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Posts Tagged ‘Force 5’
The Bean Brand
Thursday, March 11th, 2010 by Deb DeFreeuwL.L. Bean is taking a leap into new territory! They are creating a brand extension called L.L. Bean Signature. The new line is a collection for men and women with updated styles and cuts. One of their new offerings is called the “Plain Weave Signature Suit,” and sells for just over $200.00. I have looked at the video preview on their website and I can’t wait to see the whole line when it rolls out on March 15th! The clothes are still “outdoorsy” in a way, they still utilize plaid, denim and twill, but they look closer in design to Ralph Lauren than the traditional, more conservative L.L. Bean.
I went to the L.L. Bean website to look around and compare the new line to their current line. I also found a video on YouTube with the story of how L.L. Bean started, with the Bean Boot. Employees were featured and talked about how much they love working at L.L. Bean and how they are committed to quality. When they see a box in a store with a number on it that they recognize from shipping, they take pride in knowing they packed that box. L.L. Bean is doing everything right; they are living their brand from the inside out. Their employees believe in the product they manufacture and sell, they are brand ambassadors.
Because L.L. Bean has such strong core brand equity, the new L.L. Bean Signature line will be expected to live up to that standard offering high quality clothes at a reasonable price and great customer service. I am certain that is exactly what they will offer!
L.L. Bean has already proved they have brand “extendibility.” Everything from backpacks, furniture for indoors and out, canoes and even branded a line of Subaru cars has sported the L.L. Bean name. Obviously consumers have a strong association to the brand name and trust that it will offer what it claims.
The heart and soul of L.L. Bean lives on, that is brand. Here at Force 5 we specialize in helping companies reconnect or discover their “soul” and then bring everything into alignment with what makes them distinct. That message of distinction is then conveyed both internally and externally. If you are ready to discover your soul, let us know – we’re ready to put on our Bean boots and dig in!!
SQL Case Study – Convert data rows to columns
Friday, March 5th, 2010 by Force 5We recently had a project that involved putting together a survey. This survey was comprised of almost 150 questions. As we brainstormed the best way to construct the data tables to store this information, the thought of a table with 150 columns made us cringe. Time constraints also called for something we could put together relatively quickly. We decided to create a table that stored each question as a row of data. Then we made a table that referenced the primary key of the question table along with the user’s answer to that question. So instead of having a table with 150 columns, we have one table with 150 rows and another table that stores a data row for each question answered on the survey. Now if a question needs to be added or removed from the survey all that needs to happen is add or remove a row from the questions table.
It also made collecting the survey data through a ASP.NET Web Site a lot easier, but that can be a future blog topic.
All of that was a setup for displaying the following solution that we created. In order to display the data correctly for reporting purposes we needed to be able to transform the 150 rows of data in the questions table into a table with that data as column names. In simpler terms, we needed to convert a set of data rows in table columns in a temporary table. Then we needed to be able to populate that table with the data from the answers table.
Here is the solution we came up with using the power of a stored procedures in Microsoft SQL Server.
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[Survey_Answers] AS BEGIN SET NOCOUNT ON; -- Declare variables DECLARE @QuestionID VARCHAR(20), @SQL VARCHAR(MAX) -- Create empty temporary table with id column CREATE TABLE #tempTable (SurveyID INT NULL) ---- Insert Columns into pivot table ---- -- Declare cursor to loop through table DECLARE curQuestions CURSOR FOR SELECT QuestionID FROM Survey_Questions OPEN curQuestions FETCH NEXT FROM curQuestions INTO @QuestionID WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS=0 BEGIN -- Defines each column SET @SQL = 'ALTER TABLE #tempTable ADD ' + @QuestionID + ' varchar(1024) NULL' -- Executes the command which creates the column in the temp table EXEC(@SQL) FETCH NEXT FROM curQuestions INTO @QuestionID END -- Clean up cursor CLOSE curQuestions DEALLOCATE curQuestions ---- End of Insert Columns section ---- ---- Insert id values into pivot table ---- -- Create rows in temp table using IDs from Survey table INSERT INTO [#tempTable] (SurveyID) SELECT SurveyID FROM Survey ---- Insert data into pivot table ---- -- Loop through each row in Survey_Answers -- Update values in pivot table -- Declare variables DECLARE @SurveyID INT, @QuestionID2 VARCHAR(20), @Answer VARCHAR(1024), @CurrentSurveyID INT -- Initialize variables SET @CurrentSurveyID = -1 SET @SQL = '' -- Declare cursor to loop through table DECLARE curAnswers CURSOR FOR SELECT Survey_Answers.SurveyID, Survey_Answers.QuestionID, Survey_Answers.Answer FROM Survey_Answers INNER JOIN Survey ON Survey_Answers.SurveyID = Survey.SurveyID ORDER BY Survey_Answers.SurveyID OPEN curAnswers FETCH NEXT FROM curAnswers INTO @SurveyID, @QuestionID2, @Answer WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS=0 