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Could This Be America's Most Satisfying Small Airport Experience?

8/28/2014

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Now that Condé Nast Traveler readers have named America's 10 best airports, I'm glad to find one of my favorites toward the top of  their list -- Tampa International. As many times as I've flown in and out of Tampa, I've not only never had a hassle, getting in and out of the airport (easy), parking or during the departure / arrival process, but actually have found the place relaxing.

But say you ran a smaller, regional airport located between two hub-sized airports, both roughly equidistant from larger population centers with considerably more flight options?  Many fewer passengers use your airport vs. the others
. How would you convince local people to fly from your airport rather two bigger ones, each an hour or so away? 

One thing you might do is solicit traveler feedback.  Short of conducting passenger intercepts (a good idea), check out Yelp(dot)com and build your key message around the good things people are saying there.  For Piedmont Triad International Airport, which serves twelve North Carolina counties and six Virginia counties surrounding Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point (the world’s furniture capital), the online chatter mostly is good news. 

Passengers seem to appreciate the ease with which they fly in and out of PTIA, despite the occasional complaint about not having a Starbucks to hang out in.

      “In and out quickly.  You can close the door to your car and be at your gate in under 12 minutes.”

                                                                             local passenger

         “An awesome airport … one of my favorites.”


                                                                             Hollywood, CA passenger

“I have been so overwhelmed by my experience at Greensboro airport that I feel like I needed to write about it,” posts a traveler from New Jersey.   “Every single employee of the airport or any of the vendors is ecstatic that you chose to fly out of ‘their’ airport.  They are constantly thanking you and going out of their way to help you.  It is the same every time - car rental, ticket agents, TSA, gate agents, security, vendors - they all have that same attitude.  Fly out of this airport if you have the chance!!”

There seem to be two kinds of people who love to “Fly PTI.”  One is the local passenger willing to pay a small premium for their ticket to avoid driving either to Charlotte or Raleigh-Durham -- if you drive to Charlotte from the Triad and dare count on I-85 or I-77 during certain morning or afternoon hours you could easily miss your flight.  The second kind of PTIA passenger (mark me among them) revels in the experience of a less-than-bustling terminal, short wait times and efficient service.  For people like us, an investment in avoiding the inevitability of parking hassles, long lines and general uncertainty is an easy choice.  Some PTIA passengers do quibble about the lack of restaurant options, but they love the convenient rental car location just steps outside baggage claim.  Some also snicker at the “International” in PTIA but love easy connection to the big hubs – while appreciating the ease of getting in and out of this airport. 

Management, of course, would like to see an increase in hustle and bustle because that means more paying customers.  But here of late they also seem to be embracing – and crowing about – the many pluses of their situation while working diligently to offer “the best passenger experience we can.”

“It’s hard running an airport,” says Kevin Baker, PTIA’s executive director, “because everybody’s goal is to leave the building.  So while they’re with us, our goal is to make them as comfortable as possible.

“We want it to be a hard decision for people to leave our airport” in favor of one of the others. “Parking is cheaper, and easier.  Every seat in the ticketing area and in both concourses has power available to passengers – plus the ability to charge your iPad or other device.  And there’s free WiFi.”

The 4.5 million people living within 90 minutes of PTIA will be glad to learn that the difference in fares between GSO, CLT and RDU has been reduced, according to the airport’s marketing and customer relations manager, Stephanie Freeman. 

“Lower fares used to be the key driver of leakage to the other airports,” Freeman says, “and the perception still lingers.  We have found that people will choose to fly from here for as much as $150 difference compared to Charlotte and $100-$150 compared to Raleigh-Durham, and that difference is increasing.”

Baker acknowledges that while PTIA’s fares are “coming more in line,” there will always be some passenger leakage, particularly in light of Charlotte’s position as a hub with 140 destinations vs. PTIA’s 16.  (PTIA was 91st in passenger enplanements among U.S. airports during CY2013, according to the FAA. Charlotte was #8 and Raleigh-Durham #39.) “We can’t change that,” he says, “but we can make the first step in connecting to more than 200 worldwide destinations easier.”  Currently, there are 53 direct flights out of PTIA to 14 destinations served by American/U.S. Airways, Delta, United, Frontier and Allegiant.

