Lean Branding

Chapter 9. Brand Rechannel

Imagine it’s the year 1969. Elvis is king, Nixon is president, and you are grounded. While everyone else and their mom are figuring out a way to get to Woodstock, you are locked in trying to figure out how to build and sell this product. How can you get a large amount of people to know about the product, and hopefully buy? Well, it’s 1969, so let me show you your options:

• Radio

• TV

• Phone

• Print ads

• Snail mail

• Trade shows and conventions

How does that sound? No Internet, no email, no websites, no pay-per-click ads, no cellphones, and definitely no social networking sites. Now consider the overwhelming costs of running an ad on TV when it still reigned in households. Think about your idea, your budget, and the type of advertising that you might have been able to afford. Imagine the uncertainty of not knowing who saw your message, for how long, and how much that cost you. Other than reach approximations and vague sales impact estimates, your return on investment was a giant question mark.

Fortunately, it’s not the year 1969. Our communication channel options have never been as open, accessible, and measurable. Never have we been able to tap into specific niche communities like we can today. Does your brand need to talk to moms? There’s an online community for that. Are you looking for college students who might like your product? There’s a social network for that. Is your brand’s audience an elite group of vinyl record collectors? Trust me: there are hundreds of blogs ...