The Journey to Develop a Master Brand
May 26th, 2011Last week the Business Marketers Association (BMA) – Houston Chapter luncheon treated members and non-members to “7+1+6=1 Strategic Market Plans and the Power of One Master Brand” featuring Robin Swanger, Director – Global Branding and Communications from Baker Hughes. Swanger spoke about the oil and gas industry giant’s journey to develop a master brand. To this end, Gelb Consulting helped the corporation evaluate Baker Hughes’ overall brand equity and that of its different divisions to conclude that the master brand, Baker Hughes, is indeed the strongest.
Key Items Needed to get united under one name:
- Have ONE single goal. A company needs revenue, customers and something to sell. Baker Hughes took all these components under one umbrella with a single focus: “Increasing market share with a long-term profitable growth”
- Have ONE strategic marketing plan to achieve their goal: Consolidating different brands and divisions under one brand is a tough process but may be successfully managed by developing a strategic marketing plan that aligns and speaks to the organization as a whole.
- Inspired by the “Wizard of Oz,” Baker Hughes identified 3 things needed to implement their strategic marketing plan and to get through “The Branding Process” (aka Oz)
- Brain: Brand Research, Brand Strategy and Product Branding i.e., data to support the direction and strategy.
- Heart: Since people tend to love their brands and every brand has its own culture, it is a challenging and emotional process to cut ties with those brands and adhere to one master brand; although, it will lead everyone to a better place.
- Courage: Courage is required to manage unexpected issues that come along the way including avoidance, resistance, criticism and gossip.
In the end, what did Baker Hughes learn from this journey? “There is no man behind the curtain,” Robin explained. There are no easy answers, and the journey to develop and build a solid master brand never ends.
Baker Hughes no longer finds itself in a tornado as in 2009 when they faced the daunting task of trying to develop a strategic marketing plan for a corporation with multiple brands. Now that they have united under one brand, it’s a consistent work in progress. Echoing Dorothy’s words, Robin concluded “There is no place like home.”
OTC:Audience shows us where we are going
May 2nd, 2011This week, Houston will experience its biggest annual influx of visitors, with over 75,000 people expected to attend the 2011 Offshore Technology Conference. OTC starts today, and attendance and spending are always good gauges of the health of the industry. This week is set to be a record-breaker. Three days of dazzling displays of the latest technology from companies vying for a share of operators’ wallets; then a half day where students can take a free look around the industry’s premier shop window.
Last year’s show (and OTC really is all about the show, not the tech papers) was something of an anomaly. We had a buoyant market, for sure, but in the immediate aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy the atmosphere was somewhat muted. The Macondo well was spewing thousands of barrels a day into the Gulf of Mexico with no end in sight, speculation was rife but nobody knew what the ramifications of the spill would be.
Now we know that the oilfield has changed forever. With multi-billion lawsuits in the works, risk analysis has taken on a whole new meaning. The industry may not like it, but tighter US regulation is here to stay. Operators will have to find ways to deal with that regulation if they want to fully restart their major deepwater drilling programs, or – crucially – if offshore lease sales are to fully resume.
All of this takes place against the backdrop of an industry that has never been busier, delivering a product for which demand growth seems unstoppable. Despite protestations about the price of gas at the pump in the US, consumer acceptance seems to be the norm. The mild panic that ensued in 2008 when the price hit $4 a gallon for the first time is notably absent. The difference now is a generally stronger economy pulling out of a recession instead of falling into one.
Lots to be done, then. But…who’s going to do the work?
10 years ago, a session at SPE/IADC discussed the Big Crew Change: average age of SPE membership was 53, average retirement age was 57. Nothing much happened, but at least we were talking about it. Five years ago, it finally seemed that the industry was addressing the issue. Thousands of new engineers were being hired (the big three service companies each hired over 20,000 people in 2005), and the Crew Change was apparently underway. But 2008 saw a double-crash, when oil demand dropped nearly as precipitously as retirement portfolio valuations.
Senior engineers who wanted to retire couldn’t afford it, and hung on. Junior engineers were let go almost as quickly as they had been hired a couple of years before. SPE average age continued to creep up. Now the position is reversed. The Dow Jones index has regained its pre-crash value, taking 401(k) valuations with it. Demand for oil continues to climb. With the anticipated growth, are we going to be able to attract the engineering talent that we need? How much damage did the “ramp-up and lay-off” of 2005-2009 do to the industry’s perception in the student body?
The answer may lie in the findings of a recent study by Schlumberger Business Consulting, predicting that the Oil & Gas industry can expect a net loss of 5000 experienced engineers in the next three years, the implications of which are project delays and increased risk. The standard response to mitigating that risk is through technology. The study finds that graduate supply can meet recruitment demand, but those grads will not be coming from the best American universities. Indeed, many won’t be coming from American universities at all. Increasingly, those recruits will be female – another area in which the US has a lot of catching up to do.
