Transferable skills

First introduced in 1865, London’s taxi drivers spend around three to four years developing their encyclopaedic knowledge of London’s streets. ‘The Knowledge’ is one of the toughest exams anyone can sit. It’s not enough just to memorise the thousands of streets and points of interest (courts, theatres, public buildings, train stations, restaurants, hotels, business addresses etc.) within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross, but also the best routes between them all.

I’ve several friends who are black cab drivers, and you can probably imagine the conversation when Uber arrived on the scene. They suddenly felt very vulnerable and more than a little angry.

But that unique ability to absorb and put to memory vast amounts of information is finding a new outlet. The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers is now running ‘Cab Guide Courses’. It’s a course run by cabbies over eight weeks with a written and practical exam at the end. Upon completion they will be a Qualified Taxi Guide and get a badge to wear. Many go on to gain Blue and Green badges issued by the Guild of Tourist Guides.

Their enthusiasm for London, its history, the routes they can take you and the sharing of their own points of view make the experience unique for tourists. Next time you are in a black cab ask if they are also a guide. You won’t want to get out!

They understood that it was their ability to memorise vast amounts of information that was their transferable skill and have applied it to fight back against challenger in a more than credible way. 

It reminded me of the book ‘22 Laws of Marketing’ by Al Ries and Jack Trout and, in particular, ‘Chapter 12 - The Law of Line Extension’. 

Basically, this means taking an existing brand name and adding a new product to it.

The Law of Line Extension cautions that there is a limit to the number of products or services a brand can successfully extend its brand name to. When a brand extends beyond its core category, it risks diluting its brand and confusing its customers. The key is to not only understand the category you are in but also what your brand’s most transferable element really is. Sometimes it is not exactly what you think it is.

Car manufacturers may have started with one model but have easily extended into other segments of the same category.

Much harder is extending into new categories. Interestingly, with the advent of electric cars some have chosen to go down the sub-brand route.  SEAT with Cupra and Volvo with Polestar, for example. Thus, enabling a brand to enter a new category free of any baggage.

Dyson’s specialism in moving air in extraordinary ways allows it to move into adjacent categories with its range of hand dryers and vacuum cleaners. Apple is another example that, thanks in part to Simon Sinek, you understand that the transferable elements are that ‘they challenge the status quo and make products that are beautifully designed and easy to use.’

On the other hand, Harley Davidson’s attempt to extend its brand into the perfume market back in 1994 didn’t meet with success! For brewers it has been relatively easy, but Guinness has always struggled given its leadership status (which is Law 1 in the book) as the best stout in the world. 

If we look a little closer at agencies and, indeed, the big consultancies, we are now seeing several pages of capabilities listed, in the large part through M&A activity, which has brought The Law of Line Extension into sharp focus as they attempt to extend their brands into adjacent, and sometimes not so adjacent, categories.

Bringing two businesses together is hard enough without having to then contend with making sense of a crazy set of ‘line extensions’. With more and more agencies/ agency groups/ consultancies offering the same set of capabilities, they are not only breaking this law, but many of the other 21 as well.

Marketing is as much about creating perception as it is product, and competitive advantage will not come from having the same capabilities but how these are perceived in the mind of the client. We are at a point where agencies need to re-anchor their brands around a clear point of view on what all these capabilities can deliver. Think chefs with the same ingredients able to deliver very different dishes. As the whole marketing category enters a period of seismic change and re-invention, the opportunity for those who get it right will be huge.

Yes, brand extension often gives rise to short-term wins but if you want to win in the long-term, it is important to find a space in the mind of the customers that can make sense of everything you offer.

Now, where’s my cab?