Bucko

‘Livox was founded by a mother and father who wanted to better communicate with their physically handicapped daughter.   According to the WHO , people with disabilities comprise the largest minority group on the planet.  Livox develops products, services and training that enable social inclusion for people with disabilities’.

 http://www.livox.com.br/

The idea from Livox came from the fact that current communication devices for people with disability  and degenerative illness are both expensive and complicated to use, in a lot of cases these are large keyboards which are not intuitive to use.     Livox’s founder saw that tablet and app technology could give a solution that was easy to use and cost effective.

At the moment, this is a small start-up with around 20000 users and is looking for funding to grow into the Spanish and English-speaking markets (currently the app is in the Brazilian language).

Livox is growing its market presence by making the app adaptable to meet different needs, that way the app can help a 4 year old with cerebral palsy ,  a teenager with cancer and an adult with ALS.    Sadly, the global demand for these solutions is significant and the challenge is to get Livox to scale up to meet demand.

Livox was fortunate as a start-up to win a significant amount of funding in a Google competition and the business has a relationship with Google.   I would like to see this relationship leveraged to become a co-brand with Google’s parent business Alphabet as this is a better fit for this brand.   For a disabled child the Livox app will become a significant part of their life and has the ability to develop and stay with them as they grow up and become independent.   It is here that the app could integrate with the Google Home device and control smart home devices.     This would be a good project for both brands and a co-branded package could be marketed.

Another useful co-branding strategy would be to work with a tablet computer manufacturer so that  tablet costs could be reduced,   in developing economies there are less resources or support available for families with disabled children and the co-branding relationship could provide a source of reduced cost refurbished tablets.  People in developed economies tend to upgrade tablet and mobile devices more often and these can be collected through the distribution network.

Staying on the theme of co-branding as this is an easier way to scale up a micro business, approaches could be made to both governmental and NGOs who work with disabled and ill people.  This is a difficult group of stakeholders as funding is always an issue and there can be a resistance to change.

Whilst difficult at the moment, it is possible in the future or with sponsorship that new products could be created which adapt the app to meet the needs of people with a visual or audio disability.  This would be a form of brand extension and it is good for this brand to be a disruptive technology.

Sadly, disability and degenerative illness scares people and this makes marketing this brand somewhat challenging, at the moment families with disabled children are somewhat hidden in society.  What would be helpful is to find a celebrity or public figure with a disabled child or family member who could promote using the Livox app,  this would be difficult thing for them to do but would be helpful for the brand , also it would help other families in a similar situation.

Another option is to find a brand ambassador in the Paralympic games athletic community, the Paralympic games is increasing disability awareness and this would make the app and brand easier to understand.

It is important that Livox also uses its current supporting brands to get them to endorse and promote the brand,   Livox can talk to the WHO regarding endorsement,  this may be difficult but the WHO can introduce Livox to other business partners.

However, the quickest way to scale up to meet demand will be by licensing the app to be developed by businesses in other countries.   This is a hybrid between co-branding and private branding where the licensing brand becomes the primary brand for the app in that country.  This is the model that would have to be used in China and possibly India where app functionality and branding would need to be modified to meet local requirements.  

There are also challenges as whilst the app has IP protection it is also conceivable that alternative apps will appear with similar function, whilst this is not a negative for the disabled community, it shows that there is an urgent need for the Livox brand to increase its global awareness and this can only be done using partners and ambassadors.

References –

Livox (http://www.livox.com.br/)

Project Literacy Lab (http://projectliteracylab.com/)

Pearson  (https://www.pearson.com/us/)

Unreasonable Group (https://unreasonablegroup.com)

 

                                            

 

 

Patagonia Inc. is a supplier of outdoor clothing and accessories, its grew from a small company making climbing accessories and sustainability is a core value.

It is worth reviewing Patagonia’s mission statement as this is the brand’s DNA –

“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis”

Patagonia’s brand identity is irreversibly linked with sustainability and this is continually promoted by the brand.   Patagonia likes to differentiate itself by being an activist brand and would be perceived as a caregiver brand.   It does get involved with environmental campaigns and following the ‘One Percent for the Planet’ campaign, gives 1% of its total revenue to grassroots environmental organisations in multiple countries.

