Nine Ways to Fix a Broken Brand

In the past few years, everyone has tried to jump on the brand wagon. Creating buzz, being cool, breaking through the static, embracing viral marketing -- you name it, everyone's tried it. The late, lamented dotcoms most recently led the charge, inspired by the notion that throwing endless amounts of money at the customer would build a great brand -- even if there wasn't a relevant product or service behind the campaign. Never in the history of marketing have so many companies spent so much for so little. This branding eruption has left in its wake more than a few broken, bent, or badly confused brands. Here are nine of the most common complaints about brands that are in need of fixes -- and some practical approaches to applying brand aid.

1. I know that my brand is broken -- I just don't know why.

Brands get sick, lost, or broken for many reasons. Before you know it, everything that you thought was crystal clear about your brand positioning becomes murky and impenetrable. Too often, when companies realize what has happened to their brand, they blindly jump into action. They fire the ad agency or the chief marketing officer. They hold a boardroom retreat and look to the CEO for divine inspiration. Some argue to spend more, others to spend less. Everybody has an opinion. The problem is, every opinion is just that: an opinion.

If you're not sure why your brand is broken, the place to begin is with an almost anthropological approach to understanding the brand -- something that I liken to a "big dig." Revisit where your brand started out. What did the brand stand for originally? Why did it resonate with customers in the first place? What were its core values? Are they still present? Just as important, are they still relevant? The world changes. You need to be sure. Probe consumers about the product category that you're in. How do they feel about your competitors? What does your product or service provide them with? What are the tangible benefits, and, perhaps more important, what are the emotional benefits? Think of this as a brand audit, and don't bring your personal prejudices to the table. Listen and learn.

2. My brand changes direction with each new product and marketing campaign. Everything is disconnected and off on different tangents. How do I keep it cohesive?

One solution: Think like Plato. You may not think of the great Greek philosopher as a brilliant marketer, but he understood a fundamental principle that lies at the heart of a great brand: the concept of essence. Plato believed that deep within everything concrete is the idea of that thing. Plato, in other words, was the first to articulate the importance of a brand's essence. Nike's essence, for instance, is authentic athletic performance. When everyone in the organization understands what those words mean, staffers can unleash innovation in every quarter -- from advertising to product design to promotions -- and it all connects to something larger and more enduring.

3. My brand is boring. It doesn't create excitement in my customers or in my employees. (And it's been a long time since it excited anyone on Wall Street.)

Maybe you just need a little therapy. Abraham Maslow, a founder of humanistic psychology, is not often mentioned among the ranks of history's top marketers. But embedded in Maslow's idea of human motivation -- his "hierarchy of human needs," which places complex needs at the top, above the basics of survival -- is a key to the future of any brand. Because of the clutter of offerings in the marketplace, brands need more than customer awareness or surface-level connection. Brands need to connect on a deeper psychological level. They need to respect and acknowledge the customer's emotions -- feelings such as the yearning to belong, the need to feel connected, the hope to transcend, and the desire to experience joy and fulfillment.

Smart companies recognize that great products and services can deliver more than profits; they deliver experiences that make life better in some small way. That was the insight at the heart of the Starbucks brand expression. When we did the big dig for Starbucks, we unearthed the role that coffee has played in society for more than 500 years. We found that coffee isn't really a drink -- it's an experience that has been a part of our culture for centuries. Starbucks was less about engineering a great cup of coffee than it was about providing a great coffee experience. We went a little further up Maslow's pyramid and found ourselves thinking well outside the cup.

4. My brand is dead.

Okay, it happens. You ignore your brand for too long, or simply let it ride for too long, and at some point, it just expires. It loses all of its energy, its power to capture your customers' -- or even your -- imagination.