{"id":1577,"date":"2011-09-26T13:33:34","date_gmt":"2011-09-26T19:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/WhiteHatCrew.com\/blog\/branding-secrets-of-a-japanese-baked-potato-truck\/"},"modified":"2016-01-21T10:34:00","modified_gmt":"2016-01-21T16:34:00","slug":"branding-secrets-of-a-japanese-baked-potato-truck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitehatcrew.com\/blog\/branding-secrets-of-a-japanese-baked-potato-truck\/","title":{"rendered":"Branding Secrets of a Japanese Baked Potato Truck"},"content":{"rendered":"

After my first year of college, I took two years off to live in Japan. During the winter, my friends and I would frequently hear the doleful sound of the baked potato trucks in the distance -- a continuous, monotone whistle.<\/p>\n

As the truck slowly came closer, we'd hear a voice singing \"ishii yaki imo, yaki imo\". (\"Yaki imo\" means \"baked potato\". \"Ishii\" was, I presume, the owner's last name.)<\/p>\n

I was never a big yaki imo<\/i> fan myself (I don't remember why), but at the first sound of the whistle, my friends would start drooling like Pavlov's dogs. A hot potato on a cold Japanese night promised flavor and warmth.<\/p>\n

What can we learn about marketing from those little one-man potato trucks?<\/p>\n

Branding From a Distance<\/h2>\n

At the first sound of the whistle, there was no question what the product was. It was a baked potato. It wasn't the laundry truck -- Ma Ma Go<\/i> had its own, happier music. We didn't yet know whose<\/b> potato truck it was, but one thing was certain: hot potatoes were coming.<\/p>\n

When your prospects are \"far away\" -- ie. they don't know your brand yet -- your brand should immediately identify you with your product category.<\/p>\n

If all the big players in your market have blue logos, use a blue logo...but give it a unique shape.<\/p>\n

If all the big players use shield-shaped logos, use a shield shape, but give it a unique color (and don't copy anyone's trademarked shield shape too<\/b> closely).<\/p>\n

If everybody else calls the product a \"whingdoodle\", don't call it a \"snarfblager\".<\/p>\n

At the first sight or sound of your branding, it should announce your product and set your prospects drooling. Anyone who's looking<\/b> for a product in your category will take notice.<\/p>\n

Branding Up-Close<\/h2>\n

Just as the truck's song could be heard as it got closer, announcing its particular brand baked potato, as customers get \"closer\" to you, there should be something distinctive in your branding to set you apart from your competitors.<\/p>\n

Focus<\/h2>\n

The baked potato truck sold just one thing: baked potatoes. No marionettes, cordless phones, or diapers. If they had sold those things, what would customers have associated that whistle sound with? There's no telling. Quite possibly, nothing at all.<\/p>\n

You'll often see large companies fail when trying to diversify there product lines. Why? Maybe the product isn't any good or they muff the marketing. There are a million possible reasons. But one thing's certain: if their brand means the old product to people, the new product just won't fit. Even if it sells, it often won't sell at the scale required to make it worth producing for a large company.<\/p>\n

If you want to diversity, create a different brand, appropriate to your new product. Sure, you might want to tie it to your established brand to borrow some credibility, but don't dilute your brand by cramming too much variety into it.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Place and Time<\/h2>\n

I'd imagine the potato truck drivers didn't sell hot potatoes all the time. During the summer, on warm days, and depending on the time of day, demand wouldn't be high enough to make it profitable.<\/p>\n

But on those cold nights in a smallish town, where other options weren't too plentiful, baked potatoes were good business.<\/p>\n

What did the potato sellers do the rest of the time? I have no idea. But whatever it was, you can bet it was matched to market conditions. And it wasn't branded with the baked potato whistle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After my first year of college, I took two years off to live in Japan. During the winter, my friends and I would frequently hear the doleful sound of the baked potato trucks in the distance -- a continuous, monotone whistle. As the truck slowly came closer, we'd hear a voice singing \"ishii yaki imo,...
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