Tag: branding

How to Handle PR for Multi-Brand Companies

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When the Wall Street Journal had an article about the proliferation of hotel brands, I took note. I have a client in the hotel space. The family business has a small portfolio of hotels, but even they have a mix of brands and sub-brands.

Photo by Francesco Ungaro: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-hotel-signage-96444/

The same concept of a “family of brands” can be seen in other industries, ranging from soft drinks to automobiles. 

This could be called market expansion, horizontal integration or a number of economic and marketing terms.

For public relations professionals it could be called a headache. As with any relationship, brand loyalty in a brand family can be “complicated.” 

For example, what exactly is in the mind of the consumer when they engage a brand? Is it the particular obvious interaction only or are they conscious of the bigger brand picture. A guest at a Holiday Inn Express may be mindful of the fact that this is an IHG hotel. Are they aware that IHG has 19 brands, and do they know all of them? Do they know the varied amenities, price points and brand promises of each brand? 

Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. IHG integrates all its brands into one reservation platform and loyalty program, so that helps. Some people may like the fact that breakfast is included, or that rooms have microwaves and mini bars. Others guests may be indifferent to a brand and just do a map search for something close to where they want to stay that is inexpensive.

Then there’s the related issue of the actual family in addition to the family of brands. My client builds, owns and operates their hotels, and they have a unique and high quality management philosophy that I’m happy to say often wins them awards for being the best in the brand in various categories. Owner-operators have to stay within franchise rules, but they also have some latitude for operations. This can help set themself apart in hotel markets where there are numerous choices. But guests may not be aware of the family company name as they book and stay at a nationally branded hotel.

Here’s the brand secret for family brands—relationships. I know that sounds like PR fundamentals, but it is true. The relationships are not necessarily with the guests, who normally go on an app or website to book a room. The relationship with them is during the stay. But the more important relationships are the business clients, event planners, and referral sources in the local community who recommend hotels to their own employees, vendors, suppliers and other business partners. 

If a local company enhances its relationships by ensuring their publics have a good experience when they stay, it’s a win-win-win. Word spreads not about a Holiday Inn Express or IHG, but a particular hotel on a particular street for its unique quality. Repeat business happens. In other words, brand loyalty to a local and national brand. 

Turns out it’s not so complicated. 

“Anti-woke” messaging on the rise as brands position by ideology

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If I ask a group of students whether or not a company or organization should take a stand on a social issue, there is universal agreement. If I ask them which stand an organization should take, there is little more than blank stares.

The same phenomenon is likely true of adults at large. Everyone makes the self-righteous  assumption that organizations need to take a stand that is consistent with their personal opinion, beliefs and values. But what if a an organization proclaims position A when you are strongly aligned with position B? 

Perhaps this is why a recent Gallup poll notes that “fewer Americans want businesses wading into current events.“

However, if you read that poll commentary you see that democrats are most likely to encourage organizations take a public stance. Relating to my initial point, that is because the stance organizations take is usually left leaning. The left has dominated issue advocacy in terms of which stances organizations take because the left dominates social institutions including government, entertainment, news media, education and now corporations.

Given that left-wing dominance, the stances are often aligned with what is culturally called “woke” perspective. This general term correlates specifically to the alphabet soup of DEI (Diversity, Equity Inclusion), ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance), CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and of late advocacy for a particular perspective on matters of sex and gender.

Stances in accord with so-called woke philosophy are no longer seen as a potential, they are stressed as inevitable. This may be a good time for a conservative turn on a woke-ish neo-Marxist statement: we need to dismantle the hegemonic structures of institutional, systemic left power. 

I have noticed the beginning of a dismantling, or at least the emergence of alternative stances on social issues. This of course causes rage among the very people who used to say “speak your truth,” “marketplace of ideas,” or even “silence is violence.” 

So if the dominant left is demanding a stance be taken, the unwavering right is responding in kind.

The first company I noticed doing this is Jeremy’s Razors.  When Harry’s, a decidedly leftist company, stopped advertising on the Daily Wire due to “values misalignment,” co-founder Jeremy Boreing started Jeremy’s Razors to embrace that difference. The advertising copy has been boldly touting its products specifically as anti-woke. Recently the company has taken on and called out companys from Hershey’s to Braun for their extreme wokism and offered alternative products with that selling point.

