Q.What do you think has changed the most in marketing over the last fifteen years?
A.First, if customers need something, they're not looking for marketers to interrupt their daily lives with brand messages. They can find what they need on their own. So not surprisingly, the model of cranking out messages is less effective today. In nearly every channel Lippincott measures, we see annual declines in effectiveness or response rate. This issue is more acute for those under 35, the generation who will comprise over 50% of total consumer spending in the next five years. Fewer than 30% of them consider television a necessity, and they would more likely believe a consumer review posted by a stranger than a company's advertising. There is a demographic wave that has only begun to upend the "message factory" model of building brands. And this change in media is amplified by the new reality that consumers can find the truth with lightning speed.
Q. What do you mean by "retooling the message factory"?
A. Here's an interesting statistic. Fewer than four of ten consumers agree on a top two box scale with the statement: "I believe this brand's advertising." If you are spending 300 million dollars on media, that can be a bit of a problem! Marketers have created an elaborate system to pump out messages, through a dizzying array of channels and media, but people either don't believe or aren't paying attention to these messages. We need to fix the factory by focusing on what is true and valued, and drives the brand story: the brand experience itself.

Q. So what is a marketer to do?
A. First of all, stop focusing so much on the traditional "purchase funnel" metrics: e.g. awareness, consideration and purchase intent. Yes, they are important, but they mask the real issue. One can spend a great deal of money on messaging to get into the consideration set, only to have the weight of negative consumer ratings on Amazon make it a wasted effort. Marketers need to stop focusing on measuring a brand's messages so much, and refocus on measuring—and managing—the brand's experience. Here's an interesting fact: "Experience Power", a metric Lippincott tracks to assesses a brand's connection to, and advocacy from, its direct customers, has double the impact on growth than "Story Power", which measures the brand's overall awareness and favorability in the general market. Perhaps that may seem obvious to some, but the reality is that most marketers today still spend tremendous effort trying to optimize the message factory. If you want your media to be effective, step one is to create a brand experience that's worth listening to…and talking about.
Q. Beyond a deeper understanding of the metrics that matter, what should marketers do differently?
A. In the short term, the answer is that traditional messaging needs more scrutiny and a higher bar. Marketers need to look hard to find the uniqueness, authenticity and higher purpose in their business that will resonate with consumers and rise above the message noise. They need to tell stories that people will believe, starting by looking at what is true and loved about their experience, then work to amplify and reinforce it.

But the long-term answer is that the marketing function really needs to shift its focus and shift its role. Today's most successful marketers are following a new set of rules, building brands in entirely new ways. One of the most important of these rules is "The experience is the message." For example, In-N-Out Burger has a truly unique customer experience in the fast food sector. The environments are unusual, one can actually see the fries being cooked, the food is fresh and the employees are energized. The result: the company actually generates twelve times the amount of conversation per dollar of sales than a typical QSR. The lightning-fast cycle of great experience to accelerating buzz takes care of the messaging challenge. And, most importantly, three out of four In-N-Out Burger customers say they would strongly believe in its advertising (if the company felt it necessary to spend here!) This is about twice the category average. Or look at Starbucks; it spends a fraction of the competition on media, as a portion of sales, but has about seven times the mentions in social media than a typical restaurant. Winners today focus on creating the story, not just telling it. The experience is the message.

No matter what happens in the courts, Congress, or at the state level, healthcare as we know it is changing. The industry is becoming more competitive. Consumers are demanding transparency. Providers are consolidating and integrating, while insurers continue to face cost pressures.

Is your brand ready?

While we may not know exactly what the future entails, we can separate the known from the unknown, acting on the certain and hedging our bets on the less certain.

We see that in all scenarios, healthcare will become more retail. Consumers—not just employers—will weigh benefit levels with pricing to make their own decisions. With this new transparency will come the risk of confusion about all the tradeoffs to be made. Many choices will be determined on rational criteria. But clearly, when it comes to an individual's health, choices will also be based on emotion.

Together, all signs indicate that brand will become a key decision driver. And yet, research shows that most healthcare brands tell neither a great story, nor deliver a compelling experience—two key measures of brand health.

We also know that these new retail consumers will have different wants and needs. From those looking for insurance purely as a hedge against illness to those looking for a true advisor to help with health decisions, each will seek a brand that speaks to him/her.

Now is the time to assess the health of your brand and prepare for the paradigm shift.

Here are five key questions to ask about your brand:

1. Does your brand reflect your role in healthcare, now and in
the future?
Delivering healthcare as consumers know it today requires a cast of characters—from caregivers and insurers to hospitals and drug companies. Each of these companies plays a distinct role now, but successful ones will develop a much more integrated delivery system. If you're positioned around being a caregiver today, you need to ask yourself if that positioning will still be relevant in the future? Your brand needs to reflect who you are today, but also where you'll play in the future. Medical Mutual of Ohio is just one example of an insurer embracing the role of health coordinator. They've partnered with Health4, a healthcare delivery model consisting of The Medical Group of Ohio and Ohio Health, to actively manage care for patients because they understand that successful insurers will need to be more than just bill payers.

2. Does your brand resonate with everyone in your target audience?
While the fundamental shift in healthcare will empower consumers in new ways and require a new found focus on them, traditional healthcare partners should not be ignored. Many of them will actually become more important. Your brand will be intrinsically tied to a host of other companies that all ultimately deliver healthcare to consumers. This network will evolve to become a reflection of your brand. As hospitals and providers decide which networks to join, how well the brands all align to deliver complete healthcare solutions will become increasingly important. We can all easily understand how a hospital that is focused on service would likely have little interest in aligning with an insurer emphasizing efficiency.

