A tribute to a man and his brand.

This week’s blog is dedicated to a man who really believed in the power and meaning of his brand.

Allan Gantt passed away last week. He was a young man at 64 years old and a very dear friend of my wife, Jodi.

A born leader, he served our country and was awarded a Purple Heart and most impressively, a Bronze Star which is the fourth-highest U.S. Armed Forces award a soldier serving our country can receive. He also proved to be a leader in his chosen profession of real estate where the list of his achievements, accolades and elected offices in the North Orange County Association, California Association and National Association of REALTORS® would take much longer to recite than this blog could hold. One thing Allan firmly believed in was the value, importance and power of the REALTOR® brand and the ‘R’ that identifies a member of their local, state and national association. Allan wore his REALTOR® lapel pin religiously everyday whether he was going to the grocery store, an open house or an industry meeting…and didn’t understand why other people wouldn’t.

Allan believed in what the REALTOR® brand stood for: doing better, doing more, and treating people ethically when they were going through the most complicated and most valued transaction they might ever engage in. He carried that same belief into every aspect of his life. He believed wearing the REALTOR® ‘R’ lapel pin distinguished him and showed peopled just who he was: A man of honor and a professional who subscribed to a Code of Ethics, much like he subscribed to a code of honor in the military.

Allan never lost that sense of honor in dealing with his clients, or advising and mentoring young professionals in the business, or in fighting for homeowner rights when he visited the statehouse or Capitol Hill or how he treated his friends.
Allan always felt it was an honor to serve his country, and an honor to wear the REALTOR® ‘R’ lapel pin. It separated him from ordinary agents and he believed that well beyond the day he left this life.

I didn’t know Allan for as long as a lot of the attendees at the standing room only service I attended this week. I met him several times and he was always friendly, offering a open hand in friendship. I knew he loved his wife, Diane; he loved his profession and the people he interacted with daily. I didn’t know Allan was a hero in so many ways. We, who knew Allan; who he was and what he stood for are better people for our time with him. Everyone who knew him will miss him.

This past Tuesday, Allan Gantt, father, soldier, patriot, husband, mentor, friend and REALTOR®, was laid to rest. He could have chosen to have his Purple Heart and his Bronze Star accompany him into eternity. But Allan chose to have only the REALTOR ‘R’ pinned over his heart. We wanted it that way; he insisted on it.

Brand Distinction: The New York Yankees clearly have it.

Alright, I am admittedly a diehard Yankee fan. Yes, that was me you could hear all the way from the left coast screaming as they won their 27th World Series Championship.

The Yankees are indisputably the greatest and most successful sports franchise—EVER!

That, my friends is not the ranting of a crank fan after a few too many brews before the 7th inning cut off…it’s your friendly neighborhood certified brand strategist stating a fact…and a claim of distinction that no other team can make. In fact, no other team, EVEN comes close.

The Yankees’ 27th championship is over twice as many as the next team in MLB history. Who is that? The St. Louis Cardinals with 10. (Sorry Red Sox fans, you have a long way to go with your 6.) In the NBA, the Celtics recently won their 17th Championship—now 10 behind the Yankees. And in hockey, Les Habitants, the Montreal Canadiens, have 24 Stanley Cups. Sadly for the Montreal fans, their team hasn’t been close to Lord Stanley’s cup in decades.

The point here is that as a raving fan I have a great brand to root for and an irrefutable brand distinction to hang my hat and build my argument/strategy on: More than any other major sports franchise in history. In the same sense, however, Montreal also has a great brand distinction in their own universe of the National Hockey League. They have won 26% of all Stanley Cups ever contested. The Celtics in the NBA are the only original franchise to have won as many championships—17. The Lakers of LA started in Minneapolis. Try to make the connection that winning in Minneapolis is as pressure packed as L.A.? I don’t think so.

Brand Distinction is what it’s all about. It what separates the men from the boys, the boys from the girls, and the true brands from those products who blend into the woodwork like so much bad wallpaper. Brand Distinction is what companies many times want but fail to deliver upon. They fail to deliver on the wish list and promises kept which require that brand distinction to be adopted and embraced all the way through the organization. The CEO is the person who must understand and articulate just what that brand distinction is…in this case it was George Steinbrenner—The Boss, who accepted no other win as a victory unless it was a World Championship. He invested, and does to this day, millions on talent to do nothing other than win the World Series. And, like him or not—he has relentlessly pounded that notion, that belief, that brand distinction into every person in his organization.

Now it doesn’t take Steinbrenner’s billions to do that. Any company can be just as successful—once they’ve gone through the Brand Development process and identified those elements, the distinctions that will assure greatness. The real challenge is the backbone, the fortitude and the unswerving willingness to see it through—year after year, decade after decade.

