feely” and whine about branding’s ROI. If you choose not to focus on your credit union’s strategic brand (targets, differentiation, staff training, etc.) you will save a few bucks in the short term. But long term, your profitability will suffer because you failed to build your strategy.

My biggest takeaway from reading Onward is that if Starbucks—one of the best brands going today—had to take a hard look at itself and reinvent its brand, then credit unions should do the same. Don’t assume everything with your brand is okay.

I’ll be honest: I underlined about half the book (yes, it’s that good). So there are many other takeaways than the ones above.

Credit unions must actively move forward into today’s highly competitive marketplace. One way to learn new ideas is to read Onward.

Emotional Branding For Credit Unions

Can credit unions effectively engage their members through emotional branding? According to Marc Gobe, author of Emotional Branding, successful organizations and brands are those that connect with consumers emotionally.  I recently read the updated version of Gobe’s groundbreaking book, Emotional Branding. If your credit union is considering a branding or rebranding project, then some of the principles he discusses can help your credit union.

But what in the world is “emotional branding?” Gobe defines it as “...how a brand engages consumers on the level of the senses and emotions; how a brand comes to life for people and forges a deeper, lasting relationship.”

That’s an easy definition, but how does emotional branding translate to a credit union? Can you really get someone to feel something about a credit union? Here are some of the points the book makes that have application for credit unions:

• “Consumers are thinking more with their hearts or guts than with their heads when choosing products.” When you design a new brand or product, what do your members feel about it? Hopefully not bored.  You must speak to the member’s heart, not just head. Find stories about how your credit union is making a difference in the lives of your members.
• “Change starts at home.” Don’t even attempt a branding project without considerable input from your staff. You also must make sure your staff “gets” your brand or it will fail. Your front line staff are the ones that will deliver that emotional connection.  Emotional branding happens one member interaction at a time.
• “Women are ‘Shoppers-in-Chief.” Gobe spends an entire chapter talking about the important role women play in today’s economy. If your credit union brand does not connect with females, don’t expect much success when it comes to emotional branding. According to Gobe, what women want as consumers are respect, individuality, stress relief, connection and relationship. Is your credit union providing any of those?
• Sensorial experiences matter. For credit unions, this goes right to your branching strategy. How do your branches smell? How do they feel? Are you using a pod strategy or a traditional teller line? Do you have a kids' play area, cars displayed or video boards? All these experiences matter.

One of the best parts of the book was the “Ten Commandments of Emotional Branding.” He covers big issues like ”from consumers to people,” and “from service to relationship.” At times there are sections of the book that were a bit dry and hard to follow. But his main points are extremely applicable.

Credit union brands must engage members and non-members emotionally. That is easier said than done. One way to learn how to take your brand to that next level is to read Emotional Branding.

Overcoming the Brand Chasm

 
 
Below is an excerpt from an article I wrote for this month’s issue of LoneStar Perspectives. For the complete article (which include tips for overcoming those gaps) , please click here.

Branding can change a credit union. The key word is “can.” Many times a credit union embarks upon a new brand or recreates an existing brand. Perhaps the board, management team or marketing department decide key targets, develop a new look and even draft a catchy tagline. But then the brand falls flat. What happened? In many cases the credit union has fallen into “the brand chasm.”

Brand Chasm

The brand chasm is the tension between the operational nature of banking and the creative/strategic skills of branding. There can often be a gap between key areas of the credit union. This gap sometimes even turns into chasms. For example, there are possible brand chasms:

• Between branding and strategy
• Between branding and staff
• Between branding and operations

The brand chasm essentially becomes a leadership challenge for credit unions.

Chasm Between Branding and Strategy

Branding is a strategic process. The brand plan must tie directly to the strategic plan and the strategic plan must incorporate the brand plan. There is no one without the other.

As Marty Neumeir says in The Brand Gap, “The secret of a living brand is that it lives throughout the company, not just in the marketing department.”

Ultimately, no strategic decision in the credit union should be made without answering the question, “Will it help or hurt the brand?” Should you serve the underserved—does it help or hurt the brand? Should you market to Hispanics—does it help or hurt your brand? Should you open a branch in another county—does it help or hurt your brand? Those are examples of aligning strategic decisions with the brand.

Chasm Between Branding and Staff

While marketing may put the public face on the brand, it is the staff who must live the brand every day. Great credit union brands are built with a triangle approach:  management, staff, and members. In an ideal word management leads the brand, staff lives the brand and members experience the brand.

In many cases, effective brands fail at the staff level because of that chasm between the brand and staff. Successful brands involve staff at every level. Credit unions doing branding must conduct brand training with their staff and develop brand standards for their staff.

One credit union that successfully built their brand is Generations Community FCU ($397 million, San Antonio, TX). When they changed their name from San Antonio City Employees FCU a few years ago they also went through a thorough re-branding project. Much of their efforts (and subsequent success) focused on staff.

“We wanted to ensure that we had strategic buy in fom everyone, from the corner office to the front-line staff; so before we even put pen to paper, we assembled an Internal Communications Team.  The IC Team was comprised of a wide variety of individuals with varying tenure and skill sets,” said Chris Voigt, Generations FCU’s chief operations officer. “This team was a crucial component of our rebranding strategy, as they served as a two-way conduit of information for all our staff members. 

