How much is that brand in the window?...

My final semester has begun! In less than 16 weeks, I will be walking across the IU Auditorium stage, graduate diploma in hand...well, sort of. I think they mail it to you a few weeks later, making sure you've settled all parking tickets, schedule change fees, and library borrowings. I am in a slew of great classes, including Pricing, Negotiations, Crisis Management, Legal Issues in the Arts (combined with the Masters of Arts Admin students), and Brand Asset Management. I was particularly struck in Brand Asset Management yesterday, thinking about how much a "brand" should actually be worth. My first instinct was, "Coke is so over-valued". But then, Neil Morgan pointed out that a "brand" relates back to a "maker's mark" (no, not that one...but yum). So I began thinking, if it truly is like a "maker's mark" then it is no different than what gives value to a Picasso painting or a Puccini opera. It is all about who made it. So how can Evian charge a 400% premium for its water when compared to the commodity? Surely, it is in some way related to the reason that Van Gogh's "The Doctor" sold for over $80 million.

Drum roll, please...

For those who have been holding their breath to find out where I'll be heading post-graduation (those who are not on LinkedIn, anyway), you'll be glad to know that I'll be back at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company as an Assistant Brand Manager.

Just before the holidays, I notified the Scotts team that I accepted my full-time offer and will be returning post-graduation.  The news was well-received and I got many congratulations emails and phone calls from the IU recruiting team.  I also talked with HR regarding the official on-boarding process and relocation.  At this point, it looks like I will have a starting date sometime in the month of June.  This will allow for ample time post-graduation (May) to visit friends and family, and perhaps take a brief vacation with my lovely girlfriend, Susan.  She's been itching to see what my cruise war stories are all about, and I'd absolutely love to be back aboard a ship!  Arrrgh.  Wonder if I could summon the members of the world-traveled group "Grand Central" (a four-member a cappella group I sang with for seven months aboard Celebrity Cruises) for a reunion voyage. 

At this point, I have no idea what brand team I will be working on.  "Growing Media" (soils, mulches) was a blast over the summer, and I truly enjoyed learning about and experiencing gardening for the first time.  "Lawns" also shows promise with a strong Kelley contingent.  "Wild Bird Food" is the new entrant, currently being slung by Kelley alum, Patrick Kaiser along with a great team.  Controls, "RoundUp" and "Ortho", show some great opportunity, as well, and would give some good exposure to promotions.  Lastly and surely not least, my personal top choice is "Global Naturals".  I worked on an Organic Choice innovations product during my internship and am personally passionate about natural and organic products - making this team that oversees Organic Choice, Ecosense, and others a great fit.  Placement is determined by business need, so I won't have much say in the matter - but I feel that any team is going to give me great opportunities and experience.  I will obviously make a post when I find out sometime this spring.

Photo above is from wikipedia, and shows the beautiful campus and headquarters building.  Nearly every day this summer, I had the chance to sit on the back patio (barely visible stone wall in left center of picture) for lunch, overlooking the beautiful pond.  Of course, the lawn is immaculate, as well as the landscaping, gardens, and natural bird habitat.  I would expect no less.

Holy crap, this store brand is sexy...

Oh boy. Truth time. I'm kind of a brand snob. I see store brand and I'm usually like - eh, I'll stick with what I know and like - the real stuff. I own all Apple products, I drink Starbucks coffee, I wear Brooks Brothers shirts, I eat Kashi cereals, I clean with Method products. Pretty consistent...that is, consistently paying a price premium for premium brands.

However, economic recession/downturn/bubble/blahblahblah has caused a bit of a mix-up in the market - specifically in CPG. Walmart (see also: big) and Target (see also: cool) are not dumb (both recruit Kelley MBAs, obviously). They both (among others) saw a HUGE opportunity to liven up their slightly sketchy store brands and create an interesting mid-tier player. Great Value (Walmart's bread and butter - literally) all of a sudden looks clean and refreshing. Up and Up (Target) exudes form and function. So now, instead of easily brushing past the usual stale, commodity junk on the bottom shelf - I am increasingly noticing "better" store brands almost everywhere. Even Trader Joe's...wait a minute...it's pretty much ALL store brand. I LOVE Trader Joe's. I've been buying Trader Joe's for a long time - even made special trips to Indy just to get some nuts, hummus, and English muffins! Pfew, such a relief - I'm NOT a brand snob!...err...wait. Trader Joe's is a brand. A very cool brand, even if a "store brand". And perhaps that is the direction that Great Value and Up and Up are headed. And perhaps I am only beginning to notice them because they are starting to evolve as brands of their own. And perhaps...yup, I'm still a brand snob.

(I must apologize for the time lapse since my last post - school has been incredibly busy, along with finalizing details of my future employment. Stay tuned - next post: Where in the World is Jamesgoingtobeworkingnextyear?...)

Va Va Via!

Hmm...Starbucks, everyone's favorite (or most prominent) premium coffee roaster, brewer, and distributor has finally launched the much anticipated "Via" instant coffee. Mmm...just the thought of instant coffee crystals makes my mouth water. And not in a good way. BUT. Starbucks has some equity. I typically like their over-roasted, spicy coffee - though their coffee shop atmosphere has been spoiled a bit by the noise of constant smoothie-making. If anyone could reinvigorate instant coffee, it is probably them.

So, I thought I'd give it a try. Fortunately, I had received a few free trial packs several weeks before this week's launch. The Kelley School of Business brought in Guy Kawasaki as a speaker in September, and it seems that he travels with boxes of "Via" samples these days.

