Al and Laura Ries present “Seven Steps To Building a Business Brand in a Scary New World” at Mobium’s November New Paradigm Series event
2002-11-01
Chicago, IL— November 1, 2002 — More than 260 professionals with an interest in business branding were on-hand at Mobium in downtown Chicago for a wide-ranging presentation by Al Ries and Laura Ries, the best-selling authors of “The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR.” After an introduction by Chicago Tribune marketing columnist Jim Kirk, the Rieses’ discussion was provocative, lively and confrontational as the pair went beyond the pages of their latest book to cover key topics of special interest to business communicators.
Citing business brand examples including Microsoft, Intel, Apple, and others, the authors prescribed seven steps for successfully launching a brand in today’s over-saturated media environment. According to Al Ries, PR should be used to launch brands; advertising to maintain and defend them.
More specifically, Ries suggests a branding program that begins with leaking information about the product or service to select editors and opinion leaders to start building momentum. Apple, for example, gave Newsweek an exclusive on its newest Macintosh designs and got the products covered on the magazine’s cover. The leak is then leveraged via a slow build-up of attention on the new brand. This build-up includes recruiting third-party endorsers who can help spread the word to others, and modifying the product or service based on early user feedback. Ries recounted that best-selling author Spencer Johnson circulated a draft of his now-famous book, “Who Moved My Cheese,” for more than three years to CEOs and business editors. This helped Johnson hone his ideas and, more importantly, gave the book a built-in fan base when it was formally published.
Revising brand messages based on early audience input is equally important says Ries. Volvo actually switched from a durability message to a safety-based brand positioning based on key audience feedback.
Finally, Ries points out that only after the PR program has run its course should the brand be launched. This soft launch approach, he says, eliminates costly and potentially embarrassing problems that can arise from conventional, big budget advertising blitzes that adhere to a fixed timeline. (Think Crystal Pepsi…) .Be sure to watch for the next Mobium/BIGfrontier breakfast event, featuring distinguished Northwestern University professor Don Schultz, the father of integrated marketing communications. Professor Schultz will be speaking at Mobium’s downtown Chicago offices on January 14, 2003.
About Al and Laura Ries
Ries & Ries was founded in 1994 by Al Ries and his daughter Laura Ries in Great Neck, New York. Prior to 1994, Al was with his former partner Jack Trout in Greenwich, Connecticut. And Laura was working as an account manager at TBWA Advertising in New York. Al decided he wanted to work with his daughter and Laura decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of working with her mentor. Al remains friends with Jack Trout, although he has found much happiness in his new partnership. Ries & Ries relocated to a warmer climate in 1997 where they are currently located in Roswell, Georgia, outside Atlanta.
In 1998, Al Ries and Laura Ries co-authored “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding,” published by HarperCollins. This book laid down the laws for building any product or service into a world-class brand. It hit number nine on the BusinessWeek bestseller list in January 1999.
In 1999, Al was named one of the 100 most influential public relations people of the 20th century by PR Week magazine. He also was profiled in the June 28th issue of BusinessWeek magazine.
In the year 2000, Al Ries and Laura Ries co-authored “The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding,” published by HarperCollins, a book that uses Ries' marketing savvy and expertise in branding and brings it to the Internet. Al and Laura have defined the laws for the biggest challenge of the new millennium: what to do about the Internet and how to build an Internet brand. See www.ries.com.
About the Mobium New Paradigm Series
The Mobium New Paradigm Series is a forum to explore the paradigm shifts that are revolutionizing business branding and communications. We hope it will stimulate dialogue among business marketers on how to convert these revolutionary changes into a competitive advantage in their markets.
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About Mobium Creative Group
Mobium Creative Group is a full-service, integrated business branding and communications firm specializing in integrated communications, branding, relationship marketing, interactive media, and information architecture. Clientele include MeadWestvaco Corporation, NEC-Mitsubishi, Motorola GTSS, CNH Global, NovaMed, Farm Progress, Tellabs, and Ondeo Nalco Company. In January of 2002, Mobium launched its new web-site (www.mobium.com), which is an interactive book that helps business marketers, communicators, brand builders and change agents, as well as its own employees, better define revolutionary paradigm shifts and explore ways to take advantage of them.
www.mobium.com
About BIGfrontier
BIGfrontier is Midwest’s largest technology networking event. The quarterly networking events regularly draw between 300-500 attendees for a night of unique content, presentations and an unparalleled networking experience. The BIGfrontier BIG Idea Breakfast series was launched in April 2002. The BIGfrontier Midnight Missive newsletter is distributed biweekly to 5,000 technology professionals and the BIGfrontier website carries over two years of event content, streaming video and photos. Called “the biggest…some say the best of the internetworking events” by Chicago Magazine, BIGfrontier continues to grow in both size, substance and value. From C-level to IT-level, everybody mixes it up at BIGfrontier.
www.bigfrontier.org