Coke delivers a memorable brand experience to students

This is a brilliant idea. [Found it at AdPulp]

It's a really clever and memorable way to deliver a brand experience to students that will delight...be remembered for a long time...and, most importantly, get talked about.

This film will also get passed-on, thus delivering this positive brand experience message to a wider audience.

I love it.

[I don't always love everything Coke do.]

'Delivering Happiness' provides another key to success

Zappos - Tony Robbins - Business Mastery - 01-16-10

View more presentations from zappos.

Zappos is an awesome company.

I have posted before about how Tony Hsieh (CEO) leads a brand organisation that, in my view, is a 'black belt' in delivering winning Brand Experiences; fuelled by their commitment to 'WOWing every customer.'

The above was presented by Hsieh at a recent Tony Robbins - Business Mastery.

Powerful stuff.

It is definitely worth a read. It has so much great stuff in it. Two key points for me:

• Zappos absolute focus on vision, culture and customer service.
• How this focus drives word of mouth and repeat customers (check-out the compelling reveue numbers on page 7).

Look-out for his book 'Delivering Happiness' being published in June 2010. It will almost certainly become a must-read for anyone serious about building a brand organisation that recognises the importance of delivering consumer Brand Experiences that WOW consumers and drive advocacy.

Why don't more airlines WOW their passengers?

I talk about airlines quite a lot.

Airlines should be masters of delivering brand experiences that delight consumers.

I regular fly BA and they are pretty good.

I have moaned about Ryan Air.

I have enthused about SW airlines.

I want to enthuse about SW again because, although I have never travelled with them, I read a lot of positive stories about them.

And no wonder....a quick look at their mission statement says it all:

"The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit."

They obviously walk the talk.

This video is a great example of how employees look for ways to WOW the consumer... so they have a great brand experience...probably choose SW again...and may be even tell their friends/advocate SW airlines.

Other airlines - particularly low cost airlines - should take note

Circuit City cost cutting madness

I was disappointed to read in Retail Customer Experience about the demise of Circuit City in US last year.

I was also surprised.

I first come across Circuit City in the book Good to Great "Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't" [I’m based in UK so never visited one of their stores]. In the book Circuit City are hailed as a successful organisation because they followed a number of 'success principles' identified by Jim Collins (an American ‘business guru’).

So, what was the reason for their demise?

They neglected the in-store brand experience.

In the Customer Experience article there is a quote from Jason Goldberg, VP marketing for MTI, who was on the team that designed the in-store experience for Circuit City in the 1990s:

“They made the dramatic step of cutting their most expensive salaries and in the process, eliminated what remained of their most loyal high quality sales staff,"

..."They were left with a store that required great sales staff, and no experienced sales staff to support it."

In an age when brand experience is a key differentiator Circuit City’s decision was crazy.

If you don’t deliver a great brand experience when consumers are buying then they will either not buy or not come again. On the other hand, if you deliver an experience that WOWs then they are much more likely to buy, buy again and may be even tell their friends. The power of word-of-mouth/advocacy is well understood.

Staff are the clearly the main drivers of a good in-store experience so cutting best staff is always likely to create a problem.

This is an important lesson for any retailer considering cutting staff cost in these difficult times.

This Gap ad is fabulous

I noticed this Gap ad recently (thanks to Shear Creativity).

It is vibrant, colourful, engaging and guaranteed to make you smile.

I love it.

My favourite Brand Experience Matters posts

I can’t believe it has been just over one year since I started this blog.

114 posts later and I still have so much I want to say...

Anyway, as seems to be customary at the start of a New Year, I thought I would highlight what I think may be my top ten posts:

• Brand usage – the opportunity
• Brand experiences to get a brand chosen
• Brand experience is strategy, not a slogan
• Winning brands understand the power of emotion
• Importance of a brand experience culture
• Deliver customer brand experiences that build sales
• Advocacy must be a focus for the whole brand organisation, not just marketing
• Delight consumers. Show you care. Make them talk about you
• Marketing departments must look beyond just making the brand promise
• I’m a customer that has become the ad agency for Nikoi Island

Thanks for visiting my blog and come back soon.