PTIA has added a variety of passenger-pleasing amenities over the past four years.  In addition to the personal connectivity features mentioned above, they’ve refreshed the terminal and concourses, updated flight information displays and, most recently, have added charging stations for electric vehicles – the first airport to do so in North Carolina. Fifty Airport Ambassadors also add a personal touch to airport service, a team of 50 volunteers who “do our best to transform your traveling stress into southern-style comfort.”

Baker points out that in addition to its many passenger delights, Piedmont Triad International Airport is transforming its 4,000 acre campus into an “aerotropolis,” with hopes of becoming the Wichita of the East.  Called “The best landing field in the south" during its early days, PTIA now is the third busiest airport in North Carolina -- and the state’s largest aerospace employer.   Tenants include:
  • Honda Aircraft Company, which employs 650 people (at last count) and plans to introduce their innovative Honda Jet – designed and manufactured at PTIA -- into service next year;
  • maintenance, repair and overhaul giant TIMCO Aviation Services, which alone has 705,000 square feet of hanger space at GSO, 1,500 local employees and attracts business from all over the world, in part because the airport’s two parallel main runways can comfortably handle the world’s largest planes;
  • and Cessna Aircraft, with a 45,000 square foot service center for its Citation business jets.

The FedEx mid-Atlantic air hub is here, in the company of firms like GE Aviation and B/E Aerospace.  And according to Executive Director Baker, there’s plenty room for more. The (self-supporting) airport authority has approved a 10-year, $350 million development program to acquire and prepare some 600 acres of land nearby.  Down-the-road benefits?  Some 18-thousand potential new jobs and perhaps $3.2 billion of business impact.

A wealth of aviation-based training already is in place to help assure the region’s economic success.  Guilford Community College’s aviation training center and other nearby schools offer aviation- and aerospace-related programs.  The new T.H. Davis Aviation Center, which partners with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, is considered one of the best-equipped aviation maintenance training facilities in the Southeast.

However, daily evidence of this airport’s success is reflected in the experiences of its passengers, people who choose to fly in and out of PTIA despite the looming reality of two hub-sized airports only an hour-and-a-half away.   

Could Piedmont Triad International Airport be America's Most Satisfying Small Airport?  

You’d think so to read what a strong plurality of PTIA travelers have to say – and as anyone who flies commercial these days well knows, airline passengers will complain at the drop of a boarding pass should something go awry but are less likely to pay a compliment.

PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
“PTI has such an awesome hometown feel to it,” writes a passenger from Chicago.  “It is so simple and straightforward.  No hassle, just a bunch of common sense - the way it should be!”

“Piedmont Triad International Airport is an awesome little airport!” writes another passenger. “And while it does not have the breadth of dining and shopping options of other airports, it has its own small airport charm!”

 “It’s ‘Home Sweet Home’,” says a third, “compared to huge, chaotic airports.”

All is not perfection at PTIA – some passengers do have minor gripes.  But for a smaller airport caught between two much larger ones, the good news is very good indeed.

The tagline says it all.  Fly easy.  Fly PTI.  

TakeAway:  Communicate your competitive advantage based on what your most satisfied customers have to say about your product or service.  Because that’s the truth!

