This Month's Article: "What do we expect?"

Set Your Sights!

What do we expect?

By Scott Trueblood

December 2007

It's my favorite time of year...the Holiday Season. 'Tis the Season indeed, and with it comes my annual Christmas Party. This year we had a Cookie Contest where all the guests were invited to bring their favorite cookies. From store bought cookies to Grandma's homemade Soft Cookies, there was plenty of sugar being consumed at True's annual holiday event!

After a sufficient "pigging out" period, the guests voted on their favorite. The winner would have his or her choice of three golden boxes to choose from. The contents were unknown. One small golden box sat upon a larger golden box which sat upon an even larger golden box. One contained cash...$50 to be exact. One contained a gift card to Connor's Steak and Seafood, not a bad prize. Finally, one of the golden boxes contained a prize that, well, in all honesty only the host would love.

With her skillfully delicious Graham Crackles, Patty won the contest in a narrow margin over Clarke's Chocolate Covered Delights. The time had come to pick her prize...the cash? the card? the dud? Patty chose the medium sized box, reasoning that I wouldn't think the winner would choose in that direction. With her selection complete, we took a peak at the prizes she did not choose. We opened the small box and found a gift card. Next, we opened the big box and found the cash--leaving the cookie champ holding a box filled with a Darth Vader action figure. It was good fun for all--except maybe our cookie champ who seemed to prefer the cash over the Dark Lord of the Sith.

In our contest, Patty did not know which golden box was, well, gold; and which box contained less than gold. She simply did not know what to expect. As consumers, that is why we turn to brands. Through relationships with the various brands of our choice, we have developed succinct expectations. Quite simply, we know what to expect. Last month, I discussed the ebb and flow of those relationships and how companies at times change or impact that relationship to fit a specific business model. At times, this is quite understandable. Market factors change which impacts everyone's bottom line. Adjustments are made at every level. However, every company should strive to ensure that these adjustments do not impact the relationships that they have worked so hard to build with consumers. People still want to know what to expect from their favorite brands. People still want to walk into Foothills Bank and Trust and know that they have a relationship that transcends loan balances and deposits. People still want to sit in their Mercedes-Benz knowing that they are driving a machine closely linked to excellence. People still need to know that when they are hurt in an accident, they've got someone in Ralph Brown who will protect them and look out for their best interest.

Last month, one of the products discussed was Stouffer's French Bread Pizza. It's my favorite frozen pizza and was highlighted in Set Your Sights when I noticed a 16 percent price hike and new packaging. That combination signaled a red flag as I feared more changes were on the horizon. However, I received an e-mail from Rebecca, in the marketing department at Stouffer's French Bread Pizza who assured me this was not the case. Actually, she was alarmed to hear of the price hike. It seems that other divisions had experienced a price increase, which had not affected the French Bread Pizza division. However, some retailers took advantage of the other product's price increase to raise the price of the pizza as well. In my situation, Wal-Mart was the retailer guilty of this practice. Rebecca is investigating further and ensured me that consumers can continue to know what to expect from Stouffer's French Bread Pizza in the near future and beyond. That is, after all, what branding is about. It's about nurturing relationships and knowing what to expect from the products and services we use. Even if we have limited or no first-hand experience with the product, we still have expectations based on price, positioning, references, etc. Brand Identity teaches us what to expect.

Consumers are rarely faced with the three golden box choice that faced Patty. Unfortunately at times, the consumer ends up with the same result achieved by Patty--a choice that only the host could love!

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