In the career recruitment space, the company Red Balloon offers what it calls the “#1 woke-free job board in America.” It has an ad titled “It’s time to grow up and get back to work” that features children sarcastically saying what they look forward to in a workplace and career that mocks the woke culture pervading workplaces. 

Patriot Mobile advertises itself as the only “Christian conservative wireless provider.” They call out the corporate philanthropy of other wireless carriers that support causes in conflict with conservative and Christian values.

Another example is Public Square, a shopping site to rival Amazon that expresses its values as “Pro-Life, Pro-Family, Pro-Freedom.” Businesses that share those values can add themselves to the site, and consumers who share those values can shop knowing they are patronizing like-minded business owners. Don’t overlook the meaning of the name Public Square, which refers to a democratic philosophy that all ideas should be able to be expressed, not censored.

These are just a handful of examples of companies that are speaking out on social issues with an anti-woke set of values. There are others and will likely be more. It is hard to say if ideology forward positioning is a trend or a permanent feature of public relations, advertising, marketing and business plans from now on. 

For now though, the messaging is beyond the basics of features and benefits and price point. The target publics are defined more by ideology and social opinion than need for a product or service. The question is moving from whether or not a company should take a stand on a social issue, to determining which stand to take. 

Sales and stock prices were down for Target and Bud Light after famous social values marketing earlier this year. However, some other brands have continued such overt messaging.

I personally think this segmenting of businesses and publics, making social values the primary message and brand distinction, will lead to more divisiveness writ large. It’s why I have previously advocated for companies to have the courage to remain neutral. 

But if one “side” in the market keeps pushing a woke message, the other sides will understandably set themselves apart and offer their own deeply held perspectives. In the marketplace of ideas there are many ideas, ideologies, values and beliefs. They are all being expressed. It’s called diversity. 

GR’s People Design Authors Brand Identity Book

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I was reading through the book review section of the latest Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly before a class earlier this week, and the words “Grand Rapids” jumped out at me from one review.

Turns out the authors of a new book on brand identity are all members of the Grand Rapids advertising design firm People Design. Specifically, the authors are Kevin Budelman, Yang Kim, and Curt Wozniak.

The book, the fourth in a series of ‘essentials’ books by Rockport Publishing, is “Brand Identity Essentials: 100 Principles for Designing Logos and Building Brands.”  As the author’s say on their own web site: 

“The book lays a foundation for brand-building, defining the tools and building blocks, and illustrating the construction of strong brands through examples by world-class design strategists.”


The journal reviewer took issue with the order of presentation of some of the principles, and the brevity of text explaining and justifying them. However, it is recommended for the many examples provided.

As such, the book might be a valuable resource for advertising and public relations pros who want to enhance their understanding of branding, or who understand it conceptually but need help with the design aspect of it.

I bought the book as a resource to add to my crowded shelves. Also, since the firm is from Grand Rapids, it’s another way to ‘buy local.’

Some Quick and Dirty PR Lessons on Quikster and Quixtar

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The split of Netflix into streaming video and a new DVD service called Quikster has grabbed attention on blogs and Twitter lately. See this post on Ragan.com as an example.

Here are some PR lessons learned, including a West Michigan angle:

  • Apologies should be sincere and address what is really upsetting people. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings posted an “apology” that didn’t address the price increase that upset consumers.
  • PR is about two-way relationships, and had Netflix grasped this and learned in advance with on-going dialogue or basic research of consumer brand and price attitudes they may have avoided this crisis.
  • PR involves dealing with multiple publics. Consumers being upset about price led to lots of them bailing which led to a 19% stock drop. Investors are people too. This is why consumers should not just be left to marketing and investors to investor relations or finance pros. PR people should be at the management table advising their management colleagues from all sides about how actions and words affect multiple publics. Some call this “integrated marketing communication”; I call it basic PR and common sense.
  • Name changes don’t change perceptions or behavior. Splitting from Netflix to Netflix and Quikster is done for internal reasons. It is not convenient, easy, or better in any way for consumers. 
  • Short-term decisions can lead to long-term brand damage. Notice how Amway and Quixtar are recalled by the Ragan writer? Quixtar re- re-branded recently back to Amway because the name change never worked. But the move–again which probably seemed good internally–backfired consistently. 
Wise leadership and smart PR do not usually come from making quick decisions. They are evidenced by listening, pondering consequences, and managing relationships vs merely the bottom line. It’s better all the way around to be patient and clean than quick and dirty.

