Deliver on Fans’ Expectations When fans attend a Rolling Stones or Eagles concert, they expect to hear a string of hits they can sing along with, performed with topnotch sound quality and delivered with high energy. Like these legendary bands, Kraft brands give customers what they expect. Kraft may not be gourmet food, but its fans don’t expect it to be. They do, however, expect reliability, top shelf quality, familiarity, and good value.

Firms must ask themselves, “Do our products really deliver the attributes consumers consider most important?” In a food company, those attributes might include taste, ease of preparation, consistency, reliability, and safety, all of which affect the overall perception of product quality. Distribution is the less observable attribute of great brands, just as road crews and staging may escape the attention of fans at a concert. But a focus on quality that customers expect has lead to a hit parade of number one brands at Kraft, including Philadelphia, the number one cream cheese in the world.

Evolve to Remain Relevant without Alienating Current Fans Many artists featured in this article are dedicated to innovation, often trying to incorporate the latest technology into their shows, musical sounds, and productions. Madonna sticks to her core brand, but innovates in terms of how she presents that brand to her fans. Neil Diamond, on the other hand, innovates by releasing new music but changing as little as possible, following more closely the adage, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” Kraft follows a combination of the two.

A brand, whether it is Elton John, Krispy Kreme, or JetBlue, is a product or a service with an identifiable set of benefits wrapped in a recognizable personality. It creates an image and an identity for a product, line of products, or a company, and makes a promise to others (customers, vendors, regulators, shareholders, and everyone else), telling them what they can expect and whether they can trust the product to fulfill those expectations. Successful brands start with a blueprint that describes the needed building blocks, where they are to be placed, and how they should fit together to create a profitable venture.

A brand strategy needs to consider both the functional and emotional elements of a brand, as seen in Figure 3.1. Functional elements may include the quality of the product or the service experience, for example. In the case of JetBlue, described later in this chapter, the BRAND Figure 3.1 Brand Functional and Emotional Elements FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS EMOTIONAL ELEMENTS functional attributes of the brand include all of the interactions customers have with the JetBlue experience, from ease of check in and comfort of the seats to price and safety. The emotional attributes, on the other hand, include the brand image, personality, and promise that help create a connection with customers. Some functional elements, such as the design of the Volkswagen Beetle, create emotional connections with consumers, while some emotional elements, such as the Pez candy dispenser, have functional qualities that attract customers.

The process of creating one unified identity that encompasses attributes in both of the categories comprises the architecture of a brand, and Elton John provides an amazing case study in this area.