For years, the majority of cash at quick service restaurants has gone “through the window.”  The growing car culture has dictated a focus on drive-thru efficiency to the point where the dining room has become an afterthought to operators and subsequently a barrier to customers.

The cost of updating and maintaining a dining room has seemed cost prohibitive to many QSR chains and their franchisees, especially in light of the high drive-thru ratio. But by not offering a unique, pleasant dining experience, they have let the brand image wither on the vine. And it’s now coming back to haunt them. I contend that the high drive-thru ratio is in large part due to customers avoiding the “ick” factor of enduring outdated, smelly, deteriorating environments with no sense of place or brand personality.

The dining room is the brand.
Most customers will, at some point, come inside and that is the greatest opportunity to make a connection. Panera and Starbucks understood this a long time ago and snagged loads of customers that wanted a clean and cozy place to enjoy the product. McDonalds and Burger King have seen the light and announced major remodeling and prototype initiatives that appear to be paying off.

So to my friends in the QSR and Fast Casual game: differentiated, branded and engaging experiences win with customers; there is only so much connection you can make at the pay window. So elevate your brand with every possible touchpoint including the most important and substantial asset you have—your dining room.

There wasn’t an Evolutionary War for a reason. In the pre-dawn of U.S. history, the new settlers wanted more than to just evolve the British rule, it had to be overthrown. A new start, a clean slate. Imagine the pressure that those founding fathers must have felt when deciding that enough was enough, let’s try something new. Today, many brands find themselves in the same place. The status quo isn’t working. It’s time to differentiate. But I wonder if the ideas of “revolution” and “evolution” aren’t being confused.

It’s easy to tell yourself that your brand needs something revolutionary, something that breaks paradigms and reveals new ways of talking to your customers. But all too often, companies follow the evolutionary path—a new coat of paint, a few new fixtures and a new sign on the storefront. A quick win here, a quick win there.

Starting your own revolution isn’t easy and that first step can be scary. One of the most important things to do once you’ve determined to change is deciding how far you can and are willing to go. Look at every facet of your brand, from the most obvious things to the very subtle.  Deep unbiased introspection will uncover opportunity for a new attitude, a new set of guiding principles, a new market space.

In retail, change is life. So overthrow the old paradigms.  Delve into your brand and find that crazy idea, the one that’s worth fighting for.

Businesses in search of competitive advantage are much more comfortable asking design consultants for “innovation” when they should be asking for “creativity,” the birthplace of new ideas. But creativity, with its faint air of mystery and associations with renegade, non-corporate types, doesn’t seem at home in the world of commerce, where goals are achieved through “procedure” and “knowledge.”

Interbrand Design Forum has seen an increase in the number of retail brands deciding to bring creativity to the table, but a negative tendency to have their procurement officers treat it like a commodity—buying it by the pound. That’s a mistake. Few agencies know how to bring about the environment, the chemistry and the provocation that net the great, disruptive ideas that are actionable in terms of the brand experience. The kind that can move your business to a new place.

If you’re searching for creative consultants, look for those who know how to imaginatively frame questions, consider multiple perspectives and celebrate instinct and intuition. Find a team with a simple framework that allows for the unexpected, that can help your company get outside your normal tendencies so you can conceive of something really new that creates retail demand. Refuse to let anyone solve the problem at hand in a habitual way. Not all creative is equal. Truly creative people are contrary in a purposeful way.

For Release March 11, 2010

Interbrand Design Forum Contact:
Beth Ling, Director of PR
Direct: 937-312-8803
Mobile: 937-823-3480

Interbrand Design Forum Ranks the Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands; Walmart Remains the Top Retailer, Target Leaps to Second Report shows that the strong brands got stronger, while the bottom 25 fell.

DAYTON, OHIO – Retail brand consultants Interbrand Design Forum, today released the Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands report, the second ranking of the top 50 retail brands. Walmart claimed top honors as the most valuable retail brand, followed by Target (No. 2), Best Buy (No. 3), The Home Depot (No. 4) and Walgreens (No. 5).

The most striking shift in this year’s ranking is that despite the weakened economy, the Top 25 companies grew their brands’ value over last year. They not only survived, they prospered. However, the next 25 as a group lost value.

Broadly speaking, falling companies slashed prices, lost focus and chose not to renew their brand through investment or innovation. Rising companies had their brand proposition fully in place to take advantage of the downturn, invested in brand and convinced the customer of their relevance and worth.