3. Are you building a brand that fits with a long-term perspective?
As much as we all talk about consumerism and the new "retail" market for healthcare, decisions will never be made like that of laundry detergent. Healthcare will end up being more like a durables purchase—similar to how you think about your next car. Many consumers will spend hours researching, but in the end it could be just too much to comprehend. Brand will become a shortcut to narrowing the field. And your brand will become a proxy for a (hopefully) long and important relationship. Decisions will be influenced by emotional considerations—such as comfort and security—more so than specific benefit levels or price points.

4. Does your brand attract the right customers?
Of course your brand should attract your target consumers. But your brand also needs help consumers self-select out of your brand. If you're an insurer, you want to attract as many healthy and health-conscious consumers (and try to avoid those who aren't interested in their own well-being). On its surface the idea may seem controversial, but using brands to encourage consumer self-selection is pervasive. Take SeeChange Health, a new insurer started in California by a former Aetna and United Healthcare executive. The brand clearly targets individuals who want to take control of their own health, with an emphasis on preventative treatment and incentives for following doctor's orders.

5. Does your brand help inform a unique consumer experience?
In today's world, a brand is as much the sum of individual and collective experiences as it is the story that is told. And how healthcare brands deliver is becoming even more important as consumers share their experiences directly with one another through social media. Saying who you are is no longer sufficient. Companies need to deliver their story through a unique experience. Given the majority of interactions with the healthcare system involve a negative event, creating a positive experience is difficult – but if you're able to succeed, you've won a customer for life. Look at Regence and their focus on creating a differentiating online customer experience. They've created an award-winning website, myRegence.com, to better inform consumers about their health and wellness options and to more effectively navigate the health care system.

If you answered no to any of the questions above, you should ask yourself why.

The best brands craft authentic stories and memorable experiences that transform perception and drive change. Your brand is not just a representation of who you are and what you stand for, but also a guide for where your business is going. Getting your brand right in a changing industry is not a "nice to have"; it is critical to your success.

Hundreds of companies change their names every year. Some are inspired by mergers or PR issues; others want to signal a new direction. Many changes work out beautifully: Would a search engine named BackRub have become one of the world's most valuable brands if it hadn't rechristened itself Google? But a good name is hard to find. Global and emerging markets are more important than ever, and present linguistic hurdles; securing legal and digital rights is ever more complex. In fact, very few corporate names can say it all. Sarah Bellamy, the senior partner who leads Lippincott's naming group, explains:

Q. Why change a company's name?
A. There are plenty of good reasons. A strategically focused name can support the company's vision, convey something new, and help tell a powerful, brand-aligned story. It can have an impact on external audiences, and galvanize employees. Sometimes, as in the case of a spin-off, merger, or a PR problem, it may be a necessity, whereas changing a name solely for strategic communications reasons is more of a judgment call. But name changes have risks, and require commitment. It can take anywhere from three to five years of time, resources, and discipline to build a strong new brand name in the marketplace.

Q. What is the most difficult part?
A. Getting everyone to understand that finding a good name, anchored in clear criteria and that meets strategic objectives, requires funneling through hundreds and hundreds of name ideas. You can't fall in love with one name too early in the game. We'll start by creating something like 500 options, which may include invented words, historical names, words from other languages or characteristics of the brand. For the names that seem to be the strongest choices, we'll do preliminary trademark screening, and that process alone can eliminate about 60 percent of the choices. After presenting the options we will narrow down further and conduct URL and social media profile searches, linguistic screening and much more extensive legal research, including on occasion how we might negotiate rights to names that are already owned. In fact, the likelihood that any name is totally clear globally is extremely low.

Q. Is testing part of the process?
A. With the client's executive team we usually narrow down to five or six preferred options, and yes, testing can be part of the final selection. But that's tricky—we can almost always predict that people will chose the name or word part that sounds most familiar. In my experience, companies that rely too heavily on testing usually wind up picking the least offensive possibility, which isn't always the best one, and there can be a risk of leaking names.

Q. How important is the new name?
A. Of course, it is very important. But it's also true that a name is something of an empty vessel. It's the meaning that companies inject into that name over time that makes it powerful. There are so many ways to build a brand, and the name is just one part of the way a company tells its story and shapes the customer experience.

Q. What if people really hate the new name?
A. Some will. There can be a knee-jerk reaction against it, as there is with any major change, and it can vary by audience. When it comes to Wall Street, for example, it doesn't matter much; analysts and investors are used to name changes. Customers are also pretty adaptable to change when it is messaged appropriately. Internal audiences, the employee base, are probably the most sensitive. But people usually come around pretty quickly and embrace the name. It's definitely true to say that people's reactions to names evolve as they sit with them and consider the possibilities.

Q. What are some of your favorites?
A. One client, formerly called NetShops, is an Internet retailer that includes many vertical specialty stores, and is known for its ability to find anything. We created a unique word to reflect that: Hayneedle. When Hyatt was creating a chain of boutique hotels around the world, we came up with the name Andaz. It's a Hindi word that means personal style, which is the underlying concept of the new brand and evokes the sophisticated, international nature of the offering and guests. And as AIG needed to re-brand its commercial insurance business, we helped it find Chartis, which is the Greek word for map and speaks to their global coverage and ability to help clients navigate risk.