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I call Carl’s Jr.‘s latest ad “a schizophrenic brand move.” Carl’s has experienced a great deal of success targeting young males. “To now switch gears and try to also target women just doesn’t make sense.”

MENG: The Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) found that my blog, “brand as business bites ™”, is one of the top 20 marketing blogs (written by non-MENG members for objectivity) actually being read by marketing executives.

I recommend QSRs take a lesson from discount retail leader Walmart who is also preparing for the economic turnaround.

Convenience stores seeking to promote their fresh food offerings would be wise to use social media tools like Twitter to “run special offers without the hassle of coupons and announce the arrival of a new product,” I suggest.

Many fitness clubs may not be well-known to the general public. I explain the importance of building a brand: people express themselves through their fitness club choice.

Gabriel Rossi, a leading brand strategist in Brazil, interviews me about “brand as business” and the current digital paradigm.

“Most dance retailers are mom-and-pop shops or small businesses and don’t necessarily have a clear brand identity,” I observe. “If you consistently deliver a compelling and appealing customer experience, people will buy more and visit more.”

The move by Everyday with Rachael Ray to feature a cover without the magazine’s eponymous personality is similar to the approach Martha Stewart took, I observe. “…Less emphasis on her as a person and more on her brand seems a smart move.”

Commenting on Brink’s rebranding effort, I offer a perspective on making the shift during the recession: “Trying to transfer that trust from Brink’s to a different name is particularly challenging. People are looking for proven suppliers with reputable names.”

It’s necessary for fast food chains to offer products at both ends of the value continuum, no matter the state of the economy, I explain.

“Companies should take care not to overemphasize the gender orientation of their products,” I encourage.

Starbucks continues to struggle and many in the quick-serve restaurant (QSR) business may be quietly celebrating the problems of the former industry darling. But the fact is we need Starbucks to succeed. The editor of QSR Magazine asked me to explain why Starbucks benefits the QSR category in ways that cut to the core of our business.

Results from a survey by the Mr. Clean brand team says nearly three out of five married adults said doing household chores and cleaning together can maintain a healthy relationship. The team says these findings will help them better position the brand against competitors. “It seems a stretch,” I counter.

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Atkins is trying to shed some of the baggage it’s accumulated in recent years and relaunch the brand with a new, ‘less clinical’ and ‘more contemporary’ message,” I describe. Their real challenge, therefore, is to get people to reconsider the brand.

The biggest players in weight-loss programs -— Weight Watchers, Slim-Fast and NutriSystem -— are rolling out new ads. But I predict, “We’ll see people opting out of expensive programs and looking for more do-it-yourself options.”

Asked for key trends that will define consumer and restaurant operator behavior in 2009, I report on increased value-priced menu options and point to the fact that BYOB and all-you-can-eat options “have popped up at some unlikely places in order to cater to families and groups looking for more options.” Snack-sized options is another trend.

I evaluate the new program saying, “…the advertising service is spot on for marketers that want to target consumers more effectively;” but I also warn the mailings could be viewed as spam if brands without a logical tie-in to frozen food place ads.

In support of the chain’s move to reinvigorate its brand, I offer “Orange Julius has a great heritage.” The brand’s attributes are similar to those of A&W restaurants, which play on nostalgia and old-fashioned goodness.

I will explain how to engage and align a remote sales force during a webcast at Sales and Marketing Management’s Virtual Trade Show on October 2, 2008

“We’re seeing snacks that deliver specific health benefits…the trend reflects changing snack ‘need-states’ which is a state of demand that resides at the intersection of a consumer’s attitude and the eating occasion; for example, to acquire energy for a pending workout, to escape boredom, etc.,” I explain.

“A technology-based system like [CurvesSmart] makes the brand seem more contemporary and credible,” I concede. However, the ad doesn’t seem consistent with the brand’s history. “This ad doesn’t reinforce any of those dimensions.” The ad’s “serious” and “generic” tone may “alienate the Curves core target.”

While linking Cream of Wheat to the Olympics may give them a sales boost, “I think they would have been better served by pursuing a wholesome, natural positioning instead,” I observe. I add, “Packaged foods categories are so crowded already. Unless a new/newly revived brand has a clear point of difference, I doubt their retail customers or end consumers are going to notice or care.”

