A strong brand not only identifies a company in the mind of the consumer, but it creates a memorable link between what it is and what it does. It’s true whether your business is a large corporation or a small, one-person show you need a good brand identity.

Consumers have a staggering number of choices today. When presented with so many options, people gravitate toward the familiar. Trusted names can boost sales, and their brand value is immense. That’s why it’s important to create a strong brand identity for your business. It builds credibility and loyalty, and differentiates your business from the competition.

What is brand identity?

A brand identity is a trademark or distinctive name that identifies your business in the mind of the consumer. This can include (but is not limited to) a name, a logo, corporate colors, a style, a typeface, a tagline, or a slogan.

A brand should evoke some emotional response in the consumer. Think of Prudential Insurance. This brand not only calls up the idea of wisdom and careful thought (or “prudence”), but also evokes stability with the image of the Rock of Gibraltar in the logo. A good brand should have this kind of subtext.

How do you create a brand identity?

The first step in creating your business identity is to answer the following questions:

What is your mission?

What do you want to communicate?

What image do you want to convey?

Which words best describe your business?

Keep the answers in mind as you begin creating your brand.

Developing your logo and brand identity

There are several ways to get started. First, consider the following points:

Who is your target audience?

Who are your main competitors?

What kinds of logos and brand identities do your competitors have?

Which of their brands appeal to you? Why?

Once you’ve determined the answers to these questions, take some time to look at the memorable identities and logos all around you. Look at Nike. The name is short and catchy, and was inspired by Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. The swoosh logo is simple, recognizable, and implies speed and forward motion. This is a good name, a nice logo, and a great brand ID.

Thinking Ahead

You should also make sure your logo can survive in any medium: in print, on the Web, in full color, in grayscale, in black and white, in a large format, or in a tiny ad. Think ahead. You may not need your logo embroidered on a cap today, but what about ten years from now? Make sure the design is simple and clear enough to survive any kind of treatment.

The best way to get a logo is to have it designed by a graphic artist or design firm with experience in creating logos and brand identities.  If you decide to create your logo yourself, you might be able to find a stock illustration or image that fits your needs. But this low-budget approach usually leaves a low-budget impression, and that’s not what you want to communicate to your customers.

Make Your Brand Identity Consistent Throughout

Once you’ve established the name and logo of your business, consider the rest of your brand identity strategy. This includes corporate colors, typefaces, taglines, slogans and all the other ways your Brand ID is implemented. It’s important that your web site matches your signs, and that your business cards, letterhead, labels and forms are all consistent with each other.

You may also want to develop a style guide for the use of your brand. A guide will make sure that other people who handle your brand use it consistently. It should include the exact colors, typefaces, and design specifications for your logo and the way it should be presented in both marketing and internal documents.

Think about how your brand identity will be disseminated – in social media, direct mail pieces, ads, brochures, business cards, press releases, and so on. With proper forethought and the help from Gallant, your brand identity can help your business thrive.

And don’t forget to take advantage of our 5 TIMES PROFIT offer while it is still available!

YOUR ROLE AS A promotional products consultant is to be an expert in generating ideas for brand strategies with your customers. Generally, you offer products, information, resources, and tactics to help your customers gain new level of brand awareness in their respective markets. You help your customers communicate their brand externally to the world. This is called external branding. Ultimately your influence contributes to a higher level of preference for your customers’ brands. Without you, customers would be less likely to succeed in business.

Imagine that you can apply the expertise you have in external branding to a new opportunity and create a new sales channel for yourself. Everything you know about external branding can be applied to a new audience: the employees who work for your customer. This audience is considered an internal customer to the company, and your role with this audience is to strengthen the company’s brand internally. This type of branding is called internal branding.

Internal Branding vs. External Branding
Internal branding strategies are used to significantly reinforce an organization’s corporate purpose, values and culture. These strategies ultimately raise the level of employee engagement and consequently have an incredibly positive impact on your customer’s business.

In reality, external and internal branding are almost identical, so leveraging internal branding will be a natural extension of your business. Below is a quick comparison of each.

External Branding
Builds customer loyalty
Shortens the buying cycle and increases repeat business Increases in brand preference

Internal Branding
Increases in employee loyalty
Increases in employee productivity
Increases level of employee’s alignment with the company

Who Decides What A Brand Stands For?
One myth we need to debunk before we go any further is this: Most people think that the marketing department defines the external company brand. This is not true; customers define the brand. Customers enter a store, visit a website or talk to a company representative on the phone. When the experience is over, they make their own conclusions about the company and its brand. The external brand is ultimately defined by the customer experience. They are the judge and jury to the meaning of any corporate brand.

