"truly great business must have an enduring 'moat' that protects excellent returns on invested capital .." - Warren Buffet letter to shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway 2007 Annual Report
For years, Warren Buffet has used the metaphor of "a moat around the castle" to describe a company with an effective and sustainable strategic differentiation. Such companies enjoy higher profits than their rivals, a state of decline of competitors and grow market share.
But how do you effectively differentiate? Having worked with many advertising agencies over the years and observed the work of countless others, I can tell you that many of the marketing communications professionals can not answer that pitanje.Velika see most advertising is designed to be funny, poignant, surprising, shocking, and sometimes and artistic, but it is memorable and effective differentiation.
let's explore two different campaigns, one of which differs from the effective and which not. Holiday Inn Express, LaQuinta both compete in what is called "limited service" hotel category. For a relatively low rate, you can get a great location, clean, comfortable room, a few basic services, the ability to participate in the program and continental breakfast.
Holiday Inn Express (rush), a division of InterContinental Hotels Group, which is a rebranding campaign launched several years ago in which they position their properties as "smart" choice for travelers. In a memorable series of commercials, the actors are given a high-risk work, professional activities such as advanced operations, citing the existence of operating terrified hiker faced grizzly bears, etc. In each vignette, the actor shows the expertise of the question about the credentials of the second character, eg "Are you a surgeon?" or "Did you park ranger?" etc. The main character is always answered, "No, but I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night ."
This point has worked its way into the lexicon of folk in the United States. In the 2008 presidential campaign, Mike Huckabee famously quipped: "I May not be the expert that some people on foreign policy, but I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night." On the flight not long ago I heard two flight attendants discussed the active ingredient in Tylenol, and when I explained that there is ibuprofen, one of them asked me if I was a doctor. Guess how I responded.
Holiday Inn Express television commercials are clever, but more importantly, they make you feel good about the brand. Obviously, no one actually becomes "smarter" by staying at the Holiday Inn Express, but it effectively makes the point that it was a smart decision to the client. They show that they "get": every business man wants to be perceived as smart. That's good, but what really distinguishes the campaign is that it seems customers feel about the franchise Holiday Inn: Advertising makes us want to associate with the brand because of its bold humor, his obvious understanding of our needs and feelings that is fun and friendly.
La Quinta has recently been renamed and they also performed a series of television commercials. At one point, a middle-aged man in a business suit was talking to the bed as if he only share a mattress, "one night". At the end of the spot, he turns to the camera and says, "La Quinta" with their vote to replace the native Spanish speakers. All of their current listings end with a verbal mnemonic (one place using rabbit with a Latin voice ).
Holiday Inn Express uses the slogan "Stay Smart". La Quinta's slogan is "Wake Up on the Bright Side." The two campaigns appear to have similar goals: to attract business travelers looking for good value in a no-frills accommodation. However, the Holiday Inn Express campaign is much superior campaign La Quinta. Here's why.
First, the rush to create a successful advertising slogan that is repeated and become part of the country's lexicon. Many people have said, "No, but I stay in Holiday Inn Express last night," because it is clever, funny phrase. It also means that the sponsor advertisements will be remembered: there's no doubt who has created a place or a slogan, because the advertiser's name is part of the "joke". It is vital to achievement and it is also difficult and rarely achieved. For a very funny place online ads in this campaign, click here. Keep in mind that this is a bit of viral marketing is approaching 500,000 hits.
in La Quinta ads, no one ever says, "Wake up on the bright side." Instead, it is simply superimposed on the screen at the end of the site - the typical kind of "late ID" tactic that agencies love, but apparently not. Ultimately, their attempt to create an oral mnemonic is unique sounding "La Quinta" called at any point in the end. However, in contrast to the bustle of the term, it is not funny, it can be adapted into a joke and it will never become idiomatic expression. You can see "One Night Stand" spot I have described here.
Second, the Holiday Inn Express hits bull's eyes in an attempt to build an emotional connection with their audience, while La Quinta missing tags. In any rush town, the central figure - which ends with the words: "... but I did stay in Holiday Inn Express last night," is appealing, does something surprising and pleasant and clearly shows some unusual and unexpected form of "smartness" that makes you smile and chuckle. There is a disarming, modest quality creative that is very inviting and charming. All these positive emotions wrapped in a rush brand, because it is a source of good feelings, as well as the heart of the slogan that serves as a point.
of La Quinta is not terrible - no need to refresh the brand and they make the case that real estate offers good value - but just creative fun, and it does not seem to be very effective. I do not know about you, but I do not need no planting images in my mind a middle-aged man has a one-night stand.
a continuing theme in poor taste, in another ad, they overlap, the words "Lost most of the bill," before showing a silver lining, "Your boss finally remembers your name." Obviously, this is supposed to reinforce the slogan that they will help you "wake up on the bright side," but thinks he will lose a big account is so huge negative that it really is not something you should connect with their brand.
Finally, the Holiday Inn Express ads successfully create a positive emotion about the brand, they're very memorable and the sponsor is firmly and clearly linked to poruke.Činjenica that their slogan is part of the nation's campaign lexicon emphasizes brilliance. They make you feel good about staying in one of its properties, because the brand you want to include in your life.and Quinta ads are an attempt to be funny advertising that does not send an effective and cohesive message, and does not involve an effective emotional hook . This is more or less a textbook example of ad agencies have shown that it can be smart without understanding how the advertising that actually sells something.
As May Be aware, 2008 was terrible for the hospitality industry. Skyrocketing fuel prices below the current recession crushed many players in the travel sector. Against this backdrop, Holiday Inn Express increased their revenue per available room. As La Quinta is a privately held company, I do not have access to their numbers, but I'd be very surprised if it performed as well. Do they develop a better approach to distinguish their brands, I believe they will be stuck with a mediocre performance.
If you want to learn how to differentiate your brand effectively, I encourage you to read our latest White Paper: The Ultimate Guide to brand positioning and differentiation. In this document, you'll learn about "Laddering," a proven approach to building advertising messages that create a kind of emotional hooks in the Holiday Inn Express campaigns. We explain how several major brands such as Duracell JIF and built a huge market, and margin benefits through effective positioning. It is an essential guide for any attempts to build a competitive advantage.
