You are facing a staggering array of issues, including:

• A loss of market share, especially with young, vibrant, expanding markets
• Mounting criminal and civil liability brought about by allowing, and then covering up, employee misbehavior that violates ethical standards, ignores your mission statement, and abuses the faith and dignity of your customers
• Aging leadership perceived by many customers and former customers as out of touch with, and unresponsive to, changing market conditions

What do you do?

In the case of 85-year-old CEO Pope Benedict XVI, you announce—citing poor health—your resignation.

The resignation breaks more than 600 years of Papal tradition of staying on the job until you die. It also provides an opportunity to break other traditional practices of the Church.

If you would acknowledge (or just consider for a moment) that a religious institution has a brand aspect…then the Roman Catholic Church has a wonderful branding opportunity in the wake of the Pope’s surprise resignation.

If the Church were to hire Sanders Brand Solutions as its smart brander, we would offer this advice:

Leadership: Go young. The next Pope should be younger than 50 and from a country with a rising birth rate. Think outside of Europe.

Term Limits for Management: The Pope and members of the College of Cardinals should face term limits of 10 years and mandatory retirement at 65.

Women: Acknowledge women. Open up the doors for female clergy. If you celebrate the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, you can welcome female priests.

Sexual Abuse: Admit the problem. Get transparent and proactive about pedophiles and sexual predators within your ranks. Identify, pursue and throw them out. Maintain vigilance and enforce behavioral standards going forward. Welcome legal prosecution of violators and those who condone or conceal their behavior. Be frank with your customers: Priests are human beings and they are not perfect.

Brand Competition: Understand that people can choose how and if they worship. Realize that the many religions around the world reflect the societal, cultural and individual needs of their audiences. You are competing for those audiences.

Purpose: Human beings need a God to provide solace in the face of tragedy, to offer hope when circumstances are grim, to thank when gratitude exceeds human limitations, to illuminate guidance for life lessons. Frame these universal, human needs within the structure of what you are offering your faithful.

Perception: Take a hard look at how your brand is perceived by current and future customers. Are its characteristics conducive to creating a healthy, sustainable relationship with audiences? Is what your religion offers to current customers aligned with what new customers want from your religion?

If the data shows that you are losing customers and personnel, and not acquiring new faithful and priests, it is time for a change.

—The  New York Times, December 6, 2012

Chain Bridge — Budapest

The Hungary closings evoked some vivid memories of Budapest, and recognition of Citi’s decline.

I happened to be in Budapest in 1995 when, with stunning opulence, Citi opened its consumer bank office. It had been only six years since the historic  Communist downfall in Hungary.

Although I was a Citi employee, I had no official role in the consumer bank grand opening.  I was in town for the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) International Conference. I was the VP of Corporate Affairs for Diners Club International, a Travel and Entertainment charge card which Citi had acquired, and was representing the Diners Club brand at the Conference which attracted buyers and sellers of international business travel products and services.

My wife, Sharon, and I were heading to a Conference event when we grabbed an elevator in the host hotel. Inside the elevator was Victor Menezes, the CFO for Citi. Although I had met him once in a reception line in New York, he didn’t recognize me. I re-introduced myself and introduced Sharon to him.

“I report to Bob Rosseau (then the Chairman of Diners Club International) and write the monthly Diners Club International business letter to you,” I told Menezes.

He nodded…and smiled.  “Diners Club is our only business that includes drawings in its monthly letter.”

He was referring to the cartoons we cut and pasted on the first page of the report to illustrate an operating condition, a frustration, an opportunity, or just a gag about something relevant from the month’s activity.

He asked me if I was in Budapest for the consumer bank office opening. I told him no and briefed him on the ACTE conference.

By the time we reached the lobby, Menezes had invited Sharon and me to the consumer bank grand opening ceremonies that were scheduled for the next evening. “I hope you two will come. It will be a festive occasion,” he said.

We showed the next day up at Vorosmarty Square, home of some of the priciest real estate in town.  A huge Citi-branded party tent dominated the center of the stylish square, fronting the sparkling new Citi consumer branch. Once past security, guests were handed a cocktail made of blue Curacao. It matched, with Pantone® accuracy, the exact PMS hue of Citibank blue.

The President of Hungary Was There

Árpád Göncz, the president of Hungary. and other dignitaries were introduced. Menezes made welcoming remarks, pausing after every phrase for the Hungarian translation.

Then Menezes invited President Göncz to have the honor of being the first Hungarian to use the Citi-ATM on the exterior of the new branch.

Göncz looked excited as he, Menezes, a branch manager, the translator and a bunch of media moved to the ATM. The manager helped Göncz insert the card, key the PIN and amount. An exuberant Göncz then turned happily to the throng, waving a fistful of Hungarian Forints over his head, and said something in Hungarian. The translator had the microphone. “I milked the wall! I milked the wall!” was the inelegant English translation.

