Jerome is a Robot Intervention Specialist and Photojojo Customer Lover. Julieanne a Dinosaur Resources Director and Photojojo Customer BFF.

Agile who provide password protection software, have their Crusaders and Happiness Engineers. The job titles are hip in keeping with the products they sell and the image they want to project.

Everyone is on first name terms. The message, the antithesis of British Rail and BT, nothing stuffy or corporate here.

The  language used by companies like Photojojo and Agile is part of a growing trend. Brand fans placed front of house. More formally known as employees. Are they happy? Do they love their work. You bet… as happy as a pig in shit.

Companies like Photojojo and Agile wouldn’t be caught dead using the title Customer Services – and given the rather dark and checkered history of that particular department not without reason. Customer Services is no longer about problems but possibilities.

Innocent and Howies have both used this strategy to flag their differences, build their brand community and along with it their profit margins. Rather than telling us they are passionate they employ people who are all too keen to show us.

Many companies have been quick to copy what appears to be a winning  formula. And not without reason. Copying what works, is less time consuming, less risky and ultimately requires less investment.

In the late 80’s and 90‘s the Japanese managed to turn the art of copying into a science and with great success. Recent developments in technology have accelerated the ability of companies to copy successful products and services.

But copying a culture is not the same as copying a product or service. Cultures are peculiar to the environments they inhabit and the histories inherited. Complex and grown overtime they are nigh on impossible to duplicate. The language they use an expression of who they are.

The success of companies like Howies and Innocent has little to do with what they say or how they say it. The formula isn’t a formula. It just looks like that now. Now that its been proven to work. Now that everyone wants to copy it.

Hip and east coast might be a good place to start if you are hip and from the east coast but not if you’re flogging mops in Macclesfield.

Sticky brands don’t do formula. They simply do themselves. The language they use a happy by-product.

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agile, brand language, howies, innocent, photojojo

I recently bought a book at a well known chain of bookstores in Manchester.  Handing it over the cashier asked if I had read any others by the author. “What a great read, wonderful writer” she beamed, enthused – almost.

A few weeks later and same thing happened again, the only difference the location, Chiswick, London. Surely nothing wrong with having staff who are friendly, share your passion for books and are interested to find out what you think? If it were true then  nothing at all. The problem was I didn’t believe it. On both occasions I had the uneasy feeling of having just stepped into an episode of the Stepford Wives.

Perhaps all the staff had been chipped. Programmed to respond according to, and in alignment with, the latest tranche of market research on how to make customers feel wanted, welcome, dare I say it; loved.

Intrigued I decided to do a bit of impromptu market research and hung out around the gift card section, next to the cash desk. Although hardly a reliable piece of research it did seem to confirm my worst fears. “John Grisham. He’s such a good read. Have you read…”  While the book and customer were interchangeable the dialogue remained much the same.

For most companies being ‘professional’ is all about presenting a consistent experience. According to conventional wisdom this should leave the customer feeling that the staff have been friendly, helpful and welcoming. Always wear a smile – I remember that one from my ‘Uni’ shelf-packing days at Safeway. Needless to say we always did wear a smile as soon as we got through the front door and headed for home.

The trouble with the professional approach is that it robs us of the one thing that can make a brand really sticky – people. According to this school of branding not only does the burger you eat need to be consistent from one store and one town to the next the staff who serve it need to be equally consistent.

This ‘prescriptive approach’ to customer service which is an integral part of the brand comes from a desire to control environments rather than create them. There is little room for intuition, creativity or mistakes. The desire for control effectively removes any spontaneity and freedom. The result is for the most part consistent inauthenticity.

Spaces that are created from the desire to pass on the brands vision are quite different from those created from the desire to control. The first invites customer to participate in the companies sense of purpose. The offer is clear, nothing hidden, take it or leave it. You know what’s on offer when you walk into an Apple shop or an Abercrombie and Fitch. The second, far from achieving the desired effect of comfort and safety, can often leave customers feeling guarded. In this space, one that is controlled rather than created, the best that can be hoped for is a truly forgettable experience.

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James Forman (Tod) Sloan

The phrase ‘on your tod’ comes from the Cockney rhyming slang, Tod Sloan – alone. While the saying has stuck the person who helped coin the phrase, James Forman (Tod) Sloan, has long since faded from memory.

