Advertising veteran Peter Felser (right) and Max Meister, brand valuation consultant and lecturer in strategic communication at the Zurich School of Business
Advertising Week: The second year of the Brand Leadership course graduated in September: What can the 14 graduates do now?
Peter Felser: They see the world of brands differently. They think bigger, more far-sighted and, above all, think in terms of big visions and missions, and not just in terms of small optimizations and making things a little better. For us, it's all about doing things differently.
Max Meister: They certainly think more strategically and less operationally. We understand brand management from a strategic perspective, from the aspect of leadership.
Leadership means that brand management is integrated into corporate management?
Felser: Yes, it's about using the power of the brand mission to lead the entire company. You have to know where you want to go and why you exist as a company in the first place. Leadership and management are not the same thing. Management optimizes a little, makes sure that the business runs reasonably smoothly. Leadership, however, leads and has a big goal towards which it steers.
Master craftsman: The brand is central to the success of a company. The mission of a company is very much reflected in the brand and vice versa. If you take a leadership perspective, the brand suddenly becomes a very important part of corporate management. That's what we want to convey: The brand is not simply a product of the strategy, but should be understood as an important driver of the strategy.
Felser: The top 20 brands in Switzerland, which were recently published as part of the Brand Asset Valuer brand study, reveal something astonishing: When the study was launched 20 years ago, many brands that are still top today were already top, for example Migros, Ovomaltine, Toblerone, Zweifel and Caran d'Ache. On the other hand, there are new brands that have made it to the top very quickly. Google is one of them. The question is: why do some take so long to get to the top and others so quickly? My answer: It's the mission. Those who have a clear conviction get to the top quickly and can stay there for a long time, even if they hardly do any marketing or advertising. The mission is the be-all and end-all.
How is the Brand Leadership course structured? Can it be completed while working?
Master craftsman: Yes, there are 20 teaching days between March and September, during which the participants are present. In terms of content, we cover social and technological trends, crisis communication, change management, brand architecture and brand portfolios, the monetary aspects of brands through to the optimization of cooperation between partners, i.e. agency and client. We cover a wide range of topics and try to cover as many issues as possible that our participants have to deal with or will have to deal with in the future. We are less concerned with operational issues such as logo development and more with the big picture, the holistic view. This is why we also target people with management experience or management aspirations on the client or agency side.
They boast renowned speakers: Feldschlösschen CEO Thomas Amstutz, Emmi CEO Urs Riedener, top advertisers Dominique von Matt and Martin Spillmann as well as leading scientists such as neuromarketing expert Hans-Georg Häusel and professors Torsten Tomczak and Sven Reinecke from the University of St. Gallen. Does each of them cover a topic?
Master craftsman: Exactly. We have speakers from science and practice, each representing a specific range of topics. The composition of the people always remains more or less the same. Of course, we constantly add current topics to the course, such as digital transformation, and then look for suitable lecturers.
What sets holistic, strategic brand management apart from the status quo?
Felser: Brand management is very often equated with communication: We have something and tell people about it. Maybe we look at what people want to hear and just say that. But brand management, as we understand it, comes from the core of the brand, from the entire brand and from the company. It influences the employees, the suppliers, the investors - not just the sales market, but everyone. Employees are particularly important. The brands that are successful over a long distance have their employees under control, in the sense that they are motivated and inspired to work for the brand. I was able to visit Google in Silicon Valley. It's amazing how you can feel the enthusiasm of the employees. They emulate the company's mission, 30,000 on campus. Or take Tesla. The company's mission is to "revolutionize mobility" and change the world with it. The people who work there live it. That's why a mission is not simply advertising in the sales market. Brand leadership and mission are something holistic. Even the telephone operator and everyone involved with the company must be aware of it and support the ideas.
Let's put this in more concrete terms: Everyone is talking about VW-Gate. In your opinion, what can VW do to revitalize its brand?
Felser: Good question. Difficult question. The first thing is certainly to admit that you've made mistakes ...
