Midea - many people outside China have to first 'google' it!
In China, every household has 4-5 Midea products!
Therefore, Midea's objective was to get ready for the 'Globalization' of the brand.
Joining the HQ Global Marketing Team as Head of Brand & Communications in October 2015, I had got a half-cooked, ordinary, mediocre and hence quite boring Midea Brand Positioning on my table...
Within just a few weeks I had to spice it up + present all including the new global Tagline to Senior Management prior Global Deployment including Brand Guidelines 1.0 in early December 2015...
It's essential for faster + better comprehension to give people/stakeholders not only the big(ger) picture + but also a 'more' familiar example that can stick to there mind(s).
I always had to start my presentations (externally, and even internally!) to set the scene:
Midea ≠ Midea
...and to make sure the audience knows how to differentiate the Home Appliance brand from the Corporate Holding company.
= Midea is one of over 15 home appliance brands within the 'Smart Home' division of Midea Group:
...which on simplified 'Brand Architecture' slide of mine looks like:
To even better visualize the 'Brand Architecture' is used to compare it to the Volkswagen Group and showcase how different Brands with very different Brand Positioning address + attract very different Target Consumers (of course with very different Product Portfolio with different Product Features and very different Prices Ranges)
...here just using Midea Group's 3 main players vs Volkswagen Group's respective 3 main players.
I could have also gone deeper to find Midea Group counterparts for Bentley, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles & Co.
...so, once the scene is set and all questions & doubts addressed, I would enter the Midea Brand Positioning space...
Developing + Presenting + Deploying your Brand Positioning can have multiple forms and frameworks like 'Brand Key', 'Brand Pyramid' or 'Brand House'... the essence however should be the same:
- a Brand Positioning is not just a Brand's Slogan but consists of several closely + meaningfully linked 'elements'
In case of Midea, being a Home Appliance brand, is was almost obvious to use a 'Brand House'
...and, as earlier mentioned + I cannot repeat enough: most important is that:
- you have 4 mayor 'must have' levels:
- Foundation
- (Target)Consumer
- Products(Service)
- Brand Elements
- you clearly defined each level for your brand!
= no marketing jargon bla bla bla
- the more closely + meaningfully linked each block + each level are...
- ...the more logic + impactful you will feel your slogan 'on top' is summarizing + representing your:
- Brand House = Brand Positioning
Give you one example:
e.g. if already within your Foundation level your defined Focus is weak, literally the entire house is 'shaky'
You have by now learned that:
Slogan ≠ Brand Positioning
A slogan is (ideally) an attention-grabbing + emotional trigger which in a way summarizes or reflects the quintessence of your Brand Positioning.
- a good slogan captures what a brand DOES
- a great slogan captures what a brand BELIEVES
...one of the most difficult parts within defining your compelling Brand Positioning is discovering (while you deep dive into your target audience) + later working out (in your favor!):
'The Tension'
That Tension not only helps you to have a powerful Brand Positioning but really enables you to develop compelling Communication materials* later on.
* if you re interested in learning more, please later jump to my Campaign(s) section, which will comfortably open in a new tab and wait for you = stay focussed! finish this section first! #StepByStep 🤪
...in our case, with Midea, talking to young families worldwide, we found our tension based on below's insight and translated it into engaging = going viral and later ROI award-winning campaigns.
Have in mind:
- Brand Positions are internal strategy documents
= I am not fully revealing the entire 'Midea Brand House' here
= because they contain information how a company/brand intents to beat the competition