Congratulations to The Boss—no matter your opinion. His distinction and place in business and baseball history is assured.

Brand Value: In the Eye of the Beholder

Perception is sometimes reality. In our brand-driven world, the value people place on brands (i.e. the perception of what price they may be willing to pay as a result of a brand’s value to them personally) differs as widely as the Mississippi River.

I’ve come to understand a lot about consumer luxury goods in my career—whether understanding the mindset and price point for an everyday luxury like Grey Poupon, or higher-end watches and jewelry you might find at Tiffany.

Recently, my home was robbed.

It was a typical quick entry and exit, and today’s burglar has a specific target for what they are stealing. Jewelry is usually high value, portable and can be easily moved at the local pawn shop. I found it interesting, after my blood-pressure returned to normal, the types of things that weren’t stolen. Manolo Blahnik shoes, Coach purses, Armani and Hugo Boss suits, Taylor and Gibson guitars. Clearly, the garden variety, scummy burglar doesn’t take items like these, possibly because they don’t know the cost or value. (The police actually related they are too bulky to carry, too.)

Now what is interesting in the brand perception model is how the insurance companies “value” brands. Put more simply, they don’t.

The police advised, and it was later confirmed by my insurance agent: the insurance company values a lost piece as equal to its current value, meaning it’s worth is determined by what you could buy it for at a tag sale/flea market. Great.

Tough on my psyche as a Brand Evangelist and even tougher as a person who had several thousand dollars worth of goods stolen. Not to mention they also had a lot of sentimental value, too. Basically, I care about sentimental value—Allstate doesn’t.

There are strongly internalized intrinsic factors that brands have that sometimes just can’t be articulated or measured. I remember when I had to switch from Mac to PC. I demanded a Dell with an Intel Pentium II processor. Why an Intel processor, my IT guy asked? I literally had NO logical or rational answer. But, I was convinced that the Intel brand was one that would deliver fast, reliable high quality. So for me, enough said.

We make these brand decisions—consciously or unconsciously, rationally or emotionally, on factors like brand values each day.

I guess I am thankful that the burglar wasn’t as discerning about all of the brand choices he had when he robbed us. Otherwise, my wife would still be mourning the loss of her Manolo’s right now.

By the way, I just invested in a new brand…it’s called ADT.

Another Day of Infamy: The Martin Agency Loses the UPS Account

It was just announced that Ogilvy has just won the UPS Global Advertising account. It's a sad day for all of us in advertising and branding.

UPS, you know the great “Whiteboard” campaign on TV with the long haired guy who impeccably draws out all the values and features UPS offers that its “unnamed” competitors don’t? Well, that amazing branding campaign which legitimized UPS, is over and the brilliant agency, The Martin Agency of Richmond, VA has been shown the door.

So how could this have happened? Was there a new VP of Marketing? Does he play golf with the head account guy at Ogilvy? Did the President of UPS wake up and have a bad breakfast?

Who knows, but this much is true: not since the late 70s when Needham, Harper & Steers (my alma mater, among others), lost the McDonald's business to Leo Burnett, has an agency which has so richly rewarded the client with sharp strategic thinking and brilliant creative execution been so royally screwed by them by giving the account to another agency.

Martin put UPS on the map and made UPS a REAL brand and a recognized viable competitor to Fed Ex. No offense to the winners, but you have some PRETTY big shoes to fill—and it better not be the run of the mill crap McDonald's settled for in the 80s which led to the demise of the brand. God love Keith Reinhardt—who had the guts and fortitude to make it his life's mission to get the McDonald's business back to DDB. It took him well over a decade-plus, but he got them back. Their work is better because the man at the top had a passion and love for the McDonald’s business. It was personal to Keith Reinhart.

I’m not sure the people at Martin will want to. If I were Fed Ex, I’d be popping the cork on some very nice champagne to celebrate the weakening of their chief competition and I’d call the Martin Agency and sign them on.

Walking Talking Brands: You meet them every day

It’s probably no surprise that I’m studying brands everywhere I go and everywhere I travel. Just last week, I got to visit two walking, talking, living, breathing brands in Napa Valley: Top Chef Masters runner-up Michael Chiarello who is the Owner/Chef at Bottega—one of Napa’s hottest restaurants and the owner of Napa Style; and vineyard owner David Long of David Arthur Vineyards, one of THE best premium smaller production producers in Napa Valley.

What they have in common as people and as “brands” is their remarkable persona which you are drawn to immediately upon meeting them—but also how their persona and philosophy permeates the products that carry their “brand” names.

