Maria Ogneva

Maria can be found on Twitter @themaria or @thegoodemaria
Her blog is http://themaria.me or Goodewinejourney

What is a brand? An old marketing professor once said (and I am paraphrasing here), a brand is like a human, it’s like your friend. A successful brand should be about something, should stand for something, and should be easily described in 1-2 words by just about anyone (well, anyone in your target market – the people you are actually trying to reach). When evaluating how good a brand is, I ask myself those same questions: “What are the first words that come to mind? Is it confusing? Is it straightforward? If I am a part of the brand’s target demographic, would I want to be this brand’s friend, or does it turn me off? And how do all the elements of the marketing mix (price, product design, distribution, and promotions) support or hurt this brand image, and do they appeal to the target market?”

When thinking about successful and well-communicated brands of our time, Method (the home and personal products brand) comes to mind at the top of the list as a serious brand win. So let’s go through the exercise:

• What are the first words that come to mind when thinking about Method? “Beautiful, clean, natural, green (in the environmental sense),hip, cool”
• What is this brand about?  Just that: beautiful products that fight dirt. They know that people buy household products to keep things clean, and they own that association in the mind by “a cleaner clean” tagline and even developing, sustaining and celebrating “people against dirty” community. What really differentiates it, however, is a unique value proposition of a healthier product, made from natural ingredients, which makes the home healthier by eliminating dangerous chemicals.
• What else is the brand about? Environmental sustainability. For just about each product category, be it hand soap, dishwasher soap or household cleaners, refills are available to add to the beautiful bottle that you only need to buy the first time. Their products are biodegradable, dilutable and reusable. A “green” consumer’s dream.
• Who is the target demographic? A higher-end consumer who enjoys beautiful products and cares about the environment, someone who doesn’t mind paying a little extra for a product that’s not chock full ‘o chemicals and helps save the planet at the same time.

How do the marketing mix elements fit in?

• Price – Method products aren’t cheap, definitely putting it into the premium category. But it works for the higher-end “green” clientele that is willing to pay for it.
• Product – everything from container design, to color choices, to the website design – is attention-grabbing, unique, colorful and just so “hip”. The product design literally jumps off the shelf (see my photo I captured at the store), to the point of inviting a lot of competitors and even inspiring private label designs. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?
• Placement – Method is distributed is primarily through finer retailers like Target, Whole Foods and Duane Reade. Although they have added products to slightly lower-end retailers in recent years, the “better” chains are on the preferred list and carry a wider selection.
• Promotion – historically promoted through Word-of-Mouth, via great shelf space and attention grabbing product design, Method launched an advertising campaign last year called “Detox Your Home” through Omnicom’s TBW. The campaign focused on biodegradable cleaning products via print ads, online banners and SEO, and emphasized a “style with substance” message.

All in all, Method is a brand win. All the elements fall right into place to form an unmistakable and very distinct brand personality that’s promoted and distributed to reach its target demographic. Definitely a brand win in my book!

In the words of Carisa Bianchi, president of TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles:

“The brand itself has a personality that is very fun. They really wanted to preserve that personality,” Ms. Bianchi said. “It’s written from a human perspective, it’s very conversational, from someone you might know well.”

Tagged as: Advertising, Brand, Business, Duane Reade, Los Angeles, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Omnicom Group, Target market