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner

Tags:  PTIA, Piedmont Triad International Airport, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Starbucks, GSO, CLT, RDU, American / U.S. Airways, Delta, United, Frontier, Allegiant, aerotropolis, Honda Jet, TIMCO, Cessna Aircraft, GE Aviation, FedEx, B/E Aerospace, Guilford Community College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Yelp.com

About Brian Faulkner:

Brian Faulkner is a content and strategic communiction writer.  He helps clients come up with words to set their businesses, brands and products apart and attract the customers they want most.  His strategic insights, and the words that go with them, have made a significant, often immediate difference for client companies over many years.  His "sweet spot" is smaller to moderate sized consumer products, retail, service and manufacturing companies that may have struggled to find just the right words to position their business, brands or products to competitive advantage:

>  blogs to establish you as the thought leader / authority in your business category
>  case stories that communicate your sales successes and invite prospect inquiry
>  testimonials that showcase customer / client satisfaction in 1-2 short sentences
>  positioning statements to guide business development & marketing
>  landing page copy to set your business or brand apart in a compelling way
>  tagline development to attract the interest of your most qualified prospects

Brian also is a five-time Emmy award-winning Public Television writer / narrator.  He is principal writer and narrator of UNC-TV’s popular "Our State" magazine series, on the air since 2003.  His distinctive sound has been heard on many hundreds of radio spots and client videos since the 1970s.  People say he has a “Mercedes voice” and sounds a bit like Charles Kuralt, which Brian considers a welcome ... but happy ... illusion.


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A New Tagline For OJ?

8/22/2014

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Keywords:  tagline, taglines, orange juice, OJ, soft drinks, carbonated soft drinks, cola, soda, competitive advantage, brand story

I
t’s hard to imagine.  Americans are turning away from orange juice!  Not in huge quantities, mind you, but the trend definitely is down, according to a FoxBusiness story online. August sales data from Nielsen and the Florida Department of Citrus revealed a drop in volume of 9.2% (gallons) vs. a year ago.  Dollar sales were down 5.4%.

What’s that all about?


Cost is one factor.  A gallon of OJ ($6.44 average retail, up 4.1% over last year) now costs almost twice as much as a gallon of gas ($3.45 according to AAA).  A bacterial disease also is making the revered breakfast staple more expensive by reducing fruit production, says Florida Department of Citrus spokesperson David Steele, III. 

But one of the biggest factors in diminished sales seems to be that old bugaboo, sugar.  Another may be misplaced attention. 

“Nutritional experts have been advising against the sugary fruit drink,” reveals Gabrielle Karol in her FOXbusiness story. She cites Alissa Rumsey, a registered dietician and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, writing that she’s “definitely heard people say it’s affecting their decision whether to buy orange juice or not.”

Okay … but shame on the sugar police for picking on our orange juice!  As a friend said in discussing this story, “It ain’t exactly soda.”

True.  A 12-oz. soft cola soft drink has close to 40 grams of sugar.  A glass of orange juice (presumably 8-oz.) has about 21 grams of the sweet stuff -- not added sugar, mind you (like high fructose corn syrup), but the natural occurring variety.  If my math is right, a 12-oz. glass of OJ would have approximately 31 grams of sugar.  A small cup of Greek yogurt in my fridge has 14.  A tablespoon of my favorite Morello Cherry “fruit spread” has 8g.  A dollop of ketchup, 4.  And an 8-oz. serving of apple cider (no added sugar) has 31g. 

So a breakfast-sized serving of OJ (probably more like 4-oz) compares favorably with other sweetish fare – and it’s good for you to boot -- especially compared to the real dietary demon: soft drinks, which are sugar bombs with zero nutritional value.   

It could be that OJ simply has lost its cool - if it ever had any (I thought OJ was great when I was eight). But carbonated soft drinks have been the beneficiaries of billions of dollars worth of artificially maintained cool over the years.  And today we consume soft drinks in shamefully large annual quantities as part of the "American lifestyle”. 

So maybe what OJ needs (the carbonated beverage, not the celebrity criminal) is an attractive new tagline – not to mention some relief from dieticians who appear to have nothing better to do than pick on a true-love product like orange juice.  (To be fair, the dietician quoted in this story recommends eating whole oranges instead of drinking orange juice, for the fiber content and because the sugar is less concentrated.) 

