“Strategy should evolve out of the mud of the marketplace, not in the antiseptic environment of an ivory tower.” - Al Ries

You will find that most new brands that get in the mind were created in the mud of the marketplace. The mud refers to the front lines.

One of the reasons most companies fail is that they ignore what is already in the mind of the consumer. You cannot create a brand if you don't know what is already inside the mind of your consumer (unless you are extremely lucky).

A few months back while I was visiting the local Costco I noticed a group of men in suits walking around the store. In this group was the Founder/CEO, James Sinegal. A man very much in touch with the front lines.

As companies grow they usually lose touch with the customer on the front lines.

If you're in retail, shop your store and others (more than once).

If you sell cars, go out and buy cars at different dealerships and yours.

If you build software try using the software like a customer.

All you need to do is observe, listen, experience, and be quiet. Don't ask the customer what they want because they usually don't know. You're not using focus groups; you want the real truth.

Over time the top loses touch with the mud of the marketplace because they don't want to get dirty. The real truth is usually out there and the top needs to get dirty to find it.

Wendy's latest commercial brings back the "where's the beef?" theme and the name of its founder Dave Thomas. Check it out...

I am still partial to the slogan I think they should be using, "Old Fashioned Hamburgers at Old Fashioned Prices" and promote value against the likes of the new upscale burger chains. But at least it is a start back in the right direction to what made them famous.

Let's see more of it Wendy's!

An article today from the Associated Press had the following quote from Wendy's concerning the change in their burger: "Our food was already good," said Denny Lynch, a Wendy's spokesman. "We wanted it to be better. Isn't that what long-term brands do? They reinvent themselves."

To which I add...No.

Why is it that when brands become successful they have this burning desire to change the very things that made them successful?

Wendy's is falling into the trap that better products win, a common trap for many businesses.

Products that win are the products that are perceived better by owing a position in the mind.

Brands that make small incremental changes over time are the ones that are successful. These natural changes keep the essence of the brand without hurting the current and hopefully strong position.

With all the radical changes at Wendy's no wonder sales are down. Why would Wendy's try and compete with Five Guys?

People go to Wendy's because the burgers are at a lower price point. My advice to Wendy's: "Old Fashioned Burgers at Old Fashioned Prices." Five Guys can't compete with that.

For those of you that haven't head Bose has introduced a new television. It's called the Bose Videowave Entertainment System. Technically they are not calling it a television but it is. The idea is that instead of having a television and a home theater you would have it all in one simple device.

Now I am all for simple but I don't like the idea of converging the two separate categories. Why not have a Vizio television powered with Bose sound technology? That in my opinion would be a winning combination.

And now you have Vizio creating a tablet??

It seems like most electronics companies these days are trying to emulate Sony. But these days Sony is hardly making any money. What company would want the net profit of Sony?

Marketing effects take place over a long period of time. The evidence of line extension over the years and new companies creating new brands in new categories has cost Sony dearly.

Focus, focus, focus. It is so hard to do. With success comes many temptations. A company like Vizio has a great brand in "high definition" televisions. If they are so eager to go after new business they should create a new and separate brand name.

New categories need new brands.

If you don't have a problem you have very little need for a brand. Most people start a company because they have an idea that would be cool, neat, exciting, or fun but it usually doesn't solve a problem.

Brands that begin with problems in the mass market have a much better chance at success.

The problem doesn't have to big. Small problems can make a company very successful.

A few years back most people had a small problem -they were curious what their friends were doing that they hadn't seen in a while because as humans we often lack the ability to keep in touch (especially men). And they didn't want to pay for it (Classmates).

This wasn't a big problem. It happens to be a very simple problem and is very simple to solve: facebook.

Many entrepreneurs think that people will use their service it they make it fun and exciting. Not true for the mass market. To reach the mass market a business as a whole must solve a problem. The bigger the problem the faster it spreads and the more money you can make.

Groupon solves a problem....not for consumers but for businesses. How many businesses would say to themselves, "I would discount 40% if I had 200 people buy my product or service" or "I just wish I could get my name out there."

Groupon = problem solved.

Brands that solve a problem have a much better chance at succeeding. Before you build a business make sure it solves a problem.

More money is WASTED on advertising every year than I think anything else in business. Companies spend millions trying to capture the attention of the consumer and are unable to penetrate the mind. The problem is that advertising is being done in the wrong Stage.

In the perception model below most companies tries to fit advertising in Stage 1-a big mistake. In the great sea of noise out there it is an easy place to waste money and many do.

Think about it. Why else would more companies fall into the crazy notion that sex sells? Or for that matter create some of the most outlandish and crude ads in a desperate attempt to capture ones attention. Do these ads sell? No.

They fail because the real place for advertising is Stage 4.

Stage 4 is where you will get the highest return on your investment. When a consumer is in Stage 4 they are ready to make decisions. In this Stage your brand has already been established in the mind by public relations and word of mouth.

The wonderful thing about Stage 4 is that you don't need coupons, discounts, or small bikinis to sell. All you need to do is to remind the consumer why you are different via the soft sell (with creativity and drama).

