Marobella's Branding SoapBox

Dunkin' Donuts Custom Gift Cards

Being from Boston, I love me some DnD. And, with the booming gift card business (because we are all too lazy to be thoughtful), I was surprised to see that a laggard marketing brand like Dunkin' Donuts was one of the first to market with custom gift cards . I think it is a cool idea and a little less lazy, but I as I stood in line today, I was wondering if I would want a picture of my Mom on my gift card that I buy my morning coffee with. The one cool thing about the idea is that it probably extends the life of the card and people will be more prone to refilling rather than just chucking when its spent.

Also, the custom cards could be a cool idea for companies to place their logo on and personalize some employee gifts and other charitable uses. Good for Dunkin' Donuts for allowing us to truly customize our coffee, beyond the double foam whip one sugar latte.

Why Is Good Service So Hard To Find?

Brands spend millions of dollars trying to convince us to use their products or services. We make considered decisions to use service providers to conduct services, such as home services, that cost thousands of dollars. When we contract professionals to do these services, we expect professionalism, we expect that someone will treat you and your home with respect - not to mention your time and money.

Since I've been a homeowner, I've marveled at the disrespect and unprofessionalism that the many service providers have shown me and my family. Whether that be cable guys, plumbers, electricians, floor people, landscapers or movers. I've some good experiences, but far more marginal or poor at best. After each experience, I always find myself thinking "I should start an (insert service here) and I will make a killing if I just return people's calls or show up when I say I will.

Well, this week I had a poor brand experience with a company called Luna Carpet here in Chicago. We have just moved into a new (old) home and it needs some floor work. So, we asked around and some family members told us that they recently used Luna and had a great experience. So, I called the company and they had a salesperson at our door the next day.  Great start I thought. We decided to move forward with their quote. I showed them respect by not pulling the "Well, I have Empire or Home Depot coming out this afternoon and want your best price game". So, we schedule the installation for the following Thursday. They called me and told me they had to move it until Monday, sure no problemo I said. They showed up within their specified window and got started. Should have been a 5 hour job at most. He arrived at 2pm and at 9:30pm he was still going. This after he tried to talk me out of the complex technique I had paid for that he told me "was hard". I said, thats what I paid for bro and walked away. 

So, I asked him how much longer and he said around midnight. I chuckled and said, "Aaaah, no". What would give him the thought that he could stay in my home until midnight? So, he left. He left and he left my home a mess. There were staples all over the floor that my daughter or dog could step on, there was rug fuzz everywhere - it was trashed. He said he'd be back tomorrow. At 5pm the next day I called the company and said where is this guy? They told me he would be arriving around 7 for another 3 hours!!! I said No. They said he would be at my house at 8am the next day, sharp. Well, at 11am the next day after he hadn't showed and no call from the company, I called them back. They gave me a whole lot of excuses and told me he would be there in an hour. He showed up 4 hours late. And on top of all this, he was rude to my wife and when he was done left my house again trashed and a mess. Surely, the executives at Luna would want to know this. I have already told 10 people about my experience and who knows how much lost business Luna has experienced from not only me, but the people I've talked to.

Come on people, lets get it together.   

Crushing Product Placement

Of course I am a Sopranos junkie. And, of course I watched the finale on the edge of my microfiber couch. I'm not going to debate the substance of the finale of 86 episodes here, but I have been thinking about a very interesting brand placement in the finale. When Phillie Leotardo was killed at the gas station, the close-up of the Ford logo on the wheel that ultimately made sure he was whacked.

I wonder if Ford executives sold out to the millions and millions of people destined to watch the episodic, yet disappointing final episode of the Sopranos. If so, I would be shocked to learn that they would approve of their brand being juxtaposed with such an awful act of humanity.

I guess after all these years and all the time waited with baited breath to see how it would end, I still cant't get branding and brand placement off my mind. Or, would that be Phillie's mind? Sorry, couldn't resist.

What's Your Story?

The use of the customer testimonial in advertising has been a strategy ever since there was advertising. This has been especially true in the B2B world. I think that the use of customer testimonials was strong in the 90's as trust waned on advertisers (and still is). Now, with the surgence of customer generated media, brands are latching back onto a more authentic, raw form of the customer testimonial. I've seen three campaigns recently that use true customer stories, Home Depot, Cadillac and White Castle. Of the three, I like White Castle  the best because I find their stories the most insightful and supportive of their brand postioning. The commercial with the limo driver trying to get the car into the drive through is priceless. It shows an insight of anyone can crave White Castle at 3am, when they probably do most of their business. And, on their site they have a game that is Made Up or Straight Up where the visitor guesses which story is true. Plays nicely into their irreverent positoning.

Cadillac is executing a little differently. They are leveraging celebrities to tell their stories and are leveraging across all media - TV, Print and Online. I like this angle because it allows consumers to have their story right next to someone famous like Andy Garcia and Tiki Barber. It breaks down the walls between them, thus sending a subtle message that if you buy a Cadillac you will be more like them. Its taking celebrity endorsements to a new, more inclusive level.

Home Depot's execution is a little more conservative and straight down the middle. There really is nothing unique about how they decided to leverage the DIY stories. In fact, I found it quite boring. I like their online DIY webinars much better and would be more inclined to spend my time there. I can understand they want people to feel comfortable and if "they can do it, I can do it" feeling. But, I would have thought THD could have found a couple unusual twists to keep the consumer engaged.

Anyway, the strategy of testimonials are back with the authority shifting to the consumer. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of these from brands soon.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.