I know; I’m going to get myself in trouble with a headline like that.

There are people with doctorates in Communications (Hi Jeannette). There are people who call themselves “Futurists” (Hi Alvin Toffler). I am neither. However, I’m going to take a humble stab at this question of the future by sharing some of the insights discovered through the marketing and communications research I did for clients over the past year. So, in no particular order…

Have you ever sat down to do something and realized you’d forgotten what you meant to do? It happens to me all the time.

This is partially because I’m constantly interrupted by EVERYONE in my house and find it difficult to form a complete thought.

I’d worry, but I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this experience. As a marketing strategy consultant, I’m routinely asked good and important questions posed by busy people who are getting interrupted by colleagues with their own questions and requests. There are times when I wonder if we as marketers get so caught up in the going, doing, producing, and getting it OUT that we forget to anchor it all back to the reasons we do it all.


So this is a post that takes us back to the beginning: What are the intentions of communication?
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• To persuade. Persuasion would seem like the most important part of the marketing communicator’s role, but in the many years that I’ve done marketing strategy research, I have come upon a simple, but vital discovery and it’s this: People of any age (but particularly younger folk) will not trust you or your efforts of persuasion if they feel you are inauthentic. If you’re too pushy, you’re out; if you’re too slick, you’re out; if you’re too mass-produced, you’re out. Now more than ever, people demand authenticity before they will even consider the persuasive pitch.

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• To convey information. This one also seems obvious, but communication is a vehicle capable of carrying a heavy load–much more than the simple transmission of datum from one person to another. Think back to the early days when all that any human had known or experienced had to be passed down through an oral tradition or it was lost forever. Now we have lots of ways to convey information, but let’s not forget the accompanying opportunities to convey a sense of the culture, establish context for the information, and by so doing provide people with a sense of where they fit into the process and the system. Data wrapped in context provides relevance.​

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• To show empathy. In Brenѐ Brown’s viral TED talk video about shame, she says two of the most powerful words we can say to someone are “me too.” They’re powerful because they allow others to know they are not alone in their experience. By sharing our own—sometimes messy–humanity, we create a safe place for others to listen and share and by so doing, we can lead the process of developing an authentic relationship. In the early days of communication, people wanted a connection; turns out, they still do.

Next time you sit down to get something out, take a minute to root yourself if the real reason you’re doing it, and how those foundational reasons can inform the way you put your message together.

Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation

Picture this typical parenting moment: I’m driving my kids somewhere. The oldest and I are having a discussion. We’re talking about alone time, people’s relative needs for it, how it’s okay if your needs for alone time differ from another’s, etc. Then, from the back seat, her little brother adds to our discussion: “I’m going to floss the cat!”

God bless the little child. He’s happy; he’s friendly, and oh-so-interested in whatever. He’s also five years old so focus isn’t exactly his strength right now. Not so long ago, I found myself saying: “When you focus, you pay attention to your priority.” I’m sure that little nugget changed his life…at least until he’d located the cat.

Maybe it’s just me and the conversations we have around our house, but I find myself thinking about focus a lot. Clients hire me to help them research and focus their brand strategy and I’ll confess that as I head into my twelfth year of doing it, the more I find myself pushing focus.

The theory isn’t hard; you decide—for example—what type of audience you want to serve and you pursue those people.

The practice of focus, however, proves to be harder because it requires leaving all the other types of people out. That’s the downside—eliminating options. Do we find that so hard because it seems “mean” to the audiences we left on the sidelines? Or “narrow-minded” to foreclose against new and interesting directions that might present themselves if we kept all of the options open?

Focus takes confidence, yes, but that’s why you do research. Once you commit—true, you will no longer be free to consider awesome ideas like, oh, I don’t know, flossing the cat—but the upside of focus is that creates an opportunity to layer the limited resources of time, attention, and money on the same goal where they might make a dent. You have a better chance of knowing which marketing strategies will help you find the people you want. The right-fit customer will have a better chance of finding you because you’ll be speaking their language and hanging out where they live.

​Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation 

I’m the new neighbor welcome lady for my neighborhood. Anyone who knows me well finds this hilarious. But whatever, I got handed the job and I do my best.

When I meet new neighbors, I often ask them if they need recommendations for doctors, dentists, daycares, stylists, etc. I don’t offer my recommendations in any official neighborhood association capacity and I definitely don’t do it on the payroll of the places I recommend. I do it simply as a neighbor and mother who uses many of the same services and has been the new kid on the block many, many times. Word of mouth is how the world of information turns.