The lynchpin to the success of an external brand is the company employee. The employee has the power to weave the company brand into every customer experience. The only way to make sure that a brand is translated correctly is to integrate it at the employee level through an effective internal branding strategy.

Which Type Of Branding Is More Important—External Or Internal?
Although it may seem counterintuitive, internal branding is more important than external branding for the success of a business. A strong internal brand builds employee engagement, which compels employees to provide a higher level of service to customers. In the end, the high level of service will build a positive customer experience and deliver an equally strong external brand to the marketplace.

I can make this claim because I have seen it happen inside my own company. Years ago, I thought internal branding was a nice idea but not a realistic strategy to build a business. However, nine years ago I had a change of heart and implemented a number of internal branding strategies with the ultimate goal of building a highly engaged workforce. Today my company is stronger, inside and outside, then it has ever been. I am a true believer in the power of internal branding

In my experience, employee engagement programs are the most effective way to create and sustain an internal brand. An employee engagement program is designed to reward employees who do their work with their brain and their heart—these employees are engaged.

The link between rising levels of employee engagement and positive business outcomes is growing stronger all the time. A recent study by The Gallup Organization found that engaged employees are:

• 18 percent more productive
• 16 percent more profitable
• Generating 18 percent higher earnings
• 12 percent better at engaging customers
• Creating 2.6 times higher growth rates
• Reducing quality defects by 60 percent

Employee Engagement And Employee Recognition
The experts recommend using an employee recognition program as a base for a dynamic engagement program. When a company does this, employees who are recognized know that what they are doing counts. Employees receive immediate feedback and become more productive; increasing customer satisfaction and company profits, according to a report by Northwestern University’s Forum for People Performance Management.

Companies favor employee recognition programs to increase engagement levels because they are measurable and produce results. A recent study conducted by World at Work reveals the following data:
• 86 percent of organizations have recognition programs in place
o 70 percent of those offer between three and six different programs
• In the next 12 months, 90 percent of these organizations plan to continue their programs
• Organizations implement recognition programs in order to:
o Honor years of service
o Create a positive work environment
o Motivate high performance
o Create a culture of recognition
o Increase morale

The factors listed above are exactly what an organization needs to increase employee engagement and build strong internal and external brands.

Here Is Your Opportunity
In the midst of all these statistics is a shiny golden nugget for you: Most successful companies know that the best way to increase employee engagement is through an effective internal branding program by way of employee recognition. A solid recognition program is at the heart of internal branding and employee engagement.

A recent PPAI industry survey shows that more than 20 percent of dollars spent in the promotional products industry are used for internal purposes. This equals more than $3 billion spent on awards and promotional products. How much of this business do you own?

Internal branding and employee recognition programs are your way to create new sales with your customers and optimize your business.

The most common comment I hear from promotional consultants is that their goal is to grow their business. I’ve seen many changes in the way we do business during the past 20 years. However, the one constant is the need for a strong, committed workforce throughout corporate America. Your ability to differentiate internal and external branding strategies from each other will give you an opportunity for amazing business growth.

http://www.thekingcenter.org/Default.aspx

What Promotional Product Buyers Really Want

To find out how distributors can best serve their clients, PPB went directly to the source—the buyers themselves—to find out what they want from their distributor partners and where there is opportunity for improved service—and growth. Here’s what they had to say.

Find The Unusual
Overwhelmingly, the most common point of dissatisfaction with the buyers interviewed for this story is the lack of effective sourcing to find truly unusual products.

“Lately, I have found myself forgoing vendors and getting items on my own,” says Liz Hersey, chief marketing officer for a Minnesota-based commercial litigation and business law firm, who has literally purchased thousands of promotional products throughout her career. “While cost is sometimes an issue, I go on my own primarily because I seem to have better luck—or perhaps more motivation for—finding unusual items. If I ask for something truly unusual, please don’t send specs on yet another tote bag, eco-friendly notebook or food basket. If every vendor is advertising it, it’s not unusual.”

Christie Lambert, president of a Texas-based graphic design studio, agrees. Whether she is looking for promotional products to complete a self-promotion for her company or items to complement a project she has created for a client, originality is key. “We are usually looking for unique items or have specific items that we are trying to find, and we want something that’s out of the norm that doesn’t look like it came out of a mass catalog,” she says. “In my experience, distributors have just been order takers. I have not found one that really has gone out and looked for specialty items for us.”

