Who knew that eating anything with certain “alternative” ingredients could propagate the very cancer her hormone therapy was trying to prevent? These elements, or subsidiaries of, are in almost everything we consume, and it so happens that even digesting certain “healthy” ingredients activate estrogen-like hormones, which have been known to accelerate cancer growth. For example, even the vitamins my mom took to boost her blood count during chemo contained traces of these elements. Sure enough, the lump that had been removed a year ago came back in the exact same spot, and we can only speculate whether or not her diet had a part in her cancer’s re-occurrence. Since then, her oncologist has encouraged her to read labels and avoid many popular alternatives.

Off to the grocery aisle we all go, reading labels. As cheaper alternatives to many ingredients are prevalent in almost all products, the risk of slipping up is a costly one. My immediate family is now noticing that premium groceries, which were sometimes purchased because of taste superiority, are easier to rationalize due to imminent and preventative health concerns.

As breast cancer continues to have an impact on Americans, food manufacturers have the opportunity to respond to consumers’ willingness to pay more for products made from quality, healthy ingredients. Go premium!

Take cars, for example. We all know that dozens of options exists that can deliver all the rational benefits: engine size, price range, fuel efficiency, horsepower, and amenities like navigation or premium sound. While I may have many rational reasons for buying a car, the emotional benefits play a huge role in helping me choose one model over another: the look, the way it handles, how safe I feel, etc. Which benefits, though, should be touted in marketing to convince the target audience to buy? Rational benefits might actually have a stronger play in helping sell a premium or luxury car, after realizing that the emotional benefits are obvious. Here’s where consumer context too often gets left out of the mix.

The question marketers ought to ask is this: How does the consumer want to feel about purchasing this product? Our research suggests that certain verticals make big mistakes by telling consumers how they should feel about their brand. A low-interest category like residential electricity, for example, might misfire by trying to differentiate its brand based on emotional benefits, because consumers don’t want to feel loyal to a utility company. Understanding the way your target wants to feel about your brand will help in deciphering which RTBs make their way into your marketing message. Another low-interest category like insurance, however, must lead with emotional benefits if it’s not differentiating on price; the consumers who will pay more for insurance are doing so because of the way they want to feel about their choice: like they’re “in good hands.” While the rational benefits are relevant for insurance, they’re secondary for premium brands of insurance, but primary for low-cost competitors, simply because the consumer context drives different RTBs within this particular category. Marketers of premium brands need to understand that, in order to convince consumers that you’re worth more, having a real understanding of want your target wants to be told is critical to influence purchase.

I know this: My wife doesn’t like it if I tell her, “Don’t be upset,” or “You should be happy about this.” My experience is that consumers don’t like it, either. And I think I’m premium, by the way.

Last Saturday, Pepsi sponsored a concert in Uganda featuring controversial murder performer Beenie Man. An account of just some of the contention was detailed by Daily Monitor reporter Rafsanjan Abbey Tatya:

“The King of Dancehall stuck a sword of words into gay people through singing and talking.

‘In my family, we don’t have any gay person but if you’re gay, my brother that’s not my fault,’ he said as he performed his song Mi Nah Wallah, in which he says he would like to cut the throats of all gay men.

George Bush and Bin Laden were also at the receiving end of the Jamaican’s wrath calling on the audience to say ‘murderer’ as he sang about the pair’s warfare.”

Pepsi has responded with this statement:

“We are appalled by the performer’s lyrics and find them repugnant. Our bottling partner in Uganda was not aware of the performer’s views and never would have sponsored the concert with this knowledge.  Moving forward, we will work closely with our bottling partners to be more vigilant about the events associated with our brands.”

Pepsi’s statements seem to be rather void, considering Uganda is currently debating a bill in parliament, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which would institute the death penalty for many members of Uganda’s LGBT population, and that Beenie Man has had runs-ins for years regarding his public beliefs. So, consumers are left with only two conclusions: either Pepsi is run by women-hating, murder-supporting lunatics, or by people too busy and uninformed to make sound choices about their brand. Neither option is really appealing to any consumer … or spectator.

Truth is, Pepsi is a world-wide brand, so these blunders may cause them a slight dip in sales, but probably not kill them. Lucky for them. But what about your brand?

Let this be a lesson to us all about what it means to be engaged and aware not only of what’s going on within our organization, but also within the best interests of our consumer base as a whole. While it seems that the Ugandan Pepsi representatives were well aware of what the Ugandan people wanted to hear, they were willing to risk the loyalty of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of other consumers to reach this group. So, while a tactic like an iPhone App or sponsored event sounds like an effective tool, don’t forget they all impact the overall goal—which in Pepsi’s case, it seems, may be to destroy themselves.

Last night, while watching my recording of Wednesday’s So You Think You Can Dance (yes, I’m one of those people), the show’s host introduced me to a group called “The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.” While this seems like a fun name, I was hardly going to believe what a TV show produced by American Idol aficionado Nigel Lythgoe told me. Like any consumer, I had to consider the source.

But as the music began and I saw the opening moments of the performance, there was an immediate sense of pride in making the right decision to stick with the program. The time and effort put into each execution. The attention to detail! They were fantastic. Beyond excellent. They were extraordinary. And I proceeded to go online and watch the YouTube version of the performance below 5 more times that night. And then a few more today.

There were other performers on the show who were great. It’s a dance competition, for heaven’s sake! But these performers stood out because they have created this product, this “brand,” with creativity, something distinguishable, something unique, and, hopefully not to be too trite, something premium. And not every brand can play at this level, but when articulated and executed well, the consumer is hooked. And living up to your claims defines consumer retention.