As for OJ's new tagline, I thought immediately of The Un-Soda.  But that’s too 7-Uppy sounding.  So what about these possibilities:

Orange Juice:  The Anytime Sunshine Drink.
Orange Juice:  Made by the Sun, Enjoyed by You.
Orange Juice:  The Best Way Start to Your Day … Under the Sun.

No doubt other good ideas will pop into readers’ minds.   Meanwhile, OJ:  Don’t let the bullies get you down.

TakeAway:  The OJ trial taglines above reveal key ingredients to be considered in giving birth to a tagline that clearly communicates competitive advantage, invites people into the brand story and makes future customers want what you have – without wasting a word.  A tagline must be:

  1.  Simple.   
  2.  Direct.
  3.  Compelling.   
  4.  Authentic.  
  5.  Strategic.
  6.  Personal.
  7.  Meaningful.  
  8.  Visual.
  9.  Memorable.
10.  Enduring.

Notice I didn’t include “creative.”  There are too many clever -- but empty -- taglines already out there. 

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner

About Brian Faulkner:

Brian Faulkner is a content writer and Key Message expert.  He helps clients come up with words to set their businesses, brands and products apart and attract the customers they want most.  His strategic insights, and the words that go with them, have made a significant, often immediate difference for client companies over many years.  His "sweet spot" is smaller to moderate sized consumer products, retail, service and manufacturing companies that may have struggled to find just the right words to position their business, brands or products to competitive advantage:

>  blogs to establish you as the thought leader / authority in your business category
>  case stories that communicate your sales successes and invite prospect inquiry
>  testimonials that showcase customer / client satisfaction in 1-2 short sentences
>  positioning statements to guide business development & marketing
>  landing page copy to set your business or brand apart in a compelling way
>  tagline development to attract the interest of your most qualified prospects

Brian also is a three-time Emmy award-winning Public Television writer and narrator of over 100 segments for UNC-TV’s popular Our State magazine series, on the air since 2003.  

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People Power as a Competitive Advantage.

8/14/2014

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Lowes Foods, a 60-year-old, 100+ store grocery chain based in North Carolina, has made a gutsy move:  they’ve put the future of their business in the hands of their people.  Their team.  Their hosts -- the honorific says it all.  

The moment you walk in one of their rebranded, re-cultured stores, you can feel the difference.  Smiles seem to arise naturally.  Employees greet you and offer their help – and seem to mean it.  There’s a refreshing hustle about the place.  More spontaneity. Lowes Foods leadership has managed somehow to meld procedure and belief and make it work.  
 

“Cultural branding is really at the core, at the heart of what we’re trying to do,” says the company’s enthusiastic CMO, Michael Moore, a veteran of 28-years in the grocery business.  “And what I’ve experienced a lot as I’ve gone to retailers, both in the States and overseas, is that there’s so much emphasis placed on the visual side of the equation, prettying up the store, making it a little bit more shoppable, so on and so forth, but yet there’s nothing that’s done with what we call our hosts.”

Although stores like Publix (1077 stores in six southeastern states), Wegmans (84 stores in the Northeast), Whole Foods Market (371 stores nationally) and Nugget Markets (9 stores in California) are known for getting the cultural piece right.  And each rises continuously on FORTUNE’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For*. 

Nugget Markets claims that their “positive attitude and love of people” sets their associates apart, which – in turn -- sets them apart in the marketplace.

“Our associates are the difference maker,” says Chris Carpenter, their COO and Vice President, “and it is they who separate us from our competition.  We believe that when our associates are having fun and feeling valued, there is an energy and enthusiasm that is created—and it transcends right through the guest.”

Lowes Foods’ management gets that.  My recent conversation with CMO Moore in one of the company’s stores was interrupted several times by cheers from people in the Chicken Kitchen celebrating completion of another batch of “chicken you’d cross the road for.”  

Who wouldn’t rather shop at a store where people are enthusiastic about their work – as long as quality and selection are up to par?  Personal experience is just one of a dozen or so competitive factors that set any business apart – along with service, convenience, innovation, etc.  Even grocers who sell primarily on price often have other competitive factors in their favor.  Aldi for example, is known for its limited inventory, quality merchandise plus low price.