... which VW did, even in advertisements with a mourning border ...
Master craftsman: ... yes, they have tried. VW is already in the middle of the change management process, which is certainly an important step. We will see how well-founded this process is. VW has to implement a cultural change - and that won't happen overnight. I think the problems that have now emerged are very much focused on technical operations. I don't think the whole company is infected. If you can localize the problem in a targeted way, you can also combat the damage in a targeted way. And the recently published figures indicate that the damage, at least so far, is economically manageable.
But isn't that the root of all evil? After all, VW vehicles are THE engineering cars, and the slogan has been "The car" for decades. And if there is now a problem in the area of engineering, this will severely damage the core of this brand and its credibility.
Felser: Yes, that's right. "The car" emphasizes reliability and technical perfection.
... and if there are now problems in this area, VW will lose its reputation, not only among consumers, as we are currently experiencing, but probably also among the employees who believed in "their" brand. Don't you think so?
Felser: I also see major problems ahead for VW. But two other points seem important to me in this case. One is that a strong brand is also stronger in crises. Just think of UBS. A weaker brand would not have survived this crisis of confidence. And it will be exactly the same with VW. In three or four years, VW will once again be a strong brand that will survive. The second point is that the problem at VW is obviously a cultural one. And that is the pressure that has been exerted on the engineers. They failed to meet certain requirements and were not allowed to admit it. Similar to UBS, which has high profit expectations, exerts pressure and the employees then become semi-criminals. VW has to change this culture.
What role do employees play in this?
Felser: A very central one. VW needs to communicate new values to its employees and this will most likely have to be done top-down.
And what role do consumers play?
Felser: Well, they don't have a huge problem, for the individual it is not so relevant that certain standard values were not met. VW has loyal and satisfied customers, the car drives. But I do believe that the brand has to move on its own initiative, not the public. But I wouldn't rush into it. Changes in values and culture are necessary: Mistakes have to be possible again, you have to be allowed to admit that you can't do something. The mass mind is slow and wounds heal. I wouldn't overreact.
What do you think of the advertisements currently being placed by VW - framed with a mourning border, the management crawls to its knees and asks for forgiveness. Is this the right approach?
Master craftsman: That is a first step. And the only one they can take at the moment. In a situation like this, it's the only message that comes across as reasonably credible. Let's take a look at Toyota, which has also caused some problems. It didn't damage the company's reputation in the long term. And consumers forgive relatively quickly when the performance is right again. So: Do buses ...
... and talk about it ...
Master craftsman: Exactly. You simply have to focus on your strengths again quickly. I am confident about VW. However, we're not talking about six months; it will certainly take three to four years.
What is more important: the standing of a brand with consumers - or with the employees of the company that manages the brand?
Felser: Both are important. I would now give more weight to employees. But that's not the same in every industry. In the service industry, it's extreme, employees are central, they are living brand messages. It's slightly different in an industrial company. But I would rate the importance of employees very highly. And there is generally too little awareness of this in brand management. Everyone says "employees are important, people are at the center". But this is rarely put into practice and made tangible so that employees are motivated and inspired.
Do brands have a life of their own?
Master craftsman: Certainly more so in times of social media and digital transformation. It is becoming more and more challenging to manage brands, brand management is becoming more and more complex. That's why we offer this course, because we want to show that you can manage brands in a targeted manner even in times of digitalization. But you have to know how. However, we don't offer any one-size-fits-all solutions; each situation must be considered separately. The fundamental problem is that anyone can express their opinion anonymously on the Internet and thus damage a brand considerably. Even if what you write is not true. You simply have to deal with this challenge professionally. Nestlé, for example, has a kind of war room in which negative comments are dealt with in a targeted manner so that shitstorms do not occur or only occur in moderation. But if you are really confronted with a shitstorm, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. You have to decide how to react based on the situation. Incidentally, we also cover crisis communication in the course.
