Does your brand have a champion's smile?

I never thought I’d say this, but I got hooked on the reality show “Dancing with the Stars”. I came home from a date with my wife one night and our babysitter was watching it, and I was captivated by the skills that amateurs had developed. I didn’t watch the series religiously, but I did see enough to know who the really talented people were.

To my surprise, Emmitt Smith of football fame was crowned this season’s champion. Was he the best? Not even close. I’m no dancer, but it was very clear to me that his competitor, Mario Lopez, executed much more difficult moves with infinitely more finesse.

The moral of the story: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF CHARISMA. There is no doubt that Emmitt Smith had the most infectious smile and engaging personality on the show. You couldn’t help but want to see him succeed. He performed extremely well, but was not the best. He did however, have the most appealing product.

So what does this have to do with marketing? EVERYTHING. Having the best product is not a sure path to victory. As in dancing, it’s just as much about charisma. Does your brand have a winning image? Does your marketing make your brand likeable? Is your packaging captivating, like Emmitt’s perfect smile?

Even if your success has been driven by a performance edge, don’t underestimate the power of creating an appealing LOOKING product. The best example of this is in the PC graphics-card business. Ten years ago, these powerful video processing cards were unadorned chucks of silicon and metal shipped in plain brown cardboard. After all, they were being sold to hard-core gamers who were presumably focused on performance; and they were going inside a computer anyway. Much to the surprise of the industry, when they started putting exciting images and colors on the card and using professionally designed packaging, sales skyrocketed. Why? Image, not performance! Now, half of the battle in selling these cards is figuring out whether to cover the package with scantily clad nymphs or blood-oozing demons. [Gamers seem to like naked things or killing things.]

So take an honest look at your brands and positioning. Is their success relying exclusively on performance or do they have that winning smile to become champions.