Simple Stories Scale
“Marketing is about values. This is a very complicated world; it’s a very noisy world. And we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. And so we have to be really clear about what we want them to know about us.”
- Steve Jobs (outlining Apple’s first advertising campaign upon returning as CEO; 1997)
Launching a product (aka go-to-market or GTM) is the most challenging and important step for a consumer brand post product development. In order to hit escape velocity, a brand must skillfully craft its identity to acquire and sustain mindshare.
Goal = cutting through the noise
Technology has dramatically lowered the cost to build a company. This means that the barriers to create, launch and manage consumer brands are exponentially lower than 2+ decades ago. This dynamic is a double-edge sword – consumer brands can be remarkably capital efficient growers (highly recurring revenues, solid gross margins, low capital expenditures, low internal engineering / R&D costs, low obsolescence) but they also must cut through the noise of an otherwise crowded marketplace to survive.
In an earlier post, What is Quality? (Part 1), I outlined at least 6 factors that consumers weigh in a consumption decision. In this piece, I am primarily focused on #5, a brand’s identity, while acknowledging that taste, price, convenience, efficacy / nutritional value, and potentially other factors will also play a role. Going forward, I define ‘brand identity’ as a brand’s images, language, and story.
How much does an industry category really matter?
Investors love to say a particular industry category is “crowded”. We can debate the numbers but I’d bet that 95-99% of categories today, as measured by sales volume, are crowded with several well-funded incumbents. So when consumer VCs tell founders that their category is crowded, it is not particularly helpful.
That said, the more crowded the category, the more of an onus exists on the new entrant to communicate a better value proposition (read: competitive advantage) to consumers. Two examples of this value prop messaging are gut health soda versus traditional soda (Olipop) and Greek yogurt versus traditional yogurt (Chobani). I share 2 more examples in more detail later on.
There are occasionally “blurry” categories when a product does not fit into an existing category. Here is where some major product innovations have occurred. For example, hydration powder (Liquid IV) or preventative health clinics (Restore Hyper Wellness).
Categories matter. That said, either i) identifying a truly compelling value proposition in a crowded category or ii) establishing a new category that was previously blurry, matter more – and they are quite rare.
How to craft an authentic brand identity?
Whether a brand determines it is going to highlight its competitive advantage in a crowded category or extoll its raison d'être in a blurry category, there are 2 major goals out of the gate when designing a brand identity:
Using symbols (specifically, words and images) to establish a near instantaneous emotional connection *before* taste, efficacy, or social proof (i.e. social media marketing) is necessarily known1
Communicating a value proposition that balances 1) true competitive advantage AND 2) not being too weird, permanently niche2, nor icky in the process
#1 is required to gain attention and #2 is required to convince the consumer to try the new product relative to their status quo.
Factually, most early-stage brands are communicating a value proposition of a better-for-you formulation (i.e. higher-quality and/or fewer ingredients), a modest pricing premium, and a similar sensory experience (i.e. taste, smell, texture, etc).
That said, what sticks in the hearts and minds of consumers are emotions and outcomes, not a laundry list of health claims. Consumers want to feel that emotional connection which reinforces some desired outcome (e.g. weight management, new flavor curiosity, elevated status with friends, on-the-go efficiency, satisfying hanger before a long meeting, energy to get ripped at the gym, etc)3.
As someone who loves researching the ‘how’ behind product formulations, the reality is that most consumers do not care about the ‘how’; they are too busy and it is not a high priority.
Why have a simple story when going-to-market?
An emerging brand has only a matter of seconds to accomplish #1 & #2 above with consumers. This is true for both physical and online retail storefronts since most consumers make fast, Type 1 decisions4.
Research has shown that ~95% of all cognition, including the decision to purchase a product, occurs unconsciously5. In order to appeal to this fast and largely unconscious process, a simple, crisp and compelling brand identity is needed. There is no time to be verbose or even highlight nuances. Successful brand identities have the veneer of a simple outside while being meticulous works of art and science on the inside.