It will be interesting to take a stroll around OTC this coming Thursday. Those companies who will have spent the first three days of the show selling their wares hard to the buyers of today should be selling their companies just as hard to the engineers of tomorrow. The organizations that successfully make that sale will be the ones occupying the prime OTC spots in 10 years time.
Merger Success Begins with a “Wedding Planner”
April 28th, 2011With the recent uptick in oilfield mergers and acquisitions, many organizational and marketing issues have surfaced. There’s so much excitement around the “wedding” – finances, working the deal, anticipating all of the great things that will come from the union. Merging organizations need to harness this excitement and ensure there’s a long-term game plan.
The wedding itself doesn’t result in all of the great things you were expecting. Things change including finances (who pays for what), responsibilities (who makes decisions), and where you live (or how you serve the customer).
- How will the teams get along (especially with kids from other marriages)? Examining existing practices in each organizational culture is imperative as a starting point. Is there true alignment around priorities (e.g., sports, scholastics, TV time)? Analogous to business, the strategic priorities of the organizations will shift if each wants to benefit from the promise of cross selling, pull through and other benefits of a union.
- What will we be called? In marriages, it’s a common practice for the wife to take the name of the husband (we will call this the monolithic brand). But, the name could be hyphenated (co-branded), endorsed (part of this union, but retain my name) or even stand alone (until you get to know me do you really know I’m “married”). Our experience indicates that these discussions should be held BEFORE the merger to ease heartburn later and avoid uncomfortable conversations.
- How will we make decisions? Each union has it’s own set of rules, but the most successful are those that have an objective, pre-defined process.
- How do we get to know each other? It goes without saying that communication is key, but identify and commit to the methods of communication. Will email do it? Definitely not. And, while town hall meetings create lots of excitement, there’s a need to establish upward channels of communication and frequent updates through other modes. For the oilfield, this is particularly important in establishing a common sales process and providing customer-facing employees with sufficient information about the other’s technical services and strengths.
A “wedding planner” or outside third party will help organizations outline these necessary steps and provide the counseling needed to make the event a success.
Seismic Shift: Are Geologists at the forefront of the Big Crew Change?
April 14th, 2011Walking the aisles of the exhibition hall at this week’s American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Annual Convention in Houston, I was struck by a couple of things about the attendees: considering the buoyant state of the industry, attendance in the hall seemed fairly light, and second: for a geologists’ show, not very many of them were actually geologists.
It would be nice to think that the geologists were all busy at their jobs, or perhaps upstairs in the technical sessions – judging by the growth in crowd when the late afternoon social began, that may well have been the case.
Those who had attended the tech sessions would have been able to find some geologically-focused presentations (four of 11 tracks by my reckoning). Those in the exhibit hall found that for the majority of the show – and at all of the big booths on the floor – the talk was of geophysics, the focus was software, and the demos were all showing 3D manipulation of seismic volumes – preferably combining drilling data to update the earth model in real-time.
OK, so this is hardly news. Relentless growth in computing power has brought us to the point where it is feasible to bring drilling engineers and reservoir engineers together in a software environment in which they both feel comfortable. As an old drilling hand, it makes perfect sense to me for Operations and Asset Management become seamlessly linked by mathematics, process and engineering. But even I find myself asking whether there is any room left in between for the artful geologist?
One final observation about the attendees. The technological shift may be driving a demographic shift: as I remarked to another 40-something colleague: for a change, I didn’t feel like I was one of the youngsters. After a false start that was nipped in the bud by recession, could it be that the Big Crew Change is finally getting underway and that geologists are the first wave?
Best Practices from Successful B2B Launches
January 31st, 2011Understanding your target market is a critical stepping stone towards successfully meeting their needs. The Energy Marketing seminar hosted by AMA Houston on January 21st, reinforced this and other pertinent lessons about launching a new product or service. Here’s a selection of thoughts from the discussion I found interesting:
• Seek out the “nay sayers” – not with bat in hand but rather with open ears and mind. Unlike passionate advocates of a new technology or initiative, nay sayers often better illuminate the road blocks ahead. Identifying their concerns and barriers to adoption early on in the development cycle can vastly improve your launch offering and rollout strategy. Engaging nay sayers also affords an opportunity to change their point of view. Bill Tipton from Weir Oil & Gas punctuated this point when sharing a recent case study of a hydraulic fracturing pump. Canvassing a variety of customers in this instance resulted in sharply focusing the team’s efforts on critical success factors such as product durability and safety.
