Who won the the second UK TV election debate? The 7Ps.

Who won the second UK TV election debate? There was no overall winner, in my view. So here, in my view, are the winners of the “Ps”.

Passion: Ed Milliband, Labour

Past performance and Prime Ministerial: David Cameron, Conservative

Provocation: Nigel Farage, UKIP

Positioning: Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrats

Prospects of improvement:Nicola Sturgeon SNP, Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymra, Natalie Bennett, Green Party

Partnering: (Nicola and Leanne, the two ladies in red)

Is your #brand, bland or #SPPICCCED up?

The Spice Market at Istanbul

A brand can be a symbol, sign, slogan and many things.

The problem is that many brands are bland.

They should be SPPICCCED up; here are the ingredients.

 

1.Strategic aspects

Simplify

#Simplify is an important #MartialArtsPrinciple

Do you present your brand in a way that people can grasp?

Here are two examples of failure to do this:

• After reviewing a specialist hospital’s branding, I still didn’t understand what they did.
• A wellness company had a general name that didn’t reflect it’s focus on senior clients. It’s new name “Super Seniors Fitness” was a lot clearer.

Two useful tips are:

• A past editor of the Economist advised young journalists to “simplify, then exaggerate”.
• Remember that “Facts tell but stories sell.”

Purpose & Passion

Does your purpose and your #Why? come across?

How do you behave?

Do you offer fun?

Think:

• Meerkats,
• The humour at Innocent Drinks; and
• The “antidote to the panel show” that is “I’m sorry I haven’t a Clue.”

I don’t like “your call is important to us”.

 

Integrity

Do you observe the letter and spirit of law?

Think about:

• Criminality at Madoff and Enron; and
• Mis-selling of mortgage protection services.

 

Competition

How are you different? Do you #PlayToYourStrengths?

Many services and products are “me-too” or commodities.

Difference are usually about price, quality, experience or customisation.

I like “The Dyson Airblade: The fastest, most hygienic hand dryer.”

I like the Investec branding with an image of a zebra and a caption:

“Different, not indifferent.”

 

Culture & values

Humour works well for Innocent or Ben & Jerry’s.

But not for an organisation dealing with mental health.

 

2.Tactical aspects

Consistency

Is your image & identity consistently reflected in your name, visuals, tag lines & social media presence?

Metro Bank emphasis speed of decision making, informality and approachability.

Their large banking halls, also used for business events, emphasise that.

Does your brand work in different countries & cultures?

(As a school boy, I drank a lot of a drink called Pschitt. Purely because I liked asking for it by name..)

 

Execution

What’s it like for your customers, clients and stakeholders?

Do you deliver on your promises? Think #TSBMigration

Word spreads quickly these days through comparison & ranking sites &  social media.

 

Dynamism

Can you respond quickly when you make mistakes?

Toyota mishandled the brakes problems on their Prius cars.

David Cameron corrected his (previous) Royal Wedding dress code error quickly.

Brexit referendum is more difficult..

 

Picture by Alaskan Dude of the “fragrant and colorful” Spice market at Istanbul Turkey & of the writer speaking at Metro Bank on #PlayToYourStrengths

Please feel free to comment on this post.  Or to contact me here:

mike@barnato.com

@MikeBarnato

mikebarnato.wordpress.com

#MMAMike