I explain how new Internet technologies help companies operationalize their brands during my workshop at The Digital Symposium, a national conference for Chief Marketing Officers and brand managers on September 25th, 2008 in New York.

The last two years have seen a proliferation of advertising targeting air travelers in transit. I caution, “By advertising in the usually highly stressful and negative environments of air travel, brands risk subconsciously associating themselves with the stress, fatigue, and frustration that people feel in those environments.”

A new study I (along with Coogan Partners) conducted reveals ways to close the brand strategy:execution gap. Results are based on responses from senior marketers representing 71 leading national brands in the consumer goods, retail and media industries. For a copy of the report, contact me.

Scott Goodson, founder of Strawberry Frog an agency that produces truly inspired work and groovy t-shirts, interviews Denise Lee Yohn for Scott Goodson’s Writings, an inspiring blog for people who want to spark cultural movements.

Companies in the running industry must accept their business isn’t just about running anymore. I challenged running companies’ conventional thinking about what business they’re in through my address at Running USA 2008, the national conference for the running industry on February 11th, 2008 in La Jolla, CA.

Five industry experts weigh in on the merit of consumer-generated ads. My POV: “The most troubling thing about consumer-generated ads is they are not actually consumer-generated.” Instead of engaging brand fans, companies soliciting ads from the public may be merely bolstering the careers of aspiring admakers.

A growing move by U.S. companies to export their ad campaigns for overseas markets highlights the challenges of navigating regional differences. In the case of Apple’s “Mac vs. PC ads,” I caution that Apple is often perceived in the U.S. as a “scrappy underdog” and if people in other countries are not as familiar with the brand, they might interpret such advertising as a more aggressive, and ultimately inappropriate challenge.

Independent Brand Marketer Launches Service for Engaging Women Through Wellness™: Denise Lee Yohn, Inc. To Serve Companies Interested In Tapping $200BB Market.
What ‘wellness’ means to women, and how they seek it out and experience it, varies a great deal. I help companies identify, navigate, and tap into opportunities that are right for their brand.

Brands looking to create meaningful dialogues with their customers should use caution when soliciting viewer-created ads. To be effective, I advise, a brand “must have a clear and consistent image” that inspires and informs the creation of all of its communication.

Brand integrity is becoming increasingly important as consumers have access to more information about companies than ever before – and any inconsistencies between a brand’s values and its company’s actions can easily be revealed in the blogosphere. But I explain the brand equity Starbucks has built over time through its socially responsible actions and employee-supportive policies form a “halo” of protection as it faces off with employees’ unions.

XM and Sirius are battling for market share and “the two advertisers have to choose between using a famous personality to spark short-term attention, or promoting broader benefits, such as reliability of service,” I advise. Marketers often make the mistake of relying on the borrowed equity of celebrity instead of improving their core value proposition.

A tie-in with a blockbuster like ‘Star Wars’ provides marketers with unparalled exposure, but I advise caution, explaining, “If you are only one of a handful of partners or sponsors…there is also the risk that you get overshadowed. The movie becomes the point, and your brand gets lost in that.”

The hacking of Paris Hilton’s Sidekick sent T-Mobile executives into a panic about how to reassure the public of the security of its products. With all the free PR the story is generating for the new Sidekick, I offer, “T-Mobile and Paris may be able to twist this to be something that makes her an even bigger star and gets the T-Mobile name out in the media more.”

While advertisers are concerned about featuring offensive ads in the “superbowl” of advertising, others are concerned taking the edge off may also take the entertainment out. I weigh in saying “To me, likability is the first thing a commercial has to have. If people don’t enjoy watching your commercial, then what’s the point?”

Quiznos Sub is introducing a new toned-down campaign, after an unsuccessful run with its rodent-like spongemonkey mascot. I observe Quiznos was using shock-value to capture consumer attention, “but it had nothing to do with the brand at all … It’s important, when you get someone’s attention, to always link it back to your main point.”

AOL’s new ad campaign is using the dissatisfaction consumers feel towards services that don’t screen out viruses or spam to attract people to its brand. I explain, “A lot of marketers want to appear to understand their customers’ needs and to have a very intimate relationship with them,” but emphasizing the negative can backfire.

Women control over 50% of the spending in consumer electronics and marketers need to recognize the different needs of female shoppers. “Younger women who are tech savvy are not looking for someone to dumb down the technology for them,” I warn.