A Real-Life Example of Why Branding Matters and an Example of a Branding Failure!

Last night, I sat and drank next to a guy at my local watering hole. I had seen him there before and last night was really the first time we had spoken. I didn't know who he was, or what he did, but was very surprised to find out that he is the program director of one of the top, and most famous AM radio stations in all of Japan. Now before you say, "Hold it, Mike! AM radio!? Boooooring! I'm turning it off!" Then let me ask that you read this story to see an example of how not to do things.

SPIKE JONES - BEETLEBOMB

WHO IS THIS GUY? DON'T KNOW, 

BUT LOOKS LIKE THE TYPICAL FM RADIO LISTENER

This is a real-life example of failure. Not of the AM radio station, but of stations that mimic them.


I had gone to one of my favorite drinking holes in Yoga, a Izakaya named Sakura. Sakura has been in the same place for nearly 30 years. It is a very old fashioned neighborhood drinking hole in the wall.


I always like to go to these places like Sakura early as that allows me to drink quietly before the crowds, to talk to the owners about what's really going on with the Japanese people in the neighborhood (I've never seen any foreigners there), and it allows me to reflect on various things. 


When I entered the bar, there was one other gentleman sitting there drinking. I had seen him there before. And, as with the last time I saw him, he was already pretty drunk when I entered.


Since I had seen him before, and since Sakura is a very friendly place with a "family" type of atmosphere, I said, "Good Evening" to him. He was, as before, pretty fashionably dressed (for a nearly 65-year-old guy) and was deep in conversation with the bar owner. I started listening to their conversation. He was talking to the "Momma" of the joint and explaining something about a sponsorship with a world famous sports wear maker - thereby explaining why he was so fashionably dressed. He explained how the sports wear maker traded clothes for advertising and how the old model of advertising (paying for commercials) was dead.


I knew from just hearing a bit of his conversation that he must have been in broadcasting and knew what the hell he was talking about. I joined into the conversation. I was surprised to find out that he was working at one of the most famous AM radio stations in Japan.


I asked what he did and he told me what his position was at the radio station. I was shocked when he told me his title and job and gave me his card. Now, don't misunderstand, this is not some crummy little radio station in Japan; there's not a person over the age of 12 who hasn't heard of this radio station. They broadcast horse racing and professional baseball too. This station is one of, if not thee, most famous of the (generic) AM radio stations in Japan. 


Well, the old guy went on and told me all about his problems at work with declining revenues and sponsorships. I listened and didn't say anything about having worked at an FM station before (actually, in the late 1980's, I did host a radio show for three years on that very same AM radio station... I think... Or was it the competing station? I can't remember because in Japan they all sound alike. 


In fact, all of the radio stations in Japan all sound exactly alike, be they AM radio or FM radio. The only way anyone can tell the difference between one station to the next is by looking at the number on the radio tuner or waiting until that station's call letters and name are announced.... Yawn....

Anyway, the guy went on and told us about how, about 4 years ago, that this station had made the genius move in a policy switch to target only 35 ~ 55-year-old people with a emphasis on mostly males. This little tidbit of information just floored me. Why?


Well, because, here is a very old school AM station that's been around since the late 1950's. They are one of the four or five dominant radio stations that everyone has heard of. All cars in Japan have AM radios (FM radios are rare). Everyone knows this particular station.


With that ancient history and the fact that this station broadcasts boring stuff like professional baseball and horse racing that interests old people, you'd think that their policy was always to target 35 ~ 65-year-old men. But no, you'd have thought wrong.


So why is this interesting and why is this an example of how not to do things with an emphasis on branding? Well, because, it's not so much that this old, dusty, tired and worn out old war-horse of a radio station picks such a policy, it's because, about 4 years ago, about the same time that this old guy says his AM radio station embarked on this policy, a FM radio station announced that they were doing the exact same thing!


Yes. About 4 years ago, the so-called international FM radio station in Tokyo, InterFM, proudly announced that they were going to target 35 ~ 65-year-old males. Talk about a bunch of parrots! 


AM radio is supposed to feature talk radio and target older people. FM radio is supposed to feature music - and, in the case of a supposed "International radio station" like InterFM, they're supposed to target a younger audience and not broadcast things like horse racing.


But, unbelievably, InterFM did start broadcasting horse racing! Have you ever heard of such a thing? A FM radio station broadcasting horse racing? And not in the native language of the host country. Absurd.


So, InterFM continues to lose a million (USD) a year. Is it any wonder? They are dead as a doornail come this July. I wrote about that in One More Phase in the Shattering of Main Stream Media here.


Now, considering the above, you can see why this is a lesson in how not to do things.


If your company is a smaller or a newer company in a well-established market and you want to succeed in that market, if everyone is selling turnips, you'd better find something else to sell or you will be out of business.


InterFM? Targeting 35 ~ 65-year-old males? What a brilliant - and so incredibly original - business strategy. 