So, brand managers, before settling with any creative or strategic execution, ask yourself a few things—what is it about your brand that is truly extraordinary? What is it that your product does within its category that is beyond normal? And how can you tell that story in a like fashion? Articulate and demonstrate these assets, and your customers will develop a sense of pride and belief in your brand, as well. And though it may seem basic, it works. Trust us. We at WD create such extraordinary every day.

As I culled through my morning emails, I noticed that of the many emails in my Inbox, 45 were from retailers! And what surprises me the most is there were repeat offenders—3 from Gap, 2 from Overstock.com, 2 from Godiva, etc. How in the world does Gap have enough relevant material to contact me three times in one 24-hour period? And why would I care three different times? Needless to say, I didn’t even open them. And others feel the same way apparently. According to a new poll from the Chief Marketing Officer Council, 64% of consumers say promotional offers dominate both the email and traditional mail they receive, and only 41% view these as must-read communications.

Knowing your customers, especially those who have enough positive disposition towards your brand to give you permission to contact them directly, is essential in building a premium brand. If you can’t be relevant, then why bother? The numbers don’t lie.

Liz Miller, Vice President, Programs and Operations, CMO Council, said “Irrelevant, impersonal communications… (do) not engage a receptive recipient… customers will disconnect and stop doing business with brands who continue to send messages that demonstrate a lack of intimacy, customer insight and individual understanding.”

In the end, there has to be some sort of strategic plan and knowledge of the individual consumer in place. If the powerhouse of social marketing hasn’t proven this already, each consumer wants to have a unique voice, and needs to be marketed to independently.

So, the question a premium brand manager should ask themselves is this: do you manage your information to keep things personal for your consumers? Or, are you just creating opportunities for them to opt-out of engaging with your brand?

I’m definitely not getting a holiday season job at a Microsoft store …

To read more about why brands should be themselves and not fail at pretending to be others, read this blog blast from the past.

Mr. Nese is the perfect example of the fact that just because an opportunity comes along that others have taken and seen success, that doesn’t mean it is the path for every brand out there. His greatest line is that each brand should “set yourself apart and provide your customer with something no one else has.” He did that by offering over 500 premium brands of soda pop rarely found any other place. And from the video, you can tell he’s had fun counting his success as he continues to stick to the ultimate goal of creating something with worth to his customer and not being enticed by every shiny opportunity that comes along.

The electronic blitzkrieg that new media delivers can overload a consumer’s already taxed attention span. So, a premium brand’s ability to truly connect with customers is more important than ever.

That’s why you should keep print in your marketing mix. Brands are built on emotional connections, and few things create those connections like print. According to Wharton Marketing Profession’s Eric Bradlow, print offers clear advantages over other media such as email. “Many people see emails as impersonal and costless to write,” Bradlow says. “People want to feel special. Email is transactional, paper is relational.”

Consumer surveys would seem to agree, with 82% saying they like getting catalogs from stores they patronize and 70% saying they’ve renewed a relationship with a company as a result of receiving direct mail.

For premium brands this insight is key. Print offers a level of personal connection and quality time other media has difficulty matching.

In this day and age where consumers are barraged with messaging assuring them that every brand they try is, in fact, superior, it can be hard for the consumer to trust advertising anymore. It reminds one of the classic 50s commercials about some product X, which were easily and readily believed. These days, it is much harder to break through the gimmick.

This brings us to the new trend in marketing for premium brands—transparency. Seems pretty simple, yet few brands engage in it because it is deceptively hard to come up with an actual tried and true reason why one brand is better than another. But the glorious truth is, if your brand truly does fit the definition of premium, there will be a pertinent message that makes sense and builds trust with the consumer.

Take one of Warren Douglas’s clients, Briannas Fine Salad Dressings. After years of being number one in the specialty salad dressing category, Briannas decided to hire us to share with more people what they and their loyal following love about the product. After going through our Premium Brand Process, we determined something very simple, yet true—Briannas is just plain good. Though there is more to the marketing plan than just this revelation, it is a succinct statement that rings true with everyone who tries it. Briannas doesn’t try to be anything they aren’t, but simply adhere to the new golden rule of advertising—when you tell the truth, people love you for it.

So, if you truly want to be perceived as a premium brand, make sure you aren’t peddling that gimmick, but really taking the time to get to know what it is that sets your brand apart. More importantly, have the courage to put your brand out there exactly as it is, with complete and utter transparency. Trust us, you’ll get the results you want and the credibility you need to be called “premium.”

Why would a premium brand like Starbucks go to all this trouble? They claim that slow foot traffic and declining sales inspired the transformation, but I think there are better ways to be a good community citizen than apologetically relinquishing the brand identity that has become a household name. Perhaps they’ve oversaturated the market with too many locations. Perhaps they’re too accessible, and now not as special as they used to seem. But they’re still a great brand, and I think they make a great cup of coffee.

I don’t mean to sound like I’m picking on Starbucks, but I think they’re making a big mistake. They’re abandoning the premium brand they’ve worked for decades to build. I’m actually a big fan of the brand, and of their coffee. When I travel, that backlit green circle in the distance is a beacon of comfort and familiarity; I can know what to expect when I order my grande no-whip mocha and cranberry orange muffin. Isn’t that what a premium brand is supposed to do? Create expectation, leverage familiarity, and inspire loyal purchase behavior?

Don’t apologize, Starbucks. You’ve built a great brand, but don’t try to appease consumers by saying you’re someone you’re not. Let your brand adapt and stay relevant, but don’t abandon it. What you’ll find you’re creating in these “unique,” unbranded locations is something that’ll be hard to take ownership of from a branding perspective. Not to mention the fact that you’re leaving yourself wide open for consumers to accuse you of lacking authenticity.

I’ll stick with Starbucks. And my grande mocha. And when I’m feeling like an extra treat, that iced lemon poundcake.