Because Patagonia is focused on sustainability and responsibility it must be transparent in all aspects of how the brand operates and for it to detail where it does harm.   Patagonia’s website is a good example of that as it shows a map of the brand’s supply chain businesses –

Patagonia Footprint

Here we can see that the brand uses Fair Trade suppliers and organic ingredients, but also details its support for minimum / fair wages in the supply chain business and does not hide the fact that there is an environmental impact when using nylon and polyester polymers to make shell garments, also that the DWR waterproofing layer is environmentally toxic.

Patagonia is also aware that it needs to apply its values in how it employs staff and you can see that in how it uses values based recruiting rather than traditional recruitment and that it offers child care facilities.

Black Friday which is the day after Thanksgiving in the US is a very busy shopping day and in 2011 Patagonia did something very different.   It advertised a picture of a jacket with the tag line ‘don’t buy this jacket’, instead of selling a product at a peak time this was a brand advertising that it is better to reduce , repair, reuse and recycle.    This was revolutionary for a big retail brand to say we are not going for more sales but we are going to market a sustainability message as this reflects our values. 

Dont Buy This Jacket

In a changing world customers are becoming more aware of their environmental footprint and the impact their purchasing choices has,  at each of the touch points the customer is aware of the fact that Patagonia is a sustainable business and that the product that you buy will have the least environmental impact possible.

But then after purchasing a Patagonia product you then enter a long-term relationship with the brand as on their website they give detailed information on how to repair their products and give you the ability to give the product away for reuse or recycling when you have finished with it.   

It is these values and the service that the brand delivers makes it resonate with consumers and that differentiates it in congested marketplace.   The customers trust Patagonia and admire its values,  what is helpful is that the brands principles chime with the customer’s lifestyle.   What is helping the brand is the sustainability message not to buy what you don’t need and that quality lasts is now changing customer behaviours in a more cost and impact aware society.

However, when you are a brand that is very focussed on not doing harm and being sustainable and doing the best that you can to reduce your environmental impact, there is potentially an increased risk of brand damage when a problem is identified in your supply chains.

In 2012 it was identified that some of the down feathers used in some of the clothing (this is a natural insulator and easy to recycle) came from being live plucked from the birds that were being farmed for the Foie-Gras industry.      This was a sensitive subject as Foie-Gras is controversial and Patagonia quickly denied that feathers were live plucked but did admit that feathers had come from Foie-Gras production which was a problem for the brand.   It took time for Patagonia to make the changes to the supply chain so that all feathers used in its clothing are traceable.   This was not a simple change and would have taken a lot of time and investment. 

PETA had shown problems in the farms that supplied wool to Patagonia and they responded quickly by switching wool procurement to another country, however PETA then identified problems there and all Patagonia could do is to issue guidance on treatment of animals and land use.

This shows that if you are a brand differentiating yourself by being sustainable and responsible, then you are open to more scrutiny and you must react quickly to identified problems and propose solutions.

However, what is not a problem now can be identified as a problem in the future and there is now the issue of micro fibres that are detached from our synthetic clothing when we wash them and end up in the marine environment, here they are eaten by fish and other marine animals and then can end up in our food.

This is a difficult problem for Patagonia as a lot of their outdoor clothing is technical (synthetic) as these work better than traditional materials.  Patagonia commissioned a study by the University of California Santa Barbara and has advised their customers to wash the technical clothing less often and there is micro fibre wash reduction information on the website. Patagonia has partnered with Guppy Friend to sell their micro fibre retention wash bags at cost in their stores and online.  

Guppy Friend

This is an ongoing problem with workaround solutions and what I would like to see is that Patagonia collaborates and shares information with the other clothing brands so more resources can be brought together to deal with this problem.  However, with any new material there can always be future environmental risk.

What worries me is that because this brand has values that conflict with the new US administration the fact that the CEO makes a statement that she and the business will actively resist the new administration is unwise.  Patagonia’s home market is polarised politically and this can impact how the brand is viewed by a significant percentage of their customers and this illustrates the risks when a brand is overtly political.  Where it has been effective in the past is when it has lobbied other corporations to do more in terms of sustainability.

References –

Patagonia Inc (http://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/home/)

CBS Bay area 5 (http://www.cbsnews.com/)

Guppy Friend (http://guppyfriend.com/)

NY Times (https://www.nytimes.com/)

AO.com is a an online retailer specialising in electronic goods,   it was started in 2000 by John Roberts who was bet £1 that he could not start a business,  it was originally called Appliances Online and initially it sold kitchen appliances on behalf of major retail stores.   The business then purchased a distribution company giving it a delivery capability.

