What's In A Brand ..... Just Ask APPLE

I often get the response from new clients that Branding isn't really necessary. Just come up with a good name for the company, go out an buy a logo for $10 (yes, you can do that), and start marketing.
"Why do I need to spend money on Branding ?" is the retort I hear when explaining the need for branding and its link to the mission and success of the business.

To prove my point I need go no farther than APPLE!  Once a broken company on the verge of bankruptcy Apple was the first company in the history of the world to cross the $1 trillion valuation mark - this happened last week when Apple climbed to $207.30 per share.

So, what did branding have to do with Apple's rise and record setting performance - EVERYTHING!

Steve Jobs, on his return to Apple as CEO, wrapped Apple in a very simple mission/branding discipline - to 'focus on simplicity and forward technology in their products'. Breaking from the personal computer Apple ventured into new realms - launch of iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, the Apple Watch in 2015, and introduced big-buck services like Apple Music and Apple Care (which some Wall Street analysts predict will be a $50b business within a year).

Apple stayed committed to their brand, which is currently the most highly valued in the world, to the extent that their products have and do command a premium price, ie. have 'brand equity'. Apple, through effective branding turned consumer' needs into wants and thus could charge more for what was the same or similar products vs. their competitors.

To put Apple's worth (valuation) at over $1T in perspective here are some comparisons:

- At $1T, Apple just falls short of the combined value of the four largest U.S. banks  (BofA, Citi, Chase,Wells) at $1.17T. 

- Apple's value is greater than the combined valuation of the top 24 auto makers in the world at $964B. Therefore, Apple is more valuable than GM, Benz, Toyota, Ford, VW, and 19 others altogether. 

- Apple is worth more than the entire American media industry, including: all of the major news publishers, TV channels, and media companies, including Netflix, AT&T, Disney, Fox, and CBS.

Which entity will be next to join Apple in the one-trillion dollar club?  Most likely it will be Amazon, Google, or Microsoft all three of which have valuations north of $750b. Amazon leads with a market value of about $825b. 

Keep in touch,
Jim Lavorato
Fund-House Ventures

Is Black Friday Getting DARKER!

Black Friday is no longer the post Thanksgiving shop-til-you-drop day. Black Friday has morphed into a shopping spree weekend - which runs from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday - it's a four or five day stretch that can literally make or break a business's profit for the year.  Hence the term 'Black Friday' - which signifies retailers' moving from YTD accounting losses ('in the red') to a profitable P&L ('in the black').

As the official kick-off of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday has evolved over the years. For example, 30 years ago no retailer had anyone on staff who managed social media accounts to help promote their sales or ecommerce staff who were tasked with creating a seamless online/in-store shopping experience. Yet, according to the Nationwide Marketing Group, 20% of all independent retailers don't have a website! That's one-in-five retailers with zero on-line presence. Granted, there may be particular reasons that a retailer may not require a website to market its product - but 20%!

Data show that last year, 64 million U.S. consumers shopped both in-store and on-line, while more than 58 million shopped on-line only. That's over 120 million Americans that logged onto some retail website and made a purchase during Black Friday weekend.

To further bolster the need for a retailer website, the data shows that multichannel consumers - those that shop both in-store and on-line - spent $82 more on average then the on-line only shopper and $49 more than the in-store shopper.

According to Adobe Analytics, the combined sales on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday for 2017 totaled $7.9b. Cyber Monday, $6.9b. That's not to say that traditional brick and mortar stores are losing significant holiday sales, but it does show that retailers have a great opportunity when using both ecommerce and in-store sales. Another interesting data point is that approx. 126 million people will be shopping on 'Super Saturday' or the last Saturday before Christmas.

2018 should be a stellar holiday shopping season and a sure record breaker in terms of spending given the great economy we are currently experiencing.

Best,
Jim Lavorato
Fund-House Ventures

Branding: It's All About DIFFERENTIATION

Fund-House Ventures, LLC

In Branding, the old adage "Different is better than better", could never be more wise than in today's business environment.  With the fierce level of competition we're experiencing simply being better than others does not create a sustainable competitive advantage and lasting brand equity. When competition is high, strengths matter less and differences matter more.

Differences grab attention. Differences invoke a response. Differences generate buzz.

To build a great brand you must focus on being different, but that difference must make a difference. Great brands are built on meaningful differentiation, and to be meaningful your differentiation needs to be:

Polarizing: Your brand does not need to please everyone, but to engage your target market really well. If your difference appeals to everyone, than it's probably not all that different. When your brand is truly different some people will hate your brand and others love it. And those that love it will buy it over and over again and pay a premium for it, extol it, and value it - you can't do that by promoting a difference with mainstream appeal.

Transcendent: Meaningful and lasting differentiation is rarely achieved with a new feature, technology, a one-off 'er'.  Everything is copied in the world we live in - all products, all services, the only thing that can't be copied is your Brand. You need to differentiate on purposes, values, personality.  These create an emotional connection and are almost impossible to imitate.

Substantive: Your brand's difference, its distinctiveness must be substantive and valuable. Today's consumer can see through most marketing ploys. So, your difference can't be only what you say, it must be what you do and what you are. You must be relevant, authentic, reliable, and trustworthy - if you have to tell consumers you are different, you're probably not.

Jim Lavorato
Principal
Fund-House Ventures, LLC
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