Chasm Between Branding and Operations

Because branding is becoming more important than ever branding impacts all areas of the organization. It is quite normal for a gap to exist between marketing and operations. Operational thinkers tend to be analytical, logical, linear, numerical and literal. On the other hand creative thinkers tend to be intuitive, emotional, spatial, visual and conceptual.  If a gap exists between the two in your credit union your brand will suffer.

What does your brand say about the account opening process, the hiring process, the loan approval process? Your brand is rubbish unless you bring it to life and animate every day in your branches. For example, your tagline can’t be “we make it easy,” if it takes your members over 24 hours to get their loan approved. If your brand says, “we’re the friendliest credit union in town,” and your operator is rude, then your brand is rude.

Consider Neches FCU ($322 million, Port Neches, TX). They see their brand collaborating across all areas.

“Our credit union marketing efforts are strongly tied with operations,” says Jason Duplant, vice president of marketing for Neches FCU. “Our President/CEO Jason Landry has a passion for marketing and how important those efforts are. As a result we are able to create a dynamic working environment where we can share ideas and receive genuine feedback and ultimate engagement to mold that into future communications and collaborations for the entire team and membership.”

The biggest threats to your brand come from within—many times in the form of a brand chasm. Your weakest link will destroy your brand. However, reinforcing the brand with employees every day and bringing to life and animating the brand will help you bridge those potential chasms.

Consumer Brand Strategist Offers CUs Advice

Note: I recently had the opportunity to visit with Nevin Grinnell a senior marketing executive with extensive experience strategically positioning some well-known brands worldwide. Grinnell has managed brands for Frito-Lay, Dr. Pepper, Snapple and NCH Corporation. Here are the excerpts from our question and answer session.

 1. How can organizations determine what their “sweet spot” is?

Organizations must perform the “Look in the Mirror” test.  Take the time to first determine what is it they offer, who they are offering it to, and why they are offering it (from a macro level).  This helps an organization determine their positioning (sweet spot).  Then they must understand: is it compelling to their target, is it differentiated and better than their competitors, and can they deliver it on an on-going basis.

 2. You’ve talked about the importance of “creating brands and products that excite consumers by filling their unmet consumer needs.” How in the world can credit unions really do that—get consumers to be excited about their products?

There are two tactics I would suggest:

• Get into the lives and minds of your members. Understand what they do in and outside of your offices. Understand their pain points and identify the insights based on their habits and beliefs to uncover ideas and opportunities.  Identify opportunities where you can extend value past what you are selling, but in scope to what compliments their needs.
• Look at unrelated, yet parallel environments for ideas.  For example, credit unions are service based entities.  Therefore, look at restaurants: why do people rant and rave over some restaurants and not others? For example, I like Houston’s.  But what makes them special? I would say service, consistency, quality, attention to detail, anticipating my needs, being personal, etc. From that example, how might you explore these attributes and brainstorm ways to make them relevant to your credit union.  Go to areas where the competition isn’t. That is where you will touch consumers in a way that they will be passionate about you.

3. What are two of the most important things credit unions should remember when building their brand or redoing their brand?

 

• You don’t own your brand—your members own your brand. Your starting point and ending point is with your members.  Members have to believe in order for your brand to live. 
• Loyalty is gained long term by developing that emotional connection—understand what you want your brand to stand for at a higher emotional level.

 4. How can credit unions build and emotional brand?

Always keep in mind that you’re in the service business first and the financial business second.  Additionally, building emotions is like dating.  Ask yourself, “What are you doing with your current members?”  Are you continuing to enhance their experience?  Are you moving them up the ladder from one service to a member that trusts you and is engaged in multiple services?  Are you soliciting them for on-going and open feedback?  Do you understand where each member is in your “dating” process?  If not, how can the emotions develop? How can you move them up the ladder to a member that is so passionate about you that they will tell their peers about you?

 5. Credit unions typically do not have large budgets to build brand awareness. What advice would you give them to overcome that problem?

Understand where members get their information and recommendations for financial institutions.  The traditional marketing tools may not be the most effective, therefore a large marketing budget using traditional methods may not be the smartest anyway.  Effective and efficient tactics may include leveraging the members you currently have.  There are three tactics you can immediately implement today with your current members:

• Increase Penetration—Identify some of the lapsed or infrequent users to reintroduce them to your credit union and services.
• Increase Frequency— Introduce your current active members to use more of the products and services.
• Leverage Loyalty—Turn your members into evangelist for your brand and leverage them to recruit family members and friends.

 6. Are there additional comments you would give credit unions in the area of branding and marketing?

We have all seen “Whiz Bang” marketing, advertising, and big ideas that have made huge noise in many industries.  While many have been successful, there are also those that crashed and burned or brands that, while you were entertained, you never recalled the brand or product name.

You don’t necessarily need a big idea or a big budget. You need to know your consumers or members in an intimate way. Just like in relationships the emotion and memories are driven by experiences and understanding versus the presents, prizes, and trinkets.