STRONGBRANDS    Professor Tim Calkins, Kellogg School of Management

Yesterday while reading the Wall Street Journal online, I was asked a rather significant question:

Am I a good father?

That got me thinking. I aspire to be a good father to my three children. I try to be a good example. I help with homework, praise and encourage each kid, and help put food on the table. But then I work a lot, so I’m not home all the time. Sometimes I lose my patience when Charlie and Anna spend an entire day squabbling. I coached Anna’s soccer team last year, but I’m not sure that I did a very good job of it because I really don’t know much about soccer.

So I don’t know. I clicked on the question, which of course took me to a website for UBS, the Swiss banking giant. Apparently, the company can provide wealth management advice.

But I’m still stuck on the good father thing. Do I push the kids too much?  Not enough? Should we hire a college counselor?

I would need a therapist to answer these questions.. Do they have those at UBS?

UBS raises a number of provocative questions in its new marketing campaign.

– Am I a good father?

– Will I be missed when I step back?

– Is my business growing fast enough?

– Can I truly make a difference?

The firm deserves credit for doing its homework;  they clearly talked with clients and potential clients and uncovered deep insights. I suspect these really are some of the issues successful people struggle with.

The problem is that UBS doesn’t answer the questions in a credible way. Is UBS really going to help me work through my questions about being a good father? Will they help me understand whether or not I will be missed? No.

UBS demonstrates why great marketing is so hard. The team identified important insights, but they then used them in a clumsy manner. They are telling people, “We know you are worried about being a good father. Admit it. So let us invest your money.” It doesn’t really work.

Understanding an insight isn’t enough for successful marketing. You then have to use the insight in a savvy way to build your brand.

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The next session of Kellogg on Branding is October 11 to 16 in Chicago. It should be a great week. If you want to learn more about building great brands, don’t miss it. Click here to learn more.

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