But ad agencies will ask, "Where is the creativity, isn't this boring?" Maybe. Consumers often don't need to be entertained but reminded.

When I sit and watch commercials these days I am mostly filled with disappointment. Rarely do I see a commercial that reinforces a strong position in the mind and when I do I will get excited.

Is GoDaddy really selling more domains by using sex? I don't think so.

Big advertising agencies should be worried. As more companies see little value of ads spent in Stage 1 most will venture off to "social media" so they can see a higher return.

Most companies don't spend ENOUGH on advertising. I want to see more. I am tired of the same car commercials that offer very little differentiation.

One can only hope.

Storage and retention in brand building is so important. If consumers are unable to retrieve your brand from memory when they are going to be making a purchasing decision your brand is in trouble.

Semantic and event memory are key in building a brand but what most people forget is person memory. Person memory is why having a visible CEO in the media is so important.

Look at some of the great brands and the visible CEO that go along with them...

There is so much competing stimuli in the environment that having a visible CEO can cut through the noise. Some keys for a visible CEO...

1) Be credible
Bringing in a CEO that has little experience in the industry is a mistake. This is one of the reasons that the entrepreneur themselves make great visible CEOs, they are already credible.

2) Have a memorable name
The better your name the better chance of sticking in the mind. If you have a name that is not memorable change it.

3) Be consistent
Stay with a similar look. Steve Jobs wearing a suit doesn't make sense. There is a reason he wears a black shirt and jeans all the time. Staying consistent in dress may not mean wearing the same shirt but jumping back and forth from casual to suits doesn't work.

4) Stay relevant
If you want your brand to stay relevant the CEO must be visible and key trade shows/conferences/etc. If you have little presence at industry trade shows the media will know this and wonder why you are not in attendance. PR is what CEOs need and attendance will boost the PR.

5) Avoid scandal
If you can't totally avoid it, put out the fire and go into hiding for a while. If you are in business long enough problems will come. When they do quickly put out the fire and go into hiding. Consumers and the media have a short-term memory and will soon forget many of your mistakes.

Having a visible and credible CEO can help the brand stick in the mind of the consumer or prospect. Let's face it; every brand needs an advantage to cut through the noise.

I'm sure by now that most of you have seen the new Taco Bell commercial convincing the public that their meat is real. If you haven't seen it, take a look below...

The problem with this commercial is that it is not believeable and actually draws more attention to the issue. The mind thinks "What is wrong with their beef that they need to run these commercials?"

The one page ad that Taco Bell ran along with a press release was enough. Now, all Taco Bell is doing is drawing more attention to the subject and making more people question their beef.

Companies should never fight a bad PR problem with advertising. The consumer has a short term memory and will forget about this issue soon enough but not as long as Taco Bell runs these commercials. Let the issue die and soon the consumer will easily forget.

Last week Ultimate Electronics filed bankruptcy. The chain which stated as SoundTrack had rebranded as Ultimate Electronics and began a rapid expansion in 2000 only to fall eleven years later. Right now the retail market is being pruned and most brands that don't stick in the mind won't be around in the next few years.

Ultimate Electronics' story proves that you can have a solid execution and still fail. I don't think their failure has as much to do with the economy but rather the Ultimate brand or lack there of.

In my opinion, this is a fate that would have eventually come knocking because they lacked a strong brand.

What did Ultimate Electronics stand for in the mind? Nothing

Most people in the mass market know that if they want the "ultimate electronics" they go to Best Buy.

A few years ago Ultimate started an advertising campaign stating their prices were the best...

What they were doing is what many retailers have done; price matching. This price matching "proved" that Ultimate had the best prices and yet they never were able to gain significant market share.

And unfortunately, the owner Mark Wattles was never was able to penetrate the mind. Having a visible CEO is a great strategy. More CEO's should be utilized in ads but Mark was not the right choice for Ultimate.

Brands that compete on price live in a cutthroat world and are a bad quarter or two from going out of business. Consumers don't JUST care about price even though focus groups may say otherwise.

Someone out there will usually be able to beat you on price eventually; brands that own a word in the mind are the ones that will be around for the long term. And competing on price alone is no way to build a brand.

The human mind marvels at the complicated but only the simple sticks in the mind. To prove my point let me give you the following example. Remember the last time you bought a new digital camera?

Bringing the camera home for the first time you showed your friends and family all the cool features and even spent some time looking at the instruction manual to see all the advanced features of the camera.

It was one of the most advanced cameras on the market. You admired the functionality and ingenuity of the camera.

And then reality hit. You never again looked at the manual and only used the simple functions of the camera. And when asked about the camera you would say, "I really need to study the camera and manual so I can do more with it."

That day never comes. Sure there will always be the people that use all the functions and enjoy all the benefits but not the mass market. And the mass market is where branding is found.

This is the reason simple, obvious, marketing strategies stick in the mind. Simple strategies stick in the mind while complicated ones do not.

Living in an over-communicated society where we are bombarded with advertising everywhere we go complicated doesn't have a chance.

When someone says that it can't be that simple, there has to be more to it--you know you are on to something.

Simplicity is essential if you ever expect to penetrate the mind.