{"id":1504,"date":"2010-05-03T22:18:05","date_gmt":"2010-05-04T03:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/magazines\/vanderbilt-business\/?p=1504"},"modified":"2015-07-07T20:19:02","modified_gmt":"2015-07-07T20:19:02","slug":"bluegrass-brands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/bluegrass-brands\/","title":{"rendered":"Bluegrass Brands"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"brandweeklouisville\"Would you rather be drinking bourbon? And when you think of bourbon, does Kentucky come to mind? The Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau hopes the answer to both of these questions is a resounding yes. But in case that association between bourbon whiskey and its hometown of Louisville, Ky., is not so immediate, the bureau aims to convince you with its branding effort, called Bourbon Country. The idea is to position the city in the hearts and minds of travelers and tourists the world over as the destination for food, fun and, of course, bourbon whiskey.<\/p>\n

Brands are absolutely everywhere, populating the spaces all around us, even sometimes permeating our very being. From Apple to Samsung, Amazon to Yahoo, Titleist to TaylorMade, even Obama to Palin, brands are the bundle of constructs and promises that consumers expect to receive from a product or service. In Bourbon Country that happens to be a barrelful of smooth, mellow promises.<\/p>\n

Branding is the fascinating art and science of creating and shaping associations and perceptions. When executed properly, it\u2019s an incredibly powerful tool, and artfully wielding that tool is de rigueur for the new generation of marketers emerging from the Owen School.<\/p>\n

Enter \u201cBrandWeek Louisville 2009,\u201d a weeklong immersion program held last October to provide Owen marketing and brand management students with rare access to three of America\u2019s largest and most successful companies\u2014Brown-Forman, General Electric and Humana Inc. Orchestrated by Owen\u2019s Executive Director of Marketing and Communications Yvonne Martin-Kidd, along with Marketing Operations Manager Ann Davis and John Hamilton, Associate Director of the Career Management Center, BrandWeek offered us a practitioner\u2019s perspective on the challenges facing marketers in three very different industries.<\/p>\n

The adventure began in a very familiar setting: a classroom at Owen. Our facilitator for the week was Jack Kennard, Principal of WhiteOaks Consulting and former Senior Vice President of Global Marketing Services at Brown-Forman. He provided a thorough overview of Brown-Forman\u2019s history and global growth, including the rise of its flagship brand, Jack Daniel\u2019s Tennessee Whiskey. Kennard spent the better part of his 27 years at Brown-Forman growing Jack Daniel\u2019s into one of the most recognized brands in the world. His unique insights into the spirits industry gave us a better understanding of what it takes to gain traction and maintain relevance in today\u2019s crowded marketing landscape.<\/p>\n

\n

Branding is the fascinating art and science of creating and shaping associations and perceptions. When executed properly, it\u2019s an incredibly powerful tool.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

The next day we left Nashville and headed north on Interstate 65 to Brown-Forman\u2019s headquarters, where we were treated to lunch in the posh Bourbon Street Caf\u00e9. (Perhaps you\u2019re noticing a theme here?) Following a delicious meal, Chief Operating Officer Mark McCallum led a discussion about the company\u2019s global branding efforts and the intricacies of managing the growth of their more than 30 wine and spirits brands, which include the aforementioned Jack Daniel\u2019s, as well as Chambord Liqueur, Finlandia Vodka, Herradura Tequila and Sonoma-Cutrer Wine. This session afforded Owen students the opportunity to interact with an impressive group of marketing and human resources executives. They answered even our toughest questions with aplomb, leaving us with little doubt as to why Brown-Forman remains an industry leader after more than 139 years in business.<\/p>\n

Our branding discussion gave way to a tour of the Brown-Forman design center, led by Eric Donninger, VP, Global Brand Director of Design, and then into a discussion about corporate social responsibility, a topic of particular concern for one of the world\u2019s largest wine and spirits producers. Later that evening we broke into smaller groups and enjoyed some of Brown-Forman\u2019s fine products with the brand managers themselves, talking shop over hors d\u2019oeuvres and cocktails at some of Louisville\u2019s hot spots.<\/p>\n

Even our accommodations at the 21C Museum Hotel in downtown Louisville were an exercise in brand excellence. Recently named by Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveler<\/em> magazine as the highest-ranking American property on its 2010 Gold List of the world\u2019s best places to stay, the 21C is nothing if not unique\u2014part boutique hotel and part contemporary art museum. It\u2019s definitely the place to stay and play in Louisville.<\/p>\n

