Building Loyal Fans...

Q - What do Mike Ditka, John Elway and Jon Bon Jovi have in common?

A - They all have ownership in Arena Football League teams.

I mention this because Saturday at 3 pm, CT (on ESPN) Ditka's Chicago Rush is in the final game of the playoffs for ArenaBowl XXI. (Elway & Bon Jovi's teams are out of the running.)

My family is big Chicago Rush fans. I'm talking t-shirts-wearing, sign-carrying, noise-maker-toting, season-ticket-holding fans.

We have Rush hats, baseball cards (are they called baseball cards for football?), replica Arena Bowl rings, bandanas, clappers, thunder sticks, autographed posters -- the whole nine yards. And every item we have was given to us at a game - most by Rush corporate sponsors.

Just three years ago I couldn't tell you what Arena Football was. One factor that drew my attention to the team was Ditka's promotional campaign that touted "This Is My Team!" The team played 5 miles from my home for years before that. But it never caught my full attention until "Da Coach" began to push the team.

Then my uncle invited me to a Rush open house two years ago. PJ, Beth and I went to see what all the hoopla was about. And we were hooked.

I used to think there were two ways to build a brand: build it from scratch or buy one. Both are very expensive.

Now I see one more way: have another brand help you build your brand.

Ditka, Elway and Bon Jovi are all celebs -- and each a brand in his own right. By riding on the notoriety of the owners, each team has built a strong following and done a good job of filling arenas for a relatively unknown football league.

And the cost is lower than you may think.

Ditka, coach of the 1985 Chicago Bear Superbowl team, only owns a small percentage of the Rush team. I don't know the numbers, but my guess is he gets shares in the team in exchange for his endorsement. But even a 1% ownership is ownership. And everyone wins in this scenario: Ditka, the Rush, and the fans.

In fact, the AFL recently used a variation of this ownership technique. They sold shares in the AFL to ESPN. Now it's in ESPN's best interest to promote Arena Football. Creating ownership is a strong marketing tool.

How can you use endorsements or celebrity to build your brand? How can you put ownership to work for you -- without selling any shares in the business? What logo'd items can you give your customers to turn them into "fans" and remind them of your brand?

Now if you'll excuse me I need to finish a sign before Saturday's game. So what if I'm only listening to the game at home. I'm a fan!

- Phil Sasso

Marketing Mystery...

If you're ever in the San Jose, CA area, I suggest you take a tour of the Winchester Mystery House.

The 160-room mansion, built by Winchester Rifle heiress Sarah Winchester, is renowned for it's sheer size -- and lack of a master building plan. It was under construction continuously for 38 years from 1884 until Sarah's death in 1922. It has intricate inlaid parquet floors and Tiffany art glass windows as well as doors that open into nowhere, windows that look out onto brick walls and staircases that lead into the ceiling. I toured the house decades ago, yet I still remember it vividly.

Although an interesting oddity, it is also a visual reminder of what marketing without a master plan looks like.

Managers of the most valuable brands in the world know one thing: have a master plan and follow it consistently. They avoid being drawn off track by anything that doesn't line up with their master plan. Their messages all line-up with the brand's central message and purpose. They rarely jump ship in the middle of a program or campaign -- not because everything they do always works, but because they have a well thought out, long-term plan in place. And when they do suddenly change direction it usually has to do with unforeseen competitive maneuvers or to capitalize on external changes in the marketplace and not sheerly on impulse.

Do you have a master plan? Are your marketing messages consistent? Or is your brand a mystery to prospects?

For more about the Mystery House, go to: http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com.

- Phil Sasso

Brand Aware...

"Look there's another one the same color," Beth said. "Are more people driving the same van? Or is it just me?"

"There aren't really more of them," I replied. "You're just more aware of them. That's because we just got one."

"I never noticed another van this color before," said Beth. "But the more I see other ones, the more it feels like we chose the right one."

"Yeah," I replied a little snarkily. "After all, color is the most important reason to choose a vehicle."

Our new van reminded me of a psychological phenomenon called "Heighten Awareness." It's a sense of greater awareness to something, usually an object or word, because of multiple emotional exposure to it. The marketing angle on this is used in branding. Multiple exposures to a brand message over time will make you more likely to have a heightened awareness of that brand.

The point is the more often prospects see your brand name, the more likely they are to be predisposed to consider your brand when they make a buying decision, I oversimplify, but think about how you are subtly influenced by brand exposure. Actually, you might not be aware of it since the process is mostly subconscious!

Stay tuned for next week's tip about our new van: buyer's remorse...

- Phil Sasso