But the people part likely does as much, or more, to attract and hold customers than any other single competitive factor.  It’s also the most challenging to make happen -- and sustain -- in the me-saturated American culture.   Disney has proven the value (and endurance) of people power for decades.  

“The Disney operating style has greatly influenced our training program,” says Moore.  “We believe in one of the core Disney concepts in particular, which is when we’re on the floor we’re onstage, and we want the people onstage to be delightful.  We want our hosts to be rabid fans, working for Lowes, and we want our guests to feel that love – and feel that commitment and support.”

Even when my local Lowes Foods store was only halfway through its renovation, the cultural transformation already had begun taking hold.  I was pleasantly surprised when a man in the produce department engaged me in conversation about the mushrooms I was buying.  (see http://theproducemerchant.com/produce-stand-outs/ for more about him)

Customer satisfaction is relatively easy to achieve, because it’s … relative.  Creating delight, however, is quite something else and may not even be measurable except by collecting personal anecdotes and tracking repeat business. The man in produce delighted me by offering suggestions on how to store and prepare my mushrooms.  A month or so later, a young woman roaming the store with crisp watermelon samples intercepted me in the cereal aisle.  Her smile alone was enough to delight.  And had I not been a long-time Lowes Foods customer, either "host" would have more than counterbalanced my experience a few weeks prior with the only rude clerk I’ve ever encountered at that store (a memorable example of how not to treat a customer).

“Culture is the driver in our company in all departments,” says Lowes Foods VP of Fresh Sales Chris Van Parys.  “While the bricks and mortar have all evolved, of course, the take-away we have the most pride in is our people or hosts.  The main focus is taking care of our guests in new and unexpected ways.”

And not everybody fits. 

“There’s a certain profile we look for as we think about new hire strategy,” says Moore, “people comfortable with that kind of interaction.  The folks who are not, there’s tons of great backstage kind of work that fits better for them.  And we really make sure that’s front and center as people are making applications for jobs.”

The new people who have appeared in my local Lowes Foods store recently seem to embody that spirit more readily than the old crew (although there are a few choice holdovers).  Even the young workers who stock the shelves have sprouted an upbeat, helpful attitude.  You find much the same at Publix, where employees also are owners.


PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
“Providing premier service and a pleasurable shopping experience is what we hang our hat on,” says Kimberly Reynolds, media and community relations manager in their Charlotte, N.C. division, who noted that as far back as 1930, their founder proclaimed that “we shall treat our customers like kings and queens.”  Today, how the Publix brand promise plays out in the stores remains their “secret sauce,” as an associate in Fort Mill, S.C. proved to me recently by not only being above-and-beyond helpful concerning a product they did not carry but personable to boot.  She personified founder George W. Jenkins' belief that "Publix will be a little better place — or not quite as good — because of you."

Max De Pree, in his seminal little book, “Leadership Is an Art”, talks about covenantal leadership, which I have seen at work in only a small handful of client organizations over the years – from small businesses to billion-dollar consumer products companies and their business units.  The culture of a national apparel manufacturer/marketer I consulted to revolved around a passionate leader who created the future, invested the team in it and sponsored their success.  But the company's culture proved tenuous.  When the leader moved on (or in another case  I recall, when corporate ownership changed), the cultural focus and inspired energy dissipated.

Lowes Foods, like Publix, appears to understand that in order to survive, qualities like “team” and “passion” and “commitment” can’t be pasted on.  They have to be planted deep and lived out in the attitudes and actions of people who believe they are contributing to a larger cause.  Only then can business culture become an enduring – rather than momentary – source of competitive advantage.  It’s not something you can fake.

Publix hires people with “a servant’s” heart, which CEO Ed Crenshaw appears to epitomize.  Lowes Foods hires people who understand the concept of “host” from the heart out, and their senior management team is quick to credit one another with the early success they’ve achieved in rebranding the chain and building a new culture.  That suggests stability in an era when grocery shoppers will change stores on a dime just to get a good price.   