My experience with Michael Chiarello was simply fantastic and just classic. He saw me, or should I say my wife Jodi, on a bench waiting for a table at his very popular restaurant Bottega. Michael, being the quintessential Italian he is, commented, “What’s this pretty lady doing without a glass of sparkling wine?” and promptly sent over two complimentary glasses of Proseco. (I was the lucky beneficiary of his fascination with Jodi.) I struck up a conversation and mentioned we’d just been to his Top Chef Masters rival, Rick Bayless’ restaurant, Topolobampo in Chicago. I noted that Bayless had added his Top Chef Master’s winning menu to his tasting menu and Michael quickly filed away the piece of field intelligence. But the best was his comment about his new-found friend and rival, Rick Bayless, “Nice man…I was only a mole away from kicking his butt!” We all had a great laugh.

Chiarello has done a magnificent job of turning himself and his persona into a brand that reflects his inner beliefs. Leveraging his celebrity on Food Network cooking shows and his cookbooks, everything he does conveys a Chiarello sense of style, high quality for a fair and reasonable price. It pays off in spades at Napa Style which is quickly becoming a top retail location and his restaurants are booking up well after his posted closing hours.

Best of all, he is as accessible a person as he is a brand. While my wife Jodi was easily smitten…I also couldn’t help but be drawn in by his truly genuine, authentic charisma and caring for each person that he exudes when he comes in contact with them. As it happens, a good friend of Michael’s in David Long.

If you roam around the vineyards in Napa Valley, you’d not only find great wines of character, but great characters in the vineyards. Meet David Long, owner of David Arthur Vineyards. He and his charming daughter Laura conduct one of THE great personalized tours in Napa Valley. No time limit, no rush, no charge and lots of David, his stories and his passion for what he does and his wines. Laura is his guiding light—she’s grown up there on the vineyard in the family business and keeps him focused. It’s a great moment to see the two of them conniving on which barrel they should tap into next to share with their eager tour attendees.

The David Arthur brand is a small, well managed vineyard and brand; I discovered it at TRU in Chicago when a sommelier recommend his ’97 Cabernet to me. That, as Laura later told me, was THE vintage that put them on the map. Since then, the David Arthur brand hasn’t slowed down or wavered. They offer premium quality, hand crafted, beautiful composed wines that give you an insight into the greatness David wants in every bottle. David’s doesn’t do it the usual way…in his tours, in the way he plans or in the wines he makes. And every bottle is a reflection of the man himself.

So nice to see that whether they are book smart marketers or street smart living breathing brand icons, that some people just know how to do it right.

For more information on my two new BFF’s:
David Arthur Vineyards; http://davidarthur.com//index.cfm
Bottega Restaurant: http://www.botteganapavalley.com
Napa Style: http://www.napastyle.com/home.jsp

Taking A Stand For Your Brand

If you’ve ever been on a packaged goods account like I have…coming up through the ranks you’ll have to deal with a level of client staff that has the title: Brand Manager—a misnomer at best. The Brand Manager in companies like Nabisco, Kraft or Coca-Cola may have that title, but in reality, they can’t call the real shots. Some just aren’t capable of making the big calls that help build or preserve the long-term equity of the brand they are assigned to.

After all, many of these freshly minted MBA’s are on their brand for a “lifetime” of two years…in which time they have to prove themselves in some way or they don’t get their bonuses or promoted upward. A more accurate title may actually be Business Manager.

For me, the real, or as I’ve long referred to them as, the Ultimate Brand Manager, in any well run company, is the CEO. Whether that is a large conglomerate or a small business, nothing is really going to happen nor will any substantive brand cultural change occur without their support and most importantly, their leadership. With them ride the big decisions. The really great ones understand the value and equity their brands hold. And this equity is sometimes an intangible that their brand manager doesn’t get.


Last week, the Ultimate Brand Manager for one of my favorite brands—The National Football League—(yes, it IS a brand!), showed his true mettle and earned my admiration as a fan and as a Certified Brand Strategist. That Ultimate Brand Manager is Roger Goodell.

After Paul Tagliabue gave up the reins as Commissioner—and having succeeded a legend, Pete Rozelle, who shaped the league into what it is today, I wondered what mark Mr. Goodell could possibly make. Well, he made a very loud brand statement last week and proved he gets it—he understands where the brand value in the NFL really is.


You see, last week, Roger Goodell announced that two players of very high visibility and notoriety—Plaxico Burress of the NY Giants and Michael Vick formerly of the Atlanta Falcons—each who recently garnered a more notorious rep, would not be considered for re-admission to the NFL this season. What? But they’re stars! They’re Franchise Players! Michael Vick was the face of the Atlanta Falcons?! Doesn’t he know that the players are the game…that they are the NFL?

The average garden-variety fan and the players/NFL Players Union believe the players ARE the game, the franchise, the raison d’être, the equity. But thankfully, Goodell knows better. The players? Ha! NO…it’s in the game itself and the reputation they’ve worked so hard to infuse into the equity that Roselle and Tagliabue handed down for him to manage on his own…and wow has he.