Generating “buzz” or “virality” on line has given reach and put metrics to what has been happening for millennia. In fact, in his recent book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, Author Jonah Berger cites the statistic that only seven percent of word of mouth transmission happens online. SEVEN PERCENT. Berger says that even heavy users who spend upwards of two hours a day stalking the internet spend about sixteen hours not on the internet, but they’re still talking. If you haven’t read Berger’s book, go buy it; you can start here. Until it arrives or downloads to your device, here’s the summary of what it takes to help people start talking about your idea, your product, or your service.

Berger came up with an acrostic to help us remember the steps or “STEPPS” (Hah!) for getting people to talk.

Social Currency: Does sharing the information make them feel helpful? Smart? Like an insider? People like to look good; it makes them feel good so they’ll share if doing so increases others’ view of them. This is probably why I offer my list of contacts to neighbors—I like to be perceived as knowledgeable and helpful…or at least knowledgeable.

Triggers: Information gets shared more often when something about it is triggered by common events. Can you tie your message to the mundane crap we have to do in daily life? If so, your thing will get triggered every time anyone does said mundane crap—like pour coffee, or merge onto an interstate, or sneeze. Triggers don’t have to be glamorous.

Emotion: People remember and share messages more often if there’s an emotional component to them—even negative emotions. As a middle school student, did you ever share something shocking or disgusting? Me too! Now that you’re an adult, try to tap into emotions but make sure the emotion you tap into corresponds with the heart of your message [Note: Disgusting and shocking are awesome, but may or may not sell long-term.]

Public: Speaking of middle school, we’re all still basically trying to be cool and fit in. How can you capture the power of peer pressure in the transmission of the message? Berger shares the example of the “I voted” stickers—it turned a voting; a private activity, into a public behavior and it works! Didn’t you feel a little twinge of pressure to go vote when you saw someone wearing a sticker? I mean, all the cool kids were doing it, so, you know…

Practical Value: [I’ll be honest, I think this point is a sub-set of “Social Currency,” but to stay true to Berger’s presentation, I’ll include it.] If your message or idea or product offers practical value, others will be inclined to share it because it’s useful to people and they will be perceived as helpful (See? Social Currency.)

Stories: Everyone loves a good yarn. Stories create a rhythm and flow to what would otherwise be a static set of facts. Weave your message into a story that people will want to share. Try to avoid “Once upon a time,” and “Happily ever after” but definitely do tap into the conflict, the climax and the resolution.

Have you seen or used any of the above steps (or STEPPS) to harness word of mouth marketing? Share your story (See “Stories” above) now.

And if you missed the first brand blog post on content marketing, go here to catch up.
Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation

This summer in Colorado was absolutely beautiful. The days were warm. The nights were cool. The flowers were abundant. Nothing burned down and only a few things flooded. On one of those gorgeous summer evenings, I took the kids to an outdoor concert. In addition to the live music set-up at the front, there were a few booths where vendors hawked their wares. One of them gave my daughter a balloon. As soon as she was out of earshot, she looked in disgust at the “CenturyLink®” logo printed on the side and asked, “Advertising again? Whatever happened to just being nice?” 

Now, then. The for-profit telecommunication company in question is not required to hand out balloons to children as they frolic in the grass. So, maybe she should just enjoy the free balloon already and stop fussing. On the other hand, she represents the viewpoint of others who are fed up with being bombarded with advertising at every turn. Does every interaction with public life have to be interrupted by needy, nosy demands to pay heed to someone’s brand?

I’m thinking the short answers are yes. Yes, stop kvetching and enjoy your balloon and some fresh air. Yes, public life has been infiltrated by marketing and there’s little likelihood that we’re going to get that toothpaste back in the tube so we’re probably going to have to deal with it. But also yes, maybe there’s a better way. Maybe, at least one of those ways is content marketing.

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Content marketing differs slightly from simple promotion because it offers customers something useful but related to your brand. When Tollhouse includes the recipe for chocolate chip cookies on the back of the package; that’s content marketing. When AAA or CostCo send magazines with interesting articles about travel or tires; that’s content marketing.

The cool thing about content marketing is it forces companies to think more broadly and relationally about their brands—not just about their products but the context of the lives of the people who use their products. On the flipside, content marketing feels less pervy to customers who will therefore be more likely to use the content and even share it with others.
Consider these two tips for good content marketing.

1. Any content you make available should have a logical connection back to your brand. A balloon from CenturyLink has no obvious connection to telecommunications. It would have been more brand-relevant had CenturyLink offered the kids a game testing their knowledge about cell phone etiquette, or a booklet about having difficult conversations with parents.
2. Jonah Berger, author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On, says that practical advice tends to be shared more so make it news they can use. Berger further advises that while it’s tempting to make the useful news as broad as possible to apply to a larger audience, it’s the narrower content that tends to get shared more often because it evokes a particular friend or family member who just has to know.