Stability alone is no guarantor of success, of course, although stability based on a culture of believers with a can-do attitude can work wonders in attracting and keeping customers – and perhaps even help make a buck or two more than the competitor down the block. 

Publix and Lowes Foods are destined to compete more directly in the near future as the Florida chain moves deeper into North Carolina. Customers are sure to respond positively to both stores’ people-powered presentations and reward them with increased business and greater loyalty.

TakeAway: People power can be a powerful source of competitive advantage. How does your culture stack up?

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner   *FORTUNE and FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For are registered trademarks of Time Inc.

Tags:  Lowes Foods, Publix, cultural branding, Wegmans, Whole Foods Market, Nugget Markets, ALDI



About Brian Faulkner:

Brian Faulkner is a content writer and Key Message expert.  He helps clients come up with words to set their businesses, brands and products apart and attract the customers they want most.  His strategic insights, and the words that go with them, have made a significant, often immediate difference for client companies over many years.  His "sweet spot" is smaller to moderate sized consumer products, retail, service and manufacturing companies that may have struggled to find just the right words to position their business, brands or products to competitive advantage:

>  blogs to establish you as the thought leader / authority in your business category
>  case stories that communicate your sales successes and invite prospect inquiry
>  testimonials that showcase customer / client satisfaction in 1-2 short sentences
>  positioning statements to guide business development & marketing
>  landing page copy to set your business or brand apart in a compelling way
>  tagline development to attract the interest of your most qualified prospects

Brian also is a three-time Emmy award-winning Public Television writer and narrator of over 100 segments for UNC-TV’s popular Our State magazine series, on the air since 2003.  



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TaglineS, Positioning and the Aflac Duck.

8/8/2014

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Picture
Is the Aflac Duck still a marketing asset, or has the brand icon become so silly that he deflects attention from the company’s message?

I loved the Duck at first.   His arrival back in 2000 was a hoot.  You’ve got to hand that to talking ducks, especially ones that can almost pronounce the company name.  He was fresh, he was cute.  He quacked me up -- and was destined for advertising stardom.

But has he finally lost his duck go-power?   Partially.

The Duck reminds me of Joe Namath, the New York Jets star quarterback who Hanes Hosiery hired to do a TV spot for a new product called Beautymist 40 years ago.   

The camera panned along a pair of slender legs sheathed in the product while a perky woman who sounded like she was about to break into laughter talked about how Beautymist makes any legs look like a million dollars.  Then we see it’s really Joe.  The commercial was hugely successful.   Recall was out of this world – for Joe Namath.   Hardly anybody remembered the product.  

In contrast, the Duck worked for Aflac right out of the box.  People associated the brand with him immediately.  But even as the Duck worked his creative magic, it was hard to discern from the commercials what Aflac actually did – at least for me.  Even today, I had to go to Wikipedia to remind myself that Aflac sells different types of insurance and is best known for the supplemental kind offered through employers – insurance that pays expenses not covered by existing major medical coverage. 

Interestingly, their Web site wasn’t much help until I ventured well beyond the landing page.
It’s astonishing how little product positioning Aflac appears to have included in their spots over the years, as if curiosity alone will drive prospects to inquire -- even though the Duck supposedly has been quacking about product since 2009.  A strategically focused, well-stated tagline could have knocked it out of the park for Aflac and put a productive coda on the Duck’s antics long ago.   Viewers would have “got” Aflac’s strong benefits and unique distribution channel (although many people probably Googled the name and figured that out for themselves).

In a recent MediaPost article, columnist Steve Smith seems to disagree with me -- I think. 

He cites a TV spot about quick claim resolution in which the Duck “highlights the competency of the brand by contrasting it with the duck’s ineptitude in all other endeavors.”  In other words, the Duck acts the fool to introduce an Aflac product feature, like “a near-silent comedian trading on a string of sight gags.” 

