Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for all the calls from 8am this morning looking for the answers. And as for the Crow Fiends in Tuvalu, they were on at Crow from 8pm last night!
Well, wait no more, you festive Flockers, here are the answers! Did you get them all?
Have a cawsome Crowmas
!
The long wait is over. The searing heat and parched, chapped lips of Summer a distant memory. The crisp, loamy mulch of leaves now all gone. Yes, the World has turned on its axis once again and the time for The Crow Flies’ famous (and celebrated) Christmas #Brand #Mashups is here. Do enjoy!
Answers at 3pm on Christmas Day here and on the Crow Socials (not Twatter) FB @crowflieshigh INSTA @crowflieshigh.
There is a balance to be struck when building a brand. On the one hand, there are brands that have come into being on the back of an experienced eye seeing or sensing a gap in the market. Often this coincides with the belief system of their founder – and the brand becomes a way to fulfil that belief. We call these Magnet brands. On the other, there are brands that are created through a research process, by spotting patterns in the data, by seeing what people are saying or how they’re behaving and working from there – these are Mirror brands.
Both Magnet and Mirror brands are built from a market orientation, but reflect different approaches, different attitudes to risk and different cultures too.
Magnet brands have a confidence in their beliefs. They act with an inner confidence and are set on shaking up or disrupting their market because they believe there is a better way. And these brands aren’t solely ‘purpose’ brands – a purpose may be articulated, it may not, but it’s more about an attitude of if you like what we stand for, how we do things, and what we believe in you’ll be attracted to us. Magnet can be seen across the spectrum from smaller, fleet-of-foot start-ups to some big old behemoths.
BrewDog was built from a manifesto that beer should be interesting, tasty, different and a bit ‘punk’. Dyson believed that vacuum cleaners should actually be able to suck up dust effectively and new technology was needed. Patagonia want to save our home planet. Fat Lad At The Back believe that cycling is for everyone no matter your size. Dacia believe that simpler is better and that you don’t need all the bells and whistles that most cars have.
Crucially, Magnet brands have market orientation; they undertake market research and seek consumer feedback – but they do this through the lens of their principles and red lines. A Magnet brand recognises that because it is forsomething, it is not for everyone. It wants to understand how it is used, perceived, how it is trending, but also is clear around what can flex and what can’t.
A Mirror brand conversely reflects the market. Again, market orientation is crucial, but here the usage is different – Mirror brands look to understand what’s trending, what’s on the way up and build it into their mix. It will want to know the attitudes and perceptions of its current and potential consumers are positive or becoming so. And crucially, a Mirror brand responds to the feedback by altering its course – perhaps only slightly, perhaps quite markedly – and usually because it is following the short-term money. Most household name brands are Mirror brands, and they have been incredibly successful meeting our needs for years and years. Whether this is Persil launching a new variant, Mars stretching their incredible confectionery brands up or down in size to meet different occasions or whether this is Tesco extending their offer so that every little helps.
And this isn’t a case of ‘one is right’. Both directions have validity. Both can lead to success, or failure; both indeed have risk attached. For every Who Gives A Crap there are 10 copy cats struggling to cut through. For every Warburton’s Toastie there’s a competitor covering its packaging in baked beans because ‘that’s when our customers use it’.
It’s best to be honest and upfront about what your brand is. If you have a clear point of view on the world leverage it. It doesn’t have to be grandiose; it just has to be something that the business really believes in. And if you’re a Mirror brand, that regularly audits what consumer think and how they use your category good for you, because you’ll be many steps ahead of those who think that market research is unnecessary.
David Preston is founder of The Crow Flies, a research, strategy and innovation company that helps brands find a direct route to long lasting success. david@thecrowflies.co.uk; +44 (0) 1889 725670 or +44 (0) 7885 408367; www.thecrowflies.co.uk; @crowflieshigh. © The Crow Flies, 2024
It was great to hear about the advertising success for Warwickshire Buses – we helped our friends at One Black Bear with the research for their creative development work for Warwickshire Buses, operated by Warwickshire County Council. The aim is to recruit more young bus users, and underline that bus travel is great value for money. Use a bus, and you’ll be Squids In, no squidding.
Here’s the thing when launching new products. It’s important after all the hard work creating, testing, refining, developing, prototyping… to feel that the actual launch is the success. But it isn’t, sadly. Success comes with relentless hard yards, taking the set-backs and the counter-punches and still getting up and keeping going, or perhaps more optimistically, grabbing the early momentum by the scruff of the neck and going for scale like a pie-fuelled rhino charging at a door. Whatever it is, innovation requires alignment, courage and resilience.
Our friends at Pieminister show this pie-sistence day in, day out. And with it comes rewards. Brilliant news for them to extend the distribution of their Handy Pies into Waitrose – go out, try them and enjoy a change from a sandwich – especially with the cooler days of Autumn now bearing in.
And they keep on innovating too – it was brilliant to see their new Sharer pie coming to market last week – available from launch in Waitrose and Ocado too – check them out!