BEGIN IF @CurrentSurveyId<>@SurveyId BEGIN -- This will run at the end of a set of questions related to one survey -- And initializes variables for next set of questions IF @sql<>'' BEGIN SET @SQL = STUFF(@SQL, LEN(@SQL), 1, ' WHERE (SurveyID = ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR, @CurrentSurveyId) + ');') EXEC(@SQL) END SET @SQL = 'UPDATE [#tempTable] SET' SET @CurrentSurveyId = @SurveyId END -- Update values in pivot table SET @SQL = @SQL + ' ' + @QuestionId2 + ' = ''' + @Answer + ''',' FETCH NEXT FROM curAnswers INTO @SurveyID, @QuestionID2, @Answer -- This section takes care of the last row since it will not go through the IF @sql<>'' code above. Uses same code as that section IF @@FETCH_STATUS = -1 BEGIN SET @SQL = STUFF(@SQL, LEN(@SQL), 1, ' WHERE (SurveyID = ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR, @CurrentSurveyId) + ');') EXEC(@SQL) END END -- Clean up answers cursor CLOSE curAnswers DEALLOCATE curAnswers -- Select values from created table SELECT [#tempTable].*, Survey.DateCreated FROM Survey INNER JOIN [#tempTable] ON Survey.SurveyID = [#tempTable].SurveyID ORDER BY Survey.SurveyID -- Clean up the pivot table DROP TABLE #tempTable END
Let us know what you think about our approach or if you have any questions.
Okay…It’s Finally 2010…Now What?
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 by David MorganUnfortunately last year many business’s pulled back on their marketing and advertising efforts. “Well, something had to give”, a business owner told me. Unfortunately, marketing initiatives may have been the last thing he wanted to pull in a bad economy. Study after study has shown that during down times, the companies that continued marketing came back to “the black” quicker and stronger than those who pulled the blanket over their heads and waited for the storm to pass. However, money is money….and when you don’t have it….or want to keep what you have as much as possible, you try to focus on the most effective method for creating ‘awareness’ without breaking the bank. Many of our clients are saying their objective this year is to create awareness of their company and product and grow the business.
“All I need is a new brochure!” my business friend cries. But that approach is tactical. A new web site, a couple of print pieces, maybe a new logo—those are only tactics that need to be driven by a strategy—a marketing plan—and that plan HAS to be driven by brand. Without brand strategy, his brochure is just a waste of a good tree.
It’s all about the brand. At Force 5, we believe that to increase awareness and business, it’s essential to establish a powerful and consistent brand image.
So why is brand development so important, and why now? Brand development is an investment – a proven investment. A good brand sets you apart from the crowd. Your brand is your evidence of distinction, what makes you different and unique from your competitors. Without distinction, you’re just another vendor, brand X. Without distinction, you could be just a commodity. And we all know how commodities are traded—price-the lowest price. When price is the only measurement of value of your company or product-you lose. If you are fighting in the trenches with only the lowest price, you are fighting everyone in the marketplace. And in today’s economy, when everyone is looking to get back on track—the low price game is being played hard.
However, when you have distinction, a proven and defensible brand, you rise above the fray. You can command higher prices, you are a leader.
A good brand means equity –true value to the company. There are examples of proven brand equity on a national and local scale. Coca Cola is ranked number one on Interbrands top 100 global brands of 2009, a spot they’ve held for nine consecutive years, and their brand alone accounts for 51% of the company’s stock market value. That’s millions and millions of dollars. What would it cost you to buy the name Coca Cola—not the plants, not the product—just the name??…That’s brand equity.
Your brand differentiation carries more weight today than ever before.
Fortunately, no matter how young or old your business is, you can still bring your brand to life. You can help an existing brand evolve or you can develop strategies to re-establish your brand.
At Force 5, we ask our clients—Who are you, What do you do, and Why does it matter? On the surface, these are easy questions, but sometimes tough to answer…
Our brand discovery process, called “Soul Searching,” provides the perfect insight into a company’s distinction. When we facilitate a session, we recruit the CEO, VP marketing, marketing managers, sales managers, folks from operations and sales people with the clear pulse on the buyer. We spend hours in a process of distilling information. From simple facts, to identifying unique value propositions, we build in a delivery mechanism by empowerment and incentives like training, technology or new customer service guidelines to assure that the newly created brand distinction is delivered constantly and consistently. The outcome is the foundation for the new or revisited brand strategy and a crystal clear and memorable internal and external brand communication. Why involve the CEO? Because brand development is not a marketing initiative, it is a corporate initiative. It must start at the top, and permeate from the President down to each and every worker. When everyone has shared in the authorship of your brand’s unique distinction, then it becomes the foundation of all production, marketing and sales initiatives.