What constitutes unusual? For Hersey, one item that stands out in her mind was a custom grate for an outdoor fire pit. “They were $200 apiece, but a branded fire pit—what a beautiful, cool gift.”

And Lambert once needed some rubber ducks, which are not necessarily unusual—unless they need to be nearly a foot tall. “We designed a promotion for a story-time book that had a lucky ducky theme,” she says. “We needed rubber ducks that were huge—at least 10 inches—that could be sent out in big boxes that supported the theme. That’s an item not everybody’s going to be looking for.”

But don’t think these buyers and others like them are averse to working with distributors. Quite the opposite. They want to develop a relationship with a trusted vendor so they get the products and services that meet their needs.

What must distributors do to win their business? “Just give me service,” Hersey says. “Get back to me when I call, give me good and unusual ideas, ask more questions and really take the time to do the legwork that I have to do now to find the new and unusual items.”

Showcase Creativity
With the perception of limited numbers of truly unique items in the marketplace, how can distributors improve traditional promotional products’ appeal? By using them in more creative ways.

Case histories that showcase your creativity not only position you as an expert but also prove your ideas work. Shelley Bosler, vice president of product management for a Kansas-based point-of-sale technology company for the retail channel, says that distributors can serve her better by providing ideas of what truly works in the field. “Documenting success that your customers have experienced when using specific promotional items to target markets successfully or increase brand awareness is very helpful,” she says. “Measurable results are imperative.”

Providing this kind of creative food-for-thought is an excellent way to differentiate yourself from the competition as each promotion you design is unique. Not only did the buyers interviewed for this story say they currently do not receive any newsletters, e-mails or other communications that contain success stories, but they also indicated they would welcome such ideas as they are much more effective than the e-mails that simply push products currently on sale.

Understand The Customer
Successful salespeople know they can provide the best service and solutions only if they have a strong understanding of their customers. By doing the research to learn about the challenges their customers face, distributors can identify where there is opportunity to create promotions that enhance brand awareness, create differentiation from the competition, generate sales and, ultimately, build loyalty.

Unfortunately, many distributors aren’t taking the time to do the background work. “I have found when working with distributors that sometimes the sales representative has no idea or concept of the service we provide,” says Jill Schott, MS, director of marketing for a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit community behavioral healthcare organization. “It would definitely be helpful if they took the time to research our organization and understand at least some part of what we do.”

Hersey indicates most distributors tend to first ask about her budget followed by what quantity is needed without going any further. “I’d like them to ask ‘Who’s your audience?’ and be really specific in terms of occupation, age ranges and even their market [geographic location],” she says.

Taraneh Foster, marketing consultant for an energy company with offices along the West Coast, has also experienced frustration when a distributor hadn’t done his research and didn’t come to the sales call ready to make recommendations. “I’m with a company that manufactures an alternative energy product,” she explains. “The mints the company purchased last time were packaged in a plastic case that cannot be recycled. That doesn’t support our brand and cannot be considered an environmentally friendly promotional product, which was the reason the distributor gave for why we bought from him previously.”

In addition to asking what products are desirable, distributors should also ask if there are any products that are definitely off limits. “We primarily serve children with emotional and behavioral healthcare needs,” says Schott, “so we cannot use certain products such as food items or anything that can be used as a weapon.”

The bottom line is that distributors must truly understand their clients’ businesses to make the best possible recommendations. “We have used our main vendor for years because they understand what we do,” Schott says. “They have taken time to tour our offices and come to the events that we have so they get to know us as an organization. This has been imperative in helping us find the products that are right for us.”

Bill Walker, marketing manager for a Washington, D.C.-based IT consulting firm, says he has found the ideal promotional products distributor through a referral from another company. They have taken the time to understand his business, and it shows in the success they have had together.

“They’re very attentive to my needs and offer plenty of real solutions without pushing what it is they want to sell,” he says. “I’ll say that I’m looking for something in a particular area, and they come back with five ideas. A couple of those I may have thought of, but the others may not have even crossed my mind—and were exactly what I needed. This really highlights what is sometimes faulty about such vendors—they are often more focused on selling what’s overstocked or new and shiny than with fulfilling my specific needs.

“There are plenty of places to buy promotional products these days,” Walker continues. “But I appreciate the experience and feedback of the professionals. They can tell me about the reputation of the factory, resolve problems and recommend products based on feedback and personal experience. You can’t get that level of service from a website or from someone that doesn’t fully understand your business.”

