Nike, Starbucks branding guru shares secrets with Sammamish chamber

From helping drive Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign to assisting with the redesign and growth of Starbucks stores internationally, Sammamish resident Scott Bedbury has been involved in some of the most successful brand development strategies worldwide. Sammamish chamber residents had the chance to hear from Bedbury firsthand at last week’s luncheon, when he talked a bit about his book, “A New Brand World,” and gave tips to owners and employees of local businesses.

Bedbury has spoken in countries around the world, but never so close to home, he said.

Currently working on three books, Bedbury launched a brand development consulting company called Brandstream in 1998, and his clients have included P&G, Coca-Cola, Google, Corona, NASA, Microsoft, Russian Standard, Visa, Starwood Hotels, Nokia, Volswagen AG, Mars and Mattel.

It used to be enough to simply have a great product, Bedbury said. And that’s still important — but a successful business owner won’t stop there.

“In the face of competition, people will separate the brands — your people,” Bedbury said. “Treating people well has never been quite so important,” he said, noting the way that companies like Starbucks take care of their employees.

Bedbury related that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz once said that he wanted to build a company that would never leave its employees behind.

"People thought he was crazy," Bedbury said, explaining that many wondered why Schultz would offer benefits to part-time employees.

Starbucks and others led the way in treating employees well, which also helps with retention.

Once the product and the company's employees are the best the business can make and hire, it's time to examine how the customer feels, he said.

Again using Starbucks as an example, he shared how he and Schultz and other employees discussed what the ultimate coffeehouse would look and feel like — they went around the country to ask what people thought of when they closed their eyes and imagined the perfect coffeehouse.

Those responses and other brainstorming helped shape the look and feel of the redesign of Starbucks stores in 1995 and '96, Bedbury said.

He also urged business owners and employees to try to be truly present in any given moment in order to give better service, a lesson that extends beyond business to simply being a better parent, family member or friend. It's disturbing to see the number of people who are utterly engrossed in their Blackberries rather than the people they're spending time with, he pointed out.

An audience member asked whether Bedbury had any advice for small businesses.

The answer came back to a key factor he had touched on before: People.

He replied that owners of small businesses have it easier in some ways: The smaller the business, the more vital it is to start of right and hire quality employees who are the right fit for the job, Bedbury said.

“There’s alchemy in every business, whether you have two employees or 200," he noted.

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