You're not a company silly; you're a vending machine

I was talking with a client about branding this afternoon. After the conversation ended, I started thinking about ways to convince this client more effectively that integrating the brand to the corporate mission is critical. End then it came to me:

From a marketing-centric POV, good companies are nothing more than brand vending machines. I'm sure some people would hear this and be up in arms. "But we offer highly customized solutions. You can't compare us to a commodity." Only - I can; here's how...

What do you offer your customers? What keeps them coming back, and entices new customers? A positive experience that meets their needs and expectations. You commoditize that experience. Let's go back to that weird title I am using.

There are three main parts to a vending machine. One - the front panel. Two - the coin slot. And three - the little basket where the soda gets delivered to the customer.

Item one - the front panel. That tells everybody that its a vending machine, and what kind of soda is being sold. It promises an experience. It tells you what its not (If it's Pepsi, it's letting you know it's not Coke). It's preparing the buyer and setting expectations. That's your brand, and your messaging, and your delivery.

Item two - the coin/dollar slot. Well - that's easy enough. That's the closing; when the expectations and messaging motivate the consumer to the point of no return - commitment to purchase. (It also helps pay to keep the front panel lit and the soda cold).

Item three - the basket dispensing soda. The customer punches the "diet pepsi" button, inserts money, and BAM - a diet pespi comes out. Just what the customer wanted. That's your commoditized product. Even if it's custom consulting - you are delivering what the customer expects. You complete the brand experience with the customer drinking your diet pepsi (and knowing where to go the next time you want one).



Think about overlooking a brand, or not fully building it into your message. An overlooked brand is like a soda machine that's been vandalized. Expectations are low, and the customer may move on to something more appealing and safe. You don't get that money into the coin slot.

Now think about not integrating it into your offering. Think about winging it, and not trying to make your company a brand delivery mechanism. Think about just using your brand as a pretty face, but not really committing to it. You might fulfill the customer experience sometimes - but not always, and not as often as you should. That's like a vending machine on the fritz. The customer punched in "diet pepsi" and you got Dr. Pepper instead. Your brand lied. It's not that the Dr. Pepper is bad, it's that it's not what the consumer wanted when they put money in the slot, and it wasn't what they were expecting. The customer walks away, feeling cheated and suspicious. That's not the way to build repeat customers.


What's the moral - understand your brand identity. Shape it - once you establish it, it should fit you, and you should keep the brand front and center - making sure you pop out one satisfying and expected customer experience after another. Be the vending machine.

Starbucks and effective branding

I have this conversation all the time, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to document it. When I meet new clients with branding issues, they often bring me some mixed up ideas about how they want to create a logo and brand. I point to Starbucks as an example of impeccable big budget branding, and hold it up to learn some lessons about what what branding should and should not be trying to do.

It's important that your customers understand what you offer. That should permeate almost every aspect of your communications to your customer. But it shouldn't dominate the brand.

The brand's job is not to identify your offering. Then you are wasting brand equity by establishing what you don't do, and competing against every company that doesn't offer what you do. That's why contractors often have the worst brands - they focus on clip art of electrical wiring or a house. You don't need to convince people you are an electrician; you need to convince them you are the best choice for them.

So getting onto what Brands should do - brands are a promise. They are a commitment to your customers that you are going to give them a satisfying experience. And then it is your responsibility to fulfill that commitment. That's how brands grow. Branding is guiding your reputation, and setting the right expectations.

I point to Starbucks for two main reasons:

First - they understand that the brand doesn't stop at the logo. Their brand is an enjoyable experience buying coffee and spending time at the coffee shop. Their brand promises to confer some quality upon people who shop there. That can be viewed as condescending and disingenuous, and I believe many people who repudiate the brand. But overall, they fulfill on their commitment. They provide good tasting (and expensive) drinks. Their staff is usually very congenial, and the real estate is always impeccably designed. They also invite customers to be engaged in the music they purvey (offering cultural benefits) and explain their fair trade efforts and recycling (creating moral self-satisfaction for customers).

Second - they have an impeccable corporate logo. It fits their space, features flawless execution, and points to an important question? What the heck does a mermaid and the a character from Moby Dick have to do coffee? Nothing at all. But the imagery of the siren is iconic. It goes to show that sometimes at the logo level, the brand imagery is arbitrary, and it's much more important how well a logo is executed, than what the logo depicts. The prevalence of meaningless but easy to remember internet companies and offerings underscores this.


I recommend business owners to consider the importance of effective branding. If you set your expectations or credibility too low - your brand is inflicting and opportunity cost by sending potential customers down the road to a competitor who makes a more believable and satisfying promise.