100% Proof Approved before Mass Production
Amazing things can be done with photographs today—just ask celebrities. Buyers know photoshopping images is common practice, and the product shown in a catalog may not be anything remotely like what they expect. To assist in the decision making process—always provide your clients with a art proof for their final approval before you start mass production.

Communicate Appropriately
What style of communication do your clients prefer when you want to share products or ideas that don’t pertain to a current project: phone call, e-mail, newsletter, blog post, update on a social media site? How often do they want to hear from you? Have you asked them? If not, you should.

“If you know I seek unusual items, shoot me an e-mail periodically when you come across a cool idea,” Hersey says. “But don’t ignore me all year and then bombard me with e-mails and calls come holiday time and expect to get the business.”

In addition to infrequent communication, too much communication can be even more of a turn off. “I’m the type of person who will reach out when I need something, and the more you bug me the less likely I am to respond,” Schott says when describing a recent meeting with a potential distributor. “Two phone calls and four e-mails later they keep asking if I’ve made a decision yet. Unfortunately, that experience was with the new vendor I was thinking about using—and will not be using now.”

Lambert has had a similar experience. “I’ll get calls every two weeks asking if I need anything and it annoys me,” she says. “They’ll also say they have a great deal on pens, for example, or Koozies or calculators—stuff that to me just seems like normal business products [that aren’t applicable to my needs]. I don’t like being hit with that stuff.”

Understand It’s Not All About Price
Don’t read this wrong. Price is certainly important, especially in today’s business climate when every dollar is scrutinized. But distributors who consistently sell solely on price will eventually lose because they won’t have built client loyalty and there’s always someone willing to sell products for less.

So while buyers want a good price, they crave advice for how to get the most value within their budget. “I want something that is inexpensive, but I don’t want it to feel cheap,” Troutman says. “I don’t want the recipient to think, ‘Big deal, they didn’t splurge on this item.’ Good advice helps me balance the amount I have to spend. Perhaps I go for a slightly more expensive item but order less of them if there is a better wow factor. That is important to me on a limited budget.”

Walker agrees. “Even on a small budget, you still want a quality product because you want to give somebody an item that appropriately represents your company,” he says. “Even if the item is as simple as a pen, if recipients take it and it doesn’t work, then it is a reflection on you and your company. You must vet the vendors and the quality of the items. It all doesn’t come down to just cost. If you are searching on the web or through someone you don’t have a relationship with, I find it is harder to manage or to truly evaluate that.”

Keep in mind, however, that the price should be based on value provided. “With budget constraints today, there is a limit of what I can spend and I must spend it wisely,” Hersey says. “There are times when it is certainly not worth it for me to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to track something down. I’ll pay a reasonable fee for a distributor’s time, especially when it’s necessary to put in legwork seeking something very unusual or a custom-produced product. But if I’m going to be saving a substantial amount of money doing it myself (such as with a recent purchase of high-end logoed golf balls when my trusted vendor’s quote was 40 percent higher than a national online source), I have to weigh this.”

Ask For Feedback
For some distributors, their service ends when products are delivered and the sale is viewed as complete. But these distributors are missing out on valuable information that can help cement the relationship—even if the promotion didn’t go 100 percent as planned.

By working with buyers after the promotion has concluded to debrief what worked and didn’t, distributors can gain insight that will improve future performance. “It’s important for distributors to get out there and see how the products we have purchased from them are used,” Bosler says. “Ask what the organization management, sales teams and other departments think of the products.”

Walker looks at his relationship with his distributor as a two-way street. “Whether it’s for a sample item or actual item ordered, I give feedback from us as well as our clients (or whoever is using the products) so that it furthers our relationship as well as their overall knowledge,” he says. “Hopefully over time, they have a better idea of what I expect and what they can deliver to us as well as their other clients.”

While building this kind of relationship takes a true partnership and a willingness to take constructive criticism, it is so worthwhile because distributors will be able to give even greater service than they did with the initial order that won the business in the first place. And this is what creates loyalty between a buyer and a distributor.

Be Polite
One final note: Don’t forget to be polite. In today’s high-speed, technology-based, immediate-gratification world, manners are often forgotten. But an etiquette mistake could result in not only losing an order but also a client.

“Like journalists, marketing communications and PR folks are on constant deadline,” says Foster. “We pick up the phone rather than letting it go to voicemail in case it’s that one person we need to talk to calling from a number we don’t recognize. And when it’s not the person we need, well, we stop listening. [Rather than jumping into your pitch], ask your prospect if he or she is on a deadline. If so, ask when it would be better to call back. You will get a better response.”