How to quickly establish an emotional connection and convey the value prop?
I disaggregate emotional connection into 3 parts:
Identity: A brand triggers a consumer to i) feel a positive belief about herself when they purchase and / or ii) be drawn to its symbols and stylistic preferences
Memorability: A brand or product activates a positive or nostalgic memory that rekindles the joy
Trust: A brand’s messaging is genuine and transparent
If a brand can effectively conjure these 3 feelings with its packaging in seconds, there is a high likelihood of consumer adoption. In most cases, this means NOT telling some long founder story on the package nor is it trying to educate the consumer on some arcane health benefits. Packaging is not the place to do that. Consumers are naturally skeptical and don’t want to feel talked down to.
Below are 2 brief examples of household brands evaluated along these lines. The quoted descriptions are channeling a hypothetical casual consumer who has encountered the brand. Note that both brands entered crowded categories.
SkinnyPop Popcorn
Identity: “I am making a responsible choice and will get skinnier consuming this versus other salty snacks”
Memorability: “Popcorn reminds me of magical times with my family and friends at the movie theater”
Trust: “Only 3 ingredients indicates this is a pure and simple popcorn with nothing artificial added”
Interestingly, while it was positioned to be better-for-you versus wet-popped popcorn (wet = more oil) back in 2010, SkinnyPop popcorn was not the first air-popped popcorn on the market. That honor belongs to Smartfood popcorn, founded in 1985 and sold to Frito-Lay 4 years later. Smartfood popcorn had a powdery cheese coating that was messy and felt artificial (despite being “natural”). Clearly consumers liked ‘skinny’ over ‘smart’.
Waterloo Sparkling Water
Identity: “I relate much more to Waterloo’s traditional flavor-focused design versus La Croix’s ultra-modern aesthetic. I’m not even sure I’m pronouncing the latter’s brand and flavor names properly.”
Memorability: “Refreshing memories of Summer with nostalgic American flavors like Black Cherry, Watermelon, and Peach. ” [La Croix’s initial flavors were more cosmopolitan / European-inspired]
Trust: “No artificial flavors, BPA-free liners, non-GMO indicates to me that this brand is unlikely to put shady stuff in the can”
In 2017, Waterloo launched with a bang during an opportune time. The decline of sugary carbonated soft drinks was accelerating6. More importantly, there was controversy7 with the “natural flavors” contained in its closest premium sparkling water competitor, La Croix. In the end, it is likely the “natural flavor” chemical in question was not particularly harmful BUT La Croix lied initially by saying the chemical was not even present. This oversight, plus a nostalgic symbolism diametrically opposed to La Croix, gave Waterloo the wedge it needed to rapidly take market share through to today.
Parting thoughts and next steps
It is worth noting that I have deliberately not discussed marketing strategies8 post product branding and packaging. For example, a brand’s overarching channel strategy or more specific tactics like retail merchandising or social media content are mission critical when going-to-market. But the magic all starts with the product, value proposition, and brand identity.
The above also does not mention various testing phases for a brand’s product and subsequent iterations based on consumer feedback. Whether they are demos at local retailers or a Kickstarter campaign, getting feedback early on is invaluable when crafting a brand identity.
I am looking forward to speaking with the bold consumer entrepreneurs out there who feel like they have nailed the balance of creatively messaging their competitive advantage while also keeping it simple.
This assumes that the purchase is not made primarily through word of mouth recommendations, which is ideal for any brand but not often achievable at scale during the all-important GTM launch period
For example, while I was personally rooting for them, there is a reason why dehydrated kale chips and broccoli bites never quite took off. They were certainly different from most salty snacks but their sensory experience was too strange to drive mass market adoption (and the price per ounce didn’t help either).
For a longer discussion on this topic, see Ramping Your Brand by Dr. James Richardson (2019)
For more discussion of Type 1 and 2 decision making, see Taste is Personal