This was an internet business and faced significant competition from both online and retail outlet businesses.     To differentiate itself and to add value to the customer touchpoint experience the business invested in a video production studio to create product reviews for its web presence.

The company at this time was building its social media and web presence and had an ‘appliances online’ and ‘appliance reviews’ websites. 

By 2013 the businesses Facebook page had reached 1 million likes, it was at this time the business was rebranded to be the AO.com we see today and this was when it started selling small electrical appliances and offering a same day delivery service.

The AO.com rebrand was a significant marketing exercise as it affected all parts of the business and customer experience.  The new logo had a happy smile which was a good brand identifier.

AO.com brand DNA is what drives all aspects of the business and that is ‘Everything we do revolves around our devotion to happiness and amazing customer service’. AO.com unique selling point is that it will deliver seven days a week at a time that suits you and for a cost can do same day delivery if required. 

What differentiates AO.com from its competitors is that fact that it has its own delivery network which means that deliveries are not outsourced to third party companies, also this means that the customer has more accurate tracking for the parcel being delivered.    Thinking about this customer interaction which can be frustrating for a lot of us, the fact that you can track the truck that is delivering your product is important and imagine that this is on Christmas Eve when your oven has broken and the truck has the replacement.  What you will get is an AO.com branded vehicle with two AO.com employees who will deliver at a time you choose , unbox and install the new electrical item.    This extremely satisfied customer will in most cases tell their friends and neighbours about their positive experience and this amplifies the brand resonance.  

AO.com brand identity is all about customer service and it establishes an ongoing relationship with its customers by offering an aftercare and repair service, it also provides buying guides on the website as well as product care and lifestyle advice.

Looking at the AO.com website what is the prominent thing that you see displayed?  It is a Trustpilot rating of 9.5 / 10 based on 74000 reviews,  what a way to show to a new customer that the brand deserves their trust.

The website then has an embedded app which helps you find the appropriate product to fit your need, this is very useful as for a lot of online retailers the wide range of similar products can be confusing.    There is also a chat window where the customer can talk to a staff member who can give additional advice and support.

But also here AO.com display an important price promise in that they will not be beaten on price by any other retailer.   This is another way of attracting new customers and with good service retaining existing ones.

AO.com

AO.com has become the sponsor of Britain’s Got Talent which is exceptionally popular amateur talent show and this markets the brand to a wide audience and is on a programme that is a major object of discussion in families and with friends.  Being the sponsor of this event leverages the AO.com brand awareness.   Especially as AO.com will have its television advert screened during the BGT advertising breaks which is a very effective way to make more people aware of the brand.

 AO.com makes effective use of the social media channels and its FB page has reached 1.7 million likes.   The AO FB page is brilliant, along with promoting products for sale it offers food recipes (this is the Wimbledon tennis tournament so the latest is strawberry tarts and cream).  Then there are the competitions, the latest is for people to upload pictures of their pets to win a handheld vacuum cleaner.    Also you will find instructions to make a gaming beanbag and you can find a picture of the Queen with her coat photo shopped to be the AO.com brand colour.   What is also good is that when you access the AO.com FB page the messaging app is launched and you have the chance to talk to an AO.com employee.

The serious point is by making the FB site fun with interesting content and competitions make it sticky and this allows products and promotions to be marketed without changing the page experience.   

AO.com Facebook page

The AO.com Twitter page reflects the content on the FB page but much more importantly is a forum for customers to interact with the business,   here you can see customers asking for help with a problems and you can see a AO.com employee promptly responding and providing help.  Reviewing a business’s Twitter feed is a good way of identifying if you can trust that business and in that way AO.com exceeds.   The Twitter feed is not all problems as there are recipes,  funny videos and competitions along with product promotions.  Again this makes the site sticky and increases interest in the business.

AO.com has a presence on the other social media sites where there is common content ,  however the AO.com Instagram site is very different.  Here we have an artistic lifestyle space where people can upload pictures,   however this is a subtle promotion for the AO.com lifestyle platform which is an organic companion to the retail space as it is a subtle way of nudging people toward products even though they have visited this site for lifestyle advice.