Michael Vick was a great quarterback—but he financed an underground ring of illegal dog fights. Plaxico Burress-- who helped lead the Giants to the Superbowl in 2008, shot himself with his own gun: an unlicensed, concealed weapons charge and he wasn’t out hunting…unless that’s what clubbing in New York has turned out to be. And now Goodell has Dante Stallworth to contend with…Stallworth may be an upstanding guy, be he’s killed some poor unfortunate soul while driving drunk.


So what’s the branding lesson here today, one that Goodell so ably applied?

By taking the stand that he did, he’s effectively told every player in the league…no matter who you are, you are NOT bigger than this game or this brand…at least not on his watch. And this wasn’t the first time he’s shown this discipline. Last year, it was Pac Man Jones and then T.O. Good for you, Goodell!


So let’s hear it for a very unlikely, but new personal branding hero: The Ultimate Brand Manager that is so wisely managing the inheritance, the game and the brand from Coaches like Lombardi, Landry, and upstanding players like Staubach and even “Mean” Joe Green. They can all hold up their heads a little higher today, no matter where they are.

Welcome to MOST and our Brand Development Blog

Welcome to the Brand Blog at MOST. We’re the wise-sized™ brand development and advertising agency with a specific passion for Brands…understanding, building and adding value to them. We have the experience to prove it and want to work with other companies and clients with the same passion for maximizing the value of one of the most important assets they have. After all, where would Nike be without “Just Do It” and their Swoosh? Or MacDonald’s without their “I’m Loving It” and the golden arches? When you hear the name Ritz-Carlton, what pops into your head? Their logo? No. An experience of a lifetime, exquisite service, amenities and a passion for getting it just right? Maybe, depending on the way you see what their brand means to you.

Stop by often and we’ll be posting some thoughts for your consideration. We’ll have a point of view, I promise you. Because for me, there is nothing better than a well executed brand vision and nothing sadder when you see “Brand Managers” fritter away the very essence of what makes or made their brand great. While you’re at it…drop us a line, leave your own thoughts and contributions to the overarching discussion we’re trying to create here.
It ought to be fun. We’ll make it interesting. We promise you.

Virgin Airlines meets their customer: Turbulence Ahead.

I received the article below from my daughter who never forwards ANYTHING. However, this complaint letter was so amazing she felt compelled beyond belief to spread the word—as do I. (Thanks, Jennie!)

You know me for being a huge advocate of great brands—especially brands that I love, grew up with or have an active relationship with. You also know—I have some level of appreciation for the “disaster stories” that I tell about great brands that just can’t seem to help but screw things up…beyond belief. A case in point and one which has been making the rounds on the Internet: Virgin Airlines.

One of the world’s great brands, and a person who really gets it, is Virgin and its founder Richard Branson. He has expanded the brand from records into all sorts of ventures including a very well thought of, very brand loyal airline. Below is a letter from a Brit who felt compelled to let Richard know just what other people in his organization we're doing to his brand. It includes cell phone camera pix and a running narrative which, while quite Brit, is hysterically funny and sad, all at the same time.

The net net…a person who loved the Virgin brand saw it so desecrated that he couldn’t help but report in…and report in he did—right to the top. To Branson’s credit—he reportedly responded back personally to the passenger who took the time and cared enough to write it. And that’s what I see. People do make choices –Brand choices–from airlines, to their brand of vodka, to the fast food they eat, to the labels on the clothing they wear, and really do care. And importantly, they are offended when a brand—THEIR BRAND doesn’t deliver on the brand promise.

It’s a pact between the brand and its customer, and when the delivery falls short, advocates have two choices:

1. Those who care will do, as this bloke did, and respond to the Ultimate Brand Manager…the CEO—forget the people below.

Or

2. They silently abandon the Brand and begin to tell their own stories about how the Brand failed them, why they’ll never go back, and why the person they are telling the story to should act the same way—and pass the warning along to their friends.

Thus the snowball heads down the slope and becomes a behemoth sphere followed by an avalanche.

Strange how great brands drift out to sea. It seems pretty elementary, but maintaining the brand’s focus on its core values must be closely watched and monitored monthly, weekly, daily if needed. Especially as new employees who may have no understanding, connection, love for, relationship, passion or mental investment in your brand come and go daily into the employment of big companies. Thus the challenge, thus the dilemma.

It’s a great warning for all of us who are charged with the building of, maintenance and care for the health and well being of “our Brands”. Enjoy the following…there is clearly a lesson to be learned.

June 2007, Orange County Metro: “Making The MOST of a Small Space”

October 2008, Orange County Business Journal: “MOST Ranks #20 in Fastest Growing Businesses in Orange County”