The more I read about Sloan’s life the more I was struck by how his outlook and the challenges he faced were very similar to those faced by companies and entrepreneurs  who, not content with business as usual, have gone on to create some seriously sticky brands.

Born in Indiana in 1874 James Forman (Tod) Sloan’s life didn’t get off to a promising start. Rejected by his parents and left to fend for himself Sloan overcame almost impossible odds to become one of the world’s best-known sportsmen and the greatest jockey of the late 20th century. The song I’m a Yankee Doodle dandy, was based on Sloan’s life. *

Undoubtedly Sloan was a gifted rider but it was his unconventional approach to riding that was to set him, quite literally, head and shoulders over his competitors. While other jockeys used long stirrups Sloan used short stirrups. By positioning himself over the animals centre of gravity he enabled the horse to achieve its maximum speed. Sloan was not the first to use this style of riding but he was the first to adopt and adapt it for professional horse racing.

Having won every race there was to win in his native North America he travelled to England – the epicentre of the horse racing world. In 1897 the Prince of Wales engaged Sloan as his principle jockey. At the age of 23 Tod Sloan was the undisputed king of the horse racing world.

While the America press were far from complimentary about his unorthodox style of riding the British press were, true to form, positively caustic, referring to Sloan as the ‘monkey jockey.’  Far from being praised for his winning ways Sloan was mocked.

The Jockey Club, a stalwart of convention, did not approve of Sloan’s maverick behavior and in 1900 the club’s steward, Lord Durham, stepped up pressure on the Prince of Wales to have Sloan fired. In 1901 Sloan, no longer in the employ of the Prince of Wales, was informed by The Jockey Club that he need not re-apply for a license.

Sloan never raced again. The Cockney rhyming slang that was to far out last his fame proved to be an all too prophetic one. Sloan died in 1933 impoverished and alone or as the Cockney rhyming slang would have it ‘on his tod’.

The phrase may well be slipping from everyday use – my son who is 15 has never heard of it – but Sloan’s unorthodox style of riding which is the one used by every jockey in the world today looks like it’s here to stay. Unless of course….

Like most entrepreneurs who go on to create sticky brands, Sloan cared less about what others thought and more about what he did. An attitude that allowed him to look outside the confines of his profession and change the way things were done. When the going got tough, and you can bet your bottom dollar it will, Sloan’s disadvantaged background gave him the drive to keep on going. Like many entrepreneurs before him and since Sloan was a born maverick.

But I can’t help thinking that there is one big difference between Sloan and the Apples, Body Shops, Howies and Innocents of this world. And that difference is Vision. While Sloan shared their passion, talent, and ambition there is nothing in his story to suggest that he wanted to change anything other than his own world.

Sloan, like so many driven men and women and the companies they have created wasn’t moving toward something but simply trying to escape from it. Ultimately those entrepreneurs and companies that are driven purely by fear and the need to grow ever richer and larger with the sole aim of putting as much distance between themselves and their fear are, sooner or later, bound to come a cropper.

Perhaps if Sloan had had a vision of how horse racing ‘could be’ he would have changed more than just the way jockeys ride and in the course of doing so a small part of the English language.

*‘The Yankee Doodle Boy’ By George M. Cohan

I’m a Yankee Doodle dandy,

A Yankee Doodle, do or die;

I’m a Yankee Doodle dandy,

A Yankee Doodle, do or die;

A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam’s,
Born on the Fourth of July.
I’ve got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart,
She’s my Yankee Doodle joy.
Yankee Doodle came to London,
Just to ride the ponies,
I am a Yankee Doodle boy.

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A few years ago I was involved in some research for a shoe manufacturer. The brand had a reputation for being sensible, hard wearing and comfortable.

They wanted to launch a new range of shoes; ones their customers would buy because they were stylish and sexy. Like most companies they wanted a slice of a market that until now had eluded them.

The company had the designers, the technology, the financial muscle and the distribution network to achieve their ambition – they were global players.  What soon became apparent was that their values reflect their Nordic sensibilities. These values were collective not individualistic, solid rather than overtly sexy and erred on sensible. In other words what they didn’t have were stylish, sexy values.

In order for that company to produce shoes that were inherently sexy and stylish they’d have to step away from their existing cultural values and adopt a culture and a set of values that was inherently alien to them. That wasn’t going to happen.