AO.com Instagram

AO.com lifestyle

Lets not forget that this business bought a video production company and they make full use of this which adds significant value towards their brand.    They have a dedicated you tube channel which shows product reviews,   TV adverts,  how to guides,  food and drink recipes etc.   Again this makes the site sticky and promotes the brand.

AO.com You tube channel

There is a consistent brand message and brand identity present across all touch points and media channels.

References

AO Retail Limited (http://ao.com/)

 

 

 

With Apple, branding and design are core parts of the DNA and Steve Jobs was unhappy selling Apple products through third party stores. He wanted the Apple store so that he could directly change Apple’s relationship with its customers and to bring into their full control the presentation of Apple products and the brand message. Once the prototype of a store was approved we could see in the first locations that the Apple brand design DNA was present in the stores and some of these have won design awards.

This is a good illustration of the dangers of brand dilution when your product is located amongst a sea of competing products in a third-party retail space, this has to make the brand marketing the product work harder to differentiate itself and it shows by having a sole brand retail space can make marketing somewhat easier and focus customer attention.   However more than a decade has past and Apple is trying to increase market share in locations where it does not have a store.   Here it has partnered with other retail outlets to introduce a ‘store within a store’ concept.    This will have all the branding and design of the Apple store and will have Apple store employees,   this mitigates the risk of brand dilution but does increase the amount of brand competition.

When you look at an Apple store you see that the design is very clean with wooden display tables and neutral colours where the Apple logo is prominent. When you walk into the store you see tables of computers, laptops and tablets where devices are grouped by type. This is useful as it allows customers with different requirements space to look at the devices they are interested in, but also allows them to see other products in the portfolio. For example, someone can come in to look at a laptop but there will be an adjacent table of tablets and this can nudge the customer into buying an additional companion product.

Here we see how the layout is evolving

But here we are talking about design and layout and in the Apple store this can be a bit clinical, however what is the key for making this store a success? It is the staff who are living representations of the Apple brand, when you walk into the store your first impressions of the staff are good as they are well dressed and give you a friendly welcome. It is obvious that they have a good level of product knowledge but give you space to look around, they are attentive and will quickly come to answer any questions. Apple do recognise that they have to support their staff and the business has a range of employee benefits

Apple employee benefits

The layout of the store is very interesting as the tables displaying the devices are in the front part of the store, however at the back of the store are the shelves of the accessories and other consumable products, this is interesting to examine as the range of products some of which are supplied by third party business has been filtered so as not to greatly contrast with the Apple design ethos , contrast this with going into a normal electronics store and seeing a wide range of colours and package designs. However, do not see this as a problem in the Apple store as the fact that Apple are very specific with their supply chain partners means that there is less risk of a third party issue damaging their relationship with their customers.

Here the layout of the store helps the knowledgeable staff leverage additional sales, for example going to pay for a tablet or laptop requires you to go with the staff member to the sales desk which is surrounded by all these useful (and profitable) accessories and the sales staff can upsell these to the customer at the point of sale.

Apple know that they have good customer loyalty and retention but this is not something that is guaranteed and ongoing customer service is key. Even Apple products are complex and can have problems which are difficult for the user to resolve, also some people are not comfortable with telephone or online computer support. What is very good is that in each store there is a ‘Genius bar’ which is a dedicated service and support area where you can take your computer or tablet for repair and support by a trained support specialist. There is a limitation with the Genius Bar in that they struggle to repair older legacy equipment (defined by Apple) but you are then in a store where you can buy a replacement computer.

Interestingly some of the new stores are including a ‘The Studio’ space where you can meet with a ‘Creative’ and get support with projects such as photo and video editing. Apple competes against Microsoft to supply workstations to creative people and this is a good way for Apple to make their products sticky – for example an IPAD may struggle to render video but there will be a powerful Apple computer which can do that and that is a subtle nudge upsell.

As with the business the stores are relentlessly on message regarding brand management and in some aspects for the believer going into the Apple store is a pseudo religious experience which I find somewhat overwhelming (like going into a Bang and Olufsen store), but could it be more fun as there are unusual and interesting products in the store such as drones and custom accessories. Overall anyone would have a good customer experience and we can see this wherever there is an Apple store.

References

Apple Inc  (https://www.apple.com)

Wired Magazine (http://www.wired.co.uk/)

Fortune Magazine (http://fortune.com/)

Vintage Mac Museum (http://vintagemacmuseum.com/)