​In the next post, we’ll talk more about Berger’s excellent book. For now, though, have you seen any genius examples of content marketing you care to share with us?
Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation

In the marketing parlance, descriptions are referred to as “messaging.” Messaging is basically the craft of describing things. Recently, I’ve seen a few examples that merit discussion.

• Every year around the end of January, I like others, watch the Superbowl. I love a good football game. I’m also in it for the food, fun, and fellowship. However, it always galls me when commentators and the Superbowl advertising machine refer to it as the “World Championship” football game. Is it really a world championship when no one else gets invited to play for the title?

• I recently received a box from Bath and Body Works whose corrugated cardboard sides proudly declared it to include “The world’s best fragrances.” Wow, I thought; I wonder if Paris (the capital, not the blond) will be mad? Or, have middle eastern countries that have, for millennia, been celebrated for their sandalwood, myrrh and other fragrances heard that they’ve been supplanted by a company in Ohio?

• Last week, I checked in to a Frontier Airlines flight and learned that in order to carry on my trusty roller bag aboard, I had to pay $30 each way. Then, on the flight from Denver to Chicago (lasting well over two hours), the flight attendant explained that the tiny plastic cup of Diet Coke she offered would cost me $1.50. A Frontier rep later helpfully explained that the company had decided to “unbundle” fees so customers “only pay for what they want and need.” Ah yes, naturally. “Unbundling.” No one is likely to “want or need” something to eat or drink on a multi-hour plane trip or prefer to keep their vitals with them. That would be excessive. Crazy, even.

These three examples were useful to me because they reminded me of the true challenges of great messaging.

Just because you say it’s so; doesn’t make it so. It’s not a world championship if only one country gets to play. It’s just not—not even when that country is America and knows how to throw a great party. And Ohio, God bless you. You are probably known for many thing and beloved by many people; but it will be a while before you are “top of mind” as producing the “world’s best fragrances.”

People are not stupid. There are times I despair of humanity. It’s possible that my kids have heard me exclaim that “people are stupid” when their small bodies are strapped into their carseats in the back of my car and we’re stopped behind some idiot who can’t merge. But people are not really stupid, not all the time. People know generally know when someone is trying to mess with them. Even if they can’t articulate it, people hate to be played.

It’s easy for me to poke fun (or cast contempt even), but like anything, it’s easier to critique than to build. Great messaging is a challenge because it speaks the truth—maybe a hopeful truth—but a truth that people can sense. Great messaging captures the best of the brand and the heart of the customer and puts them in relationship.  And as we know good, relationships need more than pretty words to last.

​Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation ​

Do you remember the generic aisle at the grocery store? Remember the plain black and white packaging? The complete lack of any attempt to pretty up the packaging or the description of the contents?

My dear friend and colleague Eric Sickler sent me this generic brand video. You’ve got to see it. Click on this link to watch it: Generic Brand Video



​I’ll confess that as I watched it, I laughed until I cried. “Have we put in a baby?” Hahaha, that’s just good stuff. I’ll also confess that after seeing it, I squirmed a little to be part of the brand development business. I’ve seen a lot of brand marketing materials and many, I’ll also confess haven’t been as good as this generic video made entirely of stock footage about no company in particular. Ouch.

Having been a part of many a brand audit or brand development project, I know how generic branding happens.

• Generic brands happen when people forget that brands are best forged through a consistently distinctive customer experience. The marketing of that experience with representative pieces like a video or logo are only meant to be the promotion of that experience and should not be mistaken for the whole thing.

• Generic brands happen when marketers and their leaders are too nervous to stake a flag in a clear territory. Playing it really safe seldom sets you apart. Let’s go ahead and mix metaphors: Envision a generic herd of zebra in the distance, and a horse in the foreground…and the horse has painted itself black and white.

• Generic brands tend to happen when the process is subjected to too many opinions and everyone has to get their product, or program, or department, a shout-out and the result sounds like a lot of shouting rather than a clarion call. Each part might be vital, but the customer’s sense of things tends to be more holistic, even subjective than we realize.

• And, sometimes generic brands happen when people are too close to the situation to get perspective on what few things really make their offering different and relevant.  That’s when getting outside insight from customer research, competitor analysis, and even (here it comes) a brand strategist might be just the thing.

​Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation 

I am fascinated by the origins of words. The word “Sincere,” for example, is Latin. Some think it’s derived from early day marketing. 

As one story goes, ancient Romans used to like marble statues. Why? Presumably—like modern day home exercise equipment—the statues were an ideal spot for draping one’s laundry. Either way, the interest in marble statues drove up demand. As demand rose, quality fell. Less reputable sculptors used inferior marble and filled in the cracks and pocks with wax, which looked great until a hot day when they started to ooze. In order to differentiate themselves from the shoddy stuff, quality sculptors began marketing their statues as “Sine Cera” Sine is the Latin word for “without’ and cera means “wax.”