So Was Sir Georg Solti

We had a customer dinner that night and had to miss a VIP concert. Citi had brought in Budapest-born Sir Georg Solti, once the famed conductor and musical director of the Chicago Symphony and others, to be the guest conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra for a special performance. I regret not going, because Solti died just two years later.

Walking back to the hotel after the ceremonies, we struck up a conversation with another American who had been at the grand opening. It turned out he was one of the pilots who had flown Menezes and some staff over in a Citi private jet.

“Doing anything special tonight?” I asked.

“Nope,” he replied. “We’re heading back to New York early tomorrow and I need the rest.”

Parma, Italy-based Barilla recently announced it would be expanding branding efforts in the U.S. by creating a chain of Barilla restaurants.  Imagine the cross-branding opportunities for Barilla to use its own products in their restaurant menu offerings.

I like Barilla’s chances at success in the U.S. restaurant and retail channels. At the Sanders household, we probably consume about 120 pounds of pasta annually. Much of that pasta consumption is Barilla.

Smart Brander Barilla

Pasta Fagioli

Consumers can obtain low-cost protein in classic Italian dishes like pasta fagioli (pasta and beans), especially relative to the rising cost of other protein sources like meat and fish.

There appears to be an inverse relationship between a country’s economic vibrancy and pasta consumption. The Wall Street Journal reports  that, in some crisis-ridden European countries like Greece, the consumption of pasta has increased because of its value proposition relative to other pricier food stuffs.

Smart Brander

A smart brander like Barilla seeks local opportunities. It migrates success strategies, and tailors brand offerings to target markets.

Even if you’re not a global marketer, you should employ similar branding strategies to grow your business and your brand.

What kind of brand extensions and cross marketing could you achieve with your brand?

Beyond the shock and awe of a modern city, you’d have one very old and confused sports-minded Greek.

The Ancient Olympics

“I remember the big race just before the picnic lunch,” said the old Greek. “That speedy Kostas raced Achilles to the rock and back. Kostas won and Achilles wanted a rematch in four years because he hurt his heel,” smiled the ancient man. “Those were the days! But what are all these other crazy things going on here…what kind of sports are they?”

All these other things, these crazy other sports, are the key to the relevancy of the Olympic brand.

From Track and Field to Volleyball and Beyond

The ancient games were mostly track and field. The games then faded as the Roman Empire overpowered Greece. But the spirit of the games was kept alive through the history of ancient Greece and the glowing notion of the Olympic ideal in the Western world.

After a hiatus of more than 2,000 years, the “Modern Games” emerged in 1896. They were largely a British re-invention and re-calibration of track and field competition. As the International Olympic Committee structure evolved with more nations represented, the Games quickly began to include other events beyond track and field.

That re-invention has only accelerated over the years with events like badminton, basketball, tennis, rowing, and shooting to name just a few. These new sports come and go as market demands change.

Change is the Single Most Important Brand-Building Olympic Strategy

So how have the Olympics built their brand through change?

The IOC is brilliant at framing, leveraging, managing and packaging the primal, human urge to compete into cycles that climax every four years.

The competitions include old standbys like track and field where historic performances are fun and easy to compare.

The Modern Olympics

The Modern Games include a constant ebb and flow of new events that reflect changing market interests and growth opportunities.

If the most appealing sports are best played by professionals…then change the rules to allow and welcome professionals to compete.

The IOC is fearless in leveraging changes in technology (especially broadcast technology) which facilitate the delivery of the Games to huge audiences around the world.

The IOC has also created brand extensions like the Winter Olympics, Youth Olympic Games and the Paralympics which serve and attract different markets and cross-season interests.

Goodbye Old Olympic Ideal. Hello New Olympic Marketing Ideal

There aren’t many brands that have their heritage so firmly planted in ancient soil — yet grow in their present and future by pursuing changing markets, attractive performers and new sports.

We all can benefit from the business lesson provided by the International Olympic Committee. The only way to grow your brand is to recognize and embrace change while valuing the core interests of your current and future audiences.

I’ll throw a new one into the mix. It’s the Chamber Golf League Alternate Demand (CGLAD) Economic Indicator.

Economics, like politics, is local. The Lehigh Valley (about 50 miles north of Philadelphia) has a very active Chamber of Commerce…more than 5,000 members.

The Small Business Council of the Chamber directs the Golf league. This year we had 56 players on 28 teams, competing in four divisions ranked by skill level. It’s a weekly 9-hole league with 10-weeks of competition on Wednesday afternoons. The league also had a short roster of alternate players: I was one of seven alternates.