Why do they even bother? If they are not going to even try to make money or set out a niche in their market then it's time for them to shut the power down and go off air.


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For more on the death of major broadcasting in Japan here's more information:

Why the Digital Conversion Will Destroy TV Tokyo and TBS

Part 2: Why the Digital Conversion Will Destroy TV Tokyo and TBS

Own Mizuho Bank or TV Tokyo Shares? Sell Now, While You Can!

Major Television Stations in Japan on Death's Doorstep

Groupon Image and Branding is Horrendous

To continue with my examining just how inept Groupon is, here's another thing I found that makes me wonder about this companies management. This company is so messed up. They should be paying me to point out their screw ups... But no. I point out these mistakes as a free service because I am such a wonderful person.


Clients and customers do not associate with Groupon because of Groupon image or branding. Customers use it for discounts. Clients use it to try to get promotion. 


I don't think the deal for clients is good and I think Groupon is not a sustainable business model.


Anyway, unlike a company like Apple, which has a great brand and people want to associate with it, even if it is more expensive, Groupon has a poor and weak image. 


Today, here's a short look at a problem with their branding and examples of just how poor the Groupon Brand is handled and managed.


Here is Groupon internal rules on logo use (I received effective as of the date of writing of this article):

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL SIZE

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL SIZE

You'll notice that the rules for use of this logo are very strict (well, at least they are supposed to be). A company logo is not only the lettering, it includes the the outline. In Groupon's case, they use a quadrilateral box that has the top and the right side at 90 degree right angles. 

The problem with Groupon in Japan is that it is a new company so the name is still not fully recognized and Groupon management is not competent enough to consider branding consistency. 

In the second box, they specifically state, "Using the "G" as one unit, the logo must appear at least 1 unit away from all other branding, copy or graphics in the layout"

In the third image down you'll see that the rules specifically state that "the mark cannot be altered."

In the forth box, you'll see that they state that legibility must be maintained.

Yet, they greatly altered their logo in the week leading up to Valentine's day. It was changed so much so that it is hardly recognizable. There are at least three of Groupon's very own rules broken in this one ad.

Notice that there is no quadrilateral box at all and they have also broken rule #2 by committing the cardinal sin of putting something - which is laughably unrecognizable - on top of their "G". Not to mention the silly heart mark where the "O" should be.

Well, a heart mark instead of an "O"? Great. Groupon certainly scores big points in the originality department!

What an amateurish bunch of mistakes this ad is! 

Google, Yahoo, Coca-Cola or Amazon might get away with this in Japan. They are huge and have been here for years. Groupon is new; already has a bad reputation in Japan and has poor market penetration.   

Breaking the logo rules when you are fresh into a new market is a huge mistake and a Marketing 101 "No! No!"

Here's their latest ad that I just pulled off the Internet. Once again, the background quadrilateral box is missing. They also deleted the registered trademark logo that is supposed to appear at the top right hand side of the lettering.

As an aside, I will also say that I think this is a bad ad for two other reasons:

1) Hamburgers are cheap food. No one in their right mind is going to sign up to get a $2.00 discount on a hamburger in Tokyo when it costs you $4.00 for a round trip ticket on a Tokyo subway

2) In my opinion, this is a misleading ad like the New Year's fiasco... I doubt that this an actual photo of an actual hamburger they are selling in Tokyo. 

Here's another one that violates rule #2 above about "Clearing Space." The rule states; "Using the 'G' as one unit, the logo must appear at least one unit away from all other branding, copy, or graphics in the layout."This means that there must be at least one unit of space above the logo. But, as you can see, they have it flush with the top of the ad:

Yet again, another violation of the "Clearing Space" rule:

It clearly states in rule #2 that there cannot be any lettering within

one unit space (the same size as the "G" in Groupon, yet

here again, they violated this simple rule. Is there anyone

even working in Branding at that company?

Seriously, someone there is trying to screw things up

intentionally. How else to explain this logo consistently

being used differently?

I don't think Groupon can survive with the constant mistakes they make. Like here, here, here (to name just the huge screw ups within the last 2 weeks!)

Besides, the copy cats are already here and they are numerous.

Just to reinforce to you that what I have written is true, here is a Groupon ad I just found a second ago. Once again, the branding is inconsistent. Different from the shoe ad above, it is inconsistent (yet still in violation of spacing rules).

In this one, they have the quadrilateral box. In the one with the hamburger, they don't. The "shrimp" ad also includes the registered trademark logo. The hamburger ad doesn't. Why?

Really. These are such basic mistakes.

Japanese text too close to Groupon logo at top right (March 7, 2011)

Groupon. You fools! You should have taken the $5 billion dollars from Google when you had the chance. As soon as Facebook, Google and, say, Mixi, make their own group discount service, you are dead.

I expect Groupon to crash. They can't even handle basic things like their branding and marketing? 

Who could expect them to do great things like a Google or Apple? I can't.

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