Who Cares What People Think?! Everyone

The subject of this print issue’s Focus Report is innovation – a broad, overused buzzword that according to Merriam-Webster means “the introduction of something new” or “a new idea, method or device.” In the credit union world, it could mean something as simple as a new way of greeting a member or as complex as a novel form of technology.

What innovation comes down to for credit unions is finding new ways of doing business and standing out from others in the financial services industry – something they must do to survive. And in today’s digital, on-the-go world, much of this “standing out” takes place online. Like it or not, everyone’s digital reputation matters, whether you’re a business looking to expand your customer base or an individual hoping to grow your network and advance professionally. It’s important to stop and ask yourself once in a while, How does the public perceive me? How would I describe my digital brand? Is it time for a re-brand?

Branding and innovation go hand in hand because introducing something new into a brand is how you keep it alive. Let your brand go stale or rub people the wrong way, and you’ll risk being forgotten or even boycotted. A re-brand is often necessary but also tricky to get just right, and sometimes it can fail big time.

Take IHOP, for example. The historically breakfast-focused diner chain announced it would be changing its name to “IHOb” without explaining why, leading people to speculate as to what the “b” might stand for (my boring, knee-jerk guess: Breakfast).

When the company revealed the “b” stood for burgers to coincide with its newly-expanded burger menu, it quickly became the subject of internet ridicule. I mean, who’s even ordered a burger at an IHOP? Burger King clapped back on Twitter by temporarily changing its name and logo to read “Pancake King.” Wendy’s tweeted, “Not really afraid of the burgers from a place that decided pancakes were too hard.”

Now, this incident was the first to come to mind when I began brainstorming “re-branding fails” for this column. But as I thought about it more, I wondered if IHOb’s move should be considered a fail. After all, it did put a spotlight on the company. Every time I drive by one, I’ll probably chuckle. Hell, I may even try a burger out of curiosity next time I visit an IHOb.

The point is, a successful re-branding move doesn’t always have to be genius or make perfect sense – sometimes, it just has to get people talking, even if it’s dumb or silly (I would note, however, that anything offensive does not have a place in a successful re-brand).

Of course, there have been some re-branding efforts that infamously did crash and burn. One of the more memorable ones was BP, which redesigned its logo to make the company appear more eco-friendly, while in reality it was responsible for the biggest oil spill in history. Another was the SciFi channel, which changed its name to SyFy without considering that the new moniker was slang for syphilis. In both of these cases, the change was too gross or embarrassing to even be funny.

Some marketing stunts are so awful they’ll never lead to a good response from consumers, and those of course should be avoided. But most digital marketers can agree that seeing their content – whether impressive or laughable – go viral is like winning the internet user lottery. So what really makes that happen?

In a Ted Talks video, Buzzfeed’s Dao Nguyen explained that going viral is not necessarily related to what the content is about (food, animals, etc.); instead, it’s related to how the content makes consumers feel or what it makes them think about. Nguyen gave examples of two Buzzfeed videos (both live) that did very well online because they allowed viewers to participate in the anticipation of something. In the first, Buzzfeed staffers placed a family of goats in their boss’ office as a birthday surprise and live-streamed a shot of the office as everyone awaited his arrival for 30 minutes. In the second, two Buzzfeed staffers experimented with how many rubber bands could be put around a watermelon before it exploded. Content that is likely to go viral might also be, according to Nguyen, humorous in a non-offensive way; something relatable that makes the consumer think, “That’s so me,” often in a self-critical way; something that helps the consumer learn something new about themselves or something that helps the consumer restore their faith in humanity.

Of course, there’s a lot more to successful branding than getting everybody on the internet talking about you. It’s also about reinventing yourself and offering a solution to a problem in your market, as I learned in a blog post about the marketing success of Chobani yogurt by Erin Zakin of the Harrisburg, Pa., and Portland, Ore.-based Merit Marketing. According to the blog, Chobani originally gained popularity by addressing the lack of Greek yogurt options in the marketplace. Ten years later, facing more Greek yogurt competition, it launched a brand refresh in an effort to stand out in the crowd, rolling out a new website, logo and packaging, and positioning itself through messaging as a “food-focused wellness company.” It’s also been spreading the word about its charitable initiatives, including its decision to donate 10% of its profits to charity and offer ownership grants to employees.

Hopefully, these examples will help spark ideas for credit union marketers as they strive to come up with their next innovative campaign or consider a re-brand. Maybe you’ll take a cue from Buzzfeed and live stream a video of your employees surprising a family in need with boxes of toys, clothes and groceries for the holidays. Or like Chobani, you might highlight donations and give money to a local organization with each new account opening.

It would be easier if we could all quietly do our thing and not worry about the public image we’re projecting, but in this highly competitive business landscape, that isn’t an option. Find something unique to do, engage your audience and don’t be afraid to be a little weird or ridiculous. And to stay off the next viral “top 10 marketing fails” list, just use your common sense.

Natasha Chilingerian is managing editor for CU Times. She can be reached at nchilingerian@cutimes.com.