Interview with a Brand Planner: Tim Ross, Kendall Ross

For Tim Ross, principal of Kendall Ross brand development + design in Seattle, WA, creative teams offer great raw ideas that lead to very good, solid strategies. He finds that if you test the brand with non-consumers you get some fairly interesting insights. And he believes meetings in his car would increase productivity.

SDNA: How long have you been in the business of brand planning? How did you come by this career path?

TR: About nine years. My career path was a natural evolution - from Account Management at an agency to something that brings me closer to and working more strategically with clients.

SDNA: What are the constraints and challenges of working in this area? What's different now as compared to five or ten years ago?

TR: I'll start with the last question first. Working in the area five years ago was less crowded and more fun. What I mean is that you had fewer rules and more open roads on which to write your plans. The challenges facing brand planners today are different in that the field has been somewhat leveled. Like any job function or category, there are rules that get established and people learn those rules rather than discovering them. There are fewer grand insights that lead companies to success. When companies found success five to 10 years ago if felt more like, "ah ha." When you see companies now you can see the planning and marketing and it feels less fresh, more contrived. It could also be that integration is paramount, where as five years ago it was a good concept to try.

SDNA: Describe your relationship with the creative team. How does it work? Was it always this way?

TR: In most cases they unlock solutions for me. I use them more than they know. In the beginning I thought of the creative team as a group that needed to meet my goals or those of the client. Now I think it is much more of me feeding off of them. In most cases the creative teams offer up really great raw ideas that lead to very good, solid strategies.

SDNA: How do you get your handle on the brand in question vs. how do you get a handle on the consumer being targeted? Which takes precedence?

TR: In some ways the brand can be more challenging. A lot of times the brand gets more complex due to the underpinnings of the company politics, personalities, brand teams, product teams, budgets and goals. The best way to get a handle on the brand is to experience it. Sounds trite, but it's true. I've found that if you test the brand with non-consumers you get some fairly interesting insights. Sometimes it makes you question why? If you understand the consumer being targeted, it's fairly easy to understand the brand and how it fits into their life. In some ways, we take understanding the consumer for granted and move directly to the brand. It's a short cut, and not always a good one. It's like riding a bike, you just get on and go, never really thinking about putting one foot on one pedal at a time. So, armed with a lot of consumer insight and knowledge, it's easy to focus on the brand. If you take the brand out of its context, you can more easily see where it falls short or excels.

SDNA: With multiplying custom markets on the rise how do you keep track of your consumers?

TR: One at a time. Find your key customers and track them. A bigger key is to buy into a certain type of research and follow that. Switching research in a complex market gives you mixed results that can contradict one another. For instance, buying a "suite" of research can sometimes be more valuable than piecing together three or four different authors. Find the author you like and follow that research.

SDNA: When do you do your best work? Where are you usually when the big idea comes to you?

TR: My best work is done early in the morning or in the car. The big ideas - in most cases - come to me in meetings with the creative staff. If I could hold meetings in my car we would be more productive.

SDNA: What is the biggest successful leap you've ever taken when it comes to a campaign?

TR: Convincing a client that their product was no different than the other 25 competitors they said they did not have. I really believe some clients think they have no competition - it's part of the corporate mix that makes companies successful. Ultimately, however, that shift in perception ended up pushing the campaign into a different position providing an element of differentiation. It was scary for them at first. But it did help them see why they needed to be speaking differently to prospects and customers.

SDNA: The most memorable point or poignant insight ever made by a client? Or agency?

TR: Client: "Your second option is crap." Taught the team that clients see when you are slacking or not doing the research. We new it was not up to our usual standards going into the meeting. Agency: Amazon is the Wal-Mart of the internet. We said it and know it's true. Still waiting for them to call…

SDNA: Will sex still sell? Why or why not?

TR: Yes, I hope so. Seriously, it will still work provided it's done with style and used appropriately. Flat out sex sells but only for a short time. It's like dating, you want to get to the goal but not too fast. Keep the intrigue going and the payoff will be better. If you go to the end first it's like buying porn, it's a commodity with nothing special.

SDNA: Biggest buzz kill ever slammed with when presenting an idea?

TR: The client got a call from his boss (Bill Gates) who said, "Scrap this. What we should be striving for is..." Rerouting 2 months of strategic planning in less than 10 words.

SDNA: Celebrity tie-ins. Hip or hype?

TR: Hip or hype is not the question. I believe it's more geared towards markets, timing and customer perceptions. Each market segment has high points and low points. Sometimes celebrity tie-ins at low points can be a waste of time. Basketball experienced that post Michael Jordan. Who really liked Shaq or Kobe. We all loved MJ. Having MJ missing was not the problem. The problem was the game had changed and the attitudes towards it had changed. MJ got out at the high point. The NBA brand needed rebuilding from the inside out to achieve new heights.

SDNA: Qualitative vs. Quantitative data?

TR: One is like a mistress to the other. Better in some things but ultimately more shallow in the end. You will pay if you throw caution to the wind and not listen to reason. But the mistress can be compelling…

SDNA: What best positions a brand for mobility? What brands do you think are perfectly poised for mobility at this moment? Why?

TR: Desire. It has a halo effect on audiences outside of the core audience and after time can entice them. The brand with the most desire, and not need, usually wins. It has to do a better job of constantly re-inventing itself but can become very successful. Right now there is this little brand called Hooters that when you think about it could do anything, i.e. Hooters Coffee shops, Hooters Pizza, Hooters Car Rental. It's perfect combination of desire and application. It does not matter the application it can move anyplace.

Kendall Ross brand development + design is based in Seattle. Some of the brands they've worked with include Fire Station 5, Bellevue Square, One Lincoln Tower, Washington Hills Winery  and Tully's Coffee

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