Branding Grand Haven an Interesting Challenge

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(Cross posted from my other blog: Pier Points and also from the March 10, 2011 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

So what is Grand Haven’s downtown brand? Or should I say, what is Brand Haven?
Last week the Grand Haven Tribune reported that Grand Haven is one of four cities chosen to be part of a new downtown branding program run by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). This is interesting because I would not associate MSHDA with downtown branding—a little branding irony there. I also couldn’t find anything about this pilot program on their web site, possibly because it’s still so new. Anyway, the other cities are Boyne City, Clare and Niles. In 16-20 weeks, downtown Grand Haven will have a brand new brand.
So, you’re asking, what does this mean? Well, often branding is little more than a logo. It started years ago when ranchers used hot “brands”—metal shaped into a unique design, such as a “circle T” or a “triple R”—to sear a mark into their cattle to indicate they belonged to their ranch. I don’t think we’ll see hot metal rods or smell the burning flesh of downtown merchants, but we’ll probably be exposed to some unique Grand Haven logo by the time the first summer tourist rolls into town.
Logos can’t be taken lightly. Think of McDonalds’ “golden arches” or the Nike “swoosh.” People see those iconic symbols and associate them immediately with the intoxicating aroma of French fries or athletic prowess. None of the branding literature I’ve read points out that you should not think of French fries while exerting yourself in sports. For that you need common sense.
Common sense helps in branding too. Because you need more than merely a logo to really be successful. This is especially true when branding a city, or a destination. You probably have never overheard anyone say something like this: “If you have to ask me why I’m going to Podunk, you obviously haven’t seen their logo!” This is why highly paid consultants usually recommend… a slogan!
Slogans are short phrases that capture the essence of a brand. Nike made a lot of hay with their “Just do it” campaign. I should know. I just did it. So Grand Haven needs more than a big GH inside a circle or something. It needs a slogan. Something like “Just come here!” Or maybe, “Grand Haven: Between Holland and Muskegon.” I could offer something really compelling, but I am not being highly paid for this column.
I will tell you what some of our neighbor cities did recently, to give you an idea. Zeeland garnered a lot of attention with its “Feel the Zeel” campaign. You can see how that’s going on their blog. Downtown Grand Rapids launched a campaign with a counter-intuitive, reverse psychology slogan of “Keep it a Secret.” If you never heard of it you can see how fabulously successful it has been!
But if brands are only a logo and a slogan, they can really backfire. If McDonalds’ food was overpriced or unsatisfying, if Nike’s products were cheaply made, their logos and slogans would be the source of laughter and not positive association. It’s what those of us who teach and practice ethical advertising and PR call “putting lipstick on the pig.”
So Grand Haven needs more than a logo and slogan. It needs to ensure that the experience people have when they come to downtown Grand Haven is unique, special and positive. It has to be so positive and unique that they tell others about it. This is why the Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention and Visitors Bureau recently renamed themselves “Experience Grand Rapids.”
Grand Haven does have some unique characteristics. There already are people who choose to come from Grand Rapids and places farther away to enjoy the area, including downtown. But while logos and slogans are fun and creative, the most important part of branding is often a combination of a unique offering and some very routine basics that will help meet and exceed visitors’ expectations. That means downtown merchants who offer things that people want and they can’t get anywhere else. It means a unique environment, such as the new streetscape and the proximity to the channel and Lake Michigan. But it also means adequate parking, stores that stay open past 6 p.m. and free coffee for college professors. I threw that last one in to see if you’re paying attention. But, it could be a unique part of the brand.
Even more important than all of the above is that everyone in downtown Grand Haven “lives” the brand. That means actually believing in and working to deliver the experience that the final brand proposes to offer. We’re between the windy city and the motor city. We can’t ask people to “feel the zeel” or experience Grand Rapids. But we are who we are.
I’m eager to see and hear what that is exactly.