Now we know something or someone who is “sincere” means it, not fake; they’re the real thing.

[Ironically, the authenticity of this story is debated among etymologists, but I like the story so for this post, I’m going to go with it.]

These days we know that contemporary audiences are becoming increasingly cynical. In focus groups and qualitative interviews, people report that if they sense an organization is “trying too hard,” they are turned off.

This creates a real challenge. How do you position yourself in a crowded and skeptical marketplace? I took a quick gander through my local grocery story to see how the big hitters with big budgets do it. Here’s what I observed:

• Stuff you don’t need is usually more spun. When it comes to the bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, items of substantive benefit tend to be presented pretty simply:  Roasted squash for example is positioned as “Roasted squash” with a picture of squash on the bag. On the other hand, flavored, carbonated, bottled water is called “Pure Life Splash.”

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• The genuinely bad for you stuff is often positioned as far away from its origin as possible. My husband brought home some yellowish, greasy goo in a tub. It was called “Garlic Spread.” I found this hilarious—the product is a verb! What are you eating? Spread! What are you driving? A “Go!” And let’s not even speak of “Spam;” The poster child of ambiguous products is now a verb for stuff that clogs up your email.

What does this mean for those of us trying to connect?

• Research. Maybe your audience swoons over hearts and unicorns and Sally Strothers. Or maybe they twitch and itch when they see anything that seems to have come from “the man” and only trust information they read from posters stapled to light poles. Ask them. Do it often.

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• Don’t forget the product. If there is a trend to position the bad-for-you stuff on the emotional experience and skip the product entirely, it’s because on some level we the people want to be able to justify a bad choice to ourselves (I needed that Ben and Jerry’s; I did). But has there been some marketing backlash as a result? Granted, it’s important to talk about benefits and outcomes and all that, but don’t forget to anchor them to the product. If you don’t, and your language starts to soar into the atmosphere, people will question your motives.

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• Let the people speak. It used to be that you could completely control the messages about your organization. Maybe it was Ebay who changed that forever with the feedback scores, but now we expect to hear the consumers’ experience. If you got three stars out of five, what went wrong? If people are bashing you on Facebook or Twitter, will your carefully crafted campaign ring true? What to do? Harness the voice of the people. Recognize that you have lost some control, but gained some power. No, you can’t control every little word that comes out about you, but a great, authentic story from a customer will take you farther than a pretty postcard ever could.

Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation

Let’s talk about women.
As soon as you read that, what response did you have? What came to mind? Did you immediately replace “women” with another word? Girls? Chicks?

Did you recall a joke? Did you think of your best friend? Think of yourself? Conjure up a hot mental image? Think of your mother? A hot mental image of your mother? (Probably not, but why not?).

Really, what came to mind?

What are the associations you link with women and who’s building that brand? In her book, The Beauty Myth, feminist Naomi Wolf accused “them” of ramping up the beauty industry as a response to second wave feminism. Apparently, women were getting too self-empowered for “their” comfort and “they” needed a way to keep the womens in their place. So, the beauty industry rose to the task of helping every woman realize that although she may not be able to vote, get a graduate degree, and work outside of the home, she still fell short because her lips were too thin, and her eyelashes too short. Real women could finally have it all—provided she was powerful and pretty.

While I’m not sure I can agree that “they” were organized enough to form a secret down-with-women society, it is clear, that women need some rebranding. 

















​Sports Illustrated recently announced that they were going to all-in on their next swimsuit edition and replace some of the photo-shopped super models with Barbie, the queen of plastic herself. They characterize the move as “unapologetic.” Occidental College professor Lisa Wade, feminist and media critic responded with: “Both Barbie and the swimsuit issue have been making women and girls feel inadequate for decades. It’s a perfect partnership.”

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In the field of brand strategy, our job is to clarify and harness the things we want people to associate with a brand.

As a brand strategist, feminist, and mother of a little girl, I try to stay up on the critiques of the depictions of women and the attempts to create new associations. Several companies that target women have made a good effort. Dove, for example, has done it with their “Real Beauty” campaign. Getty Images recently presented its “Lean in” collection of women and girls. One of the criteria for the photos was that the (female) subject had to convey a sense of her own agency in the picture—not be a passive prop. And (I think) the photos are gorgeous. Check them out here.

Will they change the associations we have with women? Will male-targeted brands reframe the associations they build around women? And maybe in the next blog post we should talk about men.

Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation

You know how sometimes you run across ideas that are so awesome and hilarious, you find that your biggest complaint is that you didn’t come up with them yourself? Well this is one of them.

Pour yourself some hot holiday nog, kick back, and enjoy the brilliance that came down the chimney in the form of Santa’s brand refresh by the Quiet Room in London.

Click here for Santa’s Brand Book.

Happy holidays to all.

​Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation