"Flexible Foundations" Workshop with 4.0 Schools

Building a strong and elastic startup brand

Transcript

1. Flexible Foundations Building a strong + elastic startup brand Rob McFeeley @rmcfeeley Nov 2013
2. Warm-up exercise Give the elevator pitch for another company in the room (30 seconds) *No helping!
3. Let’s talk branding Positioning exercise Let’s talk content marketing Content marketing exercise Workshop plan
4. “What do you do?” “Tell me a little bit about yourself” “Where do you want to be playing?” “What’s your point of view?” Identify yourself The cocktail party that is personal branding
5. Some past EDU work
6. *but it’s also a chance to experiment Branding is an exercise in clarity
7. LinkedIn Online dating Different audiences... Different messages Case in point...
8. Case in point 2 “Flexible Foundations: Guidelines for building and extending a strong education brand through positioning, targeted messaging and engaging content strategy that's flexible enough to accommodate the inevitable shifts and pivots of startup growth.” *Jargon-highlighted in bold whoops. My description of this talk:
9. How difficult it is to be simple. -- Van Gogh
10. Case in point 2... “Flexible Foundations: Guidelines for building and extending a strong education brand through positioning, targeted messaging and engaging content strategy that's flexible enough to accommodate the inevitable shifts and pivots of startup growth.” *Jargon-highlighted in bold How to explain what your startup does quickly in a way that will make people care.
11. Don’t settle for weak or fuzzy messaging due to a lack of certainty about your business model, offering, or even name... You can change your identity on a dime. No one is screenshotting your site daily (*Except maybe the NSA) Ship your brand
12. AIDA Storytelling and SUCCESs Functional + Emotional Benefits “Why, How, What” Helpful messaging frameworks messaging frameworks
13. AIDA Ask yourself... Attention Are they paying attention? Interest Are they interested? Desire Do they want what you’re offering? Action Do they know how to get it? *Use this as a test against your messaging
14. The Curse of Knowledge: Avoid it.
15. Tappers vs. Listeners 1990. Elizabeth Newton, PhD candidate at Stanford 120 songs tapped out to listeners How many did Listeners guess? How many did Tappers predict Listeners would guess? The Curse of Knowledge from Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (Random House, 2008). *Highest endorsement 3. (2.5%) 60. (50%)
16. How might you fall prey to the Curse of Knowledge in your messaging?
17. Bill Bernbach, founder of ad agency DDB: “The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you, and they can’t believe you if they don’t know what you’re saying, and they can’t know what you’re saying if they don’t listen to you, and they won’t listen to you if you’re not interesting, and you won’t be interesting unless you say things imaginatively, originally, freshly.” from Luke Wilson’s Hey Whipple, Squeeze This pg. 5
18. In other words, you need to make your message stick.
19. Sticky (adj) understandable, memorable and effective in changing thought or behavior from Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (Random House, 2008)
20. SUCCESs a good story well-told
21. Simple. Unexpected. Concrete Credible Emotional Stories SUCCESs a good story well-told from Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (Random House, 2008)
22. Brands as adjectives: Volvo = safe Nike = fit Brands as verbs: IBM solves Sony dreams “Core + Compact” Tap into existing schemas e.g. Farmeron and “Facebook for cows” Use a generative analogy e.g. Disney’s “Cast Members” Simple from Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (Random House, 2008)
23. Surprise your audience. Break patterns. Don’t bury the lead. e.g. Journalism exercise, Day 1: “School is cancelled on Thursday.” Create interest: The Gap Theory of Curiosity Unexpected from Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (Random House, 2008)
24. Concrete Give your message in terms of human actions and sensory information.
25. Why should they believe you? Show proof of your expertise / clout: Testimonials, Partnerships, Investors, Team Pedigree, Metrics & Success Stories Credible
26. Make people feel something. Emotional *WWI Recruitment Poster
27. Humans tell stories & so should you. See: Bathtub kidney heist Razors in apples on halloween College dropout turns billionaire Sal Khan teaches his nieces math... Other examples in EDU? Stories from Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (Random House, 2008)
28. SUCCESs in EDU Simple: Boundless “Better than your assigned textbook” Unexpected: Upstart “The startup is you” Concrete: Kickboard “Keep track of what matters to your school (Custom Report Cards, etc.)” Credible: Smarterer “Skills Pay the Bills: Search over 900 Skill Tests” Emotional: General Assembly “Transforming thinkers into creators” Stories: Lore/Coursekit Rebranding Story
29. Simple
30. Unexpected
31. Concrete
32. Credible
33. Emotional
34. Stories Lore’s Rebranding Story
35. Simon Sinek’s “Why, How, What” Framework Why you do it How you do it What you do What you do How you do it Why you do it Typical Improved
36. "Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?" What > How > Why Typical Improved "We make great computers. They're beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Want to buy one?" Why > How > What Apple Apple Simon Sinek’s “Why, How, What” Framework
37. Let’s talk branding Positioning exercise Let’s talk content marketing Content marketing exercise Workshop plan
38. Text from Mike Troiano (@miketrap) Text
39. from Mike Troiano (@miketrap)
40. from Mike Troiano (@miketrap)
41. your turn 5 minutes, then share from Mike Troiano (@miketrap)
42. Let’s talk branding Positioning exercise Let’s talk content marketing Content marketing exercise Workshop plan
43. Your companies are small and entering an ecosystem dominated by huge, unwieldy companies who are definitely not afraid to sue you if they get frightened*. Also: Your companies are inevitable Because you know more about your customers & the industry than anyone else... (right?) *Ask me about this offline... Selling your dream
44. Make a case for the future that your company wants to be a part of *i.e. It can happen with or without you--and will OR “The Subtle Plug” Selling your dream
45. “Companies looking to ‘position’ themselves [should instead] take a position. Optimally, it should relate to something their market actually cares about.” via The Cluetrain Manifesto’s 95 Theses Selling your dream
46. 1) Competitive Analysis 2) Create Content Plan & Calendar 3) Select Channels to Test Distribution 3) Publish Content, Measure Impact, Repeat Content Marketing Strategy
47. 1) Competitive Analysis -- Identify key channels for distribution; research competitors' content strategy (i.e. learn from others' mistakes & wins) 2) Create Content Plan & Calendar -- Identify core themes & content that extends brand principles and fills key gaps in the industry's content ecosystem. 1 good piece / week = FINE. 3) Select Channels to Test Distribution -- Company blog? Social Media? Hacker News? 3) Publish Content, Measure Impact, Repeat -- Launch content to test initial hypotheses with key constituent groups. “LEVERAGE INTERVIEWEES/ COLLABORATORS’ SOCIAL NETWORKS” Content Marketing Strategy
48. Quick Case Studies & Learnings
49. Identifying opportunities to subtly push your worldview: -- Infographic on industry funding -- Forbes counterpoint op-ed -- Brand Manifesto - hit #1 on HackerNews Boundless
50. Customers Test customer hypotheses via targeted content Example: Thinkful: “The rise of the /Developer” Post Thousands of new visitors via HackerNews Investors & Industry Community Demonstrate thought-leadership Gain credibility. make connections example: Seth Priebatsch’s TEDx Talk for SCVNGR 675,000 views since 2010, SxSW trip $40+M in funding... It’s never too early for good content...
51. Resources / People to follow: Books -- Made to Stick by the Heath brothers -- Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely -- Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan People / Other -- Noah Kagan’s okdork.com -- Hubspot. Inbound marketing pioneers -- Study awards in advertising (OneShow, Cannes Lions) for inspiration on how to extend your strategy
52. Appendix
53. “Strategy starters” from Luke Sullivan -- Do a straight “Us” vs. “Them” approach -- Show life before and after the product [or company] -- Instead of trying to change how customers think, change what they do -- Is there a compelling story about the heritage behind your brand? -- Can your brand dispense some smart advice about the whole category? -- Can you turn a perceived negative attribute of your product into a positive? -- Can you demonstrate on-camera or online your product’s superiority? -- Can you move your product out of its current category and reposition it in another? --Can your brand be insanely honest about itself, admitting to some shortcomings while winning on the important thing? Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, pg 47.
54. 1. The one word-pitch from Saatchi & Saatchi Search : Google Priceless : Mastercard Obama: Forward 2. The question pitch Reagan in 1980: “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago? 3. The rhyming pitch “If (the glove) doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” From Daniel Pink’s “To Sell is Human” (Penguin Group, 2012)
55. 4. The subject-line pitch Be obviously useful (“Found the best & cheapest photocopier) or intriguiting (“A photocopy breakthrough!”) but not BOTH: (“The Canon IR2545 is a photocopy breakthrough”) 5. The Twitter pitch. 140 characters or less 6. Emma Coats’ & “The Pixar Pitch” “Once upon a time ______________. Every day, ______________. One day, ______________. Because of that, ____________. Because of that, ______________. Because of that, _____________. Until finally ________________.” From Daniel Pink’s “To Sell is Human” (Penguin Group, 2012)
56. fin / gratzi Follow me @rmcfeeley Chat @ rob.mcfeeley@gmail.com Portfolio @ robmcfeeley.com/portfolio