Did we get it right?
Share your thoughts buy calling one of our customer services representatives today at 800-GALLANT (330-1343) or visit us at www.GallantGifts.com

Gallant partners with Disney, ESPN Sports to help Haiti Relief Efforts

Gallant partners with Disney, ESPN Sports  and the Many Hearts One Goal foundation to help fund a relief trip for the Women’s Soccer Team of Haiti.

Check out this feature here on ESPN -
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5434931&categoryid=3060647

and then visit the Many Hearts One Goal Foundation.

* There is no better feeling than to give unconditionally because it makes “you” feel good.

Promotional products hold their own against major advertising media in an across-the-board comparison study

Advertising legend Steuart Henderson Britt once said, “Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.” This is business 101. However, the way in which an advertiser chooses to market his or her message is where strategy, innovation and an in-depth knowledge of the audience comes into play.

So, which of the top advertising vehicles—TV, print, online or promotional products—is a front runner when it comes to overall effectiveness according to consumers?

A 2009 two-part study designed by PPAI and fielded through independent research company MarketTools, Inc. evaluated a cross-section of the American consumer population in regard to these top advertising mediums. (The first part of the study was reported in the January 2010 issue of PPB.)

Looking to uncover which vehicle ranked highest in terms of reach, recall and reaction from the consumer’s perspective, promotional products most often received top nods.

The Reach
Reach is a numbers game. The more times an advertiser exposes a message to the masses, the greater chance consumers will see it, which increases the propensity for a positive response. Or, so the theory goes.

Nearly half of the panel had received more than three promotional products within the last 12 months, while 56.20 percent reported having seen 11 or more TV commercials, 50 percent had seen three or more print ads and 53.05 percent had seen one online ad all within a two-week timeframe.

The Recall
Of greater importance than an advertiser’s reach is the recall. After all, widespread exposure is only effective if the audience connects and remembers the message. As such, participants were asked to identify the following in relation to the ads they’d seen:

1. Advertised company or brand
2. Advertised product/service/message
3. Type of promotional product received

Additionally, an evaluation was conducted to see how many respondents could remember both the advertiser/company and the product/service/message advertised and in the case of promotional products, the product received, as well.

Television Ads:
• Six out of 10 respondents remembered both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised in the first commercial.
• More than half (56 percent) recalled both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised in the second commercial.

Print Ads:
• Fifty-five percent of respondents remembered both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised in the first print ad.
• More than half (51.2 percent) recalled both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised in the second print ad

Online Ads:
• Nearly 3 out of 10 respondents remembered both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised in the first online ad.
• Two out of 10 recalled both the company/brand and the product/service/message advertised in the second online ad.
 
Promotional Products:
• Nearly 70 percent of respondents remembered the brand/company and product/service advertised, as well as the type of promotional product for the first advertising message
• More than half recalled all three aspects for the second advertising message

Putting It All Together
In terms of maximizing one’s ROI, advertisers are primarily focused on consumers’ ability to recall the advertised company/brand, the advertised product/service/message, or, in an optimal setting, both. Below is a quick, side-by-side comparison of how the four advertising mediums performed in terms of recalling key characteristics:

• The above tables reveal that promotional products—above TV, print and online advertising—consistently deliver on higher recall rates of the company/brand, the product/service or both.
• Online advertising maintained the lowest recall of all four mediums, which shows a disconnect with advertisers’ reliance on the medium’s low CPM.

Reaction:
While an advertiser’s reach is important and the recall even more so, it is the reaction of and action by the consumer after he or she has seen the message that translates directly into ROI. This section asked consumers which particular action he or she took after viewing and/or receiving (in the case of promotional products) the first and second ads.

REACTION TO FIRST AD
• Consumers made a purchase after receiving a promotional product (20.9 percent) more often than after viewing a print ad (13.4 percent), TV commercial (7.1 percent) or online ad (4.6 percent).
• More than half of promotional products recipients had a favorable impression of the advertiser, as opposed to 33.2 percent who’d seen a print ad, 27.7 percent who’d watched a TV commercial and 11.9 percent who’d seen an online ad.
• Nearly 60 percent of consumers reported using the promotional product several times, while 7.6 percent let someone else use the item and 4.4 percent passed the product onto someone else.
• 14.7 percent of participants reported contacting the promotional products advertiser—a reaction rate nearly three times greater than other media, which generated a 3-5 percent response.
• When respondents were asked if they’d not taken action after seeing the ad, TV viewers topped the list with nearly half (46.4%) saying they weren’t moved to action, followed closely by 41.1 percent for print media and 33.2 percent for an online ad. Only 23.1 percent of promotional products recipients reported not taking any action.

