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Positioning Brands for Success™
Posts tagged Branding consultant
National Coney Island Grand Opens new Canton Location
10 years ago
Ellish Marketing Group (EMG) congratulates client National Coney Island (NCI) on the grand opening of their newest location in Canton, MI.
“We want to keep the brand relevant in today’s changing marketplace,” said Tom Giftos, president of NCI. “Besides the new menu, we are also featuring our new brand logo and store design. This is a complete brand refresh.”
Ellish Marketing Group is proud to have partnered with NCI on the strategic direction for the brand refresh for this iconic Detroit restaurant brand. EMG provided the brand positioning work for the restaurant concept, the branding design and new logo, and the menu optimization direction and consumer TURF research to identify the new focused and more limited menu.
EO of Louisiana and New Orleans Chamber Present… Warren Ellish
10 years ago
Reserve Your Table for EO Louisiana and the New Orleans Chamber’s Third Quarter Business Luncheon & Entrepreneur’s Expo on August 22nd!
Join Entrepreneur Organization of Louisiana and the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce on August 22nd for our third quarter business luncheon series.
Our keynote speaker F. Warren Ellish is President and CEO of Ellish Marketing Group and Senior Lecturer at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. Named “Marketing 100 – the superstars of US marketing” by Advertising Age, he will discuss The Three Critical Steps to Positioning Your Product or Service Into a World Class Brand. To read his full bio please click here. An Entrepreneur’s Expo will be held prior to the luncheon. Entrepreneurs from all sectors are encouraged to exhibit their products or services! The Expo is free and open to the public.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
9:30 am – 11:30 am: Entrepreneur’s Expo
11:00 am: Luncheon Registration opens
12:00 noon – 1:00 pm: Program & Lunch
Hilton New Orleans Riverside
Versailles Ballroom, 3rd Floor
2 Poydras Street at The Mississippi River
New Orleans, LA 70130
6 Tips to Make Your Business Sizzle: Bar IQ
10 years ago
By: Alissa Ponchione
For owners to be successful, they first and foremost have to differentiate their business from the bars and nightclubs down the street. Warren Ellish, president and CEO of Denver-based Ellish Marketing Group, explains that once this is achieved, then an owner can propel that into sustained interest from loyal customers.
It’s the people, the staff, the products and services, and food and drinks that can set a great business apart from a mediocre one. “You need to do all of those things really well, but that just gets you in the business,” he says. One, two or three of those things need to make people remember you. “It could be the place, the people, the product or service, but they have to be at extremely good levels to begin with.”
Ellish told Bar IQ six more tips on how to make a business sizzle and stay on top.
1. Know Who You Are. To establish what kind of business you want to be, you need to give potential customers an idea of “what’s behind those four walls,” Ellish explains. “Who’s the target market for your brand? It’s not a demographic as much as it’s an emotional mindset. What do they need or want?” For those people, it’s about what makes your business different from other establishments, he says. People won’t come because of good food, drinks and affordable prices alone. “If owners don’t have an idea about what makes their place unique and different … then there’s no real reason [for a guest] to become loyal to your place,” he says.
2. Control Your Message. What can you do to really make your establishment stand out? Ellish says it starts with gaining some perspective and figuring out what you can do as a business owner that other people aren’t doing. Once you find what makes you different, “tell people about it when they come in,” he says. “They’ll notice it and talk about it and come back.” If you properly define your brand, then people will begin to refer to your brand in that way. “What people say about the brand you can control,” he says.
3. Promotions Work. Promotions are very important, Ellish says. “It’s a means to get people in and try your place,” but also if people come in and like the promotion, they’ll know that you deliver on what you’re trying sell. “Promotions have a strong return on investment. Ellish also advises not to use discounts, because that doesn’t build repeat customers. Use incentives versus just discounting, he says.
4. Be Innovative. Ellish says it can be as simple as focusing on the ice you use with drinks. “People are using different types of ice that allows the mixology to stand out,” he says. Ice coupled with a good recipe and glassware will make a bar or club stand out. “It’s not just the beverage the glass. I can get the same cocktail or Martini or glass of wine in hundreds of places. What is it that’s making your wine, Martini or cocktail different?”
5. Think Outside The Box. Ellish says not to feel confined by traditional methods of marketing, but advises to use a combination of things. “Suburban locations do different things than urban locations.” However, the main objective is being able to communicate to guests and know what they expect. “Whether you’re using social media or flyers, it’s important to tell that story,” he says. “It’s best to tell it visually. Show people what they can expect or what it’s going to be like with a few words.”
6. Cater To Women. Ellish says one thing he always finds interesting is that bars and nightclubs market to the male audience in hopes that females will follow. “Most don’t cater to what women want. They’re focusing on the needs and wants of the male audience over the female audience.” If your bar is filled with women the men will follow.
Buffets, Inc. Names Philip Friedman And Warren Ellish To Board Of Directors With Focus On Brand Turnaround
11 years ago
EAGAN, Minn., Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Buffets, Inc. has appointed seasoned restaurant executive Philip Friedman and highly accomplished marketing executive F. Warren Ellish to its Board of Directors, thereby completing the new seven-member board of directors formed after the company emerged from bankruptcy. Both executives possess over 30 years of restaurant industry experience and each has held leadership positions at growth and turnaround brands in the restaurant and hospitality industries. The appointments are effective immediately.