Chamber Golf League Alternate Walter Sanders

We alternates enjoy a discounted registration fee, but we only play when regular team players cannot. I like the networking variety of playing for different teams in different divisions. Yeah, I save a few bucks on the lower registration fee, but also risk not being able to tee it up unless an alternate is needed.

I’ve been an alternate every year since 2007. I recall 2007 and 2008 as miserable. In those years I missed 4 and 5 weeks respectively as regular players had the time to play every week. My playing activity has increased every year since 2009. The just-concluded 2012 season was awesome from an alternate’s point of view.

I had four dates booked before the season even started in April. I was busy every week, often fielding multiple calls and emails for teams looking for an alternate. People weren’t calling because I’m a stellar player…I’m not.

Besides vacations, illness, a kid’s softball tournament, they were calling because they were getting busy with work. They had meetings they couldn’t miss, new business to handle, unexpected opportunities to leverage, conferences to attend. All the other alternates this year were also in demand.

There’s still a lot of grousing about the economy, but its improving to the point where Chamber members sacrifice the golf league to take care of business. And I picked up a couple of great leads as well.

So add the CGLAD index to the lexicon of economic forecasting. The demand for Chamber golf league alternates is an economic indicator.

Have you any observations about leading and lagging economic indicators? Please comment.

The column claims that the current Disney box-office flop, John Carter, demonstrates that the company is employing the right creative strategy.

How can this $300M stinker be the right strategy?

Because the film represents a calculated risk with huge upside. The downside is considerable, too, but it is finite.

Disney framed the opportunity for a merchandise-rich, sequel-laden franchise. But the U.S. marketplace stayed away in droves.

The point is that innovation does involve risk. But the fear of failure presents more downside than not innovating at all.

My fearless prediction: John Carter will eventually recoup production costs. Maybe not in the U.S. Maybe not in the next four weekends. But it will eventually turn a profit. With the right branding…it still can be a huge global success.

Yep, it seems counter-intuitive in these cost-slashing days, but hiring and training more employees to work your retail business can increase sales, customer satisfaction and profits.

James Surowiecki, in the March 26 New Yorker, “The More The Merrier” cites a Harvard Business Review study that analyzed four low-price retailers.  Costco, Trader Joe’s, Quick Trip and a Spanish supermarket chain named Mercadona all have higher labor costs than their competitors, but are more profitable than most of their competitors.

A similar study published at the Wharton School arrived at a similar bottom line resulting from hiring more employees: “Stores that were understaffed to begin with benefitted more, stores that were close to fully staffed benefitted less, but, in all cases, spending more on workers led to higher sales.”

The author cites two examples of major American retailers whose cost-cutting, employee-firing strategies were flops: Circuit City and Home Depot. The electronics super-store chain is out of business, while Home Depot has replenished the ranks of orange-apron employees.

If your brand is about retail customer service…employees are a huge part of your brand.

Lots of collateral chatter, but also lots of attention paid to the game and the ads.

It was a terrific game and another year of diverse play-calling in Super Bowl advertising.

From my seat, I think the automotive brand category captured the 2012 Super Bowl advertising checkered flag.

Here are my 2012 Super Bowl Ad favorites:

• The Chevy pick-up spot. They had me at the Mayan 2012 calendar newspaper front-page blowing through the urban devastation. Droll commentary, buddy tragedy, raining frogs.
• The VW spot with Fatso Fido training like a canine triathlete to leap through the doggie-door and give chase to a Beetle.
• Fiat 500 Abarth fantasy piece. On a scale of 1 – 100, I give it a cinquecento.
• The Hyundai ultra-fantasy extravaganza. Was the magic dust gnome the dwarf from Twin Peaks?
• Finally, Mr. Eastwood and the homage to a recovering Detroit (and his Gran Torino). The half-time theme could have been tagged with “I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message.”

And here are my 2012 Super Bowl Ad not-so-favorites:

• The Coke polar bears. Premature reintroduction…they should be put in permanent hibernation.
• Anheuser-Busch. What a mistake to give them product exclusivity. Their advertising is as insipid as their products, and don’t get me started on their obnoxious product placements.
• Go Daddy: Time to start thinking outside the female flesh box.
• Pepsi’s Queen Elton and the way-too-campy musical hodgepodge. Belch.
• Honda/Ferris…if you’re going to spoof the original, at least get back to Chicago.

Non-automotive 2012 Super Bowl Ad favorites:

• Dannon yogurt head-butting empowerment.
• Grandma and the bungee-spring kid conspiring to grab the Doritos bag.
• Another Doritos spot: the blackmailing, cat-disposing, big dog.

It was a great year for the Giants, and another hit-and-miss year for Super Bowl ads.

Would enjoy seeing your list! Please comment.

Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder, died on October 5, 2011.

Joe Paterno, the iconic head football coach of Penn State University, died on January 22, 2012.