Felser: I warn against companies virtually handing over their brand management to consumers in the age of social media, looking for a way out and then adapting to the needs of their customers. Anyone who does this is zigzagging and has absolutely no control over their own brand. And if everyone collects data about their customers, analyzes it and then does exactly what they want - then everyone is doing exactly the same thing. In terms of branding, this leads to a dead end. A brand has to know for itself what it wants, what suits it and what doesn't. And then the consumer has to decide whether this brand suits them or not. A brand cannot please everyone. A brand must have a conviction. And those consumers who have the same conviction say: this is a great brand, I'll stay loyal to it. Conviction binds and creates loyalty. The relationship between brands and people is like the relationship between people. Consumers who have a different conviction turn to a different brand. If there is no shared conviction, you cannot retain consumers in the long term. Then you entice them with prices, vouchers and discounts, manipulate them - marketing that is not financially viable in the long term.
Digitalization, mobile and social media are changing our lives. How does brand management in the 21st century differ from that of the 20th century?
Master craftsman: The instruments hardly differ, but the distribution channels do. Our media usage behavior has changed dramatically, and mobile will become even more important in the future. Consumers will watch less "normal" TV and use channels such as Netflix instead, and the video format will certainly continue to grow in importance. If the distribution channels change, we naturally have to adapt the messages accordingly, but brand management still works with the same tools and pursues the same goals.
Felser: We have more and more opportunities to manage our brand. However, this also entails decisions. After all, it is impossible to be equally present on all channels and take advantage of all the opportunities that present themselves. Not least for financial reasons. Companies therefore need to focus. There is the touchpoint analysis, which analyzes 72 different touchpoints and tries to evaluate which one has the most impact. Logically, not all 72 can be used. That's why you have to decide what suits the brand best, where you really want to invest and be strong. And these are then four or five touchpoints, perhaps even fewer for smaller companies.
Or if we look at VW again: What is their target group? Not the very young people. So social media marketing is certainly less relevant than print advertising.
Felser: That is an important point. Of course, you have to think about which channels you really use to reach your target group. But I wouldn't reduce this to young and old - I have the feeling that social media is more important for the older generation than for the very young. But you are absolutely right that you have to look at which target group you want to address, what the task of communication is, and only then can you decide which are the right communication channels for this. And it may well be that established channels such as print and TV are right in one case and completely wrong in another and you have to do something completely different.
The "CAS Brand Leadership" course is aimed at experienced professionals. Do graduates have better promotion and development opportunities after completing the course - or what do they gain from participating?
Master craftsman: Professional profiling is certainly one of the motives of our participants. However, their strongest motive is to acquire new and additional knowledge that can be used strategically and broaden their horizons.
Felser: I listened to all the presentations myself. And despite 25 years of professional experience, I learned a lot. I was able to take away new knowledge and fascinating information about neuromarketing, for example. Or in the area of human resources, the question of whether employee bonuses make sense in the context of brand management. Very exciting. The lecturers come from the field and tell us what works well for them - but also what works less well. And it is very instructive to learn about this. You can't find this knowledge anywhere else.
When you launched the course in 2013, you were responding to an unmet need in the market: can you reiterate this?
Felser: At the time, we analyzed further education courses at various universities of applied sciences. There are many brand management courses that teach tools for optimizing the brand. There are also courses on strategic corporate management. But there was no link between strategic corporate management and brand management. We have filled this gap with brand leadership. A brand only has a right to exist if it does something for people. We don't mean that esoterically. Brands that do something for people are much more successful in the medium term and earn much more money. That's the point. So the question is not how I can make 2 percent more turnover, but how I can do something for people. Then I make 10 percent more turnover.
The next round of the course will start in March 2016. Do I have to apply to take part?
Master craftsman: Exactly. Interested parties can submit their CV by the end of January and we will check whether they are suitable for the course. It is important that participants have experience in brand management, marketing or communication in order to benefit from the course.
Interview: Anne-Friederike Heinrich
This article appeared in Werbewoche 22/2015 from 4.12.2015. OurSubscribers miss nothing in the new year.