\"BellingerBrian\"
Brian Bellinger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next morning began with a coach ride to General Electric\u2019s Monogram Experience Center, where the staff of in-house chefs prepared a wonderful spread of breakfast foods, all produced in the center\u2019s demonstration kitchen. The Monogram Experience Center is a veritable kitchen stadium, albeit one designed for product demonstrations rather than Iron Chef<\/em> competitions. The center plays host to GE\u2019s training efforts to educate appliance sales professionals about the features, benefits and proper use of the company\u2019s professional-grade Monogram kitchen appliances.<\/p>\n

A team of marketers and engineers from GE\u2019s Consumer and Industrial division then joined our group for a discussion centered on the marketing of innovative products. Specifically we talked about the challenges that accompany the introduction of an entirely new, and rather exciting, product in a category most consumers take for granted every day: water heaters. That\u2019s right, I mentioned \u201cexciting\u201d and \u201cwater heaters\u201d in the same sentence because the new product in question is GE\u2019s industry-exclusive hybrid electric water heater. (Now you can have two hybrids in your garage!) The hybrid provides the same hot water to which we have grown so accustomed, but it uses a pump to draw heat from the ambient air and transfers it into the water. It, therefore, requires only about half the energy of a traditional water heater. Sounds like a win-win, right? So where\u2019s the challenge? Although it\u2019s certainly cleaner and greener than its competitors, the hybrid is a costlier alternative that requires a certain level of awareness and understanding\u2014no small feat in a product category that hasn\u2019t changed much in several decades. However, given the qualifications and experience of GE\u2019s team, we were left convinced that hybrids are the future\u2014at least for water heaters.<\/p>\n

The next stop was the towering, marble-lined headquarters of Humana in downtown Louisville. Founded in 1961, Humana has grown to become one of the nation\u2019s largest publicly traded health-benefits companies. Walking through the expansive halls from the cafeteria to the conference room, I couldn\u2019t help but notice that pedometers nearly outnumbered BlackBerrys\u2014a reassuring sign that Humana\u2019s employees do indeed take their business seriously on a number of levels.<\/p>\n

And as you might expect from a company in the business of health and well-being, Humana\u2019s corporate cafeteria has a decidedly healthy-eating theme to it. But that\u2019s not to say that pizza, burgers and fries are nowhere to be found. Instead, the cafeteria employs a pricing scheme to encourage healthier eating decisions, whereby, for instance, balsamic grilled salmon with steamed veggies and brown rice is actually priced lower than the aforementioned burger and fries combo. I found the application of the carrot-versus-stick paradigm to be fitting in the cafeteria context; schools, universities and other corporations would do well to emulate Humana\u2019s system.<\/p>\n

Humana\u2019s Corporate Manager for Consumer Marketing William Hambleton facilitated the afternoon\u2019s discussion, which featured presentations on no fewer than 10 different areas of the company\u2019s marketing and branding efforts. It was a fascinating afternoon which explored nearly every possible facet of the marketing function, from messaging, social media and sponsorships, to B2B engagement, market research and sustainability. What I found most interesting, however, was Humana\u2019s brand architecture plan for developing and sustaining their health care brand. The company faces the challenging task of aligning around two dozen differently branded initiatives\u2014some grown from within and others acquired\u2014with the Humana superbrand.<\/p>\n

Before heading home to Nashville, we made one last stop at The Green Building in NuLu, Louisville\u2019s arts district. Slated to become the first commercial building in Louisville to attain the U.S. Green Building Council\u2019s LEED Platinum certification, The Green Building hosted our group for a presentation on the branding of Louisville by Brett Jeffreys of Red7e, the firm responsible for implementing the Bourbon Country initiative. Later that morning a panel presentation on the art of client\/agency relationships rounded out the week. Facilitated by Martin-Kidd, the panel featured Ann Stickler, Vice President and Group Director for Developing Brands at Brown-Forman; Paul Klein, General Manager of Brand and Advertising at GE; and Toni Clem, President of Louisville-based advertising and marketing firm Creative Alliance.<\/p>\n

On the ride home, and in the intervening months, I\u2019ve reflected quite frequently on my experiences from BrandWeek. I\u2019ve set new goals and pushed myself to look at my coursework in different ways, always seeking a new angle of approach. BrandWeek served to reinforce the vital importance and value of creating meaningful\u2014even profound\u2014brand associations with consumers. The three companies we visited in Louisville offered excellent examples of how to build and maintain powerful brands while dealing with the unique challenges of their specific industries and customer targets.<\/p>\n

So remember, the next time you find yourself with a lesser beverage in hand, you could be drinking bourbon. And when you think bourbon, think Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Brian Bellinger is an MBA candidate for 2011.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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