Interview with a Brand Planner: Liz Goodgold, The Nuancing Group

Liz Goodgold. founder of The Nuancing Group in San Diego, revels in narrowly defined markets. She believes that great creative is never unanimous: if you have 100% agreement, you can count on it being 100% mediocre. Her Duh! Marketing Awards highlight those major missteps.

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

LG: I kicked off my career when I was 17 years old working full-time as a lobbyist in Washington for the oil and gas industry. Once I finally determined how to pull the heartstrings of politicians, I knew that I could succeed at branding! 

I truly started to analyze purchase decisions from my work at Macmillan Publishing Co. and Times Mirror Corporation. Both positions required that I understand the buyer’s mindset--how and why customers buy is the secret to all great messaging.

By the time I was in brand management at Quaker Oats, I recognized the essence of branding--determining how to stand out from the sea of similarity.

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

LG: The biggest issue is clutter and the emergence of new media.  In the 1960s, for example, it was possible to reach 80% of women with one national commercial. Today, with one commercial, advertisers are hopeful to reach 10%. Clearly, a sea change has shifted the dynamics of marketing. To stand out today, marketers need to go on the attack deploying a myriad of marketing techniques to earn mindshare that translates into market share.

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

LG: Perhaps my firm is structured so informally that this is not an issue. We believe that nobody has a monopoly on great ideas. All members working on an assignment are empowered to and have the responsibility of thinking creatively.

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

LG: The secret is to always view the brand from the customer’s point of view. It doesn’t matter if the company claims its point of difference; it’s essential that the customer recognize it. In fact, we believe great branding comes from true listening and watching customers--learning what they value and why. Marketing messages must be relevant, appropriate, compelling and differentiated.

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

LG: I revel in narrowly defined markets; the smaller the target, the larger the number of commonalities exists.  It’s easiest to create compelling messages when you completely understand your target from behavior to attitudes to buying behavior. Most companies wish they had smaller, narrowly defined targets.

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

LG: The morning is ideal; the earlier the better! We call 2 pm the bewitching hour because of the spell cast upon our creative brains.

I’m fortunate, however, to speak to thousands of marketers, entrepreneurs, and business executives every year because of my professional speaking.  Throughout our exchanges, I keep abreast of new ideas, what works, what doesn’t, and what are the pitfalls to avoid. And, don’t forget: the Duh! Marketing Awards and forthcoming book continue to keep me laughing about all of the major missteps big companies make.

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

LG: One of the founders of the House of Chanel once said, “Creativity is not a democratic process.” I heartily agree. Great creative is never unanimous. In fact, if you have 100% agreement, you can count on it being 100% mediocre.

Bold ideas have been killed so often that we started a Top 10 list of the responses clients will say to reject a breakthrough idea from “that’s not the way we’ve done it in the past” to “I think that’s pushing the envelope too far” to “I don’t think this is the time to shake up the industry.” If you are not shaking up the industry, you are trailing behind!

Creating great messaging is easy; getting your clients to implement it is hard!

The Nuancing Group has successfully repositioned companies, developed compelling taglines, created new brand names, and implemented new strategies at companies across the United States including Proflowers.com, Women First Health Care, e-toys.com and Fair Isaac. Founder Liz Goodgold is a contributing editor for Entrepreneur magazine and the author of Duh! Marketing: 99 Monstrous Mistakes You Can Use to Learn, Laugh, and Grow Your Business. She is credited as a finalist judge for Simon Cowell’s new ABC TV show entitled American Inventor.

If you're interested in participating in our Interview with a Brand Planner series, please email Marie Tupot, scenarioDNA's research director, and let her know.