This is Walmart’s second year as the top U.S. retail brand, however the big news is how much the brand value has increased. The economic downturn made it relevant to an even greater number of shoppers and its store remodel program “Project Impact”—less inventory, wider aisles, lack of in-aisle displays—paid off in high same-store sales. Walmart grew their brand value by 19%, or $25 billion, to $154 billion. It continues to be the most valuable retail brand in the world.

Target is another company that built brand value this year. With a 49% increase, Target leapfrogged Best Buy and The Home Depot to take the #2 spot on the list. As a brand-led company, Target focused on improving its operations to boost performance in the face of reduced growth without compromising brand. The company streamlined its assets, according to what matters most to the Target customer.
Five brands are new to the list in 2010:
Dollar General (No.18) – new to the list after going public in 2009
Buckle (No. 45)
Family Dollar (No.46)
Advance Auto Parts (No. 47)
Macy’s (No. 50)

A highlight among those new to the list is Macy’s, whose debut is attributable to its three-year focus on becoming a “master brand.” By holding steady to its strategic direction, it has succeeded in capitalizing on brand to improve its financials, and the results are showing up in organic sales growth in its 850 stores. Macy’s now has the clarity and power of a national brand.

The five brands that fell out of the top 50 are:
Hollister (last year No. 40)
Barnes & Noble (last year No. 44)
Men’s Wearhouse (last year No. 45)
Gymboree (last year No. 48)
Anthropologie (last year No. 50)

In turbulent times, brands that lack a solid brand strategy are likely to lose value along with the ability to drive demand. While many companies engage in tactical brand efforts, there are relatively few that filter their business strategy through their brand strategy to guide decisions. The tough market demands differentiation, innovation and value-add like never before, so brands need to be clear and compelling to stand out from price-based competition.

Interbrand Design Forum’s Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands report will be available online at www.interbranddesignforum.com on March 11, 2010. The results will be unveiled at the GlobalShop Conference in Las Vegas on that same day.

-End-

Note to the editor:
Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands 2010
1. Walmart
2. Target
3. Best Buy
4. The Home Depot
5. Walgreens
6. CVS
7. Sam’s Club
8. Dell
9. Coach
10. Amazon.com
11. eBay
12. Lowe’s
13. Nordstrom
14. Staples
15. Costco Wholesale
16. Avon
17. GameStop
18. Dollar General
19. Kohl’s
20. AutoZone
21. Tiffany & Co.
22. Victoria’s Secret
23. Gap
24. Polo Ralph Lauren
25. Bed Bath & Beyond
26. Netflix
27. Old Navy
28. Sherwin-Williams
29. Banana Republic
30. RadioShack
31. PetSmart
32. J. Crew
33. Marshalls
34. T.J. Maxx
35. Aéropostale
36. American Eagle Outfitters
37. Urban Outfitters
38. Whole Foods Market
39. JCPenney
40. Rent-A-Center
41. Dick’s Sporting Goods
42. Bath & Body Works
43. Big Lots
44. Tractor Supply Co.
45. Buckle
46. Family Dollar
47. Advance Auto Parts
48. American Girl
49. Abercrombie & Fitch
50. Macy’s

Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands 2010 Methodology and Results
To qualify for inclusion in the Interbrand Design Forum Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands, each company must be a market-facing brand, operate significant distribution channels in the United States, with publicly available financial data and positive Economic Value Added. Interbrand examines brands through the lens of financial strength, importance in driving consumer selection and the likelihood of ongoing branded revenue. This methodology evaluates brand value in the same way any other corporate asset is valued—on the basis of how much it is likely to earn for the company in the future.

About Interbrand Design Forum
Since 1978, we have been creating retail brand experiences for companies around the globe. Interbrand Design Forum’s talent for game-changing innovation led us to create a business model that integrates analytics-based strategy—the first and only company with such a comprehensive offering.

This unique ability to address retail’s growing complexity led many of the world’s top companies to our doorstep and propelled Interbrand Design Forum to the forefront of the industry.

We have been part of Interbrand since 2002, and two years ago we added Interbrand to our Design Forum name to reflect our place in the world’s largest branding consultancy.

Today, we have 1,200 associates in almost 40 offices around the globe and a practice that brings together a diverse team of insightful right- and left-brain thinkers. This deep talent pool makes our business both rigorously analytic and highly creative.

As a result, we have changed the dialogue, defined the meaning of brand management, and continue to lead the debate around brand as a valuable business asset. By making brand central to our clients’ strategic business goals, we help them create, manage and grow the value of their brands.