• Identify the true approvers – distinguishing between evaluators and the true approvers can sometimes feel like peeling the layers of an onion. Tom Sawyer from Greene’s Energy Group touched upon this lesson learned when recounting his experiences entering the Brazilian energy market. Tom highlighted the fact that new technology introduction can take a long time and shared an example where his group felt they eventually had sold a Brazilian client on a new technology, only to discover that as a subcontractor to Petrobras, their buyer needed Petrobras’ CENEPES research center to first approve the technology.
• Experiment on willing parties – test runs should be a non-negotiable element of your launch plans. Kym Butler from Cameron discussed how multiple dry runs with company executives, employees, and even past employees, helped iron out the kinks for the launch of Cameron’s new Process Systems Technology Center in Houston. From ensuring functioning equipment to developing a consistent story line, practice makes perfect while premature launch carries grave risks. Bill Tipton further reinforced this lesson when discussing the various forces in play driving and resisting the launch decision. He shared an example where Weir was able to “passively launch” and still meet engineering beta-testing requirements, but only after a clear risk mitigation plan was put in place.
• Be specific in your sales pitch – while marketing collateral can be general, new client introductions and sales pitches need to be targeted and specific to the individual. Tom Sawyer felt this was especially true when at trade shows and exhibitions in Brazil, with events there being more sales focused and lead generators than those in the US.
• Start simple – especially when launching in a new environment with different sensitivities.
• It ain’t over till it’s over – your launch plan doesn’t end with the release of marketing communications but when all links in the chain, for e.g., customer service representatives, have been trained on the new product or service.
To learn more about effective commercialization strategies, Click Here
Women and their roles in the Energy Industry: A Survey.
November 4th, 2010Last week, we joined over 600 women at the Women’s Global Leadership Conference in Energy and Technology here in Houston, Texas. The Houston Chronicle printed that this is “one of the largest energy conferences in the world dedicated to exploring women’s role in the male-dominated industry” Not only did female executives speak on topics titled “How do you stand out in a Male Dominated Industry” and “Having Presence: Being Heard in a Room Full of Men” but also on subjects related to energy and gas titled “Update on Shale and Natural Gas: A Global View” and “America’s Best Kept Secret: Natural Gas”
Just in time for this conference, Gulf Research, a joint venture of Gulf Publishing Company and Gelb Consulting Group, conducted a survey of female executives in the oil and gas industry to assess women’s leadership roles in the energy industry.
About the Survey
The data presented is intended to be directional in nature and not representative of all female executives in the energy industry. To date, 278 responses have been gathered. Individuals, however, are still encouraged to participate in the survey.
The data presented is intended to be directional in nature and not representative of all female executives in the energy industry.
About the Respondents
The majority of respondents, 55%, had over 11 years of experience in the industry. These insights, therefore, are from some of the industry’s most seasoned female executives.
Key Findings
Among the many attributes suggested as core qualities women must possess to succeed in the energy industry – five common themes emerged. These themes include communications and technical skills which provide a basis for any professional. Adaptability and resilience, representing those traits found that allow women to succeed into middle level positions. Among these two, resilience is something rather unique to women seeking advancement between balancing work/home priorities; but, more importantly, being persistent in seeking out opportunities to demonstrate value to her team and organization. Ultimately, most respondents suggest that confidence is the most important indicator of success. Those who “have a strong sense of self,” as one respondent indicated, tend to lead; and for women, this means “confidence with grace.”
These themes were evident to me when at the conference, Stacy Roll, Global Product Line Marketing Manager at FMC Technologies spoke during her session “Know how to adjust and adapt to your own style.” And since confidence is key, Lynne Liberato, Partner at Haynes and Boone LLP made a striking comment that it’s time for women to stand up for what they want. Liberato also said when communicating via email women tend to convey an “I think” message which diminishes the point of view, instead women should be assertive and communicate that “we should.” “In other words,” she said “Purge the I think.”
The reported benefits women find by having female supervisors tend to resolve around background. The background of the supervisor tends to put a female energy professional with someone “who likely understands by perspectives.”
Among the many recommendations from these female energy professionals, two emerged as critical for professional development: networking and mentoring. Indeed, our 2009 survey of this same audience found that mentoring was one of the most desired resources that women seek due to the low ratio of women to men in the oil and gas industry.
John McKeever, President of Gelb, who presented these results at the conference, encouraged attendees to make best use of this conference to find a mentor or protégé among the over 600 female energy professionals in attendance.
BP Woes Overlook Key Constituency: Employees
June 7th, 2010Recent coverage regarding BP’s brand and the proclaimed failure of “Beyond Petroleum” overlooks one key audience: BP employees. Not only is retention of franchisees important, but the upstream engineers are now faced with the daunting task of defending their employer with business partners, friends and other publics. There’s no doubt the story is simplified through the media, giving readers and viewers a tutorial in how deepwater drilling takes place. We all see the animations and real-time video on progress, but few outside the industry understand the relationships between the players and engineering difficulties. Has BP engaged it’s best advocates, employees (other than spokespeople) with a concise elevator pitch? It’s harder to argue with someone who’s part of your social network whom you respect.
