Importance of Branding vs. Generational Changes

How important is it to create a company or product brand and then stick with it? I'd say very important, because all of the big brands have done a great of doing this. In most cases, just by seeing a popular brand's logo, colors or trademark statement will make you think of their them or their product. But, what happens when your company or product has been around so long that your brand doesn't market well with your target audience, and you must make changes in order to gain their interest. I'd argue that is equally as important.

I read an interesting article in The New York Times Business section today about the Walt Disney Company's new product. For decades, the Walt Disney Company has kept the $5 billion dollar image of Mickey Mouse frozen under glass, fearful that even the smallest changes could tarnish the brand. However, the Walt Disney Company is concerned that Mickey has become more of a corporate symbol than a beloved character for recent generations of young people. Now, Disney is taking the risky step of re-imagining him for the future.

The first step in Mickey's transition will appear next year when a new video game, Epic Mickey, in which the formerly squeaky clean character can be cantankerous and cunning, as well as heroic, as he traverses a forbidding wasteland. At the same time, in a parallel but separate effort, Disney has quietly embarked on an even larger project, to rethink the character’s personality from the way Mickey walks and talks, to the way he appears on the Disney Channel and how children interact with him on the Web, even what his house looks like at Disney World.

This week, the project got even more excitement to start after the announcement that, after 20 years of negotiations, the company has finally received the blessing of the Chinese government to open a theme park in Shanghai. This will potentially unlock a new giant market for all things Mickey.The Disney executives are moving carefully, and trying to keep a low profile, as they discuss how much they dare tweak one of the most durable characters in pop culture history to induce new generations of texting, tech-savvy kids to embrace him. Disney executives will keenly watch how Epic Mickey is received, to inform the broader overhaul.

While Mickey remains a superstar in many homes, particularly overseas, his popularity has not grown, but stayed stationary. This has resulted because of the new generation of Americans, those who grew up with Nickelodeon and Pixar. They know him, but may not love him. Domestic sales in particular have declined: of his $5 billion in merchandise sales in 2009, less than 20 percent will come from the United States.

I have no doubt that Disney will do a good job rebuilding the Mickey brand. The Walt Disney Company is has a long history of meeting their customer's wants exceptionally.

After some research, here are what I believe are the best branding tips for any company or product:

• Defining your brand. Defining your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions: What is your company's mission? What are the benefits and features of your products or services? What do your customers and prospects already think of your company? What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?
• Stand for something. People latch on to something they can understand and appreciate.
• Integrate your brand. Branding extends to every aspect of your business--how you answer your phones, what you or your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, everything.
• Do what you say you’re going to do. I know it may sound like common sense, but one of the primary drivers of brand loyalty is a consistent experience.
• Realize that you’re not in control of your brand. That’s right, you only set the direction for your brand. Your actual brand image is determined by your audience.
• Branding is as much about your people as anything else. Never forget that the best interactions come from one-on-one conversations between executives, employees, suppliers, and customers. Employees that want to help and do the best job possible go a long way.