Verizon forgot the most important branding lesson

What branding lesson did Verizon forget? Namely, that everything is branding.

We recently moved to a new home, new to us and newly built.  As a result of it being a newly built home, it has a brand new, never been used before address.  At our old house, we had been happy Verizon customers.  We had even switched from Comcast to FIOS when we were unable to get good reception on one of our TVs.  So knowing we were about to move, I call Verizon and give them the new address, the rep tells me she can't find the address in the system and has entered a ticket for engineering to do an assessment of the address which typically takes 72 hours and after the assessment they would give me a call.  That was April 25th.

May 3rd comes along and still no call, so I call back.  The new rep tells me he can see the ticket entered, but he will enter a new ticket again to get the assessment and that Verizon will call me back. Again no call. I go through this process a few more times to no avail.

Finally, I call Comcast.  They send out an engineer within 72 hours, my address is in the system, and the installer comes (on time) 48 hours later.  The thing is, is that the cable pole is in my front yard, Verizon could have invested 5 minutes with me, maintained their brand, and a customer.  Is it the end of the world? Of course not, but Verizon has spent millions branding FIOS, running ads, developing a slick website, and even creating a good product, but all of that was thrown away by not executing on their brand throughout the process.      

Compose your story for career success

I think storytelling is one of the key components in a strategy to drive growth, but the concepts I discuss here also scale down to an individual level as well.  Have you defined your story?  In telling your story you need to get beyond what you do and to who you are.  If the CEO came into your office and asked you what you do, what would say? I am a project manager, a graphic designer, digital director?  Those titles are what you do, and the expectation is that you can do that thing well, but what else do you bring?  How do you help the company deliver on its vision? The story you tell ultimately should lead to your vision for yourself.

Marketing Definitions: Logo

A logo is a company's seal of approval.  The logo appears on experiences that the company approves as representative of its brand.

When to change your company's logo

To some people the answer to every problem at a company is to change the logo...

Our customer satisfaction is down...it's because the logo doesn't do a good job representing our brand promise.

Sales are down...our logo is not recognizable.  

We have a bad reputation...let's change the logo.  

Here are some other reasons...

The GAP

"We want our customers to take notice of Gap and see what it stands for today," she said. "We chose this design as it's more contemporary and current. It honors our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward."

Wendy's

“Wendy’s brand transformation is re-energizing all of our touch points with consumers,” chief executive Emil Brolick said in a statement. “We’re transforming our brand, from bold restaurant designs to innovative food that consumers want, to improved customer service. This exciting evolution of our brand reinforces our mission to position Wendy’s as ‘a cut above.’”

JCPenny

“The new jcpenney logo, which combines the elements that have made jcpenney an enduring American brand, by evoking the nation’s flag and jcpenney’s commitment to treating customers Fair and Square. The square frame imagery will be evident throughout all of jcpenney’s marketing, to remind customers to frame the things they love.”

Microsoft

This wave of new releases is not only a reimagining of our most popular products, but also represents a new era for Microsoft, so our logo should evolve to visually accentuate this new beginning.

So when should you change it?  

I view a company's logo as its seal of approval.  The logo appears on experiences that the company approves as representative of its brand.  The only time I think a company should change its logo is when its brand has failed so completely that you need to create a new seal of approval.  Any other time, I think every dollar spent on developing a new logo would be better spent on executing on your real brand.