Chapter 3 Brand Destination Planning Many moving pieces and parts are involved in developing an award-winning. campaign, Getting every aspect of your marketing communications aligned is a real challenge. Just like embarking on any journey, developing a brand requires a roadmap to see where it begins and where it’s headed. This road- map may be called a brand plan, a brand vision, or, asin this book, brand destination planning. Unlike a traveler on a road trip who stays in one place and then needs another, a brand never stands in one place. It is constantly in motion. There are outside forces that help shape it. There are inside forces that help guide it, Akey role of the account planner is working with the brand team to define where it wants to go. Determining the destination or vision for the brand is ‘an important first step in developing a campaign. You often see communication that reflects a short-term initiative sech as generating sales this weekend or responding to a public relations criss. If a brand or company only responds to short-term pressures, its communica- tions will have no long-term value, The most desirable place for the brand is always a longer-term destination. You want all communication effarts to Tead there and not get stuck on a side road, You always want to add value to the brand. The only way to establish a forward-thinking strategy is to provide a roadmap that leads to the appropriate destination, The Brand Destination Process Brand planning leads to campaign planning. You can't develop one without the other, The brand destination process is one method that helps put everyone on the same page. Brand destination planning is based on answering some fundamental questions about the brand, such as + Where are we today? + Where do we want to be?BRAND DESTINATION PLANNING 23 + What is in the way of getting there? + How can we get there? + Are we getting there? ‘The answers to these questions are the foundation for all the details that ‘g0 into developing a successful campaign. Figure 3.1 provides a schematic ‘of what the brand destination process is all about, Let's take a lock at the framework behind each question. “To answer the first question—"Where are we today?"—you needto know the history of the brand, its strengths and weaknesses, how consumers per- ceive it, who buys it, and why they buy it, With this information, you can begin to paint a picture of where the brand has been, where it is today, and where it looks like itis going. ‘To answer this question requires research, Figure 3.1 provides a summary of all the research that culminates in an answer to the initial question. You ‘want o lear what consumers currently believe or think about the brand, Do they think itis of high quality oris it the low-price leader? Is it cool, or is it dated? [sit just like every other brand in the category, or does it stand out? ‘This is the type of information that goes in the top box in the diagram. ‘The other aspect ofthis question lies in understanding consumer behavior. ‘Do consumers purchase your brand exclusively, or do they rotate among a set of brands? Do they buy your brand only when itis on sale? Ordo they buy ‘your brand regardless of price? This information about purchase behavior ‘can be used to answer the initial question, It is important to answer these questions from a consumer perspective. ‘The brand destination process is written in the consumer's voice and not as a marketing document. This means that it should begin in the vowe of “I think the brand is ...” versus “We think the brand is...” or “We think the consumer believes ...” By framing the brand destination in the corsumer's voice, the communication is focused on solving the consumer's problem and not a marketing problem. ‘Together the consumer’s belief and subsequent behavior toward the brand paints a picture of the combination of factors that impacts the position of the brand in the marketplace. The brand destination summarizes where we are today. It is also important to know how this position has changed over time. These changes will determine where you can take the brand, Today Versus Tomorrow Viewpoint ‘The second question is“Where do we want to be?” What do we wantconsum- ts to think of us, and how do we want to change that view? This isa judg-24 CHAPTER 3 Figure 3.1 Brand Destination Process ‘Where are we today? Where do we want tobe? ‘Aro we getting there? ‘What isin the way? How can we get there? ‘mental exercise, For example, it would likely be impossible for McDonald's to convince consumers that it offers more exclusive service than a premier five-star restaurant, However, it might not be a leap to say that MeDonald’s could be seen as an altemative to a casual dining restaurant. In creating a ion for the future of a brand, you must balance hopes and dreams against ‘reality. That is why itis so important to use the consumer voice in crafting ‘a brand destination, Doing so provides a test of reasonableness as to what ‘consumers could realistically think about the brand. Let's take Tide laundry detergent as an example of a brand that changed its campaign and position in the market. Figure 3.2 illustrates the brand destination process. In this case, a mom with kids is the consumer. Mom's initial belief of Tide was that it did clean her family’s clothes, even the very difficult, dirty ones. But she didn’t see a big enough difference between Tide and other brands to persuade her to buy only Tide, She would buy other brands if they offered incentives, such as lower prices or coupons. ‘The future vision for the brand was one in which Tide was seen as a unique laundry detergent that met Mom’s family needs all he time. If Mom believed that Tide did more than just clean her clothes, then she would buy the product regardless of competitive incentives. Crafting a vision for the future starts with a basic premise but requires insight to complete it.I also requires reviewing the future vision to ensure that it is unique in the market. Tide wanted to develop a position in which