Asymmetry, Hyperconnectedness and the Elevator Pitch

We are moving into a fundamentally different world. The inherent asymmetry of market relationships is being hyper activated in this many-to-many world. It is our argument that this is a really big event in the function of market economies, just as the same emerging technologies are radically challenging the political landscape of democracies and dictatorships alike.

For enterprises and brands to be able to succeed in the new world order it will require real change to the internal distribution of authority. Everyone has a set of rules that inform their choices and decision-making. This is as true in business as it is in all other aspects of life. We are making claim for the role of the old-fashioned elevator pitch as the center of a brand’s rule set. And its essential value is not its extensiveness, but rather its purity.

The well-known elevator pitch has been a standard tool for marketing teams for years. Don’t know it? It goes like this:

You step into an elevator and bump into the CEO of a potential major client. You have the opportunity to present your offer. Could you succinctly communicate the core of your offer and your brand in the time it takes to ride the elevator up a few floors?

That is the elevator test, and as legend goes you need to be able to pass it, because if you don’t understand the core value of your brand’s offer, then how will anyone else? And why will they choose you over your competitors? The purpose of the elevator pitch has been to craft communication to the consumer, to hook them in to wanting to know more and to show you have a wealth of substance bubbling beneath.

The value of the elevator pitch, is that it uniquely defines your brand as the resolution to the consumer’s need. For the right consumer, the language, colour, form and content of every aspect of your brand should resonate deeply and positively. Your brand’s elevator pitch is what makes them all resonate and ensures that there is no dissonance in the signals your consumer interprets.

So far, and so good, but what makes this anything other than the old marketing trope?

1. To begin with almost no one ever executes properly, and like the SWOT analysis its use is often abuse
2. Most importantly though, in a world of social media, brands now live in a metaphorical elevator of entirely unpredictable exchanges

Back in the day, a brand lived in a one-to-many world where the central planning brand god could design a coordinated representation of every aspect of the brand’s core values. Now, in our many-to-many world of #independencesquare and #insertyoursuckybrandhere campaigns, a successful CEO simply can’t be a control freak. That consumer comment that became a campaign won’t stop while you workshop your response. And without a brand control mechanism a decentralized structure can see an ill-advised response from a customer service officer write off decades of goodwill.

The essential statement that passes the elevator test enables a brand’s responsiveness to the unexpected encounter with the consumer. Success depends on more than an immediate response; it requires a response that is consistent with the values and intentions of the brand. A widely and completely understood statement of what makes your brand unique allows the frontline managers of your brand to make coherent and timely decisions. This is the secret value of the elevator pitch.

Asymmetry is not a bug, it is an essential characteristic of the market economy that has only been heightened in our hyper connected world. A brand and a business strategy should fit hand in glove. Too often though, the pressures of the day mean those who lead organisations are focused on ‘what must be done’ to keep up in the game. While in the act of coordinating all those decisions it is easy to lose focus on exactly what it is that makes your brand special to the only individual that matters.

Universally, every individual has a future state of being they intend to achieve. This is as true for buyers of tinned foods as it is for those interested in sports cars or professional services. Every individual acts on their intentions, and the attainment of those intentions requires them to resolve the constraints that act upon them. In doing so, the individual becomes a consumer.

A business’ brand and strategy both play a role in resolving the constraints of particular consumers. Every brand is defined in a unique response to the specific constraints of their own history and their present choices. For example, money is money and equities are equities yet no two pension or superannuation funds are alike. The shareholders of Aston Martin may wish to be as dominant as Porsche or Ferrari, however they are no more likely to produce a 911 Turbo than they are to produce a Transit van. This is a product of their essential values we perceive as brand.

The symmetry of commitment and power are defining characteristics of all relationships. The importance of that is no greater anywhere than in the free exchange of markets. Any consumer’s commitment is to their intention and almost never to a specific solution. By comparison, a business is committed to a specific solution defined by their intention and constraints. Business executives are committed to a ceaseless series of choices. What they do to allow for that moment of consumer choice is extraordinarily complex, and the value of all that activity is entirely dependent on that single act of consumer choice.

There is an inherent asymmetry to the relationship. In the entire history of the modern sports car a consumer has been able to consistently understand why you chose a Porsche or an Aston Martin. During that time it had next to nothing to do with type of carburetor or the location of the engine. And yet, the overwhelming demand on management is for focus on the detail of production. Nonetheless, if you can’t immediately describe the essence of your company’s unique resolution to constraints faced by a consumer you are bound to fail in that asymmetric relationship.

Young mums in Shanghai, the global head of manufacturing for Big Digger Inc., and a self-funded retiree all have unique constraints to the world they seek. We can’t ever know the specific subjective and relative basis for the choices they make. If we hope to win the asymmetric battle of attention we need to be able to describe the essence of our brand character in one fluid statement. If you can’t do that, why should those you seek to influence be able to do so? To sustain long-term success that statement needs to consistently inform every action undertaken by everyone who is a party to your brand. To carry out its essential function in a hyper connected world that single statement will capture almost all the value your brand ever offers.

Repost: Bellamy’s Organic’s winning formula impresses on ASX debut

“But the most important thing we’ve done is develop a brand.” – Laura McBain, CEO

See original article HERE www.smartcompany.com.au Wednesday, 06 August 2014 1:42

by ELOISE KEATING

Investors have welcomed Tasmanian baby food producer Bellamy’s Organic onto the Australian Stock Exchange with open arms.

Shares in the formerly family-owned company were initially offered at $1 but trading in the stocks opened at $1.31 at 11am on Tuesday before quickly rising to $1.34.

At the time of publication, the stocks were trading at $1.38.

The strong debut has given the business a market capitalisation of more than $120 million, significantly higher than the $95 million indicated by the initial public offering.

