Community

Now, Buscemi doesn’t have what you’d exactly call leading man good looks. But Buscemi is fine with that and he’s smart enough to know that when your brand has hit its stride you don’t tinker. As his fame has grown, many dentists have approached him with the offer to fix his teeth for free. Great publicity for them, of course, and your knee jerk reaction might be that it’s a win for Buscemi too.

But Buscemi has always said no. His answer has been simple: “I won’t work again if you fix my teeth.”

That’s called knowing your brand.

Some other very successful actors and singers understand this. Kirsten Dunst, Anna Paquin, Jewel and Miley Cyrus all have less than perfect teeth. And all of them have refused to fix them.

Talk about brand wisdom.

LOSER:

In the past, I’ve praised Netflix for being a brand visionary. After all, long before anyone else, the company positioned itself to prosper in the streaming video and movie market.

But last week the company did something inexplicable and, quite frankly, bad for the brand. It raised prices for its streaming and DVD rental package by a whopping 60%.

Not only that, but it did so for no clear reason. New York Times tech guru, David Pogue, confessed that he had read Netflix’s explanation for the price rise over five times and still didn’t understand why.

But he concluded that even though there didn’t seem to be a why other than it wanted to make more money, Netflix still offers the best deal among all its competitors in video rental and streaming online content –it just isn’t as good a deal as it used to be.

Still, this move is enough of a reason to place it in the loser column from a brand perspective.

Sure, it might make a lot more money in the short-term, but, fact is, it is going to alienate an awfully large number of their customers (within hours Netflix’s Facebook page clocked 44,000 outraged messages, according to Pogue).

Price rises are a delicate branding calculation. You must always put your customers' experience in the foreground and make them a genuine partner in deciding if and how to raise prices.

Again, in the short run Netflix might do fine, but in the long run as competitors continue to emerge, the company’s customer base will be much more willing to defect…and in the subscription business that can be fatal for a brand.

And, remember, it's always easier when you keep marketing and branding in mind.

TODAY'S TANTILLO TAKEAWAY:
Pricing is part of your brand’s contract with your Target Market. Tread carefully.

John Tantillo is a marketing and branding expert who has a doctorate in applied research psychology. He is president of the Marketing Department of America and markets his own services as "The Marketing Doctor." He is also the author of People Buy Brands, Not Companies, an AMA member, and the host of BrandTalk, Wednesdays from 3 to 4 p.m. ET on radio station WVOX 1460 AM, and streaming at www.brandtalkradio.com.

The opinions expressed in this post are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the American Marketing Association.