Few individuals have been as closely linked to their brands as these two men.

Jobs wasn’t an engineer, a coder, or a true marketer. His genius was leading the Apple team to create products that were different, important and indispensable. Think Different® indeed.

Steve Jobs, Macworld 2005

The world mourned his death but celebrated his legacy. He changed the way people live.

Apple broke traditional marketing rules. It introduced products that the marketplace didn’t realize it needed — until the marketplace tried them and couldn’t live without them.

Apple refined those products and reintroduced new, improved, better, cooler, more coveted iterations at breakneck speed.

Steve Jobs is gone, but his Apple brand continued to be just as new, improved, better, cooler and more coveted as ever.

His legacy is about his brand accomplishments, and what more he might have accomplished had he lived longer.

Joe Paterno defined Penn State University.

He was the head coach there for more than four decades. He won more games than any other Division One coach in history. He was the benchmark for collegiate sports integrity.

His teams not only won on the field, but Paterno’s program consistently achieved the highest graduation rate of varsity football athletes of any major college program.

He put fans in the seats. The success of his Nittany Lions helped build one of the largest football stadiums in the nation.

Joe Paterno, 2006

The pride generated by his football team and its hardworking coach helped create the largest active alumni association in the country.

He was as quiet and unassuming as the plain uniforms his teams wore. Yet he was just as strong and recognizable as those no-nonsense uniforms.

The University library — not the football stadium — was named after him.

“We Are Penn State” has become the unofficial motto of the Pennsylvania State University. But Joe Paterno…He Was Penn State.

We all know the circumstances around his firing.

The alleged child molestation charges leveled against a former Penn State assistant coach are horrific.

Paterno claimed that he informed the university police and the administrative chain-of-command within 24-hours of learning of an alleged locker room incident. Then he went back to work.

It appears that there was an internal, administrative cover-up of the alleged molestations. Once that cover-up finally imploded, an insular, stunned Board reacted. They tried to disinfect the stench by firing the president, other administrators, and head coach Joe Paterno.

Paterno died within three-months of being fired. The official cause of death appears to have been an aggressive lung cancer. Probably. But a broken heart could also have been a contributing factor.

I’m not going to second-guess what Joe Paterno should have done. I don’t think anyone should.

We should celebrate what he accomplished, and how he accomplished it. At 85 years of age he gave it his all.

Apple will survive. So will Penn State.

“Think Different®” will rule at Apple.

“We Are Penn State” will reverberate again this fall in Happy Valley.

Two brand icons are gone. The positive aspects of their individual legacies, their entire body of work, will continue to influence the brands they once led.

I hope that history treats them and their brands well.

You media-savvy hipsters may be following the shameless hype surrounding Morgan Spurlock’s shameless promotion of his shamelessly transparent POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. Did I mention shameless?

The movie is a crockumentary® about product placement advertising in the film industry. Spurlock sold product placements to willing advertisers, including the million-dollar title rights to POM®.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been posting silly updates about the movie on various social media sites. My good pal, Chicago-based gag-writer, Bill Linden, did a Facebook® post that amplified the product placement theme by naming Sanders Brand Solutions (that’s me) as a sponsor of his recent review* of the film.
Today I Facebook-posted a Wall Street Journal piece and an Altoona Mirror feature about the city getting the rights to call itself POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, for the next 60 days. I’m not surprised that a city or town would take that branding plunge, but I expected that city to be a little edgier than Altoona.

How non-edgy is Altoona? It is arguably best known for the Horseshoe Curve, a railroad track redesign that facilitated the speedier transport of materials during WWII. The Curve is also the name of the town’s minor league baseball team. Let’s face it: nothing too edgy about a curve. (Full disclosure: My lovely bride comes from the Altoona area and many of her relatives still live there.)

So when another Chicago friend, the hard-working business writer Lisa Holton, contacted me privately to ask whether I was actually involved with the branding strategy of the film, all I could say was “NOOOOOOO!” And that prompted the head slap.

What if my people (me) had contacted Spurlock’s people (him) to buy a product placement in the film?

Heck, I could have invested as much as a couple of hundred bucks to get a piece of the promotional action.

But no, I stood on the sidelines. What kind of brand guy am I?

Morgan, if POM Wonderful 2: Make Mine a Double sequel is under consideration, please count me in!

“Sanders Brand Solutions” presents Mr. Bill’s Review of POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold!!!

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock examines the world of product placement, marketing and advertising by making a film entirely financed by product placement and advertising. What I liked most about this Michael Moore type movie is that Michael Moore is no where to be found in it! (especially naked on the movie poster!) It’s fun, PLUS it’s only 88 minutes long. I smell Oscar® for Ralph Nader!

–3 Stars! Bill (Amazon.com) Linden.