“These are true leaders with proven track records of success,” said Rob Webster, Chairman of the Board of Buffets, Inc. “Both Warren and Phil have the practical knowledge of what it takes to turn around and grow a brand, and they understand the need for strong corporate governance. We are pleased to add them to our board of directors, and are excited for the future of our organization with their support and expertise.”
Philip Friedman
Philip Friedman currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina, an 85-location casual Mexican restaurant chain he acquired in 2011, and as President of P. Friedman & Associates, Inc., a strategic planning and management consulting company he founded in 1986. Friedman previously served as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of McAlister’s Corporation, a quick casual concept he acquired along with a group of investors in 1999. During his tenure, McAlister’s grew from 27 to 300 restaurants in 22 states. In 2005, Friedman led the successful sale of McAlister’s Corporation to Roark Capital Group.
Friedman was awarded Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2009 Golden Chain Award honoree for his success with McAlister’s and The International Foodservice Manufacturers’ Association’s Silver Plate award for his enduring and outstanding achievements in the Chain Restaurant Full Service category. He was also honored by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) as a Cornerstone Humanitarianfor leading McAlister’s in outstanding community involvement. He received an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, as well as a MA in Political Science and a BA in History from the University of Connecticut. Friedman serves on the Board of Directors for Diversified Restaurants, Boudin Bakeries & Restaurants and Silver Diner Corporation as well as on the boards of the National and Mississippi Restaurant Associations.
“Phil will help us deliver on our brand vision of offering real food and real choices, while creating real connections with our guests,” said Anthony Wedo, Buffets, Inc. Chief Executive Officer.
F. Warren Ellish
F. Warren Ellish is a senior marketing executive with extensive experience in consumer products, restaurants and retailing. Ellish has been responsible for successfully positioning hundreds of well-known brands and has a track record of delivering outsized returns in competitive industries. In 1995, Ellish founded his own marketing consulting company, Ellish Marketing Group LLC, and for the past 17 years has been advising the senior leadership of numerous leading brands and companies from a strategic marketing perspective. Prior to forming Ellish Marketing Group, he served as a founding partner and Vice President of Marketing for Boston Chicken, Inc. (Boston Market), where he helped create a new brand in the “home meal replacement” retail category. Ellish also served as Vice President of Marketing and an executive committee member for Red Lobster Restaurants (Darden), Vice President of Marketing for Luzianne Blue Plate Foods, and other senior marketing positions with Burger King Corporation, Johnson & Johnson and PepsiCo. Ellish was also named to Advertising Age’s “Marketing 100 – The Superstars of US Marketing.”
Ellish received both his BS and MBA from Cornell University, where he currently serves as a member of the marketing faculty at the SC Johnson Graduate School of Management.
“I have known Warren for 20 years and have seen his track record of repeated successes first hand,” Wedo said. “He has helped launch start ups and driven brand turnarounds. I know that his breadth of experience will be extremely helpful as we move this brand forward.”
Friedman and Ellish will serve alongside current 2012 Buffets, Inc. Board Members: Chairman Rob Webster, CEO Anthony Wedo, David Merritt, Todd Brown and Santino Blumetti.
About Buffets, Inc.
Buffets, Inc., the nation’s largest steak-buffet restaurant company, currently operates 347 restaurants in 35 states, comprised of 337 steak-buffet restaurants and 10 Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steakhouse restaurants. The restaurants are principally operated under the Old Country Buffet®, HomeTown® Buffet, Ryan’s® and Fire® Mountain brands. Buffets employs approximately 18,000 team members and serves approximately 100 million customers annually. For more information about Buffets, Inc., visit online at www.Buffet.com.
Don’t Let A Point Of Similarity Become Your Point Of Difference
11 years ago
Successfully identifying and securing a powerful brand positioning is of critical importance to every brand. It is helpful to anyone who wants to influence other people. Whether you are promoting a product, a service, a cause, a candidate, an organization, an institution or even yourself and your own career. Positioning will aid in getting your desired message across to the people you want to reach and make an impression that lasts.
One of the critical steps in developing a powerful brand positioning is to identify your brands point of difference – – the specific consumer benefit which you want consumers to associate most readily with your product or service. What does your brand do that no one else’s brand does as well and that your target cares about?
When defining your brands point of difference, don’t let a point of similarity become your point of difference. So often I see this.
When speaking recently to industry audiences on branding and brand positioning (National Restaurant Association Show, International Franchise Association National Convention and Entrepreneurs’ Organization Global Leadership Conference) or to the executive teams of clients, I ask three short questions: How many of your grew up wanting to be average? Or just like everyone else? Or of good quality? Rarely do I see any hands or much of a positive response. However, many brand leaders are perfectly OK about making their brands just like this – – average, just like everyone else and good.
Many of the items that are an integral part of your product/service but are not preemptive, ownable and defendable become points of entry into your competitive set and are nothing more than points of similarity. Yes, they are all important to your product or service and in many cases you must deliver on these flawlessly just to be in business. But this is not what sets you apart, not a reason a customer should or will choose to use your brand over competitor brands, and most definitely this is not a reason for them to ever become a brand advocate.
For more information on how to quickly and affordably position and brand your business to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace, visit www.ellishmarketing.com, or reach Warren directly at 303-762-0360 or moc.gnitekramhsillenull@hsille.nerraw.