We’ve been delighted to play our small part helping the Pieminister team – get in touch if you’d like some sage (and onion) innovation advice and guidance.
*New creative alert* – good to have supported WKD with the market research for their creative development, courtesy of Leicester’s very own, Makalu. It’s total dench. And we don’t mean Judy.
Companies have more data to hand than ever before; multiple sources, multiple dashboards enabling them to look at any one performance data point from a multiple of different angles. And every sale resulting in jillions of tonnes of data to the analysis pile.
Yet, despite this seeming richness, brand myths still abound in many companies. Brand myths that no amount of rational analysis seems to be able to shift. Brand myths that people either willingly accept, grudgingly accept, or circumnavigate. Myths that are are wasteful and potentially dangerous, because they can become a smoke screen, behind which the slow tides of change in the market place can go unnoticed, or false truths can become anchors that prevent necessary action, or channel investment and resource into the wrong things.
How, then, do brands and companies remove the myths? How do they allow the truth to shine through and future opportunities be seen and realised? As with many things in life it involves going back to basics, in this case brand basics:
Action 1: generate and test alternative hypothesis to whom your core consumer is – age, needs, attitudes, occasions for engaging with your product based on clues you are seeing and have gathered from; other research you have done, trends, performance data or simply speaking to people you know.
Action 2: Identify and have a clear understanding of your source of business – subtle shifts in action planning can ensure this bucket remains topped up and you can focus on that part of them that can become the habitual consumers of the future.
Action: does the consumer view on what your brand is match the interval view? If not, why not, and take the action to align them. Brands can only be built successfully when all audiences agree on what the brand is.
Action: understand whether your brand benefits and RTB’s are as compelling as they should be. Are they expressed in the right way, do they really deliver against the wants and needs of your target audience?
If you need help cutting through the data, or challenging the brand myths that have built up in your business over time, get in touch. They can often be the biggest impediment to future growth – get your house in order however, and you have a chance.
Gael Laurie is Brand Building Director of The Crow Flies, a research, strategy and innovation company that helps brands find a direct route to long lasting success. gael@thecrowflies.co.uk; +44 (0) 1283 295100; www.thecrowflies.co.uk; @crowflieshigh. © The Crow Flies, 2024
Peter Andre doesn’t often make me ponder, but recent headlines about how long he took to announce the naming of his baby daughter did just that. The importance and diligence behind naming children today; the myriad influences of cultural references from film characters, royalty, pop stars and even politicians… all leave a heightened sense of loading names with meaning and sentiment. Did people used to put this much thought into naming their child?
Naming a brand or company is arguably just as hard and serious in this highly competitive world. The name chosen will be at the centre of the base of mental associations that the brand or company will be building up; it will help steer or navigate people towards -or away from – the brand; it will, over time, become loaded wi
th meaning which helps or hinders it commercially (and beyond – it could help or hinder employee recruitment or engagement too).
So, naming requires some careful thought, a rationale consideration of the alternatives and a clear fit to the business’ strategic intent.
It’s also alchemy.
There are no rules, no playbook – but you can consider whether you want your glass full, half full or empty in terms of giving you a helping hand – and trends undoubtedly do influence this.
So, where you should start?
Firstly, and most importantly you have to remember that any name, no matter how wonderful is a fairly empty vessel that has to be filled with all the things you want associated with it. Brands are built not born fully formed.
Second, start from a clear positioning. This will give you a broad direction and help you understand the best approaches to consider – half empty, empty or full.
Third, be realistic about time and investment. The name is a critical part of creating a company or brand, but it will only become known as you invest hard graft and your not-so-filthy-lucre in it.
The Crow Flies can help build your brand’s strategic foundations – be it creating a brand from scratch, or deciding where to go in the future. Get this right, and the naming pathway becomes a little easier to see.
Gael Laurie is Brand Building Director of The Crow Flies, a research, strategy and innovation company that helps brands find a direct route to long lasting success. If naming is perplexing you, get in touch: gael@thecrowflies.co.uk; +44 (0) 1889 725670; www.thecrowflies.co.uk; @crowflieshigh. Copyright 2024
Here’s a lovely liquid launch from Crow Friends SHS Drinks, their first move into alcoholic drinks with a range of ready-to-drink vodka spritz cans, made exclusively with the premium flavours of bottlegreen and Edwards 1902 vodka. Look out for it in Sainsbury’s!
As always we were chuffin’ Choughed to support the team – in this project with the research and concept refinement ready for launch!
Whoop! Here’s another amazing *new* innovation from our pie-fectly formed friends at Pieminister and lovely to have played a small part in developing the idea and getting them to market.
It’s time to dump the lunchtime soggy sandwich, sad slice or joyless wrap and feast on these handily handheld, deep filled, and seriously delicious Handy Pies.
There are four delicious flavours including a veggie and vegan option and they’re piefect to eat hot or cold.
Available in Ocado right now, Tesco to come very soon!
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