You Can`t Kiss A JPEG

Recent coverage of the clash of the birthday bash between M&S (125 years) and Sainsbury’s (140 years) (Nostalgia the battleground amid birthday celebrations) got me thinking about which party I would rather attend. If I had the choice I’d have gone for Sainsbury’s in the hope of meeting a well known celebrity. Not Jamie Oliver (I’ll come back to him later) but Anya Hindmarch. Her partnership with Sainsbury’s helped make reusable bags sexy, and featured on their nostalgic TV ad.

That is assuming that any of her other brand partners (Creme de la Mer, Food Doctor, Selfridges, Blink, Chantecaille, Norris Ices, Scarlet & Violet, Primrose Bakery, British Airways, Grazia, Organic Pharmacy and Elemis, to name a few) would not be having a party on the same night.  Malcolm Gladwell would probably call her a Connector I think I’ll coin the phrase Brand Socialite.

I’d like to make one thing perfectly clear – handbags aint my thing, on the other hand engagement is and Anya’s recession busting engagement strategy is probably one accessory that most organisations would die for  FT 19.06.09 pg. 14 (Bags of fun puts humour into recession busting strategy)

But what of Jamie and his association with Sainsbury’s? I recall a shopping experience when Sainsbury’s launched “Jamie Oliver’s 21 Day Extra Matured Taste The Difference British Beef” the supermarket claimed the product to be the culmination of 18 years of research and development and the celebrity chef endorsed the meat that “surpasses all other meat” in tenderness, succulence and flavour, as it was matured on the bone to ensure “maximum flavour”.

Now I like a good steak and was keen to see how Jamie’s sirloin weighed up. As I stood perusing the goods at the aisle end I was spotted by two employees behind the deli counter opposite. 

“Jenny, have you tried that new Jamie Oliver beef yet?” asked one

“Oh, don’t talk to me about Jamie Oliver beef” her colleague replied, I bought a couple of steaks last Saturday but I wouldn’t get them again – I couldn’t taste the difference“

Mmm… the cost of 18 years of R&D and an expensive celebrity chef endorsed advertising campaign was suddenly wasted on me. The influence of this knowledgable, perhaps cynical, employee was enough to tip the balance the wrong way.  Gladwell would call her a Maven, in this context I’ll use the expression Brand Assassin.  What a difference it could have made if this employee had been engaged with the brand and acted like Gladwell’s Salesman or , in my language, a true Brand Advocate.

My experience is that the cost of building employee advocacy is a fraction of the cost of external advertising and will yield greater return on investment.  Gladwell desrcibes The Tipping Point as “How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference” I think we all agree.

While Ross Brawn was preparing to lead the Brawn GP team to victory at the Turkish Grand Prix this weekend, Gordon Brown was polishing his leadership speech to the Parliamentary LP to avert political rebellion.  Facing very different dilemmas, they share the challenge of seeking unity and engagement of their teams around a central organising thought.  This challenge is only too familiar outside the worlds of politics and is part of life in the day of leaders of businesses and brands.  All leaders who seek to engage with their audience could learn from Aristotle’s Rhetoric: The faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.

Brown’s supporters would argue that Monday’s rallying cry would satisfy two of the three important divisions of rhetoric: Logos (consistency and logic) and Ethos (good character, good sense and good will). He has been consistent on his message about creating stability and no one could argue the logic and good sense of stability when you are on a cliff edge. Reminiscent of the closing scene on the Italian Job, we are all left wondering whether he will pull it off. Gordon Brown may lack the affable qualities of the main character, loveable rogue Charlie Croker, but he has consistently demonstrated good character and good intent.

But what of the third, and most important, division of rhetoric, Pathos (the ability to relate to audience needs and give emotional appeal)? Brown’s apparent lack of passion is something that distances him from Brawn (see previous post). The final episode of The BBC’s Apprentice demonstrated the importance of Pathos with the polished, pitch-perfect Kate losing out to the passion and gritty determination of Yasmina; clearly something that Sir Alan Sugar values. Perhaps he can offer some counsel to Gordon when he joins the cabinet as Enterprise Czar.

Sir Alan praises the prime minister for being “resolute in his position”. Brown is deliberate and exhibits political rhetoric by remaining focused on the future and seeking expediency of a forward looking agenda, rather than being drawn into legal rhetoric which focuses on the past. He doesn’t dwell on accusation or justification of legacy issues but instead chooses to deal with the issues of the day, tackling the current issues head on and addressing the need for reform. A challenge he shares with most business leaders that uncover misdemeanours of previous management while they are at the helm illustrates the need for transparency and accountability.

So, while Brown and Brawn can declare victory this week, there is probably less confidence in the Brown camp of ultimate victory this season. But in an attempt to build public confidence and trust he is setting out proposals for improving levels of public engagement: engaging citizens with their local communities, engaging MPs with their constituencies and engaging young people with politics. Reaching out and relating to the emotional needs of the wider population cannot be addressed by policy alone.  Yet how many leaders are measured on the number of skip-level tours or briefing sessions in an attempt to improve engagement?

I suspect team engagement is an area where Brawn trumps Brown, but it is always easier to empathise with people when you have stood in their shoes. Brown’s attempt to demonstrate he is in touch with the public mood by publicising his private phone calls to Britain’s Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle as she was in recovery in the Priory appears rather futile. I’m not suggesting our Prime Minister should apply to appear on Britain’s Got Talent next year, but it has got me wondering if there was an ulterior motive for his call to SuBo!

There may be lessons from Number 10’s use of media in engagement. Their dedicated YouTube site has the Comments field disabled and on average each video receives about 6,ooo views.  In contrast, Brown’s most popular video is his “Ask the PM” video which has attracted 30 times the number of viewings. And the relevance for business leaders? How effective are scripted blogs, podcasts and corporate videos in engaging with employees? The lesson is clear – true leadership and engagement is about creating dialogue.

So, in spite of the fact that Mercedes-Benz didn’t want to ‘divert’ from its long-standing relationship with Formula 1 racing team McLaren, the German engine designer is finally considering adding corporate branding to the hottest rod on the tracks, the Brawn GP Formula 1 car. It won’t be long before we have the big names clamouring for brand association with this trail-blazing team. 

So, if modelled on the Vodafone McLaren relationship, is the likely future brand ‘Virgin Brawn Mercedes’? Interesting to see how that tripartite brand might look… 

Whatever the final team name I suspect partner brands Ray-Ban, Henri-Lloyd, MIG Investments Williams, NCE and Endless Advance will have the last laugh over this spoof image devised a while back from our friends at sniffpetrol.com. 

It will be interesting to watch how the future brand name develops, but as the name of this blog suggests, I am more interested in the brain behind Brawn GP – owner Ross Brawn.  Not only because we have something in common – we both trained as instrumentation engineers in the nuclear industry – but because I’m intrigued by this former Honda technical director’s passion for F1, something that has taken him to the top of his field as the leader of what could very well become the most successful F1 racing team in history. 

Would he have achieved the same success with Honda had it stayed in F1 and he had remained team principal? If you look at it from a rational perspective he has the same team, the same drivers and the same car design. The only difference is the Mercedes engine; which hasn’t brought the same level of success to the McLaren partnership this season.

I believe the new engine choice is testament to insightful collaboration and the commercial freedom to bring the best bits together. Unrestricted by bureaucracy, Brawn GP has had the commercial freedom to combine the winning Formula of product, people and partnerships.

On a more emotional front I imagine a team that has a new found enthusiasm and belief, with a compelling vision built on their new leader’s passion for success and zero-tolerance of mediocrity. Long may it continue.