One of the shareholders keen to secure a piece of Bellamy’s was BRW Rich Lister Bruce Neill, whose company Quality Life has snapped up a 8.62% share in the organic food producer, according to Fairfax.

Twenty-five million shares were offered in the initial public offering, with the total number of shares in the company now totalling 2.2 billion.

As previously reported by SmartCompany, the IPO also allowed Kathmandu founder and former BRW Rich Lister Jan Cameron to sell down her stake in the business.

Bellamy’s Organic managing director Laura McBain described the debut as “outstanding”, telling SmartCompany this morning the strong result “shows the confidence investors have in the Australian food industry, not just within Australia but in other countries too.”

McBain says the good news for the company was also boosted yesterday with one of Bellamy’s long-term partners, dairy producer Tatura Milk Industries, receiving official accreditation as a supplier of certified organic baby formula in China.

“This is something we had expected to occur, it’s great for us,” says McBain. “It’s a great time for us to be able to let everyone know our growth strategy is on track.”

Bellamy’s Organic was founded as a family business in Launceston in 2004, before being purchased by investor group Tasmania Pure Foods in 2007. The company produces around 30 products which are 100% Australian-made and certified organic.

McBain describes Bellamy’s journey from a “mum and dad business in Tassie” to an ASX-listed company as “an amazing story”.

“It’s a little bit of creating your own timing,” says McBain. “And you’ve got to be ready to take the opportunities as they arrive.”

McBain says Bellamy’s “started out with just a few people doing lots of things”, but over time the company has built the infrastructure and processes it needed.

“But the most important thing we’ve done is develop a brand.”

“Bellamy’s is a trusted brand and mums really engage with it,” says McBain.

“And we’ve made sure the brand is not just for Australian mums but resonates with every mum around the globe.”

Partnerships with other suppliers, such as Tatura Milk, have been essential to Bellamy’s success, says McBain.

“Partnerships are really important. We’re really good at what we do and [our partners] are great at doing what they do. It’s a great model to integrate our experience and knowledge and work collaboratively,” she says.

Janine Cox, senior analyst at Wealth Within, told SmartCompany Bellamy’s strong debut is a “great result for the people who have invested in the stock and the company”.

But Cox says it’s important to “factor in we’re in a bull market” and that can influence whether or not a stock exceeds expectation.

Cox says Bellamy’s debut also highlights the importance of timing for companies preparing to float, and believes the company gained popularity because it “offers something a bit different”.

Cox says the real test for Bellamy’s will be the in the three to 12 months after listing, as more information becomes publicly available about the company.

FMCG Motivating Consumer Choice – A case study in Authenticity

Becoming a significant premium consumer brand in FMCG when you are a start up is a lot like Australia winning Gold at the winter Olympics. Differentiating your brand and motivating consumer choice in the FMCG space is the big challenge, especially when you’re building that loyalty in the broader mass market from a niche like organic. It’s a whole new level of hard when you don’t have the budget to support mainstream media to drive brand awareness. Social media may be free to an extent (Facebook’s new obstacles to achieving reach notwithstanding) but requires a more significant investment in people costs than many people realise. In the end, it means the whole lot rides on the effectiveness of product packaging to make the clearest possible statement about your brand’s authenticity.

Originally founded as a producer of organic fruit snacks and cereals, Bellamy’s Organic needed a rebrand to allow it to succeed in its strategic intent. No one had established one consistent master brand to cover infant formula through baby food to preteen in Australian FMCG. The product packaging needed a complete makeover to present a cohesive brand presence across the range. The essential challenge to communicate authenticity was particularly important in a sector that was under growing consumer scrutiny in Asian markets, and the very meaning of organic itself was subject to increasing rigour in established markets.

The key elements to success in the packaging redesign included a number of outwardly small but critical changes that had a dramatic impact on consumer perception. The results for the Bellamy’s brand have been beyond question. On their own, 12% market share in Australia would be a great achievement (ref). When that growth has been achieved at the top of the market it provides Bellamy’s with so many more options for continuing growth.

In order to communicate authenticity around ‘best for baby’, certified organic and Australian made, a design language was developed that could be applied across the entire range, but not constrained to just baby. These changes strengthened the associations with realness, nature and purity.

A particular tone of sky blue that draws the eye in the heavily artificial environment of the supermarket was chosen to replace the original copper sulphate blue brand banner. Combined with green foliage and white, it serves as an emotionally relevant natural backdrop for the continued hero and focus – children.

Something that many Australians only realise when they re-enter the country is how much space we have. That expansive clear blue sky is the brand banner covering the top of the packaging. So we broke the rules with the use of blue that is deeply symbolic of an Australian source. Contrary to the general direction in the category the template deliberately used real imagery over animations. The realness of photographic images signals real ingredients, real food, in the real lives of consumers.

A new Bellamy’s seal was stamped on the front of each product as an affirmation of what Bellamy’s stand for. This was supported by independent certification relevant to particular markets on the back of the pack. A deliberate decision was made to make product information always as legible as space allowed. Bellamy’s are proud of their product and literally have nothing to hide. There is no fine print.

Special effort was put into communication of how the products should be prepared, as well as offering extra health information about ingredients to highlight the brand’s focus on providing nutritious food for babies and children.

A critical objective was to eliminate any sense of dissonance. Consumer choice is always and everywhere preceded by the avoidance of risk. This is more certain for parents choosing food for their children than in any other category. Therefore establishing Bellamy’s as an authentic brand demanded that we unify all these signals to leave a parent in no doubt about the credibility of Bellamy’s as a safe and healthy choice. Today, Bellamy’s stands out, as an authentic brand parents across Asia Pacific know they can personally invest in.