In the Mix: Industry Branding Campaigns
June 2008
Overview
 Shaping a Brand
 Case studies

Check-off

Inside the beltway

National/Mass marketing

Specialized
 Wrap up
Brand equity
What is a brand?
 Reputation
 Perception
 Trust
 Promises
 History
“Your success is really
dependent on how skillful
you are in managing the
brand’s story so that it
resonates with meaning
that consumers like.”
- John F. Sherry Jr., The Journal of
Customer Behavior
Shaping a Brand
Factors for Consideration
 Analysis – where are we today?
 “Know who likes you and who is less fond of you.
Some industries … are unlikely ever to be loved by
consumers, so it makes sense for them to focus
heavily on investors, employees, and regulatory
officials in building their reputations.”
- - The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation (Ronald J. Alsop)
 Goals – where are we going?
Factors for Consideration, cont’d
 Audiences
Factors for Consideration, cont’d
Messages
Strategy
Tactics
Chief Factors for Consideration, cont’d
 Resources
 Timeline
 Measurement
In a presentation to the National Propane Gas
Association Marketers’ Section in 2001, Walter
Cressman (Propane Education & Research Council)
showed industry members what percent of their
dollar was spent on programming, etc.
“The biggest trap is simply having objectives that outreach
financial resources … you have to have the financial
resources to assure some continuity of messaging.”
-Larry Chiagouris, Pace University and Brand-Marketing Services, Ltd.
Industry Campaigns
Case studies
 Inside the beltway

The New Steel; Project Pharmacy Care
 Check-off

Got Milk?; Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.; Propane
 National

Plastics Make It Possible; Essential2; Freight Rail
Works; Partnership for Prescription Assistance
(pending)
 Specialized

Risk is Opportunity.
Inside the Beltway
The New Steel
American Iron &
Steel Institute
(AISI)
Steel Tries To Shed Its Smokestack Image
June 27, 2006
ASK random Americans their opinion of the steel industry, and
you'll probably hear about smoke-belching plants, sweaty laborers,
rampant bankruptcies and sniveling whiners trying to get the
government to protect their companies.
Situation Analysis
 Steel industry reeling from dumping
 Perception of steel as old and dirty among
political elites
 Mittal Steel and Arcelor merger top of mind
AISI Program Elements
 Goal: Change
perceptions on whether
steel industry was old
and dirty or modern and
hi-tech

U.S. Steelmakers Polish Their Image
May 25, 2008
Address a knowledge
gap, not a specific
piece of legislation
AISI Program Elements, Cont’d
 Strategy:

Focus on a platform of global
competitiveness;

Emphasize that America’s steel
industry is the backbone of U.S.
manufacturing;

Show commitment to reducing
environmental footprint; and

Demonstrate that steel industry is
vital to America’s economic and
national security.
AISI Program Elements, Cont’d
 Audiences: Political elites

Inside the beltway
 Budget: $3 Million

Print, radio and online ads = $2.78 million
 Timeline: Launched in June 2006
 Tactics: Print, radio, online ads; member
activation; media relations
AISI Program Elements, Cont’d

Member Outreach
 Create executive task force for feedback
 Use companies’ HQs as conduits for information
 Provide members with poster-sized versions of
the ads suitable for framing
 Develop and distribute the “Backbone Kit” for
meetings with policymakers on Capitol Hill
AISI Campaign Results
 AISI measures the success of The New Steel
campaign via:

Media and online coverage;

Outreach to Capitol Hill;

Research results; and

Buzz among target audiences.
AISI Campaign In Review
How effective are brand campaigns?
Do people see through the “spin?”
Regardless…
“The nugget of it all is we feel that policy makers will be able to fashion
sound public policy if they have an accurate, up-to-date perception
of America’s steel industry”
Nancy Gravatt, New Steel
Project Pharmacy Care
National Association of
Chain Drug Stores (NACDS)
Situation Analysis
 Project Destiny research results
 Ongoing pharmacist shortage
 75th Anniversary of NACDS
 Industry expects to be targeted again for cuts in Medicare and
Medicaid spending
 Presidential Election

“In 2009, we’ll see a new Congress and a new president and
health care will be on the domestic agenda. We want to ensure
that pharmacy is part of the debate.” –Chrissy Kopple, NACDS
NACDS Program Elements
 Goals:

Enhance public awareness of the
pharmacist's role as a primary
healthcare “provider”

Re-establish both pharmacy and
pharmacists as a critical link in a
quality health care system

Provide cover for lobbying and
grassroots efforts on eve of
election
NACDS Program Elements, cont’d
 Strategy: Deliver message to policy makers that
pharmacists and pharmacies offer convenience,
accessibility, expertise, and counseling
 Budget: “High six figures [to] low seven figures”

Ad budget $1 million (CEO Update, April 11)
 Timeline: Three-year program with big push
March-August 2008
NACDS Program Elements, cont’d
 Tactics:

Industry launch of Project Pharmacy Care and tagline,
“Pharmacies. The face of neighborhood healthcare.”

Advertising
 Five ads inside the Beltway publications and DC Metro; online
 Drive time ad placement on radio
 Career Guide in Glamour

“Unconventional” Alliances
 Student, higher ed and labor organizations
 America’s Promise
NACDS Ads
NACDS Program Elements, cont’d
 Tactics

Increase in member communication via
newsletters
 Updated kits for use during meetings with
policymakers

Editorial board meetings

Web site updates
 Member-only section
NACDS Campaign Results
 Campaign is in early stages
 Ongoing quantitative measurements
Checkoff*
*Check-off campaigns are federally mandated and
funded by industry
National
Cattleman’s
Beef
Association
(NCBA)
Situation Analysis & Program Elements
 Situation: Chicken consumption surpassing beef
 Goal: Increase consumption of beef in U.S.
 Strategy: Develop an ad campaign centered on
ease of preparation and nutritional benefits of
beef in a familial setting
NCBA Program Elements, cont’d
 Budget

Currently $15 million annually

Beef Checkoff Program established via 1985 Farm
Bill
 Timeline (ongoing)

Initially launched in May 1992

Latest iteration: “Powerful Beefscapes” (2008)
"Competing with huge corporations and having a limited budget, we have to feel
pretty good about the direction we've chosen for checkoff advertising. As
producers we sometimes lose sight of how national advertising helps us back on
our operations.”
NCBA Program Elements, cont’d
 Tactics: Print, radio and TV ads

Radio and TV ads feature Aaron Copland’s “Hoe Down”
from Rodeo

Celebrity spokesperson
 Measurements: Quantitative and qualitative

Online survey re: ads

Benchmarking

Tagline recognition
NCBA Ads & Collateral
NCBA Campaign Results
 Beef sales up 14 percent since 1998
 Tagline recognized by 88 percent of Americans
 “Hoe Down” ballad synonymous with beef
Advertising: Beef Industry Maintains
Stake In Radio And Print
January 7, 2008
NCBA Campaign In Review
 Member split over check-off funding
 Snowclone effect

Use of slogan outside of campaign, which
can detract from reputation/brand
Energy Guy/ Inside the
Beltway Campaign
Propane Education &
Research Council (PERC)
Situation Analysis
 Two groups in need of education:

Policymakers
 Low profile as alternative fuel source

“Building pipeline”
 Experiencing difficult housing market; need for
differentiation
 Opportunity to capitalize on climate
change/GHG discussion
PERC Program Elements
 Goal:

Building
Pipeline/National:
Make propane gas
the heating source of
choice for consumers
and homeowners

Policymakers: Ensure
propane examined
when considering
alternative fuels
PERC Program Elements, cont’d
 Budget: $18 million
 Timeline:

Washington, DC: Feb-Nov 2008

National: Started in late 2003?
 Strategy:

Policy makers: Focus on positioning propane as an alternative
fuel of choice; particularly as a “quick fix” alternative fuel for
vehicles

National: Show consumers they have a choice when choosing
energy
PERC Program Elements
 Tactics

Advertising
 Beltway: Print, online and
transit ads
 National: “Energy Guys”
national TV ads
 Banner ads (Weather.com)
PERC Program Elements, cont’d
 Interactive Web site
 Point of purchase
 Media relations

Hill and trade publications
 Member relations

Customizable radio
and TV ads

Trade show materials

Downloadable catalogue

“Find a Propane Retailer”

