A lesson in brand platforms
Brand platforms are the stuff of life, and lessons in brand platforms come from all aspects of human endeavor. Here is one I found in an unusual place: the sports pages of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Scene and situation: McClymonds high school sits in one of the poorest, drug-plagued areas of Oakland, California, but still manages to graduate football players who are academically eligible for Division I universities. Coach Alonzo Carter focuses his players on academic achievement, as well as athletics. This year eight of his players signed letters of intent to Division I football programs.
The brand platform connection: This Coach Carter is creating customers as he interacts with his players. He’s delivering a vision of success, one in which the product platform (football) rises to the level of a customer platform (personal responsibility to succeed). Coach Carter frames the players in their next level, as opposed to the current one, sweeping aside the traps on the streets outside.
From Scott Ostler’s report:
“There’s not a sob story you can give me where I’m gonna give you an out,” said Carter, who grew up in West Oakland, went to McClymonds, fathered a child at 17.
“Their worst story isn’t half of what I went through.”
One player pleaded with Carter to lighten up.
“You act like we’re in college, coach.”
Carter shot back, “You go to McClymonds University.”
Precisely! That’s the platform moment. To advance your customers, raise them to the next platform now, and work with them to make it real. Lock your competitors in the past.
Of course, if you don’t have that platform, you’re setting the stage for a lot of dropouts.