Through extentive benchmarking with the American Productivity and Quality Center, we’ve found that there are some consistent issues to track. Used by other oil and gas industry companies, we’ve found that employee enthusiasm is founded in the organization’s ability to generate value, pride, and deliver an exceptional experience.
Some key metrics your organization can use to ensure employees are the advocates they should be:
- Recall of brand promise
- Ability to see the relationship between individual and organizational goals
- Familiarity with other business units
- See opportunities for advancement
- Are empowered to acheive personal and business goals
- Willingness to recommend employment to others
Organizations use insights like these to develop effective cascading messages between management and employees. What’s most important about the list above is their reflection on behaviors – it’s not enough to communicate through emails regarding crises like this – making sure that employees know what’s expected of them, and how they can help, is paramount for building any brand.
2010 Gulf Research Brand Studies Underway
June 2nd, 2010Marking almost 10 years of providing high quality brand equity measurement to oilfield product and service companies, the 2010 Gulf Research series is beginning production. Our syndicated products continue to be the standard for monitoring and improving brand performance. With the added functionality of our brand dashboard and advanced statistical analysis, companies can develop regional reports and understand what matters most in building their brands.
As we add new subscribers, our reports have grown as well this year include:
- Artificial Lift
- Coiled Tubing
- Drilling Fluids
- Production Systems
Other reports include:
- Corporate Brand Equity
- Completions
- Drill Bits
- Drilling Technologies
- Production Services
- Pumping Services
- Well Intervention
- Well Logging and Formation Evaluation
- Well Testing
For more information, please contact John McKeever, at jmckeever@gelbconsulting.com or 281-759-3600, x1022.
Make the Most of Your 15 Minutes
March 25th, 2010Schlumberger Acquisition of Smith Raises Brand Management Issues
February 23rd, 2010In what will likely be one of the largest corporate transactions in the oilfield, Schlumberger announced yesterday that it would acquire Smith International (see World Oil) in a stock deal valued at $10.6 billion (according to www.thestreet.com). While Wall Street was lukewarm about the premium paid for Smith, there are some brand management issues in play that will be better determinants regarding the long-term success of this venture:
Will Smith and M-I SWACO follow the heretofore monothlic brand strategy of Schlumberger? This strategy has served Schlumberger well in previous acquisitions. Schlumberger has effectively reinforced its position as an integrated solutions provider. Our Gulf Research studies consistently find that Schlumberger is the market leader in brand equity. The question is whether their Brand Trust would lift the profile and reputation of Smith (which is slighly below market averages in the product categories). On the other hand, M-I SWACO might not need as much of a brand power boost.
If Schlumberger’s brand promise is translated through Smith, how will Smith attain the same stature in innovation? The good news here is the lion’s share of Smith’s revenue (based on service lines) comes from M-I SWACO. M-I SWACO successfully rebranded in 2003 to establish itself as a solutions-driven company by bringing the drilling fluids and solids control portion of their business more tightly together. It seems logical for Schlumberger to bring the fluids company more closely into the fold, but Smith (outside of drill bits) remains in question.
How will employees be brought on board? Schlumberger has experience with acquisitions to leverage in this area, but few match the size and scope. There’s a clear benefit to the sales organization at Smith through Schlumberger’s strong international presence (most of Smith’s revenue is from North America). But the more fundamental issue will be the enthusiasm Smith and MI-SWACO employees will have with any brand realignment. For many, their enthusiasm has been tied to each of these legacy brands for decades.
How will the competition respond? There has been much industry discussion around the Baker Hughes operational realignment. The scope of service match-up for Schlumberger is much more aligned, but there have been no public announcements regarding any changes for the Baker Hughes brand strategy. For Halliburton, marketing executives have touted their “hybrid approach” to brand management, but this might tilt the scales depending on the final decisions made at Schlumberger.
How will customers respond? Our Gulf Research studies have shown that many operating companies are looking for integrated solutions, there are many who are not. It will be interesting to assess not only the favorability of this deal, but also the ability for Schlumberger to maintain its price premium position with a broader scope of services. Schlumberger is often regarded as marketing communications leaders and Smith could only benefit. The question is whether the brand positioning will be adept at translating customer trust from Smith to Schlumberger.
Read more about our approach to brand management at www.gelbconsulting.com.
See articles: Customer Loyalty in the Oilfield: Reputation , Customer Loyalty in the Oilfield: Experience and Customer Loyalty in the Oilfield: Familiarity.