Case in point: a Warren Douglas client that during recent focus groups we found that, overwhelmingly, participants in our consumer groups had no earthly idea that this client’s category of products had “brands.” Nor that there were any real brands involved or worth knowing about at all. They simply assumed it was of good quality and proper specifications, and no further identification was necessary. When, in reality, many products in this category are associated with some of the most recognized brands in the world!

Many premium brands go about their business quietly, toiling away in relative obscurity. Some, like this client’s, are right out in the open, yet completely overlooked in regard to a true premium identity.  Others are hidden from our view as they perform their tasks. Items that come to mind here are things like spark plugs or oil filters or submersible pumps and the like.

What kind of brands can you think of that play a key role in your life and deliver a premium experience, but with little to no brand fanfare? I’d wager there are plenty. So keep your eyes peeled for these quiet yet essential premium performers. And if you own or market a brand that’s better than its competition in a low-interest category with low brand awareness, just think about the sales and growth opportunities a premium brand position might offer it.

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!

I am not alone in my observation. According to Andrew Hampp, writing in a recent edition of Advertising Age, “brands and ad agencies are rediscovering the power of original tunes in advertising campaigns. Over the last decade the trend was to license famous pop songs from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, instead of creating an original branded melody. Now marketers want original music for their messages.”

This makes perfect sense to me, as I’m a custom jingle lover from way back. With a custom jingle crafted solely to sing the praises of a brand, you have the opportunity to ingrain your brand attributes and identity into the minds’ of the masses–in a way that can be both pleasing and entertaining.

Think about it. Who can forget the undeniable charm and sing-along-fun of such jingle gems as Oscar Meyer’s “My Bologna Has a First Name,” or Alka Seltzer’s “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz,” or Folgers “The Best Part of Waking Up?”  These pleasant little ditties are now a part of our collective conscience, instantly remembered and still fun to sing out loud.

Talk about brand recall!

That type of brand-centric popularity is far more of a premium for a brand than simply an association with a well-known song or recording artist.  When you allow the right melody and lyrics to showcase your brand, something very special can happen.

Just ask Oscar Meyer.

Outdoor has always been a favorite media of mine, due to it’s challenging creative canvas: you basically have room for 7 words or less to make an impression that lasts mere seconds as your audience zooms by on the way to work, shop, or play.  (Unfortunately, many creatives routinely break this 7 word rule,  thinking their message or design is better than some “arcane,” old-fashioned rule. Here’s my message to them: it’s not.  Your type’s too small, your idea’s too weak and your board will fail – period.)  But I digress…

My point today is that outdoor media, when executed properly, is hot for all shapes and sizes of brands. Whether playing a supporting role to a larger media vehicle like television or radio, or as the sole media driver for a brand’s effort, outdoor is still a larger-than-life premium canvas capable of informing, entertaining and persuading tens of thousands potential customers everyday.

Take our salad dressing client BRIANNAS, for example.  Sales were lackluster in the Miami market and they needed a fast, cost-effective boost.  Outdoor to the rescue! We crafted a special outdoor-centric campaign exclusively for the Miami audience and began scoring almost immediate recognition. Why? Because the boards followed all the creative rules of premium outdoor: they were succinct, clever, entertaining and memorable.  All for pennies on the dollar compared to a broadcast effort in a major market.

What’s more, new technology has entered the outdoor arena with the advent of bright, full-color digital display boards. These incredibly vivid billboards deliver maximum “pop” and are almost impossible to ignore.  What’s more, they’re highly cost effective because there’s no paper or vinyl to produce.

So the next time your brand is feeling the heat from new competition, shrinking share or stagnant sales, consider taking your message outside with some outdoor.   For many brands, it can be a hot pick to deliver even hotter results.  Just make sure your agency or production resource is capable of delivering the right creative message for this very tricky medium!

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?

The most important restrictions are the prohibition of:

• Photo contests which require profile photo manipulation
• Status update contests which require posting status updates for entry
• Contest entries once a user has become a fan
• Promotions appearing anywhere but in an application on a tab within the respective Fan Page

Even worse, every promotion must be approved by Facebook through an account representative and have a listed disclaimer!

So, with these new limitations, what is a brand to do? At the risk of seeming arrogant, I have to point out that premium brands must now stop the insistence that they can handle their own Fan Pages and social media. They must turn it over to someone who can develop apps, has a standing relationship with account reps, as well as have the strategic thinking behind how in the world to get users to care about a Widget Deluxe Fan Page when they get nothing free from it. In plain English, they need a marketing agency.

Not to toot my own horn or do the sales pitch, but in past posts, we’ve pointed out how it is virtually impossible for a one-man-band to handle a full social media strategy—emphasis on strategy. So, throw in creative web application development on top of legalese, and it’s way over what Jimmy the 18-year-old intern can handle on his own. And while this may seem discouraging to brands that have relied on this “cheap” form of social media connection, I must remind us all that in marketing, we get what we pay for.

So, Facebook has, in essence, secured the need for a well-thought-out plan of attack and I applaud them for taking such measures to keep their product premium and free of spam-inducing promotions popping up on their highly-successful product. Though it might be hard at first for premium brands to part with their dollars to produce a new way of reaching Fans on their Page, it really is long overdue if they want any chance of retaining their premium status on Facebook.

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.

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.”