Larry D. Lauer

The longer I am in the strategic communication field the more I come to believe in the power of the brand. In fact, I have often come to the conclusion that for many institutions the brand is actually the product that is purchased by the consumer.

Taking on an institution’s identity actually helps to complete the individual’s identity. I am reminded of the classic commercial for Marlboro cigarettes:  The Marlboro man was depicted as a rugged cowboy who always looked confident and in command of the total environment around him.  And this image was always associated with smoking, and with holding the little red and white package in his hand. The theory, which apparently worked, was that when the male consumer held that red and white package in his hand he also felt more confident and masculine.  Holding that  package and smoking the cigarettes it contained completed the consumer’s self-image. This was so effective that feminine looking packages for cigarettes quickly appeared copying the Marlboro strategy.

But when an institution finds itself “on a roll” like this, appearing to be the brand of choice and the current “go to” place in its category, everyone associated with this success begins to worry about when it will all come to an end. The question then becomes: How do we maintain, even accelerate, the “WOW?”

Most brands today can behave like fads.  For a time everyone wants your shoe. But then, the “go to” brand can very quickly shift to another emerging one.  New media immediacy, and its constantly consuming audiences, can change brand preference on a dime. This can happen to institutions too. One day your museum is the go to place in town, but the next day a new show elsewhere steals your limelight.

Your continuing challenge is to find ways to keep adding value.  You can do this by adding new features to the product, developing new support services, streamlining distribution, offering carefully focused price incentives, and even enhanced  creative marketing. And yes all of this applies to nonprofits.

But the reality is that sometimes the ride comes to an end, or at least to a plateau. Some economists and other observers are actually saying this about the United States today.  Once the super power in the world, America’s market  conditions have now changed so that it’s not likely that the top position it once enjoyed can be maintained. Now the challenge will be to adjust to new circumstances and ask:  What are the new marketplace realities?  And how can we define our position so that we remain strong, exciting, and highly competitive?

We will still claim we are the best there is at what we do. But now we must see our market realities differently, and adjust our targets, tactics, and special initiatives accordingly.  Adding value never stops. It just must happen now within in a new set of circumstances.