Brand Hail Mary pass

Football is used as an analogy in many things. American football has some great terms and practices that work particularly well. The one that resonates with the way many people treat their brands is the Hail Mary pass.

According to Wikipedia the origin of the Hail Mary pass was “when it was used to describe the game-winning touchdown pass by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson in a December 28, 1975 NFL playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings. Afterwards it was reported that Staubach – a Roman Catholic – said “I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary”.

Big splashy marketing campaigns that so often pass for brand work are tantamount to that and I am sure you can think of more than a few over the years that fall into the Hail Mary pass hall of fame.

Sometimes it pays off but more often it is seen by people for exactly what it is – a wild attempt to gain some new customers instead of doing the hard work of improving the business for all stakeholders and serving existing customers better.

The opposite of the Hail Mary pass is a brand game plan. It is having a clear understanding of your brand strengths and weaknesses – and those of your competition – and to play to those weaknesses.

It hinges on knowing when you need to play offensively and when to bring defence onto the field.

There will be times when you need to throw in a new play, to try something different to keep the competition on its toes, but that doesn’t and shouldn’t alter the fundamental plan.

And if things start to go wrong having the plan to fall back on can save the game.

It’s not flashy.It probably won’t win you awards and accolades.It takes discipline and a strong belief in the brand you have built.

But follow the plan, make promises you can keep, keep those promises and your customers, employees and other stakeholders will be fans for life. That is worth more than any wild chance Hail Mary pass.

See you next week.

Michel is an independent Brand adviser and advocate. Through her work with Brandology in Australia and in the United States she helps organisations make promises they can keep and keep the promises they make, with a strong sustainable brand the result. She publishes the Brand thought leadership blog – Brand Alignment. You can follow Michel on Twitter @michelhogan