REACTION TO SECOND AD
• Similar to the reactions for ad one, consumers, once again, made a purchase in greater numbers after receiving a promotional product (18.1 percent) versus just 13.9 percent who did so after seeing a print ad, 10.8 percent who’d watched a TV commercial and 3.5 percent who’d seen an online ad.
• 48.2 percent of promotional products recipients had a favorable impression of the advertiser, as opposed to just 28.6 percent of those who’d seen a print ad, 24.5 percent who’d watched a TV commercial and 10 percent who’d seen an online ad.
• More than half (56.4 percent) of consumers used their promotional product several times, while 8.6 percent also let someone else use the item and 3.5 percent passed the product onto someone else.
• Nearly 20 percent of participants reported contacting the promotional product advertiser—a reaction rate four to 10 times higher than other media, which generated a 2-5 percent response.
• When respondents were asked if they’d not taken action after seeing the ad, TV viewers, again, topped the list with 41.8 percent saying they weren’t moved to action, followed closely by 38.4 percent for print media and 30.2 percent for an online ad. Only 17.9 percent of promotional products recipients reported not taking any action.

The Annoyance Factor: Low For Promotional Products
The mean score represents the annoyance factor for each medium. From an advertiser’s perspective, this information is critical as the key to success is to balance a media buy that reaches the target audience and generates a favorable reaction. However, if advertisers, regardless of the CPM, invest their dollars in a medium that actually turns consumers away, they may be doing more harm than good, not only to their bottom line, but to their brand, as well.

This table reveals the mean annoyance scores, as determined by 1,005 participants, for all media included in this portion of the study. The higher the mean score, the better the rating, meaning respondents found the medium to be less of an annoyance.

Advertising Attributes: Consumer Appeal
There are many attributes/capabilities advertising mediums illustrate—the key is in understanding which ones convey the characteristics that are 1) most appealing to consumers and 2) in line with an advertiser’s objectives. This section asked respondents to choose one medium that best represents a specific attribute.

Summary
As Steuart Henderson Britt so imaginatively stated, advertising is crucial. However, of equal importance is the greater understanding of how consumers actually receive and perceive the vehicles which are to carry these advertising messages. Investing dollars without first doing the homework is still very much like winking at the girl—if the message doesn’t reach consumers, if they’re unable to recall it, if they’re not moved to action, if they become annoyed—the end result is still the same: everyone’s left in the dark.

This in-depth study sheds light on four of the most widely used advertising mediums, providing advertisers with much-needed insight and information when it comes to spending dollars and, more importantly, getting them back.

As always, TV commercials proved to be one of the top contenders when it comes to successful advertising, as did print media in specific categories. However, it’s the medium with the smallest, yet possibly the most profound foothold in the advertising arena that has shown the greatest gains: promotional products. An often overlooked, under-utilized medium, promotional products—according to consumers—prove once again that bigger is not always best when it comes to leaving a lasting impression.

www.GallantGifts.com

Silly Bandz, the Bracelets That Spring Off Shelves

Brand and Deliver –

Laurie Tucker of FedEx on what it takes to build one of the world’s most recognizable brands—and why she’s a fan of promotional products.

Behind one of the world’s most recognizable and powerful brands is an equally mesmerizing marketing dynamo and chief brand champion who has dedicated her career to honing and upholding the FedEx promise.

When Laurie A. Tucker joined FedEx in Memphis, Tennessee, as a financial analyst in 1978, she was fresh out of college and the company was in its fifth year and growing quickly—it had just been listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol FDX.

During the past 31 years, Tucker has worked her way up through the organization, first in finance, then tackling sales, technology, marketing, customer service, operations and supply chain management. In her current position as senior vice president of FedEx Corporate Marketing, she develops the strategy for sponsorship marketing programs and is responsible for innovation and development, retail product and promotion, business alliances, customer experience management, brand management and advertising.

Not surprisingly, her successes in these various roles have earned her many honors—she’s a four-time winner of the prestigious FedEx Five Star award, the first recipient of the FedEx Services Diversity Champion Award, recognized as a “Woman of Achievement” by the Women’s Project of New York, and was named one of PINK magazine’s 2009 Top Women in Business and one of BtoB magazine’s Best Marketers for 2009.