Signs, shirts and decals
PERC Campaign Results
 80% increase in awareness among
policymakers
 Gold ADDY Award for Energy Guys
 Placeholder for additional stats
California Milk Processor
Board/The Milk Processor
Education Program
Situation Analysis
 30-year declining trend in milk consumption
 Declining market share
 “Milk Does a Body Good”
What could you say about milk?
It was white and came in gallons.
People felt they knew all there was to
know about it, so it was hard to find
a strategic platform.
- Jeff Manning, campaign
Milk Program Elements
 Goal: Increase consumption of milk
 Strategy:

Shift from focusing on nutritional benefits of
milk to a “food-beverage” connection
 Milk and cookies; PBJ and milk

Play up disappointment when milk is
unavailable
Milk Program elements, cont’d
 Budget:

California: Check-off campaign - $23 million/ year
 Financed by contributing three cents for every gallon of milk
processed

National: Check-off campaign - unavailable
 Timeline:

Ongoing. Began in 1993 and slogan went national in
1998
 First “mustache” ad aired in 1995
Milk Program elements, cont’d
 Tactics

Print, radio and TV ads
 Online ads during national campaign

Co-branding

Media buys timed to key dining hours (during dinner and latenight)

Billboards along commuter routes
 Bus stations

Point-of-sale decals

Later ads poked fun at ubiquity of campaign

Minority-targeted ads
Milk Ads, Web site & Collateral
Milk Ads, cont’d
Who Shot Alexander
Hamilton?
Milk Campaign Results
 90% awareness of tagline in the U.S.
 Campaign credited with turning around the sales of milk
 Tagline licensed to dairy boards across U.S.
 Other groups have capitalized on popularity of slogan
for own use
 Licensed to a number of consumer goods – even Barbie
 Numerous awards
 “got milk?” the #1 most influential tag line since the
advent of television
Milk - Looking Back
 Member backlash
 Ubiquity of brand
 Snowclone effect
National
Plastics Make
It Possible
American
Plastics
Council (APC)
Situation Analysis
 Decreasing market share
 Rise in environmental activism
 Advertising not effecting change
 Increase in negative public perception

78% of the U.S. public felt “plastic harms
the environment”

Nearly 40% of consumers avoided buying products
packaged in plastic
APC Program Elements
 Goal: Stop the decline in consumer attitudes
toward plastics and turn it around into a positive
industry image
 Strategy: emotional appeals that focus on
benefits that plastics bring to everyday life
(especially in the realm of healthcare)
APC Program Elements, cont’d
 Timeline: First ads aired in 1993 and campaign
continued until 2005
 Budget: $250 million
 Measurements:

Quantitative benchmarks

In-depth interviews (IDIs)

Tracking studies
Above: “Hands” print ad
APC Program Elements, cont’d
 Tactics: Print, radio, online and TV ads

Ads drove home emotional appeal
 Updated web portal
“There was a lot of pressure for deselection and a lot
of guilt for the public in using plastics … The campaign
was to assuage that by showing the benefits of using
plastics”
- Steve Gardner, American Chemistry Council
APC Campaign Results
 “The benefits of using plastics outweigh the negatives”
increased by 14 percentage points
 Number of bills in state legislature decreased
 Equity of plastics leveraged in American Chemistry
Council’s essential2 campaign
 Provided a framework for management of new issues
 Transfer to use of plastics in new product areas
 Award winner for research
American
Chemistry
Council
(ACC)
Situation Analysis
 Internal restructuring
 Inside the beltway position
 Success of
Plastics Make It Possible
 Little understanding
of industry
 Post 9/11 security
“[Jack] Gerard wants the
public to understand that
chemicals is a $500
billion industry, directly
employing 885,000
people. The lack of
awareness of the
industry's importance to
people's health and
welfare, he says, is partly
responsible for its
inadequate clout in
Washington.”
-- Judy Sarasohn, Oct. 2005
ACC Program Elements
 Goal: Reach employees, people who live in
communities where production is located [and]
policy makers on contributions of industry
ACC Program Elements, cont’d
 Strategy: Rollout "essential2," an integrated
campaign which illustrates the contributions to
society and industry transparency
ACC Program Elements, cont’d
 Timeline: Kicked off in Oct. 2005 and ongoing
 Budget: $15 million in first year (ads = 70%)

