Category Archives: Purpose

Airbnb’s new brand identity

Brand, Culture, Evidence-based Decision, Purpose

airbnb

Airbnb just launched a new corporate brand identity as part of a broader overhaul of  its website and apps.    Yes, the visual identity and its link to a brand’s identity is very important.   As in any critical business decision, a combination of emotion (“gut” feelings and having a clear perspective) and data should inform the decision, and not by gut alone.   The co-founder of airbnb, Nathan Blecharczyk said:

We wouldn’t want to design a logo that caters to the lowest common denominator. This was a yearlong undertaking for dozens of people, it’s something meaningful, and no one pauses to really understand that.

Let’s calculate the approximate effort involved.  At least 12 team members with each team member at an average cost of $150K per year, translates into $1.8 million of valuable resources deployed for developing many ideas, sketches, before finally deciding on the “best” logo.    Ignore why airbnb felt the urge to change the logo in the first place, since the implementation costs of a new visual identify usually far exceeds its development – triggered by industry/company at an inflection point, arrival of a new CMO who feels the need to make a visible first impression (changing the logo, shuffling the roster of marketing and creative agencies, are often easier than changing the more important ROI trajectory or improving marketing-sales alignment).

In a P2P community-driven business such as airbnb, a crowd-sourced design and evaluation of logo could have provided many advantages:

  1. Outside-in:  Both hosts and renters, if influenced by the logo (and it is a valid “if”), have  opinions and perspectives on airbnb’s new visual identify and could have been willing co-creators of the visual identify.  Remember that in a switchboard business model such as airbnb’s, supply (hosts) and demand (renters) fuel revenues, and airbnb is only the enabler with a wonderful technology platform and user experience.  What matters is the the meaning and associations, if any, attached to the visual identity by hosts and renters.
  2. Lower costs of development:  Instead of expending close to $2 million, one an envision spending $50K or much less
  3. Better final solution:  More hearts and brains, with a diversity of perspectives and experiences, lead to a final solution.
  4. airbnb has influence and final say:  Even in a crowd-sourced approach, airbnb’s marketing team (and all employees) have the opportunity to participate and influence the evolution of the ideas, and internalize the meaning of the new visual identity.  This notion is powerful, if one of the goals of the change in the visual identify is to trigger a mutation of the organizational DNA.
  5. Insights from listening:   Just listening to the conversations among hosts, renters, and employees during the co-creation provides a wealth of insights about what matters (now and in the future) to the key constituencies to power future airbnb’s technology and product roadmap, improve customer/user experiences,  customer support operations, i.e., how to deliver on the brand promise and the future meaning of the visual identify.

Rep. Cantor’s Primary Loss: Takeaways for Marketers and Business Leaders

Culture, Purpose

Let us look at some of the stark statistics of the primary challenge.   Rep. Cantor had a campaign fund of more than $5 million while his challenger Dave Brat raised just $300,000.

  1. Customers vote with their wallets:   The key takeaway is from Dave Brat, who said, “The reason we won this campaign, there is just one reason, and that’s because dollars do not vote — you do.”  The product or service you are offering matters much more than the communication about the product or service.
  2. Message relevance:   With a differentiated message relevant to the audience, you don’t need a lot of investment to amplify the message.
  3. Unwavering core principles:  Cantor constantly changed his positions on immigration, bailouts, etc.   Brands to be relevant over long periods need to morph the message as consumers interests and priorities change.   But the core essence of a brand should be non-negotiable.
  4. Don’t go head to head when you are ahead:  Cantor’s aggressive ad spending boosted Brat’s name identification at a time when he didn’t have the wherewithal.
  5. Never underestimate your competition:  Brat’s campaign was run by a relatively inexperienced 23-year old campaign manager armed with a Walmart flip-phone.
  6. Consumer sentiments can change quickly:  As per a poll in late May, Cantor was leading 62%-28%.  Two weeks hence, and Cantor loses by a margin of 10%.
  7. Perils of leadership:  As an executive you may be few layers away from the customer, and consequently, out-of-touch with reality.   Cantor was busy setting the Republican agenda in the Congress, while Brat was working closely with the locals and listening to the likely voters.

From worst to best: What can businesses learn from the Boston Red Sox?

Business Value, Culture, Purpose

There are often lessons for business from popular culture, arts, and sports.  Here are some lessons from the 2013 Boston Red Sox World Series win.

  1. From tragedy to triumph:  On April 15, 2013, bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured at least 250.  As Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Mayor and ex-White House Chief of Staff said: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste.”   Use your crises as learning moments and catalysts for change.  Also, pay careful attention post-crisis, since crises often lead to poor decisions under business stress.
  2. New leaders challenge the status quo:  With almost similar talent, a new leader, such as a calm, composed, and cerebral manager John Farrell, can make a huge difference.
  3. Visible symbols matter:  Almost all Boston Red Sox players sported ugly, scraggly, preposterous, and sometimes well-groomed beards.  But the beards unified the team in more ways than one.  Also note that the unifying beards didn’t happen at the start of the season.  Rather, they became more prominent midseason as more team members aligned on a shared purpose.
  4. Opportunity to rebuild your team:  Red Sox GM Ben Cherington signed the right players last offseason.  He didn’t have to bring aboard the biggest stars, but got his picks to contribute to winning.  A deftly crafted team with a diversity of skills, experiences, and perspectives will fight hard to succeed.
  5. Culture can change faster than you think:  Often organizational and operational DNA is a key driver of business success.  But there is the myth that cultural change is evolutionary and not revolutionary.  Select changes in a team – such as removal of bad apples swiftly – and bringing in fresh thinking can change the company’s culture faster than most expect, especially after going through a health crisis.
  6. Purpose beats singular focus on business:  It is not just about winning – after all who wants to lose.  But having a higher purpose – to help heal a city – mobilizes all your talent and resources to work together.  In a similar vein, businesses should give priority to a shared purpose – even ahead of business performance metrics such as revenues and margins.  Then, winning is just a by-product.
  7. Reallocate resources for transformational change:  It is easier to reallocate and optimize resources when you are at the bottom than when you are at the top.  Hitherto hard decisions become easy ones as there is less opposition to change and a new sense of urgency drives transformational change in organizations.