Over the last six or eight years I’ve seen and in some cases been involved with research initiatives in which global brands have invested significant amounts of money and time to break into markets which are alien to the brands’ core values.

The pickings look rich – irresistibly so and besides if you don’t do it someone else will. In the rush to stay on top and take advantage of the next biggest thing brand values are often ignored or worse reinvented.

It’s as if Harley Davidson had decided to get into the moped market.  Sounds outrageous but what about Porches foray in the 4×4 market?  Or Hummer moving into the luxury car market? Whilst it is possible to mine those profits in the short term the damage done to the brand in the long term is likely to outweigh any opportunistic short term gains. Growing a business at the expense of the brand can be costly in the long run.

Successful brand stretch is not so much linked to the product – we do toothpaste therefore we can do toothbrushes, mouthwash, chewing gum – but to the core values that define the brand territory. Stepping away from those core values confuses customers, muddies the brand message and ultimately damages the brand premium.

Brands that have been successful in moving from one territory to another have always remained true to their core values.  Lucozade’s move from being a drink you gave to kids who were feeling under the weather to one consumed by athletes was in keeping with its core values around health.  Marks and Spencer where able to reinvigorate the brand by going back to its core values of innovation married to value and quality.

Those brands that ignore their own brand heritage and the values that go with that heritage invariably end up looking like the proverbial ugly sister.

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Kweku Adoboli It's always the ones you least suspect

Anyone who is in any doubt as to the power of values and the extent to which they drive a business and its financial outcomes need look no further than UBS. The latest ‘rogue’ trader to run up losses of £1.3 billion is a junior who rose up the ranks from the back office-trading floor.

UBS are not the only bank or company to be blighted by rogue syndrome. In the last year and a half we have had rogue reporters, rogue MP’s, and rogue policemen. In each case there has been a call for stricter regulations, more checks and balances more transparency. Historically these measures have a poor track record treating as they do the symptoms rather than the cause.

UBS who has a history of rogue traders, dating back to at least 1998, had according to their latest press release put in stringent safeguards to prevent such a thing ever happening again. Interestingly the only difference between UBS’s 1998 losses and those incurred  in 2011 is the amount which is three times larger than that lost in 1998.

In the game of Monopoly that is investment banking the win lose stakes are high. Those that are prepared to take the risks can expect to pick up their own slice of Mayfair. Those that gamble and lose don’t pass go, don’t collect their £200 and risk going straight to jail.

Risk, the core value that drives this carrot and stick game has created an American ‘frat’ house culture. The basic entry level requirement for ‘frat’ members is the willingness and the ‘balls’ to take risks.  As part of this rite of passage new members can also expect to undergo a series of hazing (harassment) rituals from other more seasoned members of the club.

The real power of these value driven cultures lies not in their financial rewards, which is the icing on the cake, but in the fraternity they create, frat coming from the Greek ‘frater’ which means brother. The club’s uncompromising rules to entry are designed to foster feelings of privilege and belonging. Once inside there are some clear, if unspoken guidelines, on how to improve your standing.

Junior members more than anyone else are required to prove they have the balls to embrace the company’s risk taking culture. The more able they are to effectively embrace that culture, the bigger their balls, the more power they can exert. The more power you can exert the safer you are. Ironically for those traders working in investment banking safety comes from taking ever-greater risks.

The value driven cultures that epitomize those found in investment banking are inward looking. The ability to accumulate the all important cultural trophies of money and status, are what really counts. Loyalty is to the group anything that might threaten the group becomes the enemy.

How effective will new legislation, increased safety checks and balances be in curbing the excessive risk taking and the hazing that helps to perpetuate it? If the same legislation that was used to ban the excessive hazing techniques in frat houses in the states is anything to go by, not very effective at all. Frat houses have longevity and resistance to change built into their DNA.

The UBS PR machine would have us believe that Kweku Adoboli, the junior trader at the centre of the latest UBS debacle, is a bad apple, a rogue trader that slipped through the net. The reality is that most rogue traders are not unprincipled outcasts  waiting for the chance to buck the system, they are the system.

I don’t think anyone would argue that it takes a certain kind of balls to rack up £1.3 billion in loses. Unfortunately for Kweku Adoboli the only balls he’s likely to be carrying around for the forceable future will be those attached to his ankles.