PPB met with Tucker recently to find out how she and her team have built such a powerful brand and what we can all learn from her experience.

PPB: In this day and age, “brand” is a bit of a buzz word. How do you define brand as it relates to FedEx?

Tucker: One of the key challenges in brand management is that a brand must have a certain element of constancy while still being relevant.

From a customer perspective, a brand is thought of in terms of what they see—our visual brand, what they hear from us—how we speak to customers, and certainly how we express ourselves in the behavior of our employees. We’re very fortunate to have one of the most recognized brands in the world, so our team members have a lot of pride, to the point of even being protective of our brand image. We have a brand promise that must be delivered consistently since FedEx stands for peace of mind.

At FedEx, the brand is really the sum of our values, a compass that even in the absence of specific direction or policy we know the right thing to do. Our people are able to engage and identify with our brand emotionally.

Our brand is the strategic backbone for everything we do as a company. We have a personal branding class and a question I’ll ask as a warm-up to the audience is: If I say the word FedEx, what one word immediately comes into your mind? What I hear shouted back at me is the word “reliable.” That is our core attribute—being reliable, as well as committed, connected and innovative, to name a few. We live these brand attributes out every day.

PPB: What do you think are the keys to creating a sustainable brand?

Tucker: Consistency. The brand promise must match what we say and do. Customers are really smart, and they figure out quickly whether you are advertising or whether you’re living a promise.

Likewise, we have developed a brand personality. When you think about FedEx, a smile should come to your face because of your attachment to a company you trust, that understands the pressure you’re under every day and as a result, is there to deliver. When we advertise, our approach is often fun, showing business situations that are humorous, but that illustrate the challenges and complexities of doing business. Our current tag line, “We Understand,” seeks to connect our brand promise with the needs of our customers.

PPB: What role does social media play in the overall FedEx brand strategy?

Tucker: Social media, obviously, is a new channel and it’s another channel. While still relatively new, marketers must participate in social media just as we play in traditional media or direct communication. We’re looking at the types of social media our customers are using. We’re also experimenting with dialogue directly with our customers, whether engaging our customers through fedex.com or our call centers. And then we must determine where our messages are most relevant.

For example, we have a FedEx Office blog that we call “Out Of Office,” which allows users to share their experiences using FedEx Office. We’ve also produced a humorous, yet descriptive, You Tube series that illustrates FedEx services, and with up to 10 minutes per video, we were able to make it interesting, fun and viral.

We recognize there’s tremendous power in social media and have begun some exciting programs in these new channels.

PPB: What do you think are the most important considerations when rolling out a new brand?

Tucker: Fundamentally, what is your commitment to your core values for this new company or new product? What does the company stand for and how do you convey those core values? A brand is really the window to the soul of the company. The one word or two words or icon that represents that brand can say so much. It must hold up over time. I think when you start a new brand, you have to set realistic expectations so the promise can be kept from day one.

Our brand is over 35 years old, and we’ve had a long time to establish that trust and relationship. But it’s interesting—when we’ve acquired new companies and made the decision to brand them, it’s always top of mind for us that our brand means something to our customers—that the FedEx commitment to reliability will be expressed in this new company or product.

PPB: Given the incredible advances in technology over the past 20 years, how does FedEx incorporate emerging technologies into the marketing process?

Tucker: If you think about how technologies have allowed us to market in different ways, marketing is much more granular, specific and targeted. Companies that are smart—and FedEx is considered to be one of the smart companies—are listening to customers and taking note of how they prefer to be contacted and their emerging needs. Technologies are allowing us to direct our message in the channels our customers prefer.

Technology has become an enabler, allowing us to meet customers’ demands and giving us a more informed relationship with an individual customer.

Fedex.com is the big front door to FedEx, and when you step into fedex.com, you don’t just step into shipping, you step into this very rich, informational environment—an environment that allows you to interact with FedEx to receive proactive information. And if you were to click on FedEx Office, you’d find a business associate who can help you with your specific business needs.

For example, we targeted some specific industries that we know are big users of FedEx Office. Through our experiences with those particular industries, we know what those customers use most often and the kinds of tools they need. We’ve built templates and a toolkit on the FedEx Office web site that our customers can use to create their own posters, brochures, letters, business cards, etc., then upload them, print them online, and get their printed materials back very quickly. We’re taking advantage of the internet in new and exciting ways.

PPB: How are you hearing back from your customers?

Tucker: A lot of the work we’ve done to interact with our customers enables them to respond to us about their preferences. We simply ask them, “What are your preferred channels of communication? Would you rather receive a text or an e-mail? Are you primarily a domestic shipper, international or both? Will you use our freight services? Would you like to have more information on FedEx Office?”

