Don Draper on Branding



In anticipation of next week’s premier of the second season of the fantastic original series Mad Men on the AMC network, I wanted to share and discuss this scene from last season of the show’s main character Don Draper pitching Kodak’s Carousel slide projector.

This scene is set in the fictional 1960’s Madison Avenue advertising agency that is the primary setting of the show; a time that’s well before the term “branding” was in common use. This is back when ad agencies were hired to recommend the core positioning of their client’s product or service and communicate that position to the public on their behalf. This is what we call branding today -- connecting the core message of the product to the consumer and setting the expectation of performance. Unfortunately today most ad agencies skip positioning and just ask their clients what they want to say and are really just in business to find clever ways to say it. I should know, as earlier in my career it was my job to do the asking; now it’s to do the recommending.

In this clip Don Draper explains to the executives from Kodak that it is not the new technology of the slide projector wheel that will resonate with the costumer, but rather that customers need to “be engaged in a level beyond flash” and they must be able to have a “sentimental bond with the product”. Well said Don! This is exactly what branding is all about and what every product or service must have at the core of its brand - an emotional trigger that causes the customer to react and connect to what benefit that brand delivers.

At my firm we like to use Volvo as a great example of a brand that has the concept of Safety as the emotional trigger at the core of its brand – the one thing that their customers have been responding to – and Volvo has been delivering -- consistently for decades. Safety is great as there is not much stronger of an emotional motivator than self-preservation and protecting one’s family. In the clip, Draper taps into the emotional nostalgia and memories of one’s own childhood and family – which he demonstrates by showing slides of his own - and concludes by saying “it takes us to a place where we ache to go again…..it’s not called a wheel, it’s called a carousel”.

Whether this is an accurate depiction of how Kodak came up with the name Carousel for their rotating slide projector or not is anyone’s guess, but it’s definitely a product name that clearly and compellingly evokes the emotions of personal memories. More importantly though, this product actually delivers on that promise and that is what a good brand is all about.

Jake Crocker is a Partner and Brand Marketing Director at Martin Branding Worldwide, Inc.

Geek Squad vs. Firedog – Who You Gonna Call?

There is a battle royale brewing over who American’s trust the most to let into their homes to connect their modem or install their 52” hi-def, surround sound home theatre system. The battle is being waged between Best Buy’s Geek Squad home service and installation brand and Circuit City’s answer, Firedog.

Firedog, launched a little over a year ago is the brand Circuit City created to take on their arch rival Best Buy’s, Geek Squad. It is a brand that according to Circuit City CEO Philip J. Schoonove , “represents consumers' relationship with technology” and wants Firedog to be your “best friend.” That has a nice ring to it, it’s all about establishing relationships, and more specifically the trusting relationship one has with their best friend. Whether establishing a relationship with a human or canine, there is an emotional connection there, which is important to building any brand. But is that the type of relationship or emotion needed to get my internet service connected? Not exactly.

This is where Geek Squad nails it; they’ve built a brand around the concept of computer geeks that come to your rescue and gets your system working again. My best friend is great for getting together for a few drinks and discussing life, but when it comes to getting my stuff working right I’ll call the computer geek every time. Sure it’s a stereotype, but there’s something about a socially awkward, fashion challenged guy with taped glasses and an obsession with fantasy role playing that assures me that they know there way around my computer and entertainment system. Does that have an emotional connection though? You bet it does, confidence and security is a strong emotion and one that is crucial when it come to a customer’s big-ticket purchase and vital communications connections.

It’s not just the image the name conjures up though; Geek Squad’s holistic branding approach integrates their core brand throughout into their entire organization. Everything from their “agents” dressed in white shirts and black ties, driving the always offbeat Volkswagen Beetle to applying a whole fantasy secret spy organization themed hierarchy to their organizational structure. For example the head of Geek Squad is called “Chief Inspector”, managers of standalone stores are called “Precinct Chiefs” and even the call-in technical support guys are called “Covert Operators”. By doing this, Geek Squad is living and breathing their brand every day and the public is buying into it.

Pushing the Geek Squad brand to the market has been equally excellent as they nail it in their commercials featuring geeky stuff like jet packs and teleports. However where they really do a great job with pushing the geek brand into the public consciousness is with their unique non-traditional media tactics, like claiming their own category in an episode of Jeopardy.

So what is Firedog doing to live their “best friend” brand? They certainly look like nice clean cut suburbanites, dressed in their khakis and a lime green polo shirts with the Firedog logo on it. Someone that I would feel comfortable with letting in the house when they came to my door like they were one of my real friends. But they don’t exactly make you feel secure that they’re going to do a good job hooking my system up. However, I might ask them if they wanted to play a round of golf with the guys and me this weekend. After all, they’re already dressed the part.

Hey Geek Squad, my router is not routing anything right now, can you come over and fix it? Just make it tomorrow morning; I’ve got a noon tee-time with Firedog.

Jake Crocker is a Partner and Brand Marketing Director at Martin Branding Worldwide, Inc.