On the bright side a stretch in goal might give him plenty of time to reflect on the values that have lead to his demise. We can only hope those companies and organisations who have been effected by rogue syndrome will do the same.  If the UBS track record is anything to go by I wouldn’t bank on it.

The Telegraph

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Compared to the other celeb chefs – Delia, Nigela, Jamie, Heston, et. al, the Gordon brand is looking a little less wholesome these days. You could argue that Gordon never fostered the wholesome look but that would be missing the point. The fact that Gordon swore, and swore a lot, was a refreshing admission of honesty. Gordon’s off screen persona was the same as his on screen persona. He was authentic. Hurrah!

Like most authentic brands he alienated and delighted TV viewers in equal measure. A virtuous circle of publicity that most companies can only dream about, the more people complained the more people watched. TV viewers had acquired a taste for Gordon’s straight talking no nonsense approach.

In a bid to take a larger slice of the ratings Gordon Ramsay decided to serve up his family and with it more of his off screen persona. Gordon the loving husband, Gordon the good dad, out hunting with his son. But like most politicians who are all too happy to feed their family to the media the strategy was doomed to leave a bitter taste. The press who had seen this one more times than ‘The hills are alive with the sound of music’, licked their lips in anticipation. Rat was on the menu.

Gordon had started out serving good honest meat and two veg and then he added the family to the mix. What had looked like authentic fare now started to look like more like porkie pies.

The first batch of porkie pies to emerge from the Ramsay kitchen involved revelations about Gordon’s steamy love life. Not long after this we had the frozen food affair. The latest porkie pie to make its way onto our tables involves the dodgy dicing of a trailer to promote his latest and aptly named Kitchen Nightmares USA.

Reveille Productions, who produce the show with Shine TV, told Entertainment Weekly: “We have reviewed the footage and it’s clear that the scene was enhanced in post-production.”

Evidently Reveille Productions hadn’t quite mastered the soufflé edit – the art of making small groups of people expand into large crowds. If you are going to cheat it probably pays not to use a fat chap in a bright red jacket as the main character for cloning. News Corp International would never have employed a company like Reveille Productions.  Amateurs.

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branding, Gordon Ramsay, Values

In their book ‘The Breakthrough Zone’ the authors Mac Andrews and Roy Langmaid offer a salutary piece of advice to all marketing, brand and PR managers. ‘If a customer is pissed don’t resist or they will persist.’

The Breakthrough Zone

In other words if someone has a bone to pick it’s probably a really good idea to listen – a message that has no doubt been taken to heart by United Airlines. Other brands caught on the hop include File Makers Bento which interestingly no longer has any star rating on the Apple site.

For better or worse customers now have a voice, somewhat bigger than Brian Blessed’s, and are intent on using it. In today’s digital landscape Messer’s Langmaid and Andrews advice has about it an added sense of  urgency. That little drip if left unchecked can all too quickly turn into a virtual torrent. Ignore a disgruntled customer and before you know it your brand can end up looking like a public urinal.

Live streaming content. Mmm! Nasty.

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Co creation. That perennial buzzword is once again upon us, in fact has been for sometime. Rather like Halley’s comet its appearance leaves some transfixed and others holding their breath sure that nothing good can come of it.

In a recent co-creative initiative Kraft decided that customers should be invited to come up with the name for their new more spreadable version of Vegemite. Whilst there is nothing new about investing customers with participatory powers, Kraft had already used this method to name the original vegemite, somewhere along the way the plot appears to have been lost.

By handing over responsibility for the naming of the brand this little spot of ‘co-creation’ had accident waiting to happen written all over it.

And so it was that users of this, one of Kraft’s flagship brands were asked together with a panel of online voters to speak their minds and cast their vote.

The decree was handed down and duly enacted.

From that day hence new even more spreadable Vegemite would be known throughout the land as iSnack 2.0.

Simon Talbot, head of Kraft corporate affairs was according to an article written for brandchannel, reported as saying…

“Vegemite iSnack2.0 was chosen based on its personal call to action, relevance to snacking and clear identification of a new and different Vegemite to the original.”

Yes indeed.

Will there be a Vegemite iSnack3.0?

Given that nothing spreads faster than bad news I don’t think we’ll have to hold our breath for too long.

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