McDonalds, Rolex and Your Next PowerPoint Presentation

What can McDonalds and Rolex tell us about PowerPoint?  Heaps!

It’s all about Branding.

When you put together your PowerPoint presentation do you go for the McDonalds branding? McDonalds branding is everywhere and on everything. It is on the door, the floor, the roof, the shirts of the staff, the coffee cup you get and even the napkin that you wipe your mouth with! They include their name in just about every product they sell. There is the McHappy meals, the McFlurry and the one that start it all – the Big Mac! This branding has helped them build a very profitable worldwide business. But there is a down side. Every store is the same. It is the same thing over and over again.

Do you have a McPowerPoint presentation?

Or do you go for Rolex branding?

How does Rolex Brand itself? Rolex positions itself with symbols that typify their brand. Rolex pays big money to people like George Clooney, Cindy Crawford, Nicole Kidman, Michael Schumacher, Ian Thorpe, Anna Kournikova, Martina Hingis, Alex Popov and even NASA to wear their watches. Rolex does not put its logo on everything that moves, but rather, it puts it on selective people that provide the ‘right’ image for their brand. The result is a brand that is subtle, but well known, and well known for excellence.

So what is the difference between a McPowerPoint and a Rolex PowerPoint? It’s in the slides!

Do you have the same corporate background on each and every slide? Do you have the logo in the same spot on each slide, as though it is etched on the screen? Do you have the same bullet point after bullet point in the same font, in the same colour, in the same size for each of your 37 slides? Do you have slide transitions, text transitions and pointless clipart? Worst of all, do you have PowerPoint Police that must vet your presentation to ensure that your presentation is in line with corporate branding? If you have answered ‘Yes’ to any of these then you have a McPowerPoint Presentation and it’s time to change.

Turn your next presentation into a Rolex presentation!

With your next presentation, get rid of your logo. If you have an interesting presentation they will remember who you are and where you’re from. Aim for no more than 6 words per slide – tell the rest of the story with a picture. Destroy all clipart – you have a digital camera on your phone so got take a photo and use it! Use a different colour for each slide – when was the last time you found looking at a painted wall engaging! Don’t be afraid to use white space. Go Zen – less is more. Consider including video that shows your message.

By branding yourself as Rolex does, you become more than just another commodity that can be negotiated down to the lowest price. You will become unique and therefore different in the market place.

Feel free to share this with those that love to use PowerPoint. And if you know someone who works for Rolex, let them know too!

Cheers

Darren Fleming

Australia’s Public Speaking Coach

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