Subsequently $20 million/year
Chemistry Council's 'Essential' Campaign
Is Designed to Win Clout for Plastics
By Judy Sarasohn
October 6, 2005
ACC Program Elements, cont’d
 Tactics:

Advertising

Launch event with select CEOs
 Second launch on the Hill

Thought leadership

Employee video and online
ambassador kit

Web site construction
 Interactive elements, such as
plant tour
 Updated e-commerce platform

Media relations
 Pitching around holidays
ACC Print ads
ACC Campaign Results
 Earned media coverage up 210 percent

CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg hits
 Increased Web site traffic
 Increased questions from public via email
 20,000+ employees viewed video
Freight Rail Works
Association of
American
Railroads (AAR)
Railroads Roll With a Greener Approach
May 29, 2008
Railroad companies, long a target of environmentalists who blame
them for everything from deforestation to toxic spills, are
marketing themselves as the ultimate eco-friendly, low-fuelconsuming industry.
Situation Analysis
 Outdated perception of railroads

“When people think about railroads, they think they’re old and
they don’t use modern technology. They think of it as a staid
industry.”
-Kelly Donley, manager of Freight Rail Works
 Gas prices create opportunity to position rail as freight alternative
 Increase in weight and truck size could mean $7 billion loss in
revenue for railroads

Competing “green” campaign by American Trucking
Associations
AAR Program Elements
 Goal: Position railroads as the preferred way to
transport goods across the U.S.
 Strategy: Use themes of Americana and focus on
highway congestion/green alternatives to driving to
deliver positive messages regarding freight rail

Messages: Ability to move one ton of freight 423
miles on one gallon of fuel; freight rail is
environmentally more responsible; relieves highway
congestion; and it plays an indispensable role in the
global and national economy.
AAR Program Elements, cont’d
 Budget: Unavailable
 Timeline: Began in early 2003
 Tactics:

Advertising: TV, radio, print, Internet and outdoor
 Customized ads for each market
 Viral marketing via YouTube

State-specific campaigns
 Information on how to get involved, activites
AAR Program Elements, cont’d
 Tactics

Robust Web site
 Interactive elements
 Houses all radio, print, TV ads
 Micro sites for each state
AAR Customized campaigns
AAR Ads
AAR Campaign Results
 Campaign relatively new

AAR conducting its own benchmarking

Could experience reputation rub-off
 Conflicting reports in the media

AP story re: congestion solutions
Specialized
Society Of Actuaries
Situation Analysis
 Opportunity for positioning
 Businesses confronting complex risks
 Part of larger organizational initiative
"Narrow and technical."
Too often, that's the
employer's perception of
the actuary, according to
research conducted by
the Society of Actuaries.
VS.
The “New” Actuary
SOA Program Elements
 Goals:

Create a more dynamic and
relevant image in the
minds of the employers;

Build a vibrant, new image
within the profession itself;

Create a sustainable
program that builds on
each success.
SOA Program Elements, cont’d
 Strategy: Launch an integrated campaign based on
“Risk is Opportunity.” with an internal focus
 Budget: Unavailable
 Timeline: TBD
 Tactics:

Multimedia launch event

Speakers Bureau

Desk side briefings

Print ads
SOA Ads
SOA Program Elements, cont’d
 Tactics:

Member outreach –
“Living the Brand”
 Image Advisory Group
 Workship for
ambassadors
 Web site overhaul
 Career-enhancing
materials
 Posters
 Video Series
It’s also important for each of us to
assume the role of brand ambassador.
Each of us needs to convey compelling
messages about what actuaries do and
how we add value to an organization and
society at large. –SOA Web site
SOA “Living the Brand”
Above: Actuary Cocktail served at SOA
Annual Meeting
Top Left: A “thirst” for branding
Bottom Left: 14 Months of Actuaries
SOA Posters
SOA Campaign Results
 175 high-profile placements
 160 million media impressions
 Favorable member feedback

91% tagline recognition
 Award winner

Corporate Branding Campaign of the Year

Best Branding and Reputation Campaign
Wrap Up
Wrap Up
 Variety of campaigns

Inside the Beltway

Check-off

National

Specialized
Wrap Up, cont’d
 Overarching themes

Definition of a brand

Use of brand ambassadors

Drawbacks

Successes