Smith then recommends “leveraging the duck more effectively” on Vine and Instagram.  In other words, export the silliness to social media where it can be broken into bits and enjoyed ad nauseum.  Thus, the writer (who also is a digital media critic and a columnist for Mobile Marketing Daily) presumes that the Duck remains effective in a slapstick, “idiot savant” sort of way. 

There clearly is a market for silliness or there wouldn’t be so many cat videos on YouTube.  But as a brand spokes-icon, the Duck seems to have lost his way.  He’s gotten sillier and sillier, taking more and more attention away from the product in a situation where the brand desperately needs to communicate a key message.  The Duck’s original mission was elegantly simple: create awareness of the brand name.  But now it seems that he has almost become the message.

The Duck is no more Aflac’s message than Joe Namath was Beautymist’s message, although the Duck and the brand are now practically indistinguishable.  His function should be to lay out the welcome mat for the message but not overwhelm it.  He should make his entrance, do his bit and exit stage right.

Even so, the Duck clearly has produced results for Aflac – in a let’s “run the damned idea into the ground until every blessed soul in America is familiar with an otherwise obscure personal insurance product” sort of way, as Smith puts it.  “Sometimes frequency trumps creative cleverness,” he concludes -- although the Energizer Bunny might not agree.

But think how much more effective (and less dependent on frequency) Aflac's advertising would have been had the Duck set the stage for a powerful tagline that amplified their brand message and prompted even more qualified prospects to inquire about their product.  

“It all seems to be a slightly tortured road to underscore the brand’s point,” Smith writes, commenting on the most recent Aflac spot, in which the character does poorly at Yoga.  I couldn’t agree more.  But then he stretches that point by suggesting that the Duck’s antics force the viewer to “make some sense of the online slapstick and engage more deeply in order to make the tiny logical hop to the brand message.”

I don't quite buy that.
  Aflac needs to crank the Duck back and focus more on brand positioning and product benefits.

TakeAway:  Clever is never enough.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner

Tags:  tagline, key message, Aflac, Aflac Duck, Hanes Hosiery, Beautymist, Joe Namath, Energizer Bunny, YouTube, cat videos

AbouT Brian Faulkner:

Brian Faulkner is a content writer and Key Message expert.  He helps clients come up with words to set their businesses, brands and products apart and attract the customers they want most.  His strategic insights, and the words that go with them, have made a significant, often immediate difference for client companies over many years.  His "sweet spot" is smaller to moderate sized consumer products, retail, service and manufacturing companies that may have struggled to find just the right words to position their business, brands or products to competitive advantage:

>  blogs to establish you as the thought leader / authority in your business category
>  case stories that communicate your sales successes and invite prospect inquiry
>  testimonials that showcase customer / client satisfaction in 1-2 short sentences
>  positioning statements to guide business development & marketing
>  landing page copy to set your business or brand apart in a compelling way
>  tagline development to attract the interest of your most qualified prospects

Brian also is a three-time Emmy award-winning Public Television writer / narrator.  He is principal writer and narrator of UNC-TV’s popular "Our State" magazine series, on the air since 2003.  His distinctive sound has been heard on many hundreds of radio spots and client videos since the 1970s.  People say he has a “Mercedes voice” and sounds a bit like Charles Kuralt, which Brian considers a welcome ... but happy ... illusion.



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    sample blog:

    This is a sample blog  for writer Brian E. Faulkner.  It presents stories about brands that do (or don't) communicate competitive advantage effectively. Stories have been gleaned from the business press, personal experience and occasional interviews. New articles are added from time to time, and every so often there will be a post of general interest -- about things like success, passion, social trends, etc. 

    Author

    Brian Faulkner is a writer and strategic communication consultant who helps business clients explain their competitive advantage in compelling and enduring ways.
     
    He also is a five-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer & narrator for a highly-rated and well-loved magazine series.

    Picture
    Image © by Brian E. Faulkner

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