As you can see, "Via" comes in a single-serve package. Priced at almost $1 a pop, it sure rings that premium bell. Packs are being sold as a 3-pack for around $3, or a 10-pack for $9.50.

Easy-tear top, and the pouring begins. This is where I was quite surprised - expecting the usual space-food crystals to begin pouring in to the mug. But, NO! What came out appeared to be almost (gasp) coffee-like. Very, very finely ground. Almost like a coffee powder. Eerie.

Dust. Almost too fine that it was difficult to get it all out of the little package - which I must comment, is cool little packaging. I like that it resembles the Crystal Light travel packs, but has a very substantial feel. Would easily hold up in a pocket, or a bag without breaking.

Add 8oz hot water. See this is the part that gets me. I suppose this is made more for travel situations (hence, the Italian name for "way" or "on the way"), and would be useful for places with no coffee, but plenty of hot water. Me, not so much. Hot water is annoying. In fact, I nearly burned my left hand holding the teapot for this picture. AND, 8oz is hard to control. Most of my travel mugs are at least 12oz or 16oz. Which, like I did here, would lead me to add TOO much water. Taste review down a little further.

A few stirs and poof!, coffee. Now the taste. Wait, burn tongue first. Check. Way too hot. I forgot that the water was boiling 10 seconds before I poured it in. Amateur. The taste...isn't terrible. Better than ALL vending machine coffee (that machine in the basement of Kelley is truly terrible), and even better than most gas stations. The aroma is pretty light, and quickly dissipates. My problem (and probably more "mia" than "Via") is that it was watery. I like dark coffee. Correction: I like thick coffee. This simply had too little body for me. Was an easy-to-drink mild taste, even though this was the "bold" variety. There was a very slight filmy aftertaste, and strange sludgy residue at the end of the cup - but nothing too scary.


Overall, it's "not bad" and I feel this has been the general response of others who have tried it. I find it interesting that in Starbucks' "Via Challenge", they are taste-testing "Via" as compared to their Pike's Place brewed coffee - as opposed to "Via" to other instant coffees (yuck). This is an interesting strategy, and one I believe is clever. "Via" is so far above other instant coffees, it's not even funny. By comparing to a $1.85 cup of java from the real-deal shop, they are able to establish a premium for these little buggers! Kind of like DiGiorno going after delivery - sets a totally different base in the mind of the consumer. Good work, Starbucks. Way to innovate.

Keep it real

I love you, Clif Bar.

They just seem to "get it". Their food philosophy: "Good food provides health, joy, and energy, and is a delight to the senses. And food, made right, can make the world a better place." YES! Finally!!! Someone gets it!!! And the best part?...you don't have to dig around on their website through a bunch of "we're committed to wellness" and "we love nutrition" sections to find this message. It's right there, ingrained in everything they do: products, packaging, culture, sponsorships, donations. They don't have to host a fake PR event to talk about "living well", you know what the brand stands for. Boom. Brand equity.

My lovely girlfriend, Susan, has said about Clif Bar, "I'll buy anything that Clif makes, doesn't even matter what it is." Yeah, me too. I've thrown down $2.29 for a Clif Bar at the airport before and I'm not ashamed of it. I've raided a Target end cap that had a special 7 bar pack for $4.79. I stocked up on every flavor of Clif Quench at Kroger before trying a single one (and was DELIGHTED to find that they are all clear colored - why should a lime flavor have to be neon green?). 10 for $10, watch out.

Do I love semi-solid, organic health bars? Eh, they're pretty good. I mean, the holiday flavors are down-right heavenly...but I guess I get a little tired of the usual suspects (Crunchy Peanut Butter, Blueberry Crisp). But to know that I'm putting something truly GOOD into my body (unlike popular "healthy" or "nutritious" food-like products) AND feeling good about supporting a company that sources organic ingredients, donates 1% "for the planet", recycles like crazy, AND resists the cost-cutting temptations of high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats, and ingredient lists longer than this blog entry...(deep breath)...Ahh...loyal forever. Could they take another $.50 in pricing? SURE! Could they launch a line of frozen Clif Popsicles? SURE! See...as long as they don't mess with their brand equity. Say they decided, "Eh, what the heck, let's use genetically modified soybeans...it's cheaper!". Hmpf. I'd probably look elsewhere.

Lesson learned: Brand Equity is powerful. You are what you stand for. TIDE - keep being clean. APPLE - keep making ridiculously cool new gadgets. BMW - keep making zoomy cars.

CLIF BAR - keep it real.

Golden Brand

After spending a summer "branding" a commodity (see also: dirt)...I can't help but wonder how many commodities people have tried to brand. In my opinion, the secret to success is some sort of "value-add" that competitors cannot replicate. For example, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company doesn't just pack dirt in bags, label them, and sell them at a premium - no, they add a proprietary fertilizer (again, thank you Bloomington Brands, it is Osmocote)...and tweak the formula to be just right (perlite, peat, etc.). So as I read about gold trading above $1000 an ounce in pre-trading this morning, I couldn't help but think...are there some commodities you CAN'T add value to? BP has added some sparkles to oil (cleaner engine?), Dasani added something to water (salt?)...but what about GOLD? I see gold as a commodity that you wouldn't want to "value-add", in fact anything you "add" would de-value gold, right? The further away you get from 100% pure gold, the worse off you are.

Maybe you pound it into commemorative coins and put it in a really fancy bag. And advertise in Sunday circulars. And late at night on TV. That seems to work for some "marketers"...

And...

We were victorious. Congrats to the rest of the teams advancing to the final round.