As customers fill out their profiles, we send them communication that is specific to what they requested. We also determine whether that customer is opening those messages, whether they’re interacting and transacting with us as a result. As we begin to measure, we learn more about the effectiveness of the communication.

PPB: How does FedEx view the use of promotional products?

Tucker: Any company that’s proud of its brand and has a very prominent brand is going to take advantage of branding promotional items. FedEx is certainly no exception. We’ve been using promotional products for 35 years, and we’re very aware of how much our customers enjoy and appreciate getting various useful or attractive promotional items from FedEx.

We feature everything from our FedEx No. 11 race car to more practical items, perhaps a jump drive or travel items. And we have, of course, our company store. Our biggest problem isn’t what to put in the store—it’s what not to put in the store. Customers seem to really love to wear our logo or have our logo somewhere visible in their offices, which we view as a reminder of that brand promise.

PPB: What role do promotional products play in the FedEx branding efforts?

Tucker: Our company store is not just for the external audience, but very much for the internal as well as our team members take great pride in our FedEx brand. We love wearing our logo and we love having hats, pens or some item on our desk. FedEx team members are huge users of our promotional products. We’re not just relying on our packaging and aircraft as reminders of the brand—we take advantage of using promotional products as reminders of our sports sponsorships, event launches, etc.

Organizations and departments take advantage of promotional products to recognize team members’ initiatives. These recognition items that carry a logo are motivational and a morale booster.

PPB: What’s a recent example of how promotional products were used to reinforce the FedEx brand?

Tucker: We have a wonderful program in our marketing organization that we call “People First.” One of our People First work streams is around sustainability. These work streams are team member-led, so the employees wanted to create one around sustainability. They set out to help our organizations and departments cut down on waste and find ways to express our commitment to the environment. One of their recommendations was to remove Styrofoam cups from our break rooms.

They proposed to create a FedEx People First reusable cup to emphasize the idea of “I’m committed to keeping our environment green.” Everyone was issued a cup, which became so popular and interesting that our branding group thought we should begin offering “green” stainless steel water bottles and coffee mugs in our company store. The cup was an eco-friendly way for us to show our team members and customers that we’re seriously committed to sustainability while building brand awareness. Who would have thought that such a small promotional item would have become a source of pride that supports our company culture and values?

PPB: What is your biggest challenge when selecting, purchasing or using promotional products?

Tucker: The biggest challenge is how much money we have to spend. If money were no object, the biggest challenge would be making sure we have promotional products that are going to meet the objectives of that particular program. If the objective is to introduce new products, what’s the tie in? How does it support the message and is it something that’s sustainable? There’s nothing worse than getting a promotional product and you look at it and think, “Why did they bother?” I don’t ever want that reaction to a FedEx promotional product.

Our promotional products come out of our marketing area—most often out of our brand group. We have brand guidelines that all the marketers around the world use to ensure consistency of standards wherever we are.

We use several different business associates who help us create and brand these items. For instance, a current campaign is running on fedex.com. You’ll see a banner there that says “Think FedEx First.” We designed specific merchandise to support it—items that are useful and will remind customers of FedEx when they use them. An agency was used to help us develop those products, and we have a distributor who helps us consolidate our merchandise.

PPB: Do you have a favorite product in your personal possession—perhaps on your desk or in your purse—and if so, will you tell me about it?

Tucker: We have the FedEx Envelope notebook sold in the company store and provided to our salespeople to give to customers. Now I see them everywhere!

In the case of the higher-end promotional product, I’ve seen clever uses of products like an Apple iPod or Apple iTouch, on which you can actually pre-record your own message.

PPB: Any other favorite promotional product that’s not a FedEx product?

Tucker: One of my favorites was given out by a magazine that we’ve supported over the years that has now become an online publication called PINK. Because it’s a women’s magazine that’s very smart and clever, they gave out a little computer case—not terribly expensive—but a really functional laptop case.

PPB: What tips do you have for our readers on creating a brand that really connects to their customers?

Tucker: First, understand who you serve. Who are your targeted customers? Start to build your business by targeting your specific customers and seek to fulfill their needs—what do they value? Build your core values to match those of your target customers.

Before you do much promoting, you should ensure that you are delivering on the promise, whether that is low price, high quality, reliability or access, and do it consistently. It’s that level of consistency that builds up loyalty and respect among customers, leading to revenue growth.

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