So, It’s 2010—What’s your brand?
Recession Leadership: Sinking the Boat, Missing the Boat, and Rocking the Boat
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 by David MorganThis article was in the Harvard Business Review–authoried by Bill Taylor. It reinforces the position that we have at Force 5. Recessionary times demand stewardship, to be sure. You need to be careful–but there is a difference between sinking the boat, missing the boat, and rocking the boat….Read on….Good Article.
By Bill Taylor
Harvard Business Review
11:45 AM Monday May 18, 2009For months, I have argued that a down economy can be a great opportunity for companies to try something different or start something new. I don’t mean to minimize the pressures and setbacks that are part of unleashing real change in tough times. If all you’ve got is a spreadsheet filled with red ink and dire forecasts, it’s easy to be paralyzed by fear. But if you’ve got some leadership nerve, and can muster a few good ideas, then hard times can be great times to separate yourself from the pack and build advantages for years to come.
Don’t believe me? You can read it for yourself in The New Yorker. In a wonderful column last month, James Surowiecki reminded us of the bold strategic moves that repositioned companies and redefined industries during periods of turmoil. He told the story of how Kellogg, during the Great Depression, “doubled its ad budget, moved aggressively into radio advertising, and heavily pushed its new cereal, Rice Krispies.” As a result, Kellogg became (and remains) the industry’s dominant player. It’s also worth remembering, he points out, that Texas Instruments introduced the revolutionary transistor radio during a recession in 1954, and that Apple launched the iPod six weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks — hardly the best time to start a pop-culture phenomenon.
So why, Surowiecki wonders, given all the evidence of the chance to gain ground during periods of economic upheaval, “are companies so quick to cut back when trouble hits?” One answer involves a distinction made by two business professors nearly 25 years ago. In a paper published by the Journal of Marketing, Peter Dickson and Joseph Giglierano argue that executives and entrepreneurs face two very different sorts of risks. One is that their organization will make a bold move that fails — a risk they call “sinking the boat.” The other is that their organization will fail to make a bold move that would have succeeded — a risk they call “missing the boat.”
Naturally, most executives worry more about sinking the boat than missing the boat, which is why so many organizations, even in flush times, are so cautious and conservative. To me, though, the opportunity for executives and entrepreneurs is to recognize the power of rocking the boat — searching for big ideas and small wrinkles, inside and outside the organization, that help you make waves and change course.
You don’t have to be as bold as Kellogg or as daring as Steve Jobs. But don’t use the long shadow of the economic crisis as an excuse to downsize your dreams or stop taking chances. The challenge for leaders in every field is to emerge from turbulent times with closer connections to their customers, with more energy and creativity from their people, and with greater distance between them and their rivals. The organizations that I admire are determined to offer a compelling alternative to a demoralizing status quo — as the only way to create a compelling future for themselves.
Brand vs. Commodity
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 by David Morgan(What you really need to know and understand about brand development)
There’s a lot of talk about Brand, Branding, and Brand Development. Its all important, and its all straightforward. The problem with most companies in regards to branding is that they haven’t taken time to understand the differences and more importantly, why they need to develop their brand.
Defining Brand:
Here’s what Webster’s says about the definition of a Brand: A Claim of distinction.
You see, without distinction, you’re brand “X”, or generic, or worse, a commodity. And we all know how commodities are traded – price. And when price becomes our only measurement of value, you loose – big time. Are you the low price leader? If so, you are fighting everyone in the marketplace. But if you have a claim of distinction then you rise above the fray. However, as Brand Strategists at Force 5, we have a problem with the word “Claim”.. It’s problematic in that anyone can make a claim. Given this, a more inarguable definition of a brand would be Evidence of Distinction. We work with our clients to find that evidence of distinction that makes them unique.
Brand development VS: Branding
There is a huge difference between branding and brand development. Brand development is the discovery process we go through to unearth our “Evidence of distinction,” and the development of communications of that differentiation. Branding is then, the tactical application of that distinction in all our communications materials. Branding might be a year long campaign using several tactics (broadcast, web, direct mail).
Brand development is not a marketing initiative.
Brand development is a corporate initiative. At Force 5 we believe that in order for a distinctive brand to be deliverable, it must be discovered and adopted at the very top echelon – the CEO, COO, President, VP of Marketing/Marketing director, etc. Once the discovery process is completed, and all of us have shared in the authorship of a brands unique distinction, then we’ll hand it off to marketing for advancement.
What’s your brand?